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“I...” I swallowed again. “I’m s-sorry. I ran away...from my father...my engagement... I crawled into... To disappear...so they...can’t find me...”
Each word left my lips like a gasp, the ominous glint of the knife stealing the rest of my words more effectively than the tight arm across my middle.
She released her hold on me a little and I felt air pour into my lungs. I swirled around, backing away warily, panting.
“We are a closed Star,” she repeated, her voice low. “We can’t welcome new people.”
I noticed that she said “can’t” instead of “won’t,” but I immediately pushed on.
“I promise to do everything a service bot does. You won’t even know I’m here. I’ll help in any way I can. I won’t be a bother—”
She frowned, harsh lines creasing her forehead, making her seem much older than her real age, I was sure.
I kept going. “Please. I—I just need a place to stay, somewhere away from Royal One, until they stop searching for me. I’ll work for free. I’ll earn my keep that way.”
She grasped my hand again, blond brows furrowing fiercely as she ran a thumb over my palm. I felt each stroke of her roughened skin against my own, unable to shake the feeling that she was seeking an answer when I wasn’t privy to the question.
My breath caught as her gaze rose to mine again, and she dropped my hand quickly, stepping away.
“You’ve never worked a day in your life, have you?”
“Well.” I thought of the numerous servants and bots at home that took care of every menial task. “Technically, no, I haven’t. But I’m a fast learner, I promise.”
She shook her head, placing her hands on her hips. The checkered shirt she wore dipped into her waist a little, outlining her figure under the loose clothes.
“I can’t have a stranger living with me,” she said with finality. “Please leave.”
A hard fist twisted in my chest.
Damnit!I really should have thought of a plan B, but time hadn’t been my friend last night.
As Cedra Holloway pointed at the front door with a frown, panic clawed at my chest.
For a brief second, that familiar feeling transported me back to my parents’ crowded gardens, filled with people I barely knew milling around in their finery, waiting for my engagement party to begin. Looking around at the fine food and shimmering gowns, I hadn’t been able to draw a decent breath.
Each clack of a high heel or tinkle of a champagne glass twisted around my throat like the tightening of a noose.
It had felt like The End.
The end of my carefree single days, or perhaps even an erasure of who I’d been as an individual B.E.—Before Engagement.
For the past two years, I thought I’d been a remarkable asset to Father’s company—changing the old-fashioned branding and coming up with story ideas for new types of service bots. But he’d thumbed it all away like a faint line in the sand with one overbearing dictate.
It was all such a laughable farce! Father demanded I play the role of obedient socialite daughter, not realizing just how much it crushed me to plaster on a fake smile for each event.
Of all people, he knew I’d rather be working with bots any day. At least they didn’t expect anything from me or stare at me with a confounded expression when I expressed what was in my heart.
As Cedra Holloway repeated her command to leave, I heard the audible hitch of my breath.
I hated how my fingers trembled as I locked them together, scrambling to find the words to convince her to let me stay, but failing miserably.
For someone who made a living by crafting selling stories for bots, I was woefully inadequate at trying to sell my own skills.
Finally, words broke free from lips, too small to make a real impact.
“I can’t... I have nowhere else to go,” I murmured, looking away.
“How is that my problem?”
