“I don’t know why you insist on visiting me if you hate me so much,” I told her plainly, giving her a long, searing gaze. “Wouldn’t your time be better spent elsewhere? With someone you actually enjoy being around?”
“Who says I’m not enjoying this?” she asked in her accented, sweet voice, and we stared at one another for a long time in a never-ending battle of wits.
She was a stunning woman; there was no doubt about it. Her beauty was exotic and wild, and I was sure she’d been the envy of many women in the Mansion. However, while I could appreciate how stunning she was, I wasn’t jealous of her looks. I was comfortable enough in my own skin and even more so with my relationship with Thorn. I didn’t need to worry about Pia – he’d told me himself on numerous occasions – so why was the bitter taste in my mouth back? I was gearing up for an argument with her, even though I’d done nothing wrong. Pia was out to get me – that much I was sure of. She hadn’t shown the same animosity toward Amber, who seemed to bore her, but with me, the claws came out. I could only assume it wa,s because of the man we were both after – Thorn.
“I think you should leave,” I told Pia, and she smirked at me, getting up from her seat.
“I think you should mind your manners,” she hissed at me. “And remember who you are speaking to. Don’t forget I can have you punished if you don’t obey me, Rose.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, saying, “The only one I accept a punishment from is Master. And you’re not him. You’re just a pretty woman with a goddess complex, and I don’t need to listen to you.”
“We’ll see about that,” she said coldly then stormed out of the room.
I stared after her, wondering for the umpteenth time what her problem was but coming up empty. If I was being truthful with myself, I was upset about Thorn canceling our dinner plans. I realized I’d been excited, even eager to see him that night, but now the evening stretched ahead with no promise of leaving my room. I felt claustrophobic, so I walked over to the window, staring at the beach like I had many times before. Would I ever feel those waves lapping at my feet and the sand sifting between my toes? Thorn had given no indication of it, so I could only dream of what it would feel like.
I felt angry then, angry and betrayed, because he’d left me to my own devices. It wasn’t like him.
I walked to the giant vase of roses in the middle of the room. Thorn had fresh ones sent up every day, and I loved their scent and the way they looked in my room. Lush, thick and swollen rosebuds filled my nose with their fragrant smell. He’d chosen white ones that day – a departure from his usual red and pink.
I touched my fingers to one of the buds and felt more anger coursing through my body. I had so many unanswered questions swimming through my head, and I was getting tired of never getting the answers I wanted so badly. Soon, it would be time to face Thorn with every question I had.
Anger wasn’t subsiding. Instead, it was getting worse.
I thought about everything that had been taken away from me: my father, my dancing, Madame. It was all in my past now, and Thorn had led me to believe they were all staying there, too. I would never dance for a crowd again. I would never be able to tell my father I forgave him. And Madame… she was lost to me forever.
Feeling a sudden surge of rage, I lifted the heavy bouquet on an impulse, and with a desperate cry, I threw it against the wall. It shattered, shards of broken glass flying everywhere and roses lying on the floor in a puddle of water.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I dropped to my knees in the middle of the carnage I’d caused, sobbing for everything I had already lost and all the things that would still be taken away from me. I didn’t want to understand. I wanted my life back, and I wanted Thorn to accept I was my own person.
I felt a presence in the room and turned over my shoulder, ready to tell Pia to fuck off, but my eyes connected with my lover’s instead.
“I thought you’d left,” I said brokenly, my voice heavy with emotion.
“Pia told me you were feeling unwell,” he explained, reaching me in two quick, long steps.
I was seething with anger. It was just another one of Pia’s wicked little games. I still didn’t understand why she hated me as much as she did, but I wanted her gone, out of our lives. She was constantly trying to sabotage us and get in the damn way.