Chapter 16: The Price of Submission

The Vasiliev mansion was a game of masks and shadows, where every word had a double edge and every gesture a hidden intention. Ana understood it too late.

After that night, when her memories of Zane reminded her of everything she had lost, she knew she could not afford weakness. Here, love did not exist. Only power.

The lesson came to her through silent punishment. One morning, as she went about her chores, she noticed the other maids looking at her strangely, whispering behind her back. At first, she thought it was her imagination. Then, she saw the scornful faces, the way they avoided her touch, the repulsion in their eyes.

It was only when Petrovna, the housekeeper, approached with a mocking smile that he understood.

-So the master's favorite has fallen from grace," she whispered mischievously. How quickly things change in this house.

Anne felt a shiver run down her spine. Had Lucian pushed her away? Had he grown tired of her?

But no. The truth was worse.

Later that day, Viktoria called her into his office. There, the influential politician was waiting for her with a satisfied expression, as if she had won a game in which Anna didn't even know she was participating.

-Lucian may have his whims," said Viktoria, arranging some documents on her desk, "but in this house, I decide the fate of those around me.

Ana pursed her lips. This was a punishment. Not because of something she had done, but because Viktoria wanted to remind her of her place.

-If you want to keep breathing in here without problems, I suggest you learn to move more intelligently," Viktoria continued, looking at her with disdain. There are two types of people in this world, Ana: those who command and those who obey. And believe me... those who try to defy that rule, they don't do well at all.

Ana felt her stomach twist. She couldn't respond, couldn't defend herself. It didn't matter what she said. There was only one option: shut up and nod.

She left the office with a feeling of emptiness. Was this what life was like at the mansion? An eternal cycle of submission and manipulation, of being dependent on the will of others?

She walked down the corridors with a clouded mind until, without realizing it, she ran into Lucian. He looked at her with his inscrutable expression, his gaze sweeping over her as if he could see into her soul.

-Have you learned your lesson? -he asked with an unsettling gentleness.

Anne nodded, though something inside her screamed that she should not.

Lucian smiled, and with an almost perverse tenderness, ran his fingers across her cheek. A gesture of possession. Of satisfaction.

-Good. I knew you would.

And Anne understood, at that moment, that in this game she had only two options: submit or be destroyed.