Scarlet Wilde

Overwhelmed. Everything about the Wilde family was overwhelming and Scarlet couldn't keep up with how fast things progressed.

Immediately after the blank cheque incident, Scarlet's parents had a hundred-eighty degree change in attitude towards her. They were jovial, smiled at her and gave in to anything that Scarlet wanted. They offered her the entire house too if she wanted it but Scarlet refused. Scarlet took a look at her wardrobe and decided that there was nothing she wanted to take along. The only thing she wanted to take with her was the pair of blue ribbons that she grew fond of even though she could only use one now.

The only other thing Scarlet wanted to bring along was the computer but Jenna promised her that they will get her a better one so the girl left it. With that, they didn't even bother returning to the Liu residence. Jenna then ordered the maids to prepare a guest room for Scarlet's stay while Mrs Wilde made a long phone call and spoke in a language Scarlet didn't understand.

The guest room was big and luxurious to the point of stressing Scarlet out. She'd been locked in her room for so long that she didn't know how to behave with this much freedom. Being called "Miss Wilde" by the maids also confused her a lot initially. She thought that they were referring to Alex so it took her a while to understand that they were referring to the new young mistress of the Wilde House.

"Miss Wilde?"

Scarlet jumped. She was staring at the ceiling on her bed, exhausted by the flurry of activities over the last few days. Her personal maid was named Claire, a young and bright woman with auburn hair. Claire was in her twenties and acted very much like Scarlet's older sister. Unfortunately, Scarlet couldn't get her to be less formal. It was odd for the Chinese girl to be treated like a princess. It was difficult for her to even ask for a spare bath towel from anyone when she forgot to bring hers into the bathroom. To be fair, she didn't really forget to do so, the maids in the mansion were just overly efficient. They changed the sheets and towels every day. Back when Scarlet lived alone, she only washed the towels once a week and changed the sheets once a month.

"Yes, Claire?"

The maid entered with an armful of books that made Scarlet perk up.

"These are...?"

Claire smiled. Her green eyes shone with glee at her mistress's livened mood. Mrs Wilde was right. Scarlet was certainly different from Alex and Jasper.

"These are books recommended by Mr Chang. He says that it might help with your research. The new laptop will arrive tomorrow, please let me know if you require anything else."

Scarlet didn't hear anything Claire said after the word laptop. The from on her face was everything the maid needed to know as her young charge started pouting over the pages.

Knowing that once Scarlet got into this state, there was nothing that could distract her until she snapped out of it herself. Claire left her young lady to read in peace and reported to Jenna.

"How is she adapting?"

"She looks much better now and is completely engrossed in the new reading materials. Mr Chang was right about it. Scarlet has to be intellectually stimulated constantly to pull her thoughts away from the darker side Should we inform the lady of the household? For such a young child like her, it must have been quite a traumatic experience to witness her parents' decision to give her up in exchange for materialistic gains."

The butler nodded. Claire was the brightest maid in her cohort and was in line for a position as the head maid before Scarlet's arrival. However, after witnessing the horrible event, the maid volunteered herself to become Scarlet's personal aide. It was a huge surprise because Claire was known to show very little emotions and carried out her tasks with deadly efficiency. Claire didn't feel any connection with anyone and that was why she wasn't very well-liked amongst her co-workers even though she was good at what she did.

"Please continue to keep an eye on her. I don't want to invite the professionals unless we are very certain things are beyond our control. What she needs now more than anything else is a lot of love and acceptance. There isn't anyone else more suited for the job than you. Truth be told, both the mistress and I are very pleased that you volunteered. There really isn't anyone else capable of keeping up with that voracious girl's appetite for knowledge."

Claire bowed and was pleased with the compliment although she didn't express it externally. "Thank you, I will do my best not to disappoint. May I suggest that we also engage a tutor to act as a writing mentor Miss Scarlet? I'm afraid Mr Chang is already reaching the limits of what he knows about the craft."

Jenna sighed. Benjamin didn't have it easy with Scarlet clinging onto him virtually now that she was given a personal phone. It had only a few contacts on it and there was only one person that Scarlet couldn't freely speak to in the mansion so she texted him every few hours. The lawyer was much too polite to say it outright but even Mrs Wilde could see the exhaustion slowly creeping into the young lawyer's eyes.

"Does she sleep now?"

Claire shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. Even if the lady does sleep, she will often wake up crying or in cold sweat. The other maids have mentioned seeing someone tip-toeing to the laundry to wash clothes or sheets. They are very certain that it is Miss Scarlet and the camera footage have confirmed it. Should we bring a doctor in to examine her?"

Jenna frowned. "No need, I shall handle it from here. If this persists, please mix small doses of sleeping pills into her food. I will have a talk with the Mistress about Scarlet's condition."

"Understood," Claire bowed and excused herself to complete her other chores. Jenna sighed. They were reluctant to admit it but Scarlet was going to be needing a lot of resources to stay on the right path. As it is, the butler had a nagging suspicion that there was more to being a genius that was causing the girl to slip into another world out of their grasp most times.

Jenna's phone vibrated and the butler checked the long-awaited reply. Her lips only thinned when her fears were confirmed. Now, how to break the news to the lady of the mansion?