Chapter 8

Alina

When Alex walked out of the room, I let out a sigh of relief. Lena noticed and gave me a strange look.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

I didn't know if I should laugh or fall down and cry.

No. Of course everything was not okay.

Instead, I said, "Yes," my voice small.

Lena looked at me suspiciously but didn't push. Giving me a small smile, she turned toward the other two maids.

"This is Moira," she said, indicating the blonde, who gave me a blank stare.

I nodded in greeting.

"And this is Milena." The short woman with caramel skin, her black hair tied in a tight bun, waved at me with a smile. I smiled back and felt myself relax.

"Welcome," Milena said softly.

At least there were two people who didn't look like they wanted to kill me.

"Now that introductions have been made, Milena and Moira, get back to work," Lena said in a stern voice.

Both women said nothing before they walked out of the kitchen. Lena grabbed my arms and gently shoved me toward the stools.

"Sit," she said. I did as I was told.

"Did you eat breakfast yet?" Lena asked as she went through the refrigerator.

I shook my head but then realized that she couldn't see me.

"No. I haven't," I replied.

"I thought so." She closed the fridge, her arms full of ingredients. I reached out to help her, but she shook her head.

Sitting back down, I waited for her next instruction.

Lena made breakfast while talking animatedly the whole time. She was excited, as if she hadn't had a chance to talk to someone for a long while.

She talked about everything and nothing. Sometimes none of it made sense. She told me about her experience working as a maid. I also found out that I was the youngest maid here, which surprised her.

"Hmm. Alex never hires young maids. He says they are incompetent."

I didn't tell her how Alex came to hire me, and she never asked, so I kept quiet. As she continued talking, I felt myself relaxing.

The tense muscles in my shoulders started to loosen and I sagged into my stool. Crossing my legs, I moved my elbows on the bar and placed my chin in my palms, watching Lena talk. Her voice soothed me and I smiled.

She was sweet and adorable and I felt comfortable around her. I don't know how long I sat there and listened to her talk, but she eventually brought a plate to me. Placing it front of me, Lena smiled and nodded toward the food.

"Dig in, hon."

The plate was brimming with toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried diced potatoes, and a small bowl of mixed fruits.

She watched me with a soft expression. My nose started to tingle and I felt hot tears at the back of my eyes. I sniffed and looked down at the plate of food.

Nobody had ever made me food like that. Sure, I had maids back at my father's estate and I always had food. But no one ever prepared it with love. Nobody cared if I ate or not. I simply didn't exist. I lived as a shadow.

My heart constricted and I held the fork with a shaky hand.

As I took the first bite, a tear fell down my cheek. Quickly swiping it away with my other hand, I took a second bite. Then a third. With each bite, it felt like my heart would burst at any moment.

When Lena gave me a gentle pat on the hand, I looked up with red-rimmed eyes. She gave me a sad smile and then nodded, as if telling me that everything would be okay. Lena didn't ask any questions. She just accepted me.

She turned around and went back to filling the other plates. I looked back at the food, then stared at the hand she had touched.

Kindness wasn't something I saw much of. In fact, I had never experienced true kindness in my life.

My days were spent locked in my room and my nights were filled with terrors. I didn't know what kindness was.

But with that simple action from Lena, I saw kindness for the first time. I felt it for the first time.

As I cleaned the smooth surface, I heard Lena ask, "Honey, are you done?"

Leaning away from the bar, I turned toward her. I smiled, waving the cleaning towel in the air. "Almost. I just need to finish wiping down the bar."

"Okay. Hurry up and finish, then you are done for today."

It's been a week since I started working at the estate. I didn't know anything about cooking or cleaning. At my father's house, I had maids who did it all while I was trapped in my bedroom.

But Lena helped me with the transition, and she was always gentle. When she assigned me to work, she made sure I was only doing the cleaning. And I was always with her, so the other maids wouldn't judge me.

Even though I knew the house was filled with people, I was surprised that I barely saw anyone other than a few maids here and there, as if everyone was in the shadows.

Most of my time was spent in the kitchen, helping Lena make the food, and then I would clean when she was done. The first three days were horrible and I was sure Lena had a good laugh at all the messes I made. But I was finally getting the hang of it.

A few minutes later, I was done. Swiping at my forehead tiredly, I sagged against the counter. Most of the time, I was done around seven or eight. But we had guests over, so the estate was really busy. Now it was close to midnight.

After doing a quick check around the kitchen to make sure that I was finished, I turned off the lights and walked out. As I closed the door, I saw Lena coming toward me.

"I'm done," I announced with a quick smile. She came closer and enveloped me in a hug.

"Good job," she said as she pulled back. Lena was a very affectionate woman. In my short time here, she had become a mother to me.

My mom died when I was only a year old. I never knew what it was like to have a mother caring for me, so I hung on to Lena's affectionate side. I let my heart accept the fact that there was someone who cared for me, like the lonely child I was.

Giving her a nod and after saying goodnight, I headed for my room. My legs felt heavy as I walked up the stairs, tiredness overtaking me.

I stopped when I noticed the door of the sitting room open. The sitting room was between my room and Alex's. I looked around me. No one was there. With a nervous gulp, I slowly made my way toward the room. As I got closer, I saw that the lights were on. Leaning forward, I peeked inside.

There was no one.

I walked in and went straight to the piano next to the large windows. Two days before, I had been assigned to clean the sitting room, which was also a library. When I walked in, the first thing that got my attention was the large piano.

Music had always been my solace. I used to play the piano every day at my father's estate. It helped me forget.

The only way that I could block the memories of what Alberto did to me every night was by losing myself in music. The rhythm. The soft and gentle sounds that came through the keys.

As I got closer to the piano, my heart started to beat faster. I knew I shouldn't have been there but I couldn't stop myself. I stopped in front of the bench and leaned forward, placing my hand gently on the piano keys.

My fingers were itching to play. Just one song.

But I couldn't. I was told not to come into this room, except for cleaning. Softly moving my fingers over the keys, I made sure I didn't press down.

With a heavy sigh, I stepped away, my hand falling from the piano. Giving it a final sad glance, I walked away, my body turning into itself with desolation. Closing my bedroom door behind me, I leaned against it with a sigh and then shut my eyes tiredly. The lights were off, except for the tiny lamp on my nightstand.

While talking with Lena, I also found out that I was the only maid who didn't live in the maids' quarters. We were both surprised by it, but could I really question Alex's decision? I didn't think so.

I started to undress, slowly removing my dress, my body languid. Throwing the black dress on the nightstand, I reached blindly for my night shirt on the bed.

Just when I was about to put it on, a deep rough voice came from behind me.

"I have to say, you have a lovely body."

I shrieked loudly and swiveled around toward the voice. I tried to focus on the intruder, but he was effortlessly hidden in the darkness.

I didn't have to see him to know who it was.

I knew that voice. My body knew that voice.

Alex.

I took a step back in fear, my nightshirt pressed against my body, hiding my nakedness from his eyes. Shaking from head to toe, I swallowed hard and my stomach started to cramp in fear—maybe in anticipation too.

Suddenly, the lights were on. I had to blink a few times to adjust my eyes.

Alex was sitting in my sofa chair, leaning back comfortably. His left ankle was crossed on top of his right knee and there was a small remote in his hand, which he probably used to turn on the lights.

He wasn't wearing a suit. But he did have his black slacks on and a black linen shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top, to reveal some of his chest.

His hard, muscular chest. I forced away the thought.

Keeping my eyes on him, I saw his gaze intensely focused on my body. There was no embarrassment. No awkwardness. Alex was completely calm and confident as his eyes raked over my body.