Vanya's POV
My brows furrowed a little, and a hint of displeasure showed on my face.
Mirabel next to me obviously picked up on how I felt and immediately turned to snap at the maid, "How could you be so careless? Hurry up and get someone to bring Vanya some new clothes!"
"Sorry, Vanya! I'll go get the clothes ready right now." The maid kept her head down, apologizing over and over, her voice full of fear.
Mirabel tried to smooth things over on the side, sounding gentle but actually distancing herself with every word: "This servant is new, still young, not very good at the job. Vanya, don't take it to heart."
As she spoke, she turned to the maid and said, "Why haven't you had someone take Vanya upstairs to change?"
"Yes, madam." The maid came forward nervously, lowered her head, and motioned for me to follow her upstairs.
I glanced back at Mirabel. She had just the right amount of concern on her face, but something just felt off to me.
But then again, today was the Dalton family dinner. With so many eyes on her, even if she was super bold, she wouldn't dare pull any tricks at an event like this, right?
The maid took me upstairs and stopped at a guest room door. Then she handed me the folded clothes: "Vanya, please change here. I'll wait for you outside."
I nodded, took the clothes, and pushed the door open to go in.
As soon as the maid's footsteps faded outside the door, I immediately spread out those clothes and checked them inside and out—fabric, stitching, buttons, even the lining—I really didn't find anything unusual.
Was it... really just an accident?
I shook my head and pushed that bit of doubt down.
Anyway, as long as the clothes were fine, just put them on first.
I took off my wet clothes that had red wine on them, quickly rinsed off in the bathroom, dried myself, and put on that new outfit.
But as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, a sudden wave of dizziness hit me hard. My whole body instantly went weak and limp, and I could barely stand.
Strange... I clearly checked the room when I came in, the doors and windows were all fine, and there was no strange smell in the air, so how did this happen?
Just then, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door, coming closer and closer until they stopped at the door.
My heart tightened and I frowned without thinking—I'd been careful before coming in and locked the door, so no one should've been able to get in.
Sure enough, the next second I heard someone shaking the doorknob hard. There were a few "click click" sounds, but they couldn't open it.
I forced myself to hold on with my last bit of strength and asked warily, "Who's out there?"
This was the second floor. As long as I shouted, people downstairs should have been able to hear me.
But the person outside the door didn't answer, there was only the "clicking" sound of a key going into the lock.
"Squeak—"
The moment the door was opened, my vision was already getting blurry, and everything in front of me looked like it was behind frosted glass. I could barely make out a figure.
"Vanya, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" A man's voice came, with an unabashedly sleazy laugh.
That voice... it was Dominic!
My heart skipped a beat, I tried to stay awake, but it felt like all my strength was gone, and I just collapsed weakly onto the sofa behind me.
Dominic closed the door and locked it right away, moving so smoothly it was like he'd practiced a million times.
He rubbed his hands, and that mix of cheap booze and greedy wolf smell hit me in the face. He came at me, drooling, and the words he spat out were like poisoned fangs, making me sick: "Don't fight back. Since Cliff doesn't want you, I want you!"
"Get lost!" I wanted to push him away, but it felt like all my strength had been drained. My arms were so heavy, like they were filled with lead. I couldn't even lift them, and even the wolf's scent got really weak.
His voice was like greasy oil stuck to me, mixed with that disgusting wolf smell on him, and it made my stomach churn.
Dominic kept coming closer, a wolfish green light flashing in his eyes, and forced me into the corner.
My mind was getting fuzzier, my eyelids were so heavy they were about to close. I could feel my wolf whining restlessly inside me. I knew I absolutely couldn't go down like this.
In a panic, I suddenly raised my hand and took off the brooch on my chest—that was something my father left me, and the pin was as sharp as a wolf's claw.
"Hiss—"
I stabbed the needle hard into my arm. The sharp pain shot through my whole body like an electric current. It finally brought me back to my senses a little. The wolf instinct in me was also awakened a bit by the pain, and a faint red glimmer appeared in my eyes.
But Dominic obviously didn't want to let me go. His fingers were starting to look like wolf claws, and he reached out to grab my wrist, still rambling on: "Good baby, you can't escape today. You might as well behave and serve me. When you get to the Field family, I won't treat you badly!"
His greasy hand got closer and closer, carrying a kind of oppressive, yet laughably weak, sense of pressure.
I clenched my teeth hard, blood seeping from my gums, forcing myself not to completely lose consciousness.
The wolf's low growl rolled in its throat, holding on to the last bit of strength to fight back.