“I don’t think I could ever stop loving you,” he admitted.
My heart leapt at what he said. “Neither I you, Aiden,” I responded. That’s exactly why I need to ruin you. Just imagine how powerful I’ll be once I no longer have love holding me back.
CHAPTER 17: CLAUDIA
I couldn’t keep Yuri out of my mind—not since I left The Shade. I realized then that he was the one constant in my life, that ever since the first day I had met him, no day had passed that he hasn’t been, in one way or another, a part of my life—that was until I became stupid enough to leave.
I pushed back the tears as fond memories of him came to mind, one of my favorites being the first day I met him.
Once every week, my master, the Duke, would send me to market. That day was my favorite, because it meant I could take the long walk past the woods off to the town, away from the horrors of the Duke’s manor. I was his favorite. He never shared me with anyone else, but being the Duke’s favorite was not something to be envied. From the moment I was brought to him, I was pitied by everyone in the manor. I even pitied myself, and I hated that.
Why am I not still used to this? My mother was a whore and now, so am I… As I walked past the woods that would lead me to town, I wondered why I hadn’t yet resigned myself to this fate, a fate I was sure was my own.
That afternoon, I found out why. That was the afternoon I met Yuri for the first time. He seemed to just pop out of nowhere. I figured he had been by the nearby brook and saw me walking along the lonesome pathway and he had apparently decided that he had wanted to get to know me. So he just began walking in stride with me.
“Hello. I’m Yuri,” he said, flashing me a smile, while keeping both his hands clasped behind his back. “Might I have the honor of knowing your name, miss?”
I stared up at him and decided to ignore him. I didn’t trust men and he was no exception. I slipped one hand into a hidden pocket in my dress where I always kept a dagger. I was willing to use it on him if I had to.
After a prolonged silence, he just narrowed his eyes at me and said, “So you’re not going to give me your name, huh? That’s fine. Are you off to town? That’s where I’m headed too. Mind if I walk with you?”
I remained silent, unwilling to have even the slightest small talk with a complete stranger. I couldn’t deny, however, how attractive I found him. He was at least six inches taller than me, with a lean, lanky build and a charming dimple that appeared whenever he smiled. His nose was slightly crooked but in a way that I thought added to his charm. He had a certain boyishness about him that drew me in. He was nothing like the Duke at all. Many would say that the Duke was far more handsome than Yuri, who would look like a wimp next to the Duke. Many women thought the Duke was the perfect specimen of a man.
I knew better. The Duke caused me nothing but pain.
I was so busy studying Yuri’s features and losing myself in melancholic thoughts of how powerless I was against the Duke that I barely noticed Yuri was still waiting for a response from me. When he didn’t get an answer, however, he didn’t leave like I had expected him to. He just kept walking beside me and talking.
“Hmm… I’ll take your silence as you not minding me walking beside you,” he piped up. “We just moved into the village recently. Me and my older brother, Eli. He got work as a tutor for the Maslens. He’s really smart you know and he wants to be an inventor someday. I think he can do it. I wasn’t pleased about moving here with him, but I figured this place is as good as any to hone my art. When we got here, I was so disappointed…that is until I saw you last week. I was hoping you’d allow me to paint you. Is that alright with you?”
For some reason, I wanted to say yes, but knew that being around Yuri would just get me in trouble with the Duke, so once again, I just kept silent. Again, he didn’t seem to mind. Apart from me shaking my head when he asked me if I was either deaf or mute or maybe both, I didn’t respond to most of his talk. He talked on anyway.
That was the way it was every week. He would always show up and just tell me about his week, how he and his brother were doing, what new art project he was out to do, which new friends he had made. I would often try to hide a smirk or a scowl whenever he would mention a name that I would recognize—a face I’d already seen at the Duke’s brothel. Still, I never talked to him. I kept silent, and satisfied myself with listening to him—something I found I was delighted in.
I hadn’t realized the effect Yuri had had on me until one day when I came home from the market and the Duke questioned me about why I always had a smile on my face after returning from my errand at the market. I lied and told him that it was because I enjoyed the long walks.
“Liar!” He slammed the back of his hand against my cheek so powerfully that I fell to the ground. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Claudia! Ever!”
He put me through hell that night. It didn’t end until I was bloody and bruised all over. I couldn’t walk for days and once I was able to get up and around, every step still caused me pain.
The Duke didn’t need to tell me. I just knew. I knew that what he put me through was a clear warning that I was to stay away from Yuri for my own good. For two weeks, I wasn’t able to go to the market. The Duke sent someone else instead. When he decided that I was ready to go, he warned me, “Walk alone, Claudia. You must always walk alone from now on.”
That afternoon, as I started my trek toward town, Yuri once again appeared. I could see the delight in his eyes upon seeing me. It made what I had to do even more difficult. The moment he began walking beside me, I stopped and turned toward him.