The Duke's Masked Wife

Simon left the dining room, passing by the maids who hustled to clean up after him. It took two years to find the right people who didn't care about what they witnessed in his house. His servants witnessed many of his antics with his parents who were meant to be buried in the ground but never once reported him to the town guards.

Simon demonstrated what would happen to anyone looking to expose his deeds on a maid he found acting strange. After a quick interrogation, he found out she wanted to leave because she could not stand the sight of the corpses.

Simon gathered the servants to witness what would be their punishment. He killed the maid before their eyes and let them clean up the mess. The people in his house were quite loyal to him now. When he finally brings Kate here, they should help make the house seem as though nothing was wrong.

Simon exited a door near the kitchen and kept walking towards the tall trees behind his house. He ignored the coldness of the snow latching onto him because he came outside without a coat.

There was only one thing Simon liked about winter. It covered the entrance to a room his father built to get away from his mother in the past.

Simon bent down in the middle of the trees, his house barely in view from this spot, and dug away at the snow. Under the snow was a latch with a lock on it. There was only one key to get inside and one to get out. He always kept it on him.

Simon opened the trap door and jumped down inside the hidden room.  Darkness consumed him because of the lack of light, but out of instinct, he found where the torch was left and set it on fire.

"I hope you ate all your dinner like always. You know how much I hate to bring it all the way out here just to be wasted. Oh, good girl," he smiled as a young woman with a chain around her foot came into view when he started to light the other torches. Her plate was empty like she had licked it clean.

"This is why you have lasted the longest. You are far better than my mother who would not eat. Are you cold?" He asked, noticing the way she shivered. "You couldn't be. My father built this room well enough that it should be warm in the winter. You should be glad to have such a luxurious prison."

Simon's mood changed from the lack of responses. "Answer me, Bella," he ordered her.

"I am happy to be here," Bella replied, her voice coming out like a whisper. She was thirsty and beyond hungry but didn't make these two things known since she saw his punishments when you complained about the things he did.

Bella, a young actress, tried to drag her sore foot on the cold floor to get away from the young girl who was unconscious since Simon's last visit. Bella warned the young girl to keep quiet and do as Simon wanted but the cries continued followed by a threat. Simon did as Bella knew he would do. Simon a metal rod and hit the other captive with it over her head.

Bella heard low groans throughout the night and saw her fingers twitch but by morning, any signs the young girl was alive were few. Bella survived this long by doing everything Simon said regardless of how gross it would be like licking the bottom of his shoe or the bloody hand of one of the girls she spent some time with.

"I wonder if I should release you," Simon suddenly spoke. "Would you like to leave?"

"No," Bella shook her head. She knew not to fall for this trick. There was only one way he would let you leave this place. "I wish to stay here, please. I like it here. Don't make me leave," she begged, holding her head down.

Simon licked his lips, silently contemplating if he should stick with her until he could get her to disobey his words. Then, he would have the pleasure of torturing her. "You were so perfect at first but then there was that one time you could not control your tears. I could have killed you, but I didn't. Never forget that."

Bella kept her head low as she bit her lip and tried to hide the emotions overcoming her. "I am grateful you didn't-"

"Look at me," Simon ordered her. He knew what she was doing by not meeting his eyes. She thought she could hide from him.

Bella tried her best to not let her fear show as she lifted her head.

"Those tricks won't work on me, Bella. I have been here in your position. You were better than the others but you are still flawed. I've found someone better than you. She has that same annoying attitude you had when I first laid eyes on you. A beautiful flower just waiting to be destroyed," said Simon.

He started to walk around the room to get a better look at the other young woman in the room.

Simon's eyes lingered on the dead woman before going back to Bella. "I'm sure you wish to know what your family is doing right now. I'm happy to share the wonderful news that they have given up looking for you. You've been missing longer than most of your friends," he said, referring to the girls he had before.

Bella didn't have a friendship with the girls Simon kept bringing her but he would repeatedly call them friends.

"They threw a funeral for you and moved on with their lives. So harsh of them. If only they would wait a little more for you to slip up, I would kill you and let them see your battered body. So impatient they were," Simon lied.

Bella dug her nails into her skin as she continued to look at Simon. She knew her mother would never stop looking for her.

Simon went to where Bella curled herself up in the corner and stooped down before her to play with her dirty hair. "You should hear how your peers were talking about you. You should've been nicer in the past. Then again, I wouldn't have found you to be the perfect test if you were nice. I love the ones like you who are hard to break."

"W-Why? Why are you doing this when you say you were in my position?" Bella asked, accepting the risk this could get her killed. She just needed to know after months of being here, what was his reason?

Bella flinched when Simon reached out to rub his fingers through her hair.

"Don't fear me. That was a good question. It sucks when you're the one chained up, but it only took one instance for me to see why my parents liked torturing me if I wasn't their perfect little son. It's exhilarating. Perhaps I might die and you will be the one to enjoy this little game. We'll never know," said Simon, shrugging his shoulders.

Bella only wanted to get out of this box she was stuck in. She could not understand how someone who was once a victim would turn around and attack others.

"No? You're no fun Bella. I'll give you a gift since you seem to be under the weather these days. I am going to get rid of her," he pointed at the young woman behind them. "And bring you a new friend soon. Someone with that same fire you had when I first met you."