CHAPTER THREE

It was so loud that everyone in the mansion and past that, could hear it. Nora rushed into the room. She was scared. 

She served me for years and I had never called her name so loudly before. She felt the mansion shake as I called her name. She thought she would die.

She knew I could kill her and get away with it. She didn’t want to die. She was tempted to beg but that’d make me angrier. She knew that.

“Was it the new maid that cleaned my room?”

“Sir. Yes, sir.”

“What was her name?”

Nora was scared to see me like this. I was panting and I had turned red. “Lexa Halton.”

“Full name.”

She gulped. “Alexandra Jade Halton.”

“Alexa?”

“Y-yes, you can call her that sir but she refers to herself as Lexa.”

I was shaky. “Did she have beautiful curves?”

Nora tried to recall. “Yes, sir. She did have very beautiful curves.”

“And long black hair with emerald eyes.”

“Yes, she did sir.”

He rubbed his lips. “Make sure she gets here by ten in the morning. Not a second later.”

“As you wish, sir.” 

Nora rushed out of his room and caught her breaths. She thought today would be the last day of her life.

I was pleased, so pleased. I wouldn’t have to call any useless slut again. Alexa was back. I wouldn’t lose her again. Never! I can’t imagine waiting another 547 years for her.

I would rather kill myself—if that was possible.

Lexa’s POV

I entered my house with great joy. Mum would be so happy to hear it.

“Mum! Mum!!” She would normally answer my call which made this strange. I was scared. Did something happen? I went into her room and unlocked the door. She was crying. I met Kimberly crying. “What happened, mum?”

She quickly wiped her tears when she saw me. 

She put on a fake smile. “I didn’t know you’ll be back so early, Lexa. How was the interview?”

She was changing the topic. “What happened to you? Why are you crying?” I faced the floor and saw hair all over it. There was a comb with a lot of hair in it. There were medicines on the floor. I also locked eyes with a medical report. “Are you okay?”

She sniffed continuously. “I’m completely fine.”

“You only say completely when you’re lying. Tell me the truth.”

“There’s nothing.”

I picked the report. “Then I’ll find out myself.”

“No, Alexa! Don’t do it!”

Those words echoed in my head. I was getting hard flashes. Blood. My head was on fire. Dead people. I was breathing hard. Scattered weapons. I felt like I was choking. A won battle. I saw him. Him. The Devil. 

I snapped out of it and read the report.

I looked for a keyword and saw…

I dropped the report and looked at my mum. How couldn’t I notice it? A lot of hair was falling from her. She was losing weight fast. She was pale and… How couldn’t I see it?

“Mum? You have cancer?”

My mum cried out and joined me on the floor. “The doctors say I’m in stage 4. I only have six months at most.”

“No. No! It’s not true! They are lying!”

“Lexa…”

“They are lying, mum. You’re fine. You’re strong and healthy. Nothing’s wrong with you.”

“Lexa…”

“It’s all a scam! They just want you to spend money on treatment!”

My mum grabbed me tightly. “My baby, I’m so sorry baby.”

We stayed there, crying, with each other in our arms. I lost all hope at that moment. I didn’t know what to do. It happened so fast that I couldn’t explain my emotions.

I had to take care of my mum. I cooked something nice for her. I wanted her to feel special. She didn’t have so much time in the world. I wanted to spend as much with her as I could. 

Losing her will mean I’ll be all alone in the world. I had to call someone. I phoned Miss Rica.

“Good morning, popcorn. Are you making something jumpy to eat this morning?”

“Did you know?”

There was silence over the phone. “Know about what?”

“About mum. About her illness.”

Miss Rica sighed over the phone. “I’m sorry, dear. Your momma made me swear not to mention it to you.”

“Still! You should have told me. You’re like my second mum.”

“So that means your momma and I are lesbians.”

In that tense moment, she made me laugh. “I’m serious. You should have told me.”

“Now you know. Use this to nurture your mother. Let her know you love her.”

Tears fell from my eyes. “I know. How are the kids?”

“They’re crying for you a lot. Why don’t you come peek on them when you can?”

“I’ll do my best. Bye Miss Rica.”

“Bye popcorn.”

I had to go to work. I wanted to take a day off. I had to call Nora. I phoned the next person.

“Hello, Nora.”

“You should have been here five minutes ago. Sir, says he wants to see you in his room at ten.”

This sir again. “Why? Anyway, I have to inform you that I can’t make it today. My mum is sick and I have to take care of her.”

“Are you listening to yourself, Lexa? The boss will kill you and me if you don’t come.”

“You’re exaggerating. You can reduce my payment, give me extra duty… any punishment will do but I can’t make it today.”

“Lexa…”

I cut the call. What was up with them and their sir. “F**k sir.”

I went on with my cooking.

Nora’s POV

Sir would kill me. I was already dead. I thought of running away but it would just delay my death. I had to tell sir that she couldn’t make it. No matter what happened after.

I never thought I’d die this way. This was the end for me.

“What did she say? Is she coming? Will she come?” Ana asked anxiously.

“What happened?” Wendy further enquired.

“She. Is. Not. Coming.”

Ana and Wendy looked at each other.

“What happened? If sir finds out, everyone in the mansion is in trouble,” Ana bit her teeth.

“I. Am. Dead.”

“She’s in shock. We should get her address and drag her down here,” Ana suggested.

“Agreed.”

I returned to life. “Yes, you’re right. I’ll send you her address, right away. We might still have time to pull this off.”

Lot’s POV

It had been 547 years since I was this anxious for anybody. She was coming. I prepared for everything since four in the morning. Everything had to be perfect. I wanted no mishaps.

I was fully prepared for her. I didn’t know what I would say.

“You are as beautiful as the jasmines in my room. No, no that’s too cliché. Your fragrance drives me insane. No, that’s too simple. Your hair sweeps my feet off the ground. No, that sounds like a poem. Why can’t I do this?!” There was a knock on the door. “Come in.” Nora came in. The evident smell of jasmine made her raise her head. “Yes, what is it?”

“Sir, Miss Halton will be late for a maximum of thirty minutes.”

I paused, not knowing how to react. “You know, that’s perfect. Now I have more time to prepare.”

Because Nora was his oldest and most trusted maid, she knew all his secrets. He fired maids who had stayed for more than five years because of his non aging-ability. 

He did the same in his office so he wouldn’t be questioned. He didn’t care about the outside world. He only cared about those that were at least fifty meters close to him.

She was the only one who knew the truth about his identity.

“Sir, may I ask why you are so anxious to meet Miss Halton.”

“I’ll inform you later. Supervise the maids for now.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

She was glad she could pull that off. Now, she had to make sure Lexa reaches. Wendy and Ana were already on their way.

Lexa’s POV

I served mum the beautiful dish I made up for her. It was her favorite. My mum was a vegetarian. I wondered how she survived without eating meat. I couldn’t do it.

She gave me a faint smile. I dropped beside her and watched her eat.

She looked at me, wondering. “Won’t you eat too?”

“I made this specially for you. Moreover, I’m not that hungry. I’ll have something later.” Kimberly dropped the spoon and put on a gloomy face. That meant she was thinking again. This was what I didn’t want. “Is the food bad? I can always make another one.”

“No, it’s just that…”

She didn’t have to complete the statement when we both knew what she wanted to say. “Don’t say that. You must spend your life with a great smile. I don’t want any frowns.”

Kimberly turned to me. “I don’t care if I will die in the next six months.” It was hard to look into her eyes when she said things like that. “All I want in life is to see you happy. Once you are happy, I can die in peace.”

“You won’t die.” She embraced me. I held in my tears. I cried so much the day before. I didn’t want to do so today. But it was difficult in times like this. I had to be strong, if not for myself, but for my mum. There was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.”

I got up and opened the door. Before I could say a word, they entered. Rude.

“Your home is so so beautiful and comfortable,” Ana exclaimed with a big smile.

“What are you doing here?!”

My mum turned to them. “You must be Lexa’s friends. I’m Kimberly…”

“Halton?” Wendy cut in.

“You can call me Kim. Have a seat. What brings you home?”

“They were just about to leave. Right?”

I signaled them to go with the flow.

“Actually, we came here to take Lexa with us to the man…”

I had to cut in. “The mania restaurant.”

Mum scrunched her face. “I’ve never heard of a restaurant like that.”

“It just came into town,” I added.

Wendy and Ana realized why I did this.

“Lexa wanted a day off but we came here to get her so she wouldn’t lose her job…”

“And get all of us in the mansion killed,” Ana added unconsciously. My mum raised her brows. I almost screamed. “I mean… Oops. That was a line to a movie. Slip of tongue. So sorry.”

“Well, your friends are pretty interesting Lexa.”

I smiled nervously. “I can’t go. My mum is sick and I have to take care of her.”

“Lexa, you have to come with us. We’re trying to help you,” Wendy insisted.

“But…”

“I’ve been taking care of myself for the past few months. I’m sure I can continue doing so. Go to work, Elsa. You wouldn’t want to lose that high paying job of yours.”

“Mum…”

“Go, Lexa. That’s a command.”

I groaned.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

They unwillingly dragged me out of my own house and boarded a taxi to the mansion.

“What were you guys thinking?! I have to take care of my mum but you still forced me to work.”

Wendy rolled her eyes. “It’s for your good. Sir, will tear the mansion down if you don’t show up today.” 

“And why is that? I have never even seen this sir before. Who is he? Why are you so terrified of him? I don’t understand.”

Ana and Wendy looked at each other. It’s like they were speaking to each other with their minds. I wondered what they were saying. They turned to me with scared faces. What happened?

“Are you absolutely positive you want to hear his story?” Ana asked in a scary manner.