CHAPTER 5

Livia

"W.... what?" I choked out.

He lifted an eyebrow, leaning back into his leather chair, and waited for my answer with an unnervingly calm composure. 

Who even asks questions like that from their employee? This was incredibly awkward for me. I am hired to watch a child, not to provide a detailed report of my dating life.

"I don't," came out sharper than intended, my hands squeezed the handle of my purse.

His face never showed even a flicker of reaction. On the contrary, he leaned forward in his seat, piercing me with his eyes. 

“Remember what I mentioned, about distractions… I mean it. Do let me know when you have one.”

The dismissal was instantaneous. He said it while turning away to the stack of documents on his table, effectively erasing me from his presence. 

***********

The kitchen was filled with the steam of boiling pasta and the even more suffocating presence of my family. I waited until the clinking of forks on plates was the only thing I could hear before opening my mouth.

“I got a job today,” I announced as we ate at the dining table.

“About time you stopped being a burden,” Samantha said across the table without looking up from twirling her fork around the spaghetti noodles. Her passive-aggressive comment cut deeper than any verbal assault ever could.

“What job?” My aunt asked, looking at me skeptically like she didn’t believe me.

“A babysitter,” I said softly.

A roar of mocking laughter followed immediately from Samantha. She nearly choked on her water, gasping for air as she pointed a manicured finger at me.

“Seriously, Liv? That’s the best you could get? If you got a waitress or a housekeeper job, that would have been better.” She turned to her mum. “Mum, do you know how much they pay for babysitting? It’s more or less lunch money pay. Absolutely disgusting.”

“Is that true?” My aunt asked me again, her voice hardening.

“About what?”

“The pay for the job.”

I hesitated. For some reason, I just felt it in my gut not to tell them the exact pay I was getting. I intended to keep it hidden for now; if they knew how much I was actually making, the "burden" talk would quickly turn into a "contribution" demand.

“Aunt, I think the main thing is that I get to support with the bills and other thin—”

“That’s not what I asked,” she interrupted with a glare that could have curdled the milk in the fridge.

“I am certainly not being paid lunch money. And this client of mine… pays a bit more than average,” I tried to clarify. Do they really think I can’t get something better?

“Oh, really? Now I am intrigued,” Wyatt said, looking away from his phone to me for the first time. A smug, oily smile was plastered on his lips. I didn’t think he would speak, as he is someone who doesn’t involve himself in conversations unless there’s a chance to tear someone down.

“Did you sell yourself or something?” he asked, his smug face bigger, his eyes raking over me with a look that made me feel sick. 

“Wyatt!!!” I gasped, blood draining from my face

“Don’t!” My aunt interjected, her hand slammed  hard on the table, which made me flinch and the silverware rattled. The room became deathly silent.

I stared at my aunt, my heart breaking in real-time. It’s not the first time she has allowed her son, my cousin, to speak to me so rudely. But it’s how I am, even humiliated in ways that I don’t deserve. 

How could she? How could they think I gave my body out? 

“So… did you?” Samantha added, her voice flat, not even caring for the implication of the question as she went back to her meal.

I didn’t ask for permission. I just stood up and walked out of there, slamming my basement door shut with a loud slam that echoed through the house.

**************

Monday came in real quick, which was a big relief to me because I got to start my job. The basement felt less like a cage and more like a launching pad as I got ready. Whenever I think of the pay, it sounds really surreal to me, like a dream I’m waiting to wake up from.

I arrived on campus early, the morning air helping to clear the lingering bitterness of the weekend. I smile in excitement and see Roxy walking towards me near the fountain.

“What’s got you all smiling?” She plopped down beside me, giving me a smirk and nudging my shoulder.

“Guess what? I got a job!” I said, the words bursting out of me like I just won a trophy.

Roxy’s eyes lit up instantly. “Really? That’s amazing! Super happy for you, Liv,” she said, giving me a side hug. “We should definitely celebrate this. How about a small drink at that bar I told you about last week? It’s crazy how great they are,” she gushed, already pulling out her phone to check the happy hour times.

“As much as I would love to do that, I can’t.”

She stopped mid-pressing her phone and gave me a questioning look. “Why?”

“I work as a babysitter now… so I can’t exactly drink.”

“So?”

“So… that’s it, Rox. I’m not risking it.”

“C'mon, don’t be like that. I mean, it’s not like you work all day, do you?”

“Technically, no. But I just can’t, at least for now. This job is too important.”

She stared at me for a second, her expression unreadable, then she waved her hand a little as if dismissing my responsibility. “Fine then. Do it your way.”

“Shoot! It’s time for our next class,” I said, glancing at my watch. I hurriedly packed my stuff inside my bag and practically ran inside the hall, Roxy trailing behind me with a languid pace.

The lecture hall was already half-full. I scrambled to a seat in the middle row, trying to catch my breath. Just as I settle in, a strange but familiar scent hits my nose. I looked up and scanned the front of the hall, only to lock eyes with the man standing behind the podium.

Professor Sterling.

He was wearing a dark suit that fit him perfectly, looking every bit the academic authority and nothing like the man who had questioned my sex life three days ago.

 I felt my mouth turn dry. I completely forgot he was now the one handling this course.

“Now this is an interesting turn of events,” I hear Roxy from beside me say.

I turned to face her, but Roxy wasn't looking at me. She was staring straight at Professor Sterling, her eyes wide and fixed on him with a chilling, knowing intensity. 

A slow, smug smile spread across her face and for once she looked like a complete stranger to me.

"I wonder," Roxy whispered, her gaze never leaving the Professor, "if he knows he just hired the girl who looks exactly like his dead wife."