7. Emily - Going to the store I

The man stops at the bottom of the stairs. He looks around, his shoulders tense.

Something about him makes me uneasy. It’s not only him. Men, in general, make me uneasy. After what I’ve been through, I no longer think men have good intentions, especially those from my world. The Lords and the Dukes are creatures dominated by lust and greed.

I try to hide in the shadows, but nothing can protect a woman from a man. He will always obtain what he wants; his force is no match for a woman’s. Especially one who is only skin and bones. A woman usually has two choices: she can either accept that men will always want to dominate every aspect of her life and accept her fate, or she is forced into submission. They will also use our feelings, our love for them, to control us.

From my corner, I observe the man.

He’s drop-dead gorgeous. With short black hair and dark eyes, a short beard, and tan skin, tall and fit, he could easily pass for a model. And I don’t say that about any men. Just those who I consider handsome, like Stefan.

I lie. Stefan isn’t just handsome; he is the most perfect and ideal man a woman can ever dream of or hope to find. Even if I get away from here, I’ll never find someone like him. He changed me in so many ways. Without him, I would have never realized how manipulative Jason was.

Some days are so hard, knowing that I’ll never again get to experience the kind of love that was between Stefan and me.

Maybe this is why I remained in Veross City even when Stefan warned me about staying. Deep down, I hoped he would forgive me after the shock of finding out the truth about my past, but that never happened. He forgot all about me.

I should do the same, but I can’t. All I think about is him. His blood-brothers, too.

The man continues to stand at the bottom of the stairs.

His hands are in his pockets, so he didn’t come here to bring me that cursed smoothie or anything else to eat, making me wonder where 514 is. Could it be that something had happened to him, and he asked this other man to keep an eye on me until he returns?

We might not like each other, but at least 514 would not let me starve. From the moment he brought me here, he never failed to bring me food three times a day.

There’s always the possibility that 514 has grown tired of me and decided to get rid of me, but he’s too much of a coward to do it himself and sent this man to do it. No, if 514 wanted me dead, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me with his own hands.

The man looks around before his gaze reaches my face, lingers there for a few moments before it moves away. My appearance must disgust him. I haven’t looked in a mirror in ages, but I bet I look absolutely repulsive. I don’t even remember the last time I had a shower or brushed my hair. It’s probably full of knots now since it’s been days since I last passed my fingers through it. I don’t have the energy for it.

I wasn’t always like this—this, this, gross. Since I was little, I always took care of my appearance. Everywhere I went, I drew the attention of men and women alike. I won’t lie and say I didn’t like it because I did.

It was my beauty that made Stefan fall in love with me. He first saw me in a Fall Festival of Leaves Queen Pageant. That night I won not only the contest but Stefan’s heart too.

I always took the time to make myself pretty for him. I wanted him to have eyes only for me. And he did. I made sure no other woman could compare to me. I wanted to be the best thing that had happened in his life, like he was for me.

He was always into long socks, and I always made sure to wear a pair for him, together with a short shirt and a low-cut T-shirt. My hair and makeup were always on point. It was my way of showing him how much I loved him. Stefan is a very visual person, and he’s only attracted to conventional, beautiful women. He usually prefers tall blondes with blue eyes, like me, so learning that he married a brunette made no sense to me. What does she have that I don’t?

The man looks at the crow sleeping on my lap and says, “I need your help.” His voice is hoarse.

His words take me completely by surprise because what are the odds that a Lord—I’m fairly positive that he’s a Lord since a Duke would have taken me back to Azael—needs my help?

I don’t feel like helping him since I’m so hungry and thirsty that I’m an inch away from becoming delirious, but if I do as he asks, he may give me something to eat and take the crow to the vet.

Since I can’t talk, I wave my arm until I catch his attention before I give him a thumbs up.

“You will come with me to the store. While there, you can’t look at anyone or do anything to draw attention to yourself. We go in, get what I need, and get back here—quick and easy. Do you understand?”

I nod, letting him know that I agree.

“You will walk in front of me so I can see what you are doing.”

Even if I want to do something, I don’t know how to fight. My mother always insisted that women should be elegant and sophisticated and that fighting is for men, so I never learned how to defend myself.

I pick up the crow before I stand up.

“The bird stays.”

I point at the broken wing, trying to make him understand that the crow needs help, but he's no longer looking at me. He takes his left hand from his pocket and glances at his watch.

“It’s getting late. We need to leave now.”

If he wants my help, he will have to accept that the crow is coming with me.

I snap my fingers. When he glances at me, I point at the cuff around my ankle. There’s no way I can leave while I’m chained to the wall.

He takes his right hand out of his pocket and says, “I got distracted,” as he walks to me. He gives me a small key and says, “Remove the cuff.”

For a moment, I’m incapable of moving. Of breathing.

The key feels so alien in my palm.