Arianna’s POV
“Do you know how dangerous he is? You shouldn’t move around like this. He might just harm you, Arianna. You need to be careful around the master,” Sofia kept saying as she walked me to my room.
I didn’t have the strength or willpower to say anything. All I wanted to do was to be left alone to cry myself some more.
My life was ruined beyond repair. There was nothing I could do that would give me my life back.
“Arianna, if you want to survive here, you need to learn to stay off his radar. You shouldn’t have gone to his office!” Sofia kept reprimanding me even as we got to the room and we both sat on the bed.
“But Sofia, I don’t want to survive here,” I said and her mouth dropped open to the ground.
“What? What are you even saying?” she asked in shock.
I passed a hand over my face and tried to calm my racing brain. “I don’t belong here. I need to get out of here Sofia. I can’t leave like this,” I said letting another teardrop unto my wobbly lips.
“You might not understand how I feel because you are here on your own terms but I am not. I can’t go out! I can’t live a normal life anymore…”
Sofia took my hand and tried to comfort me. “Arianna I know I might not be here in the same circumstance as you but, just think of it as a marriage to a top businessman or something. I mean you have everything you want-”
“Marriage?” I scoffed. “If Gabriele married me, maybe this would be less painful,” I said pulling my hand away from hers.
“I can call my parents or grandparents then. I could go out and pursue my career. I could be so much more! But guess what,” I wiped the tears that had pulled on my face again with the back of my hand and continued.
“I am not married to him. I am not even his girlfriend and he isn’t a businessman Sofia! Gabriele is a drug lord of some kind. He is dangerous and he will never let me have any of those wishes I just spoke of. I am, doomed!” I cried out.
Sofia was quiet as she let me sob quietly into my hands.
Gabriele and whoever sold me put me in this situation. What could I do? I would die if I had to live the rest of my life locked up in this mansion.
I would die.
“Arianna,” Sofia called and I raised my wet eyes to hers.
“I think you can find a way to contact your grandparents…” she trailed.
My brows corked as I turned to give her my full attention. “How? How can I do that?” I asked her.
“Master isn’t such a heartless man. I know it’s hard to explain but he really isn’t so cruel,” she said and my brows corked even further.
I still couldn’t understand how she called him a dangerous man and still thought of him as a kind person. Was she the crazy one? Or had Gabriele brainwashed her? Or maybe she was just doing it for her family?
“What you just said, contradicts a lot of things you have mentioned about Gabriele… but I am curious, how does it help me contact my grandparents?”
“Just be obedient to him,” she replied and my brows almost met in a tight line.
“Me- obedient?” that word couldn’t even be associated with me.
“Master likes you, Arianna,” she said and I scoffed.
It was just some game for him to play and win. Gabriele didn’t like me one bit! But I didn’t have to tell her that.
“I know you don’t believe me but if he didn’t he could have left you to be kidnapped the other night. Or worst he would have killed you himself when he found you in his office…”
Okay… I thought as I tried to listen to her idea.
“If you just listen to him more often. And you try to do what he wants, he will let you talk to them.”
As much as I wanted to embrace the idea, I also had my doubts.
“Has he ever let the other women call their families?”
“No, he hasn’t. But you are different. Surely, he hasn’t done half of the things he has done for you to them,” she said.
I wiped the rest of the tears from my eyes as I tried to think of her idea. I had already tried escaping and that had failed terribly. I had tried to fight my way out and that failed as well. I was left without a plan.
I had no choice but to try her idea.
“Okay, let’s see how this obedience game goes,” I said to her with a small smile.
“Good,” she replied flashing me her smile as well. “I will let you rest now. There is water in the jug. You should take a good quantity it will help,” she said as she got up to leave.
“Thank You, Sofia,” I called to her and she nodded before disappearing behind the door.
I got up and poured myself a glass of water. I gulped it down gently as I thought over what Sofia had said. If truly Gabriele liked me, why couldn’t he just tell me who sold me? Why was he hiding that information?
Did he perhaps do it by himself?
“No, that made no sense,” I said as I shook my head and returned to my bed.
Gabriele probably didn’t even know I existed until that night I got bought over.
“Well, let’s see how this goes,” I whispered as I lay down and closed my eyes as fatigue washed over me.
I slept off soon after and I found myself in my grandparents’ house. My grandmother was happy to see me as she covered my body with kisses. When I woke up, I was still smiling as I had hoped the dream would never end.
When I realized the dream had indeed ended, it broke my heart and my tear glands opened up again. I missed them so much, and I couldn’t imagine the sort of heart pain they, must be going through as the days passed.
At first, I use to think my parents’ connection could trace me here and one day, I would be rescued. But seeing how powerful Gabriele was from those files, it would be very difficult to find me.
“Arianna, dinner is served. Will you like to join the master or you will take it here?” Sofia asked the moment she stepped into the room.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts and smiled at her. “Did he ask you to say this or do you want to take the risk for me?”
Knowing Gabriele, he wouldn’t want me to take my dinner alone in my room. This must have been Sofia’s idea.
“You don’t look so well. I can tell him you got cold or something,” she said flashing me a toothy grin.
“No, Sofia. It’s fine. I will join them,” I said getting off the bed.
I had done enough damage to her and her job already, and I didn’t want her to take any more risks for me.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes, I am. Besides, you advised me to be obedient and I would get what I wanted right?” I asked and she stared at me blankly.
“I am only trying to take your advice,” I added with a smile.
Sofia closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she said. “Fine then. I will pick out your clothes, go take a shower for so long,” she said as she moved to my wardrobe.
“Thank you,” I whispered to her as I made my way to the bathroom.
I had a quick shower and stepped back out to find a white knee-length gown laid neatly on the bed with flat matching sandals beside it.
“Do you like it?” she asked clapping her hands excitedly together.
“Anything you pick is always wonderful,” I whispered with a smile.
I slipped into the dress and admired myself in the long-standing mirror in the room. It hugged me perfectly accentuating my curves in the right places.
“This is quite flattering,” I said as I slipped on the sandals and prepared to leave.
“You need to look flattering every time so he doesn’t have the heart to refuse anything you ask him,” Sofia said giving me a knowing wink.
“I don’t think Gabriele has a heart though,” I added as I went out to the dinner.
I know Sofia was just trying to be helpful, but I still found it hard to believe Gabriele could be kind to something that wasn’t beneficiary to him.
I went down the stair that led to the dining hall and I saw Gabriele already sited waiting on the maids as they served the different dishes on the table.
He raised his head from the papers he was reading and stared at me as I walked down the stair.
“You will sleep in my room tonight,” he said the moment I sat down and my heart stopped.
This obedient game was going to be harder than I thought.