Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“It has come to my attention I’ve made a mistake,” she replied without hesitation, taking up her usual submissive stance.
I had to give it to her, she’d always known how to play the role she was educated for. In the three years she’d served my household, I’d never had to reprimand or give her any warnings while other servitors came and went.
This time, however, she did her part a little too well and chose to serve the wrong person.
“Remove the tray.”
She kept her head bowed and made her way around the bed. I reached for my drink and took another sip, allowing myself a moment to enjoy the smoky flavor. If I wasn’t watching her so closely, I would have missed the subtle look she sent Lolita’s way. They made eye contact for no more than two or three seconds, just long enough for me to confirm what I already knew.
I waited for her to be back at the foot of the bed and then ordered her to stop. She came to an immediate halt, dropping her gaze to the untouched bowl of soup.
“I thought I told you to make sure she had plenty of water throughout the day. Is there a reason you only brought one bottle?”
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
So that’s how she wanted to play it. I finished my drink and moved to stand in front of her. She remained motionless, but her grip on the tray had turned her fingertips white.
“You’re afraid.” I reached out and touched the side of her throat. Her pulse was throbbing. “No, you’re terrified.”
She drew a shallow breath. “I hate to disappoint you.”
“After all the time we’ve spent together, I’m beginning to think you find me cruel.”
Kennedy shook her head and finally met my eye. “You are nothing but merciful, Diabolus.”
I skimmed my fingers up the side of her neck, watching Lolita in my peripheral.
“If you’re sure of that,” I paused and slid my hand into her hair, gathering it at the scalp. “Stop with this placating bullshit and tell me what you did.”
“I didn’t serve her as I was meant to.”
She cried out as I wrenched her head back. “You mean you disrespected her, which is the same thing as disrespecting me.”
I grabbed the rim of the tray and pulled it away from her. Lolita flinched when the bowl shattered against the floor. She shouldn’t have had to see this tonight, but I needed her to understand that I wouldn’t allow anyone to get away with treating her as less than royalty. I released Kennedy’s hair and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her with ease.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, losing the last of her composure as I took away her ability to breathe. Tears began to slip down her cheeks. I let her struggle for a few seconds, keeping my grip firm.
“Your apologies mean nothing.” I threw her to the floor and took a step back. “Clean this up.”
Coughing and struggling to quiet her ragged breathing, she shifted onto her knees and reached for a piece of the broken porcelain.
“What are you doing?”
She froze but didn’t dare look up at me again. “Cleaning the mess.”
“Start with the soup and use your tongue.”
She hesitated for half a second before lowering her face to the floor. Slurping sounds filled the room as she began to vacuum the soup with her mouth.
“Is this… necessary?” Lolita asked, sounding amusedly disinterested and disgusted.
“I’m not making her do anything. She’s doing this all on her own, and she’ll keep going until I say otherwise.” I grabbed my empty glass and walked out of the room.
After placing it in the sink, I grabbed a bucket from the utility closet and returned to the bedroom.
Kennedy had gotten a decent amount of the soup up already. There was some in the ends of her hair, but most of it seemed to have made it into her mouth. I tossed the bucket down and nudged her with my dress shoe.
“Put the broken pieces in here and finish up. I’ll be waiting in the kitchen. She still needs to eat.”
“I don’t want anything,” Lolita objected, still watching Kennedy with a look on her face that was somewhere between pity and disgust. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that she didn’t speak on the servitor’s behalf or ask me to spare her.
“It’s been over twenty-four hours since you had lunch. You need to eat something.” I didn’t give her a chance to rebut and left the room yet again, keeping the door open just in case Kennedy decided to be daring.
I shot off a few texts and set my phone aside to wash my hands, contemplating what I could make for Lolita.
I decided it was better to go with something light and simple so there was less chance of her stomach becoming upset. I was in the middle of chopping up fruit when Federico came around the corner. Isaac was with him.