They both led me up the curved staircase under the warm glow of the hanging chandelier that must’ve cost a fortune.
“My name is Natalya,” said the maid holding my hand.
Her voice was thick with a Russian accent, but also soothing in a strange kind of way. She was tall—likereallytall—with beautiful green eyes and long black hair that cascaded down her back.
Natalya was a talkative young woman who spoke a lot faster than most people I’d ever met. Within a few seconds, she’d already talked about how beautiful she thought I was and had highlighted more than half of the dos and don’ts in this house.
“Can you please not bore her with too much talk?” the other lady said in accented English.
“What? She’s not complaining,” Natalya answered.
“She doesn’t have to,” came the other lady’s response, her voice calm and collected. “Sometimes you have to use your head and your sense of reasoning.”
“Did you just call me dumb?” Natalya glanced back at her.
“I’m just saying, she’s tired and needs some rest.”
At this point, I couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
By now, we were already strolling down a hallway, the walls of which were adorned with paintings and portraits.
Natalya turned to her colleague after noticing the grin on my face. “You see, unlike you, she actually finds me hilarious.”
The other lady said nothing, only rolling her eyes as though she was embarrassed by Natalya.
We reached a closed door, and the other lady withdrew a key and unlocked it.
“Here we are,” Natalya said, gesturing at the interior.
My breath hitched.
I’d never seen a room so massive before—the space was bigger than my mother’s apartment. It had a king-sized bed, modern furniture, and a large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
The air smelled like roses and scented candles, and the marble floor was polished to a shine. The room was neat and sparkling clean, a space befitting royalty.
“Everything you need is in here,” the other lady said to me. “But in case you need anything else, we’re just down the hall.”
“Thank you,” I said, shifting my gaze between the two of them.
“I apologize for my sister’s behavior earlier,” she added. “She didn’t mean to overstep. Whenever she’s excited, she normally forgets she has a brain.”
“Uh…I’m standing right here, hello?” Natalya chipped in.
I laughed quietly—the very first genuine laughter I’d had in a while. “What’syourname?” I asked her.
“Hannah.”
“Nice meeting you, Hannah,” I said, then glanced at her sister. “And you too, Natalya.”
Unlike Natalya, Hannah was petite, with pale blue eyes and auburn hair tied in a neat bun on top of her head. She talked less and was much more reserved, two traits that hinted that she was older.
“Welcome to the Tarasov household, Madam.” Hannah gave a curt bow.
I managed to squeeze out a smile.
It wasn’t until after they’d left the room that I remembered this was nothing but a gilded cage. However, maybe, just maybe, these two sisters could make my stay here a little less stressful.
I finally took off my dress, and at last, I could breathe freely. I grabbed a clean towel and headed into the bathroom. After about twenty minutes of showering and thinking about the last few months of my life, I stepped out with my towel wrapped around my body.
