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3.15 Watching

The weeks passed and I did not see Mr. Bentley. My nightmares got worse. I dreamt of every single time those men took me and most of the time Stella was there to pick up the pieces.

Stephen did not like that. He thought that Stella had her own problems and did not need mine. So he kind of ignored me whenever he saw me.

Two months after I arrived at the James mansion, we had a visitor. It was a man called Liam.

Honestly, he was everything I thought he would be. Liam was all the comfort I needed during the time Mr. Bentley was away.

Liam started coming over almost every day.

"I can't thank you enough for everything that you have done for me," I said to him. We were alone in Stella's room. She was doing certain things to Mr. James. I did not want to know what.

"You are my sister. The second I made the connection, I started looking for you," he replied. "You are my only family."

"I wish we could have seen each other under normal circumstances."

Liam replied, "I would have loved to see you without the surgery, but we have to sacrifice a few things in order to live together. It is how it is. Normal does not cut it for the agency."

"When are we going to go away from here? I feel so guilty for keeping Stella awake all the time. She needs her rest," I said.

"You could sleep in another room," he suggested. "They have plenty here."

"I can't... I do not want to sleep alone here. I feel threatened. I do not know these people. Stella brings me comfort because she is an order, or used to be one, like me," I confessed.

"I understand. Just know that we will get away from here, it will only take a bit of time. David is doing everything he can to let us move outside of suspicion," Liam said. All I saw Mr. James do was sleep with Stella any chance he got. Okay. They did not really do it all the time... Still.

"And you are really sure we can trust these people?" I asked him.

"Yes, we can. It is a thin line that we are walking on. If he were not trustworthy, we would be dead by now."

***

Three months later I moved in with Liam. He lived outside of the city and in an apartment.

A year after I moved in with him, he got me a job at a clothes store. It was not the best for my exposure, but we needed all the money we could get. It seemed that getting me out of the agency had meant losing almost every penny for Liam.

Luckily, the shop was for normal people. The prices were not that high. I did not fear being recognised because I did not recognise anyone either.

Then one day it happened.

The son of the first family with his wife and the son I gave birth to walked in. Thank god I wore a ton of make-up because I was as red as a tomato. My stomach burned.

I just hoped they were not going to come to me. Why the heck would they start shopping in a place like this?

I acted as if I were busy and they went to the other girl of the shop. I overheard his and the wife's conversation though when the girl left to get some clothes. The conversation was very loud.

"It is your fault. It is all your fault!" she said agitated. The little boy was playing with the shoes on the floor.

"That is bullshit." How I hated his voice. It made me want to throw up.

"You could have fucked anything that walked, and you chose her?" she asked.

"She was the order. I had no fucking time to waste," he replied. "It had to be done that way."

"Do you mean rape her and videotape it? Because now that videotape is everywhere! They all either despise, or love us now! How could you have done this," she said and I swallowed. She was talking about a videotape. I held on to the counter because I was sure I was about to faint. "She is the biological mother of our son! You should have treated her better!"

That got to him. He never liked being told what to do. "Shut up!"

The girl with the clothes arrived and he dragged them both into the dressing room without the clothes that they would have tried on. The little boy was still playing with the shoes.

I heard all of it.

"You do not get to embarrass me like that! You are the slut!"

"You fucked everybody until I felt pity for you and married you!"

The girl I was working with that was in there with them did not say a word. Then I heard the sound of clothes ripping multiple times.

And then I heard the screams.

His wife shouted, "Stop you are hurting her!"

"I will not stop. This is how you all want to be treated, right? That teaches you who you are and how to behave!"

"Why does she have to pay for this? Leave her alone!" His wife was desperate. I heard his groans and the hurtful screams of the girl. I had been there, but I could not move.

"I am teaching you a lesson, you sluts. I might not be socially famous and loved anymore, but I am still better than you, you scum!" He was so disgusting. I did not know what to do. Calling the police would be stupid because he would get out again in a day. He still had some sort of power, I bet.

It finally got silent and they stepped out of the dressing room.

I was addressed.

"Do not fucking dare to call anyone!" he demanded from me. The wife and the girl were naked. The girl quickly got herself clothes to wear, to cover the red marks and the occasional blood, but the wife did not get clothes.

They did not buy anything. She just put on her coat, and they left.

The next day the girl did not come back to work. A week later I left as well. I had told Liam and he found me another job.

And that was my life. I was not a part of it anymore, I only got to watch. I did not know whether to feel relieved or to hate the world for it.