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her
pimp. “NOT IN FRONT OF PRITCHARD. PLEASE I BEG-”
    The fury in Thomas’s eyes burned her like a
hot iron.
    “ Sir Thomas! PLEASE!”
Pritchard had pleaded with perspiration starting to form on his
head from a raised heartbeat. The dark look from Thomas as he
turned his head sent shivers through Stephen, even more so than the
one he had given his own father over his mother’s grave.
    Suddenly as if realizing he had gone too far,
Pritchard watched the devil in Thomas’s eyes disappear back into
the depths of his soul.
    “ My god!” he thought, “He’s
punished her for my benefit!” Unsure of what he should do next, he
looked on in stunned silence that was until his master made the
decision for him.
    “ Go to our room Nara,”
Thomas ordered evenly as when punishing their daughter for being
naughty.
    Watching her quickly scurry out of the room,
his master’s eyes now normal again, the room fell silent as though
everything was now settled. Thomas focused his eyes on Stephen.
    “ I take it that has
satisfied you as suitable punishment and your honor is restored?”
Thomas asked breaking the uneasy silence between them. The butler
nodded.
    “ Good, I am certain she
won’t ever do it again! Oh and thank you Pritchard,” Thomas
said.
    Taking this as the signal to leave the
difficult meeting, Stephen nodded once more, but this time chose
not to say anything as he left the room for his resignation was no
longer needed, his honor had been restored.

A distressed Nara ran through the house and
up the stairs with tears streaming down her face. The “Gates of
Hell” that had been held back until that moment in Nara’s mind
unlocked and opened with a vengeance and in doing so with it came
all the worst nightmares that she had long forgotten.
    The image of her pimp from Turkmenistan, the
man who had purchased her from her Papa as a thirteen-year-old,
manifested in front of her and with it his evil laughter ring
loudly in her ears. Endeavoring to escape from him, Nara fled into
their bedroom.
    Nowhere else to run, having hit the wall, she
turned and collapsed to the floor. She began rocking herself with
her arms clutched in front of her legs that were pushed up into her
chest, sobbing loudly.
    Thirty minutes later, a distraught and now an
extremely guilty Thomas came up the stairs to their bedroom to find
her. Entering the room he immediately found her in a semi-comatose
state, rocking herself back and forth and staring into the
floor.
    “ Oh my God! What have I
done?” he thought in horror as he rushed to her.
    He sat down at her side and gently pulled her
under his shoulder. She flinched at his touch. He went to kiss her
head but she pulled away without saying anything.
    It was half an hour before the intimacy of
them locked together finally appeared to work its magic. Nara
looked at up him weakly. She attempted to offer him a smile.
    Taking it as his cue to make amends, in
response Thomas kissed her hair.
    “ I am sorry, my Thomas,” she
said shaking, fearing he might slap her again.
    “ Shh,” murmured Thomas
before releasing her. Then without a word he stood and offered his
damp hand for her to take.
    “ Nara,” he said simply, his
foolish pride stopping him from apologizing to her for his loss of
his temper despite her unacceptable actions with regard to
Jackie.
    Nervously, Nara looked at him for a second.
Despite fearing another assault she, with a touch of hesitation,
took his outstretched hand.
    Pulling her up and into his arm, it suddenly
dawned on him by the way she was shaking that she still was
terrified of him.
    “ God!” he thought guiltily.
“What have I done?”
    Trying to make amends. He leaned down then
kissed her on the lips. She flinched again at his touch.
    “ I won’t hurt you my love,”
he whispered.
    It was only when he picked her up in his arms
in one movement that Nara started to realize that he was no longer
angry with her.
    Nevertheless, still gripped by fear she
carefully