London.

My beautiful, beautiful London.

It felt surreal to be back home. When I stepped off the plane, my eyes were wide and filled with tears. Amber seemed happy too, though her reaction was more reserved.

Carina was waiting for us at the terminal, and our meeting was more emotional than I could have imagined.

I had decided not to tell her the whole story.

She’d been told a variation I deemed wouldn’t get Thorn in trouble. I’d battled with my decision for a while, but Amber supported me in it, and I could only hope it had been the right thing to do.

We’d told Carina I had met a dangerous man whom I’d followed to the other side of the world. After that call, we quickly realized we were in the States, but I doubted I’d be able to find the Mansion again. Something deep down in my soul prevented me from telling Carina about Thorn’s crimes, and I wanted to hate myself for it, but a part of me cared for him deeply. In fact, a part of me still believed he would come after me, collect me and claim me like he had once before.

Amber had joined me in this fictional story to keep me company, but the man we were both with turned abusive, and we had to find a way out. I fed Carina lies and felt guilty the whole time, hoping that one day I’d be able to reveal the truth to her.

After I’d told her everything, she arranged for us to be picked up. She made sure we arrived in London safely - I didn’t even dare ask how much it all cost, but she told us she’d do anything to help us out, and we were both grateful for it.

Carina had moved back home with her parents. I carefully avoided the topic of her miscarriage, knowing Amber had no clue about it, but I knew she needed all the support she could get from her family in such a difficult time. Her parents accepted us both with open arms, and I was eternally grateful to them as well.

That first night when we got back, Carina set us up in separate guestrooms, but sometime in the middle of the night, Amber crawled into my bed and we slept curled up together.

Her hair smelled like strawberries and reminded me of a time when things were easier. I pretended to be asleep when she stirred awake and pretended like I hadn’t been crying at all. The next morning, neither of us mentioned it.

We spent the morning having breakfast with Carina’s parents, who inquired politely about our traveling. The conversation was awkward and stilted, but I soon realized I was the only who felt that way. Carina’s parents barely seemed to notice, her dad buried in paperwork and her mom busy chatting on the phone. They wore matching distant expressions that didn’t give off their true feelings. But if they were upset about Amber and me being there, they didn’t mention or show it.

“I have to go to the studio,” Carina told us after breakfast. “Would you like me to tell Madame you’re back?”

I exchanged a nervous look with Amber.

“No,” I shook my head finally. “He could find out… I’m sure he knows about Madame, and I don’t want him finding out we’re back in town.”

Carina nodded with understanding in her kind eyes, and we exchanged warm hugs before she told us to sit tight until she came back. With her parents going off to work, Amber and I were left to our own devices in their incredible apartment.

Amber and I flitted from room to room, and I marveled at my own freedom. After months of being locked away kept only for Thorn’s entertainment, it felt incredible to be able to do anything I wanted to.

I couldn’t read Amber though, despite keeping a close eye on her. Eventually, we settled in front of the TV with bowls of mac and cheese prepared by Carina’s parents’ housekeeper.

“How are you feeling?” I asked Amber carefully, and she shrugged, never moving her eyes off the TV.

“I guess it’s going to take some getting used to,” she admitted.

“I know,” I said softly. “It’s going to be hard to adjust… but this is normal. The way we were treated before definitely wasn’t.”

She didn’t reply, keeping her gaze fixed on the TV as she ate. She raised her feet up on the coffee table, and I cringed. It must’ve been worth a fortune, like the rest of the stuff in that beautiful room.

I picked at my food absent-mindedly while my eyes danced over the room, coming to stop on Amber’s feet again and again. I was about to say something when my eyes focused on something on her ankle, a small black sign under her frilly socks.

“Hey,” I said, setting my plate down. “What’s that?”

“Huh?” she gave me a confused look over her shoulder.

“On your ankle,” I clarified. “What’s that?”

She glanced down and blushed when she saw what I was talking about. Right away, she put her feet down and turned her attention back to the TV, as if I hadn’t said anything at all.

“Amber,” I said in a warning tone. “What the hell is on your ankle?”

She stood up to leave but I was faster, reaching her in a few steps and pulling her sock down, the lace revealing a tattoo on her tiny, bony ankle. It was a coiled snake, the tattoo I’d seen time and time again on the other girls in the house.

“They…” I whispered, pressing my palm to my mouth. “They did this to you.”

“No,” she replied coldly, prying her ankle out of my grip and glaring at me. “I chose it.”

“Chose… what?” I cried out. “What does it mean?”

She raised her head high as she went on to explain.

“It’s the serpent,” she said. “It’s the mark tattooed on all the girls who go through the mansion. Ellis said it was a sign of the man who sells us.”

I twitched when she mentioned Ellis’s name, but that wasn’t the worst part.

“Why is it on you?” I asked her roughly.

“I wanted it,” she shrugged as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “Ellis asked me, and I said yes.”

“You agreed,” I said. “To what, exactly? To be sold?”

She didn’t answer, stubbornly staring ahead of her.

“He said I’d be taken care of,” she finally said defensively. “That my life would be better for it.”

“And you believed him?” I shook my head, trying to stop the tears from falling. “The man that kidnapped you. You believed him, after all he did to us both?”

“How is that so much different to Thorn, Harlow?” she asked pointedly, turning her accusatory eyes at me. “Ellis and Thorn were cut from the same cloth. That’s why things ended the way they did. They were two of a kind, and there was only room in the world for one of them.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I accused her bitterly. “That man would have killed us both.”

“And Thorn wouldn’t have?” she countered, and it shut me up. She sighed and got off her chair, shaking her head in exasperation. “Doesn’t matter now, anyway. I left with you. I chose to stay by your side. And that’s all that matters.”

I didn’t say a word as she made her way out of the room. I was trying my best to understand where she was coming from. I knew she had a rough life, but I still didn’t understand why she could possibly choose this kind of fate - and willingly.

I felt alone at that moment, cold in the knowledge that I had nobody else. My father was still alive, but since he’d shown absolutely no interest in me since my mother passed, I didn’t bother making contact again. He probably hadn’t even noticed I was gone.

My only remaining friend was Carina.

I remembered her moment of weakness when she found out she was pregnant, and the week when she lost her baby. I’d been there for her. Perhaps she could be there for me too.

* * *

“Can we talk?”

Carina raised her eyes to mine and seemed to understand something was wrong right away.

“Of course,” she said gently, squeezing my hand. “I knew we would have to eventually. Come on, let’s go on the balcony.”

Her parents were fast asleep and so was Amber, but Carina and I had stayed up late to watch a film we both liked. But now the credits were rolling, and I’d spent the entirety of the film wondering how much I could tell Carina. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, it was more that I didn’t want to put her in any kind of danger.

I followed her outside, where we gazed upon London illuminated beautifully in the night sky. Her parents’ apartment had an incredible view I knew I’d never get sick of. Still, I was anxious to get on my own feet, find my own place in the world after being a captive for so long.

Yet I couldn’t help my mind wandering to Thorn again and again.

At first, I’d tried to ignore it. Then deny it, pretend it didn’t exist. But it was there, the nagging thought in the back of my mind demanding I pay attention to the ever-present question eating away at me.

Would he take me back?

I wasn’t sure. A horrible, sinking feeling had settled in my stomach, a kind of premonition saying I would be the one to crawl back to him and beg him to take me back. Being away from him felt like being severed from a part of me. Painful and hard and fucking unbearable. I hated the pain, hated what it meant, and hated myself for the feelings I couldn’t squash anymore. It was painfully obvious now. I was in love… truly, madly, deeply - for better or for worse.

“You seem a thousand miles away,” Carina told me, and I forced a smile on my lips. “What are you thinking about?”

I didn’t answer, and after a couple of minutes, she reached over to me, her hand coming to rest on mine.

“Is it him?” she whispered, and I swallowed my tears and nodded which made Carina sigh out loud. “Oh, darling. I have never mentioned this, but…”

I looked up at her and she bit her bottom lip nervously and went on.

“The father of my baby,” she managed to get out. “He… he wasn’t a very nice man. I think there are some similarities between him and the man who abused you.”

“I’m sorry,” I said automatically.

“This isn’t about me,” she said gently, smoothing my hair away from my face. “I just want to make sure you’re alright here after what happened. I understand abusive relationships, I really do.”

I nodded as she gave me a sweet smile.

“But I’m here to help,” she went on. “Anything you need, you can always ask me. I’ll be here for anything you need. You know that, don’t you?”

“I do,” I nodded. “Thank you, Carina. But I’m worried…”

I took a deep breath as she looked at me expectantly.

“I’m worried he got Amber involved in some bad stuff as well,” I finally managed to get out. “She… she told me some things and they really made me worried about her safety.”

“Look,” Carina said placatingly. “He doesn’t know you’re here. He can’t hurt you anymore, Harlow. I know he’s done some bad things - and don’t worry, you don’t have to tell me anything - but I’m here to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

I stared at her and she gave me a big smile, pulling me in for a hug.

“I’ll make sure you’re safe,” she whispered, and I found myself nodding to her words, though for some reason, I couldn’t believe her at all.