I woke up to hear a lot of sounds. I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hand.

There are no glasses anymore and everything is blurry. It was dark in the room, but a light came in. The door was opened a crack, and Ben was leaning out of it. He's blocking my view with the door and his body.

"I haven't been here with you yet." A female voice that sounds like an angry Bethany. "You're acting like an idiot, Oliver."

"I've made my decision," Oliver said.

"No, you don't," Bethany said. "We'll talk to Dr. Alexander in the morning."

I sat up straight. She was perhaps upset that Oliver had decided not to sell me. Ben must have heard me, and he glanced back. He closed the door a little more. I knew I should get up and go back to my room, I wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Next year," Ben said. "His attention span is short, and he won't care about buying her next year," Bethany said. "He's probably not even alive anymore, ha."

"Her surgery was only a few weeks ago," Oliver said.

"Now you know what you're doing," she snapped. "Your next patient will survive."

I heard Oliver take a deep breath.

"Let's go back to our room," Oliver said. "We'll talk about that in detail in the morning."

Good night again. We are surrounded by darkness again. My hand fumbled on the bedside table and found the lamp. It gives a faint glow to the room. Ben sat on the bed. His chin was tightly closed, and his lips were tightly pursed into a line.

"Do you think she's going to let him sell me to Gregory?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "He doesn't have a lot of backbone."

I closed my eyes tightly. For the past few days, I seem to have fallen into a false sense of security. Will I go back to Canada? Ben and I will flee. I never thought Bethany would change Oliver's mind.

It wasn't until Ben wiped the tears from my cheeks that I realized I was crying. He pulled me hard against his chest. I clutched his shirt and continued to cry. I hate crying on my own, but I can't stop it. As I cried in his chest, he stroked my back and pressed his lips against my temples.

"I'll never see my family again," I said.

"I promise you that we will get out of this together," he said. "I'll make sure you get back to Canada."

He pulled me out of his arms and put his hand on my face.

I took a sharp breath to contain my tears. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Yes,"

A smile tugged at the corner of Ben's mouth. He wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"I promise we'll get out of this together," he said. "I can't lose you. Honestly, you mean a lot to me. ”

"Ben—" I began to say as I pulled his hand away from my face.

"No, Diana," he interrupted. "I love you, okay? I love you so much that I can't go back to Canada without you. ”

My chest tightened as he said that. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but I didn't argue with him. He was my last bit of hope. I didn't answer, just gave him a shallow smile.

Ben's smile somehow grew even bigger, and he pressed his lips against mine. Instead of pushing him away, I put my hand on his chest. He deepened the kiss and put his hand on my thigh and pulled me to his lap.

I wanted to leave, but I enjoyed it. As he kissed my neck, his hand slid under my shirt. I curled my fingers into his hair. I gasped for breath when Ben flipped us over and put me on my back. Ben propped himself up on his elbows, still with a big smile on his face. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. He brushed a strand of hair from my face, and my face was clearly visible, not blurred at all.

"You're so pretty,"

He kissed me again. The heat rushed into my face. Ben smiled as he kissed my neck. I tilted my head as his lips slid towards my collarbone, giving him more contact. As his fingers slid under my shirt and over my skin.

He pulled my shirt over my head. I instinctively covered my chest with my arms. Ben grabbed my wrists, pulled them apart, and pressed them against the bed. He bumped his lips into mine. We tore each other's clothes and spent the night together.

I was once again woken up by a series of sounds coming from the hallway. These sound more feminine, giggles.

I opened my eyes and saw the sunlight pouring into the room. My heart jumped wildly when I saw me lying on Ben's bare chest. His head was tilted to one side and his hair was a mess. His eyes were closed, and his chest was slowly heaving. I tried to sit down, but I felt his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. I peeled his arm off of me and put it on his chest.

He tossed and turned in his sleep, but quickly calmed down. I slid off the bed and grabbed my pajamas from the floor. Get back to your room as soon as possible.

I jumped into the shower, thinking back to last night. I enjoyed it, but I couldn't believe I actually did it. I had to pretend it was like a couple of drunken one-night stands I had in college.

After taking a shower, I put my wet hair in a bun at the back of my head, put on my skirt, and put on my glasses. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw Candace in my room. She wears a silk robe, and her blonde hair is coiled back into a clip. A white robe hung on a hook behind my door. Candace took out the hem of the skirt and checked it. She glanced back and loosened her skirt.

"Good, you're done showering?" She said. She took her clothes off the door and draped them over her shoulders. "Come with me."

"Where to go?" I asked.

"My room," she said, then grabbed my wrist. "Hurry up."

She pulled me out of the room and down the hallway. There were a few doors open, and I could see people in the hall that I had never seen before. Several of Gregory's servants ran around.

In Candace's room, Jane sat on the bed. Her red curls were wet, soaking the collar of her shirt. Two more white robes were spread on the bed. Spread out on the bed. She had a large bowl of fruit on her bedside table.

"Jane, I'm telling you to dry your hair," Candace said.

Jane jumped up from the bed and pulled a strawberry out of her bowl.

"Hi Diana," she said with a smile, and walked into the bathroom. She closed the door. The air was filled with the sound of a hair dryer.

Candace took a deep breath and placed my skirt on the bed with someone else next to her.

"She drives me crazy sometimes," she said.

"Have you been watching me?" I asked.

"There's not much I don't know about here," she said. "I just hope you and Ben are doing well."

"I talked to him about Alec," I said. "He didn't want to tell me about her because he was afraid I would kill myself."

Candace rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"You're smart, Diana," she said. "I doubt you really believe what he saved."

"I don't know who to trust."

The bathroom door opened, and Jane poked her head out. Her mane has become loose because it has been blown dry. Candace walked past me, into the bathroom, and glared at me. I followed.

Candace's bathroom was much bigger than Ben's or mine's. She placed a stool in front of the sink and mirror. There is a large bathtub next to it. Jane sat on a stool, and Candace tore her hair with a brush. I sat on the edge of the tub.

"Do you think Ben wanted to kill me?" I asked. Jane's jaw dropped, and she turned to face me. Candace frowned when her brush got stuck in her knot.

"Why do you think Ben wanted to kill you?" Jane asked.

"What do you think of Ben, Jane?" Candace asked.

"I like him." Jane shrugged. She straightened her back as Candace continued to comb her hair. "He's good."

"Do you remember Alec?" Candace asked.

"Yes, she came once." Candace reached out and grabbed the straightener from the edge of the sink.

"What do you think of her suicide?" She asked.

"It's sad," Jane said. "I talked to Ben about it last year. He said she was very frustrated because she couldn't see her family. Ben tried to cheer her up, but it never worked. ”

"She cheers up?" Candace laughed wickedly. "It's more like trying to force love her."

My heart sank. Jane smiled.

"He never did," Jane said. "I know," Candace said. "She never let him do that. That's why he killed her. ”

"You're ridiculous," Jane said. "Ben would never kill her."

"What do you think, Diana?" Candace asked. "Did you already say something to Ben?"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Ben has taken action on you, ha," Candace said. "How does he react when you reject him? If you refuse his words. ”

I had a cramp in my stomach and a wave of nausea hit. I can't say anything about what happened last night. She would get angry and would tell Gregory or Oliver what had happened.

"Nope." I shook my head. "We didn't do anything."

"Really?" She asked. "Your bed hasn't been made up this morning, and it looks like you haven't slept at all."

"I make my bed before I take a shower," I said. I tried not to let my voice tremble.

Candace gave me a suspicious look. Luckily, Jane shifted the subject to the gossip she had heard from others at breakfast this morning.