Page 6
Chapter Six
Elodie
P acing my room, anxiety creeps in my throat. It’s been one whole week since I sent the letter with Elton. One week since I decided to take the dive and do what I wanted for once. My chest feels tight as my breathing gets harder. Each day I mark off the calendar is another day that I am stuck without a potential purpose. It’s stupid, really. According to the others, my purpose in life is to be a good daughter, wife, and one day, mother. I am expected to be demure, mindful, and quiet. My husband’s wish will be my command.
That’s not what I want at all. I want to feel alive. I want to let the wind flow through my hair like I read about in those fairy tales. Obviously, they aren’t real, but right now, I feel like a weird mix between Cinderella and Rapunzel. The only difference is I have nicer clothing and my reddish-blonde hair isn’t that long. I’m almost not as skinny as either of them, but I bite my tongue. We all have that in common. A knock on my door startles me. The hope in my stomach skyrockets until it creaks open and reveals Father’s face.
“Ah, good. You’re up.” He walks into the room, leaving the door open for anyone to hear. “As an…apology of sorts for the associate’s behavior last week, I have reinstated your gym privileges.” Some happiness blooms back into my body. I will admit that I have had a bit of fun lounging around and reading books all day. Anything is better than Ms. Petrov, that’s for dang sure.
“Thank you, Father,” I answer quietly, my eyes trained on the ground.
Eye contact will not be maintained unless ordered by the male. He shall dictate what he likes and dislikes. Eyes will remain on the floor unless he says otherwise. Hands will be tightly clasped behind your back to show submissiveness.
“I have a business meeting on Friday here at the house. If you could make yourself scarce, that would be appreciated.” In other words, if you don’t leave us the heck alone unless we need booze, then I am in for a serious punishment.
“Yes, Father,” I agree without hesitation. “Do you know what rooms you will be frequenting so I know to avoid them?”
“Avoid the main living area, the dining area, and the offices. Other than that, you should be free range. If something changes, I will have Elton inform you.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Very good,” he reaches into his pocket and grabs his phone. After a few beats, I watch him turn on his heels, exiting the room. My heart smashes against its enclosure roughly as I finally breathe. Processing the interaction, my body finally catches up to the fact that I will be able to use the gym again. Stretching every night is good, but when you can’t follow it up with anything, it doesn’t feel as appealing. That and if I get caught marking myself in any way, I will for sure get a worse punishment than having the gym privileges revoked.
I go to change into gym attire when another knock echoes through my room. Brows dipping in confusion, I clasp my hands behind my back and drop my eyes to the carpet before calling out to them.
“Ms. DuClaire,” Elton shushes and my eyes snap up to him. He has a manella file in his outstretched hand. A moment passes before my brain catches up with what is going on.
“Is that…” I stop, instead dashing toward him to grab the folder. “Thank you so much, Elton, you have no idea how much I appreciate you.” His smile is soft, and gentle as he shuts the door behind him.
There’s no address listed on the envelope, which confuses me a little bit, but I don’t think anything of it. Ripping open the packet, I see my application in the folder. My shoulders slump when I pull it out and toss it onto the bed. This must mean they denied my application. Yeah, I listed that I’m a virgin. So what? The fact that I have no idea what half of it means? So what? They don’t want someone who is malleable and able to learn from the get-go?
Turning my head to look at the betraying pieces of paper, I catch something that doesn’t belong.
“DOMINANT APPLICATION”
“Wait,” I breathe out as I grab the paperwork again and look at the cover page. I read it over and over to make sure I’m not reading it correctly or something. Dropping the pages into my lap and scrubbing my eyes doesn’t do anything except make stars cloud my sight. But when they leave, the words are all still there.
I jump onto my feet, and as silently as I can, I do a happy dance. No squeals or shrieks are able to escape the tight hold I have on my mouth, but the smile is inevitable. Shouting it from the rooftops is obviously out of the equation, so instead, I go to the closet and start looking it over.