Author's Note: The following story contains themes of mind control, incest (cousin, non-blood related), and nonconsent. All characters are above the age of 18. I want to thank my wife for editing and my friend Ann for her encouragement.
Persephone Winther caught herself in the mirror as she stepped out of the shower. A pang of self-pity and loathing clutched her heart as she saw the burned half of her face. From her left eye, stretching back along her temple and just beyond where her ear used to be, was a massive scar from a third-degree burn. The scar went as high as an inch above her ear and as low as her cheekbone. Her milky-white eye, blinded by the injury, gazed at her in silent judgment.
She was beautiful. Was. Persephone once had a symmetrical round face with large, wide-set, blue eyes, full lips, and a button nose. In high school, she was voted homecoming queen. Twice. That beautiful face that everyone so adored was now ruined.
She turned away from the mirror she had grown to hate. "You did it to yourself, Sephie," she mumbled, echoing the last words her ex-husband, Mark, had said to her. She wrapped an oversized towel around her body and ran a comb briefly through her pixie-length blond hair before walking from the jack-and-jill bathroom to her bedroom.
Her bedroom was furnished with a single queen-size platform bed, one nightstand, a chest of drawers in the corner, and a desk with two closed laptops stacked neatly to the side. Only a standing lamp in one corner and a table lamp on the desk lit the room. There was no art on the walls, and all the furniture was painfully minimalist.
Persephone didn't want to get dressed; she would be happy just to sit around all day in nothing but a pair of unfashionable white panties. COVID had spread throughout the country, and her job was now virtual. She didn't want to go out anyway; she would rather hide her face from the rest of the world. However, today would be her first day back to work, and it was likely that she would need to attend a virtual meeting, so going sans clothing wasn't an option.
She absentmindedly grabbed a gray fleece sweater from her closet and threw it on the bed. Then something occurred to her, and she looked back. Mark had hated that sweater; he said it made her look frumpy. She never understood why he felt that way. With three-quarter sleeves and a v-neck, Persephone thought it was cute. "Fuck it," she said. If he hated it, she wanted to wear it.
She grabbed a pair of jeans and panties from her chest of drawers. She didn't need a bra because she was flat-chested. At least that's what Mark used to tell her. Persephone hated bras but wore them for him because they pushed her breasts up and out. She didn't need the support - her breasts were perky and proportional to her petite body - but she had learned to hate their modest size.
While she was not as strong and fit as she was when doing gymnastics, she still had a slender figure. She used to exercise regularly to maintain the one thing she was proud of; her waistline. Since her accident, however, she hadn't exercised once, and it was beginning to show.
Her cellphone rang. She looked at the screen, which read Vince Lopez. She swiped to pick up.
"Hey, Vince. How are they treating you?"
"They're kicking me out, cuz. I've got a week," Vince said.
"What?! At the start of a fucking pandemic? Are they completely heartless?" she asked. She placed him on speakerphone.
"Well, yes, but no. My roommates are in love. They're getting serious, and apparently, I'm a third wheel. Thanks to my portion of the rent, they've saved up enough for a house, and they don't need me anymore." He chuckled. "Nice to be appreciated, eh?"
Persephone sighed. "Yeah, I think I know what you're going to ask next."
"Sephie, please don't jump to conclusions..."
"You know that I have an extra bedroom," she interrupted, "so you're going to suggest that you move in with me. But I'm not ready for that. I need time alone."
"Wrong."
"Wrong?" she echoed as she pulled on her panties. "In what way am I wrong?"
"I'm not the one pushing for this." She could hear Vince's infuriatingly smug smile in his voice. "Your mother talked to my mother, and they decided that I should live with you. According to them, you're incapable of protecting yourself, and I'm incapable of feeding myself."
"This isn't the fucking 1950's - where the hell do they get off?" she snapped at her phone as she picked up her jeans.
"To be fair, I'm simplifying what they said. My mother added several 'I know Sephie can take care of herself but...' to her justification," he mocked. "The thing is, we should do what they're asking."
"What?"
"If I'm there with you, both of our mothers will get off of our backs. I'm sure yours is calling you every day - I know mine is," he explained. "If we do this, they'll have less reason to worry about us. That means fewer calls and fewer questions - more peace for both of us."
"Sounds great. But I have a better idea - and please hear me out; what if instead we both just turn our phones off?" Persephone retorted before pulling on her jeans.
"Do you want them knocking on your door?" he asked.
"Vince, I love you to pieces but, I don't know how to make this any clearer; I'm not ready to face, uh, I mean to deal with anyone yet."
"Your face. Is that what this is all about? Sephie-"
"I don't want to hear how you think I'm beautiful, okay?! I look like Freddy Kruger's daughter!" she yelled.
"So not much change from when we were kids?" he asked.
She stopped and stared at the phone with a puzzled smile. "Are you trying reverse psychology on me?"
"No. I was trying reverse-reverse psychology, but it wasn't working, so I thought I'd just revert to childish insults."
"Make sense. You can only utilize higher function thinking for a limited time before smoke pours out of your ears," Persephone said with a smile and pulled on her sweater.
He chuckled. "Seriously, though - I honestly don't care what you look like, and you can trust that I won't judge or pity you. I admit that I'm worried about you," his voice quivered. "A life-altering car crash and a divorce inside of three months is too much for one person to handle alone. It's killing me that we haven't spent time together since it all happened. You're the closest thing I have to a sister, and I really do love you. Please just let me be there for you - even if you don't feel you need me."
She took a deep breath and picked up her phone. "I have to start work. I'll let you know my decision tomorrow morning."
"Alright cuz," he said. "Just, please, give it honest consideration. I love you."
"Love you too, nerd. Bye," she said before hanging up the phone.
She took a deep sigh and went over to her desk. She picked up her glossy white laptop, adorned with purple butterfly decals, and sat it to the side, making room for her matte black work laptop. She opened it and booted up to her company logo; It read
Red Belle
over the words
Wedding Fashion
in a smaller font and featured two copper-colored bells at the very end of the word 'Belle.' The laptop chimed with wedding bells and, like Pavlov's dog, she recalled memories of her own wedding day. For the first time since she had begun working with
Red Belle,
they weren't pleasant memories.
She opened up her email and saw a message from Scarlet Belliveau, the company's owner, and namesake.
Persephone Winthers - Campbell,
This email may seem less than professional, but it seems appropriate to break from professional personas once in a while to acknowledge each other with compassion and empathy. I view our company as an extended family, and we're small enough to treat our employees like family. As such, I'd like to extend my condolences regarding your recent hardships.
My secretary tells me that today would be your first day back, as your medical leave has expired. If you need more time, I want you to know that I have made arrangements to offer you another three to four weeks of leave. You've been one of our most prestigious and prolific designers, and we want to see you back at the top of your game. If that means giving you more time to heal physical and emotional scars, it's to all our benefit to do so.
I do not expect an answer today, but I cannot wait more than a week for you to take me up on my offer for logistical reasons. I know it might be tempting to throw yourself back into your work, but my personal experience with my son's death has shown me that it's not always healthy to do so. Please consider this option. And should you need anything from me, don't be afraid to contact me. I will make time for your calls.
Sincere Regards,
Scarlet Belliveau.
Tears were streaming down her face as she rested her forehead on her desk. "Shit," she murmured. She wiped her tears away, picked up her cellphone, dialed, and placed the phone on speaker.
"Red Belle Wedding Fashion. Scarlet Belliveau's office. How may I assist you?" a faceless voice asked.
"My name is Persephone Winther - I'm an employee there. May I speak with Mrs. Belliveau?" She shifted in her seat and bit her lip.
"Absolutely. Mrs. Beliveau had informed me that you might call and instructed me to put you right through, Mrs. Winther - Campbell."