Romane von Eric Osase

Penelope’s POV.I scrunched up my brows the moment I saw him. This was the first time I was seeing him in the staff quarters, and it surprised me that he knew our apartment.“What do you want?” I snapped.He ignored me and walked past me, into the apartment. I gasped in horror as I watched him sit on the sofa in the living room. It was ridiculous that he was right here in what would be considered a lowly place for him.“Have you been crying?” he asked softly.My mouth dropped open in shock at his gentle display. I sniffed and wiped my face to get rid of the remnants. I looked down at him without saying anything, hoping that he would just go away. But it seemed like he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.In fact, he sank deeper into the sofa. “You’re not answering me.”“I don’t want to go to the summit!” I blurted out.He looked perplexed. “Why? It’s your dream.”“Not anymore.”“Why?”“I don’t want to cause any rift between you and Maddie.”“You can’t.”“But…”“Is it your dream or not?”“It i

Penelope’s Pov.My eyes widened in shock the moment he called my name. He seemed to be pushing me into a tight edge, and it worried me.“What!” Madeleine spat. “The likes of her cannot represent this prestigious school.”“Why not?” Sebastian asked. “She’s an A-list student.”She rolled her eyes. “That’s simply not enough. She’s a charity case who shouldn’t be involved in such an important event. She will embarrass us.”“That’s right,” the teacher said. “The school management did not include her name.”“Include it,” he deadpanned.“I can’t do that, Mr. Vanderbilt.”“Miss West.”“Yes?”“Do you love your job?”“Of course, I do!”“Then you know what to do.”Miss West looked around helplessly, panic written on her face. I should feel sorry for her, but I didn’t. She was one of the teachers who treated me unfairly. She even directed this hatred for me towards my favorite teacher, Mr. Charles.Madeleine hmphed and folded her arms across her chest, facing Sebastian. “If she ends up being sele

Penelope’s POV.Madeleine came forward and hooked her arm with Sebastian’s. She looked at me like she was expecting some sort of explanation. Before I could speak, Sebastian did.“She seemed lost when I saw her. Her presence is revolting, so I told her to go home.”My head whipped up to look at him. I wasn’t expecting him to say nice things about me, but saying it in front of everyone? I knew he said that to protect his reputation too. After all, there was no reason why he would be there with someone who was below his class.Madeleine seemed to be very pleased with this. She looked at me triumphantly, deliberately flashing her ring at me. I scoffed inwardly. What was she trying to do? Did she think I was in love with Sebastian or something?I turned, ready to go home, but her voice stopped me. “Come on, stay and enjoy the party. You earned it. If people like you aren’t here, it wouldn’t be charity now, would it?”She unhooked her arm from Sebastian’s, and took mine, leading me to a s

Penelope’s POV.It had been a week since Madeleine graced us with her not-so-delightful presence. I hated to cross path with her in school due to how she never misses the chance to mock me for being out of her league.It was a good thing that she didn’t live in the Vanderbilt mansion. If she did, I wouldn’t be able to survive. It had been only one week, yet, she had taken over the whole school. Girls flocked around her like little minions; boys wanted her to notice them too. Even worse, she commanded the whole school, and got whatever she wanted when she asked for it.Even the meanest girl in school was afraid of her. It was lunchtime, and everyone was gathered at the cafeteria. I took a seat near the door, and Lena did the same. We got our food and began eating.“Has Madeleine been coming to your house?”My house…“I wouldn’t know,” I replied her. “I’ve not been going out of the staff quarters lately.The excitement on her face died down. “Okay.”It seemed like the idea of me living

Penelope's POV.“Have you heard? Sebastian Vanderbilt is now engaged.”I froze in my tracks as I stood near the lockers to eavesdrop on the girls talking.“Oh my goodness!” one of them said. “How did you know this?”“Mr. Vanderbilt himself told my daddy,” The girl said proudly. “Our press company is going to air it later today.”“But who is the lucky girl?”“This is VIP information; you can’t tell anyone.”“Oh Anne, I promise! Hurry, tell me!”“Madeleine Bancroft.”I staggered backwards in shock and pretended not to have heard the girls. Not sparing a glance at them, I hurriedly walked to my class.Madeleine Bancroft.Wasn’t she the girl who came by Vanderbilt mansion yesterday? She was totally treated like royalty, and I wondered who she was. I dared not ask any question though. My father was the bodyguard of Sebastian’s family, and I have lived in their house since I was two.For fifteen years, we stayed in the wing of the house reserved for staff. We were two people living under th