I'm back! Wow, it's been over a year since I updated this story. Between work and getting towards the end of college, I've been insanely busy to where I haven't been able to dedicate the time I want to when writing new chapters.

As I've said in the past, I do not own House of Anubis nor do I condone Jerome's treatment of Nina!

Fabian's P.O.V

I couldn't stop thinking about her. Nina… I feel awful. I couldn't help but blame myself, that I've gotten her in some sort of trouble with Jerome yesterday.

*FLASHBACK*

"Jerome.. I'm sure Joy wouldn't mind coming in and staying for a few more hours.." I said in the most convincing tone I could, giving Nina a concerning glance.

I was worried.

Worried about her.

Worried about what he would possibly do to her.

"No. You're not feeling well, you best be getting home anyways. Sitting in the comfort of your own living room. I'll be in touch, Fabian." Jerome retorted back at me.

There was no convincing him, not without making it worse for Nina at least.

I flashed her a brief smile filled with concern before briefly waving at Jerome on my way out.

*END FLASHBACK*

I could feel my phone buzzing from my pocket. I look to see who's trying to call me,

It's Jerome.

Curious and intrigued, I pick up the phone.

"Hello? Jerome?" I start off,

"Fabian!" He exclaims, as if him and I didn't just see one another yesterday, "I need to have a chat with you about something."

A chat?

"About what?"

"About my slave."

I could almost feel my heart begin to sink.

"What about her?" I ask,

"I'll have to kindly ask you… I heard you call her by her name yesterday. It is nowhere near your fault, don't take this as me saying you did anything wrong. It is most definitely her own fault for even speaking to you, much less telling you her real name. All things aside, I'll have to ask you to never refer to her as that name again." He asked me calmly.

I wasn't sure how my response should be.

"That name?... Jerome. That's her name."

"Contrary. As far as everyone, even myself, is concerned, her name is slave, girl, or whatever name I choose to call her."

I felt… a bit disgusted. Something is very, very off about the way he treats her. He still doesn't know that I know he was behind her busted lip and bruised cheek that I saw yesterday.

I figured for now it was better off for me to just agree with him, keep him happy.

Angering him might cause more hurt for her.

"Alright… alright Jerome. No worries. I won't be calling her by that name again. Thank you for letting me know"

I could almost hear his smile through his voice, "Not a problem at all, Fabian. Take care, we'll have to get together again soon. You sound like you're feeling better?"

"Yes, I've started to feel much better than yesterday. Talk to you soon."

I hang up the phone. I run my hands through my hair and let out a large sigh.

"Fabes? What's the matter?" Joy turns over and asks me, having just woken up.

"Nothing darling… hey, how would you feel about possibly going out on a date later tonight? I'm feeling better, and I feel sort of bad about flaking out because of my stomach problems yesterday"

Her smile lit up her whole face.

"Fabe I would love to! Are you thinking about going somewhere nice?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. In fact, you look around, find a place you like that has reservations open for tonight. I'll go wherever you would like" I respond to her, flashing her a loving smile in return.

She immediately leans up and kisses my lips, I kiss back before getting up out of bed.

I love Joy, and I needed something… to take my mind off Nina.

Nina's P.O.V

I fell into a deep sleep, one of the deepest sleeps I've had in a while.

Everything Master put me through yesterday must've just exhausted me.

I was taken out of my deep sleep when I heard a loud bang come from the door to the basement. Eventually, the I heard the lock to my room being used and my door opening.

"I just got off the phone with Fabian, slave. He's never going to make the mistake of calling you by your first name ever again." My Master said, ending the sentence with a slight smile.

I look up at him,

No.

No no no.

I got Fabian in trouble.

Stupid girl, stupid.

Bad girl.

It's almost like Master could sense my anxieties.

"I didn't yell at him or anything, I just simply asked he not do that from here on out, he was fine agreeing to that. After all whore, it isn't really his fault now is it? If I remember correctly.. " He trails off, bending down to my level and grazing one of his hands against some of my bruises from yesterday causing me to flinch, "If I remember correctly, it was actually YOUR fault, wasn't it slave?"

I look straight into his eyes.

"Yes, Master" I admit, trying my best to be obedient especially after yesterday.

Suddenly I feel a harsh shock against my throat, causing me to groan and reach for my neck out of instinct. Once it stopped, all I could hear was Master's laugh.

"Trust me. You deserve so much worse than what you got after yesterday's antics. Thank me that I didn't beat you within an inch of life for what you did"

"Thank you, Master" I respond obediently, looking up at him.

I softly grunt after receiving a swift slap across the face. Before I know it, I feel another one.

Followed by another.

And another.

My cheeks ended up bruised and bright red.

"Filthy little slut" Master growls, causing me to audibly whimper before he kicks my side with a lot of his strength, causing me to be knocked onto the cold, hard ground I was sitting up on.

Before I have the chance to get up, he kicks me again in the same spot.

And again, this time on my other side.

And again, this time in my head.

He kicks me harshly in my head a second time.

Stars.

Blurs.

That's all I see right now.

Apparently loving my reaction, not being able to get enough of my suffering, he kicks me in the head again.

'Is he trying to knock me unconscious?' I think to myself.

I feel his shoe step on the side of my head on the ground.

"Who do you belong to?" He asks me sternly,

"You, Master. Only you."

"Useless whore. Lick the ground."

I hesitate.

I shouldn't of hesitated.

I receive another harsh kick in the head, followed by another. And another. And another.

I stick out my tongue to attempt to lick the concrete basement floor, but it seems it's too late. Just when my tongue touches the concrete my head receives another kick from Master's boot.

And another.

And another.

I hear him growl degrading things at me while I fade into unconsciousness.

Fabian's P.O.V

Joy ended up picking a rather nice restaurant for us to dine at tonight. Nothing SUPER fancy, but business casual dress code definitely seems to be the norm here.

"Wow Joy…" I exclaim while walking in, admiring the gorgeous, wooden interior.

"I've been wanting to try this place for a while now Fabes! Thank you for letting me pick where we go!" She says excitedly while planting a kiss on my cheek.

As we're seated by the hostess, my mind couldn't help but wander about Nina. Triggered by Joy's small "Thank you for letting me" portion of her response.

"Fabian? Are you alright? You haven't even picked your menu up yet" She giggled at me, a hint of worry in her tone.

"Yeah… yeah of course darling." I reassure her while picking up my mneu, glancing at the options.

When our serve comes and collects our drink orders, Joy brings up the subject I've been trying to take my mind off of this whole time.

"Fabes… I can't help but feel bad for that girl"
I knew exactly who she was talking about.

"You and I both, Joy…" I sigh, our server brings us our drinks before we give our food order.

When our server walks away to ring in our food, I continue.

"Those bruises and that busted lip she had, that was from Jerome"

Joy let out an audible gasp, "It was? You know? You know for sure?"

I nod my head, "Fabian. That's really… serious. How can you be so sure?"

"She… she told me so, Joy"

All she could do is shake her head. "I'm sorry if I seem to be at a loss for words. I already felt bad for her now I just… I just feel worse. I didn't take Jerome as that kind of person. I never did."

"Me neither, Joy. I was in utter shock when she confirmed my suspicions…"

Our food arrived, but both Joy and I had seemed to lose our appetites.

After taking a few bites of our food here and there, and asking for the rest to go, we decided to collect our check.

I paid for it, and we started to make our way home.

"Despite the heavy topic, I really enjoyed our time out alone together, Fabes" Joy said, smiling at me from the drivers passenger seat. I smiled back, my eyes never leaving the road.

"I enjoyed it too, Joy. You know how much I love you"
"I love you too, Fabian."

Love. Did I even know what that was anymore? Sure… I still liked Joy. But, I wouldn't say I was… In Love with her anymore. She wants to get married soon, and after we marry she's hoping to maybe have a child or two. I'm not sure if I see myself committed to her enough to marry her.

Once we got home, we went into our bedroom and just lied next to eachother in our bed. Reading, watching rubbish tele, playing on our phones, talking… eventually she was the first one to get tired. "Goodnight Fabes, I love you"

"I love you too, Joy. Sleep well" I gave her a kiss on the forehead as she closed her eyes.

Maybe a part of me does still love Joy…

But another part of me is also falling for Nina, quite a bit…

And I hate to admit it, especially since she's Jerome's slave.

There's just something about her.