Chapter 4

ISABEL

I was breathing heavily as if I had just finished a long run, all from running around taking care of Kai. Even though her father had grounded her, she still kept treating me rudely.

Hmph! If she thinks I’m going to give up on her, she is wrong!

“This child really makes such a mess,” I muttered to myself while picking up toys, clothes, and other things scattered all over the floor.

It was obvious she did it on purpose just to make things hard for me.

I glanced over at Kai. She was sitting comfortably on her bed, leaning against the headboard while hugging her huge teddy bear tightly. She just stared down at her hands, twisting them around.

“Aren’t you going to eat that food? You will get weak if you keep skipping meals,” I asked her, but she completely ignored me.

I finished tidying everything up and placed the pile aside. Then I sat down on the edge of the bed, right across from her.

“Kai, if you keep acting this way, your Daddy will really get upset with you,” I said softly and patiently, yet she still wouldn’t answer or even look at me. “I know deep down you are a good girl. I know there is a reason why you act like this. You can tell me anything..... I promise I will listen.”

I waited for a few moments, but still not a single word came from her. I let out a deep sigh.

I decided to leave for a while, carrying a plastic bag full of trash to take it outside. I was just walking down the stairs when I ran into my boss coming from the dining area. We both stopped at opposite ends of the staircase.

“Good afternoon, sir Alex,” I greeted sir Alexandro with a smile, but he just looked at me without saying anything. I continued walking down so I could throw the trash away.

“Emily.”

I don’t know why, but hearing that name fall from his lips made me freeze in my tracks. I turned slowly to face him and found him gazing straight in my direction.

“I-It’s Isabel, sir. Not Emily,” I corrected him gently. Sir Alexandro remained silent and simply lowered his gaze.

He turned his back and walked back upstairs, leaving me standing there wondering about his strange behavior.

Why does he keep calling me Emily?

***

 

I SPENT THE WHOLE DAY attending to Kai’s needs until ten o’clock at night. By then, I had finished cleaning and organizing everything that needed to be done. I was so sleepy already!

It was only my first day in this huge mansion, yet it felt like I had been working here for a whole month. The place was so big that I didn’t stop moving or catching my breath since I arrived!

I was walking toward the maids’ quarters when I spotted sir Alexandro sitting alone at the bar counter, drinking heavily. Just by the way he moved, it was clear he was already very drunk.

“Why are you still awake?”

I stood frozen where I was when sir Alexandro spoke. I looked around to see if he was talking to someone else, but there was nobody else here but us.

“I am asking you, Emi—Isabel,” he corrected himself slowly.

“U-Uhh.... s-sorry, sir Alex. I-I thought you were speaking to someone else,” I stammered. “I was just heading to my room. Please excuse me if I disturbed—sir Alex!”

I rushed toward him immediately because the moment he tried to stand up, he lost his balance. I quickly slid his arm over my shoulder to support his weight and help him stand properly.

“Please take it easy,” I said.

“T-Take me to my room.”

Even though sir Alexandro felt incredibly heavy, I did my best to support him all the way up the stairs to his room on the second floor. It felt like it took forever to walk that short distance, but finally, we arrived inside.

I let out a breath of relief once I managed to lay him down comfortably on the bed. I could smell the strong scent of alcohol coming from him, his skin flushed red from drinking.

I adjusted his position and pulled the blanket up to cover him. I was about to turn around and leave when I suddenly felt his hand wrap firmly around mine.

“S-Sir Alex—”

“D-Don’t leave me.... Emily.”

I tried gently to pull my hand away, but his grip was surprisingly tight.

“Sir Alex, I am not Madam Emily,” I told him, yet it seemed like he was far too gone to understand me. Instead of panicking or struggling, I chose to sit back down on the edge of the bed.

Seeing sir Alex drunk like this was actually a little frightening. I didn’t feel right just walking away while he was like this.

My eyes wandered around the room as I stayed there. Everything was decorated in dark shades and lit only by warm lamps. It gave the whole space a very dim and gloomy feel.

“I-I love you, Emily,” he whispered. He shifted his body so he was lying facing toward me, and as he moved, a small photograph slipped out of his pocket and fell onto the mattress.

What is this?

I picked it up and looked closely. It was a picture of me, captured as if taken secretly. I frowned in confusion.

Why did sir Alexandro have a photo of me?