Chapter 7

Reina’s POV

Corinne led me to my new room in the maid’s quarters.

“You’d stay here from now. I hope you like it.”

I looked around. It was basic. A bed and a table. I nodded. My eyes were already heavy from crying.

“Dear child… What's your name?” she said, holding my face gently.

I gestured it to her, using ASL.

“I’m sorry, my child… I never learnt,” she said softly. I sighed.

“But you write, don’t you?”

I slowly nodded as she brought out a pen and paper from her pocket.

I took it and wrote my name down.

“Reina… it’s a beautiful name. Maybe you could teach me ASL.”

I smiled softly, nodding.

“I have to go now. You stay here and rest.”

I suddenly shook my head in fear.

“No, Reina… he won’t hurt you if you stay here. You just came here, he’d have no issues.”

Rai Mikailov didn’t look like one without issues.

“Just rest here, okay? Shower and change your clothes. I’d call you if you need to do anything.”

The way she spoke to me made me calm. If my mother was still alive, she would have been just like her. I smiled, nodding. She gave me one last smile before leaving.

The door closed and I was alone.

I sat on my bed, scared to make any sound. My mind drifted to Bella. Was she okay? Where did she get assigned to? Or was she… dead?

I shook my head quickly, pushing the thought away. No. She couldn’t be. She was strong. Stronger than me.

I swallowed hard. She would survive.

Unlike me.

The silence in the room was heavy, very quiet, very still. It felt like the walls were watching me. Like this place had eyes everywhere.

I hugged myself, my fingers digging into my arms.

This was real.This wasn’t a nightmare.

I wasn’t going to wake up.

I stood up slowly and stripped off, heading into the bathroom. Luckily, there was hot water running.

I paused for a second.

Rai didn’t look like someone who cared about comfort. I thought he would treat his maids like slaves.

But here I was… with hot water. A room.

It didn’t make sense. Nothing about him made sense.

I stepped under the water, letting it run over my body. I closed my eyes as the heat spread across my skin.

For a moment… just a moment… I let myself breathe.The water washed over my face, mixing with the tears I didn’t even realize were still falling.

My hands trembled as I touched my throat.

Nothing, just silence.

I opened my mouth slowly. Nothing came out.

Just air.

My chest tightened.

I pressed my hand harder against my throat like I could force a sound out. Like something would come back if I tried hard enough. Nothing.

I shut my eyes tight, shaking my head.

No. No…

I hit the wall lightly, frustrated.

This couldn’t be my life, not like this.

Not without my voice.

Not here.

My mind flashed back to the stage. The lights. The crowd. The moment everything went wrong.

The silence, The panic.

The way my heart had dropped when nothing came out.I felt it again.

That same fear, that same emptiness.

And then her face. My stepmother, smiling like she knew. Like she had been waiting for it. My breathing grew uneven. The drink.

Every morning. For years.

Something so small. Something I never questioned. My fingers curled into fists.

Why?

Why would she do that to me? What did I ever do?

Tears streamed down my face again as I leaned my head against the wall.

And then my father.The accident, the blood. The way she didn’t even look scared.

She did it. She did everything.

And I couldn’t even scream.

I slid down the wall slowly, sitting on the bathroom floor as the water kept running over me.

I wanted to disappear, I wanted everything to stop.

But it wouldn’t. It never would.

After a while, I forced myself up. My body felt weak, drained.I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around myself.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I barely recognized myself. My eyes were red. Swollen.

My face looked empty, Broken.

I lifted my hand slowly, touching my lips.These lips that couldn’t sing anymore.

I let out a shaky breath.Then my eyes dropped to something else.

Blood, Dried blood, On my neck. On my collarbone. His blood, My stomach twisted.

I quickly wiped it off, scrubbing my skin like I could erase what I saw earlier.

But I couldn’t. I would never forget it.

The gunshot.

The way the man dropped. The blood.

And him.

Standing there like it was nothing, Looking at me.

Smiling.

My hands started shaking again. Why did he look at me like that?

Why me?

Out of everyone there… why me?

I stepped out of the bathroom, drying myself slowly before putting on the clothes Corinne had left for me. My work cloth.

A Simple Plain white uniform

Like everything else here. I sat back on the bed, pulling my knees to my chest.

I needed to think.I couldn’t just sit here and wait.

I had to survive. I had to find Bella.I had to find a way out. And my father…

Tears filled my eyes again.

Was he alive? Was he okay?Did he think I abandoned him? My chest hurt at the thought.

I shook my head.

No. I wouldn’t give up. Not yet, even if I was scared, even if I was weak, even if I couldn’t speak. I would survive. I had to.

But then…His face flashed in my mind again. Those cold eyes. That smile.

The way he said it.

“This is the monster you have been sold to.”

My grip tightened around my legs. And for the first time…

I felt something worse than fear.

I felt trapped.