CW: physical assault.
You're walking your way into the woods to meet Angel while pulling your long sleeves down to cover the new bruises those men have left on you. Ever since you realized your feelings for the Angel Devil, you've become a little self-conscious around him. You don't want him to see you covered in bruises because you thought that it will turn him off.
The other maids in the mansion helped you cover up the bruises using cheap make-up. They also taught you about basic make-up, so that when you meet with Angel... You can feel confident. After all, he's a gorgeous devil, and standing next to him looking like a beaten potato is kinda embarrassing.
Shortly after the walk, you arrived at your meeting spot, but he was not there. "Angel?" You approached the tree and looked around. "Oh, he's running late," you murmured.
"y/n." A familiar voice called you from behind.
Your face immediately lightens up, and your lips smile wide before turning around. You were about to say something but paused when you saw him handing you a single pink poppy flower. He's averting his gaze while lightly kicking stones on the ground like a shy middle schooler talking to his crush.
"I saw this on my way here, and thought that this will suit you, so I picked it up." He said, stepping a little closer to carefully slide the flower on top of your ear without touching you.
He then takes a step back as you try to feel the flower on your ear. "I'm right. This flower suits you, y/n. You look like a fairy." He said, smiling.
"Thank you, Angel." That's all you managed to say as your heart won't stop pounding fast. What is this? I can't relax. I feel like I'm about to explode.
"You're welcome. Next time I'll bring you a bouquet of that flower!"
You giggled and nodded cheerfully as Angel remained silent, staring at you. There's a brief silence between you two as you both stare at each other with a strong desire to reach out... God knows how badly you want to hug this Devil in front of you, but you know it's forbidden.
This is bad, I'm becoming greedy.
After a few seconds, you cleared your throat to break the silence. "Let's eat! I brought curry buns and custard cakes for a change." You said as you began to lay a cloth on the ground and prepare the food. Angel sat two feet away from you, his head resting on his knees, watching you.
"Beautiful." He whispered gently.
"Huh?" You asked, looking at him. Angel's eyes widened upon realizing what he'd said out loud. He then sat straight, clearing his throat.
"Ah, I said... I like custard cakes."
"Oh! Is that so? Here, taste it. I bought it from the same bakery where I get the curry buns, and I guarantee that they make the best custard cake in Tokyo!" You said and handed him the sliced cake.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome! Enjoy the food."
While eating quietly, and thinking of a topic to open, your gaze was drawn to the large trunk of the tree behind you and thought of something. "Hey, Angel, Angel, Angel!"
"Yeah?"
"Let's carve our names here so that when we get old and forgetful... We can remember that this is our tree!" you said as you bit the curry bun and dusted your palm. You then grabbed your bag, rummaged through it to get your small pocket knife, and began carving the tree with hearts.
Angel just watches you with his head resting on his palm, admiring your beauty. You finish the buns before you speak again. "I'll write Angel, and y/n was here, but I need your help with the spelling," You giggled shyly. You've been practicing reading, and writing words during your free time in the mansion, but some spellings are still hard for you.
Angel jolted from his seat when you suddenly looked at him. He tried to calm himself by clearing his throat and looking away. "All right... That's—nice... That's nice."
"Ha! I'm a genius!" You said and returned to carving. Angel averted his gaze and breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing she didn't notice that I was staring at her.
"Wait, how do I write your name? It starts with A, right?"
"Yes. A-N-G-E-L"
"A-N-G-E-L" You repeated while carving.
Angel returned his gaze to you, and while raising your arms, the sleeves drooped, revealing your bruises. Angel's eyes widened as he moved closer to pull your sleeves down carefully.
"These were fresh bruises, y/n."
You pulled your arms away from him and covered them with your sleeves. "Don't look. It's disgusting."
"They didn't stop hurting you... Why are you keeping this from me?"
"I—" You paused when Angel took his handkerchief and dampened them with water from the bottle.
"Don't move." He whispered and carefully wiped your face, removing the concealer. You hissed when he put a little pressure on wiping.
"I thought that since you don't have any more bruises on your face, the beating stopped. You're just covering them this whole time?"
You moved back and turned around, hugging your knees. "I—I don't want you to worry... besides, who would like to see a face full of bruises. It's ugly! It's disgusting!"
"You don't have to hide those from me, y/n. You're not ugly. In my eyes, you're the most beautiful."
You remained silent, and Angel sat beside you, resting his back against the big trunk. "You don't have to endure it, y/n. You can leave." He said as his hands formed a fist.
"You know my situation, Angel. It's not that easy..."
Angel calmed himself first before speaking again. "Do you want to live with me? I have a bigger unit, you can stay there as long as you want. Leave that awful place and be with me. I can protect you!"
"I—" You want to say yes, but you are aware of your boss' power. You turned around to face him. "I can't. Boss has a lot of connections, and he might find where you are working and hurt you. I won't let that happen,"
"y/n, I'm a devil hunter. Our boss has a lot of connections as well... She wields far more power than your boss. I can approach her and ask for protection. I can speak with Aki... to whoever... Even to a god. I will go to any length to protect you... to pull you away from that horrible place."
"But—"
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes." You replied without hesitation.
"Then come live with me."
❀
Angel is standing beneath the big tree, smiling while tracing the name that you carved there with his finger. Today is the day that you and Angel are supposed to meet. You accepted his offer and decided to finally leave that place. You've had enough of being mistreated and want to move forward with him...
He's that someone that you've been waiting for, and he's the risk that you're willing to take.
Angel looked at his watch and then at the bushes where you usually appear. He sighed nervously as you were already ten minutes late. His heart won't stop pounding, thinking of different scenarios.
No. Nothing bad will happen. We planned this very well.
SIX HOURS EARLIER
You're looking at your small bag to check if you packed all the things you need. Angel said just to bring some essentials so that they won't get suspicious. He said that as soon as you get out of that place, you both will go on shopping, and that excites you because that sounded like a date.
The door of your small room suddenly swung open, causing you to flinch. You quickly pushed the bag behind the boxes to hide it.
"y/n," The guy with the mohawk hair greeted you in a taunting tone with a smirk on his face. Soon after, the boss entered the room.
"B—boss." You nervously stood up, glancing at your bag before bowing. He didn't utter a word and just walked towards you. The sound of his shoe resonates in the four corners of your small room as your heart began to pound so fast, scared of what will happen next. The boss rarely visits the maid's quarter, and seeing him now, makes you overthink things.
You shut your eyes tightly as you slowly stood straight and looked at him. The boss examined you from head to toe. His gaze feels like it is stripping you naked, and it makes you feel extremely uneasy.
"You're eighteen now, right?"
"Yes—Yes, boss."
"Good. You don't have to do the chores anymore..."
"What? I'm sorry, Boss, but I don't understand."
"Remember what I said to you, y/n?" The guy with mohawk hair said, peering behind the boss. Your body began to stiffen as if someone poured cold water on you.
You can't leave this place. You are bound to serve this family until you die... or if you want, I can tell the boss to sell you. That way, we can get the money your father owes us... Those dirty old men will surely like a submissive bitch like you.
His words repeated in your head made the corner of your eyes burn. "No, No." You mumbled, shaking your head repeatedly.
"Prepare yourself. You will be auctioned tomorrow night." The boss said as he held the end of your hair, brushing them with his fingers.
"No, Boss! Please... Anything but that," you begged, clutching his arm. "I will—I will do more chores, errands, whatever you ask of me, but please don't sell me..."
The Boss snatched his arm away from your grip and slapped you across the face so hard that you fell to the floor. "You know you're going to be sold when you reach a certain age, right? I have to get the money your father owes me in some way."
"I didn't know anything about it! You said that I will serve this family until I die, so please don't sell me, Boss!" Even though your face hurt, you managed to sit on the floor and hold his feet.
Your boss kicked your gut, causing you to let go. You coughed loudly while holding your stomach.
"Who are you to defy my order?" The Boss said and spat at your face. You looked away, and your eyes caught the small pocket knife under your bed. I want to live my life with Angel. I want to live a normal life... The life that I deserve!
"You're just a piece of trash that I can dispose whenever I want. Tch! I hate stupid bitches like you." The Boss turned around and was about to leave your room when you quickly grabbed the pocket knife and charged at him, but before you could even stab him... His men held you. You only managed to scratch his arm when you swung the knife, causing them bleed.
Your life suddenly flashes in your eyes. Trembling in fear, you let go of the knife, making it fall to the floor. "I—I'm sorry, Boss. I didn't mean—"
"You know what you will do." The Boss said to his men and stepped out of the room without looking at you.
Your mind suddenly went blank as you stared at the absence. All you could hear were those men's devilish laughs while cracking their knuckles.
❀
Your eyes have swollen, and your entire face is covered in blood. They've been beating mercilessly you for six hours straight. They took a turn in punching, kicking, and beating your whole body while ignoring your pleas as if they couldn't hear anything.
Still not satisfied, they forcefully shaved the back of your head with a razor. They then heated an iron seal and inscribed their family emblem on your scalp, branding you, as if they were branding an animal.
You endured all the pain, hoping it will end soon. All you can think about is getting out... I need to meet Angel. He must be waiting for me now.
After long hours of torture, the men are now sleeping, wasted in drugs and alcohol. This is your last chance to get out of this place.
You gather your strength and crawl on the floor, pulling your body with your left arm because your right arm is already broken.
You're moving slowly, but you're determined to get out of that room. You even used your face to help you in crawling, but you came to a halt when you saw feet at the door.
Tears welled in your eyes as you slowly looked up, and saw who was standing in front.