Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Felicia, darling, sit,” Rafe said.
Rafe was a short and bald muscular Spanish guy who looked like a steroid user. He always wore giant princess cut diamond stud earrings that looked totally stupid on him. He was about forty-five, but dressed like he was twenty and on his way to go clubbing.
Mr. Chen was a shorter but older Asian, always in an expensive suit. He had a long salt and pepper ponytail and goatee. He was also physically ripped, with the body of a 20-year-old. He was a Kung Fu expert.
I squatted to go to the floor.
“I said sit, not kneel. On the chair, Felicia,” Rafe corrected.
I did as I was told.
“Cleo told you that your time here is almost done?” Rafe asked.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Myself and Mr. Chen will brief you. You’re on that chair because your status has been elevated. You’re getting married, Felicia. Congratulations. As of ten minutes ago you are no longer owned by Kruna.”
I kept my eyes fixed on the window behind them. Unseeing. My heart sped up. I held my emotions in check.
Mr. Chen spoke up. “Felicia?”
“Yes, Sir?”
“You’re very lucky to have been matched for this. Cleopatra suggested it wasn’t the right role for you, but a redhead was requested with your sexual proclivities, and we had no better match. You’ve been an exceptional asset to Kruna. You will be missed.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Your future husband is an important man, the son of one of our most valued benefactors and that benefactor is recently deceased so his sons are now partners. As you yourself know, death can change everything. These sons will help us take Kruna to a new level of success, we’re sure, so we expect that you will exemplify all that we stand for here. It’s vitally important that you do.”
“I will, Sir.”
My future husband. The words echoed in my head.
“I can’t stress this enough, Felicia. You’re to be his wife.”
“I understand, Sir.”
“You are excused. Now that you officially have a Master you are no longer available to patrons or staff. Your collar will be changed immediately. You’ll continue to exercise daily and it may be weeks or longer until he comes for you so you may rest but you will not forget all you’ve been taught. If when he arrives your Master wants additional training, you’ll be enrolled in an advanced transition program to complete before you leave. As of now you are no longer Kruna property, but we are stewards in your Master’s absence.”
“Thank you, Sirs. It’s an honor to be chosen.”
I was escorted back to my room by Cleo and one of the other handlers. Cleo radiated barely restrained fury all the way back. When she closed the door after changing my collar and I was alone, I let out a breath that it felt like I’d been holding in. Holding in for years.
I would have weeks of peace. Weeks. What would come after that could be anything. It could be hell on earth. It could make me wish I was back here (although not likely as I’d lived in this particular hell long enough). But despite the fact that the next phase of my life or my next phase of my hell was unknown, I had weeks of peace to look forward to and I hadn’t had anything specific to look forward to in a very long time, so I curled up on the thin mat on the floor that had been my bed for 21 months and 9 days and faced the wall so that the cameras wouldn’t see my face. Then I did something I hadn’t done in 19 months; I quietly let tears fall.
I was going to meet my Master and future husband today. It’d been almost two months. They were weird weeks of not being Felicia. Weird weeks of being no one, just this shadow at Kruna with the black X on her throat.
I’d be assessed through spending time with him for a few days here and then he would either take me with him or he’d leave me here for some additional training wherever he saw deficiencies. Or, he’d reject me and they’d choose someone else for him. This was my one chance. If it didn’t happen, I would not get another. Failure was not an option.
I had been sick to my stomach for days with worry. Really, I’d been worried for weeks. The peace I’d thought I’d get was riddled with worries about my future. I knew nothing about him other than the fact that he was a son of a partner in Kruna, an American, and that he’d requested a redhead with a big sexual appetite. I knew nothing about what life would be like after I was taken away from this place.
They had me dressed in a pale, flowy peach summer dress, I wore nude, heeled sandals, and my hair was trimmed to the middle of my back and then tamed by a flat iron, like it typically was. I wore minimal makeup. I was given new and larger than usual blue sapphire stud earrings to wear with a matching sapphire tennis bracelet. They matched the jewel on my navel as well. I was dressed very differently from what I typically wore, which rarely strayed from lingerie. I hadn’t dressed in clothing designed for the real world for almost two years. Underneath the dress were white thigh-high stockings with lace garters and matching bra and panties.