The Billionaire's Fashion Designer

THE HORROR STORY

12 years later

Smack!

The thunderous slap across the cheek in the room could be heard.

The sting of the slap was like a lightning bolt, jolting her senses. Her cheek burned with pain, her head reeling from the force of the blow. She winced, trying to hold back tears as she felt the humiliation and anger welling up inside her. This was not the first time she had been struck by Patricia, but the embarrassment and fear never seemed to fade.

The rage in Patricia's eyes was like a shadow that hung over her, a constant reminder of her powerlessness and insignificance.

" How did my clothes get stained!?" She yelled at her, but Clarisse could not utter a word, knowing the gravity. Not talking back at her is one of the rules she must not forget and not responding to her when she's talking is like looking for the tigress's trouble and cutting the tail of its baby. She had received the slap cause she was trying to explain.

" Are you deaf?" She yelled, but all Clarisse could do was quiver in fear.

" I'm sorry ma'am", she managed to say, tears threatening to fall.

" Sorry? Is sorry going to amend my dress? Is that how your mother taught you?...".

As her tirade continued, she cowered before her, afraid to look her in the eye. Her body ached from the endless hours of labor, her feet sore from standing on the cold tiles.

" It would all end in two days, take it in Clarisse, you can do it, just two more days", she comforted herself continuously, she thought that there would be no escape from her cruelty, no respite from the misery of her existence and that all her life would be is a constant cycle of pain, degradation, and hopelessness. But in the depths of her despair, a spark of defiance smoldered, a tiny flame that refused to be extinguished.

In just two more days, she would be free of this place and these people.

She did not say a word till Patricia threw the dress at her face and stormed away. She pulled it down her head slowly using it to wipe away her tears in the process. Just then someone threw dirty panties on the floor for her.

" Do I always have to remind you to come and pack my panties, is it until they started smelling and giving my room some smell before you know you ought to do your duty?",

" I'm sorry",

" Ugh! You disgust me", she said covering her nose and made to walk away but turned and said, "A quick reminder, you know I don't like those machines washing my undies, and do that with your hands, thoroughly", she said and walked away.

Clarisse squatted in defeat and began to pack the underwear; it was her duty to wash their underwear, do the dishes, and tidy up their rooms; she barely had