Oakhill Cottage

Twenty-Five

Theo

Stella wears a sorrowful expression.

I sigh into my hand and declare, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

She frowns out me. "So you weren't gonna tell me at all?" Her southern accent breaks through her soft tone.

I exhale. "Not like this, at least."

"Those men," She begins while fiddling with her fingers. "they were the ones who attacked me a year ago."

Jake turns over his chair to face her suddenly.

I frown at her. "What?"

She nods. "Yeah, I recognized the tattoo under one of the guy's eyes."

Jake turns back to face me slowly and states, "Well, that would make sense. He told me that he started working for them two years ago."

Stella's eyes widen slowly.

He continues after turning to face her again, "Trent had told me about your attack. He said it was all planned, except the cops weren't supposed to show up. They were going to kidnap you and you use you as bait for human trafficking, but Sam called the cops. He changed his mind last second."

"That asshole!" She cries out.

He nods at her. "He also told me Sam tipped them off after you left. He was so mad, he turned you in to them."

She huffs as she lowers herself to the futon. "Oh my God." She whispers.

I rise from my seat and sit down beside her. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe with me now." I reassure her with my arm tightly around her tiny body. She rests her head on my shoulder.

"You think you know somebody." She mutters.

I kiss her forehead while rubbing her back.

All I know is, if I see that fucker again, his body will be so deformed, it won't be identifiable anymore.

. . .

Stella
One month later

I speed walk down the hall with a clipboard in my hand.

Brianna catches up to me and informs, "Charlotte had an allergic reaction to the hot wax the sirs used on her. She seems to be fine, but her skin is red with hives." She maintains the fast pace with beside me.

"Um, okay, give her some Benadryl and from now on, try soy wax, its organic. If she still breaks out, then rule out wax." I instruct while marking on the clipboard.

"Okay." She smiles and turns around the other direction.

Stacy approaches me quickly when I pass through the living room. "Hey, so I tried on the new uniform, but it's too small."

I stop in my tracks to reply, "Oh, no worries. The box of the new uniforms I ordered is in the girl's room. What size did you try on?"

"A small." She answers, her blue eyes staring back at me.

"Try on a medium, and if it's not the right size, I'll have yours tailored, okay?" I declare.

She nods with a smile. "Will do." She heads in the direction of the girl's room straight down the hall.

I walk into the waiting room, where a room full of diverse women are. There must be at least twenty-eight of them.

Since I've been back at the house, a lot has changed.

Theo changed a lot of the rules so that it favors the dolls. Women are now consensually handing themselves over to the house and are more happy to be here.

Since then, we've increased our revenue by ten percent. Especially after I started managing the dolls. Now that the Pistols are no longer a threat, we can safely advertise our business on social media. I've even hired a social media manager.

"Hello, dolls." I smile. "I'm Stella, your Doll Mate manager, but you will call me Mistress. Now, let's begin."