6. Rules

Rose heaved a sigh of relief when Roman Bianchi left the room. Her interactions with him always left her on edge, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. Hell, if anything, she should hate the man for making her leave the clinic to take care solely of him. But she couldn’t bring herself to hate a patient, no matter how stubborn, quirky, or despicable he was. 

Rose shook her head negatively, chasing away all negative thoughts, and began to pack the medical necessities away, when a man and a woman showed up. 

The man’s tone of voice was brisk as he said, “Miss Rose, let us lead you to your room.” 

Rose hadn’t intended to linger around, not that there was anything for her to do but go rest right then, and she was therefore glad someone came for her. 

“We have prepared a room for you,” the woman then let out in a sweet voice which was unmistakably fake. 

Rose wasn’t sure what she had done to upset the woman already, but she wasn’t in the mood to probe. 

“Thank you,” she replied in a soft tone of voice. 

Silence stretched between them as she handled everything with care, and they waited for her. 

“I will be leaving the medical necessities here since this is where I’ll be treating Mr Bianchi anyways,” she then declared once she was done, leaving the packed materials on the table. 

Upon looking closely at the man, he had looks that almost rivaled those of Roman Bianchi in beauty, and a dangerous aura about him which was hard not to notice… But Rose didn’t care. All she cared for at that moment was finding a bed and resting. 

“Lead the way,” she nodded at them, a soft smile stretching her lips. 

On their way to the room that had been prepared for her, the man spoke up, “My name is Stefan, and I must inform you of a few rules.” 

Naturally, Rose expected no less from her patient and employer, as he so kindly put it earlier. Ergo, she nodded at him, silently telling him she was listening. 

“First and foremost, you are required to remain at the estate for the duration of the boss’ treatment,” he let out offhandedly. 

“I don’t mind, but I will need to bring some essentials from my place,” she told him almost tentatively. 

“Essentials can be arranged for you, Miss Rose,” he replied at once. “You only need to provide us with the list, and we’ll ensure you have it all by evening.” 

“Thank you,” she nodded at him, although she almost felt like she was their boss’ captive.

“Both the third floor and the basement are off limits,” he soon went on, and she made a mental note not to wander too much. Her curiosity would have to remain tame over the course of the next ten days. She valued her life more than enough to ensure she wouldn’t do something she might not live long enough to regret it. “Also, you are not to seek out the boss, unless it is for treatment purposes.” 

That is exactly what I am here for, she wanted to reply but didn’t dare be cheeky in the current circumstances. 

“You can prepare your meals yourself or have what the cook prepares. Any allergies we should know about?” He was more meticulous than she thought he would be. But then again, her well being only mattered to them because she was supposed to treat the boss. 

“Yes. As a matter of fact, I am allergic to red berries,” she told him at once with a hesitant smile. 

She wasn’t sure she liked being this vulnerable around someone like him, someone who might very well discard her like old news the moment she was no longer of use.    

“We’ll buy you a couple of epipens just in case,” his voice was even and didn’t show any signs of displeasure or even surprise. 

She wasn’t sure she wasn’t going to lose her mind around people who did their best to be inexpressive, but she didn’t have much of a choice, now did she? 

She cursed her luck as he carried on with the next couple of rules while the maid followed after them silently. 

Once they reached a door on the far right end of the first floor, he came to a halt and made a motion with his hand, “This will be your room.” 

Rose merely nodded at him, and he took it upon himself to open the door. 

The room was almost as spacious as her apartment, and the bed looked beyond tempting with those clean beige sheets. Rose had to swallow down the urge to tell Stefan to let her be, for she was just about ready to drop asleep standing. 

He then turned to the woman who had come with him, who looked just about Rose’s age, “This is Olga, and she will attend to you when needed.” 

Olga somehow looked just as dangerous as Stefan, if not more, especially because of her death stare. 

“I will be in your care,” Rose told her sweetly nonetheless. 

Olga’s answer was a grunt which sounded dismissive at best, and Rose knew then and there that she and Olga wouldn’t become best friends anytime soon. 

But then again, she wasn’t here to make friends, and would be wise not to try too… She was here to do a job, and that was it. 

As fate had it, she would do some much more!