When are you leaving?

Chapter 3

Adelie POV

It has been three days since I moved into the mansion, and I must confess that Mrs. Bradford is someone fun to be with, not to talk of how nice she is.

It's a beautiful morning today, but I don't feel too good about it. I mean, I'm so nervous since she will be leaving today, leaving me with her twins who never welcomed me here since the first day.

'They must not go to the club, and if they have to, you need to go with them and make sure that they leave there early enough. You must keep eyes on them and make sure that they don't drink, and they shouldn't drive out at odd hours' Mrs. Bradford's words replay in my head, and I sigh deeply as I finally sit up on the bed. How the hell am I going to control those two grown up men? I know she told me to be cold toward them, but can I really do it when their faces are cold and scary? As much as I want to quit this job, I need it badly, and also, the money she promised to pay me monthly is tempting and not something I can give up, just like that.

"You can do it, Ariel. Think about the money. You can finally go back to school if you get to work here for two years, so stay focused and do your job," I say to myself even with the glaring truth that I can't do it.

Finally dragging myself into the bathroom, I have a quick bath and get dressed in a few minutes.

Walking down the hallway a few minutes later, I stop to listen to the noise coming from one of the rooms along the hallway.

"For how long are you going to continue like this, mom? You want us to sit at home jobless like this?" I quickly recognize the voice to be Trevor's.

"You aren't expecting me to hand the companies to you and your brother, when you haven't even proven worthy of it, right?" Mrs. Bradford sounds from inside.

"We are your only children, have you forgotten that?" Trevor speaks again.

"I am not disputing that fact, son. You just have to prove to me that you can handle the company, then we are good," Mrs. Bradford says again.

"Mom..."

"Call Travis to come take me to the airport if you're not ready to drive me there," Mrs. Bradford further says, followed by her footsteps. I quickly walk away from the other. I don't want her to know that I have been eavesdropping on her conversation with her son.

Arriving at the living room minutes later, I meet Travis sitting on one of the couches, and my heart races nervously. If I had known I would meet him here, I wouldn't have come downstairs.

An awkward silence assumes as the air as I sit on the couch. It only takes me so much courage not to fidget on the seat. How the hell am I not to, when I have him around? Although the two of them are bad, but he seems to be the calmest out of them, and also the scariest one. I have only spent three days here, but I think I have also known a bit about the two of them. Unlike Travis, Trevor is the coldest and yet, less scary. He is the outspoken one and also temperament. In all, he's crazy.

"When are you leaving, Ariel?" He asks, his gaze strictly on his phone. Here I was, thinking he was so engrossed in his phone that he didn't know of my presence, but I was mistaken.

"Huh? Leaving? To where?" I try not to stutter. One thing I only have in mind is that no matter what, I must keep my job and make this money from here. Thinking of Amy s dream of becoming a medical doctor, I can't possibly mess my only chance of making huge money, right?

"When the hell are you leaving our house? You are not welcomed here, can't you see?" He finally raises his gaze from his phone to look at me, and I quickly turn my face away. I refuse to be intimidated by his eyes.

"Your mom welcomed me... She... She brought me here," I shrug, trying to be confident, and I find this working. I have no clue where the confident is coming from, but I think my determination to work is kicking in right now.

"You!..." He was going to say something, but feeling his mom's presence, he only glare hard at me and stands up to his feet. I think they have so much respect for their mom, but I'm sure that things will be tough for me now that she's about to leave. I may end up running away from here, but I can't give up. I need the job and the money.

"Mommy, are you ready to go?" He turns to his mom and asks with a wide smile on his face, pretending everything was fine before the woman walked in.

"Come take my suitcase to the car..." She says as she pushes the suitcase toward him, and he picks it up before leaving the living room, leaving me and Mrs. Bradford alone. I think Trevor stayed back in his room since he's not with his mom.

"You look nervous, Ariel. Are you okay?" She asks, cupping my cheeks in her palm, and I shake my head even though it's written all over me that I'm not fine.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm fine," I try not to stutter.

"You don't look like you're fine..." She pauses and sighs briefly before she pulls me into her arms. How the hell did this woman get so comfortable with me? From the first day, she never treated me like an outsider, but like someone she has known for so long, and it's kind of confusing.

"I know what your worries are, but you don't have to be scared, okay? Like I said, don't allow them to intimidate you, ok? Don't ever give them the impression that you're scared of them... If they yell at you, yell back at them, and if they try to bully you, stand up and defend yourself, ok?" She says to me, and I slowly nod my head.

"I need them to change, and I believe you can help me with that, please," She further says as she stares into my eyes, and I nod my head.

"Alright, I will try," I reply to her, and she pulls me into her arms, hugging me tightly like her life depends on it. She's not gone yet, but I'm already missing her. I wish she stays back here, but I don't think that is possible.

"I have a flight to catch up with. I'll call you as soon as I get to Beijing," She says to me, and I nod my head. I watch as she walks out of the living room, and I almost tear up. I'm going to miss her so much.

Barely five minutes after Travis drove her out of the compound, Trevor suddenly shows up in the living room, and his presence gives me a panic attack, but who says that I'm going to give in to it?

Watching him sit on the couch, my heart beats rapidly against my chest, and I gulp down nothing while fixing my gaze on my phone, pretending not to know that he's around. Did I forgot to mention the new phone Mrs. Bradford got for me yesterday? Well, she said that we would need to converse later while she's away, so since I didn't have a good phone, she had to buy another one to surprise me yesterday when she went out for shopping.

"When are you leaving, Ariel?" His cold and domineering voice sounds through my ears, and for some seconds, my fingers freezes and I can't feel the phone in my hand again...