"How beautiful," she murmured, the words escaping her lips before she could catch them.
He watched her, his eyes cold as always "You really want to taste it?" he said, his voice flat, devoid of its earlier lightness.
She looked away, a blush creeping up her neck, embarrassed by her own spontaneous declaration.
She slid off him. He remained on the floor, still as a statue. "Why are you lying on the floor?" she asked, a small frown on her face.
"I was filled with flour and went to wash my face," he responded, his voice a little muffled. "Just tired and decided to rest." He paused, then added, "By the way, what are you doing in the library instead of cooking?"
"Oh, I cooked. The food is ready," she explained, a faint smile touching her lips. "I just came to call you. Other than that, all you know."
He pushed himself up from the floor, a fluid motion, and made his way to the kitchen. He returned, carrying a tray laden with food, to the dining room. Ausse, by then, had finished tidying. They both sat down for lunch.
"It's nice," he said, after a moment, taking another bite.
"Thanks," she replied, a soft pride in her voice. "I used to prepare food at home too."
"Tell me your address," he offered, looking at her directly. "I will drive you to your home."
Ausse looked up at him, and the shift in her expression was sudden and profound. Her face clouded with a deep sadness. "Umm… ha… you don't have to care. I will go by myself. You helped me a lot by the way," she murmured, her voice laced with a raw, sorrowful tone, her gaze dropping back to her plate, continuing to eat.
"Do as you want," he said, his voice returning to its earlier detached coolness. He then rose and went back to his room.
Ausse, with a heavy heart, took some eatable things from the kitchen and quietly left his mansion.
She walked, each step carrying her further from the temporary solace she had found. She had no choice but to return to her own house. So, she kept walking, following the familiar path back home. Moving from one road to another, fatigue began to set in. She decided to rest for a moment and eat what she had brought with her. Soon, the sky deepened, and darkness descended completely.
She reached her house. A cold dread settled in her stomach, even though she knew she would be brutally assaulted, she pushed the door open, accepting her fate. Her mother, sprawled on the sofa, watching her, began to shriek, "You bastard! You finally remembered returning home after betraying us!" She immediately called Ausse's father.
Her father stormed out of his room, a bottle of alcohol clutched in one hand. "You f**king child! How dare you, bitc*? To show your face! It would have been better if I killed you on the day you were born!" He hurled the bottle of alcohol towards her. The glass shattered against her, a brutal impact, striking her face and arm. Her hand was instantly covered in bruises and fresh blood. Traumatized, she turned and ran, desperate to save her life. Wounds stung all over her body, and her arm bled freely as she fled into the alone, dark night.
There were some men, their voices thick with alcohol, lurking in the shadows. One of them reached out, grabbing her hand, his other hand snaking around her waist. "You really have a nice body, little bird," he slurred, "but it is bad that your beautiful body is filled with blood."
She began to struggle violently, screaming for help, her voice raw and desperate. A piece of glass from the shattered bottle was still painfully embedded in her arm. With a surge of adrenaline and a gasp of pain, she yanked it out and, without hesitation, plunged it into the man's neck. He gasped, a guttural sound, and collapsed.
Free from his grasp, she tore away, running faster than before.
In her desperate haste, in the deep of night, she reached Jades's house. "Jadesss... help... please!" she cried, ringing the doorbell continuously. Her bloodied hand smeared across the brass, leaving a gruesome stain.
The door opened. He emerged, and his eyes widened in utter shock, seeing her covered in blood, her clothes torn, her face a mask of pain and terror.
She started crying, a broken, desperate sob, and flung herself into his arms. "Jades... h...e.ll...p...m...e please," she choked out between gasps.
"Ausse, what happened to you?" It was the first time she had ever heard his voice soft, truly concerned.
She hugged him tighter, her trembling body clinging to his. He, in turn, wrapped his arms around her, a silent, comforting embrace. He then gently led her into his room.