My father’s face ticks in the corner. I can feel the air thickening. “There is no need to disappear from the grounds, Vesper. The world can be cruel and unsafe. Especially in our circle.”
His words hit me like a slap to my face, awakening the meek, scared little girl who has always resided inside me. The one afraid to defy his words or question decisions. Only, I’mnota little girl anymore. I’m an adult. How he even allowed me to enroll in college is mystifying. Maybe he knew he would lose me if he continued to keep me prisoner. Being away, out from under his thumb, seemed to only sharpen the edge of his discipline.
Our small sleepy town is as safe as they come. Our town houses the most prestigious businessmen and entrepreneurs. Crime is nonexistent.
I force myself to voice my opinion, but I come up short. “Of course, I only meant we could go together,” I say quickly, so I don’t catch his ire.
Instantly, a wash of regret swims through me. Leaving the freedom of campus behind and coming right back to my gilded cage brings me no relief. In fact, it only produces emptiness. The image of Zain and his muted eyes haunt my thoughts, leaving me with a strange urge to seek him out. I must be slowly going insane. Clearly my sense of reasoning is slipping. It’s the only logical explanation as to why I would leave the confines of one prison to jump into another.
Though, Zain’s prison isn’t locked necessarily, it fills me with a sense of fulfillment and purpose, even if I’m just being used to pass the time. At least I’m able to choose. I’m under no notion that he feels anything for me—if he feels anything at all.
My attention snaps back to my father as his sullen voice rips through the room. “Not today, Vesper. I have a meeting with Mr. Grimshaw this afternoon.”
I frown. “I could tag along?” I say hopefully.
He eyes me, not used to my defiance. I’ve always been obedient and pliable.
His voice cuts through the room, and his brown eyes bore into me with a strict authority. “I said no Vesper,” his harsh words have me cowering back. He softens a fraction when he notices my frown.
“I’m sorry for lashing out. I’ve had a tough week.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll invite them for dinner.”
My father works alongside Mr. Grimshaw and a few other Elite socialites in their inner circle. Despite my useless attempts to show interest in his work, he refuses me whenever I offer but allows me the simple liberties of dinner dates so I don’t slowly go insane.
I nod before excusing myself to my room until dinner. It’s just the way I left it. Crimson silk sheets are made perfectly atop my queen plushmattress nestled into a carved wooden four-poster bed. The balcony door is ajar, letting the chilly breeze in. Father’s housemaid, Bella, must have left it open for my arrival. She knows how much I enjoy
listening to the waves crash against the shoreline. The sheer curtains rustle in the salty breeze. Despite the chill, the room radiates warmth due to the fireplace crackling in the corner.
I tighten my black cardigan around my middle and step onto the balcony. My hands grip the railing. The salty spray mists the air, and I close my eyes and listen to the waves crash along the rocky coast.
I stare into the hazy horizon beyond the blinking buoy. I lose track of how long I stand at the balcony, lost in endless thoughts of reflection. A rush of emotion washes over me like a tidal wave. Thoughts of Zain and his sick depravity eat at my being. He’s like a sickness; a cancer that continues to grow within me. He’s bad for me, but I cannot get him out of my brain. There is no rationality to it. He’s a parasite that I crave despite the destruction he wrecks upon me. Bella’s soft rap jars me from my thoughts. She appears in the doorway and beckons me to dinner.
The elongated table is set with the best silver and our onyx plates. An assortment of meats, cheese, and steamed vegetables are laid out along the crimson tablecloth. I have always been a fan of simple meals. My father is seated at the head of the table in his wingback chair while a few of his rich socialites line him on either side. His fingers drum along the carved armrest while he speaks to Mr. Grimshaw. Father’s attention gets pulled from their conversation. His face lights up into an adorning smile when I step inside the dining room.
“Suzanne has outdone herself. Come, Vesper.” He chuckles and motions for me to sit.
My steps are slow and measured as I make my way to the opposing end of the table and take a seat at the foot. Most of the faces Irecognize are from over the years of his business deals and dinner parties. A few of the men have their own children that also attend Grimshaw Academy. “Vesper, you remember our good friends Roland Lark and Mortensen Grimshaw?”
I settle into the plush velvet seat and grin. “Yes! It’s a pleasure,” I chirp, remembering my manners. Everyone returns careful smiles, but Mr. Grimshaw instead gives me a sharp nod as if I’m a fly buzzing in his ear and he’s being polite to save face. My practiced smile threatens to crack. Memories of our encounter in his office days prior flash through my mind. His behavior was similar. It was as if a switch was flipped the moment I mentioned Kieran. Why? I don’t know.
Every bite I take, his eyes bore into me with a lasered intensity. By the time dessert is being wheeled out, I’m ready to escape this dinner from hell.
My phone buzzes inside my pocket, and I peek under the table to see Clara flicker across the screen.
I slam my napkin down. My chair grates along the hardwood floor as I rise. “May I be excused?”
My father gives a curt nod, and I scurry out of the dining room.
“Hey,” I answer in a hushed whisper. Despite the fact that I’m an adult, I don’t trust my father’s loyal servants not to eavesdrop. Bella and Suzanne would never, but that doesn’t mean the rest wouldn’t.
“How’s the home life? I miss you, Vesp.” Clara’s downcast voice seeps through the phone, and I internally kick myself for not being more insistent she stay with me over break. She has no family to go home to, so I’m sure she’s lonely, and honestly her presence would make this trip home more enjoyable. It was hard enough for her under normal circumstances, but when she’s alone she gets inside her head. “I miss you too. It’s okay,” I lie. It’s off to a horrible start. It was foolish of meto assume my father would be more lax now that I’ve ventured farther away than the next town over without an escort. His firm hand has strengthened into a choking grip, and the more time that goes by, the more I don’t understand his desire to hold me captive.
“You should have come,” I sigh, stomping up the winding staircase. Despite my numerous attempts to persuade her, she declined each time.
She clicks her tongue. “He still thinks you’re a little girl, doesn’t he?”
My hand skirts along the railing before coming to a halt at the top. “Yes,” I mutter.
She sighs. “I know you’ve changed in the past few weeks, Vesp. Maybe that’s why you had high hopes. I mean you’re in college not elementary school. He has no reason to worry about you. You need to tell him to shove it,” she says gruffly.
