Bzzzz!
"Hello?"
"So, you're out already lil' sis…" Mike's voice spoke calmly over the phone.
I remained quiet, not knowing what to say and not wanting to say the wrong thing. Ali was right beside me, and although I wasn't looking at him, I could feel his eyes watching my every move in the car.
"Yes…" I whispered.
"Good. Don't come back." He cackled as he hung up the phone, leaving me on the null dial tone.
"Who was that?" Ali asked, his eyes fixed on the road now. It was a woodsy path, almost as thick as a forest.
"Erm, it was my brother…" I spoke gently, lowering my gaze when he looked at me.
He scoffed as if he was repulsed, "Your brother or another man?"
"No!" I exclaimed, "No, it was my brother." I shook my head desperately trying to convince him.
However, Ali wasn't having it, and decided to keep mute. So, the remainder of the car ride back home was silent.
I wondered why he would say such a thing, I thought to myself as I observed the scenery through the window.
When we finally arrived at our home, it looked extremely lavish. It was humongous for one, and neutral colours were the base. It's resemblance was close to that of a hotel…This man was well-off that's for sure.
The driver helped me carry my luggage inside the house, as I observed the environment, taking in the luxury of everything around me. My favourite paintings, or replicas of them rather; adorned the walls and there were beautiful chandeliers everywhere illuminating the house.
Even though this was all enough to make me feel like a princess, I still felt like a common house-girl in my tattered dress and my worn out shoes. Maybe I just wasn't fit to be a princess. Maybe I didn't even deserve this Prince Charming.
I tried to shrug negative thoughts out of my head as I headed towards my room. By the time I checked it out, I was in awe, it was all so beautifully decorated…Like he had been planning for a female guest or so.
I splayed on the soft mattress, sinking into it immediately. The bed back home was never this soft, it was as hard as sticks, the hardest in the house. And there was A.C in this room, unlike back at home as well, where I'd have to sleep in heat fanning myself with a piece of torn carton.
I sighed in pleasure, as I stood up and started to unpack. I put all my clothing and the rest in the drawers. By the time I was done, I was hungry, so I decided to retreat to the kitchen.
I got lost a few times; nobody really showed me around. And by the third time I had circled around the house, I bumped into someone's chest. I looked up, and it was Ali's menacing, black eyes.
He pushed me off of him grunting, "Watch where you're going."
Where was the sweet and charming Ali that had been talking to my parents earlier? I was so confused, this seemed out of the ordinary. Even though I was sold off, didn't he think I was to be treated with much more respect?
"I'm sorry," I backed away from him, averting my gaze, "I'll be more watchful."
"Better." He murmured, walking off, with his face down at his phone.
On the fourth lap, I finally spotted the small corridor I had been overlooking that led to the large kitchen.
There was a young lady, around her early 20s just like me, standing by the sink with an apron on her body. She turned around and when her eyes met mine, she yelped.
"I'm sorry…did I startle you?" My eyebrows furrowed in concern as I moved closer towards her.
"Mm…Master said we would be hosting…" She mumbled so low that I could barely hear her.
"Ah!" I chuckled, "Well, I was just a bit starving…" I looked around the kitchen, as the aroma of mushroom soup wafted into my nose. I moaned in anticipation, "Is it ready yet?"
As I moved closer to the stove to open the lid of the pot, she slapped my hand away.
"No touching. I serve…for you." She said, much more coherently now. She had a tinge of a Russian accent that came out slightly. And it didn't seem like she knew English that well.
"Master, get angry if he sees you here. You go sit at the table, I will bring it." She smiled gently. "I'm Velda."
"Zahra…" I returned the smile, retreating to the dinner table. I should've probably changed, I thought to myself before standing up and rushing to my room. I quickly showered and change into a floral, short dress and released my hair from the tight bun that it was in all day. My temples ached as my hair fell.
"Where did you go?" Ali's booming voice startled me, as I walked back into the dining room.
"I went to freshen up." I quickly spoke, eager to eat.
"Well, you had all day to do that, is it not?" He questioned, as he moved closer towards me. The smell of vodka wafted heavily around his breath as he spoke. "Hmm?"
He tugged my hair to the back, gripping it tightly. Just the way Mike did.
I shifted back with urgency, my heart pounding as if it was it's last. "Don't touch me like that!"
Before I could exit the room, a lady caught my eye. She was just walking in from the entrance, and she seemed so beautiful that even I was ashamed of my looks. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her back, a definite contrast against the bright red mini dress she had on.
"Who is she?" My voice trembled as I asked.
"Karina," He moved towards her planting a kiss on her lips as they both looked at me, "My love."
This couldn't be happening.
I left one hell hole to enter another??
"So, what is the contract for?"
"None of your business, but it was very easy to buy you off from your family. They could care less, don't you think?" He turned around and headed towards the bedroom with Karina.
Leaving me, a girl that had to put all the broken pieces of her together, falling apart all over again.