The Bodyguard: A BWWM Bad Body Romance(2)

Juliet executed her usual morning routine, showering before donning her clothes quickly. They were Solomon’s preferred fare, as were her makeup and shoes.

Under normal circumstances, Juliet was fully aware that most women would kill to have a man like Solomon. Handsome and wealthy, draping her in name brands and making sure she only ever had the best of everything…

Unfortunately, Juliet hadn’t chosen any of that. She didn’t get to decide what she wore, where she went, or what she did. Solomon had controlled all of that for years now - just like he controlled her.

She contemplated escape hourly. It was, in fact, her hobby to daydream about the ways she could flee the hell that her life had become. But she wasn’t an idiot. Juliet knew full well what happened to people dense enough to run from the Aguilers.

Exhaling a long sigh, she stared at herself in the mirror. Juliet had never been the type of girl to like low-cut tops and short skirts. She hated wearing heels, despised the makeup caked on her face, and the heat-damage done to her glorious natural curls when she straightened them was nothing short of aberrant.

But, here she was, looking like something out of a playboy magazine to cater to the man that owned her. Juliet examined her reflection from left and right, frowning at the way her breasts almost spilled out of the vee-neck top. Her skirt was barely long enough to cover the generous curve of her behind and it was, quite frankly, ridiculous that she had to wear heels all day inside the house.

But this was what Solomon wanted - this was his ideal woman.

It was not Juliet.

When she finally left the bathroom, she was thankful to find that Solomon and his dog had abandoned waiting for her. That gave her a few minutes to gather her thoughts as she made her way downstairs for breakfast. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table before leaving the room. One of Solomon’s many staff-members would take care of the bed - at least, they would if they wanted to keep all their fingers and toes.

As Juliet made her way slowly down the hallway of the immense manor house, she scarcely met the eyes of any of the heavily armed, well-dressed guards mulling around. She would never understand why the Aguilers needed so much security inside the manor - surely if it was ever breached, they were screwed anyway, but she knew better than to say a word about that to Solomon. She would, without a doubt, regret it.

When Juliet reached the ornate staircase that led to the foyer, she paused. She didn’t want to go downstairs. She never did, really. What she wanted was to find a way to put all of this behind her. She would climb out of a window, sneak past security and get away….

And then what?

A bitter smile touched her mouth at the question. Where the hell would she go? At this point, Solomon had alienated her from her parents, her friends, and anyone else she might have known in her former life. She could put their lives in danger merely by contacting them. Which meant...what? She’d run and see how far she could get?

With no money, no method of travel, and no friends to help her, Juliet could concede that she wouldn’t get very fucking far. And that was the way Solomon wanted it.

He had done this to her systematically, year over year, whittling her down to nothing but her questionable sense of pride. Juliet had never known it was possible to both hate and fear someone so much as she did him.

As she did all the Aguilers.

Caesar was in the foyer speaking in a low voice with one of the many armed guards in the house, and the sight of him was enough to chill Juliet to the bone. Unlike Solomon, she had never had any doubts that this man was absolute evil. The first time she met him, she knew outright. His eyes were dull and unfeeling, and the only time he ever showed the slightest bit of emotion was when he was involved in something violent. The leader of the Aguiler Family was, without a doubt, the reason so much of their business deals were signed in blood.

All at once, going back to the room she shared with Solomon was what Juliet desperately desired. He would eventually come and drag her out, she knew, but she couldn’t go downstairs into that den of snakes. Not again. Juliet was forced to continue this farce day after day, as if she was part of it, but she wasn’t. She would never be. Not as long as she lived and breathed.

Though, considering how the Aguilers operated, that probably wouldn’t be a problem for them.

Juliet was on the cusp of turning to retreat to her room when Caesar looked up. There was no way he could have missed her standing at the top of the staircase. “Buenos Dias, hija.” His voice echoed through the marble foyer, his smile cold. “Come down for breakfast, won’t you?”

She had seen this man kill people in cold blood as if it were nothing...just being near him was enough to make Juliet tremble. Nonetheless, she swallowed thickly, steeling herself before starting down the stairs. She didn’t dare do anything else.

“You’re looking pale this morning, Juliet.” Caesar took her hand in his when she reached the foot of the staircase, his gaze locking her in place. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Fine, sir.” She managed, her throat dry. She didn’t like being alone with him. Though Caesar himself hadn’t ever touched her in the five years she’d lived in the manor, she saw the way he looked at her. More importantly, Sophia saw the way he looked at her. In truth, the man’s wife was far more likely to hurt her than Caesar himself, but Juliet didn’t want to be hurt at all if she could help it. She’d been through enough pain in the past eight years to last her a lifetime.