12 years later
Smack! The thunderous slap across the cheek in the room could be heard. The sting of the slap was like a lightning bolt, jolting her senses. Her cheek burned with pain, her head reeling from the force of the blow. She winced, trying to hold back tears as she felt the humiliation and anger welling up inside her. This was not the first time she had been struck by Patricia, but the embarrassment and fear never seemed to fade. The rage in Patricia's eyes was like a shadow that hung over her, a constant reminder of her powerlessness and insignificance. " How did my clothes get stained!?" She yelled at her, but Clarisse could not utter a word, knowing the gravity. Not talking back at her is one of the rules she must not forget and not responding to her when she's talking is like looking for the tigress's trouble and cutting the tail of its baby. She had received the slap cause she was trying to explain. " Are you deaf?" She yelled, but all Clarisse could do was quiver in fear. " I'm sorry ma'am", she managed to say, tears threatening to fall. " Sorry? Is sorry going to amend my dress? Is that how your mother taught you?...". As her tirade continued, she cowered before her, afraid to look her in the eye. Her body ached from the endless hours of labor, her feet sore from standing on the cold tiles. " It would all end in two days, take it in Clarisse, you can do it, just two more days", she comforted herself continuously, she thought that there would be no escape from her cruelty, no respite from the misery of her existence and that all her life would be is a constant cycle of pain, degradation, and hopelessness. But in the depths of her despair, a spark of defiance smoldered, a tiny flame that refused to be extinguished. In just two more days, she would be free of this place and these people. She did not say a word till Patricia threw the dress at her face and stormed away. She pulled it down her head slowly using it to wipe away her tears in the process. Just then someone threw dirty panties on the floor for her. " Do I always have to remind you to come and pack my panties, is it until they started smelling and giving my room some smell before you know you ought to do your duty?", " I'm sorry", " Ugh! You disgust me", she said covering her nose and made to walk away but turned and said, "A quick reminder, you know I don't like those machines washing my undies, and do that with your hands, thoroughly", she said and walked away. Clarisse squatted in defeat and began to pack the underwear; it was her duty to wash their underwear, do the dishes, and tidy up their rooms; she barely had time to sleep, not to talk of having time for herself. Tears filled her eyes as she packed it, it was humiliating to her, she was filled with rage, anger, and fury at her parents for leaving her behind to this cruel family, angry at her mother for saving her that night, now her resilience was restored, she has a tiny hope of survival and has been counting days. Now, just two more days to get away from hell. She walked out of the room to see the new maid pulling one of the maids to one side, they do that whenever they want to gossip about something which is not something new among the maids so she pays no attention to it, she already knows it's about her. " Not like they treat any of us maids nicely but what's her deal, does she have some special offense?", The new maid asked, " Not anyone that I know of", the other maid replied, " Since my arrival, if I still can't master the house rules it's because of the constant yelling and nagging and beating of this maid, did she snatch the Madam's husband?", " Can someone as pale and lean as her even get to seduce the chairman?", The other maid laughed but it soon died down as she looked towards Clarisse and wore a new expression of pity, " Ever since my arrival in this house, there's one thing I've never seen, her smile, I can't tell what it looks like. She is the daughter of the chairman's brother", " What? You mean their cousin?", She was surprised to hear that, " You heard right, her parents died when she was 12 and they took charge of her, but since then she has become a maid in the house, barely fed, barely clothed, she's always walking around on her feet and no one dares offer her a pair of slippers, I can count how many clothes she has for the past years since I've been here", " How many are they?", She asked curiously, " Probably three or four", " They'd be tattered by now", " No", " No?", " That's one amazing thing about her, she took good care of them even though there are patches", " Are these people the only family she had", " No, but these are the only people that probably give a damn. And the people that give a damn treat her like a slave", " I guess this is why everyone calls her the house slave", " Don't call her that, that'll be so inhuman", " Yeah, I won't, that's so harsh, but that's the truth, you know", she said and rolled her eyes, " have they ever treated her nice? You know, on Christmas? New Year? At least they would treat her nicely during days like that". The other maid burst into laughter, "Sorry, but I found that question funny; treat her nice? they've never; sometimes, she doesn't eat anything during Christmas; all she does is do dishes and wash clothes. They've never given her gifts or bought her clothes, beat her mercilessly at any opportunity they get for any mistake, while their bratty daughter enjoys all the luxury, she, on the other hand, enjoys all the suffering, I think what you've just witnessed is a perfect example of how badly she is treated, I mean, who slapped a bride two days to her wedding", " A bride?! Wedding?!", She exclaimed, she was so surprised cause there wasn't any sign that a wedding was on the way, " Yes, a wedding, I feel so bad for her?", " Why feel bad? This is a perfect opportunity to get away from these monsters", " Yeah, I would have said that if I hadn't known who she's getting married to, I bet she doesn't know herself and we dare not say a word if you don't want to be her next of kin of suffering", " Who is she getting married to", " You won't tell her?", " I promise. Wait is it some fucked up family?", " It'd have been better if it's just a fucked up family, the husband is a definition of an unfortunate man, a monster", " What? Why?". The maid sighed and drew her closer then whispered into her ears. The new maid gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes widened like she just heard some freaking horror story, she wished she could run to Clarisse and tell her to run, run as fast as she could but all she could do was tremble and shiver away."Let me guess, that's 'Unity' by Alan Walker". Clarisse looked up to see the new maid, " You're humming Unity by Alan Walker right?", " Yes", she nodded slightly, " Didn't know you know the song", " I love it, there are some songs I can relate to, and they're my best songs", she said spreading the panties and the new maid assisted her, " thank you", " It's nothing, my name is Abigail", " That's a nice name, can I call you Abby?", She asked sweetly, " I'd love that", Abigail grinned, " whose panties are these?", " Alice's panties", " You wash it with the washing machine right?", " No, she does not like that", " Huh? She does not like it? But yet she can't even wash her panties?" Abby scoffed disgustedly, "If I'm the one, I'll tear off three out of it and tell her It was a mistake." Clarisse chuckled, "That's too bad, I can't do that", " Why? You have nothing to lose", " Maybe, but I can't let anything hinder my wedding; I just have two more days; I've endur
Expensive cars worth millions kept pulling up in front of the venue, one of which Alice alighted from in magnificent glory, dressed in a black short gown, tight and showing her curves and cleavage, and a black stiletto, her smooth and black hair was left unpack, falling over her shoulder, her neck was accompanied by a silver necklace and diamond earrings, and her fingers clutched around her purse, she looks so breathtaking and every guys and guards she walked by turned to take another look at her, drooling and tripping. She was a very beautiful lady. She walked into the venue, looking through the area full of heirs and heiresses. The party was made for elites only, sons and daughters of millionaires and billionaires, and the venue was decorated accordingly. The venue was spacious, the tables and chairs were well decorated and arranged neatly, and the aroma of expensive meals filled the air, along with juices and alcohols of all kinds, the decorated area adorned the sprawling garden,
It was finally the day; Clarisse quickly did her chores so she could get ready for the wedding. She woke up as early as possible, and with the help of her colleagues, she was able to finish the chores early, and they helped her pack her few belongings. She was looking so excited, finally breaking off from prison called home, and from Patricia's claws, happy and bright days seemed to be smiling at her. She closed her eyes as she felt the makeup brush dancing on her face. " Dad, Mum", she called in her mind, " thought you had forsaken me, I'm sorry for having the thought of you hating me, I know you're watching over me right now, your daughter is about to get married, I'm finally leaving this dungeon, I don't know what my future says nor do I know what it holds, but I believe I'm finally going to have the cause to smile, have a deep sleep and rest, and I hope my husband is handsome", she giggled in her mind causing her to smile. Patricia scoffed on seeing her smile, "Can you haste
The wedding was finally over; following Victor to his home, which was just a few steps away from his family house, she trailed behind him like a shadow, silent and submissive; the air was heavy with a sense of dread, and she could feel her heart beating like a caged bird. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, afraid to meet his eyes, for fear of what she might see in them. Victor halted when they got to the sitting room; he pulled off his suit and smashed it hard on the floor, yelling loudly and startling her. His face was a mask of anger, twisted into a snarl of hate. His eyes blazed with a furious intensity, like two coals in a dying fire. He loathed his new bride with every fiber of his being, resentful of the marriage and the trick pulled on him, he felt stupid and humiliated. As he led her into their home, he felt his rage rise like a tidal wave, threatening to wash away any shred of humanity that remained in him. " When do you plan this?", She could hear the hatred in his voice
Just as the family wanted, Clarisse became invisible; she doesn't go out from morning till night, and the only time she goes to fetch food is at midnight, knowing that's the time with the highest probability that she wouldn't come across any of them. She avoids Victor the most, sleeps all the couch every night, and vanishes into the store room very early in the morning so he won't see her as he ordered, she would come out of the store room or closet after she confirmed he had left for work and when it's 12 in the night, she switched off all light as instructed of him so he wouldn't see her when he comes back. She kept living like this for about two weeks until one night. A night she would never forget. Victor was having a nice time in the club with Klaus, enjoying the feeling of the women's bodies around him, he was having a blast when he sighted a figure that resembled that of Alice. He pushed one of them off him and quickly stood up, following the figure whose arms were wrapped aro
(A month later) The Percy family stood around the hospital bed; Ashley sat beside their grandfather, tending to him and changing the stockings. He was rushed to the hospital due to a heart attack, and his son and grandchildren all stood beside him, looking sad. " How are you feeling now?" " Very bad, I feel like I'm about to die", " Stop saying that", Chris and Ashley said almost shouting, " You're not going to die, and stop scaring us", Chris mumbled but he heard, " It's the truth, and let me see my grandchildren before I die", " There's no way you'll see your grandchildren before you die", " Gael!!", They screamed his name and Chris hit him hard behind the neck, " Ouch! Why do you hit me?", " Say something like that again and I'm going to break your head", " Not like I'm not telling the truth", he grumbled, "At least let me attend my grandson's wedding before I die", " I'm always ready to get married, grandfather; mum is the one delaying". The grandfather
Clarisse's eyes flickered, moving slowly on the bed, her eyes opened to see the white ceiling, and the smell around was familiar, she looked around to see the drip being passed to her." You're in the hospital", she heard a feminine voice say, " Fainting around on the street like a homeless cat, I don't know what rumor you're trying to spread, that we're maltreating you?", Bree said irritatedly. Clarisse turned to look at her, she was the only one present with her in the dimly lit hospital room.Bree wanted to say something when the doctor came in." How are you feeling? Mrs Arthur?".Mrs Arthur? That sounds odd and a reminder she's married to the Arthur's family which she doesn't like." Can..you...just call me... Clarisse?", Her weak voice said," Oh, okay, how are you feeling? Clarisse?"," Weak, I feel so weak"," That's understandable, you've shown all symptoms of Malnutrition and that's not good considering the position you were in?"," Position? What position?", Bree asked mov
One of the maids looked around mindfully before entering the Lamborghini car, slamming the door carefully, she bowed after sitting beside the woman reeking of wealth and authority, sitting next to her in a privilege she might never get in her lifetime again." Good afternoon, Ma'am"," Good afternoon, how's it?"," They've changed the woman your son is getting married to"," What?! What do you mean by that?"," Apparently, their biological daughter turned down the proposal of marrying your son, ma'am".Sharon scoffed and laughed, " I'm damn sure it's because of the rumors, no offense, that makes it perfect, I was never in support anyways, thanks for your hard work"," But"," But?"," Yes ma'am, he's still going to marry from their family"," What do you mean?"," I told you they've changed the daughter he's marrying"," Oh yeah, I forgot you said that which other daughter do they have?"," Mr. Ferdinand's brother's daughter, he's her new father since her parents died"," From the inf