When my alarm rang at 7:30 in the morning, I shut the clock off and stretched my body out. I hadn't slept that well in years. I reluctantly pulled myself out of the comfy bed and dressed in a pair of blue jeans, an old faded t-shirt, and a grey hoodie.
Looking at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I realized that my bruises were heinous looking. My face was covered in black and blue markings. My eyes looked exhausted with dark rings underneath them.
I left all of the very minimal makeup I owned at my father's house, so I had nothing to conceal the bruises with. I sighed, shaking my head. I didn't want people to see my face like that. It was humiliating.
After dressing, I made the bed and sat down on the corner of it as I still had some time before I needed to meet Arsenio. As I sat down, my anxious thoughts came rushing back into my mind, and my stomach felt sick. I wasn't sure what to expect and I was scared. I went from living in an abusive home to being housed in a mansion by an intimidating stranger within a day. I didn't know what to think, it was all very overwhelming and unexpected.
When it was time, I headed to the staircase and saw Arsenio looking down at his watch. He noticed me hopping down the stairs and peered up at my face. I felt disgusting under his gaze. I knew he could see my marred face and my worn-out clothing.
He was most likely criticizing me, internally mocking me for my appearance. I looked away from him, feeling inferior and self-conscious under his unrelenting gaze.
When I reached the bottom of the staircase, he walked away through an opening in the hallway. I stood at the base of the stairs, not sure if I should follow. He soon reappeared and glared at me with his cold eyes.
"Are you going to stand there and look stupid all day or are you going to come here?" He demanded, an irritated tone lacing his voice. Blushing from embarrassment, I hobbled toward him and through the opening that he had walked through. I saw couches, chairs, and a coffee table, so I assumed we were in his living room.
He pointed to a leather couch in the middle of the room and motioned for me to sit. He walked out of the door and left me to myself. Since he was gone, I took it upon myself to look around the room. There were large windows on each side of the room with dark curtains, but the curtains were pulled back to let light in.
On one side of the room in its own spot, a piano sat. It was a gorgeous instrument. I didn't know how to play the piano and I didn't know anyone who did, but I always thought it was lovely to hear. Maybe one day in the future I would take lessons or something. Although, at the moment, my future was unknown and most likely not promising.
A few moments later, Arsenio walked into the room with an older man who I assumed was the doctor.
The man approached me and extended his hand. "Hello, Eloise. I am Doctor Rossi, and I will be treating your injury today." His voice held an Italian accent as well. I shook his hand and smiled at him. "So, Mr. Campione tells me you have an injured ankle. What happened, dear?" He asked while looking at me curiously. His eyes also wandered my face and I knew he was analyzing the bruises.
"I was just walking through the woods and I tripped over a stump and landed on my ankle. I couldn't put any weight on it and it swelled up and started bruising immediately." I didn't elaborate at all as to why I was wandering through the woods.
He nodded and examined my foot closely, asking if there was any pain when he added pressure to certain spots. After a few moments, he looked up at me. "Well good news dear, your ankle is not broken. You have, however, sprained it severely. Do not put weight on it for three days, possibly even longer if it still hurts to apply a little bit of weight to it. Use your crutches to walk. After those three-plus days, use your crutches to walk for two more weeks. Slowly apply more of your weight to your ankle each day. Then, after that, use this air cast when you walk for a week and you should be good to go. Any questions?"
Eloise shook her head. "No, Sir."
The doctor nodded. "Now that your ankle is taken care of, what happened to your face, dear?"
I felt my face visibly pale and I stared at Doctor Rossi in shock.
"Oh, ah. It's nothing. We don't have to talk about it." I was extremely uncomfortable and did not want these strangers to know about my past. It was shameful and humiliating, and also traumatic. I didn't want to discuss it. The thought of talking about the abuse I endured at the hands of my father made it harder to breathe.
"Ok, dear, we won't. If your ankle does not heal properly within three weeks or if it gets worse, have Mr. Campione call me and we will make you an appointment at my office. As for the bruises, apply ice packs to your face a few times daily."
I nodded my head in agreement. "Okay, thank you, Dr. Rossi." The doctor left the room and I soon heard the front door open and close.
"Thank you, Sir, for having a doctor come look at me," I said to Arsenio. He didn't answer, just stood in front of me, staring at my face in awkward silence.
"What are the bruises from?'" He asked without a hint of concern in his voice. I immediately formulated a lie because I was not going to tell him the shameful truth that my father beat me to the point of near unconsciousness.
"I fell a few times in the woods and hit my face off of branches and rocks." I didn't even believe my lie, but hopefully, he would. He stared for a few seconds and I saw an intense anger flash through his eyes. "I do not tolerate lying. Why are you lying to me?" He angrily questioned through gritted teeth.
"I'm not lying, Sir," I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible even though I was crumbling inside from fear. He walked closer and stood directly in front of me. He was so close that we were almost touching. I could feel his warm breath cascading over my face as he bent down to my eye level. Being eye-to-eye with him was even more intimidating than looking up at him.
I lower my eyes to the floor.
An evil smirk appeared on his perfectly chiseled face and he roughly grabbed my chin between his fingers. I flinched back because it was a natural instinct when people got too close to me.
"You will treat me with respect. When I talk to you or you to me, you will look me in the eyes. Now, enough lying. What happened?" He questioned with malice in his voice I had never encountered before. His voice made me flinch back again.
Arsenio's POV
I watched the girl as she stood next to me in the foyer on her crutches. Her shorter height was humorous as I had to lean my neck down to look at her face.
Now that I was closer to her level, I saw the bruises littered across her face. I felt a rage begin to bubble within my stomach. Not because I felt sympathy for her, but because she was my property and no one abuses my property.
How had I not noticed these bruises before?
Probably because she was covered in dirt and they hadn't fully darkened on her face yet. Which meant those bruises were fresh. Someone had hurt her recently.
After Dr. Rossi examined her, I grew even more livid when she wouldn't let him treat her bruises or tell him what happened. I wanted to know who hurt her. They wouldn't do so again.
"What are the bruises from?" I asked, my voice emotionless. Based on her actions, I assumed my distant behavior intimidated her. That was exactly the way I wanted it. I didn't have the time nor did I want to formulate a friendly relationship with her. Our relationship would be completely professional and that needed to be instilled now, as early as possible.
She pulled her gaze from the floor, meeting my eyes. "I fell a few times in the woods and hit my face off of branches and rocks." She was lying to me. I understood why though, she didn't know me and she was clearly afraid of me, but it upset me that she has the audacity to lie to me. I had been nothing but hospitable toward her. I'd given her no reason to lie to me.
"I do not tolerate lying. Why are you lying to me?" I questioned her.
"I'm not lying, Sir." She said, trying her best to sound convincing, but I could see right through her facade. I walked toward her and stopped in front of her. I was so close to her that our chests almost touched.
I bent down to be eye-to-eye with her, hopefully putting even more fear into the terrified girl. It seemed to work, as she lowered her gaze to the floor. She would learn to respect me.
I smirked at her, grabbing her chin between my fingers. She flinched back when I grabbed her face as if she thought I would hit her. I assumed that reaction had something to do with the bruises. While I wasn't a gentleman, nor was I a kind-hearted man, I would never injure a woman. Men in my organization were punished and even killed for putting their hands on women.
However, I would do nothing and say nothing to change her opinion of me. Having her hate me would be much easier than her developing some type of connection to me. I offered her a job and a bed to sleep in, but that was it. I wasn't offering her some kind of emotional relationship.
"You will respect me. When I talk to you or you to me, you will look me in the eyes. Now enough lying. What happened?" She flinched back again.
I saw her visibly gulp at my words and her eyes widened before she answered. "I'm not lying, Sir." She said this with the utmost confidence that if I was a dumber man, I would've believed her.
Her facial expressions were the telltale sign of her deceit, but I also had a gut feeling that she was lying. If she felt like she claimed she had, she would've told the doctor that, rather than declining to tell him.
I could see that the bruises and apparently the person who inflicted the bruises were a difficult subject for her, so I decided against forcing her to tell me. For now.
"Fine. I will find out eventually. I expect you to start working tomorrow. You will not have to clean until you are in your air cast, but you will still cook. You will always eat after me and after you eat, you will wash the dishes. Since you cannot walk, you will also not have to do the dishes until you use the air cast.
I have meetings to attend today so you will be here by yourself. Do not go into any room but yours, the living room, the kitchen, or if you need it in, the cleaning closet. You are welcome to any food in the kitchen. Don't try running away either because I will know if you do. Running away won't end well for you. Even though escaping would be fruitless because you consented to this arrangement."
"Yes, Sir." Eloise nodded her head in agreement with my words.
"Good, I will see you tomorrow morning for breakfast," I said, walking out of the room toward the front doors.