Maya lowered the rearview mirror of her pickup truck to get a better look at her face as she cleaned her bruised lips with antibiotics from the first-aid kit she found in her car.
It turned out that her left elbow scraped the floor when Terrence shoved her, resulting in a bad bruise. She groaned as she applied antibiotics to the wound on her elbow.
She always keeps a first-aid kit on hand because she is physically assaulted on a weekly basis by her stepfather or Terrence. When their tempers flare, one of them assaults her twice in a single day.
After treating her bruises, she applied a cream containing an Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics. The pain subsided; it was a lifesaver! She can now tolerate the pain from her bruises, thanks to this cream.
Maya does not want to dwell in her misery, but her heart is aching at the moment. When will this cycle come to an end? Will she have to endure mistreatment and abuse from her stepfather and brother until her death?
She has tried to escape several times, but each time she was caught and beaten badly.
Maya was dating a sweet guy in high school when she was 17 years old. She confided in him about the abuse she was experiencing at home. He promised to run away with her to a place far away, where her stepfather could never find her. However, on the day they were supposed to escape, he didn't show up. Maya never saw him again, and his family moved away without anyone knowing where they had relocated to. Maya believed that her stepfather had done something terrible to him and his family. Since then, she has never confided in anyone about her suffering or the abuse she endures.
Maya applied her makeup flawlessly and styled her hair into a sleek ponytail. She contoured her lips to conceal the bruises.
Maya examined her face in the rearview mirror under the dim light of the car's bulb. She barely recognized the woman staring back at her; she looked absolutely stunning. There was no doubt she would turn heads tonight.
Maya drove away from home, heading straight to the venue where the party would take place.
•••
Maya arrived in front of a mansion. The courtyard was filled with numerous cars, and her red pickup truck, as always, stood out. She located a parking spot and parked her vehicle.
She extended her hand and grabbed a tote bag containing her heels from the back seat. These are the same ones she wears at work, at Venus City Gentlemen's Club. They are suitable for any occasion.
She put on her heels and took one last look at herself in the mirror. Maya's heart quickened as she stepped out of the car. Every fiber of her being was tingling with jagged nerves.
She feels utterly dreadful. She knows what awaits her inside this mansion. Her stepfather is one of the men who run the city, and everyone knows who he is. Consequently, everyone also knows who she is: Maya Deluca, Fredrick Hathaway's stepdaughter, the child born from his late wife's scandalous love affair.
Maya mustered her courage and entered inside, just as she had predicted; all eyes were on her. Everyone turned to look in her direction, their gazes scrutinizing her. The women sneered at her with contempt, while the men leered at her with lust. Despite being fully dressed, she felt exposed and vulnerable under their intense scrutiny.
Two women standing a few paces away from Maya began talking about her. One of the women said, "Isn't that Cecelia's daughter? The child she conceived with her lover behind her husband's back?"
"That's her," the other woman confirmed. Maya froze in place. Their words made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up in discomfort.
"Look at how she's dressed like a whore," the second woman said scornfully.
"She thinks she can attract the men here with her revealing dress. No man in our elite society would be foolish enough to associate with a disgrace like her."
"That is what her mother, Cecelia the Adulterer, used to do in our time. She wore provocative clothing to attract men. Unfortunately, Fredrick fell for her charms and married her. She ended up cheating on him. He should have married a classy woman like us—like me," the woman laments.
Maya laughed in her head. She bet the woman talking was in love with her stepfather, but he ended up marrying her mother. So she loathe her mother because of that.
At first, their words felt like spikes digging into her chest, but now they sound ridiculous to her ears.
The tone shifted as the first woman spoke. "Fredrick Hathaway is such a kind man. He raised another man's child."
Maya couldn't help but internally laugh at the comment with a mix of ridicule and disbelief. Her stepfather, a kind man? He is the worst man ever. Now, she is even more convinced that these women are in love with him. She understands why, though; her stepfather is strikingly attractive. Even though he is in his early fifties, he could easily pass for someone in their thirties. He must have been a handsome Adonis in his youth.
"The child of a man who had an affair with his wife," the women spoke in unison, their tone scathing.
"When her mother died, she was a poor baby left at the hospital, and social services were prepared to take her into foster care. No one wanted her. I heard her father is an Italian man—a married man—who did not want to bring her home and disrupt his marriage."
Maya paused, her chest tightening. Her biological father, the man whose surname she carries—Deluca—he is yet to appear in her life and take on the role of a father.
When she was young, she often fantasized about meeting her father. She learned to cook a variety of Italian dishes so she could prepare one for him when they finally met. However, as she grew older, she came to realize that she had been foolish to believe her father would ever want to meet her. If he had truly wanted her in his life, he would not have left her with Frederick Hathaway.
The question that has troubled her for years is why her stepfather chose to keep her instead of sending her to foster care. Why does he not want her to move out? He hates her, yet he wants to keep her close.
Maya knows the answer. He is keeping her trapped so he can continue to torment her life.
She will never escape from this hell.