Felix’s tone turned colder. “Danica went too far. I won’t touch her, but I can make an example out of someone else.” He paused, then said, “Bring me the whip. The one soaked in salt.”
My whole body started shaking. She wasn’t just framing me. She wanted him to think I was something filthy. Someone he could punish.
Felix stepped closer, whip in hand, looking at me. For a second, he hesitated. His eyes narrowed slightly, like something felt off. The lights were dim. Maybe he saw it. Maybe he felt it. That something about me was familiar.
Then—
“Honey…” Shannon hugged him from behind, her voice soft and trembling. “Thank you for standing up for me. That woman… she hurt me so much…”
I knew why he didn’t recognize me. I never wore servant uniforms and I always kept my hair long, the way he liked it. The woman in front of him now had short, uneven hair and a cheap uniform, and there was no way, in his mind, that I could be his Danica. I saw it in his eyes, the moment that thought settled in, everything warm in him disappeared. What was left was cold and violent and insane.