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Chapter 17
Last Updated:
2025-03-19 23:59:01
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Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love Chapter 18
After Silvia was done cleaning, it was already past midnight. Her fingers ached from all the work whilst her back throbbed intensely. The pains of hunger had transformed into a constant, gnawing discomfort. She entered the kitchen hoping to find something, anything, to eat before getting into bed. The kitchen was dim and quiet. Silvia switched on the little light over the sink, trying to remain quiet. She pulled open the fridge, the gentle light casting shadows on her weary face. There were dinner remnants, but she didn't dare to take them. Rebecca would notice. She looked and found a crust of bread and a little bit of cheese concealed behind the dishes. That would need to suffice. A sound on the door made her start as she shut the refrigerator. Ralph stood there swaying a little, his tie undone about his neck and his eyes red."What are you doing?" he mumbled, holding onto the doorframe for balance. Silvia swiftly concealed the bread behind her back. "Not a thing, sir." "Simply ti
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Silvia's eyelids slowly shifted to the sunlight pouring in through unusual curtains. Her body felt heavy, and her mind was filled with tiredness. The sheets beneath her seemed gentle, excessively gentle. This wasn't her mattress. She jerked up, her heart racing. She noticed...the luxury, crystals on the nightstand. This was Ralph's bedroom. How had she ended up...Her last memory was tucking Ralph in, discovering the picture, and going to her own bedroom. Was she so exhausted that she fell here instead? Definitely not. She would not have made that mistake. A gentle groan from beside her made her pause. Ralph was lying on the other side of the bed, completely dressed, with one arm covering his face. His breathing was consistent and peaceful, his expression tranquil in sleep. Silvia carefully shifted to the bed's edge, wishing not to disrupt it. She had to go before... The door suddenly burst open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud. Rebecca stood by the entrance, dressed in
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Three days without nourishment seemed like forever. Silvia's stomach had transitioned long ago from sharp hunger pains to a void that caused her limbs to feel heavy as lead. She had been allowed water and slight comforts, but even that made her feel queasy as she drank it gradually from the bathroom faucet. On the morning of the third day, Silvia pulled herself out of bed, her uniform fitting more loosely than earlier. The mirror showed hollow cheeks and shadows under her eyes. Spraying cold water on her face, she tried to brighten herself for the day's activities.On that day, Silvia was especially cautious with her work: arranging the heavy bottles in the wine cellar, and dusting off the Persian rugs on the front porch. These tasks kept demanding energy that Silvia no longer had."You look terrible," Rebecca remarked with glee as Silvia entered the kitchen for her instructions. Savoring her morning espresso, she sat at the counter, the strong, rich smell causing Silvia's hungry be
Last Updated : 2025-03-21Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love Chapter 21
The sunlight streamed in between the curtains, waking Silvia from her the slumber she had experienced months ago. With her body still frail, she felt relieved after the broth sha had yesterday.Silvia rose gradually, gauging her energy. Her head had stopped spinning, but her limbs still felt unsteady. A rap at her door surprised her. "Y-yes?" she shouted, her voice more assertive than the day before. Then the door swung open...before Ralph entered, dressed in a tailored suit, with a perfectly shaped beards. He stood uncomfortably at the entrance, hesitant to step in."You're awake," he noted, his voice calm. "How do you feel?" Silvia wrapped the lightweight blanket around her shoulders, experiencing a feeling of consciousness. "Improved, sir." "I appreciate the meal." Ralph replied with a decisive nod. "Put on your clothes and join me in my study in fifteen minutes. We have to discuss an issue." Before she had a chance to reply, he shut the door, leaving Silvia looking at him in b
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Her breath stalled as she touched her swollen lips. He had kissed her. Silvia considered herself resilient and strong, she knew she could endure anything as long as it was for a good cause, but this was levels above what she expected would happen to her in this cursed place.Hunger, thirst, being overworked, beatings. They were all bearable as long as she still had her body and her soul to herself. But he had kissed her like he wanted to suck out her soul.Silvia had never felt so helpless in her life. A tear slipped down her cheeks and she blinked, snapping out of it. She wiped it, she still had her life, it was a one time thing. It would never happen again. She hoped.A part of her was curious about who this Alexander was. If he truly was Ralph’s brother, why had Ralph kissed her? Did he have non-brotherly feelings for this Alexander? She found it highly unnatural. She found everything that went on in the house highly unnatural. They were so rich but they appeared to be suffering ev
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“Do your vocal cords suddenly stop working? Is that enjoyable?” Ralph asked again, his eyes flashing with an emotion Silvia couldn't name.“I don’t understand sir”.“You’re smiling”, he said, pointing to her lips and sitting on a stool. She had no idea Ralph Spade knew how to sit on a stool. Wasn’t he only accustomed to the finest things? What was an old wooden stool even doing in a mansion as fancy as this? She adjusted her smile, making her expression serious. Was smiling grounds for a punishment?“Forgive my manners sir”, she bowed her head. Sometimes she felt like she was in an ancient drama. Slave to the evil emperor. Except this time the emperor had kissed her. He was a foolish emperor.“How dramatic. I’m not asking you to stop”, Ralph’s face hardened. Silvia stretched her lips into something that resembled more of a grimace than a smile. It reminded her of the times where her mother would scold her and force her to smile. Her mother that she couldn’t see, because of this man.
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Chapter 24 Silvia's hand trembled slightly as the overpowering smell of cows, pigs, and chickens—still very much alive—forced her to hold her breath. She knew this would lead to more problems than she wanted because when she finally had to take a breath again, she would inhale a lot of contaminated air.She rushed back inside and took a deep breath, relieved to escape the nauseating smell. What kind of wealthy people were these? They were the dirty type. She should have realized it when she was asked to clean those filthy windows. Why was the window in his own study so dirty? The man inhaled dust every day; no wonder he was acting so erratically. Was it really that difficult to ask for the animals to be washed before bringing them inside?Was she being punished extra? She couldn’t believe Donna went through this every week. The woman was strong. Very strong. Silvia was weak. Very Weak.“Howdy, I got this week’s batch of ‘nimals. Gonna sign or what?”, the driver stretched out his head
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She walked into the main kitchen again, shivering from the pressure she felt surrounding her. Goosebumps prickled her skin, and an unsettling sensation that she was being watched lingered in the air. However, she knew she couldn't let that distract her from her cleaning duties. With a sigh, she moved on to her next set of chores.A shadow came over Silvia and she turned sharply to see a very tall, very stone-faced Ralph Spade standing behind her.“Breaking the rules aren’t you? You are not to speak to anyone unless I command it”, his voice rumbled like an earthquake as he leaned on the wall right behind her.He abruptly straigntened and began to walk towards Silvia which startled her and made her jump away from him. He just shaved about ten years off her lifespan with that sudden appearance.“S-sir, I-”“There is no excuse!”, he yelled, slamming his palm against the counter in a loud slam that made her ears pop. A small part of her hoped he had gotten injured by the sharp edges.He fu
Last Updated : 2025-03-24
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The transformation in Ralph's personality bled over from within the bounds of their love relationship; it crossed over into his business as well. The forceful, resolute businessman Silvia had admired was now waffling, looking for Rebecca's opinion on even the most minor decisions. Rebecca, an opportunist to her core, exploited this flaw, inserting herself into every facet of his business.Boardroom conferences, previously Ralph's domain, now included Rebecca by his side, offering uninvited advice and inserting her opinion at will. The other executives, initially shocked by her ungraceful return and at her assertive nature, learned with little effort that going against her meant going against Ralph, who was still very much incapacitated. A chill of gray spread through the ranks of professionals, complaints regarding Ralph's use of Rebecca muttered behind closed doors.Silvia, relegated to the role of silent onlooker, would occasionally overhear fragments of conversation between Ralp
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The silence of Burke's despair and inability weighed heavily on Silvia. Even his fleeting friendship had been a whispered acknowledgment of the truth Rebecca so tirelessly concealed. But beyond their quiet, the party continued, muffled in its glittering pretense. Each metallic laugh, each artificial compliment, was another ripple of despair flooding Silvia's beach, steadily eroding what little remained to her.At a later hour, flushed with triumph and several glasses of champagne, Rebecca nudged her way through a throng of people to Silvia, pilfering glasses from an empty side table. Her eyes flashed with mischievous delight."You know, Silvia," she slurred somewhat, her tone had lost its sharp bite behind its pretended jollity, "you almost look like you belong here—if one squints, and conveniently forgets you're on the payroll." She added a dry laugh at the end of her remark.The lively chatter around her faded into a dull hum, intensified by Rebecca’s probing questions."Maybe you
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The ensuing weeks descended into a stifling routine for Silvia. The mansion that had stood as a communal sanctuary now became a gilded cage. Ralph was still blind to everything, his gaze fixed on Rebecca with an unsettling blend of need and adoration.Buoyed by her unchallenged command, Rebecca began exercising her power with greater assertiveness. She would summon Silvia with a snap of her finger, ordering her with a flick of her wrist. The silk garments that once flowed over Silvia now fell over Rebecca's frame, a quiet, visual reminder of the life that was deceptively taken from her.She was meticulously polishing the great piano in the music room one afternoon, a job she used to delight in doing, often humming a little melody to herself as she cleaned when Rebecca and Ralph entered, speaking in soft, conspiratorial tones."The Duniq gala is this week, sweetheart," Rebecca told him, her possessive grip on Ralph's arm. "All has to be perfect. I want Silvia to coordinate all the de
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The days folded into weeks, every one a dull routine of polishing, cleaning, and serving. Silvia glided through the great house like a ghost, her footsteps silent on the marble, her gaze down. Ralph's disinterest was a weight to her, a stifling shroud of sadness. Rebecca's insults, once razor-edged and cruel, were now an aching throb, a reminder of her diminished station.In reflective surfaces, she would see snippets of her past: a beautiful perfume bottle on a vanity she once shared with Ralph, a picture on a bookshelf showing them both laughing and untroubled on their wedding day. Every reflection was a splinter from a broken mirror, a painful reminder of her vibrant, happy life snatched away.Hope, obstinate emberlike, smoldered and went out. The unaccommodating impossibility of penetrating Ralph's amnesia, and Rebecca's remorseless coercion, appeared an insuperable obstacle. He often looked at her with polite insensitivity, a foreigner in his house, as Rebecca smiled at him, vi
Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love Chapter 60
The sun was setting.The opulent foyer of the mansion was uncomfortable for Silvia. Recently, she'd dusted these sparkling floors as Ralph's maid, not a wife now. The marble was cold on her knees now as she erased an evanescent stain from it, her nostrils flaring at the pungent cleaning agent. The odor was a harsh reminder of a life left behind: one of drudgery and suppressed resentment.Wearing one of the silk robes belonging to Silvia as an act of appropriation, Rebecca was in the doorway, her half glass of champagne in her hand. Her quick, calculating gaze passed over Silvia with unguarded amusement."Seriously, Silvia," Rebecca slurred, mixing her amber drink in its glass, "you're far too sloppy. Mr. Spade is a perfectionist. Don't you recall?"The jab hit close to home. Mr. Spade. The formality was a barrier between them, an obstinate erasing of their closeness. Her knuckles gripped the scrub brush tightly."Yes, Miss Wilson," she replied flatly, anger no longer flowing through
Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love Chapter 59
Silvia was assaulted like a slap in the face by the antiseptic smell of the hospital room, utterly contrasting to Ralph's warmth just hours previously. Warmth that was now nothing more than an illusion, an apparition only by way of memory of what was now gone in the screams of skidded tires and breaking glass.Rebecca's grin grew wide, like a snake uncoiling in triumph. Her words oozed syrupy sweetness, every line a planned stab in Silvia's belly: "I told you, sweetheart. He knows whose side is next to him."Silvia found her voice, though her voice shook. "Ralph, it's me. Your wife. Silvia." She took a step closer, her gaze locked with his vacant eyes, hoping for a flicker of recognition, a spark of her beloved husband.He furrowed his brow, a wrinkle of confusion tracing its way across his face. "Wife?" He used the term as though it was unfamiliar, his tone coarse. He looked at Rebecca with a silent questioning gaze. Her other hand gripped his more firmly. "Don't strain yourself, m
Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love Chapter 58
Silvia’s heart was in her throat, pounding so hard she could feel it like a tolling bell behind her ribs . The call of doom had come from a hospital nearly an hour away from the mansion, not even the one closest to him. That alone had sent a spike of dread through her chest, but what followed was worse.Ralph had been in an accident. And she had been the last person he communicated with.She barely remembered the ride over. Everything felt like it was moving too fast and too slow at once. The world outside the window had blurred by, all while time inside her seemed frozen. Just this morning, they’d been together. Just this morning, he’d kissed her forehead and said he’d try to come back early. He’d promised. Who knew he wouldn’t even get to the airport let alone, Chicago?Fate was a fickle bitch.The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air as she rushed through sliding glass doors, each step heavier than the last.The doctor who met her didn’t sugarcoat the diagnosis, and it hit
Signed to Suffer, Destined to Love Chapter 57
Silvia woke up to Ralph’s nose buried in her neck. With a small laugh, she squirmed underneath him, warmth still lingering from sleep. “Where are you going?” Ralph tutted and tightened his arms around her.She blinked once, then again, realizing his belt buckle was digging slightly into her hip. She glanced down. He was wearing dark slacks and a tucked shirt, his cufflinks already fastened. His tie hung loose around his neck like an afterthought. Ralph was fully dressed. Of course, he was. It was so like him to rise early, get ready, and then come back to bed to hold her one last time.She had woken up in his bed more times than she could count, and the times she had in the recent days were so light and happy that she could nearly forget what it had been like, all those months ago, to wake up here sore and tense, with his sharp words still ringing in her ears.The first two times had been filled with insults, pain, and humiliation. She’d been drenched by a gallon of water, drowned
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Silvia leaned forward, her other hand on his chest so that she could sense the thumping of his heart. "That is what you are doing now, though," she told him. "Each child who is treated there, whose family is assisted there—you're saving that boy over and over." Ralph's hand went up to rest over hers, grasping it tightly against his chest as if grounding himself. "It doesn't seem like enough." "It never will." Silvia agreed. "That is the very reason we persist. We continue building. We struggle on." "We," he said. "Yes, we," Silvia confirmed right away. "Your wars are mine now. Remember?" There was a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I made the same promises, I believe." "For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer." She had inserted the last one herself, but it had sounded necessary—a recognition that their journey would have its darkness as well as its light. Ralph breathed deep, his breathing unsteady. "I don't know how I can rationalize any of it," he said. "My mother wa
