3. She Would Sleep With The Monster

The old lady, who had not moved an inch from where she was standing since she entered the room, commanded.

Kate looked up at her and she saw that she was gazing down at her with so much ferocity that she knew she didn't have a choice, her mouth opened immediately and the maid washed it, she was so thorough that Kate felt blood seeping from her gums; she was still rinsing her mouth when a maid brought two little stools and placed in front of her; her brows creased as she wondered what they were for;

''Place your legs on them '' the elderly woman's voice rang in the room again and she did as she was told; suddenly the maid, pushed the two stools apart making her legs open wide;

Her hands reflexively moved to cover her private part, the old lady seeing this, walked to her and gave her a resounding slap;

''You do as you are told, young lady.''

Kate could swear that she saw stars; she could hear distant echoes in her right ear where the slap had landed, and she blinked severally, trying to hold in the brewing tears;

No-one needed to tell her to remove her hands; they shaved her private part till it was smooth like a newborn baby's after they were done shaving her private part and armpits, the old lady pointed to the bath and they helped her stand up;

The bathwater was hot as she immersed herself inside it; it smelled nice, like strawberry flavor and a bit of lemon; she soaked in the bath for about twenty minutes after which the old lady pointed to the shower area;

Kate was helped up to the shower, and a maid washed her body thoroughly;

After she was washed, she applied a sweet-smelling lotion which made her skin glow almost immediately. After that, she was dressed in a beautiful cotton gown and her hair was blow-dried, after which it was beautifully styled.

She was taken to a dressing table where she was made to sit as they applied some special lotions to her face; when her eyes met the reflection in the mirror, she felt her heart squeeze.

She was a very beautiful woman, and all her life, she had caused heads to turn but all that did not matter now, did they? If she could decide her fate, she would have been a madwoman sitting by the roadside rather than to be his ‘so called’ wife

Kate felt tears drop from her eyes and it fell on the maid's palm. The girl paused for a second but continued applying the lotion.

Afterward; she was taken to a dining room where assorted food was placed; a seat was pushed out for her and she sat down;

The old lady sat on the opposite side of the table and watched her;

The maids took out a plate and placed a lot of vegetables on it before placing it in front of her;

''Eat up. You must be hungry. ''

The woman said; surely Kate was famished; and she knew that if she wanted to live for the two years and save her sister, she had to eat, so without grudging, she picked a fork and ate.

The maids stood by and watched her eat until she was full; after the table was cleared, she was taken to a room on the first floor; and she was finally left alone;

Kate heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the door close behind her; she looked around her surrounding; it was an exquisite room, a long curtain covering the floor to ceiling glass window on the east, there was a large mirror just beside a couch, and there was the queen's bed; the dressing table was filled with varieties of lotions and makeup, from a closer look, she realized that it was the same lotions that were used on her earlier that day.

Sighing, she walked to the bed and lay down. Before long she drifted off to sleep. Kate didn't know how long she slept but she awoke when someone tapped her gently;

Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw the elderly woman standing with a man who had a white coat on;

''How are you Kate? I'm here to run some blood samples. Would you sit upright, please? ''

He said with a small smile and Kate did so, he opened his little box and took out a needle and syringe; he took twine and tied her left hand before cleaning an area where her bluish veins were most visible with a cotton swab soaked in an antiseptic.

He pierced her skin and drew out blood, and in a matter of seconds, he was packing up;

Kate remained calm after they left; her heart was drumming against her chest. They had taken her out of the darkroom, cleaned her thoroughly, now they were taking her blood for samples; it could only mean one thing, she would sleep with the monster soon.

The mere thought of that man touching her sent shivers down her spine; when she had agreed to be his wife in place of her sister, this part did not occur to her. she just thought that since this man wanted to punish her for her father’s debt he was not going to be interested in consummating the so called marriage. Then what was all this.