Chapter 4

Amelie stood in front of the standing mirror. The closer she looked at herself, the more fine hairs suddenly covered her hands. Sharp, elongated nails grew on her fingers. Amelie opened her eyes and stared in shock at her hands, now transformed into claws. Suddenly, her eyeballs rounded at the sight of her transformed body.

"Arggh!" cried Amelie, waking from her sleep.

Amelie caught her breath for a moment and then scanned every corner of her room to make sure she was still okay.

It was just a dream again. Amelie exhaled as she closed her eyes. She looked at Lauren beside her, who was still sleeping. The sky was still dark and Reid's house was very quiet. Perhaps the owner was still asleep. 

Amelie rubbed her face roughly and got out of bed. She walked over to the mirror next to her bed. She looked closely at her body, from her face to her toes to the two hands Amelie had raised. She looked at them again carefully, both hands were still intact, no hair like in her dream. Her nails still looked beautiful, not elongated like before.

Amelie breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Is it because I was sleeping in the garden, that I dreamt of wolves? And just now I dreamt that my hands became hairy," she monologued. "Why did I have this dream all of a sudden?" she said.

Amelie still sat in front of the mirror, glancing occasionally at her reflection. The nightmare was too frightening for Amelie to go back to sleep. Amelie glanced at Lauren for a moment to make sure her mother was still asleep, then Amelie went out.

On the third of the night, Amelie went to the kitchen. She picked up a glass and filled it with water from the refrigerator. Still thinking about her dream, Amelie drank it all. 

Dawn broke, the sky began to lighten, and the night began to fall. In the kitchen, Amelie was busy with her chores. From doing the dishes to washing all of the Reid family's clothes, to preparing breakfast for them. 

It seemed that the dream had been so terrible that Amelie was afraid to go back to sleep.

"Congratulations, Pa..." Amelie choked out. Amelie thought it was Lauren, but it was Raymond. The cold man who didn't like her, not even his look, Amelie couldn't bear to look at him. 

Amelie bowed immediately and then changed her words. "Good morning, sir." Raymond, not answering at all, went to the refrigerator. He took out a bottle of water and drank it. 

He threw the bottle in front of Amelie. Then Raymond left without saying anything. 

"Man, what a creature he is. He should live at the North Pole, not here," grumbled Amelie, who picked up the used bottle that Raymond had thrown in the garbage can but had not reached. 

"It's so horrible, I'm almost afraid to look him in the eye. He's a nightmare for me." Amelie continued to babble.

"Who is your nightmare? Is it me?" Alfie suddenly surprised Amelie. Amelie quickly shook her head to deny Alfie's accusation. 

"No, it wasn't you." 

Alfie smiled. Amelie was instantly stunned, his smile was so beautiful. Alfie came at the right time and turned Amelie's bad mood into a good one. 

"Is it Reymond?" asked Alfie, thinking Amelie's words were directed at her brother. "It is everyone at school who calls him the fridge man," Alfie continued.

Amelie laughed immediately. Alfie, looking at her sincerely, made Amelie misbehave. "Are you making omelets?" asked Alfie, deliberately averting his eyes. 

Alfie and Amelie exchanged glances, both so nervous they felt a quiver in their hearts. Alfie tried to neutralize his heart by looking away from Amelie and concentrating on the omelet Amelie was making. 

"Yes," replied Amelie, who was also concentrating on the omelet. "I'm just learning. I don't know what Reid's family likes, so I just made this," Amelie added. 

"It looks delicious," Alfie said, smiling again as he looked at Amelie. "I hope I don't become a nightmare for you like Raymond," Alfie said, not realizing that Raymond had come back and probably heard what he said. 

"Are you talking about me?" asked Raymond, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed under his chest.

"Hey you!" he looked at Amelie. "You're my nightmare," Raymond said, looking away from Amelie and Alfie. "Wash this."

Amelie caught the pile of clothes that Raymond had thrown. She hugged it to her chest, then looked sharply at Raymond. "What?" asked Raymond, a bit annoyed. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" asked Alfie in a high tone. Alfie didn't accept Amelie being treated like that. 

"Why, are you going to get angry?" Alfie didn't answer Raymond's question. He had promised Matthew not to fight over small things. But Raymond, the man was always looking for trouble. 

"You seem to like that girl. No wonder you're always defending her." Raymond had guessed that Alfie liked Amelie. It was obvious from Alfie's behavior toward Amelie. 

Amelie looked at Alfie and vice versa. "Don't say another word," Alfie said. Alfie looked angry and then left before Amelie could ask him anything strange. Alfie walked past Raymond without saying anything. 

Raymond smiled sarcastically when Alfie gave him a sharp look. 

"Hey! Maid," Raymond called to Amelie. "Don't expect Alfie to like you, it's never going to happen." 

"Who would?" Amelie argued. "I'll never like the Reids, neither Alfie nor you," Amelie replied no less vehemently.

Raymond smiled wryly at Amelie's insult. At school, all the girls admired him; this was the first time anyone had insulted him. Worse, by his servant. 

"Don't say so much. Wash my clothes properly and remember not to ruin them." Having said that, Raymond left.

Amelie looked upset and threw away all the clothes. Unexpectedly, Lauren saw this and Amelie was in big trouble. Lauren must have scolded her again. Amelie, looking tense as she stared at Lauren, took the clothes back. 

"Raymond just told me to wash his futsal clothes. I'm going to wash them now because Raymond is going to wear them this afternoon." No one asked, but Amelie explained it to Lauren. 

Amelie immediately went to the back, but Lauren stopped her. 

"Give it to me," Lauren said, leaving Amelie confused. "You've been working since dawn, so let me wash it. You better get breakfast on the table." 

Amelie was still stunned and let Lauren take all the clothes. It was only after Lauren left that Amelie came to her senses and rushed to bring all the omelets to the table.

Everyone was gathered in the dining room. Matthew enjoyed his coffee while reading the daily newspaper. This was his favorite thing to do because, in the human world, Matthew was very diligent and enthusiastic about waiting for the latest news from the daily newspapers. Even though it's a boring thing for humans. 

Jacob, the polar man. That's his nickname, not much different from Raymond. Both are cold but have different nicknames. Not in the room or public places, Jacob is always seen reading a book. Not just novels or fantasy stories, of course. Iacob is an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction books. At school, Jacob spent all his time in the library and was nicknamed the bookworm by his two brothers. 

"Good morning, sir," Amelie said as she arrived at the dining room table. Amelie smiled kindly as she set down the omelet she had made.  

Amelie felt awkward when she saw Matthew and Jacob, who were busy with their things without looking at her. Amelie let out a heavy sigh, it was really hard to face the Reid family who were mostly fridge people. Maybe only Anne, who was friendly and the only woman to greet her. 

"Good morning, Amelie," Anne greeted her with a friendly smile. Anne always looked beautiful with her fashionable look. And the gentleness of her heart. But why should she fall in love with Matthew, who was very cold by nature?

"What are you making, Amelie?" asked Anne, now sitting in her chair.

"An omelet, ma'am," Amelie replied. "This is my first time cooking," she added. 

"That's good, we'll all love it," Anne said.

Amelie smiled blandly, she wasn't sure if the Reids would like her cooking. No one had touched her omelet, they were still busy with books and newspapers. Then came Raymond, the polar man, who didn't touch her omelet at all, he walked away after giving Anne and Matthew a kiss. He glanced at Amelie and then left. 

"Raymond's omelet?" Even Raymond didn't care about Anne's scream. 

Anne looked at Amelie with a bad feeling. Amelie, however, was not disappointed because she had expected that from Raymond. It was okay, others would taste the omelet. 

Jacob closed his book, got up from his chair, sipped his hot chocolate and kissed Anne before leaving. Amelie could only sigh as Jacob left the dining room without touching her omelet. 

It's okay, Amelie, it's only the first time. There is still Mr. Matthew, who must have tasted your omelet, Amelie thought, trying to smile. 

But Matthew did the same. He folded his newspaper, took a sip of his coffee and stood up. As he was about to leave, Anne took his hand and looked at the omelet underneath. 

As soon as Matthew looked at Amelie, the man sat down again and ate Amelie's omelet. Suddenly, Amelie's smile broadened and her smile was seen by Matthew.

"Is it good, honey?" Anne asked with a wink. 

"Yes, it's good," Matthew replied, sounding forced. Anne didn't want Amelie to take offense, so she asked Matthew to say that. 

Next to come downstairs was Alfie, who was now walking toward the dining room table. Like his character, Alfie was a friendly guy and always said hello to everyone he knew. 

"Morning," he said, walking over to Anne and giving her a peck on the cheek. Then over to Matthew, who did the same. Next, Alfie stopped beside Amelie, who smiled at him and sat down in her chair. 

"Lovely morning, with an omelet," said Alfie, who immediately devoured the omelet. 

Amelie dared to ask. "Is it good?"

Alfie, who was asked, was silent with an expression that could not be interpreted. His eyes darted around as he looked at Amelie. "Yes, it's fine," he replied briefly. 

"Then would you like to eat Raymond and Jacob's omelet?" Alfie's eyes widened. His mouth tightened as if holding back something that was about to come out.

"All right, I'll finish it. But I have to leave soon, so I'll take it with me and finish it on the way." Alfie said as he took the omelet and left the dining room. Matthew and Anne laughed at their son's behavior. Meanwhile, outside, Alfie quietly threw the omelet into the fish pond. 

"I'm sorry, Amelie," said Alfie, forced to lie. Alfie just didn't want to hurt Amelie with his words. 

"Amelie, don't you have school today?" asked Anne.

Amelie remembered that Lauren had given her the uniform that Anne had given her last night.

"Yes, ma'am. I wanted to thank you in advance for buying the uniform and making it possible for me to go to this school. I couldn't have afforded it on my own." Her new school was very Ivy League. There was no way Amelie could afford it if it weren't for Anne.

"You're Lauren's daughter, who's been working here for a long time. I think of you as my daughter. Go get ready." 

"Yes. Excuse me, ma'am, sir," said Amelie, who bowed to Anne and Matthew and left. 

Anne breathed a sigh of relief. She felt saved by the omelet. Amelie didn't want to see her eating an omelet she didn't know what it tasted like. Matthew seemed to be forced to. 

"Honey, it's not very good," Matthew said. Anne immediately put her index finger on Matthew's lips as if to tell him to be quiet.

"Don't say it out loud, Amelie will hear you. I just don't want Amelie to be disappointed. I'm sorry, dear." Matthew was silent as Anne laughed at him.