Ada The thing about being a maid—or better yet, someone who’s seen as below their employers—is that it doesn’t matter that you went through something traumatic and you’re not feeling well. You have to stay and work. I’ve been vomiting inside my mouth the whole day and now, Maximilian Loxley wants to know if I need anything. Haha. Words can’t describe how angry his request made me when all I needed was a chance to go home. To lie down and purge that man out of my system. I won’t have a chance to do that. The good thing is that the other employees aren’t aware of what happened. At least, I didn’t have the impression that they were aware. I don’t know if I’d stand them looking at me like they’re sorry for me. Not a chance in hell. I’m having a hard time dealing with my thoughts as it is. I can’t take off that scene from my mind. How close he was. How his skin felt against mine. How I shuddered when he pressed his body flush against mine. That’s just not something I’ll get over a
Ada The moment I crack an eye open, I’m practically blinded by the sun. I’m surprised to see that I’m sleeping on the couch, right in the living room. I didn’t even make it to the bed last night. I sit up, groaning and massaging the back of my neck. It’s sore. Then again, I’ve been very tense. I’m right on time. I search for my phone and switch off my alarm before it rings. I hate it when it does. Then, I put some coffee to brew and head into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. To be honest, this lifestyle is killing me. I’m not used to working this hard. It was easier earlier on when I had so much hope and fresh expectations, but now that I know that things aren’t as easy as they seem, I’m having a harder time waking up in the morning. I feel disillusioned by everything that’s going on. It seems whatever secret the Loxley’s are hoarding is harder to find than gold. The things I’ve been experiencing under their roof don’t make this burden easier to carry, either. I find
Ada I can’t stop drumming my fingers against the desk in the office downstairs. That’s where I am, by the way. Since that woman caught me. She’s blonde and tall, and I don’t know who she is. I’ve never seen her around before; this is the very first time. She must be a close friend or even a relative because the way she entered the office with Maximilian Loxley’s name on her lips was an indicator that she has a more intimate relationship with the family. But that’s not my concern right now. It doesn’t matter who caught me. The point is that I was caught and Mrs. Danes was alerted right away. With a grave voice, she told me to wait here for a family remember to arrive and deal with the situation, and it’s been fifteen minutes in total since that happened. I’m screwed. Not unless I can lie my way out of this.But what would be the appropriate lie? What can I say that wouldn’t make me look like an absolute idiot? I have no idea. I’m scared and still shaking from being caught. What
Maximilian“You’re serious?” Kelly asks behind me. “You’re seriously going to give her the benefit of the doubt? Max, she’s crazy!”I head upstairs, though not without hesitation. The shit she told me about there being a bomb upstairs is terrifying. My father sleeps right next door to my office. I keep remembering her face and how she looked as she told me. She looked ashamed, that I’m sure of. But of what exactly?“I have to make sure whether it’s true or not, Kelly,” I tell her as I make it up the stairs. “That’s a serious allegation.”“She’s clearly lying to get away with it and you’re buying her story!” she exclaims. She’s starting to get a little loud and I don’t want this conversation to be overheard. I want this to stay between us and Mrs. Danes. “Max!”I whirl around to face her, and she stops walking. “Kelly, I understand your concern, but this is something I have to do. Thank you for your opinion, but I simply can’t take it. This is my family’s protection we’re talking a
Ada I pull away from my mother's hug. I feel a lot better after being held by her, but I have to admit that I still feel shitty about how things went down, so shitty in fact that I've decided to move to my mother's house for some time just in case someone from that family comes looking for me. I'll also let the apartment go. I don't need it anymore and it'll only cause me trouble. "I'm just glad you're safe," she claims. "Imagine if they'd called the police on you, what with that fake identity. Oh, Ada. You're going to worry me to the grave.""I'm sorry," I say honestly. "I just wanted to do things right. To make that man pay. Dad and Theo deserved that, you know?""They won't hold you accountable," she assures me. "They know you cared about them. That's all there is to it. Now, we celebrate the fact that you're home safely, and that nothing bad happened. Imagine if they'd found out who you were. I'd lose you, too. I wouldn't survive that, Ada."I feel bad for putting my mother thr
Maximilian I thought that the maid's departure would make things easier for me but for some reason, I'm more tormented than when she was actually around. I drop my pen on my desk in frustration. I want to fling it across the room so I can release some of my frustration, but at the same time, I don't want to admit that there's any frustration. Admitting that means the woman got to me, and why would I want to do that?The worst part is that I don't call her 'maid' in my mind. It's always by her first name. Naomi. Naomi. I say it in my mind so often that it's making me sick. I don't know how to make it stop. How to make it go away. I've tried and tried to no avail. She lied to me. Right to my face. She was disobedient. Disrespectful. Yet, I can't get her out of my mind no matter how hard I try. I rise, needing some fresh air. I open my window and peer at the dark night sky. The sight quiets my thoughts for a few beats. It's refreshing. But soon, the image of her is crashing into th
Ada I start to feel better after I pass the three-day mark. I’m starting to learn how to live again. It’s good to just wake up and lounge around. Sure, I should get a job. I’m an adult and don’t think it’s ideal for me to sit on my ass and do nothing, living off my mother and the money my father left us, but I feel light. It’s good to take this time off to myself. Back then, before I started working for the Loxleys, I was always thinking about them. It was almost obsessive. So, even when I had free time it felt like I didn’t. This time, it’s different. I’ve tried and I failed, and I can live with that. I’m lucky I didn’t go to jail. It’s like I’ve been given a second chance at life. My mother is so supportive, and I feel bad for having put her through hell while I was working at that place. How would I have felt like if she’d been the one who was in my position? I wouldn’t like it, that’s for sure. I’d worry all the time. But now, it’s over. I feel like my life is back on trac
Ada “Ada, are you sure about this?” my mother asks as she follows me around my room. “What if this is all a trap? You have to be reasonable?”“Mom, they couldn’t have lied about it if it’s on the news,” I remind her as I shove a shirt into my suitcase. “I was the articles online. The bomb in truly happened.”“But how if you made it up?” she asks in a shrill voice. “I don’t know,” I admit. I have no idea how such a thing could be possible. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t hear a thing. It’s a sick and twisted coincidence and one that seems to be working in my favor. What is this? Divine guidance? “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Ada,” my mother says to me. “So, you’re going back? Back to that place after you put it in your head that you were going to move on?”“Can I really discard such a chance, Mom?” I ask her. “It’s like it fell from the sky. I have a chance to make things right again. What were the chances of such a thing ever happening?”She closes her eyes as if my words
MaximilianThe sounds of her sobs make me desperate.I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. “Ada,” I whisper her name softly while caressing her face. She sobs even louder, turning her head to the side like the sound of my voice offends her. I wait for her to speak. It’s the only thing that I can do. “I’m sorry, Max,” she says once she’s calmed down enough. Her eyes are back on mine and they’re red. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad. I just…it hit me all of a sudden. How much things changed.”“Don’t I know it,” I murmur, doing my best to keep things between us light though it’s almost impossible to ignore how hard I am right now, and how she’s the only woman I’ve wanted for so long. “I feel like such a failure,” she admits. “It’s not easy, coming to terms with a separation. I loved you, Max. There are times when I think that I always will.”I meet her gaze, hope surging inside of me. “So will I. I’ll always love you no matter what happens between us.”“I’m scared,” she admits. “I’m t
AdaWhen Max arrives, I have to admit that I feel nervous. Really nervous. Like I know what will happen before I do. Our eyes lock the minute I open the door, and a heated moment passes. I don’t know why it happened or even how. I just know that I feel this heat low in my belly at the sight of him and it didn’t happen when we saw each other the first time. This is a bad idea. I know it. Yet, I open the door wider for him, inviting him into my apartment. Max walks in uncertainly, looking around and clearing his throat. He’s clearly uncomfortable and perhaps senses the same thing that I do. I close the door and take a deep breath. “How are you feeling?” I whirl around to face him and notice that his eyes are already on me. Licking my lips, I say, “I’ve had better days.”His eyes soften with concern and for some reason, I’m transported back to the old days—the days when we used to be together all the time. He looked at me in this exact same way. “Did he try to call you again?”I
Ada But Damson never calls me, and in the end, my hopes are crushed and I have this despair deep inside of me because I don’t know what to do. Why didn’t he call?I didn’t do anything wrong. I followed his stupid instructions. I did what I was supposed to! Yet, he left me hanging, which makes me wonder exactly what his plan is. I thought I had the whole thing figured out. Apparently, I was wrong. I’m so demotivated that when my phone rings and I see that it’s Max, I cry before getting any word out. On the other end of the line, his despair is evident, and even though I hear all his questions, I can’t bring myself to answer any of them. “Ada? Ada, please, tell me what happened. Please. Don’t leave me like this. Is it Damson? What did he do? What did he say?”“I can’t take this anymore,” I sob. “I can’t. He told me he’d send me the address. Told me I’d get to…to see Victoria today.”Max is silent as I try to get my emotions in check. Sniffling and feeling considerably calmer, I say
Ada “Today is the day,” Damson says as soon as I answer the call. This sends goosebumps spreading all across my skin and I suck in a breath through my teeth. “What? What do you mean?”“I can’t tell you more but do you trust me.”I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and fight my parched throat. I move away from the window in the living room and turn to sit on the couch instead. I don’t think my legs can keep supporting me. “Yes, I trust you.”“Then that’s all I can say to you. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. We’ll talk soon, alright?”After the call, I walk around my apartment restlessly. I’m chewing my nails. I’m pacing the floor of the living room. It’s a mess, waiting for Damson to call me again. The strange part about all this is that Max didn’t call me the way he usually does. What does that mean? That he doesn’t receive a call?I think briefly of calling him before deciding that it just isn’t worth it. What if Damson wants me to see my daughter today or something similar? May
MaximilianI nod. “That’s him.”“You’re sure?”“One hundred percent,” I grit out. “I would never forget his face. Not ever.”I’m exhilarated that we’ve managed to catch him. I know that this isn’t much—we still don’t know where he lives—but this is more progress than has been made in years. The investigator says, “I’ll be watching him closely after this to ensure that we find his residence as quickly as possible but the shop’s clerk didn’t have a fixed time. He comes and goes whenever he has to shop and it’s usually at random times. I’ve also mentioned this to Miss Loxley here, but they’ve never seen the girl. Not once in all these years.”“What could that mean?”The man shrugs. “Just that he keeps her well. I don’t know enough to draw any conclusions—this is just me guessing at things.”“We understand that,” Rebecca cuts in. My eyes are drawn to the screen again. Years of hatred bubble inside of me and nearly spill over. I have to keep it all in for when the time is right. “It’ll
MaximilianEvery time my phone rings, it can only be one of two people: Ada or that fucking lunatic. At least, that’s how it’s been in the last few days. But this time, it’s Rebecca who’s calling me. So much has happened since I last spoke to her that I forgot all about our interaction. “Max,” she says. “I have news.”“If it’s about Damson, forget it,” I say right away. “We’re already negotiating and I don’t want you getting involved and ruining everything.”Her response is a sputter. “What? What are you talking about? You’re talking to him? How? When did this happen?”“Very recently,” I reply, my tone clipped. “Max, you can’t buy into his story! That man is evil and he’s out to get both of you! I take it you didn’t call the police?”“Rebecca, we’re taking care of this the way we see fit. Thank you for your help but I never asked for it. I don’t want it.”“Max, I told you about the investigator, didn’t I? Well, now we have some information and he might have found the area that Dam
Ada The next time Damson calls, I’m ready for him. “Hello, Ada,” he says in that strange voice of his. “How have you been? Did you miss me?”The first time, I was so caught off guard that I didn’t know what to say or where to even begin. I had nothing in my head apart from the crippling despair that came with wanting to know where my daughter was. But since Max and I spoke and I had time to think about this, I knew what Damson expected of me. I knew deep inside of me what he wanted—what kind of cooperation he was looking for. And for Victoria, I would do it all. “Yes,” I answer in a small voice, trying to sound afraid. I hoped he would buy my act because that was what I would be doing for the next few times we talked. Until I found our daughter, that is. I hear the sound of water. It sounds like he’s taking a bath. “I’ve been taking to Max. I always call him before I call you. You know why?”I don’t answer him. “It’s because I need to remind myself why I did all this before I
Ada So much has happened today that I’m not even shocked that Max is standing in my living room. When I received Damson’s call, it left me completely disoriented. As I stare at Max’s face, I recall it even now. I don’t think I would ever be able to forget the phone call I had with him. “Hello, Ada,” he said. Though he sounded the same, his voice had a strange ring to it. “It’s been a long time since we’ve talked, hasn’t it?”I was so shocked that he was talking to me that I didn’t say anything in response for like a solid minute. I thought it was perhaps an interviewer or something. I never would have guessed that it was him even though I’d been waiting for this call for the longest time. For seven years, to be precise. “I thought you’d be happy to hear from me,” he claimed. “I’ve been holding myself back for the longest time. Every single day that passed, I wanted to call you. But I held myself. Now the time has come.”My breaths became shaky and I couldn’t open my mouth to spea
Maximilian “It’s been a long time since we last spoke, haven’t we?” Damson says in my ear. His voice still has that crazy quality to it. He doesn’t sound like a sane person. And the worst part is that this man is by my daughter’s side, somewhere out there. We don’t even know if he left the state or even the country. We know nothing. I clench my jaw so tightly that I hear a molar crack. I remind myself that this time, things have to be different. I need to stay calm and hope that this time, he’s going to tell me what he wants so we can get our daughter back. Everything is depending on me. “You always had so much to say, and now you’re saying nothing. You’re silent. I wonder…does that mean you declare defeat?”“Yes,” I say, the word scratching the sides of my throat and making my mouth so bitter that I nearly gag. I’ll say whatever I can to please this man. I’d do absolutely everything.“Yes? Good,” he claims. “Ada has received a similar call from me and she has also declared defe