7. The Red Apple Incident

>>"Mah-dreh and your Pah-dreh are going on our honeymoon. While Mah-dreh is away, you must not cause any trouble, Mi-Hijo! Especially to your new maid. Don't try to kick her out of your apartment! Only Mah-dreh has the right to dismiss her."

"What???? Ma—"

>>"No argument!"

>>"Honey, we have to leave soon."

>>"Wait a minute, Husband... I have to warn our son so that he doesn't make trouble while we're gone."

There was a crisp laugh from the other side, which Jerrald was sure was his father's.

Jerrald rolled his eyes in annoyance. Did he still look like a child!

"Mah... The new maid is working in my apartment, of course I have the right to kick her out if she does an incompetent job, Mah-dreh!"

>>"If her work is incompetent, you wait until Mah-dreh comes home. Mah-dreh doesn't want to be fooled again like before."

Jerrald groaned inwardly. His mother must have been talking about his behavior of kicking out the maids who worked with him before. Even though the maids had done a good job. But Jerrald always had a way of making the maids leave his apartment.

>>"Remember, Mi-Hijo, only Mah-dreh can terminate the contract with Miss Jolicia Floy."

"Jolicia Floy? Who is that?"

>>"Of course your new maid, you idiot! Did you not even ask her name?"

Jerrald was silent. Before long, he flatly answered his mother's question. "Oh... not important."

>>"You! How could you not ask her name?! You're living in the same house from today! What are you going to call her?!"

"Of course I can call her whatever I want, Mah. I can call her ‘slave’."

>>"Mi-Hijo!"

"Tsk! Alright, Mah, I apologize. I'll call her by her name from now on."

>>"That's better, dear."

>>"Wife, we should really get going now."

"Where are you going on your honeymoon again this time?" asked Jerrald curiously. His mother and father loved to go on honeymoon.

>>"A secret. You don't need to know. Just take care of your Pah-dreh company, good boy."

Jerrald's eyeballs rolled lazily. "How long will you be gone?" asked Jerrald again, knowing his parents' habit of taking long honeymoons.

>>"Until me and your Pah-dreh get bored."

His mother's amused laughter was heard, until not long after, the line was immediately disconnected.

Jerrald looked down at his smartphone which was already displaying a dark screen. He hardened his jaw as he remembered his mother's words.

"Can't fire her? Damn it! I was just about to set her up to look incompetent at work. If I were to fire her, Mah-dreh would be furious with me. Argh! Why do I have to have a damn maid in my apartment?! I can live on my own, without anyone!" growled Jerrald unhappily.

***

"This kitchen is huge." Feli looked around the kitchen as she had just toured the living and lounge areas of this apartment. A huge super luxurious apartment.

"Am I really the only one working here? I can't believe this. They look like rich people. Hiring a thousand maids won't bankrupt them. What a stingy family!" grumbled Feli as she opened the refrigerator in the kitchen. "Is there any food? I'm so hungry-ah... thank goodness for apples!" Feli immediately grabbed an apple from the refrigerator and took an excited bite. Feli had not eaten since she arrived in this country, and her stomach was completely empty.

"What are you doing?"

"Uhuk!" The apple that had entered her mouth, shamelessly slid beautifully onto the kitchen floor as she heard a voice reprimanding her. Feli coughed. She patted her own chest a few times, until shortly, a hand thrust a glass of water in front of her. Feli immediately grabbed the glass, and drained the water inside.

"Ah... my goodness what a relief to my throat." Feli smiled happily. As her gaze shifted to the front, this beautiful woman widened her eyes in surprise.

Prang!

"You!"

"Ah... the glass broke," Feli exclaimed innocently as she stared at the glass that was already shattered into pieces under her feet.

"You... You can't be careful, can you?!"

Feli blinked her eyes a few times, as someone standing in front of her snapped at her.

"Your mouth is mute?!" the person asked back.

"I-I... I was surprised by your presence, sir," Feli replied after regaining her senses.

The person snorted in annoyance while girdling his loins. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm... doing my rounds to familiarize myself with the apartment, sir."

"And stealing my apple?" the person quipped.

Feli widened her eyes in disbelief. He laughed in annoyance, then gyrated her waist like what that person was doing. "You can't be stingy like that, Sir! I'm your employee, and I'm hungry! Just because I ate one of your apples, there's no way, is there, that you're so broke that you have to sell your apartment?!" Feli sarcastically without realizing it. Feli seemed to have forgotten her current position.

"You dare to fight me?! I am your employer, Miss Floy!"

"Floy? Who is that?" asked Feli confused.

The person in front of Feli also frowned in confusion at Feli's question.

"You. Isn't your name Jolicia Floy?"

"What? My name is F—" Feli immediately fell silent as she realized something. She closed her eyes, cursing herself silently. Feli forgot that her name was currently Jolicia Floy, not Felicity Jolicia Addison.

Meanwhile, someone in front of her squinted suspiciously. This person was watching Feli's movements while guessing.

Feli opened her eyes again, then laughed stiffly. "Ahaha... I mean... my name is F-Floy, Sir, Jolicia Floy."

"You're suspicious."

"Huh? Wh-what's suspicious? My name is really Jolicia Floy?" doubted Feli who unconsciously sounded like she was asking a question.

"You asked me your name?" the person asked incredulously.

Feli shook her head vigorously after realizing her stupidity. "No-no! I-I mean, my name is really Jolicia Floy, Sir."

"Then why do you look doubtful?" the man asked again. With a demanding tone.

Feli's body stiffened. She cursed herself again for the foolishness she had repeatedly committed in front of this person. Who else if not her employer. A handsome but unfriendly man from the first time they met.

What bad luck! Her disguise must not end this soon! It wasn't even a day into her disguise.

'Come on, Feli, rack your brains! Remember that private jet, remember that diamond ring you wanted to buy after this mission ended, and remember that Selena bitch without Gomes who wants to take your place on campus. You, can't lose to her!' Feli encouraged herself.

"I-I got confused... from being too surprised. Hahaha... You startled me with your sudden presence, Sir, so I forgot my own name for a moment."

"Are you out of your mind? How can anyone forget their own name!"

"If I was out of my mind, I wouldn't have passed the selection process at the agency where I work. Forgetting is humane, Sir."

"You—"

"Sir, are you always angry like this? My Mommy said that the wrinkles on the face of a person who is often angry will increase very quickly. Do you want to grow old before your time?"

"You!!! How dare you say that!"

"I'm just telling you what my Mommy said, so you can be on guard and not be surprised if you get wrinkles on your face soon."

"What a sassy mouth you have, Miss Floy!"

"Ah... I see the wrinkles at the corners of your eyes are growing, Sir!" Feli exclaimed.

The employer reflexively held the corner of the eye on the right.

"Not on the right, but on your left eye."

Her employer unconsciously followed Feli's lead.

"Here?"

"Ah yes, there. Try taking a deep breath, then exhale slowly. It can make the wrinkles disappear. That's what my Mommy said."

The employer again followed Feli's words. Until not long after, his face suddenly stiffened. His hands froze. What was he doing? Why was he obeying the words of this new maid with such an insolent mouth?!

'M****a! I'm such a fool to follow the words of this girl in front of me! What was I thinking?! You fool, Jerrald!' the man scolded himself.

"Miss Floy!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Are you fooling me?!"

"Where am I fooling you?"

"About this wrinkle!" pointed Jerrald at the corner of his eye.

"It's really there. Look in the mirror if you don't believe me."

Jerrald squinted again, then felt the corner of his left eye. Trying to feel the wrinkle Feli was referring to.

'Really? She's not fooling me, is she?' Jerrald suspected to himself.

Jerrald watched Feli who was currently putting on an innocent face, as if what the young lady in front of him was saying was the truth.

Jerrald snorted in annoyance. Damn it! Give it up if there really were wrinkles in his eyes. Does he really care?!

This man pointed at the broken glass right in front of him and his new maid. "Clean up the mess you caused! You, have made a mistake, Miss Floy!"

Feli's eyes widened. The memory of what Jerrald had told her this afternoon rang in her mind.

There could not be a single mistake. If she made even one mistake, she would be expelled from this place.

Oh no!

Feli shook her head in panic. "Sir, it's not entirely my fault. You had a hand in it too, so I won't accept if you fire me now!"

Jerrald's eyes blinked in disbelief. This maid in front of him, was unlike the previous maids who always obeyed his orders.

Shouldn't maids always be obedient?

"You always like to argue!"

"I'm arguing, because I don't feel completely guilty. I won't accept you firing me!"

"I have the power here, Miss Floy! You should remember that!"

"I remember, sir. But I must remind you that what you did earlier was also wrong. Had you not startled me, I wouldn't have choked. And had you not given me a drink, I'm sure that glass wouldn't have shattered like this." Feli pointed at the broken glass below her.

Jerrald's mouth dropped open. This girl in front of him had suddenly made his head spin. He massaged his forehead in frustration. "Miss Floy—"

"I'll be careful next time. Don't fire me, sir!"

"Oh my head..." whispered Jerrald in Spanish.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hurry up and clean up this broken glass!" Jerrald snapped. "Don't let there be any left. If there's any left, I'll really kick you out of my apartment!" After saying that, Jerrald turned his body around, then walked away with a super annoyed face. The face that usually looked flat and cold, this time had a different color, and it was because of his new maid.

"My head might actually break if I keep facing her!" grumbled Jerrald between his footsteps.

"Sir, I'm not going to get fired, am I?"

"Don't ask so many questions!" retorted Jerrald without any intention of turning around.

"Thank you, sir! I'm sure the wrinkles on your face will disappear soon."

"Crazy girl!" hissed Jerrald. He was speechless.

"Ouch!!!"

Jerrald's steps halted when he heard a scream behind him. He turned around to find the new maid crouched and grimacing in pain. The man took another step towards Feli.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Jerrald after reaching the maid.

Feli looked up. Her eyes were already glazed over. Her face was like a kitten begging for pity. It was heartbreaking to see. "I accidentally stabbed my own finger... hiks..." This woman immediately sobbed.

That instantly made Jerrald panic. He had never dealt with a crying woman.

"Hey... you, why are you crying?"

"My finger hurts. Hiks... This glass is really sharp." Feli showed one of her fingers that was already bleeding quite a bit.

Jerrald immediately pulled the beautiful woman's shoulder to stand up, then led the maid to the sink.

"Are you always this careless and cranky?" grumbled Jerrald as he cleaned the maid's finger under the running water.

"Ouch! It stings, Sir."

"Your blood must be cleaned, be quiet!"

"But it hurts so much!"

"Have you never been hurt in your life?!" irritated Jerrald.

"I-"

"Shut up!" Jerrald closed the sink faucet, then led Feli to sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen.

Jerrard left just like that. It made Feli frown uncomprehendingly. But before long, the girl's sobs were heard again. Feli lamented to herself while looking at her finger that was injured quite deeply. She hadn't been hurt like this for a long time. The last time she was injured, she fell after tripping over her own feet ten years ago.

If in the past when she was injured there was her mommy who cared for her, now... she was alone. Suddenly the feeling of longing for her mommy came back. "Mommy..."

"Stop crying like a baby, Miss Floy!"

Feli gasped as the man who owned the apartment sat in front of her. The man pulled her wrist to treat Feli's wound.

"This wound won't kill you. So stop that stupid crying!" Jerrald hissed distastefully. His hands were already busy treating Feli's finger.

Feli winced in pain as Jerrald spiked her finger with special wound medicine.

"This will sting for a while," Jerrald said again. This time in a slightly softer tone.

***

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Leonel as he saw his wife staring out of their bedroom window. Her gaze was full of worry.

"I'm worried about my baby girl, Leon."

Leonel sighed heavily and wrapped his arms around his wife. "You can rest easy, our daughter is safe there," Leonel said soothingly as he stroked Charlotte's hair.

Charlotte looked up. She looked at her husband anxiously. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me, Mommy."

Bug!

"Ouch!"

"Just watch out if my daughter gets hurt, Leon!" hissed Charlotte after hitting Leonel's firm chest.

"Geez, honey, how many years have you known me, hm? You just take it easy. Our daughter will be fine there." Leonel reached back to Charlotte's body, hugged her tightly, and whispered soothing words.

'You should be fine there, my Baby Girl...' Leonel said to herself.

Actually, it wasn't just Charlotte who was worried about Feli, Leonel also felt the same way. But Leonel had prepared for all that, and Leonel was sure that his daughter would be fine.

***