9

Catalina Maria.

As soon as he leaves, I look around the room. From left to right, the bed is as wide as an ocean, enough for at least six people. When Salvador was on me, it felt like the weight of a thousand men, but it was not suffocating. It was scary…until he kissed me. Not until I felt that though he is a man of cold exteriors, his lips were nothing but soft. His tongue was hot and it felt like pillows in my mouth.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been kissed. So, why did I go numb? Or should I be asking, why did Salvador kiss me? To teach me a lesson? For someone so rough and wicked, he kissed me like a husband would kiss his wife.

And that is the problem.

He is not my husband. I am not his wife. He has made it clear that I am his collateral. Therefore, he is not supposed to kiss me like that.

I touch my lips because I can still feel him. How do I explain it? He tastes of rain, of mint, of siege, all at once. Even now, my lips are still trembling. And worse, when he threatened to kiss something else, I burned instead of recoiling.

Even now, I am still sitting on his bed, reeling. The mattress is soft as clouds and the whole room beholds his scent. It is expensive oud, cognac, bold, wicked, yet strangely…flowery. I hear footsteps in the exteriors of the room. So, quickly, I snap out of it.

Rosa enters, followed by another woman. They are both pushing in golden carts filled with dresses on hangers.  

Rosa sighs the moment she sees me. “Every time I leave you alone, you find a way to get into trouble.”

“I didn’t.” I argue.

“Miss Maddy said you were speaking to Lucas. You know you’re not allowed to speak to him without Salvador’s permission.”

“I didn’t talk to Lucas.” I protest. Then I sigh, remembering what really happened.

Maddy saw me hiding behind the pillar and pretended to pity me. We had a short conversation—she told me she was Salvador’s sister and she understood how scared I was. She offered to help me speak to Lucas, told me he was downstairs and that I could catch him before he left on an errand with some of the other men. For a brief second, I believed her.

I almost convinced myself I had so much to say to Lucas. That I needed to yell at him, to hate him for everything he’s done to me but before I could reach the stairs, I realized nothing I say would change my current situation.

So instead, I turned back to the laundry room and stuck to my task as a housekeeper. This was the moment Salvador started interrogating me and just when I was about to answer, the same thought crossed my mind—whether I tell him the truth or not…it will not matter.

“It doesn’t matter.” I murmur.

The other woman beside Rosa clicks her tongue. “The fancy guests have already started to arrive. We need to find something fitting for her at once.”

“Right. Go have your bath, Catalina.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because there is a VIP event at the house. And for this, Salvador has ordered that no housekeeper is allowed to speak about you to any guest. He doesn’t want anyone to know the truth about why you’re here because it would tarnish the image of the Mendozas.”

“So I am to play wife?” I ask in confusion.

“Good. She’s smart.” the other girl says.

“Yes, you are to play wife and if you follow his instructions, the faster you will get out of here.”

“I am Grace, by the way.” The other girl smiles.

Rosa takes my hand and starts pulling me toward another corner of the room. I’m not sure where she’s taking me. But finally, we reach a corridor so marbled that I can see my reflection under its golden lights. It leads to the greatest bathroom ever known to mankind.

“He wants me to act like a wife, but I am still a housekeeper and still a prisoner?” I look around.

“Yes, but if you are obedient, he can change your fate with a single snap of his fingers. That is how it works here. So, have your bath now… we will pick a dress—”

“He is making me stay in his bedroom.” I mention.

“Why are your lips so red?” Rosa asks.

I place my hand on them again. “No—nothing,” I answer, looking anywhere but at Rosa. She scans me some more, and when I refuse to say anything else, she leaves the bathroom for me.

When she leaves, I walk to the first counter that holds the grandest antique yet modern-looking mirror. It is designed in shades of sky blue and jade before white marble counters and extravagant, white basins. The space that holds the counter is wide as a bedroom, and then I see a bathtub, the size of a large pool. It has golden taps with more designs than I can count, and the bottom alone is the brightest white-blue.

Beyond that, there is a large showerhead in its own space where wind bursts into the room with a howling sound. Past it, there is a balcony, showing the evening sky. The moon hangs high, and the cold breeze continues to flood into the space like something from another world.

It is utterly beautiful. There are lamps in the shape and size of candlelight, and at its beauty, I begin to take off my clothes until I am bare. Once I switch on the shower, it bursts open like a sprinkled waterfall, coating me at once. I close my eyes, feeling the wind on my skin as well as the cold shower. It is only when I hear a knock on the door that I realize I have spent too long here.

Luckily, there is a robe, and I wrap it around myself.

Rosa and Grace take me to the closet of the room, which, although filled with Salvador’s things, somehow still has space. I am handed a backless black dress, and as I stand in the mirror with my head still wrapped in a towel, I feel beautiful—yet it is not what I would have picked. It is backless with a V-neck that shows excessive cleavage, the diameter of my waist, and the splendor of my hips.

Both Rosa and Grace hold each other’s hands in a gasp as they look at me. I glance at myself again, wondering if they hate it.

“You look like a celebrity entering a red carpet!” Grace says.

“We should do her hair at once. It’s best if we curl it…we haven’t even done makeup yet, and you already look like a fucking celebrity. Forgive my French.” Rosa claps, and for the first time, I see a different emotion on her face.

“Sit, sit.” She urges me, and I stay on the chair.

They take my hair out of the towel, and after blow-drying, my natural curls form on their own, saving time. But I know how to do my own makeup. I fix my brows myself, curl my lashes, apply mascara, and add a light blush amidst my freckles. Last, I use a pink shade on my lips.

“The guests are going to be so awed; they won’t know what hit them.” Grace holds her hand to her chest.

“The thing is, you have always been exceptionally beautiful since the moment we first laid eyes on you in this house. That is why you are already on the black radar of Miss Sabrina. But right now, you look nothing like the helpless rumours.”

Rosa’s phone rings, and she picks it up.

“It’s time for you to come downstairs.” she says.