Of The Dark

Chapter 11

I gulped.

The Reichsführer's sharp stare burned through my skin. I straightened my back and lowered my head, trying to seem as unnoticeable as possible.

It was fine. He probably just wanted someone to refill his drink every so often and I was the most convenient person to do that. I was just overthinking.

"Do you know why I called you here?" The Commandant asked his son, taking a sip of brandy. Oskar hesitated, looking to me quickly with a faint stab of pain in his eyes.

"No, Reichsführer." He looked puzzled, playing with his fingers behind his back as he stood opposite his father. His father leaned back on his chair, resting one hand on top of the other on the edge of his desk, tilting his head to the side with an unamused scowl.

"Then maybe Hana, here, could care to explain."

My stomach knotted up.

It had to be a coincidence that he knew my name. A pure, unimaginably peculiar coincidence.

He, like his ex-wife, must have heard Oskar call me by my name in some odd circumstance. Probably the same dinner, even. Although it was known of the Reichsführer having a lack of attention when it came to knowing the names of his household staff, it was the only reasonable explanation.

"I- I'm not sure what you mean, Reichsführer." I stammered, my voice coming out small.

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean." He chuckled like it was the most humorous thing in the world.

"Father, what's going on?" Oskar looked from his father to me, cautiously.

"Do you know how much it embarrasses me to find out that my only son is romantically interested in his maid?" His haughty laugh echoed through the frigid room. "Oh, and not just any old maid! A prisoner of his own camp, no less!"

My jaw fell.

Anxiety racked up in my stomach, toying with my breathing and forming goosebumps on my arms. Oskar shared the same, dreadful expression.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He spurted out, confidently folding his arms over his chest. He was shaking on the inside, I knew. He was just more trained than me in concealing it.

"Don't play with me, boy!" He yelled, rising from his chair with austerity. "Have you been sleeping with her or not?"

"That's not something I'm comfortable discussing with you." He swallowed, watching his father, attentively.

"I don't care." Reichsführer gritted his teeth, walking around the desk to face his son. "Answer my question."

"So what if I am sleeping with the help? Why is it suddenly a problem for you now?"

I wanted to scream that we were not sleeping together. It had barely been ten minutes since I sincerely broke off whatever we had, which most definitely did not constitute to sex.

Then again, he was being very tactful.

By outwardly denying any amorous feelings, his father would only assume that he is lying, which would only dig our graves deeper. It was smart to illustrate it as a petty liaison, something any man in the Reichsführer's status would probably not have any concern with.

Only, he did not buy it.

"This isn't about sleeping with the help. This is about falling in love with a criminal!" He turned his back to Oskar as his fist came crashing down the empty desk. The impact vibrated across the room, making me jump.