And second, she considers me an extension of him, so she’ll be on my case twenty-four seven. My every action will be studied under a microscope if I don’t put a stop to it now. “Matilda, you are my grandma’s age, so I will show you respect, but that being said, it goes both ways. I’m a grown woman, and you can’t order me around.” She opens her mouth, but my splayed palm stops whatever she wants to say. “I’ll wear the clothes and act accordingly when we are in public. That being said, you won’t control me while I’m home, and you won’t throw the rules in my face every single time. Because I don’t care about them.” Ria and Anna gasp. “Do we have a deal?”
Her nose twitches, and once again, she has this odd look in her eyes, but she finally nods. “We do. However, if we have guests over, you will listen to what I say.”
“All right.”
I hardly doubt Orion will want any guests since it will be impossible to fool them here.
She claps her hands. “Come on, girls, get to work. Ria, measure Mrs. Wright. Anna, go downstairs to tell them to serve dinner in five minutes, as everyone is ready.” The women spring into action right away. Anna dashes into the hallway while Ria snatches the measuring tape and comes to me. She swiftly takes the measurements, and it feels like she’s done in a flash. “We’re all set. Any specific colors that you dislike?” I shake my head. “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” And she follows after Anna, leaving me standing there, speechless.
“Mr. Wright has arrived,” Matilda informs me, and my body grows hot at the thought. I wish I could get under the covers and avoid this dinner so my body won’t come up with some new shameful reactions. “And, for future reference, do not argue with me in the presence of other people.” She taps on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re not a doormat, though. Unfortunately, Angelica never learned, and she paid a high price for it.” Another tap and she disappears into the hallway while I ponder her words.
Angelica’s marriage to Orion’s father must have been very complicated. He was a charming man who attracted women wherever he went. He had affairs left and right and a pregnancy scandal as well. My grandmother loved reading gossip columns in the newspapers, and he frequently graced their covers.
His wife, on the other hand, never made public appearances or gave any interviews, no matter how much popular magazines begged her.
Society always speculated on why she wouldn’t leave him even though she had all the means to do so. However, listening to how they speak about her… When a gentle soul finds a sadistic one, she almost has no chance to break the suffocating circle.
Like my mother.
She ran away from her abusive father and started working as an escort in search of a better life, only to fall for a heartless man who she decided to trap with a baby. He never claimed either of us in public and ignored her whenever she tried to approach him at such functions.
“Please stay.” Mommy drops to her knees, hugging Daddy’s legs as he tries to shake her off. “Please stay. It’s her fifth birthday. We are a family. We should celebrate it together.”
He leans forward and laces his fingers in her hair, making her cry out when he fists it hard and tilts her head back astears stream down her cheeks. His voice is so cold, I hug the fluffy bear tighter to my chest. “Know your place. We are not a family. You’re a whore, and that kid”—he motions with his head toward me—“is nothing but a nuisance to me. Don’t ever call my home again. Unless you want to raise Diana on the streets.” He pushes her away, and she finally lets go. He walks away from our apartment, ignoring my mother’s loud sobs.
A bell rings through the hallway, snapping me from my memories, and a nervous laugh slips past my lips because I assume this is their way to tell me to hurry up for this dinner.
Living in this castle will be an entrapment in itself.
I finally get out, studying the interior design for the first time.
Dark green and black dominate the color scheme upstairs, where endless portraits hang on the walls, mostly of gloomy men standing behind their wives and staring into the camera lens. Some date back to the nineteenth century, which must be when this whole family tradition started for the Wrights.
Scanning them all, I don’t find the most recent one, so either someone took it off, or it never existed in the first place.
Maybe when a woman married beneath her status, it didn’t count for the family portrait.
The remaining rooms with black doors are shut. I still feel a light breeze on the soles of my feet, so they must clean them and air them out regularly. Although why one might need this many rooms is beyond me.
I pause by the stairs and glance at the right wing, noticing the hallway lights are dimmed there. Some of the wallpaper is torn, while the walls themselves are bare.
Strange-sounding classical music comes from within that should soothe me, because I like classical music. Instead, it creates this anxiety in the pit of my stomach that urges me tobreak all the rules and explore what goes on inside the right wing.
I was never a curious creature because my mother taught me it never ends well, but this castle will make even the most disinterested person curious.
Still, self-preservation wins every single time.
Whatever secrets Orion hides in his wing, I won’t even try to discover them because that would be another weapon that will be used against me.
“No way,” I whisper, descending the stairs to the first floor, and it baffles me how the color scheme here is so different.
Beige, gold, and red surround me everywhere and give the interior a majestic vibe that invites you inside, promising you the world of luxury and power, since some of the paintings and antiques here cost a fortune.
And vases full of roses are spread everywhere.
The delicious food smells waft in the air, and several maids move fluidly, carrying heavy trays. Leon greets me at the door that must lead to the living or dining room. He offers me a single glass of champagne. “Mrs. Wright, welcome. This is for you.”
I accept the glass with a grateful smile and take a sip, welcoming the bittersweet cold liquid in my throat. I need to relax a little for this dinner to control my emotions better despite never liking alcohol much. “It’s good,” I tell him, and he beams as we enter the dining room. My eyes widen at the beauty surrounding me, although I should be used to it by now.
