I don't count?

The woman in the bathroom slowly stood up. She limped towards them with a stiff smile.

Diana warily grabbed Maxim's arm, ''A-Are you sure she is not a thief?''

''Yes,'' Maxim said, looking at the dainty fingers that twisted the material of his shirt. His perfectly smoothed shirt had creases all over but his OCD… seemed to be hibernating at the moment.

''B-B-But…'' Diana inched closer to Maxim, ''Why… Why is she wearing those black clothes? No matter how I look at her, I feel like she was sent here to assassinate me,'' she tried to keep her voice low but the woman still heard her.

''Miss,'' the woman smiled, ''I was indeed sent here to assassinate.''

Diana's head whipped in Maxim's direction and she poked his forearm intensely as if saying 'See? I told you! Now, take out your weapons and show me your moves'.

Maxim massaged his forehead, ''Make yourself clear.''

''…To assassinate the cockroaches, mosquitoes, and remaining such beasts who might bother you and the sweetheart playing over there on the bed,'' the woman said, pointing her hand inside the bathroom and the room.

And as Diana followed the direction of her hand, she noticed pesticides and other cleaning materials around, ''I… am so sorry,'' the realization dawned on her.

This woman addressed Maxim as 'sir' and she was here to do the cleaning so it meant she must be someone he knew and yet she threw her sliders at the woman's face without knowing the whole context of the situation.

Diana was terrified. She let go of Maxim's shirt and approached the woman who had visible redness on her swollen face and her disheveled appearance made her feel guiltier, ''I am so so so sorry. I am the worst,'' she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

''It's okay. It's not a bad trait to be wary,'' the woman smiled through her indignance of being mistaken as a thief, ''Besides, I am not that hurt. By the way, Miss, I am Ivy. I will be here to take care of all of you from now on.''

''Ivy, a nice name,'' Diana whispered, ''I am Diana. Wait… You work for him?" she pointed her thumb towards Maxim who was standing behind her.

''Yes,'' Ivy looked slightly uncomfortable as she spoke her next words, ''I was on a holiday but now that I am back, you won't have to worry about such trifles. I will deal with it all.''

''Oh no no, don't misunderstand,'' Diana shook her head. Why was Ivy acting like she was the lady boss in this house? ''I am just a temporary tenant here. You don't have to take care of me.''

The woman named Ivy looked at Maxim.

Diana glanced at Maxim.

Maxim quietly arched a brow at Ivy before averting his gaze.

''Uh… that…'' Ivy started speaking, getting Diana's attention back on her, ''We always do this for tenants.''

''You did it for tenants who lived here before me? And what do you mean by 'we'?" Diana was dumbstruck.

Moreover, people really lived in this hellish place? It was huge and comfortable but unlike the place where Maxim lived, this place was semi-furnished, in a big mess. It was not Maxim's style to keep any part of his house this messy. She could even spot spider webs in some spots.

But Diana concluded that she just found it this messy because she was used to her castle-like room in the Chen Manor. Any ordinary person would find this place affordable and nice.

Maybe it would take her some time to adjust here.

''You will know what I mean,'' Ivy smiled, ''Also… please don't take the stress. We will handle everything properly,'' she said.

Diana was speechless. She was not taking stress. But it was just that everything seemed to work very mysteriously at Maxim's place.

''I'll be off for now. But I will get back to work tomorrow, early in the morning,'' Ivy flashed a beautiful smile at both of them before she adjusted her cape and walked out of the room.

Diana leaned back on the wall for support, ''Warner…'' she looked at the man with a sigh, ''What was that?"

Maxim glanced at her, ''She is reckless at times,'' was all he said, ''Don't be scared.''

Diana slid down the wall, slumping on the floor as she pressed her palm on her wildly beating heart. It was not Ivy she was scared of. But if the Chen family caught wind of where she was, then…

She glanced at the baby who had dozed off on the bed at some point amidst the chaos.

Just as she turned to look at Maxim, she noticed the outstretched hand in front of her.

She placed her palm on his, "You are a nice house owner though,'' It took her a moment to recover her spirits as he pulled her up.

Her towel hiked up to her thighs. Maxim averted his gaze, a suspicious rosiness on the tip of his ears, ''Wear something. You will catch a cold.''

"Oh,'' Diana looked at herself, ''I was going to take a shower so this is fine. And there is no one here except for you.''

Maxim turned to look at her, his eyes fixated on her green eyes, refusing to trail any lower, ''I don't count?"