While Isabella was being escorted through guarded doors to see her father, the mansion behind her remained cold and alive with secrets.
Selena had just finished straightening the last of the pillows on Isabella's bed when she quietly stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She was exhausted, her mind still lingering on the relief that Isabella would finally see her father....if only for a moment. It was a small miracle, something rare in this house.
But the calm was short-lived.
She barely turned the corner when Caleb stepped out of the shadows.
She froze, heart hammering.
"Going somewhere, pretty thing?" His voice slithered across the corridor.
Selena lowered her eyes instinctively. "I was just heading back to the laundry rooms."
He smiled, the kind of smile that made her stomach twist. "No, you're not."
Before she could retreat, he grabbed her arm tight enough to bruise and yanked her down the hall. She didn't scream. She knew better than to scream.
"Please," she whispered. "Not today."
Her words fell into silence as he dragged her into one of the guest bedrooms and shut the door behind them with a soft click that felt like a death sentence.
He shoved her forward. She stumbled and fell onto the edge of the bed.
"You should've kept your head down, Selena," he hissed. "But instead you ran your mouth. You think I didn't see you? Protecting her?"
Her throat tightened. Her body stiffened.
"Please," she said again, her voice trembling. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just...."
"You were just forgetting your place."
He pressed her down, one hand gripping her shoulder, the other wrapping around her wrist.
"You should've stayed quiet that day," he hissed into her ear. "But you thought you were brave. Defending her like a little hero."
She trembled as he pushed her forward onto the bed, her knees hitting the edge, her hands catching herself on the covers. The velvet beneath her palms felt suddenly suffocating.
"I'm going to remind you," Caleb said darkly, "what happens to servants who forget who they are."
With one hand, he pinned her down. With the other, he yanked her skirt up and twisted the fabric until it bit into her waist. Cold air hit her thighs. She clenched her fists. Every nerve in her body screamed.
She felt him behind her...his weight, his breath, his disgusting arousal. She bit her tongue as he entered her without warning.
Pain shot through her like fire. Her spine arched in instinctive protest, but his grip on her hip tightened.
"Yeah," he muttered moving in and out of her. "That's what I thought. Keep your mouth shut, whore. You take it better when you don't talk."
Selena buried her face into the sheets, trying not to make a sound. Her breath came in sharp bursts. The pressure, the intrusion, the sickening sound of his skin against hers....it made her feel like a rag being ripped apart.
She didn't resist. Resistance never helped. She just closed her eyes and tried to retreat inside herself, like she always did. To that quiet place that made it all just a little more bearable.
His words were venomous and cruel, spat into her ear like poison. Every second stretched out into eternity. Her mind went blank, and her body numbed from the inside out.
"You belong to me in this house," he said, each word coated in venom. "No one will stop me. Not even your precious Isabella."
She wanted to scream. To claw his face. But she didn't. She never did. Because every time she did, he made it worse.
When it ended, he stepped back smirking and adjusting himself casually like nothing had happened.
She stayed where she was....silent, frozen, trembling.
Caleb looked at her like she was dirt. "Next time, remember this before you open your mouth.....remember how quicky I can take everything from you." he said coldly. "You're nothing in this house and definitely not better than the ones that came before you"
Then he walked out, slamming the door behind him.
Selena didn't move for minutes. Her legs felt heavy, her stomach twisted. Shame covered her like oil...thick and choking.
Selena said nothing. She just lay there, fingers clenched around the bedcovers, breathing shallowly. Her skin burned with shame, her soul heavy with rage.
This wasn't the first time. And deep down, she feared it wouldn't be the last.
But what Caleb didn't know....what none of them knew.....was that every time he pushed her closer to the edge, he was creating something inside her. Not submission.
Something else.
Something sharp. Something waiting.
...
The heavy gates of the Navarro estate shut behind Isabella ushering her back to her prison with a dull echo that seemed to settle in her chest. The walls felt colder than before. The air, heavier. Even the guards looked less motionless than they usually did. They just gave a bow when she stepped out of the car.
But her mind was still with her father. His voice. His trembling hands around hers.She hadn't cried in front of him, but the weight of what she'd traded still hung on her like a shroud.
Back in her room, she sank onto the edge of the bed, the hem of her navy dress brushing the polished floor. The silence was suffocating.
Moments later, a knock at the door broke through the haze.
"Come in," she said softly.
The door creaked open, and Selena stepped inside. She held a folded shawl in her hands, but her expression wasn't her usual warmth. There was something stiff about her smile. Her steps were careful, as if walking on glass.
"You're back," Selena said, forcing cheer into her voice. "Was he well?"
Isabella stood and crossed the room, nodding. "We talked. He's weaker, but... he's still him."
Selena nodded tightly. "That's good. That's something."
As she turned to lay the shawl on the dressing table, Isabella noticed it....just beneath the sleeve of her maid uniform. A red scratch lay across her upper shoulder. Angry and fresh.
"Selena," Isabella said, brow furrowed, "what happened to your shoulder?"
Selena stiffened. "This?" she said, adjusting her sleeve. "It's nothing. A minor scratch. From laundry duty. One of the wooden baskets broke."
But Isabella was already frowning. "That doesn't look like it came from wood."
"It's did....its fine." she said almost too quickly.
"You're lying."
Selena went quiet, folding the shawl too precisely even though it was already folded.
Isabella stepped closer. "Selena. Look at me."
She didn't.
"Please," Isabella said, softer now. "Tell me what happened."
Selena finally turned but her face wasn't softened by tears. It was burning with something else.
"I said it's nothing," she snapped, her voice sharper than Isabella had ever heard.
Isabella blinked. "Why won't you tell me?"
"Because it's none of your business!" Selena shouted, dropping the shawl. "You come back from your royal little visit, thinking you can fix everything with soft words and concerned stares....well, you can't!"
Isabella took a step back, startled by the sudden venom.
"I'm just trying to help," she said quietly.
"Help?" Selena laughed bitterly. "What would you know about helping anyone? You sit in this velvet cage, dressed in silk, fed from golden plates, and sleep in the Devil's bed. And I'm the one who needs help?"
"That's not fair," Isabella whispered. "I never chose this."
"Didn't you?" Selena shot back. "You married him. You made the deal. You played the card. And every night he fucks you while the rest of us survive the consequences."
Isabella's face went pale. Her throat closed.
Selena's voice cracked now, bitter tears threatening her edges. "So don't ask me about a scratch, Isabella. Don't ask me to explain bruises or silence or why I flinch when a door slams. You don't want to know. You couldn't handle knowing."
The room was still. The silence that followed felt like shattered glass settling.
Then Selena picked up the shawl with trembling hands and turned to the door.
"Selena??" Isabella called in disbelief.
"Take care of yourself instead, Señora," she said coldly, the title dripping with distance. "He'll want you perfect before you crawl back into his bed."
The door slammed behind her.
Isabella stood alone, the sting of her words lingering in the air like smoke. Her legs gave way, and she sank back onto the bed, heart pounding.
She thought she'd known what darkness was.
But Selena had just shown her a deeper shadow.....a wound far older and uglier than she had imagined. She wasn't as strong as she always looked, she also had her low moments and she couldn't even help if she wanted to because she was also a slave in the same roof as Selena. Only difference was that she was clothed in silk and got decent food while Selena was dressed in a maid's uniform working for her.