Kate stood in front of this man, she was scared. All she remembered was being bundled up and thrown into the back of a van, she and her sister who was standing beside her now. He's been staring at them not saying a word since they were brought in, and none of them could bring themselves to say anything to him.  Kate peeked at him from time to time, he had a dark aura around him which breathed fear, but that only highlighted his sinful beauty, he looked like he just walked out of a painting. From what her father had described of him, Kate didn't imagine that he would be this young;  ''your father is dead… ''  His voice kicked her out of her thoughts and her gaze fluttered and she swallowed; her eyes traced his hand as they drummed on the table slowly as though he was counting every drum of his fingers.  ''Do you know what he did? '' he adjusted on his position on the chair, supporting his head with his hand as he stared at them inte

The old lady, who had not moved an inch from where she was standing since she entered the room, commanded.Kate looked up at her and she saw that she was gazing down at her with so much ferocity that she knew she didn't have a choice, her mouth opened immediately and the maid washed it, she was so thorough that Kate felt blood seeping from her gums; she was still rinsing her mouth when a maid brought two little stools and placed in front of her; her brows creased as she wondered what they were for;''Place your legs on them '' the elderly woman's voice rang in the room again and she did as she was told; suddenly the maid, pushed the two stools apart making her legs open wide;Her hands reflexively moved to cover her private part, the old lady seeing this, walked to her and gave her a resounding slap;''You do as you are told, young lady.''Kate could swear that she saw stars; she could hear distant echoes in her right ear where the slap had landed,

It was a sunny afternoon; he was playing with his sister and they played hide and seek; it was his turn to hide, and he knew the one place where she wouldn't find him was in his parents' room; so he sneaked into their room; his parents were taking a nap, his Dad had his hand around his mom; he could still remember the flower petals on the gown she wore; the red roses on the quilt, not a single memory of that day had blurred, they were still inscribed in his memories. Tip-toeing gently, he found his way to the wardrobe and hid; a boyish grin on his face as he thought of a million places his younger sister would look for him in their mighty mansion.He could still hear her distant counts; she was almost nearing ten, and he was eager to win this time; when suddenly she stops counting at eight;Thinking she might have stopped because she wanted to get him before he finds a place to hide, he smiled to himself; she won't ever think of their parents' wardrobe. There was still

Kate’s lips trembled but she could not speak; she stared at the old lady for a moment;''I… I just took my bath. ''She explained; pursing her lips.“You don't want me to repeat myself. Do you? '' milly said, raising her brows. Kate bowed her head low and turned towards the bathroom; the maids looked at her with pity as though she was a lamb taken to be slaughtered; they could only imagine what evil she must have done to their boss to attract his venom.After taking her bath; the elderly lady pointed at some specific lotions on her vanity table; and she applied it; after which, a maid dried her hair, and after applying a sweet-smelling oil; let it fall to her back. A light makeup was applied to her face which stressed her beauty, but beauty was the last thing she wanted that night.After her makeup was applied, she was given the basket;''Put those on and follow me. ''Milly instructed; Kate stared at the basket for

The next day was Sunday. She had stayed awake for the greater part of the night before she finally drifted off to sleep.After taking her bath that morning; she put on a long single strap dress, packed her hair up with a hairband, and left her room. She walked down the hall to the front porch; there were a few people insight and they were all busy doing one thing or the other; everywhere looked serene, so she guessed that he might be at home.Since she had nothing to do, she figured she might as well go check up on her sister and know how she had been faring.She passed by some workers and she greeted them politely; they replied with a wave, some with a smile. She knew the news of her being the master's wife must have spread among the workers, from the way they looked at her; she knew that they pitied her greatly.She hadn't reached the first gate when she saw him; her heart skipped a beat. She didn't expect to see him on her way out, so she was nervous,