In tragic fashion, time slowed to an agonizing crawl. The days following my utter defeat at her hands swiftly grew miserable. Not a second seemed to tick by where I didn’t regret what I’d done, which I suspected was probably to my master’s liking. Never before had I so thoroughly lost to Candace; it was almost an embarrassment. I hadn’t just failed to change my fate, I’d humiliated myself in doing so, and that by itself was worse than the sheer pain of it all. The one thing I’d seemingly succeeded in doing was definitively prove that I was no longer the woman I thought I was…

No matter how desperately I still wished to be her.

My surgery needed to be postponed. It wasn’t made clear to me why exactly, but it was safe to assume that it was in order to make sure that I was okay following our violent confrontation. Other than my concussion, I was seemingly fine, Candace was the one who’d been left with the worst injuries. As a result, the appointment I’d been forced to miss was one that my owner used for emergency cosmetic surgery.

Considering the damage I’d done to her chest, I couldn’t blame her. If I was her I would have wanted that fixed up as soon as possible too- like I would have loved having the house to myself for a day while she was out doing so if only just to find some way out of here without hurting her.

But alas, Candace was not an idiot. She had her cake and ate it too, leaving me chained up in my cell for the entire day. Followed by the next day, then the next day, and the next day. Don’t ask what it was like either; you don’t really want to know. I’ll spare you the details, just know that by the time I was released from my chains I was more than willing to capitulate to her commands. After all- it was nice to eat again.

That’s not to say that she didn’t check up on me, because she did. Not just every day, but almost every hour of every day. She’d come by so regularly- to the point that it became part of her routine for a week or so; even after I was out of my cell she made a point of making sure she knew what I was up to at all times. Though importantly, if I wasn’t chained up, she checked in over the intercom.

Neither of us wanted a repeat of last time. That was one rematch Candace wasn’t up for.

She reverted back to keeping her distance. Except this time, it was much worse. With barely any supplies to work with, I was forced to use nothing but my hands for most tasks. Despite the fact that the chores had piled up in just the sliver of time I’d spent off the job, my master was not keen on her slave getting them done if it meant not taking any risks. Which in turn meant that on top of everything else, I was getting beaten for failing at my job.

Yet with increasing repugnance, being beaten didn’t seem to bother me. A lashing meant being in the same room as her after all.

Worst of all, however, Candace revoked custody of Poppy.

Ignorant was all it took to deny the idea that anything could have gone wrong as a result of actions. I hadn’t considered much of what would have happened had I failed, like I had, least of not that. As it stood, that silly plush border collie was my only friend. To prove that she’s mine, my name was sewn into one of her ears. Similarly- ironically- Candace had marked my body with her own name.

Or rather, with her initials.

She was a famous figure after all, it wasn’t exactly advisable for her to print her full name onto me in the event that I was found by someone who wasn’t in on all of this- at least in theory. Bafflingly, Candace was probably more recognizable by her initials than her name.

CStC- being Candace’s screen name, was what most of the community referred to her as rather than name. Undoubtedly following that logic, her rival was likely more known by her own screen name now that I thought about it. Though in terms of concealing her identity, the name SoCavalier was as bad as Candace’s name was for her, if not worse. The relevant takeaway here- knowing that those who cross her were likely to never be a problem again- being that by putting her initials on the metal tag clipped to my ear, Candace has effectively sewn her name into my ear like I was a stuffed dog.

Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t say that I ever really liked Sophia Cavalier, despite how well I knew her once upon a time. Which was hopefully a story for a later day. Because from the very beginning, I had always been Candace’s biggest fan.

At one point, I had prided myself on that. But now… not so much. Maybe my obsession with her had been extreme to the point of creepy, but I feel less insecure about that knowing that all along, Candace had been much worse. I was still her biggest fan. That much hadn’t changed; what had changed was that I was no longer proud of that fact, I was appalled by it.

When she first tramp stamped me with her initials, I’d thought of it as the happiest day of my life. Now that it was permanent, however, it felt at times like a mark of shame.

Shame on me for letting it make such an impact on me. If I had known this was going to be how things turned out, I never would have hurt her in the first place.

I never would have looked up to her in the first place.

My owner confiscated my uniforms from me, forcing me to work entirely naked in order to make sure I couldn’t hide things from her anymore. There was a small bundle of clothes in the laundry room that I knew were mine, but those were something I’d kept hidden from her for months now. If she found out I’d been hiding more things from her, Candace would lose it. Unfortunately, making me work nude ended up backfiring on her when I eventually got my period. Exciting, I know. I was just glad that Candace took it well. She seemed to be so relieved more than anything that she didn’t punish me for getting blood on her floors… again.

Strangely, this also seemed to be the signal Candace needed to let the clinic know I was ready to go forward with the surgery.

My body felt gross from head to toe, like she’d somehow violated me even further than she already had. Of course, Candace hardly cared about how I felt aside from making sure that I was (mostly) physically unharmed.

I obviously couldn’t be pregnant for the procedure, that much made sense. Depending on the type of procedure though, it was more than possible that someone along the line simply didn’t want me to be. If I’m being honest- Candace’s entire family doesn’t seem to keen on abortions. It hadn’t even hit me that I couldn’t necessarily rule out pregnancy as an option.

Anything could have happened to me after she knocked me out. Candace could have let one of her friends accidentally knock me up as well. Or the more exciting- and less likely option, Candace might have done it herself.

But she didn’t.

We resumed our usual routine, right up until the morning of my previously postponed surgery. Candace acted like it was just another day, dragging me through her bathroom and towards the kitchen. But we both knew it wasn’t.

“Breakfast for four today. Omelettes, potatoes, bacon, and sausage. I’ll take mine like normal, no peppers. Don’t fuck this up. Malcolm is lactose intolerant, so he eats like a pig. He’ll easily have two. Extra peppers, bacon, and sausage, but no cheese. Toss as much bacon and sausage we have leftover on his plate so that we’re not left with extra. Leah will not be eating like a pig, nor will she be eating pig. Cook hers first, separately, and then just reuse the pan. She’s not a vegetarian, just don’t add meat. Oh, and she asked if you’d put the potatoes in the omelette- because she’s a heathen- so do that, just don’t say that to her face. She’s having a bit of a crisis so don’t make a point of her letting her hair down. If you screw up her food she just won’t eat it, and she doesn’t need that. Finally, make an extra this morning. I don’t care what’s on it; someone will eat it. Feel free to make it however you want, but prioritize getting everything else correct first. You got all that?”

Candace has a tendency to… obsess about perfection when she gets anxious. Mumbling through my muzzle, I bowed my head in confirmation. Hopefully I’d gotten all that, because if I couldn’t remember what she said, she couldn’t either.

It made sense that Malcolm and Leah were here, I supposed, knowing we’d be leaving for the clinic soon. But why in the world did she want breakfast for four?

I had an extreme attention to detail. It made me even better at taking notes in my head and micromanaging things than Candace was- much to her dismay. My master probably wouldn’t have much fun playing video games with me.

Though, after losing at the world championship, Candace probably wasn’t having fun playing against anyone anymore.

“Good.” Candace pulled my face to hers by the metal tag that hung from my ear. “I repeat, don’t fuck this up. The last thing I want is to have to kill you for disobeying me after how much time and effort I’ve put into this, but I will put you down if I have to. Is that understood?”

I shook in her grasp as she said that, knowing that things were very much not okay. All I could do now was hope for the best and whimper in agreement through my muzzle, bowing ever so slightly.

“Good.” She repeated, satisfied, before releasing my earlobe and letting me stumble backwards into the hallway. “Do better today and maybe you can start regaining my trust.”

What a woman. I hated to admit, but the sound of getting back into her good graces was, well… enticing. If that was all there was to achieve in this life, it was a good enough goal for me. In a game, it’s no big deal if you lose. You pick up the controller and you try again. But there was no such thing as a retry here. I get one shot at this, and once I’m dead, I’m dead.

Once my master had slammed the door in my face I followed the sound of chatter towards the kitchen, hoping to make breakfast before anyone spotted me.

“I always knew the guy was an idiot who didn’t know how to cook, but I didn’t think it was that big of a problem.” I managed to hear the woman from a few weeks ago, Leah, and her ongoing conversation. “He’d never admit it, but he always thought it was my job.”

Candace’s assistant, Malcolm, was also there- presumably the person Leah was talking with. “What, because you’re a woman?”

“Because I’m his girlfriend or whatever.” The woman mumbled with little life in her voice. “I'm sick of guys who insist on me leaving the mob stuff to them so that I can stay home and start a family. I need this job too."

Leah looked and sounded awfully frazzled this morning, sitting across from Malcolm at the dining room table with two empty glasses of ice water placed in front of her. Right, I had forgotten, Leah was an alcoholic.

According to Candace, the woman drinks habitually. Like anyone so down on their luck as to be that miserable, there was almost not a moment of the day where she didn’t feel the need to drink away her pain. Supposedly, Leah was miraculously immune to hangovers, which was helpful when you couldn’t afford to miss a day of work. She was apparently putting in an effort to curb her addiction, but it wasn't going so smoothly.

Especially once she discovered that her latest boyfriend, well...

“I can’t believe he would cheat on me.” She stuttered, chewing on an ice cube in an attempt to distract herself. Leah was apparently done crying about it by now. “You think you know a person…”

“Right.” Malcolm mumbled in awkward fashion. By now I felt a little bit guilty for eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help it. “Well… knowing the amount of work Anthony and I do… I don’t know if we’ll ever get married. Which is fine.”

Preach to the choir, asshole. At least you have a partner who loves you. I have nothing.

Just listening to these people made my blood boil. It wasn’t surprising that both couples were having some issues. Malcolm was dating a nurse at the facility, who I’d be seeing later today for my appointment- and Leah had apparently dated an ensemble of other mobsters to no avail. I wish I could say that I felt for her, but knowing the type of people they were, I kind of didn’t. They weren’t exactly the kind of people I knew how to empathize with.

“You.” Leah snarled as she spotted me, jerking to her feet in anger. Apparently even thoughts of her cheating ex-boyfriend were snuffed out by the sight of me.

Nervously, Malcolm also shot up, trying to calm her down. “Hey, Chloe. You just waking up?”

I, of course, couldn’t really respond with much more than a nod. Like always, Candace left my muzzle locked to my face to keep me from eating, since clearly she didn’t want me to enjoy breakfast with her. And from the looks of it, neither did her associates.

“You’re lucky Candace cares so much about you.” Leah sat herself back down, holstering her gun for safekeeping. “Hurt her again, and you’re dead.”

Candace’s bodyguard has a gun. I’ll remember that for next time.

Meanwhile, it’s best to follow her orders and make breakfast. Pronto.

Admittedly, I wasn’t exactly sure how to make Leah a proper breakfast, but I tried my best. Maybe the most ironic thing about making meals for Candace is that- much like Leah’s boyfriend- I still had absolutely no fucking clue how to cook. She didn’t exactly teach me, she usually just left a list of instructions at best- or at worst- slapped me for getting it wrong.

I didn’t fuck it up, I swear. Candace had beaten how to make an omelette into my head many times over… Which was probably why she made me cook them so often, but they came out just fine.

And so did she.

Candace rolled her eyes as she stepped into the dining room, looking as gorgeous as ever. “If I wanted her dead, I’d have let my father at her by now. I can handle her myself, I don’t need you getting all motherly on me.”

Leah smiled as Candace sat down between the two of them, shaking her head. “I’m just trying to look out for you, that’s all.”

“I’m not a child. I knew what I signed up for. This is Chloe we’re talking about after all.” Candace, through that veil of blue, looked towards me. “Besides, she’s being behaved and doing as she’s told. Aren’t you, slave?”

That was my cue. By the time Candace had cleaned up and dressed, I was already finished with breakfast. I prepared the food and drinks for the three of them as I waited for her to sit down in her usual seat- which was on the opposite end of the dining room facing in towards the kitchen. Candace knew better now than to have her back turned to me, instead facing away from the artful lounge behind her. Following her voice, I quickly served breakfast to the three of them. It felt only natural that being my owner, Candace should be served first. Per her orders breakfast was an omelette exactly how she liked it and an iced tea.

“See? Just like mom used to make.” Her voice trailed off as she sipped at her drink, but if her tone was any indication, she seemed to like it.

That woman in the framed portrait still stood out to me. Her red eyes simply watched as I served breakfast to the guests. I made the extra omelette special, filling it up with just about every ingredient I’d cooked, but I still wasn’t sure who I was meant to serve it to. My safest bet was to just hand it to Candace. Surprisingly, her assistants were the ones who seemed less trusting of me at the moment. I served them their food nonetheless, giving two omelettes to Malcolm and one to Leah. Who, though happy that I hadn’t ruined her breakfast, was less thrilled about receiving yet another ice water.

A mischievous grin showed up on her face, even more malicious than the ones Candace usually made. Leah pulled her gun from her waist and pointed it directly at me, watching me back up against the wall behind me. “Why don’t you go get me a bottle of wine instead?”

Frozen in fear, all I could manage was a frightened glance towards my mistress, who simply shook her head in annoyance. “Can you please not harass the help?”

“Does she really count as help if she’s out to kill you?”

“Maybe not, but she’s still my slave. If my parents could do it, so can I.” Candace snapped her fingers and pointed to the empty space on the floor between her and Malcolm, who was quickly setting down a pair of bowls with the name Chloe printed on them just special for me. “Chloe, sit. Her gun isn’t loaded.”

Reassured by her authority, I scurried to Candace’s side and lowered myself to the floor. It certainly felt weird that she seemed perfectly fine with letting others view my naked body. There was only so far she could push the envelope, because there comes a point where claiming it’s for her own personal safety could no longer reasonably explain nudity for the sake of nudity. Especially when you remember that she has a professional modeling career.

“Buzzkill…” Leah pouted softly, making sure to retroactively prove Candace right by quietly unloading her weapon and slipping it back onto her belt- now unloaded- with a small click. She knew I was seeing all of that. “Have you ever had a gun pointed at you, Chloe?”

I began to shake my head no before Candace quickly spoke up, answering for me. “She has. She just doesn’t know it.”

This was news to me.

My almost hysterically anxious eyes pleased with her, but Candace had other things to worry about right now. As a result, it took me a few moments to realize that twirling her index finger in a circle was her way of signalling me to turn around and face the other way, which she watched intently as I did so. Worried that this situation wasn’t quite as imminently safe as it seemed to be, I was relieved when Candace reached towards me- and to my surprise- unlocked and removed my muzzle.

“Are you sure you’re not coming with us, Malcolm?” Leah asked as Candace packed the muzzle away for later. “Chloe isn’t going to be here to babysit, there’s no real reason for you to stay.”

“That’s exactly why I’m staying put. I hardly get any time to just relax in this house, and my workspace needs tidied up anyways.” He paused for a moment before sighing. “Besides, you know how I feel about that place. After what happened last time, I’d rather not step foot in there if I don’t have to.”

“Not even to see your boyfriend?”

“Nope. That’s just a fight waiting to happen.”

“At least you don’t fight as often as these two.” Leah cackled quietly to herself. What followed were a few moments of silence as Candace’s face was overtaken by a shocked expression. It was ironic- almost cruelly so- for the two of us to be compared to a bickering couple, especially by her of all people. And Leah quickly got that message. “I’m sorry about leaving a knife within reach. But in my defense, I didn’t realize she was so cunning…”

“It’s fine. She’s a lot more devious than she looks.” Candace found that out the hard way. I could hear in her voice just how much it bothered her, knowing that I’d been her biggest fan for years.

But that was quickly replaced by an accusatory glare as she reached back and grabbed the extra omelette from breakfast, expecting an explanation for it. “You really did just fill this with everything, didn’t you?”

With a whine, I nodded, not wanting to be dishonest with her. “You… you said I could put anything on it… so I just used the rest of the ingredients… I’m sorry…” I knelt and bowed my head, hoping it would be enough to appease her. “I did my best, I swear…”

In anticipation of some manner of punishment, I quickly screwed my eyes shut. But after a few moments I felt Candace’s hand reaching down to gently rub the top of my head.

“For you.” Candace simply smiled, sighing as she lowered the plate towards the floor, scraping the extra omelette into my empty food bowl. “Just don’t use your hands or I will take it away from you.”

A happy smile swiftly made its way onto my face, nodding eagerly.

I was dumbfounded.

And I clearly wasn’t alone. I don’t think anybody had expected her to do that- including Candace. If she didn’t feed me anything but sludge for the rest of my life, I couldn’t really blame her. But for some reason, that was clearly not the case.

A happy smile swiftly made its way onto my face, nodding eagerly. “Thank you, Candace…”

She quietly bit off another mouthful of her own food, turning and staring me down with a knowing look.

“Th-thank you, Mistress.” I mumbled, trying to correct myself before it was too late. Recoiling to the ground, I lowered my head in anticipation, only to once again find myself surprised by her touch. Still chewing her food- not one to speak with her mouth full- Candace let out a pleased sigh, gently pinching my earlobe between her fingers. It was a feeling that only lasted a moment or two, but it was one I appreciated immensely.

I finished my food before she did, overly eager to eat a cooked meal for once, even if I had to eat it from a bowl like an animal. The rest of the table didn’t seem to take much notice- or simply tried not to- continuing with breakfast at their own pace.

But Candace was watching me.

She idled like a Triple-A model, but in Ultra HD. It was subtle, understated even, but purposeful. Candace twirled a knife- the knife - in her hand like it was nothing. Every few seconds she would pause just to run the blunt edge over the skin of her south palm just to make sure I knew she was on guard. She had since recovered from the incident, but her hand still showed the signs of a scar.

Candace pointed the knife at me, motioning for me to stand as she finished her meal. “If you’ll excuse us.”

Acting like my life depended on something came easily when it actually did. Candace led me to my cell in silence, allowing me precious little time to relieve myself, let alone shower.

“No fighting back this time.” She slipped the knife away into the small black purse now slung over her arm. “You’re going to submit whether you like it or not.”

My cheeks turned red as I bowed obediently. “Yes, Ma’am.”

She had surely been expecting a touch more difficulty from me once the knife was away, but she didn’t complain. After a moment to think, she nodded, satisfied with my attitude. Handing me a pair of simple red shapewear she deemed good enough to go outside in.

Thank God I’m not allergic to latex.

I slipped them on nice and easy, without complaint. The second time she gave me that signal with her fingers, I knew to turn around, slowly and carefully. Candace was extra with me, and I with her. All I needed to do was follow her directions, so when Candace instructed me to clasp my own wrists to the shackles in front of me, I did. No arguments here.

Hearing her unzip her purse, I shuddered. Thankfully she wasn’t about to cut me open with a knife- hopefully. With my hands indispensable, unable to hurt her if I tried, I watched as Candace retrieved a small but sturdy leather device and began attaching it to my nearly naked body.

Even as she bound me, her touch was almost sensual.

The harness clung tight to my skin, straps bound tight over and under my breasts to accentuate them through my top. Other straps slung over my shoulders, converging behind my back. It didn’t miss out on my lower body either, doing just as good a job of securing itself to me. It was an intricate thing, but not extraordinarily so. What was important was that I could feel the tightness of every strap, squeezing the tension into my skin with every movement.

Next came the cuffs, which Candace clasped around both my wrists and my ankles. The metal rings attached to each made them versatile, an assertion of control over me. Once they were on, my mistress hardly felt the need to keep me chained to the wall.

Lastly, the gag. Apparently Candace wasn’t satisfied with just the muzzle. Now detached from the wall, I felt the cold stone against my back as she spun me around, shoving me backwards. Candace was right there. I so badly wanted to kiss her that, in my desperation, the only itch in my brain telling me to fight this was urging me to press my lips against hers. But the ball slid past my teeth without a fight, silencing me. The muzzle went back on, like it usually did- this time with the added benefit of my gagged mouth behind it. She lifted my chin with just a finger, staring deeply into my eyes, giving me that devilish smirk of hers.

“Mine.”

Candace forced herself onto me. Her body pressed against mine as she pinned my hands to the wall, sliding one knee between my legs and rubbing it tight against my barely clad labia, almost lifting me off the ground.

“All mine.”

She leaned in, her lips so close I could feel her breath through my restraints and onto my gagged lips. “This is it. At long last, you’ll be mine. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

Her words made my heart flutter. All I could do was let out a hushed whimper, my only sign of submission through quivering pink lips as she reached toward me with her hand, pinching my ear one last time. She grinned, letting me feel her scarred palm on my forehead for just a moment before slamming my head back into the wall behind me.

I collapsed to my knees before her, no longer held up by her knee between my thighs to support me. Her face turned stern, looking at me in disappointment as she examined her hands to make sure she didn’t break any of her nails. “Don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you for what you did.”

She was always perpetually upset with me. Even when she was pleased with me, if she wasn’t angry about some new transgression of mine, she was upset about what happened that night.

Mentioning that night again was forbidden. Candace hated to be reminded of that night- and whenever it did pop back into her head- she made sure I knew that she’ll never forgive me for it.

We were friends. But in just a few short hours we went from potential lovers, a pair of equals, to eternally opposed souls. A burning anger between us that could never be forgiven. She wasn’t just beautiful, she was sweet. I would have loved to see her again, to get to know her better, but in just one night I became Candace St. Clair’s worst enemy.

I hesitate to even call what we have now a rivalry, here on my knees, grovelling at her feet.

This was her revenge.

As she reached down to put the finishing touches on my punishment, something came over of me. The moment I saw the leash, my hands clasped over hers, wrestling the tension in her fingers at my mere touch.

Startled, Candace quickly let go. She released the end of the leash into my hands and stumbled backwards. Her eyes angrily piercing into mine. Last time I raised my hand against her, she learned not to trust me, but this time was different. Holding the end of the leash in my hands, I knelt, almost pleading for her amnesty. I brought the clasp to my throat, and…

Click .

With an almost defiant obedience, I attached the leash to my collar, locking it firmly into place.

I wanted Candace to forgive me.

My mistress stood frozen in place, still looming over me. The initial shock of my sudden movement now gone, I was powerless from this point. Left shaking in fear, all I could do was hope she’d accept my gesture- however unwanted- and forgive me.

After a moment she tugged on the leash. Candace’s eyes were almost soft now, her lips smiling gently. “Good girl.”

My master had never called me that before. Good girl. I didn’t expect it to make such an impact, but I could feel tears in my eyes as she pulled me up by my leash. It felt good to hear her say that, but deep down it didn’t really sit right because I knew that being a good girl also meant giving up and letting her win. If I wanted to be a good girl, I had to forfeit everything I used to be.

It was time to get going. I had an appointment to make and nothing was going to delay it a second longer.

My collar began to blink red as we approached the door, letting out a rather unpleasant blaring noise to let my owner know I was somewhere I wasn’t meant to be. But within a few moments I watched Candace press a button on her bracelet, and in an instant the light on the metal shock device turned blue, apparently indicating that it was safe to take me outside.

I’d never actually stepped out of this door before, only in. The few times I had been allowed outside recently were through the parlor door out front instead. Though not the front of the house, the foyer door was clearly the main entrance Candace liked to use, directly across from the garage. I was forced to crawl there on the hard stone as she and her bodyguard led me to the garage door, before she roughly yanked me to my bare feet and shoved me inside, letting a pained squeak out through my gag.

Her garage was huge. With at least six cars that I could see at the far end, taking up about a quarter of the floorspace, it was almost like another house. What kind of garage had rooms?

The home gym she seemed to keep in one of them must have been how she kept herself so strong and in shape. I just wish she’d let me watch.

I couldn’t help but be in awe as I stared at each of her vehicles, including one that I couldn’t help but recognize, even if it was far less pristine than the others. My jaw would have dropped at the sight of it if I wasn’t gagged.

It didn’t seem possible, but there she was.

That’s my car.

I was in shock. The little yellow thing should be in smithereens, if not at the bottom of the ocean. It was completely totaled the last time I was in the car, and yet here was an almost identical vehicle, San Francisco pride license plate and all.

It took Candace shoving me towards it to snap me out of my shock, something which only served to make Leah smirk. “If you’re so insistent on taking this one, then hand me the keys.”

Candace just rolled her eyes, letting me watch as she fished through her small black purse again. Sure enough, she pulled out a familiar looking keychain and tossed it to her chauffeur, complete with a miniature license plate trinket to match the car. SoCali. There she was. That was my Calliope. Candace really had my car after all.

Unable to open the doors to the backseat on my own thanks to having had my hands cuffed above my chest, I was forced to wait like a toddler for Candace’s assistant to do so for me, helping me inside and securing me onto a specially made set of restraints, like a child safety seat for slaves. Satisfied that I was having a miserable enough time, Candace grinned as she climbed into the passenger’s seat, looking back at me and humming. “Feel free to look through the windows, as you can probably tell, I’ve had them tinted~”

That was something I didn’t notice until she pointed it out, but sure enough, she had. Candace had defiled my car.

I couldn’t even respond, the combination of the gag and muzzle in my mouth left me unable to say anything at all. I could feel tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes, crying. I was completely helpless. The bindings she’d left me in prevented me from even attempting to open the doors if I wanted to.

“Poor little slave.” She cooed at me, her eyes seemingly sparkling even despite the colored contact she used to hide her disfigured iris. “Maybe I’ll take you out on a walk sometime… If you’ll behave…”

“She can’t even respond, honey.” Leah continued to address her own boss like she was a child, despite the fact that I was the one buckled up like one. “Maybe we should leave her to admire the view.”

“Don’t fret about her, Leah. Chloe’s finally getting what she deserves. She should just be glad I haven’t blindfolded her as well.” Candace smiled back at me one last time. “Isn’t that right, my delicate little poppy?”

My whole body trembled, but I nodded. I hadn’t left the grounds in the several months since I was brought here and I was scared to find out what lay outside of the walls I’d found myself trapped in. The idea of going on a walk with her was nice, but even though I wanted to look out the window, I couldn’t help but hang my head in fear.

But as we pulled out of the garage, I felt Candace lay a finger on me once again.

“I left out the blindfold for a reason you know, if you’re just going to pout then at least do it properly.” Candace scolded me, lifting my chin, my cheeks quickly turning red as she instructed me through it. “Relax your muscles. Face up, eyes down, lose the sad eyes. I swear, didn’t your mother ever teach you these things?”

“Not everyone grew up with queen of the collar there to raise them, princess.” Leah practically giggled at the both of us as I followed Candace’s directions. “You realize most of us had normal moms, right?”

“Most of us, yes.” She gave me a knowing look before finally turning away. “But not all of us.”

With that said and done, we finally drove the over two hour drive to the city. Apparently it wasn’t just a lake I’d been seeing through the windows of my master’s mansion. It was an ocean. One that apparently stretched as far as the eye could see. Amazingly, we passed few cars as we drove parallel to the beach, heading north towards the city, but that quickly changed as soon as we hit the bridge.

For the last few months I’d been left utterly baffled as to where we were, but I was beginning to figure it out. Candace did her best to make it as difficult as possible for me to figure out where we were just in case I did someday escape from her, but we drove by enough cars for me to notice the overwhelming trends in their license plates.

Florida.

I had to admit, it was a lot prettier than I’d imagined.

Of course it was Florida. Where else could she get away with this? The sunset over the ocean had me considering the west coast for months now, but if the several miles long bridge over the water connecting her to the mainland was any indication, I’d actually been looking at the Gulf of Mexico. Candace lived somewhere in the Florida keys.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten my promise.”

Candace faced me with an expectant smile on her face, and hell if she wasn’t terrifying. I briefly panicked, glancing towards her, nervous and confused. I had no idea what she was talking about, but her eyes followed mine, staring longingly towards the beach.

“I promised to take you swimming someday, and I plan on keeping that promise.” She said, happily gazing at the beauty of the ocean as the sun’s rays reflected from its surface. “Would you still like that, sweetie?”

My mistress turned to me, the light of the sunrise off the water now sparkling in the blue of her eyes. Deep as the ocean, and infinitely more beautiful. Without a moment’s hesitation or second thought in my mind I nodded, my lips letting loose a quiet whimper as I stared deeply into her eyes. From that moment, everything was different. I could feel a longing in my heart for her, stronger than the pull of the ocean. For the rest of the trip, even as I tried to focus on what I saw through the window outside, I couldn’t help but make an occasional glance to the front seat just to see her.

By my estimation it must have been at least two hours of driving to reach our destination, which Candace spent much of on her laptop struggling to play online to the best of her ability away from home. She was diligent like that, trying to fit in some practice wherever she could. Candace was good, but she wasn’t the best.

“Remember when we used to make this drive everyday?” Her driver piped up shortly before arriving in town. “And you would just sit there humming to yourself?”

Candace’s laptop slowly tapped shut in anticipation of their destination. She sat up, stretched, and yawned. “God, I hate thinking about those days.”

“Bad memories?” Leah frowned, ignoring me. She seemed to be focusing on simple conversation, anything to get her mind off of the drive.

“My father insisted I attend university at age sixteen. It was annoying enough that I never went to high school, but he wouldn’t even let me live on campus. It just felt like we were going on these daily trips back and forth just so that I could sit through five years of obnoxious lectures, all for a degree that I never got to use.”

“Remind me what degree you studied?”

“That’s the annoying part.” I watched Candace cross her arms at her chest. “Daddy told me he’d let me be whatever I wanted to be, but since a master’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering doesn’t help me with money laundering, apparently it’s useless.”

I shuffled in my seat, the sinking feeling in my chest growing slowly as we arrived in the proper city limits. The fact that she even had a degree at all was news to me. She grew up to become a professional model who plays video games for a living, but it didn’t at all come as a surprise that maybe it had been a front for laundering money all along.

“You’d know better than I would, I could never afford college. I’m not sure where I’d be if your parents hadn’t hired me as your guardian.” Leah’s eyes briefly checked the rear view mirror, smiling at me for just a second. “I’m just glad your father didn’t kill me when I brought you home on the first day of school with a bloody nose after a tennis racket to the face.”

“Okay, but that boy regretted it the next day. I’m pretty sure he was the first person to ever grovel for me. I should ask him about that later.”

I glimpsed from Candace’s body language before we’d even gotten very far into town, we were already there. Leah pulled the car off of the highway and the major streets onto a series of unmarked minor roads and alleys, eventually arriving at a small- almost inconspicuous clinic downtown. Away from the beach and the packed city blocks, it sat, an unlabelled facility in the midst of unlabelled facilities.

We drove around the building twice before pulling in and parking, watching the previous wide open gates close themselves off behind us. “Here we are.”

“Finally.” Candace grinned, excitedly hopping to it. “Get Chloe out of the car and inside as quick as you can manage, she’s a nuisance to pull around.”

Leah smirked and turned back to me, a mischievous grin on her face. “Can do.”

My still bound body was shaking in my seat as she opened the door, barely managing to keep myself from pissing onto the backseat of what was once my own car. She held the barrel of her handgun to my forehead, her finger on the trigger. “If I were you, I’d behave.”

Shackling the cuffs at my wrists in front of me, I was released from my seat and forced out of the car. If my suspicions were correct, those two laps around the building were some sort of signal to the people inside. They were expecting me. I glanced back towards the car one last time, dragged away from it by the arm as Candace and her bodyguard led me into the facility. I knew better than to put up any kind of fuss, even if I had seen her unload that gun. These people were terrifying enough without it.

Compliantly, I followed Candace through the doors, watching her lavender dress sway in the wind. It was as white and indistinguishable on the inside as the outside. As far as I could tell nothing looked different than an ordinary clinic, but it sure felt different.

Waiting for us to arrive was the medic from that terrible night just a few weeks ago. He smiled at us as we walked in, making his way over and giving Leah a hug before turning to Candace and I. “The doctor is setting up the operating room now. Where’s Malcolm?”

Leah actually spoke up before Candace had the chance to say anything. “He said he wanted some time to himself, are you two doing alright?”

“It’s nothing. He’s just onto me. We’ll catch up after work, okay? In the meantime…” The nurse just chuckled, rolling his eyes at her. “Hi Chloe! How are you feeling? Do you remember me?”

Turning to me, he smiled sweetly, giving me a small wave with one hand as he held a clipboard in the other. He was a little shy and just a bit nervous, but he was genuine. The man was a bit more bouncy than he had been, actually speaking like he expected an answer from me.

Candace snapped her fingers at Leah, then pointed at me, and before I had the chance to nod she was already unlocking and removing the gags. My jaw popped as I stretched it, getting used to the feeling of not choking on a large rubber ball. “I… I’m okay…”

The man simply nodded, writing something down on his bundle of paperwork. “You don’t have anything to worry about, okay? Dr. Larkin was the nurse here when Candace was born, she’s going to take great care of you.”

Nervously glancing back to my owner, I watched Candace blush, her arms once again crossed. “She got her period after about a week.”

The nurse smiled, taking note of that on his clipboard. “Good. That means we’re right on time to get this done today.”

He handed my mistress his clipboard, having her begin to fill out the rest of the paperwork. She shuffled in place, staring at it as she filled it out at lightning speed, handing it back to him and pointing at something on the front page with her bright blue painted nails.

“There’s her legal name. But please only call her Chloe, I’m training her to respond to it.” She grinned at me, waiting for the clipboard to be taken back before examining her nails for chips again.

“Gotcha. I’ll make sure the doctor knows. She’s not allergic to anything, right?”

“Cats and dust. But nothing medical.”

The nurse chuckled, giving me the same grin she did. “Sounds like a miserable life for an eternal housemaid, huh?”

I hung my head in defeat. “It’s not fun… Especially all of the dust.”

Candace’s sandals smacked against the hard floor as she walked, making her way to my side, scoffing at me. “It’s not supposed to be fun. You’re being punished aren’t you, slave?”

Meekly, I bowed. It didn’t matter what I had done, I’d screwed up, and this was my punishment. “Y-yes, Madame…”

“Good girl.” Almost pleased, Candace smiled as she brushed my hair from my face, planting a single kiss on my forehead. “Now keep it up and behave while you’re back there.”

Melting at those words again, my face quickly turned red. And within moments I found myself lost in the ocean of her eyes once more. “Y-yes, Master. P-promise…”

The lobby fell hushed for several moments. My blush spread to Candace’s cheeks from mine, surprised by the sudden silence. It was unexpected to say the least, but given our trajectory I didn’t think it was too out of character for my owner to give me a kiss for good luck.

“Aww.” The nurse cooed at us, his voice still genuine. “That’s cute.”

Leah meanwhile, had her hands on her hips. She was smiling at the sight too, but in a much less excited manner. Her eyes locked with my owner’s, giving her a knowing look. “Think about what you’re doing, Candace.”

“I know what I’m doing, Leah. I’ve already thought this through. Don’t you think that if anyone knew what the best thing to do here was, it would be me?” Candace flipped her locks out of her face as she sauntered off towards the reception desk, motioning for Leah to follow shortly behind her. There was clearly something more important for her to attend to than me, but before she was gone she gave me one final glare. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to have a word with the doctor before you start. I want to make sure you do this right.”

“Alright then.” The nurse nodded, leading me the other direction. “Follow me.”

I didn’t want it to come to this, but it was already too late. This was happening. My malevolent captor was having me sterilized, and it was almost vomit worthy.

But it was happening whether I liked it or not, and for my own sanity, it was better that I didn’t think about it.

“I’m Anthony, by the way.” He introduced himself. “Your name’s Chloe , huh?”

Hearing him say it that way made me blush. He obviously recognized who I was before all of this, and he couldn’t help but poke fun at me for it. “Y-yes, Sir… Candace hates hearing my birth name…”

That made him chuckle, turning us down the hall towards the operating room, having me step onto a scale. “Well, just so you know, I’m a big fan.”

Continuing to blush, I nervously lowered my eyes, fidgeting as I felt my bare feet on the hard scale. “Thank you. I d-don’t have a lot of those… not anymore…”

“Five foot six. A hundred and forty… got it!” He took my measurements and began writing my stats down onto his sheet, waiting for the scale to indicate that it was finished. “We don’t have any records of you yet, so I have to do everything. But I don’t mind, besides- I think you have more fans than you realize, Chloe.”

We stepped into the operating room, colder by far than the rest of the facility. I found myself seated on the operating table in the center, noticing the security guards surrounding me as I laid down and relaxed. Or at least did my best to. There were a pair of guards posted at the door we’d just entered through, the only way in and out. The first was a larger man, strong and silent, older than even Leah was. The other was a woman, just as bulky, hair practically buzzed off. From what I’d seen from the people who worked here, they were almost exclusively white, including the younger amber eyed woman sitting much closer to the operating table.

They all had the same baffled look on their faces, like they were simultaneously coming to the realization too. They recognized me, and I didn’t like that.

Being strapped onto the table by a woman I’d never met before was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. My heart was pounding with shame. Here I sat, a slave, waiting to be operated on against my will. I wanted to scream but the sounds wouldn’t come out. She stripped me of my bondage as well, taking it off piece by piece using the keys my master had given them, peeled naked. My heart broke inside of my chest, petrified back into place. I shivered, less cold than I was mortified.

I’m sorry, Candace. If I could take it back, I would. I’m sorry.

It took a few more minutes of awkward chatter between Anthony and the female nurse before the doctor did finally arrive, putting their conversation to rest. It only took her a quick glance at me before she turned to her nurses. “I thought you said she’s never been here before. Why do I recognize her?”

The woman didn’t even bother asking me, instead reaching her hand out for the clipboard. Anthony quickly shot up, shuffling to her without hesitation. “She’s never been to the facility before, Ma’am. Candace personally picked her out and had her delivered directly to her home.”

She tilted her head curiously before glancing back at me, eyeing me up and down like I was an animal. “Candace’s personal bitch. Lucky girl… Where do I remember you from?”

From the sound of it, she must have been in charge in some sense. If it wasn’t for an offhand mention from Anthony about working for Candace’s brother, I would have just assumed she was their boss, but she commanded their respect regardless. The doctor, Rebecca Larkin, was an African American woman somewhere in her fifties. All she could do was look at me, baffled.

“You must not follow Candace’s career very closely, she’s kind of infamous.” Anthony smirked, handing the clipboard to the doctor. Dr. Larkin seemed to be getting more confused by the second, glancing over the paperwork closely. “UN #0000. Miss St. Clair insisted that we call her Chloe, rather than what’s on the paper.”

“Then she should have just written Chloe, instead of-” Her eyes quickly went wide as she read it over again, trying to make sure she got that right. A sudden look of realization overtook her face as she looked me in the eyes for the first time.

“So that’s where I recognize you from! Is Candace insane?! Does she realize what could happen if someone found out about her?!” She practically shoved the clipboard back into his hands, still shocked that this was happening. “Get her name changed in the system, just leave the last name blank.” She shook her head, hurrying him away. “You poor girl. I’m so sorry. There’s no way you could have known.”

I didn’t like the way she fussed. I’d always hated when people fussed about me. I wasn’t anything special, I never was. All it took was crossing the wrong woman just one time, and suddenly I’m the most infamous person in the underworld.

“I thought she was dead?” Mumbled the younger woman, readying some sort of needle.

“I did too.” Doctor Larkin sighed. “And she made you number zero… They’ve been saving that number ever since Candace was born… You must have been something special to her…”

At this point, I was almost crying. Hearing someone show my sympathy for the first time was enough to put me right on the edge of no longer being able to hold in my tears. “I- I- I- I don’t k- know… She d-doesn’t seem to like me all that much…”

“I don’t know about that.” She frowned, giving the other nurse a nod to proceed, stepping towards me with that needle in her hand. “Jane. If you would.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The other girl said, taking a seat next to me and singling out a vein.

“I won’t lie to you, this is going to sting. Probably not as badly as those brands stung, but this’ll put you out of commission. Don’t worry about the pain, you may feel… emotional… but it’ll be quick, I promise.” The doctor gave me a smile as her nurse injected me with the shot. “I’m sorry, Chloe. This’ll all be over soon, just hang in there.”

That was the last thing I remembered happening before I blacked out, waking up in an utterly confused panic.

“No!” I shot up, my heart beating out of my chest, not really sure what I was talking about. “Please…”

Somehow, I seemed to once again be in the backseat of a car, my car. It had all gone by so quickly, I hardly remembered it. We must have been on our way home. But I wasn’t strapped into both a carseat and a harness this time, I was completely naked, and someone was back here with me.

“Shh… Shh… It’s okay. Lay back down.” It was a feminine voice, one that I recognized, one that I couldn’t help but listen to. Candace. I felt her hand on my body, gently pulling me back down, laying carefully.

Finally taking in my surroundings, my face turned red. Candace had me lying down in the backseat, blushing as I realized that I was lying in her lap, my head on her bare thigh. “You’re safe, I promise. I’m not gonna hurt you. According to the doctor, you were exceptionally well behaved, very unlike you.”

I looked up at Candace’s face from her lap, my face as bright as the iris she hid behind her blue contact lens. I so often got lost in those beautiful eyes of hers that I forgot they were mismatched, a little secret she liked to hide from everyone.

“Master?” I heard slip from my lips without a thought. Not her name, but her title. There were so many things I wanted to say, so much I wanted to ask her, but-

“Why is one of your eyes red?” I mumbled, staring at her in awe. “They look like 3d glasses…”

It took me a few moments, but as soon as I heard what I was saying I quickly shot my hands over my mouth to silence it. Candace was as taken off guard as I was, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. We were both shocked that I would say such a thing as soon as I woke up. Her pretty eyes blinked nervously, averting themselves away from me, not sure what to say.

“You look pretty when you blush… Usually you look scary…”

Again, we were both shocked by the words coming out of my mouth. Whatever drug it was that they gave me back there, it was making it really difficult to filter my thoughts out, saying things that I would never normally let slip through my lips.

“I- I’m sorry!! I think you look really pretty, and I want to see-” I froze as Candace raised her hand, bracing myself. “Ngh!!”

I flinched instinctively as I saw her palm approaching my face, shutting my eyes and my mouth in anticipation of being smacked. But instead I was surprised to feel her soft, delicately manicured palm on my mouth, quietting me.

“What in the world has gotten into you?” She seemed mildly annoyed, but for the most part she simply seemed flustered.

A whimper left my lips, my eyes turning sad as she looked down at me. I had no idea what had gotten into me. It was like I was high off the anesthesia.

“If you must know, Chloe.” Candace relented, slowly lifting her hand from my face in order to let me speak again. “The reason I look the way I do is because I suffer from a rare genetic disorder that I inherited from my mother. It’s called achromasia. It caused my skin and hair to turn pale and white due to lack of melanin, and yes, it’s why one of my eyes is red.”

“Albinism.” I muttered. “You’re an albino-”

“Do not call your master an albino.”

Shrinking back into her lap, I smiled, my face blushing as bright as hers. “Your eyes are pretty like the ocean… I can’t stop myself, Mistress…”

“I can see that.” Candace giggled as she ruffled my hair, amused by my current situation. She blushed, and after a moment began removing the colored contact lens from her left eye, looking back down at me. “What about now?” She smirked, running her fingers through my hair. “Do I look scary again?”

My face lit up at the sight of it. “Even prettier…”

“Prettier than the ocean, huh?” She tugged me back down as I did my best to look away from her, keeping me from sitting up and moving towards the window by gripping me by the hair. “You’re from California, aren’t you? That means you lived next to the ocean?”

“I lived in San Francisco, but I never got to swim in the ocean. It was too tourist infested.” I frowned, looking up into her eyes again as I felt the tears beginning to swell from my tear ducts. “My foster mom never knew how to swim, so she never taught any of us…”

“You said you knew how to swim.”

“I do know how to swim… But I had to teach myself…”

“Poor girl…” She hummed, toying with me, her grip loosening. “I promise we’ll get to go swimming together someday.”

“But I don’t want to wait. I want to swim in the ocean!! I… I never got around to doing it… a-and then you kidnapped me!!” The tears flooded down my cheeks as I spoke, beginning to sob. “Now it’s too late…”

Candace sighed, releasing her hold on my hair in order to wipe the tears away. “It’s not too late. You have your whole life ahead of you~”

I shot up out of her lap the moment I could, snarling at her.

“You stole my life from me!!”

“And you love me for it!!”

Candace quickly cut me off, shoving my head back into her lap as quickly as she was able to. “One day you’ll be grateful for everything I’ve done for you. Even after what you did to me and my career.”

Her words squeezed the feeling from my heart. “I said I’m sorry.”

“Save your breath.” Candace sighed as she covered my mouth once more, silencing me for the rest of the ride back home. “We’re almost there.”

I sobbed quietly in her lap the rest of the way there, feeling her gently stroke my hair. When we did arrive home she personally helped me stumble out of the car she’d stolen from me, leading me into the house together.

Even after we’d gotten there and were on our own once more, I couldn’t keep myself from crying. The drugs they’d given me for my surgery were still very much working their magic, and that was making it impossible to keep my thoughts and emotions in check.

“I’m sorry…” I mumbled as we walked in the door, still close to her side. “I’m sorry.”

“Enough, Chloe.” She groaned at me, forcing me through the house into her bedroom. “I’ve heard it too many times, and I’m not in the mood to talk about it right now.”

I made my way to the closet door, dropping to the floor as she began to put her things away, listening to me mumble and cry to myself.

“You’re never in the mood to talk about it…” I said as I wiped my tears away, looking up at her from below.

“Correct.” She hummed to herself, leaning over me with that grin of hers.

Fumes practically radiated from my skin. It felt like I was about to explode.

This wasn’t fair and she knew it, she was reveling in it. I could see it on her face. She couldn’t hide it from me no matter how hard she tried. Candace loved how angry and upset this was making me, right?

“You did a good job today.” She said with a smile, still standing over me. “I’m proud of you.”

Candace held out her hands, offering me a reward for my efforts in the form of that little stuffed friend she’d taken away from me.

“You love Poppy right?” She asked as I took the doll from her hands. “She’ll help you feel better?”

Yes. She did help me feel better. I smiled, beginning to cry happy tears now that I held her again, pressing her tightly to my chest. Candace had confiscated her once more after I’d attacked her with a knife, but now she was back, and hopefully she was back for good.

I squeezed her to my chest as hard as I could, holding her out and looking her over to make sure she really was the same dog. My foster mother may not have taught me how to swim, but she was sweet enough to sew my name into the ear of my favorite toy, just for me.

My heart fluttered. I was overjoyed to see that it really was my Poppy. She was my best friend growing up, and I knew it was her.

Right there, sewn into the fabric of her ear was my name.

Sophia.

My heart ached as I read it, holding the stuffed dog to my chest to ease the pain, keeping her as close as I could as I sobbed all over again.

“Chloe?” Just finished putting her things away, Candace turned to me, a look of concern painted over her blushing face. Though her voice usually delighted me- and had for so many years- hearing her call me that name made my blood boil, excitement and sadness quickly turning to anger. “Is something wrong?”

“That’s not my name.”

“Excuse me?” Candace just shook her head in disappointment, stripping down to her sleeping wear for the night. “What was that?”

“I said I was sorry.” My eyes stabbed into her, scowling fiercely. All of the happiness simply drained from my face. “Why won’t you forgive me?”

“I’m not in the mood, Chloe.”

“That’s not my name and you fucking know it!! You just don’t like calling me Sophia because it reminds you that you’re a fucking loser!!” I fumed angrily as I leapt to my feet, beginning to shout profanities at her. “Because you’re a bitter, jealous, self-centered asshole!! I won fair and square and you know it!! You’re just a sore loser who hates me!!”

“I do not hate you.” Her face quickly grew annoyed, letting out an exasperated sigh. “You haven’t learned a thing-”

“Shut up!!” I continued to sob angrily, unable to hold myself back from screaming. “I’m never going to be the person you want me to be, because I’m not Chloe!! I’m Sophia!! You kidnapped me, ruined my entire life, and made me your slave!! All you because you lost?!”

My heart shattering to pieces inside of me, I took a deep breath. I needed to let it all out.

“I’m sorry that I’m better at Stolen Cosmos than you!! I’m sorry that I won the world championship, and you lost!! I’m sorry that I was the first woman to ever win the championship match, and not you!!”

Collapsing to my knees, I went on, beating my fists against the floor. I couldn’t bear looking at her anymore, hiding my face away from prying eyes. “Everyone in the world thinks I’m dead. All of my fans think that Sophia Cavalier drove herself off a bridge, but I’m right here!! All because you couldn’t just forgive me?! Why won’t you forgive me?!”

Broken. Inside and out, I was broken. Nothing I can say now could describe how I felt, and I felt it all the time. It broke me.

“If I knew all of this was going to happen, I would have forfeit…”

Candace St. Clair sat down next to me. From the day I first met her, I’d always been her biggest fan. But that day had been four years ago. I had changed so much since back then.

We were rivals. I grew up playing this game, just like she must have. As a lowly employee working the counter selling video games, seeing a girl like me on the screen doing what she loved and being one of the best at it meant everything. I became her rival because I wanted to be like her. But more than that, I needed Candace to notice me.

And she noticed me in all the wrong ways.

Too distraught to flinch at the sight of her hand, I felt Candace’s touch pulling me. Brought to her lap, still crying, she let me bury my face in her chest.

“It’s okay. Let it all out…” Her words echoed in my brain as I felt my tears wetting her nightgown, crying my eyes out. “I know I’ve been hard on you…”

Cracking under her grasp, I let it all out. Her touch overtook- overwhelmed me. She should be beating me right now. I knew it. She knew it. Yet that wasn’t what she was doing. Candace was just sitting there, waiting for me to cry my tears away. She must have needed this as much as I did.

“It’s not about that anymore. It’s about so much more than that now.” Her heart was beating quickly in her chest, maybe even faster than mine. “You’re so much more than the girl who beat me at the championship. You’re mine now- and I want you to always be mine from now on.”

She held her hands to my cheeks, pulling my head from her scarred bosom. She smiled at me. “I meant it when I told you I was your biggest fan, and I always will be, Sophia.” An angelic voice slipped through her lips as I gazed into her gorgeously opposing eyes. “But I need you to let her go, because there’s more to you than just the character you play on stage. I need you to let Sophia die and embrace being Chloe, my Chloe…”

That smile didn’t fade, even as her tears began to glisten. “Can you do that for me, Chloe?”

With a smile like that, eyes like those, words like hers- who could say no to this? My teeth and lip were both trembling as one bit down on the other, able to taste the emotion as they caught my tears. Nervously, I nodded. As far as I could tell, I meant what I was saying too. “Anything, Candace… Anything for you. I promise…”

My horribly shaky voice cut out into silence as she leaned in, pressing her lips against mine, the soft delicate touch delivering me only the most blissful of emotion. We kissed. Her soft beautiful palms held my mouth to hers, locking us in this embrace. My lips no longer trembled. Teeth ceased to bite. Her hands on the back of my skull claimed me as hers, my hands drifted to her, landing on her hips. Holding each other close, we kept each other in place. Tears mixed together as we happily consummated.

Our eyes opened to see each other, locking together as we pulled away. I felt Poppy in my hands again, delivered to my arms as she hummed softly to me.

“This isn’t a punishment, not anymore. From now on it’s about more than me versus you. It’s about us. You’re special to me. I want to keep you to myself. You’re mine now, and I want it to stay that way. Forever.”

“Candace…” My heart swelled, seeing just a glimpse of myself in her eyes, looking back at me. My brain had gotten me in enough trouble. From now on I was going to let my heart do the talking. “I’m sorry…”

“I forgive you, Chloe. I promise.”

“Thank you, Candace.” Not Sophia. Chloe. “Thank you, Master.”

Chloe was going to do the talking from now on. “Thank you so much.”

“Save your breath, slave. You’ll need that in the morning.”

On my knees, the woman I’d become couldn’t help but admire the woman she’d become. Candace commanded that, standing over me where she’d always belonged. My Candace. Her Chloe.

“After all, we’re going swimming tomorrow- and I can’t take your breath away unless you save a little bit for me.”