CHAPTER 5: THE PLAN

I could feel my heart beating so fast as I held the doorknob of the drawing room. I don't even know why but for no apparent reason, I feel so nervous about what they might say. 

I took a deep breathe before finally having the courage to open the door and enter the room. 

The moment I entered the drawing room, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Denmarks sitting on the couch together with Mia who appeared to be crying a while ago. Her eyes were puffy.

I curtsied in front of them. "G-Good evening, Madame, Milord, and Lady Mia..."

“Take a seat, Elodie,” Mr. Denmarks said to me.

“T-Thank you..”

I can’t help but feel nervous as I sat down on the couch in front of them I could feel their gaze directly at me. I wonder if I did something wrong. What if they just kick me out of their house? What if they take me away from Aunt Sally?

“So, Elodie. For sure you’re wondering why we asked you to come here at this hour,” Mrs. Denmarks broke the silence between us four.

I raised my head and looked at them. “D-Did I do something wrong? I-I apologize if I did. Please, just don’t kick me out of this house. I don’t know where I would go…”

I got surprised when Mrs. Denmarks and Ella suddenly laughed. “Oh my god, you are so funny!”

“H-Huh?”

“Don’t worry, Elodie. We are not going to kick you out of this house,” Mr. Denmarks said to me.

I heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that. “Thank you so much!”

“We’re not going to kick you out of this house if you continue being a good servant and being obedient,” said Mrs. Denmarks.

“Y-Yes, Madame. I will try my best to be a good servant. I will follow everything that you say.”

“Really?”

“Y-Yes.”

Mr. and Mrs. Denmarks exchanged glances before Madame Hannah gazed at me again, “So, for sure you know about Mia’s upcoming wedding.”

“Y-Yes, I know…”

“Are you also aware that her fiancé is a mafia boss?”

I nodded my head. “Yes, madame…”

“What are your expectations about a mafia boss?”

“U-Uh… Based on what Ella used to tell me, a mafia boss tends to do bad things. They also kill and hurt people…”

“Exactly. That is why we can’t let our Mia meet that mafia boss alone next week. We don’t know, he can hurt her or worse, kill her. But anyway, he’s going to marry her anyway. Let me get straight to the point now. We want you to meet with the mafia boss in replacement of Mia.”

My eyes widened because of what she just said. “H-Huh?”

“You just have to tell him that Mia can’t go because she is sick.”

“B-But what if he gets mad at me? W-What if he tries to hurt me?”

“Then that means we can’t let our Mia marry him.”

“B-But Madame—

“Elodie. You just told us that you don’t want to get kicked out of this house, right? Then do it. If you don’t want to do it, then you may leave this house just not with your Aunt Sally. Sally still has a lot of debt from us that she has to pay for the rest of her life.”

***

“Elodie, are you sure about this? I told you, you don’t have to do this. That man might kill you…” Aunt Sally said to me with her eyes brimming with tears.

“I have to do this, Aunt Sally. If he ever tries to hurt me, then I’m going to fight him. You know I once learned how to do martial arts, right?”

“Elodie…”

I hugged her tightly. “You don’t have to worry about me, Aunt Sally. I’d rather meet up with such a cruel man than leave you here alone.”

“Promise me you’d come back safe, okay?”

I nodded my head. “I promise.”

I waved goodbye to Aunt Sally as I stepped inside the limousine that would bring me to the mafia boss’ mansion. The moment the door of the car closed and I could no longer see Aunt Sally, tears started streaming down my face.

I’m so scared….

“Elodie, we’re already here,”

I opened my eyes and saw one of the Denmarks’ men waking me up. I didn’t notice that I actually fell asleep while crying. I sat up and fixed myself as I peered out of the car window.

My heart started beating so fast the moment I saw an enormous black gate.  There were also lots of men wearing black suits outside as if guarding the house.

“Only the woman can enter the house,” one of the guards said to the men who were with me.

“Elodie, we’re going to come back here tomorrow to pick you up,” Brad, one of the Denmarks’ men said to me.

“H-Huh? I-I’d be staying the night here?”

He nodded his head. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”

Before I could even call them again, they already stepped inside the car and drove off.

“Please, follow me.” The man wearing a black suit said to me.

I had no choice but to follow him as the gate went open.

My eyes widened and my mouth went agape upon entering the enormous gate. Inside that gate was an enormous modern mansion made of mostly glass, steel, and concrete. To one side of the mansion was a sparkling infinity pool that seems to blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, creating an illusion of endless water and sky.

Just like outside, there were also five men guarding the main door of the mansion.

That mafia boss must be so important that he has a lot of people to guard him at his house.

There were glass everywhere, making every corner of the house visible for any visitor. Even the stairs were made of glass I had to walk carefully, so it won’t break.

My whole body began to tremble the moment we stopped in front of a huge black door where the name, ‘Henry Vonstein’ is carved.

The man who guided me opened the door for me. “You may come in. Lord Henry is waiting for you inside.”