Chapter 13 - Meeting Irene

CHIARA

I wake up to the clattering of plates and I try to makes sense of why I'm hearing that in my captor's home. Did Massimo decide to serve me breakfast in bed? As if.

I don't want to open my eyes. I'm in a blissful dream, a dream where I am home, watching my parents fawn over each other until I want to gouge out my eyes, a dream where I dress pretty and go to work, a dream where I'm designing and turning all my beautiful ideas into reality, a dream where I and Stefan are...

I open my eyes in annoyance because the clattering of dishes kept getting on my nerves. I can't even lose myself into my subconscious.

The maid is beside the bed and she is setting dishes on the bedside table. Why was she making so much noise then? And why am I not having breakfast with Massimo? Oh, I probably slept all through the morning.

I watch the maid from the corner of my eyes. She is young, probably in her late teens, maybe 19? Her hair is short, in a pixie cut that frames her face and highlights her delicate features. She's petite, with a slender build, and her eyes are cast downward, avoiding mine. She seems nervous, her hands shaking slightly as she arranges the dishes on the tray. I wonder what her story is, how she ended up working for Massimo. Is she a victim like me, or is she complicit in his twisted games? I study her more closely, trying to read her body language, but she doesn't meet my gaze, keeping her eyes fixed on the task at hand.

Her uniform is a crisp, black and white attire that looks impeccably clean and pressed. The dress itself is a classic maid's design, with a fitted bodice, a full skirt that falls just below her knees, and a white apron wrapped around her waist. The apron is adorned with delicate lace trim and a small, silver pin bearing the initials "I.M".

Her sleeves are long and cuffed at the wrist, and a small, white cap sits atop her pixie-cut hair, adding a touch of old-fashioned elegance to her overall appearance. Black stockings and shiny, black shoes complete her uniform, giving her a polished, professional look that seems at odds with the nervous, furtive glances she keeps casting my way.

"Hi", I say cautiously and she spares me a glance before replying with her own very timid "Hi". I smile, that's something.

"I'm Chiara...ehm I'm really sorry about knocking you out the other day. I was just...you know, really desperate. I'm sorry".

She looks at me again and I fear she would not respond, I wouldn't too. She was just doing her job and I almost killed her, then I went ahead and vomited all over the dining table and made her job harder, then yesterday, I stabbed her boss and got blood all over the dining again. I'm pretty sure she would have poisoned me a long time ago if her boss wasn't a sick psychopath with obsession issues.

Suddenly, she stops what she's doing and jumps on the bed next to me, a wide smile on her face. What the heck!

I recoil, startled by her sudden movement. "What are you doing?" I ask trying to scoot away from her.

She grabs my hands, her eyes shining with excitement. How did she go from looking uninterested to this? Is she also crazy?

"I'm so glad you're okay, you keep trying to escape and I don't think Massimo plans on letting you go. You're different". She says gently rubbing my hands while my eyes are wide, trying to make sense of what she just said.

"What do you mean by everything you just said?"

She hesitates a bit but goes on to talk, " Massimo is twisted, and evil and all shades of dark, but there's a special part of him that only special people get to see. It's that special part of him that I got to see first, so I wasn't scared when I found out his ...other activities and traits. Then he brought you here. He has never brought a woman to this mansion... maybe he loves you?", I shoot her a glare and she raises her hands in surrender with a giggle.

"I know it doesn't seem like it but that's the only reasonable explanation. But then, you keep on fighting him so..."

"I keep fighting him? Did he brainwash you or something? I'm a woman like you! You should understand me! I was kidnapped out of my fiance's arms, brought here and I've been abused in all the ways I can't even bear to think of right now, and you want me to what? Stop fighting him and accept this?? I did not ask for this!!", I shout at her with tears spilling from my eyes. I haven't had anyone to talk to that wouldn't punish me in so long, this feels good.

Her expression changes from excitement to shock, and she looks like she's about to cry. "Oh, Chiara, I'm so sorry," she whispers, her voice trembling. "I didn't mean to make you feel worse. I just...I don't know, I've known him all my life, you know? My parents worked here, they watched him grow up, and then when they got old and couldn't work, they went to him and he employed me and put me here with a salary that's way too much for a maid job. He has been good to my family...to me. It might not seem like it now, but you would see it soon I hope."

She takes a deep breath and continues, " Maybe he should have courted you like a real suitor. But you mentioned having a fiance, you probably would have rejected him. At the same time, having two men try to win my heart would be epic! But still , Why did he kidnap a woman and try to make her warm up to him? I can never understand how men think. I'm so sorry if I offended you earlier, Chiara. I had no idea."

Her words are like a balm to my soul and I smile at the fact that she indirectly insulted Massimo. For the first time since I've been here, I feel like someone understands me, like someone sees the pain and the fear that I'm living with.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm down. "It's okay," I say, my voice still shaking. "I just... Thank you for this, talking to me..."

She nods, her eyes filled with tears. "I'm here for you, Chiara," she says. "I'll listen to you, and I might have some advice to help you survive him. He can be an asshole sometimes".

I feel a sense of hope that I haven't felt in a long time. Maybe, just maybe, she can help me escape, or at least make my life here more bearable.

"Shit! I'm so sorry. I didn't ask for your name".

She smiles and points at the silver pin that has the "I.M" initials, "I'm Irene... Irene Mirano", she has a bright smile and I can't help but smile back.

"Now now, let's feed you", she motions to the tray on the table and I sit up fully. I feel a slight pain in my stomach and look down at myself, I'm dressed in one of Massimo's shirts again and his scent is clouding my senses. I raise the shirt and found a bandaged part...the part where he cut me and drank my blood like the psycho he is. Why would he even do that?

"Chiara, I know this would be hard, but try to think of this from the brighter side. That's the only way you'll really get more freedom".

Irene's face is serious, and I think about it. Can I really do that? Try to think of the dark and gloomy life I'm living right now from a bright side? No, I can't. I will escape from Massimo no matter what. I don't know how, but the slightest opportunity I get I'm taking off. Then I remember something, the cameras. Is Massimo watching me right now? What is going through his head? I need to take care of those cameras first.