Chapter 6 Not Like My Father

ALLY I woke up with a jolt. The sun was already high in the sky. And I wondered if it was possible that it wasn't morning yet. I grabbed my phone to look at the time, it was already nine in the morning. The room was empty and I was sure that he had gone in last night. I'd heard his heavy footsteps moving across the room but my body didn't let me wake up. Why didn't he wake me up like he had last night? Or maybe it wasn't him… no, I was sure he had been here last night. So why didn't he wake me up like he always said he would? Or why didn't one of the other maids wake me up? Maybe he was really angry and he just left the room. But when wasn't he angry? I didn't bother answering that question before he came back and caught me still in the same spot. I quickly stood up and put his bed in order, further confirming my theory that he had been there. I then hopped into the shower before I bothered to clean the room. Was this what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life until I died? Being locked up in this room and cleaning it? This was definitely not how I pictured my marriage while growing up. But I had nowhere to go and no one to run to. The only person I could have run to had run away to save her own life. If I'd known that his running away would bring me this sort of torture, I would never have advised her to do it. Now, it was like I was paying for the consequences of my good deeds. Who knew my father would be such a hungry and greedy bastard who wouldn't want to let it go and tell the truth? But right now, I was in it. And there was no getting out. At least, not yet. After doing my business quickly because I didn't want him to come back and catch me in here, I dressed up, my stomach rumbling from the food that I hadn't eaten last night out of nervousness. After being bathed with water in the morning for sleep, only a fool will sleep before he comes back. So in anticipation of that, I couldn't bring myself to eat. But I'd ended up falling asleep either way and luckily, nothing happened. Who knew whether my punishment for waking up late was no food today? Gosh, that would be even worse than the water he had dumped on me yesterday. After dressing up, I left the room to get the cleaning supplies. Today, no matter how anyone begged to help me, I refused because I was the one who was going to get into trouble at the end of the day. At least, he wasn't hitting me. Yet. No, he won't hit me. All men weren't like my father. But this one sure acts like it. The thought of him hitting me weakened me and as I began to clean, I began to think of just how utterly miserable my life would be if that happened. I'd seen my mother in the days after my father hit her. Her body looked like a color palette and she had to use makeup to cover the bruises, sometimes the bruises didn't cover up properly and she'd have to lie about it. The thought of that being my future frightened me and I... The door opened and my heart sank in fear, causing me to panic when there was actually nothing wrong and I forgot that the floor was still too wet. There was nothing to grab on my way down so my hip broke the fall and the bucket of water tumbled too and I cried out at the pain that shot through it, temporarily paralyzing my leg. The door closed and I looked up to see him walking towards me. You have got to be kidding me. Out of all the times that he would come in, it had to be now. Well, he was the one who made me fall in the first place. He had that permanent signature scowl on his face as he approached me, both hands in his pockets. He stood over me, like a Lord over his servant, his posture and facial expression giving the impression. “So clumsy and yet, such a big fool. A big, clumsy fool. I should throw you in the dungeons simply for irritating me.” My clothes were soaked in water and I was trying my best not to pay attention to the agony that I was going through and face the physical problem that was standing in front of me. “I'm sorry. I just slipped and-” “I don't care what happened! You're useless! Can't even do a simple task right!" I moved my eyes away from his, not wanting him to think that I was trying to be brave. I wasn't. I wouldn't even think about it. A scene flashed in my mind and I had a deja vu. My father has been the one towering over my mother as she lay on the floor. Unlike me, she didn't slip and fall. He was the one who beat her until she fell. She'd been trying to say something to him and he stepped on her. He kept stepping all over her until she stopped moving. She had been four months pregnant and the only thing to show for it was the pool of blood. His voice made me snap out of my thoughts. “Get up filthy self up and clean this mess up before I make you.” I wanted to get up quickly but I knew that would be calling for problems that I couldn't handle. So I first sat up, wincing at the way my hip throbbed. “Hurry up! I have more important things to do than waste time here with you. “ Then leave, you've caused me enough pain. I was probably moving slower than an old woman. I got on all fours and knew that getting up was going to be the hard part. I also didn't want to slip again as that would just be sad. “Yes, you're finally embracing your true self.” I was confused about what he meant so I looked at him. “Weak. A filth weak wolf. , mangy, useless, and worthless wolf.” Ouch. Why did he hate me so much? I wasn't even the one who ran away and left him at the altar. I slowly dragged myself up from the floor, trying not to push pressure on the affected leg. I still couldn't feel it but I could feel the pain. When I was finally standing on both feet, I looked. There was no sense of sympathy in his eyes whatsoever. They were so fierce, so harsh... What did I expect? “What are you doing around looking at me?! Pick up the damn mop and clean this up.” I looked at the mop that day on the floor. I was going to have to bend down to get it. And I better do it quickly before he got any more angry than he already was although I doubted if his frown could get any deeper. If it did, then they would be reaching his lips. My breath shook as I went back down to the floor, trying not to put any pressure whatsoever on that hip but it wasn't possible, it had to be involved in what I was doing and I fell to the floor on the knee of that same leg, causing a shock wave to ripple through it up to the hip and that was what sprung the tears. They clouded my vision as I tried to gather my building materials, walking like there was something up my ass. The mop proved to be of help but what happened when I now had to use the mop? I didn't even get a chance to sit and rest because he was still standing there, watching my every move. The tears pricked at my eyes, about to fall but I knew how mad that made him. He'd told me how he hated my tears and how he didn't even want to see them so to avoid more trouble, I wiped them away as soon as I saw that they were about to drop. “Don’t miss that spot. This room must be as dry as the desert by the time I get back or else, you will pay for that.” I did as he'd instructed, moving around slowly and trying to get the water back into the bucket. I didn't even know who to blame for this because he didn't even scare me, I was the one who had been scared by myself. But in all fairness, he had not exactly been nice to me. He suddenly walked out and slammed the door and I sighed out in relief. The tears fell instantly, the pain shooting up my leg as I forgot. As I walked back to return the cleaning supplies, I tried not to make it seem like something was wrong because it was embarrassing but it was impossible because I was limping. As I thought about it, it made me sad and I couldn't stop the tears as they streamed down my face.