In the end, Vincent forced me into the car anyway.
And Hazel came home with us.
Vincent said Hazel had done a terrible thing once, had hurt me so badly, so from now on she would slave for me and atone for it.
I had no strength left to argue.
We got out and went inside, and the moment we stepped through the door Hazel folded her arms and looked the place over.
"This decor is exactly my taste."
"And that shoe cabinet, isn't that the one I picked out back then?"
Vincent's expression didn't change. He only shot her a warning look.
I clenched the hands hanging at my sides and turned to look at him.
When this house was being renovated, Vincent had said he didn't want me to wear myself out, so he'd handled all of it himself, the renovation and the design.
My friends all envied me for finding such a thoughtful match.
Only now did I understand. He'd built a house his ex-girlfriend loved.
Seeing my face go ashen, Vincent snapped at Hazel.
"Don't forget you're here to atone."
Hazel let out a cold snort and said nothing more.
Vincent took my hand and led me to the bedroom.
Ever since the car hit me, my body had never been quite right, and just like before he pressed a hand to my forehead, and once he was sure I had no fever, he crouched down beside me to explain.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. You hate her, don't you? From now on let her slave for you. Order her around, torment her however you want, all right?"
I closed my eyes, and something in me died. Vincent knew perfectly well how gentle I was, that I never made trouble for anyone.
He could put Hazel in front of me and I still wouldn't order her around or torment her. I would only avoid her, because that was the face that turned up in my nightmares.
After Vincent left, I shut myself in the bedroom and called my guardian, Julian, who was overseas.
I knew Vincent was obsessive. Getting him to let me go would be almost impossible.
The only person I could turn to was Julian, my guardian, though we shared no blood.
After I hung up, I came out of the bedroom.
Vincent really did seem set on making Hazel atone. She was kneeling on the floor now, wiping it down inch by inch, the picture of pitiful suffering.
But if a little housework could wash away what she'd done, what would we need the police for?
Julian said he'd find time soon to come to me. I thought of the abortion I'd scheduled for three days out, and decided to hold still and wait.
Those three days were uneventful. Vincent worked Hazel hard every day, made her scrub every corner of the house, handed her the filthiest and most exhausting jobs.
Then, the night before the procedure, I jolted awake from a nightmare and found Vincent wasn't beside me.
I got out of bed and opened the door. The house was silent, and only Hazel's maid's room had light seeping out from under it.
Somehow I felt no surprise at all. Barefoot, I walked over, pressed myself against the door, and listened to what was happening inside.
Hazel was kneeling on the floor in some seductive pose, her voice thick with allure.
"Vincent, doesn't it thrill you? Your wife, right there in the master bedroom, not far away at all?"
"And here I am, playing the little maid and the master with you."
My stomach heaved in that instant, and the moment my hand flew up to cover my mouth, my body stumbled and shoved the unlocked door wide open.
