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Tari wiped the last speck of dust away from the enormous painting.

She climbed down from the ladder, a loud exhale left her lips as she sat on the giant couch.

She stared at the dirty bucket of water for a long time, before staring at her dusty dirty hands.

Never in her twenty-six years of living has she ever imagined a life like this for herself.

There was nothing she didn't have while she was still in the city — was it power? Wealth? Name it, she had them all.

Never in her life has she ever touched a rag, talk less of a bucket.

She lay gently back on the couch. Her eyes closed, letting exhaustion take the best of her, but before she could drift off her lids snapped open.

Tari's gaze landed on the huge painting on the wall, of a woman covered in a black veil entirely with just her lips left out.

"I can't do this anymore," Tari muttered, sitting up.

She had cleaned the entire tower with Freyana, with Freyana letting her do most of the work.

"Tari," Freyana called, walking into the room.

"What?" Tari responded with a glare.

Freyana didn't reply. She walked to the painting and wiped her finger on the surface, examining it for dust.

"Clean enough for someone who hasn't done this before," Freyana complimented.

"Look, Freyana, or whatever your name is. I have a life outside of here that I need to get back to. I am not your fucking cleaner or maid." Tari stood.

"I know," Freyana casually replied, still examining the painting.

"You know, so when am I leaving?" Tari questioned.

"Frost will decide," Freyana replied.

"Frost will, then where the fuck can I find that scumbag?" Tari questioned.

In a split second, Tari's back was slammed to the wall by Freyana. Freyana pressed a dagger to her neck, almost leaving a cut that made Tari wince.

"Are you insane!" Tari barked.

"That scumbag saved your shitty ass, and that scumbag is our boss here, so you watch your bitchy mouth around here, Daddy's girl. Because in Veinhill, there is only one ruler and that is Frost. One more insult to his name, and I promise to slit your throat," Freyana said.

Freyana held eye contact with Tari for a moment longer, before letting go of her neck.

Tari exhaled. "Bitch," she cursed, but Freyana was already walking away.

"Hey, bitch, I need to borrow your phone," Tari yelled after her.

"You are not allowed a phone till Frost says so," Freyana replied.

"Follow me for dinner, door closes in a minute," Freyana added.

"Urgghhhhh," Tari stomped her foot but followed behind her.

[Maids dining hall]

Tari walked slowly behind Freyana with her food tray in her hand, settling at an empty table with Freyana.

The eyes of the maids followed her till she sat down, and she didn't even cower.

She glared back at a maid and her confidence made the maid look away.

Everybody was whispering to one another while staring at their phones; even Freyana glanced at her once while staring at her phone.

She tried to take a peek, but she couldn't even get a glance. So she just ignored all of their stares and focused on her food. Before she could take a scoop of macaroni into her mouth, Freyana called her name, making her halt.

"What?" Tari groaned, glaring at Freyana.

Freyana dropped her phone on the table before turning to her.

"Frost requests your presence in his hut now," Freyana added.

Tari dropped the fork on the plate, clearly vexed.

"Oh, now he wants to see me? Well, tell the asshole I ain't going nowhere until he is ready to take me home," Tari replied.

Freyana exhaled. "You always do it the hard way," she said, rubbing her forehead.

Almost immediately, two huge men walked in. They didn't even ask for permission before one lifted Tari, easily flinging her over his shoulder like she was light as air.

"The fuck!! Put me down!!!! Have you gone nuts, mother fuckers!!! Put me down now!!!" Tari yelled, hitting the man on his back.

Just like that, the murmurs in the hall grew louder and louder with each passing second.

[Barasa's hut]

Tari was led into the hut by the two men. Throughout the five-minute drive to his hut she didn't stop running her mouth, throwing threats at the guards about how she was going to tear them apart and feed their remains to their family.

It got to a point that the guards had to cover her mouth with duct tape.

Unlike the outside of the hut, which was made with mud and big, the inside was the complete opposite.

Modern interior, furniture and a mobilized interface. The hut had technologies she didn't have at home. Everything was in black and white, mostly black.

It made her rethink who these people might really be for a second. How the fuck were they so advanced?

They got to a door; the guards pressed a bell she didn't even notice was there on the door.

The door slid open and she was pushed inside. Before she could turn to leave, the door shut behind her.

The tape on her mouth had been removed when the car arrived, so she just looked around the room. This one was completely white — from the floating bed to the walls to the floors, everything was white.

"You called me here, don't ghost me too," Tari said, still staring around.

A few seconds later, the bathroom door she didn't even know was there opened and steam poured out.

Barasa walked out with a towel wrapped round his waist. Water dripped down his chiseled chest and down his toned legs.

He held a towel in his hands that he used to dry his hair, acting like he didn't see her while she stared intensely at him.

Tari felt her middle getting watery. She bit her lips and clamped her thighs together, preventing herself from the embarrassment of her arousal rolling down her thigh.

She looked away in embarrassment. Tari could swear she saw a smirk on his lips. Like, the fuck — did he just smile?

"Look," Tari turned to him as he walked past her. That was when she saw the bandage on his shoulder, which had bloodstains on it.

Before she could open her mouth to utter a word, he released the towel wrapped round his waist. It dropped to his ankle.

"The fuck!" Tari exclaimed, not even looking away.