The Housekepper Novels & Stories

“Kevin should be back any minute from the gas station as well.” My eyebrows went up. “Kev is here? I thought…” Mom tittered. “Kevin was the first guinea pig for the witches healing potions. They work wonders if you can get past the taste.” Sure enough, I heard the front door unlock and open. Sky sighed as I set her down on the stool facing my mom. “I’m going to have to change the code. Too many people know it now.”

She could feel her orgasm building, getting closer, closer still, almost there— “I hope I’m not interrupting. I brought shrimp!” Kamalina’s eyes flew open and all three of them turned to look at Kwami, naked as the day he was born and holding a tray of skewers in one hand and a pitcher of sangria in the other. “You can tell me to bugger off,” he said with a good-natured grin, a British accent clipping his words. “I won’t be offended if this is a party for three.”

Just then, her assistant panicked and yelled, "Healer Petra, the patient's stopped breathing. What's going on?" Only then did they realize I was poisoned by wolfsbane. It was already so deep in my system that I was beyond saving. "Healer Petra, what do we do now?" the assistant asked, clearly flustered. Looking resigned, Healer Petra shook her head and said, "Continue the surgery. Since the patient's already dead, let's not waste the kidney." I drifted out of the operating room. Outside, Mom, Dad, and Simon were all waiting anxiously. "Why isn't the surgery over yet?" Mom asked, looking worried. "They've been in there for so long!"

Since Devon was not coming home tonight, that meant I had the entire house to myself. I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen when I heard a faint noise coming from inside. I leaned against the doorframe, watching as the housekeeper moved around the room. She had not noticed me yet and was humming a soft song while dicing a fresh batch of vegetables on a wooden board. I took a step forward into the room, and she turned around quickly to look at me. "Mrs. Shaun," she said, dropping her knife onto the counter. "Do you need me to do something for you?"

"You earned this, Gemma. Every bit of it. Don't you ever let anybody out there make you think you didn't." She didn't know what to say. So she just nodded, and he squeezed her shoulders once and let her go, and she fled to the kitchen with the empty bucket before anyone could see her eyes. From the hallway, her brother Kyle watched with the tired patience of someone who'd already spent all day cleaning up after other people. KT Spirits, the bar he ran with Tony, had supplied the kegs, and the look on his face said the mess would be his too. He raised his red Solo cup to her in a silent toast, then slipped away before she could hug him.

Greta continued, "This morning, I was the one Mr. Noah saw delivering the cake. Ms. Winslow told me to wear Mrs. Hayes' clothes and cover my face with a mask and hat. She threatened to stop paying for my mom's medical bills if I refused. "B-But I had no idea there was glass hidden in the cake, and I never thought someone would die because of what I did. I can't live with this guilt anymore, so I decided to come forward and tell you both the entire truth.

Use only Indomie as your tool. [Reward: 'Divine Spice Blueprint' & Access to 'The Second Trial'.] "Only with Indomie?" Bima furrowed his brow. "How am I supposed to harvest a flower without damaging it, using only Indomie?" Chef Antonius laughed again. "That is the challenge, kid. If you truly believe in the power of your Indomie, you will succeed." "But know this, those Botanical Zombies… they protect their garden with all their being." He pointed toward Kevin, who was still sprawled on the ground.

"At least make it believable. This maid has been mooching off our family for months, and now she's broken into my estate." Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Your estate? And who's your mother?" "My mother is Alice Hayes!" Lucas paused — then gave her a thin, contemptuous smile. "Alice?" "Isn't that the boss's housekeeper?"

Under the aurora, in a log cabin. I was in a white cashmere sweater, by the fireplace. I watched the fire move. Every scar I had was under the layers of winter wool. I'd used the money to found a global center for rare pediatric diseases. Named after Emily. I ran my own multinational from here. I was carving a small wooden figure of a girl with a knife. Marco, who had quit the casino to become a freelance photographer, had come up with supplies. He knocked the snow off his coat and looked at me.

Gilbert laughed and wrapped an arm around her. This house would be his soon. A place like this, in a neighborhood this expensive, was something he could never afford, not even in several lifetimes. Now, he could have it without lifting a finger. He swaggered inside like he already owned the place. When Calvin saw it was not me who had come back, he hurriedly ran back into his room. "Hey, kid. You're not even going to say hi to your dad?" "Here. Have some water." Nancy stepped in front of Gilbert, holding out a glass.