Chapter 2

2. Mrs. Gable was the only one who worked at the townhouse. I didn't want Sterling to think I was greedy for a house full of servants.

Besides, more people meant more spies. I drank the custard under her watchful eye, my lids still red and swollen from crying.

Then, I went to the bathroom to wash up. I scrubbed my mouth with salt water until it burned.

If I wasn't afraid Sterling would notice the next day, I would have scrubbed the skin right off. I felt filthy.

Every part of me felt stained. But I had to keep playing the part of the perfect, devoted mistress.

I had to make him believe I couldn't breathe without him. I had to make him believe I loved him with every fiber of my being.

I would wait. I would find the perfect moment.

I would send him and Lydia straight to hell together.

I collapsed onto the cold tile floor, muffling my sobs behind my hands.

“Sister... I know you’d hate seeing me like this. You’d hate seeing me degrade myself.”

“But my life is cheap. The only weapons I have are this body and this breath.”

“I miss you so much. When I finally see you again in the afterlife, please don’t look away from me because I’m dirty...”