(Anastasia's Point of View)
"She's the new one,"
"She's so pretty and so young,"
"I feel so bad,"
I budged away from the little coterie that stood at the front of the bed I woke up from ten minutes ago. I quailed to the wall, hugging my knees to my chest as I fought the avidity to burst out crying. Where was I and who were these people?
"Little girl, are you alright, were you hit hard?" A geriatric woman in a char's outfit inquired, peering with a stewed expression.
I shook my head as a no. "Where am I? I want to go home!"
The sudden sympathy on their faces pushed the tears forth and my eyes sting. "Oh my dear, you can't go home," the same woman retorted.
"Why, I didn't do anything, you can't hold me against my will. If you don't let me go, I will call the police!" I bawled.
The aged woman deliberately sat on the bed. "I know how you feel even though we don't know what happened but we were once in your shoes but in time we've come to accept our fate,"
"You're so young, how come you hold the boss so much money for him to bring you here?" A man verbalized and the others mumbled among themselves.
"Yes my dear, how did you owe so much money?"
I shook my head and let the tear I'd been holding back roll down my cheeks as I reminisced the events that docked me in this situation. "I-I-I didn't, it's my parents, they s-old me," the words vacated my lips, and realization jabbed me. My parents bartered me for their lives. I know they didn't want to die but there could have been another way. Why was I propelled in the middle of this? "I'm innocent,"
I watched their faces knock down in forlorn. "Oh, dear,"
I immediately reached out and held the woman's hands. "Please you have to help me, you need to let me out of here, I don't want to be here,"
"No one does and you can't leave, the last person that tried to elude didn't make it past the front portico before he was shot on sight," someone resolved. My eyes magnified.
"You are frightening her Bobbie!" The woman chastised. "You see my dear, this is the Mezzesalma's Mansion and once you are brought here, it's preposterous to leave unless your debts are paid and if you try to escape, you won't get far before they kill you. You are still young, in no time, your debit would be covered and you would finally leave," she attempted to be optimistic but I could see the despair and empathy in her eyes.
So this is my fate?
"Am I g-oing to be tu-rned into a w-hore?" I sputtered, waiting for her to respond and when she didn't, I felt my heart shattering into million pieces and I was cowering back to the wall.
"Most of the girls like you were taken to the underground clubs as sex workers, since you were brought directly to the main mansion, I don't think you will be made a sex worker," she asserted but there was no cinch in her voice. She wasn't sure of my fate. "I'm sorry my dear. Maybe I can talk to the boss to let you help me with cleaning so you can stay here,"
I didn't want to stay, but they said I'd die if I attempted to flee without working to pay my parents' debt, but what about my school, what about my studies, what about my future? I looked around the room, and the expressions on their faces told me I no longer had a future.
"Let's give her some time to cope," the woman asserted with a grim smile and ushered everyone out of the room and shutting the door behind them.
Finally, I looked around the space I was in to find myself in the middle of two beds. A gigantic wardrobe stood at the side with a makeup table with three chairs and lastly, a door that must lead to the bathroom.
So, this was where I was going to live if I was lucky enough to not be made a whore? More tears rolled down at the thought.
I didn't know how long I sat there gawking at fatiguing walls impassively till the door unbarred to disclose two girls that looked two to three years older than me. They froze as If they had seen an apparition.
"Oh, you must be a new bed warmer," The one with red hair affirmed, and my breath fastened. She smirked at me and hiked over to the bed on my left.
"Finally, a new roommate, I was exhausted of putting up with Rue," the one with blonde hair beamed so luminously as she crouched on my bed. "What's your name?"
"Anastasia," I murmured.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Anastasia, I'm Khione and she's Rue,"
"Welcome to madness!" Rue chimed in with a rambunctious laugh as she fell flat on the bed.
"Are you hungry, you must have not eaten?" She inquired. I shook my head but the abrupt grumbling sound of my stomach said otherwise. She giggled, standing up and holding her hand to me. "Come on, it's midnight, everyone's asleep, you can use the kitchen without being bothered,"
Hesitantly, I followed her out of the room and I was welcomed by a murky corridor. I followed behind her closely as we took turns after turns, walked downstairs after stairs before we finally reached the kitchen and I was out of breath.
"You'll get used to that soon, walking those stairs keep some of us fit," Khione switched on the lights in the kitchen and I gaped at the luxury and expanse. I wonder what the rest of the house would look like. "Sit down," she instructed while walking over to the massive fridge and bringing out leftovers in wraps. She warmed them up in the microwave and while we waited, she turned to look at me. "Tell me, who's your master?"
I fretted. "Master? I don't know what you're talking about, I was just brought here,"
She nodded in understanding. "If you are lucky, you won't get a master and just join the staff in cleaning,"
"Were you brought here against your will too?"
She laughed. "Not really. Everyone here has a different story of how they started working for the Mezzesalmas, as for me, I needed the money and they pay really good cash, I said why not," she was outspoken.
"W-hat type of work do you do?" I inquired curiously.
Her green eyes obscured and the aura around her changed. she cleared her throat. "That's a discussion for another day,"
I parted my lips to speak but saw a shadow at the corner of my eyes before an athletic figure sauntered into the kitchen. Khione suddenly grabbed my hand and tugged me to her side. "Keep your head lowered," she instructed and I immediately obeyed.
"Curfew is passed 11 pm, what are you girls doing here,"
My head immediately jerked up at the husky and modulated voice, I found myself staring at the most handsome man on earth. My mouth fell apart, my eyes dilated and my heart suddenly picked up race.
His blue eyes flickered over to me and he raised the perfect eyebrow.
But before I could begin to take in more of his features, Khione elbowed me gently, I immediately ducked my head.
"She's a newbie Master," Khione retorted with her head lowered as well.
He didn't respond. I watched his shadow saunter over to the fridge, I peeked at his board back and watched him get a bottle of water and when he turned, I immediately looked back at the floor.
"Be done in twenty minutes,"
"Yes Master," Khione responded and then he was gone, leaving behind the smell of his strong and overpowering cologne.
Khione let out a breath of relief. She went to the microwave. "Rule number one, everyone except the soldiers should be in bed before 11 pm,"
"But we're here,"
"You are an exception for now," she turned to me with a plate of food. "Rule number 2, don't look at the bosses in the eyes, rule number 3, stay away from him," she gestured her chin toward the door. "That's a death wish you do not want to have. Each rule has its punishment if it's broken,"
"What are the punishments?"
She sneered. "Break one and you will find out yourself,"
"Are there any more rules I need to be aware of?"
Khione's green eyes glinted. "You are in for one hell of a ride, sweetheart,"
To be continued…!
(Anastasia's Point Of View)Rule number 4, Always attend to the bosses with no questions asked. Rule Number 5, Staff eats breakfast after the bosses. Rule Number 6, no staff is allowed out of the mansion, and lastly, rule Number 7, the top floor is off limits, especially room number 5. And each rule had its own punishment when broken.There were a lot of rules in just a house but then I realized, this wasn't just a mansion, there were a lot of activities going on that I didn't know about.Like the guards, Khione called them soldiers, apart from the fact they were scary with their tattoos, they were bulky and their expressions were always so deadpanned and the guns, yes, I had seen the guns tucked at the back of their pants which again confirmed my doubts that this was indeed an illegal syndicate. I couldn't believe I was dragged into a crime organization! I'd been at the Mansion for two days and still didn't know where the exit was, and I'd been lost more times than I could count.It
(Anastasia's Point of View)A week elapsed and I made it a point to avoid Enzo Mezzesalma like he was some sort of atrocious pathogen; maybe he was, but I didn't want to find out. I didn't want to breach that rule once again. I valued my life more than any petty infatuation.However, I ran across him again on the ninth day. When Enzo came in like a hurricane with a man I recognized as Galileo Mezzesalma, one of the other two underbosses and the boss's oldest son, I stopped at where I was cleaning the horse statue by the staircase of the third flood's living room."You do not leave when I'm speaking with, Enzo!" Galileo grabbed Enzo's hand to stop, however, the other man yanked his hand back like Galileo's touch burnt him.Enzo's eyes were darker than any night. They held animosity and they looked like they wanted to tear Galileo to shreds. "Toccami ancora e ti ammazzo. Dare me!"Enzo threatened. It sounded like a threat since I didn't understand Italian. Should I be witnessing this? I
(Anastasia's Point Of View)His hands were in my hair, and his relentless lips were on my lips, making me gasp as he inserted his tongue into my mouth."Enzo..." As his lips traveled over my neck, sending delicate kisses along his route, his name spilled from my lips in pleasure.He kissed, licked, and nibbled my delicate skin, leaving a trace of his mouth on my body as if claiming it as his."Stop me," he pleaded, warning me of what I was getting myself into.At his desire-filled tone, a weird emotion swept through me like lightning. Instead of frightening me, the moisture on my panties grew. "Please, Touch me!" Without hesitation, the words spilled from my mouth.His tongue drew out and licked my neck once more, as my hands clumsily rushed into his silky hair and swiftly wrapped my legs around his hips, wanting him as near as possible. When I felt his hardness brush against my heat, I exclaimed."Enzo," Every rational thought in me vanished in an instant as I arched my hips off the
(Anastasia's Point of View)Every joint in my body ached. From my neck which I believed was covered with hickeys and love bites to between my legs, everywhere throbbed ghastly.I gracelessly held the sheets to cover my chest, my gaze flickering at the bathroom door where Enzo dematerialized a minute ago. Should I still be here? Sluggishly, I set my feet off the bed to the floor, I held back a blub. I clumsily picked up my shirt, putting it on over my head, and bent to pick up my skirt, just in time as the bathroom door opened and Enzo strode out with nothing on but a pair of sweatpants on his hips, leaving the rest for the eyes to banquet on. I picked up my skirt and stood upright, peeking at the floor that abruptly came across more absorbingRule Number 2: Don't look the bosses in the eyes.I heard him get closer till his bare feet were in my line of sight and before I knew it, my cheeks were being roughly clasped and my head was forced up. I locked my gaze with his fierce blue orbs
(Anastasia's Point of View) I shut my eyes, trying to extricate the vulgar controversy I just strode in on. Damnit Anastasia! I camped outside the youngest Mezzesalma's room door and unfortunately for me, I had ambled in on him dicking some girl on his mattress, bent on all fours. Standing outside the door, I could still heed the lady's vociferous exclamations of pleasure as she implored him to fuck her harder and the slapping of flesh together. I shook my head and clapped my cheeks. Why the heck didn't I wait for an invitation before I strode into the room and tread in on that and why the fuck was I still here? I was pretty sure they wouldn't criticize me for not keeping the room clean. It wasn't my diligence if the room was being exploited by its owner. I nodded to myself, finally concluding. I picked up my cleaning equipment but just in time as the door unbarred to uncover Giovanni Mezzesalma, the youngest of the family. His outlines were sharp and he was muscular, I loo
(Anastasia's Point of View) Everyone was rushing around the Mezzesalmas estate, doing one activity or another. Despite my best efforts to remain completely undetectable, I was pulled to the kitchen to assist the cook in making the food. "What's going on?" After two hours of assisting out, I eventually mustered the confidence to inquire, having had enough of the hustle bustle around me. Since Khione and Rue had been missing since this morning and I didn't have a strong relationship with any of the other staff members, I was unable to question them. I licked my parched lips as everyone stared at me as if I had sprouted a second head on my shoulder. "Oh, you're the new girl; poor thing must be in the dark," I'd only been in the house for two weeks and Khione advised me to remain undetected if I didn't want to wind up in anyone's bed as a heat source. "Godfather Gattani and the boss's wife have returned from their vacation, so The Boss desires a party, and everything must be perfect
(Anastasia's Point of View)There had to be something wrong with me because, once again, I was violating rule number 3 as I knelt beside Enzo on the bed, assisting him in removing his blood-soaked sleeve shirt.I frowned as I saw his wounded arm. I reached out to touch it, but he seized my wrist instead, and our gazes locked.His blue eyes were corrosive, staring at where I crouched. I gasped and withdrew my hand slowly.My gaze was drawn to a basin of spotless warm water and a towel that I had brought in earlier. I saturated the towel and squeezed the water out of it before looking up at him.I stood there waiting for him to respond, order me away, and punish me for breaking rule number three.Wasn't I really pushing my luck?I started cleaning his laceration and put alcohol on it after he didn't say anything. I was expecting a pained response or some other indication that he was hurt, but instead, he drew a pistol from the back of his trousers and loaded it with bullets with no expr
[Anastasia’s point of view] Seriously, I had no idea why fate was vindictive to me, shoving me toward the places I was warned to stay away from. I sighed as I came to a stop at the mansion’s practice room door, I had never been here before but I didn’t need to be a prodigy to figure out what they were doing inside that room, the flamboyant sound of gunshots was too clear to miss. The guards standing outside the door glowered at me bizarrely, inspecting me from head to toe while I tried not to shiver and drop the glass of water that lay on the tray in my hands. Once he was contented with whatever he was probing for, he opened the door and let me in and instantly, I was almost deafened by the gaudy sound. Enzo was standing quite far from the target and each bullet that decamped the gun hit the target perfectly. I stared at the way he grasped the gun, those black veins that married his wrist and blended with his tattoos. He was wearing a pair of black pants that fit so perfectly arou