Chapter 19. New Beginnings

Proserpina

It would be so easy to say that my story had a Cinderella-style ending, but life is so much harsher, isn't it?

After that night, I knew that I couldn't go back to living with Tanya and Rachel; something had changed. To put it bluntly, I had become a rich man's plaything. But I didn't think more about it, because I couldn't accept it at the time.

Secure in my bubble of happiness, I was content. I did not think of the future; I did not want to think of my role in the life of Lucien Delano.

At the age of eighteen, you are easily satisfied and think you can overcome any obstacle.

***

We left the house at midday.

I was sore and tender all over but there was also a feeling of having come awake after a long, long sleep. When I gazed at my reflection in the huge mirror adjoining the large bedroom where we had spent the night making love, I stared at myself almost bemusedly. I didn't look like the hesitant eighteen-year-ol