The house was staffed by over twenty people between security, cleaning, maintenance, and cooking. It was more if you counted the occasional people who rotated through for daily, hour-long shifts like barbers, massage therapists, and personal trainers. It was like a small town, and I had to smile and nod to five people before I’d made it out of my bedroom hallway.
My stomach sank when I saw who was standing at the end of the hallway to the wing that held my bedroom. It was Haskins, my father’s chief of security. He was bald and dressed like he was part of the Secret Service, even including those curly, clear wired earpieces. He saw me, then turned, clasping his hands in front of his belt. He gave me a severe look.
“Going somewhere, Miss Coleton?” he asked.
“I wanted to take a walk to clear my head,” I said.
“Your father asked that I keep you confined to the kitchen, your bedroom, and the gardens. Which would you like to walk to?”
“The gardens,” I said, not letting my irritation show. “Thank you.”
I suffered through a supervised walk with Haskins lurking behind me. I had to admit I did miss the gardens. They might be the only thing I did miss about this place. Even with Haskins’ big shadow stretching out in front of me while I sat in the garden, I felt my mood lift. I’d come here so many times growing up to get away.
“Your father asked me to tell you,” Haskins said after almost half an hour of letting me sit in silence while he stood like a statue behind me. “There’s an event he wants you to come to tonight.”
“He does?” I asked. I’d honestly been expecting confinement and the silent treatment for weeks.
“You’ll need to be dressed and ready by seven. Formal wear. Miles will have a car ready for you out front.”
Miles was one of the family drivers. He was also the least talkative and most loyal to my father. I doubted that was a mistake. Even though I’d supposedly come back here by my own free will, it seemed like father was going to do everything he could to make sure I didn’t slip away again and embarrass him.
I eventually let Haskins take me back to my room. I tried to slip out a few more times but Haskins was always there keeping close watch. Something would need to change if I was going to follow through on what I said.
By the time afternoon came, I was laying on my bed missing Adrian. I wondered if I’d made a mistake by suggesting this. I pulled out my phone and texted him.
Juliette: Miss you.
He replied almost immediately.
Adrian: Are you okay?
Juliette: I’m fine. Just a little hungry.
I grinned at my text, waiting for him to take the bait.
Adrian: They aren’t feeding you? What are you craving? I’ll find a way to get it to you.
I replied with a handful of eggplant and banana emojis, grinning wider as I pictured his exasperated expression when he saw them.
Adrian: I’m glad it sounds like your spirits are still high. And your libido. If you take matters into your own hands, record a video and send it to me.
Juliette: Noted. I blame the high libido on my boyfriend. By the way, father asked me to come to something with him at seven tonight. Any idea what it is?
Adrian: Sounds like we’re going to get a chance to see each other. It’s a party and most of the Coleton Central brass will be there. Including your high libido inducing boyfriend.
I’d hardly been apart from Adrian for twenty-four hours, but the idea of seeing him tonight put a huge smile on my face. I was highly mature, so I replied to his message with more eggplants and a few open mouths.
I put my phone away and went to pick out what I was going to wear. All my clothes and things were right where they’d left them when I escaped. It hadn’t even been a year and I somehow felt like the girl who left all this behind was a different person. But I guessed that shouldn’t have shocked me. I had changed since all this.
I was a captive animal who had a taste of freedom, and now I knew what it was to be free from the cage.
I picked out a dress I thought Adrian would like with a plunging neckline and a tight fit. I’d put on a couple pounds since I lived here, and it was even tighter around my ass and chest than it had been before.
I had no idea what my father intended for tonight, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to go like any of us planned.
36
Adrian
It was nearly eight in the evening before Juliette arrived at the party. About fifty men and women were crowded into a gorgeous penthouse suite in New York. I’d spent the last hour on the patio trying to win over a man named Daryl so he’d be more likely to vouch for me when I needed him.