ZARYA ROGOVI stood outside his room's door. My feet were unable to move. They were stuck. My thoughts ran wild with haunting possibilities. Why did he call me? What would he do?I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. My hands were already trembling."Get in." His voice rang in my ears like some horror spell. When I entered the room, I closed the door behind me and fisted my hands at my sides.His broad back faced me as he stood near the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. The curtains no longer hid the outside world. His hands were in his pants pocket, and his stance was one of extreme dominance and danger."Uh...I didn't p-put that much salt in it. I-I don't know how that happened. You c-can ask Alek. H-He was there a-all the time." I tried to explain myself like a pathetic loser.He didn't answer; instead, he moved towards the side table and grabbed his phone, probably calling Alek. He told the old man to come to the room, and when he came, he first gave me a good look of uncertain
ZARYA ROGOVThe soft breeze caressed my being, slightly making me relax as I stepped out of the mansion and onto the smooth pavement. The guards standing around the iron gate immediately got alerted after seeing me.They weren't expecting me to step out of the mansion out of nowhere.They stared at me hard until it made me uncomfortable.Ignoring them, I looked to my left where the garden was, and walked up to the shadows of the tree, scanning the beautiful flowers. They were nicely taken care of. Someone cared and loved them deeply. I took another deep inhale of the fresh nature and walked towards the roses, which were perfectly blossoming.Just as I bent down to touch one, a fragile hand gripped my wrist in a painful grip, making me yelp."Don't you dare touch them." His mother, Alisa, rasped at me before harshly pushing my wrist away, making me stumble back. I massaged my wrist while staring at her in disbelief.By her venomous reaction, it was certain she took care of this place.
ZARYA ROGOVFixing the ring on my finger, I entered the kitchen that was bustling with servants. I stood near the doorway, contemplating my life.If I disobey him. If I refuse to do anything he commands me, what would he do?Kill me? No, he wouldn't do that, not yet.Was he not afraid that I would poison his food?What if I just...disobey him?The idea of going against his command was fearsome, but as a Rogov if I just gave in, that would be such a disappointment.I scratched the back of my neck. Now that I had finally gotten a little ground of the situation I was in, my mind was working overtime with possibilities."Ahem...miss?"I snapped out of my thoughts and turned my head to the right, only to find Alek standing there. He was dressed in his usual black crisp butler suit."Are you okay?" He asked and I nodded.His unfriendly eyes took in my fresh form before he gave me a brief nod and turned towards the servants working in the kitchen."Everyone," his voice came out loud and firm
ZARYA ROGOV"Show me your ring." His command had my heart falling.Why was he so obsessed with the idea of me wearing his ring all the time? Was it to always remind me that he caged me? Did it boost his ego?"I...forgot t-to wear it i-in a hurry." I stuttered, clearly looking nervous and scared, but it was not enough to feed him. He wanted to conquer not only my fear but me as a whole."Forget..." The low volume of his voice had my heart thudding faster against my ribcage. "I don't like careless people, Zarya." His voice dipped in depth and danger. Each word scraped my fear."I kill them." He placed his cigar on the ashtray and stood up, making me abruptly take a step back. It was unconscious. The fear was deeply rooted in me.His slow, powerful steps were threatening. They were coming my way and I couldn't just stand there and let the devil consume me so I rushed towards the door, grabbed the knob and just as I opened the door, his huge hand slammed beside my head, right against the
ZARYA ROGOV"Y-You did it, you clean i-it."I immediately zipped my mouth up when I realized what I just blurted. He said nothing and slowly closed the book, putting it aside on the bedside table as he leaned back against the master chair."I will make you lick all of that clean if you don't start cleaning it now." His threat wasn't to be taken lightly. He was notorious and always did exactly what he said, and mostly, he's unhinged with his words.I licked my dried-out lips and hesitantly got on my knees. With my head lowered, I began to clean. I didn't dare look up at him. He was probably having fun.This humiliation...and this was only the beginning of this cursed marriage.Just as I was about to pull back, he moved his feet in front of me. Coffee droplets dress his pale skin. He burned me, but he burned himself as well.Sadistic.I didn't move to clean his feet. I just stared at them with my blurry gaze. No, I didn't want to cry in front of him, but I couldn't control those tears o
ZARYA ROGOVWhen I got back to the room, I took a deep breath of relief. My body was still trembling, my heart was still thumping at an abnormal pace. I recalled his words, and they haunted me like a never-ending curse.I looked at the ring on my still slightly trembling hand. This ring was a seal of curse on me. "Tsk," I took it off and threw it away again, making it land in the corner.I turned to use the restroom, but then my eyes landed on the cellphone resting on the bedside table.A cell phone? Where did this come from?I immediately checked it. The cellphone was brand new, and the only contact in it was Sergei's. Oh, so this was given to me so he could call me whenever he wanted.I didn't recall any number except my own. Putting the phone back down, I used the restroom, since I didn't have clothes with me anymore. I simply took a shower, wore those dirty clothes again, and got into bed.I tried to sleep, but I couldn't.I wondered if Caesar would come and save me.Though I doub