Christmas With Mr Grumpy.

Esther's POV.

What do you do when you find out your savings account has been cleared by your ex?

Because I knew exactly what I was going to do to Greg fucking Holland the moment I set my eyes on him.

I would smack him until all his teeth fell out, get my money back and then burn his fucking car.

Gosh.

Adrenaline bullied my veins, pumping through my spine like a second heartbeat.

How dare he?

How dare he take all my money?

It was already bad enough that he cheated on me for six whole months and mind you, our relationship was just a year old!

I'd genuinely thought he loved me but a man that loved you would never disrespect you like that. Greg could have at least possessed the decency to leave the relationship with whatever was left of his dignity.

But of course not.

He had nothing like dignity attached to him. It's the only reason he'd run off with his ex's money.

As my jaws clenched, my insides shattered like I'd been punched in the stomach.

I flew all the way from New York to Snowdonia, my hometown, because I wanted to celebrate Christmas with my family. And by family, I meant my mom, and my not-so-nice aunties.

It was finally a time for me to relax after working hours and hours of shifts as an assistant baker and a waitress back in NYC.

But now I had to figure out how to get a hundred thousand dollars within the next one month, else I'd risk being stranded by the fifth of January.

I had a faulty car, due rent for my apartment and an empty account.

Christ.

This was far from what I expected to face during the holidays.

I swallowed hard, blinking back my thoughts as the bluish light from my laptop reflected on my face.

There were only two options out of this mess.

One, ask my mom for assistance which was going to be very uncomfortable for me. Especially since she'd only recently recovered from the fire that burnt down her flower shop.

Two, get a job that would last for a month but even this was so hard to consider. Because where would I find a job that would pay me that much money? I'd have to work at least three to six jobs to get a decent twenty thousand dollars. Talk more than a hundred.

My shoulders sank as the sounds of my finger hammering against keys filled the room. The latter was impossible but it was still better to try.

Worst case scenario, I'd no longer own a car but at least that was better than being homeless in NYC.

My eyes moved from right to left as I scanned through a site with a number of job listings. I wasn't sure what I was looking for but I was open to anything except cleaning toilets and other exhausting jobs along that line.

“Babysitter needed. Job description attached below.”

I clicked it, and filled out the necessary information. I'd just sent my application when I heard a loud bang on the door.

“Bang bang bang!”

The sound came again before I even got a chance to recover. Bile rose to my throat as I thought of who was out there.

Only one person could do that.

Aunt Sheena.

I slowly crawled out of bed, straightening my spine as I reached for the doorknob, hoping she was here for something good.

But I knew her all too well.

She and good didn't match in the same sentence.

The door creaked open to reveal my auntie clad in a red satin skirt and a white top. Her hair was neatly tucked beneath a brown hat and her red-lipsticked lips were the most obvious part of her small face.

“Oh, dear, so sorry to disturb. I heard you arrived today so I thought to come see my favourite niece,” she said, her tone as sweet as ever but the undertone of disdain was impossible to miss.

“It's fine auntie. How have you been doing?” I attempted a conversation, closing the door behind me.

“Wonderful, as you can see,” she gestured to herself, “Alexa just got me this designer clothes and awh, I'm so delighted!” She squealed.

The sound of Alexa's name made my chest tighten with a heavy feeling. She was Aunt Sheena’s daughter and she was quite wealthy. Thanks to the man she was dating.

My aunt's gaze dropped suddenly with a slow gasp and it was only then that I realized she'd been rambling and I hadn't answered.

“So your silence is a no? You didn't get your aunties any expensive gifts for the holidays? Well, I thought you'd be wealthy by now but I guess you're just like your father,” she chuckled softly, throwing a hand in the air like it was a really good joke.

My head throbbed faintly from the sudden uprise of tension within me, my tongue unable to hold back its tremor.

“I just arrived, aunt. You can still expect gifts from me,” I said weakly, fighting back the tears burning at the corner of my eyes.

Yes, it was a family tradition to always bring gifts and though I'd planned to do that, I had no idea how it was going to be possible.

Especially now that I'd lost my money.

“Okay sweetie. I await your very expensive gift,” she giggled, holding onto either side of her full skirt as she walked away.

It was a good thing she didn't know the crisis I was in because then the taunts would become even more unbearable.

I slipped into my room like it was going to help me disappear. As I dropped myself onto my bed, I tried to ignore Aunt Sheena's words.

But they only lingered longer, making all my years of hard work feel like nothing.

I exhaled softly, moving my laptop aside when I suddenly heard a ding from it. I pulled it towards me and the notification on my screen made my eyes widen.

“Congratulations, Esther Martins. You have been selected for the babysitting position. Upon acceptance of the offer, you will receive a $75,000 advance payment. The remaining $75,000 will be paid upon completion of the contract.”

Now what the heck was this?