AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“To belong,” she answered, her eyes angry as she looked at me. “To belong to someone, to be a part of something greater than me, to serve a purpose.”
“Of course,” I laughed bitterly. “Because that’s all a woman is worth in your world. Belonging to someone who is better than you. Well, I don’t know about you, but I live in the 21st century, and I don’t believe in men owning women like slaves. So, I’d appreciate it if you just left me alone.”
“Not just yet.” Once again, her pleasant smile was back, and so was the urge to slap it off her face. “We have some work to do. Why don’t you come sit here at the vanity table so I can get a good look at you.”
I glared at her, every fiber in my body wanting to defy her.
“And what if I don’t?” I asked, my head held up proudly. “Will you cut my tongue out, too?”
“Don’t be silly,” she laughed easily. “Not for a while, no. You will go back to the bad cell, though.”
God, I hated her.
I made myself get up and sit on the white chair in front of the vanity table. Light from outside filled the room, and I realized I hadn’t even looked at the view outside. Pia approached me with her perfectly measured, pretty steps in those sky-high heels. She lowered herself to look at my face. She was even more beautiful up close, and I hated her for that, too.
“You have beautiful features,” she said softly. “The kind that will look pretty, even when you age.”
“How lucky for me,” I said sarcastically. This whole ordeal was turning me into a bitter little bitch. Fortunately, it seemed Pia hadn’t been sent to punish me. I still wasn’t sure what her purpose was.
“Indeed it is,” she replied with a smile. “You will be used, even when you are older, not cast aside like some other girls. You should be pleased.”
She pinched my cheeks, hard, and I cried out, which made her giggle.
“You need some color in your cheeks,” she said. “You’re so very pale. Like a ghost. Hopefully, you’ll be able to earn the privilege of going outside with the other girls soon.”
“Hopefully,” I repeated, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. This whole examination was ridiculous. If she was trying to make me feel better about my shitty situation, she was failing miserably.
“We are going to get to work now,” Pia continued, clapping her hands together. “We have a lot of work to do.”
She pulled out something that looked like a pager and typed in a message. It beeped a second later and she gave me a bright smile.
“Time for your makeover,” she said happily.
“Makeover?” I raised my eyebrows at her. “I don’t want a makeover.”
“It’s not up for debate.” Her tone was cheerful but firm. “You will love the results, trust me.”
“What are you going to do to me?” I felt violated. I didn’t want her touching me. The fact that someone had dressed me up while I was sleeping was disturbing enough, and it didn’t feel like it had been her, either, which meant another person had seen me naked, and I hated the thought of it. “I don’t want you touching me.”
“It will be a team of experts, not me,” she replied simply. “And they’ll make sure you look your very best. You’ll be pleased, you’ll see.”
She opened my door with her card, and three people filed into the room, chattering excitedly. There was a man and two women, and they started prodding and poking me without saying a single word to my face, just talking to one another about the ‘work that would have to be done’.
One of them, a tall, lanky man in a trendy leather jacket and with a diamond earring, gasped dramatically when he saw my hair.
“But this is awful,” he told Pia. “You didn’t tell me it was this bad.”
“She wore her hair up a lot on the outside,” she giggled apologetically. “She used to be a dancer.”
“We’ll try to fix it,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “Whatever I do, she won’t be able to wear it up for a while.”
“She won’t,” Pia assured him. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“You won’t,” I snapped, jumping to my feet.
They all shut up and looked at me, almost fearfully.
“I am a dancer, I didn’t use to be one,” I told them in a low voice. “And if I want to wear my hair up, I will. In fact, I have to when I’m dancing. So, whatever the hell you think you’re going to do… You have to ask my permission first.”
“Feisty,” one of the women muttered to the guy, and they rolled their eyes in unison.
“They always are,” Pia said, her gaze firmly set on me. “It will be beaten out of her if need be. Now, sit the fuck down and let them work.”
