Chapter 5

Maya's pov

Early in the morning, I sat in Maestros' room in front of a large, beautiful painting of a snake-like creature. I was alone and naked. It had been a couple of weeks since I came into the mansion, and his treatment of me had not changed.

I learned to respect him no matter what he told me to do or how to do it. I never left his room, and although I was always brought food, I lost a little weight.

The way I was treated depended on his mood. When he was angry, I stayed in the corner, almost breathless, so he would forget I was even there. It didn't always work.

When happy, he brought me close, kissing me and playing with my hair like a doll.

One of his rules was that I slept naked. I didn't know why, but I never asked questions because I didn't want to be punished.

The maltreatment hadn't stopped; now, my lips were bruised, and my face looked swollen. The dark circles around my eyes couldn't even be covered with makeup.

Each day, I cursed Anna. What was she doing in my room? I blamed myself more. Even though I wasn't planning on sending the report to anybody talking more to the police, I still shouldn't have put it on paper.

The door opened, and Maestro came in. When he saw me naked, he grinned in satisfaction.

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, and I lowered my eyes. He hadn't slept at home last night, and on the white shirt he wore, there were stains of blood.

Involuntarily, I began to tremble. I searched Maestro's face, trying to tell his mood. But it was futile.

He approached me and caressed my cheek with his thumb; his hands were also bloody. I did not need to be told why he wasn't around last night.

"I've had a terrible night, and you can't greet me at the door." his breath smelled of alcohol. "Kiss me," he ordered.

I obeyed, kissing him on his lips as tenderly as I could. I hoped it would be just a light kiss, but then he held the back of my neck and gnawed on my lips.

I felt tired, so I let him do what he wanted with me. He was always interested in kissing me but never tried to go further than that, even though he insisted I sleep naked.

I yelped softly when he bit my lower lips. When he broke it, I felt my lips swollen and sore. He liked what he saw.

"Take your bath and wear something; I'll send someone to you in the next twenty minutes."

He left me.

I sighed in short relief and then got set to take my bath. After I was done and still tied in a towel, there was a knock on the door.

My heart skipped. I knew I was fast in taking my bath; there was no way twenty minutes could run so fast.

I opened the door, and a young woman dressed in a maid's uniform stood in front of me. She held a package and handed it over to me. "Sir Damon, say you to wear this."

"Thank you," I responded. However, she looked surprised that I had thanked her. If only she knew I was much lower than her in class now. At least she was paid, but I— I was just a mere slave.

I closed the door and put on the clothes. It was a milky-colored gown that showed too much skin. I sighed. I was his putanna, and I could do nothing about it.

A knock came at the door again, and I opened it. It was the same girl. "Sir Damon, say you to come with me."

I followed her barefoot because, except for the high heels I thought were too extravagant, I had nothing appropriate.

She took me to the dining room, where Damon sat waiting for me. He had changed clothes and was in an Ash Polo and Jean trousers.

There was food on the table. By food, I mean good food. I soon realized I was hungry. I stood close to the table, waiting for his orders.

He leaned back on his chair, stared at me, and sat up. "Sit down and eat. You've been a good girl for the past week. You're allowed to leave the room now."

It came as a shock to me that I was allowed to eat WITH HIM!

"Thank you, maestro." I sat down and began to dig into the food before me hungrily. The taste was heavenly, and I didn't mind choking on it. I was starved, and my taste buds loved this taste.

All this while, he didn't touch his food; instead, he watched me. I was soon self-conscious and dropped my fork.

He dug into his pocket, brought out my cell phone, and pushed it onto the table. "Pick it up."

I obeyed. Since I was brought to the mansion, I haven't seen it. I didn't know it was with Maestro all this time.

"Two people have been calling your phone since you came here. Abby and Manuel. I was hoping you could call them, put the phone on loudspeaker, and whatever I say, you tell them. Now do it."

I gulped.

I called Abby first.

"Hey, human, you know it's been two weeks, and you can't pick up your calls? Where have you been?"

Abby was my co-worker and also my only friend. I could hear the worry in her voice.

"Tell her you're fine. Make it believable," Maestro commanded.

"I'm fine, Abby. I just wanted a little time to myself. How are you doing?" I answered.

Maestro's eyes were on me. He watched my every mood. I was getting frightened and prayed it didn't show in my voice.

"Really? It's not like you leave without saying a word; no one has heard from you. Dora doesn't say anything, and you say you're fine?"

I faked a small laugh. "I told you, Abby, I'm okay. Things weren't going well, so I thought I should sneak away for some time. You know, get away from Anna," I lied.

Maestro looked impressed. If I kept this up, I wouldn't get maltreated today.

Abby sighed. "Alright, if you say so, let's meet sometime and grab lunch together. Manager Dawn is thinking of booting your ass out; let's have lunch. What do you say?

I looked at Maestro.

"Tell her you'll be ready when she is, but not this week."

"Not this week, Abby, but sometime soon."

"Ok, bye."

The call ended.

He smiled at me. "Good girl, now call the next person."

My hands were shaky when I dialed Manuel.

RING

Maestro's eyes didn't leave me. The food in my stomach turned to bile. I prayed Manuel didn't pick.

But then he did...

"Hey, Barbie," my boyfriend answered, "you've been gone for two weeks."

I slowly looked up at Maestro's face. His eyes were dark and furious. I sat shakily, waiting for his orders. He didn't look happy one bit.