Elena: I walked out of the bathroom, frowning in confusion when I saw Batrov inside my room. His eyes met mine for a second, and I looked down at my feet, avoiding his gaze before he walked toward me. He handed me the plastic bag, and I looked up at him, knowing that he got the pills for me. “I didn’t forget them, but I didn’t want to bring them when he was around.” He said, and I nodded in thanks. He looked at me, taking a deep breath as I took a step back before walking toward my dresser to hide them between my clothes. It was the one place where I could keep them, and I was always sure to keep changing their place to ensure that none of the maids saw them. “Do you want to go to the garden for a bit? Get some air?” He asked, and I shook my head. He sighed and walked toward me before putting a hand on my right shoulder, making me flinch. He was quick to remove his hand, and slowly pulling the sleeve of the dress down, I knew that he saw the bruise that I had on it. “Elena, I can h

Elena: “Elena, I am sorry.” Batrov said, looking at me. I looked away from the man, forcing myself to let out a breath that I held out of fear. The fact that I knew that I could have gotten in trouble for this was one thing that I was not going to deny, but the idea that the man went through that fuss, brought in a maid to protect me, and interfered was one thing that made me feel thankful. This was something that no one has ever done for me in this Estate. Anything that was good for my sake was never allowed, and I knew that anyone who tried to often got in trouble. However, right now, I wanted nothing more than for Batrov to leave the room. The pain that I felt at the fact that though I believed that he was a friend, and though he told me that he wanted to help me out of here, he raised his hand as he questioned me. Had it not been for the maid entering the room, I knew that I would have paid a price that I didn’t want to. I didn’t respond as I walked toward my bed, pretending t

Elena: I frowned in confusion when my bedroom door opened early in the morning, especially since it was still dawn.. I knew that the maids rarely ever entered my room unless it was to either clean or bring me something to eat, and even that happened in an hour or more. The only reason that I was awake was the fact that I needed to go to the bathroom, but I knew that I still had another hour before the sun rose in the sky. I took a deep breath as I walked out of the bathroom, thinking that it was Vladimir again. The idea of him coming in the morning frightened me, I didn’t want to get caught, especially since I didn’t want to get in trouble with Batrov if he saw him. The picture of him seeing the two cups of tea the other day played in my head, and though I didn’t even know how he managed to convince the maid to help, I knew that I had to thank him for what he had done for me. “Did you miss me, wife?” I heard Konstantin ask, making my heart drop. I gulped and took a deep breath, know

Elena: I sat on my chair, fearing what was to come now that I knew that Konstantin was here. The idea of me not seeing Vladimir was one that pained me, and though I did not even understand why it did; I felt like something was going to be ripped off from me before I even got it. I wrapped an arm around myself as I cradled my own body, wondering what it would be like to be free again. It was a dream that I had, but a dream that was shattered the second that I entered this Estate. The fact that he had given me a notebook to actually ‘voice out’ what I was thinking was something that made me internally smile. And though I didn’t understand his reasons, something inside me told me that I was safer than I had ever been since I was a kid. The bedroom door opened, and I closed my eyes for a second before getting up and looking down at my feet, knowing that it would be easier for me if I did not fight back. He would be done and would be out of here. “Elena,” his voice was above a whisp

Elena: “Good morning, wife.” I heard Konstantin say as I walked out of the bathroom. Having taken a shower as I normally did in the morning, this was the last thing that I expected to be dealing with. My eyes widened in surprise and I was forced to quickly look down at my feet, avoiding his intense gaze, and he raised an amused eyebrow. “I have missed you, I have to admit that much to you.” He said, getting up from the chair that was beside my window. He walked toward me, his steps awfully slow, and I couldn’t help but find myself gulping at that. It has been nearly a week since he last visited, and I knew that Vladimir had something to do with it as he chose to keep him outside the house on a daily basis. That, and there was also the fact that he was aware of my cycle. The maids would be reporting to him the second they started seeing the pads out, and he would be keeping count to pay me a visit when I was done. Sometimes, he didn’t even care to wait. But to have him in the r