Chapter 007

Lena didn't bother to close her room door as she sprinted down the hallway.

“Somebody help!” Ellie’s voice echoed through the hall again.

Lena stopped abruptly and immediately turned on the light. Her mouth fell open.

“Oh God,” she gasped.

Ellie’s wrist was still held tightly in Mr. Salvatore’s hand. His cold eyes slowly shifted toward Lena standing beside the light switch. 

Then he released Ellie’s wrist.

She stumbled to the floor but immediately scrambled back up and ran straight behind Lena, hiding there as though Lena could protect her.

“Lena… he… he’s an intruder,” she managed to say, her voice shaking as she pointed at Kalon.

Lena stared at Kalon in shock. She had no idea he had returned either.

“Welcome, Sir,” she finally said, trying to break the silence and the intense glare he had fixed on her.

“Sir?” Ellie repeated quietly.

Before Lena could say anything else, fast footsteps approached from the other hallway. Donel appeared with a gun in his hand.

“What happened?” he asked, but the moment his eyes landed on Kalon, he immediately lowered the weapon.

His gaze moved between everyone in confusion, clearly trying to understand what had just happened.

“Boss, is everything alright?” he asked.

“Who’s she, and what is she doing in my house?” Kalon asked coldly.

My house? Ellie’s eyes widened as the realization finally hit her. Mr. Salvatore. The man Lena had warned her about. The ruthless man she had told her to stay away from.

And somehow, she had managed to do the exact opposite on her very first night.

She was not just crossing his path but blocking it.

“Sir… she’s the new nanny for K.J. She was employed the day you left for London,” Donel explained.

Kalon’s expression hardened.

“I clearly remember telling you that if another piece of trash ends up as my son’s caretaker, you’ll be the one answering for it.”

“Sir…”

“Pay her off. IT shouldn’t stay one more minute in this house.”

Kalon turned and walked away without sparing Ellie another glance.

“It… He called me it,” Ellie whispered, her head slowly dropping.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she stood frozen behind Lena. She couldn't understand how someone could be so cruel with his words and so cold in his actions.

Lena turned around and pulled her into a gentle hug.

“It’s okay, Ellie. You’ll be alright,” she said, trying to comfort her.

“What happened? How did it come to this?” Donel asked.

“I… I came to check on the young boy, just like you instructed, but I heard someone’s footsteps, so I hid. Then he opened the door and I accidentally made a sound. He came toward me, and I tried to run, but he caught my hand and…” Ellie stammered before stopping.

She clearly didn't want to say the rest.

“It’s clearly not your fault,” Lena said. “You thought it was…”

“Wait.” Donel interrupted her. “When he caught your hand, what happened next?”

Ellie hesitated.

“I tried… I tried to slap him, but he caught my other hand too.”

Lena and Donel stared at her.

Their eyes widened.

“You did what?” Donel asked.

“I didn’t know who he was,” Ellie quickly defended herself.

Donel and Lena exchanged a look.

“That means Mr. Salvatore is in a really good mood,” Lena said, almost impressed.

“Good mood?” Ellie stared at her in disbelief.

She couldn't understand how anyone could possibly describe what had just happened as a good mood. If this was him in a good mood, she wondered what his bad mood looked like.

“Yes. He’s in a very good mood,” Lena assured her.

She paused, then added, “The last time a woman raised her hand at him…”

“…she lost part of it.”

Ellie’s eyes widened.

“What? Is he a demon or something?” she asked, horror filling her voice.

Lena looked at her for a moment before slowly shaking her head.

“Ellie… demons are afraid of him.”

Ellie’s face went pale.

“If I were you, I’d pray he never sees me here again,” Lena said, lowering her voice. “I’m sorry. We’ll make sure you’re paid.”

“I'll drop you, it's late.” Donel said.

༻ ─·─·─·─·─ ༺

The car drove quietly along the empty road.

Ellie nervously chewed on her fingers as the thought of all her plans falling apart weighed heavily on her. This was literally her first day, and she had already been fired.

Is the world really this cruel to people who are desperate for something as badly as I am? she thought to herself, staring blankly out the window.

Donel noticed her nervousness from the rear-view mirror.

“Are you okay back there?” Donel asked through the rear-view mirror.

Ellie didn't respond. Her eyes were wide open, but she kept them lowered as she nervously chewed on her fingernails.

“Ellie.”

He called her name, snapping her out of her thoughts. Her eyes finally lifted to the mirror, and Donel saw that they were red and filled with tears.

“I know this job means a lot to you, but you have to understand something. Sometimes we lose things only to get something even better.” He tried to sound comforting, but judging by the way her face crumbled even more, his words were clearly doing the opposite.

“I… I don't know what I'm supposed to do now,” she cried. “I can't lose my father and my mom. I just can't.”

Donel frowned.

He understood why losing the job would hurt her, but he didn't understand what her parents had to do with it.

“Is everything alright with your mom?”

“Sh… she's disabled, and my father died.” Ellie wiped her tears quickly. “But she… she can't know. If she finds out, she'll lose it too. I know she will. God help me.”

Donel remained quiet for a moment.

He still didn't fully understand what she meant, but he could tell there was much more to her situation than she was saying.

“If it's money, I can help,” he offered.

Ellie immediately shook her head.

“Thank you, sir, but I… I can't take something I didn't work for.”

Something about her answer touched him. In a world where most people would have gladly taken free money, she was sitting there crying over losing a job and still refusing help because she hadn't earned it.

“Well, consider it payment for a job well done,” Donel said, forcing a small smile.

Ellie shook her head again.

“No, sir. I really can't.”

Her tears were beginning to affect him too. He quickly looked away from the rear-view mirror, pretending to focus on the road.

The car eventually came to a stop in front of Ellie’s house.

Donel reached into the glove compartment and pulled out three thick bundles of hundred-dollar bills he kept there for emergencies.

He turned around and held them toward her.

“Take them.”

Ellie stared at the money before slowly shaking her head.

“No, sir.”

“Ellie.”

“I can't.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven't worked for you.”

Donel almost smiled.

“You were hired to work. You showed up. You did what you were supposed to do. Consider this payment for your service.”

“But I didn't do anything,” Ellie insisted. “I only met K.J. I haven't even started the actual work yet.”

“Then consider it payment for your time.”

She pushed the money gently back toward him.

“I’m sorry, sir. I really appreciate it, but I can't take it.”

Donel stared at her for a moment, genuinely surprised.

Ellie lowered her eyes.

“I just don't want money that I didn't earn.”

“Well, you'll have to take it,” Donel said, his expression suddenly serious. “Or I won't open that door and let you leave.”

Ellie looked at the money in his hand.

She had never held that much money in her life. She had never even had that much in her savings. But then she remembered her mother at home and the story she still had to maintain.

Her hands slowly lifted, and she finally accepted the money.

“Thank you very much, sir. You don't know what you just did for me. I'll pay you back the moment I…”

“You don't have to,” Donel interrupted. “Just take it. I don't want it back.”

Ellie stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding.

“Thank you, sir,” she said again.

She opened the car door and stepped out. After closing it, she turned around and gave him a small wave.

Donel waved back as he drove away.

Once he was alone in the car, his smile slowly disappeared.

A tear slipped down his cheek.

He quickly wiped it away, almost annoyed that it had appeared at all. Then another followed, and another.

He hadn't felt emotions like this in years.

The last time he remembered crying like this was when his mother died.

He never thought he could feel something so deeply again.