Mistress Avenue

Chapter Nineteen: A Mother's Love

In the entirety of Delilah's life, she never utter the words 'mother' or 'mom', at least not when referring to theMadam that took care of her; raised, bathe, and fed for the past eighteen years. At first the young woman felt guilty for not uttering the word, perhaps she did when first learning how to speak; however, she never recalled the day of deciding to stop labeling Charlotte in such a powerful context. In her heart, deep down, Delilah knew it would be wrong; it did not taste right upon her tongue nor stuck in her mind that the madam that raised her could be her actual mother; blood or not, that she would earn such a title.

"You ruined me!" Delilah was reminded many times on why she could not utter the meaning with many names. Charlotte's screams shook the walls, her icy glares placed frost upon the windows, and fingers curling cracked like a whip upon soft flesh. "You've committed treason and now the General in all of England is on my arse, you selfish girl!"

The young woman stood strong, her eyes narrowed and lips thin, she wanted to speak, yell or even fuss back with all the night and strength she held in one petite form; but she couldn't, her mind drifts off to the first time Charlotte has grown upset and yelled at her. It was only ten years ago, her first time being able to fully clean the house and cook; she was perfect for the job, however it was one job that was difficult for such a small girl.

It was to fetch the water in order to mop the floor, the bucket itself weighed so much, on top of piling water upon that weight, Delilah couldn't hold on, it was just too heavy. Charlotte was hosting a lunch party for the Ambassador from Ireland, Delilah was told to keep her head down, hide in the shadows, to not be heard or seen by anyone- not even the girls. However, the bucket was heavy, her arms weaker, and the fast dash through the sitting room and into the kitchen turned into a harsh fall. The water soaked the Ambassador's pants and shoes, he left with a fuss, and Delilah went to bed with a red bum.

"Aren't you listening?!" Fingers snapped just inches in front of her face, causing her to blink and jump out of the childhood memory. Charlotte was red in the face by time she took a breath, her chest fell and rise hard and fast, eyes narrowed and lips still thin. "Of course you're not, that American has brainwashed you, made you forget who you are and where you come from. Enough is enough, I will not stand by and allow my business to be burned because y-"

"I'm moving to America." Delilah's tone was light, her lips cocked into a bright smile as if Charlotte were praising her instead of wanting to rip her head off.

"What on earth are you speaking about girl?" The older woman spat. "Moving to America? With him? Then what? You two get married and have children, you are delusional." She laughed wickedly, Delilah's mind drifts back to a play her and Amelie snuck into through the roof, the villain was a wicked witch that tried to take a baby from its mother. The laugh was so similar, Delilah thought it was Charlotte who was the witch in real life, even now she would not doubt the plot being her own life.

The young woman scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "You are such a cold heart woman, it's sad."

Charlotte freezes, her laughter died as the wicked smirk upon her face pulled back into a snarl. "How dare you speak to me that way, I'm-"

"Don't bother threatening what you have never shown me. Mothers do not take their children's dreams and smash it against rocks, she doesn't allow her own daughters fuck strangers for money in order to live. I had a mother, she died trying to be away from all of this, to not follow in her aunt and mother's footsteps. Sure, her life wasn't perfect, she didn't have proper love towards the end of her time, but at least she was satisfied and happy. That's the least I can say during my eighteen years of life being here."