After she cries her eyes out in her room, she further changes into another set of clothes before going to the kitchen to make the juice for the man.
“Here, Sir,” She bows to the man as she drops the glass of juice on the table. She turns to leave when the man’s voice brings her to an abrupt halt.
“Fix me something to eat,” He says to her, and she slowly clenches her fists and bites her bottom lip.
“Alright Sir, I’ll get to it,” She replies to him before dragging her feet to the kitchen. The doctor told her to have much rest, but it doesn’t seem like she’s ever going to rest in this house. At least not when this man that keeps troubling her is around.
Stepping into the kitchen, she sets to cook. For someone, this young, isn’t all this pain much on her? First, it was her mom that put her into this mess in the whole place, but what hurts the most is to find out that she never cared and never regretted her action, and now she has to become a maid she wasn’t expecting. Her life is a joke.
Tears slid down the corner of her cheeks as she stirrs the soup on the hot plate. She thought it would be busy, pretending to be fine, but turns out that it’s more difficult than the pain she’s going through.
“I want to die,” She mutters to herself as she slowly clenches her fingers around the spoon as more tears pour down her cheeks. ‘My baby needs to live’ she convinces herself as she rubs her fingers on her flat tummy. In a few months to this, her stomach would protrude, and it’ll be obvious that she’s pregnant.
“Are you OK?” Max’s voice disrupts her thoughts from behind, and she quickly wipes her tears off, glancing at him afterward. How can he still ask if she’s ok when it’s obvious that she’s not?
“Hmm,” She hums as she nods her head, turning her attention back to the soup, and continues stirring it. An awkward silence assumes the air as he walks over to the refrigerator and pulls it open.
“I’m sorry, Ariel. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” He apologizes after he picks a bottle of water from the refrigerator, turning to face her afterward.
“It’s fine,” She nods her head.
“You’re going to stop working for now, until my dad leaves here. You don’t have to worry, he won’t…”
“It’s fine. I understand,” She cuts him off, turning the soup into the plate on the counter. The pot is so hot and burning her hand, but she doesn’t look like she’s hurt by it. The pain in her hands is nothing, compared to the one she’s feeling deep inside her heart.
“I’ll give this to him…” Max tries to take the plate, but she takes it away.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll deliver it to him,” She says before she finally walks out of the kitchen and heads to the living room.
“Here’s your food, Sir,” She says politely, dropping the plate on the center table.
“That smells bad. I suddenly lost my appetite. Make me pasta,” He orders again while having a disgusted expression on his face. She sighs frustratingly. Of course, she knows that this man just wants to frustrate her, but what she has no idea about, is why he’s doing this.
“What do you want to have, dad? I’ll make it for you. You know she doesn’t know the kind of food you like, I’ll handle it,” Max chips in, as she walks in from the dining room, earning a glance from his dad.
“That’s why she was employed as a maid. She should be able to do simple tasks,” The man scoffs angrily.
“Did my son employ you to still go to the kitchen to make food by himself?” He snaps at her, and she flinches.
“Dad, you don’t have to be angry, OK? She’s just traumatized by her mom’s sickness, I think. Ariel, you may go have some rest now. I’ll handle things,” Max turns to her and gives her an apologetic look.
“Alright, Sir. Thank you,” And with that said, she walks over to the staircase and climbs it until she gets to her room…
Three days later
The last three days have been the worst days of her life. Having Mr. Dante around has been the most traumatizing experience of her life as he did nothing but order her around until she goes to bed feeling so tired.
It’s Saturday morning, and she just finished her house chores as always. She has been doing almost all the work in the house after Mr. Dante arrived at the mansion.
Crashing against her bed after she had a long and relaxing bath, she stares up at the ceiling, while rubbing her fingers on her stomach.
Her phone suddenly beeps, and she sits up on the bed, reaching out for it afterward. She slid the unlock button, and a message from Alex pops on the screen. ‘Let’s hang out later if you’re not busy’. A smile creeps up her lips, as this is exactly what she needs right now. Being away from this hell for some time won’t be a bad idea at all.
‘Sure, I’ll meet you up in an hour’ she texts him back as she smiles heartily. Over these three days, Alex has tried as much to be in touch with her. He’s always keeping her company over the phone, which has been the reason she hasn’t been so bored. Although Alex is still kind of a stranger to her, his warm heart makes her feel comfortable around him.
She hurries into the bathroom and has a quick bath before she gets dressed casually. Since they’re only going to hang out, she feels the need to dress casually and comfortably.
Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she finally picks up her phone from the dressing table and strides out of her room, closing the door gently behind her.
As she walks down the hallway, she stops abruptly when she hears the door open behind her, and she looks back to see Max walk out of his room. ‘I thought they all went out to have fun. Why’s he still here?’ She asks herself, but quickly dismisses the thoughts and continues walking.
“Ariel…” He calls her, and she stops.
“Hmm?” She hums as she stops walking, tilting her head to look at him with a questioning look on her face.
“Where are you heading to?” He asks after he scrutinizes her with his eyes.
“Oh, I’m going to be hanging out with Alex. How about you? I thought you went out with your dad and wife. How come you’re still here?” She asks curiously, but he only stares at her as he grits his teeth.
“Alex?” He asks like he didn’t hear her in the first place. His blood boils in rage for some unexplainable reason at the mention of Jeffrey. Why would she hang out with his brother?
“Yes. I should get going now…”
“No…” He suddenly says out of the blue, and she squints her eyes.
“Huh? Why?” She blinks her eyes confusingly.
“Nothing. Uhm… The doctor said you should rest. You can’t go out. Yes, you can’t go out,” He stutters, trying to convince her.
“I’m going to be alone at home if…”
“I’ll stay with you,” He cuts her off, and her eyes narrow in shock…