Chapter 5

[ARIETTA’S POV]

I froze while changing into my uniform when I heard my friend Blaire’s voice. I didn’t feel like looking at her, but she greeted me with a wide grin.

I already had a feeling about why she approached me, but I still let her say it out loud.

"Is it true? Are you going to work for Sir Pierce while he’s at his villa? OMG!" Blaire shook me, and I immediately stopped her. I was dizzy from her actions.

"Wow, the news spread fast," I said, rolling my eyes as I placed some of my things in my locker. I’d probably get the rest later and take them back to my dorm. "I don’t even know if this is still part of the internship—"

"Hey, are you stupid? Of course it is!" Blaire laughed. "Just think about it! If you put on your CV that you personally worked for a Grimaldi, girl, everyone in the industry will be fighting to hire you. That family is so famous, especially in New York and its neighboring states. They have tons of property." Blaire flashed me a wide smile. "So, do your best! Who knows, maybe Sir Pierce will fall for you. Shocks! I’m already getting butterflies."

I snapped my fingers in front of her face to burst her little bubble. Blaire stopped daydreaming and looked at me.

"You're daydreaming too early," I said as I fixed my hair, deciding to tie it in a ponytail. "Rich people don't fall in love with poor people, you know?"

She made a face, which I could see from the corner of my eye. "You’re not really poor!"

I furrowed my brow at what she said. I didn’t say anything else. I am poor.

"The West family has money! I don’t even know why you’re still working. My dad told me your family is really rich. You have a lot of businesses here in Boston and even in New York."

I sighed. "That was before, Blaire. Now, we're struggling. Plus, I can’t keep relying on my aunt. She already put me through school and took care of me after my dad was imprisoned. I’m no longer a minor. I can’t always depend on her. I also know she’s saving up for my dad’s bail."

There were so many charges against my dad. He’s constantly in and out of jail. He runs away, and even when he does, he doesn’t do anything good. That’s why he’s facing multiple charges now.

Some of my dad’s relatives took care of me when I was younger. I still live with them, but I’m already financially independent. I really don’t like depending on other people’s money. Maybe because, one day, I don’t want to be reminded of it.

"Didn’t your dad leave any money for you before he got imprisoned? That's crazy, right? I wonder what your dad’s case is. It’s piling up; I don’t even know anymore."

I didn’t say anything. Maybe my dad did leave money for me back then, but Aunt used it all for my expenses, and now it’s gone.

"My dad says it wasn’t his fault. He says they just point to him as the one to blame." I didn’t know whether to believe him. He also told me before that powerful and wealthy people were the ones accusing him, claiming he did something wrong. Because of the influence of those behind his imprisonment, he couldn’t even post bail. Still, we never lost hope that once we have enough money, we could post his bail.

Blaire and I were silent after I spoke. I was okay with being independent. Maybe it’s better not to always rely on other people’s help. I want to build my own life and career. So even though life is tough right now, I’m still happy.

"When are you starting with Sir Pierce?" My friend’s mischievous grin returned. I rolled my eyes because here she goes again.

"I don’t know. Maybe he’ll just call me when he needs me." I closed my locker, so I could clearly see her teasing expression.

"I’m rooting for you! I never lose hope that you’ll finish this internship, or even Sir Pierce’s stay here, without you attracting his attention." She stepped closer and fixed my hair. "With your beauty, you’ll win him over. Do your best!" She winked at me.

I playfully slapped her arm. We both left the locker room together.

"Stop trying to hook me up with that guy. If anyone hears you, they’ll think I’m a gold digger!"

Blaire laughed and kept walking beside me. "Come on, you could get with him! He has a name, you know! His name is beautiful. Just call him that."

I stopped walking and looked at Blaire. She was waiting for me to say Sir Pierce’s name.

Her lips curled into a small smile, as if she was holding back laughter. I burst out laughing. I only then noticed she quickly sealed her lips and was staring behind me.

“You mean Pierce of Darkness?” I was still chuckling when I looked behind me to see who Blaire was staring at, and my laughter faded when I saw Sir Pierce with his arms crossed behind me.

Did he hear what I said?

"I think you still have work to do, Miss Arietta West. You’ll still be working for this Pierce of Darkness," he said sarcastically before walking away.

I went pale. Would this affect my grades? Probably, especially since Sir Pierce holds my fate.

He stopped walking and looked back at me again, signaling for me to follow him.

I took a deep breath and looked at Blaire, who was now trying to smile at me, like she couldn’t help me out of this situation. In the end, I felt like I had no choice but to follow Sir Pierce.

I’m still trying to figure out if this is part of my internship duties. But then I remembered, in internships, they still ask you to do things that aren’t really part of the job. It’s common to be asked to staple or punch holes in papers, even though those tasks aren’t really what you’re supposed to be doing in the field. I only heard this from the upper-year students. Last year, someone even had to make coffee, and that was almost all they did during their internship.

I guess I should just be thankful that it feels like I’m doing a bit of everything here. I’m learning a lot. That’s right, Arietta! Just think positively.

The tasks Sir Pierce assigns to me aren’t difficult. In fact, they’re easier than when I worked at a hotel or restaurant at Casa Grimaldi.

Sir Pierce’s attitude is also something you can get used to. He’s the kind of person you can adjust to over time. Maybe he’s just a flirt and full of nonsense—probably full of lust too.

When I’m working at his private house, he doesn’t bother me. I thought he was going to do the same flirting he did when we first met. The thing is, when I finish working late at his private house, I often find him with a woman...just like tonight.

“Oh! There’s someone here,” said the woman with Sir Pierce. From the women I’ve seen with him, I can tell right away what his type is.

Sir Pierce’s type is a woman with a full chest, a well-shaped bottom, a small, curvy waist, wealthy, and of course, beautiful—that’s a given!

“You’re still here, Ari?”

I get chills every time he says my nickname. I’m not used to it, and I don’t know why, but I can’t help it, it gives me chills. Why does he have to sound so sensual when he speaks?

“I’m leaving, Sir. I just want to make sure the whole house is clean.” I couldn’t look him in the eye. Just thinking about the reason he brings women here made me want to splash holy water on his face.

“Hm, maybe you’re the one making it dirty?” The woman raised an eyebrow. “Pierce, why are you keeping such an icky girl here? Yuck!”

I stared at the woman with him. She was crossing her arms and had an eyebrow raised. I frowned at what she said.

Such a snob! I wanted to shout that in her face, but I held back. Hospitality, Arietta. Keep calm.

I glanced at Sir Pierce. His smile faded as he turned to look at the woman.

Whenever I’ve caught him with a woman before, I would leave immediately, so I wasn’t sure what they were doing. Maybe talking? Psh, it doesn’t seem like Sir Pierce would just have a conversation.

The woman kept talking nonstop, complaining to Pierce about the things.

“Do you just leave your maid here alone? With all the expensive things around, she could be stealing something, Pierce.”

In my mind, I rolled my eyes. That’s always the mindset of some rich people. Of course, many of them haven’t experienced being poor. Ugh! It’s fine if I’m not rich, at least my attitude isn’t trash, right? Okay, fine, sometimes I can have a bad attitude, but that really depends on the person I’m dealing with.

“Leave,” he said.

I took a deep breath. He didn’t even have to tell me; I was already planning to leave. What else would I do here? Watch them make out and listen to this woman ranting about me? Ridiculous!

“Girl, he said leave. Bye. You’re a nuisance,” the woman said again. I seriously wanted to stuff the flowers from the vase into her mouth.

I secretly rolled my eyes. I was really going to leave anyway. Thankfully, I was already done arranging things here.

I gathered the few things I had brought and was about to leave when Pierce grabbed my arm. I looked at him and saw that he was still looking at the woman.

“Not her. You. Get out.”

My eyes widened in shock. I thought he was telling me to leave earlier.

“Why me? Aren’t we going to have fun—”

“You can have fun all you want, but I don’t like people who degrade others. Leave!”

I stared at the woman in shock. I was blinking rapidly because I couldn’t believe it. Meanwhile, the woman was absolutely livid.

“Gosh! I can’t accept this humiliation.” She tossed her hair aside and stopped in front of us, facing Sir Pierce. “You’ll regret this.”

“Oh no, I won’t,” Sir Pierce said with a smirk, watching the woman leave.

When the door closed and it was just the two of us, that was when he finally let go of me. He massaged his neck, looking like he was completely exhausted, while I kept my gaze fixed on him.

Sir Pierce looked at me when he noticed I was staring. His eyebrow raised, and another smirk appeared on his lips.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, walking over to the sofa and sitting down.

I frowned. Just when I was about to praise him for his mindset of not liking people who degrade others, he went back to being full of himself.

“Okay, Sir. Fine, I won’t,” I said, smiling despite wanting to smack the hell out of him.

I noticed him biting his lip while watching my every move.

“I’ll be leaving now. I’ve also prepared your dinner just the way you wanted,” I said. I felt like jumping for joy because my shift for the day was over, and I could finally rest.

Sir Pierce stood up and moved as if he was coming toward me, so I instinctively took a step back. I said I was leaving, so why wasn’t I already out of here?

“Did you have your dinner already?” he asked. He still looked like he was teasing me, but there was a hint of seriousness in his voice.

I shook my head because I hadn’t eaten yet. “I’ll eat when I get back to the dorm.”

He glanced at his Rolex watch, his brow furrowing slightly.

“It’s fifteen minutes past six. Why haven’t you eaten yet?” he asked, sounding puzzled.

My lips parted. Maybe he forgot that I couldn’t leave until he dismissed me?

“I was waiting for you, Sir Pierce. I can’t leave without you dismissing me, right? That’s why I haven’t eaten yet, because we were supposed to get food from the dorm or the restaurant.” I forced a smile at him.

He sighed. I felt like he just realized the reason.

He walked toward the dining area. I wasn’t sure if that was my cue to leave or if I was supposed to wait for him to finish. I was hungry too.

“Arietta!” he called, saying my full name. It felt like electricity surged through my body from the way he shouted. I immediately ran to where he was.

“Sir?” I asked. Did I serve the wrong food? But I knew this was what he wanted.

He pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit. “Let’s eat.”

“P-Please, Sir! Don’t! I’ll eat at the dorm—”

“What time is it? I know you’re hungry. You might even faint from hunger. Let’s eat. There’s plenty of food here. We can share.” He motioned again for me to come closer to him.

Each breath felt heavy, but I still walked toward him. My steps were so careful, it felt like I was moving like a robot.

“Thank you, Sir,” I said once I sat down. He smiled at me and walked to the seat across from me to sit down as well.

I didn’t expect him to be kind to me, especially since he didn’t exactly seem friendly. But I guess everyone has their own moments of kindness sometimes.