My voice reflected my skepticism. The person who had always avoided giving me direct answers about Mio suddenly changed his tone.

“You were curious.”

“You never cared.”

“I care now. Besides, you’ve been obedient these past few days.”

I wasn’t ashamed of his words anymore. I had come to understand that being ‘obedient’ was simply linked to the s*xual conditioning I had been forced to endure.

Even though Noel and Theo had seen everything Cane did to me – witnessed every brutal moment of my mental breakdown – I felt nothing. I was drained, totally exhausted. The shame, the resistance… it was all worn away.

I stared blankly at the food in front of me. The meal Mio had prepared. Slowly, I took a fork and bit into the food.

“Don’t you want to go outside, to the first floor?”

I want to. I’m sick of these grey walls, this bed, the bathroom, the mirror over the sink. I’ve been traumatized for a long time. Sometimes I can’t breathe and my heart aches. To get away from it all, I always choose to sleep.

“I want to go outside.

“Then finish your meal and get ready.”

I blinked slowly and stared at the food in front of me. It was surprising, but somehow not. With nothing left to hide, I felt no tension.

What should I prepare? Ah, if I go outside, they’ll give me clothes. A faint sense of hope began to rise in me.

I chewed and swallowed the clean, simple food. After brushing my teeth and fixing my hair, Noel still hadn’t given me any clothes.

“Noel, what about clothes?”

“Yuel, you’re not allowed to wear clothes.”

Noel replied kindly, then casually opened the door to the hallway. I couldn’t understand his words.

“I’m not wearing any clothes… how can I go outside like this?”

My voice trembled.

“You can’t wear clothes yet.”

His voice was firm.

“Then I won’t go.”

I spoke with a determined look on my face. Noel let out a small sigh.

“You’ll stay on the first floor from now on. Cane says your training is almost complete.”

I clenched my hands tightly. This wasn’t just about going to see Mio or going out for a moment. My living quarters were being moved to the first floor and they still hadn’t given me any clothes. I wasn’t even sure if Mio was still in the mansion, but I couldn’t let her see me like this.

I stubbornly kept my mouth shut and stood my ground. Noel approached quickly and removed the chains, leaving only the black leather collar around my neck. The long metal chain fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

The time for shame and embarrassment had long since passed. But to show myself n*ked, wearing nothing but a leather collar, in front of Mio – that was a line I couldn’t cross. It was the last shred of dignity I had left, and I wasn’t about to give it up.

“Yuel.”

Noel called my name softly. When I looked up at him, his warm, deep eyes met mine, eyes that deceived and misled people.

“If you don’t go now, Cane will come.”

I jumped, my body shaking. I wasn’t sure of Noel’s true intentions, but his words felt like a threat.

“I hope Mio isn’t in the living room. I don’t want her to see me like this.”

Noel stared at me with an expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking at my quiet request.

“Alright.”

Noel agreed. But when I stubbornly kept my mouth shut and refused to move, he first went upstairs to check if Mio was there. When he was satisfied, he came back down.

The idea of going upstairs didn’t excite me as much as it used to. Getting out of that awful basement was a relief, but instead of a sense of accomplishment like before, there was only a deep sense of defeat.

Everything had gone according to Theo’s plan. I had lost the will to fight.

***

I held Noel’s hand as we walked up the stairs. It was daytime and as soon as we reached the first floor the sunlight flooded through the large glass windows. The brightness made me feel ashamed of my own body as if the light exposed every part of me that felt dirty and tainted. My mind was rotten and I knew it. I no longer pushed Cane away. Worse, I no longer wanted to.

As I stared blankly out of the window, Noel gently took my hand and led me through the glass corridor into a small sitting room. My room was exactly as it had been, spotless and immaculate as if it had been waiting for me all this time, untouched by dust or time.

“Rest. I did wake you.”

Noel said softly, pushing me gently into the room. I hesitated at first, like a child unsure of its first steps, but eventually, I stepped inside. Noel stood watching me, his presence lingering even as I entered the room.

I was exhausted, just as Noel had said. The fact that I was back on the first floor barely registered. No thoughts came to mind, just a sense of relief that I wasn’t in the basement anymore. I crawled into bed and closed my eyes as a deep sense of emptiness washed over me.

When I opened them, it was evening. There was a clock in this room – 8 p.m. Noel would probably be home soon, because he always made it seem like missing even one meal was a disaster.

On a whim, I got out of bed and opened the wardrobe door. There was nothing inside. I gripped the handle tightly, my knuckles turning pale under the pressure.

“Seyon slaves never wear clothes.”

I turned at the sound of the voice behind me. It was Theo, dressed in a black shirt and suit trousers, watching me intently. He hadn’t appeared once during the time Cane had been training me in the basement, and now he was here.

His words sparked a flicker of anger in me, but I was too mentally drained to react as I once would have. I was bound to this place, just as Theo had intended, but the Yuel Estin who had once hung on every word, desperate for hope, was no more.

Without answering, I sat quietly on the bed. Theo raised an eyebrow, clearly noticing the change in me.

“Come. Let’s have dinner.”

“You want to have dinner with a s*x slave?”

I asked calmly, watching as his brow furrowed slightly.

“Is that a problem?”

“I don’t want to have dinner with you.”

I said, my voice heavy with weariness.

“Shall I call Cane instead?”

Theo’s smile, though undeniably beautiful, had become hollow, like a paper flower, devoid of any real substance. He was vile and I felt nothing for him anymore.

“Go away, Theo. I’m tired.”

I muttered, my appetite disappearing the moment I saw his face.

“If you don’t come out right now, I can personally see how well Cane has trained you. You might even be having s*x in front of the maid.”

My stomach churned with disgust. Theo was serious and I knew it. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at him with eyes full of unshed tears. But Theo, as always, was completely unfazed.

Theo’s expression only grew colder.

“You acted like you’d seen it all, so why are you crying now?”

He sneered, laughing as if he found my reaction amusing. His anger hadn’t diminished in the least – I could feel it radiating off him.

“Is it humiliating to be f*cked by me in front of the maid?”

His grin was still there, and his tone remained smooth and refined, characteristic of Theo Blaine. But I couldn’t help wondering if this vulgar, cruel man was the same person I had once loved.

“Yes, it’s humiliating.” I spat, my words filled with venom. “Loving you was humiliating and moaning under you is shameful and disgusting.”

Raw, unfiltered emotion spilled out, my frustration and resentment laid bare for him to see.

“Go ahead and do whatever you want. Isn’t that what you like? Me begging you to please f*ck me?” I said bitterly. “I’ve never been in my right mind around you, so feel free to use my body however you like. I don’t love you anymore. Do whatever you want.”

When I finished, my voice was calm, filled with resignation and defeat.

Theo, who had been listening in silence, suddenly walked over and grabbed my wrist, dragging me out of the room. I tried to resist, but the thought of the past few days, the ‘training’ I had endured, sapped my strength. Resisting would only bring Cane into the picture, and Theo was the one controlling him.

I had only just escaped the basement. The thought of being dragged back down there, forced to beg Cane again, terrified me. My mind was already broken beyond repair.

Theo dragged me into the large living room. Every step was tense, my heart pounding with fear that Mio might be there. But the kitchen was empty. Only neatly prepared food sat on the table.

“You said you didn’t want to eat with me, so don’t. I’ll do whatever I want to.”

I was forced onto the marble table, my body bent over as my bare hips were exposed to him. Tears began to fall uncontrollably. His hand gripped my hips tightly.

“Ah, no… stop, Theo!”

The sensation of my skin being squeezed and the way my body instinctively reacted as my hole opened sent a sharp shiver down my spine. My body, faithfully remembering its master, began to tremble, begging to be filled. Wetness gathered and I could feel his gaze upon me. I cried out.

“You’re telling me to stop, aren’t you? What are you going to do if I touch you?”

His fingers spread the wetness, parting the folds and rubbing against me. My body shook at his touch.

“Ah, ah! Hmm!”

I gritted my teeth, desperately trying not to give him the answer he wanted. But my mind was already foggy and all my focus was on the taunts at my entrance. My breath came in ragged gasps. It felt good. My hips began to move on their own.

“Say it.”

Theo commanded as he slid a finger deep inside me.

“Ah, ugh! Aah, Master! Please… put it in…!”

His finger pressed firmly against the spot that made me tremble, moving roughly. My moans were swallowed as a rapid climax approached. I clung to the edge of the table, trembling, my fingers sliding helplessly over the smooth marble.

Soon Theo’s hard p*nis was pushing past the folds of my entrance. He had only undone the front of his trousers, exposing his hard, throbbing shaft. By this time I had completely forgotten that we were at the kitchen table.