The girl was peacefully sleeping, her face almost identical to mine, still holding onto traces of tears.
She woke up at the sound of me approaching and shot me a defiant look.
“Oh,” she drawled. “You must be the woman Ethan keeps outside. How did you enjoy that toasty warmth?”
Her words struck me like a thunderclap, further confirming the thoughts I had.
“My name is Chiara Green,” she chirped. “It’s been seven years since I’ve seen sunlight. Ethan says UV rays harm porcelain skin.”
She lifted a skeletal leg, and bile rose in my throat. Her once delicate calves were grotesquely twisted, the bones deformed as if broken by some violent force and left untreated.
But Chiara seemed unbothered, even smiling with bashfulness.
“A few days ago, he let me out,” she giggled, burying her face in the white blanket. “But when I flirted with another man for an ice cream, he got jealous and broke my leg. Isn’t he so possessive?”
My gaze caught on the bedsheet—crusty splotches blooming like fungal rot. Having long since shed any naivety, I instantly recognized what it was.
I retched, my fingers scrabbling at the cage bars.
“What are you doing?” Chiara shrieked suddenly, cradling the padlock like a lover’s face. “Don’t you dare ruin the home Ethan built for me!”
I flinched, and she murmured, “This is a golden lock, made with all of Ethan’s love. What will happen if you break it? He’ll be so angry.”
My brows knitted together. “Don’t you want to get out?”
She tilted her head. “Why should I? You’re the shield against his enemies. If I went out and got hurt, his heart would break.”
The truth detonated in my chest.
