ASHELY'S POV
I sat in the room the boss had told me to wait in, he had said that my new master was going to get me. I was little steps toward not owning my life anymore.
I had lost right over my life the day I was captured so could it be any worse? I used my other arm to touch my left arm to check if the fracture I had was gone but I hissed at the minor pain I felt.
The scratches I had from being dragged on the floor were almost gone and the other signs of it were hidden by the concealer and foundation that was applied on my skin and face. The master had told me to apply it for the auction and he gave me some ointment and makeup to apply on it till I got blemish-free skin.
Suddenly the door opened and the boss was standing at the door.
"Good News, your master is here to pick you up," he said with an amused smile.
Hearing his words, my heart skipped a beat, I was scared, nervous, and hopeless. The only thing ringing in my head was a reminder that my life was over.
The boss took me by the fractured arm and I hissed in pain which alerted him,
"Are you injured there?" He asked like he was scared.
I couldn't lie to him "Y…yes" I replied in fear and uncertainty about what he would do to me.
"And you didn't say?" He screamed in anger
"You want to destroy this business for me, and now you're just like a broken product, do you think anyone would want to buy a broken product?!" He continued.
"I….I'm sorry" I managed to say
"You're, sorry!" he shouted in an angrier tone with made me freak out on the inside.
"Make sure you hide this thing and your master must not see it, unless...." He threatened.
"If your master sees this, he'll return you, and when he does rest assured you are going to be slaughtered" He warned.
I stood like a scared puppy not knowing what to do, I got injured but he only cares about his money. Anyways, that's what happens when you are treated like nothing but a product. He took a few breaths to calm his anger and tried to comport himself.
"If your master wasn't waiting for you I would have punished you, but I'm afraid you no more my property... Let's go your master awaits you, and don't try anything funny" He pointed a knife to my neck, removed the collar on my neck placed the black veil over my head, and led me out.
I came out of the room with him beside me, so close to me while secretly holding a pocket knife dangerously close to my waist. I wanted to escape but I knew if I made any rash decision I was going to end up like my parents.
He led me to a handsome young gentleman, who look around the age of 23 to 25. He had brown hair, and hazel eyes and he wore a corporate black suit with a white shirt. Though he was cute, this was not how I expected him to be, at least in comparison to the dark figure I saw sitting at table 14 whom I referred to as Mr. Table 14, he looked much um...… different. He was not as I expected for a young billionaire he looked more like someone that was going to an office. I was still unsure of why the veil was on my head.
"Don't take the veil off, let your master be the one to unveil you" he said with a masked smile all over his face. He was trying to act nice to me in front of my master.
My old master and I separated as I silently walked behind my new master, I wanted to take to my heels but I remembered once that the master said he had people watching me from afar. The thought that I was being watched gave me goosebumps. I was half naked with a veil on my head.
I walked down with my new master too distracted looking around the whole metro city, with the skyscrapers, street lights, and other things that fascinated me. It was my first time in the city, I had been living in a place with mostly green around but now I was in the city. It looked like the ones
I watched it on TV but better.
It was still noon as the sunlight shone on my skin, I followed my master to an underground carpark with almost a thousand cars parked there. My stripper heels echoed in the silent carpark as I cluelessly followed my master glancing at the colorful cars we passed by. Finally, we stopped in front of a super expensive luxury black car, this car looked like it was only for special people. My father had a car once but it was nothing compared to this one, this made me feel like I was too cheap to stay in this car.
"Go in," he said in a friendly manner as he opened the door.
"I couldn't say no to my master", my body was so tense I went into the
car.
It seemed like he noticed it.
"Don't be too scared, it doesn't bite" he assured me.
"Wow, my master was so friendly", I thought as he sat beside me and took a glance at me.
"Can I take a glance at your face?" he asked politely
"Why was he asking", I thought I was so confused
Not saying anything, I just nodded my head permitting him. He was about to raise the veil a little when.....
"Master wouldn't like it if I played with his stuff," he said out loud to himself. He stopped mid-way and I was so confused.
"Wait you're not my master?" I unconsciously said out loud.
The man I thought was my master looked at me and burst into laughter.
"No, I'm not, I'm his assistant, Kim Bryon, but you can call me Kim" he introduced himself.
"He was the one doing the pricing out there and he gave me the duty of bringing you back before leaving for business" he continued
"Oh…okay," I said in embarrassment
"Don't worry, we're a bit close to the Villa" he said to assure me
That was not assured at all, it rather made me nervous. The only thing that kept popping into my mind was the fact we were going to a Villa. I've never even seen one before.
I was silently sitting with the veil still on my head all I was thinking was how I was supposed to act when seeing my master before I fell asleep.
I knelt in front of a dark figure begging him for mercy, it was Mr. Table 14, my master. His face was hidden. Somehow I felt like he had changed my name, I was no more called Ashley.
"Please spare me "I begged with eyes filled with tears.
"Get away from me, you filthy animal", he heartlessly kicked me away violently.
His action made me feel a sharp pain in my fractured arm, this made me shriek in pain.
"What is that? Oh, I see, you have a broken arm, I guess I might just have to return you" he said angrily.
"No please, I don't want to die" I begged.
"Okay, I won't...…. I'll just break your arm completely before I send you there and watch you become slaughtered"
"No, please! Please!" I begged.
I felt a gentle pat on my shoulder
"Are you okay?" a voice said.
I opened my eyes to see Kim looking at me in concern.
"You seemed to have a nightmare," Kim said.
"Oh!" I said sitting upright in embarrassment.
There was an unusual silence in the car again.
"Anyways, can't wait to see your face," he said trying to make me talk or say something.
Another round of silence filled the car before it was broken by the driver.
"We've arrived"
I looked out through the glass, and what I saw shocked me to the core.
A huge gate made of a tiny railing that you could see through it. I didn't see a house, I saw a garden with a fountain at the side of the gate. On the gate, there was something beautifully written on the top "HENDRIX"
"Hendrix...…that must be part of his name," I thought.
I was curious to know his name and I had the sudden courage to ask
"Kim….what is his name?" I asked with the last courage I had.
I instantly regretted asking but he eliminated my regret by answering the question.
"COLE SIAN HENDRIX, but he is commonly called Mr. Hendrix or Cole by his friends, but no one ever dares calls him Sian, not even his closest friends, he almost strangled a lady to death who called him that," he said.
"Don't ever call him Sian, not in your lifetime or you'll regret it, he hates that name but no one knows why" he warned.
I saw Sian as a better name than Cole but it was mysterious, why wouldn't he want people to call him that name? I would rather stick to
Cole then dies for calling him, Sian.
The car drove in through the open gate when the gatekeeper opened the gate. There were two gatekeepers in black and they were quite hefty and held a huge German shepherd police dog each.
We drove through the gate and my mind became blown, it was like a city, I couldn't even see the Villa yet, at my left side was a huge fountain with
a statue of a fish with water gracefully flowing out of its mouth. On the water in the fountain, rose petals were flowing on it with a few water lilies floating on top of the water. On the right there was a gazebo surrounded by rose bushes, it was truly a beautiful sight. When we went further I saw a botanical garden filled with rose bushes, in the botanical garden I sighted a pond with a small bridge built over it. The bridge led to a small cottage. On the left-hand side of the road, there was another house which Kim said was the guest house. I was surprised at how a guest house could be so beautiful. I then saw an outside bar, on the shelves were assorted kinds of drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Then I saw a humongous pool, half of the pool was covered by a huge tent to shade it from the sunlight and the tent also covered the pool deck that had sun loungers surrounding the pool. At a point, I was like
"Is this the kind of stress it takes to go to a billionaire's house?" I thought
I was seeing new things I'd never seen in my life things I never thought I would see in my life.
Finally, the car approached a huge villa, it was so beautiful, and words could not describe its beauty. The car stopped right in front of the main door and Kim brought me out of my thoughts.
"We're here, this is where we alight"
I looked like I was in heaven.
There was a middle-aged man dressed in a white shirt, a black tuxedo coat with tails, and a white bow tie. He also wore white gloves on both hands which made him look traditional and corporate. He was standing at the left side of the main door while at the right side stood a middle-aged lady in a black long flair dress stopping exactly at her shin, a white apron hanging around her neck and tied around her waist. Her light brown hair was tied up into a donut bun.
"That is Austin, the butler of the villa. He is also in charge of all the male servants in here," he said referring to the man.
Austin gave a respectful bow.
"And this is Catherine, the housekeeper of the villa, she is in charge of all the female maids in the villa"
Catherine bobbed a curtsy to me.
"Hi", I waved
"Okay, this is where we part," Kim said.
"Part?" I furrowed my brows in confusion.
"Yes, I have accomplished my mission and delivered you safely so I need to go back to the office to meet Mr. Hendrix as you know I'm his assistant," he said.
I was already getting used to him here but I had to let him go do his work.
"Okay"
"Catherine would show you to your room and assist you with anything you need" he finished.
Kim went back into the car and the car drove out of sight.
Catherine led me into the villa to be welcomed by a large foyer that was separated into different sections, one part was a little open library with two huge large chairs, and straight ahead was the dining room which was a room different from the foyer. On one side was the living room for receiving visitors, it had a long leather sofa, and two different leather sofas of the same material as the first. And a coffee table right on an expensive zebra skin rug. The image of this mansion stuck to my head like glue. While we passed the foyer heading for the stairs, I sighted an oil painting of a young handsome gentleman dressed in an expensive black suit which was left open to reveal the black vest worn on a white shirt with a black tie to compliment. The painting stopped at his waist.
The man in the painting was so damn beautiful that I stopped right there staring at the painting lost in it. Not only the art was beautiful but the man in it made it more beautiful. Catherine noticed my interest in the painting and answered the question before I could ask.
"That's him, Master Hendrix"
I was so surprised he was so handsome in every way,
"Am I permitted to have a closer look?" I asked
"Of course Miss"
"No, just Ashley would do, I'm Ashely West" I introduced myself.
"Noted, Miss West"
"No, just call me Ashley, no formalities", I said.
"Okay, Miss...… I mean Ashley" she corrected.
I walked up to the painting to observe it not just the man but, the painting concept. As an artist, which is what I call myself I've always been interested in the concept and structures of the painting which is the idea, emotion, and atmosphere the painter was trying to express through the painting. From what I saw, it was pure elegance, confidence, and grace in his eyes....his eyes showed a lot of emotionless, cold, and apathetic vibes and response. His Jet black hair went well with his gray eyes. His pointed nose went a great way in adding to his beauty added up with his thin lips which were so manly, unlike my heart-shaped lips. His lips looked so tempting and difficult for any girl not to be tempted.
After checking it out Catherine led me upstairs through the hallways, I saw so many doors, it was like a hotel. From the hallway we found ourselves in a lounge, it was like I was in another house entirely and it had a large sliding door. This lounge looked more homely than any other one I saw, I guessed it was a personal lounge. It had three sofas, placed in a U-format with a coffee table in the middle. There was a 3d wall design, and amidst it sat a large flat-screen TV. I already saw a lounge, though not as large as the one I saw upstairs before entering the hallway.
I was sure I was going to get lost if I was alone. In the lounge, they were twelve doors and a balcony close to the large sliding door we came in from. The twelfth door included the door we came in from
"What are all these rooms for?" I asked out of pure curiosity.
"There are eleven doors leading out of this room, the one we came in from excluded," she said.
I instinctively recounted the doors
"Where do they lead to?" I asked
"The one at this site is," she said signaling to her left.
"Master's bedroom, Master's study, Indoor Gym, Library, and the bathhouse"
"The ones on the other side are your bedroom, Music room, Game room, TV room, and Art room"
"And finally that sliding glass door over there is a balcony, you can stay there to relax. You also have one in your room but this one is bigger"
"You are allowed to go to any of the rooms freely except the Master's room and Master's study no one is allowed in those rooms, not even the cleaners, it has self-cleansing technology, and only master is allowed in there", she finished.
"Now, let's take you to your room so you can free yourself by taking this veil off your head and get some rest before master comes back," She said.
"He may want to see you when he comes back," she said as she led me to the last door on the right side very close to the main balcony.
"This is where I stop," she said stopping in front of a white double door which was my room.
"Enjoy your new room", she said and left the personal lounge.
Slowly, I opened the door and I was shocked to see my room, It was...so...
I had no words to express how I felt. I noticed in the whole Villa there was a lot of security cameras except in the personal lounge. Though there was no security camera here, I didn't want to risk being caught behaving like a fool on camera in case there was a hidden one so I went into my room, closed the door behind me, and searched to see if there were any cameras. When I was sure there was none, I screamed and flung the veil off my face. The setting of my room was white, it had a king-sized waterbed with a bed canopy and curtains. It looked like a room for a queen. There was also another small room with a sliding glass door and when I opened it I saw it was a closet. The wall was a wardrobe but unsurprisingly it was empty then I remembered I had no clothes to change into. I had to wear the lingerie I had on. I decide to explore the two doors I had in my room. One was leading to the bathroom that had a king-sized bathtub with assorted soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and other things used in hair, skin, and face care.
The second door was the balcony, in it, there were two huge beanbags and a small coffee table in front of it.
Suddenly, there was a knock on my door, I went over to answer it and I saw a random maid, definitely not Catherine. She was also dressed in a black flair dress but her white apron was tied around her waist, her dirty blonde her was also styled in a donut bun but unlike Catherine, she wore a white lace headband on her hair.
"Miss West, Madam Catherine has asked me to give this to you," she said offering me a freshly folded piece of white fabric with sky blue floral design.
"What's it?" I asked
"It's a dress for you to wear since she figured out you had no clothes"
"Thanks, tell her I'm so grateful," I said as I took it from her.
I was about to close the door when she alerted me,
"Miss?"
"Yeah?"
"What's your foot size?" she asked.
"Why?"
"I was asked to give you a shoe to wear"
"Okay, please don't forget to tell her how grateful I am"
I told her the size and she handed over a flat shoe to me, I wore it in front of her and it was a perfect fit. She curtsied and left then I shut the door.
My hair was as usual straight. I locked the main door went into the toilet turned the tap down for warm water to fill the bathtub and saw a rose essential oil, it was said to give the water a rose fragrance and improve my skin, so I added a cap. I undressed and got into the warm water.
Though we didn't have tubs in the village, we had a natural hot spring I usually enjoyed visiting twice a week. This brought back good memories.
After washing my hair my body and so on, I had a warm soak for an hour, my skin was kind of wrinkled by the time I was done. After I did the usual after-bath ritual which was drying myself up, I found some body cream on top beside the bathroom sink. Here, there were varieties of body creams, face wash, face moisturizers, and other beauty products. I applied the body cream, applied some hair oil. I found some hair tongs so I decided the curl my hair into beach waves. While curling my hair, I looked at the abrasions on my skin, it was barely evident, but I still needed to hide for maybe a day. I touched my arm and it still hurt quite a lot, I thought it was going to heal but the pain was increasing with every passing day. I noticed a bruise and it was starting to swell even the skin around the area was tender and sore but I decided to ignore it.
"It's, just a minor fracture, It'll heal in just a few days...I guess"
Doubt started growing in my mind, "What if it gets worse?" I panicked on the inside.
"Nah! Not possible" I shoved the thought off my mind.
I put on the cloth that was given to me by Catherine and bounced on the water bed to get some rest. It was the most comfortable thing I've ever laid on in my life. I just stared up at the ceiling thinking this was the last moment of enjoyment I was going to have in this house when I dozed off.