Chapter 6

Lucinda's POV;

I woke up to the sound of the alarm blaring in my ear. I sat up and turned off the alarm before grabbing a cup of water. I didn't remember setting up the alarm last night. How did it ring? 

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the room I was in. Where am i? Oh, yeah. It's Mr Ackerman's house. I moved here yesterday. Since there wasn't enough water, I got up from the bed and came out of the room.

The house was completely silent around me as I padded down the hall to the kitchen. As I filled my glass with water, there was an insistent knocking at the front door. I put the water on the counter and slowly made my way towards the door, wondering who could be bothering me at this ungodly hour. Is it Lance?

I opened the door a crack to see Mr Ackerman's brother, Levi. He had a large bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Hey," he said with a sheepish smile. "Sorry to bother you this early morning, but I thought I should be the first to congratulate you for your wedding." My eyes widened at his words. How did he know? I looked over at my ring finger where my wedding ring was supposed to be, only to find that it wasn't there. I frowned. Had I removed it before going to bed or didn't I wear it after I removed it to hide it from Mrs Smith? 

Before I could ask any questions, he spoke again. "Come on, let me come in and talk some sense into you about all this mess you got yourself into. So, are you going to invite me inside or what?" He stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. 

I looked at Levi, confused, and gestured for him to sit down. He just continued talking as he placed the flowers on the coffee table. I looked at the flowers then back up to Levi, hoping to finally get some answers from the source of my confusion. He seemed to read my thoughts as he responded, "They're called lilies, Lucy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, they are a very traditional flower. They mean love, trust, devotion, loyalty…" I stared at him. Trust?! This man was insane. There were no such things as love, loyalty or devotion. 

"How did you know that we got married? I'm not questioning you, I'm just curious because there wasn't anyone when we got married yesterday." 

"It was all over the news. Didn't you see it? My brother's wedding news has been a hot search since yesterday. I think There'll be many people coming today to congratulate you both so i came early." He looked around the house and asked, "Where's Tyler?" 

"He's not here. He will probably be in Manhattan by now I guess."

"Manhattan? What's he doing over there?"

"He said it's an important meeting."

He let out a sigh and said, "He's always like that. Did he say when he will be back?"

"Sunday."

"Are you okay with being alone? if not you come and stay with me. I have an apartment downtown where I stay with my  sister. She's really nice with everyone except me. You will become friends with her since you two are almost the same age. What do you say?"

"Thank you but I'm okay with staying here. Mr Ackerman left Lance to take care of me so I'm not alone here."

"And, about the contract between you and Tyler, not many in our family know about it so be careful when you talk with them. The only people who knew about it were me and Daniel so you can feel at ease with us."

"Okay." 

"Tyler lost both his parents at an early age and lived with our grandparents. Since he grew up with them, he didn't get the normal childhood like other kids. He always sunk himself in the books and was alone. Being the first born child of the family, he gathered every hatred from his cousins and families. The reason our grandfather made that will is because he was afraid that Tyler would end up being alone forever."

"What do you mean by being alone forever?"

"Tyler's only happiness and comfort zone is his company. You would have known it since he married you to save his company. I know you two got married on some agreement but I want you to take care of him too. He may look like a grown man but he's still a kid inside." Levi got up from his seat and said, "It's already time for my classes. Then, I'll take my absence here." 

After a while, Lance came, "Sorry for coming late, mam." He placed the bag he was holding on the table and said, "Shall I serve you breakfast, mam?" 

"Why are you buying it from outside? Aren't there any cooks in the house?"

"Mr Ackerman doesn't eat in the house so there's no one hired for cooking. I bought the food from a well-known restaurant after reviewing the food quality so you can rest assured, mam."

"Thank you."

While he was serving the food on the dining table, I asked, "Did you eat?" 

"Yes, mam."

While I was eating the food he bought for me, I asked him, "Are you free after this?"

"Yes, mam. Do you want anything?"

"Then let's go shopping. There's nothing in the refrigerator except the water bottles."

"Yes, mam."

"How long are you working for Mr Ackerman?"

"It's been five years since I started working for him, mam."

"I'm way younger than you. Just call me Lucinda."

Lance and I came to the convenience store where I usually buy vegetables and instant foods. Since Lance carried a bag wherever I went inside the store, I asked him to pick up bread, milk and eggs and I started buying vegetables. After the vegetables, I went for some sauces, soft drinks and instant foods. Once i picked up all of my items, i went to the cashier along with Lance

While Lance was paying for the items we bought, I stood beside him and looked at the items to figure out whether I left out anything. 

Someone called out my name from behind. When I turned to see, it's Sarah, my schoolmate and the bully. 

"Hey Lucy! It's been years, how are you?" 

"Good."

"Why didn't you attend any of our reunions? We were looking forward to meeting you."

"I didn't have time."

"You look taller now." She let out a smile and asked, "What are you doing now?" 

Before I said, Lance asked me, "I'm done with billing. Shall we leave, mam?" 

Sarah came closer to me and asked,"Who's that guy? Why is he addressing you as mam?" She noticed the wedding ring and asked, "Is this diamond ring?" She let out a smirk and continued, "I didn't believe it when I saw in the news, I thought it was someone else. Turns out it is really you who married that rich guy. I heard you're in trouble with debts through our friends but here you are living a loaded life…"

Before she finishes, Lance takes my hand out of her grip and says to her, "I work for Miss Jones and I'm her personal bodyguard. I won't allow you to speak nonsense about her." He turned to me and said, "Let's go, mam." And walked me out of the store. 

Everyone saw the news, everyone will know that i got married. Everyone knows. What am I going to do when the contract ends? What am I going to answer when they question me? 

While Lance was driving, I said, "Thanks for what you did."

"Why didn't you talk back to her? Even though she's your friend, it's not a proper way to talk to a friend."

"She's not my friend."

Lance didn't ask me anything after what I said. 

"Don't let Mr Ackerman know about this."

"Yes, mam." 

After some time, we came to the house. I helped Lance carry the bags into the house. While I was keeping items we bought into the refrigerator, Lance said, "I'll take care of this, mam."

"It's alright. I don't have anything to do either." And continued arranging vegetables with him.

"Then, I'll go look for the best cook, mam."

"Why?"

"To cook for you, mam."

"No need. I know how to cook so I'll do the cooking."

"But…"

"You already said Mr Ackerman doesn't eat at home which leaves only me. I don't want to bother anyone, so don't hire anyone. I'll cook for myself." 

"Yes, mam. But when you change your mind please let me know. I'll hire a cook as soon as possible." 

"Okay. Um, is there anything you don't eat? I can't cook fancy food so don't get your hopes up. I was thinking of making some steak and pasta."

"It's fine, mam. I'll eat out, mam."

"Don't. I'm cooking and you're eating it.  Now tell me, what do you want for lunch?" 

"But mam…"

"Alright. I'll cook pasta since you didn't give me the names." 

I took the ingredients for the Alfredo fettuccine chicken pasta out of the fridge and set them on the counter, along with my knife and a glass of water. After cutting the chicken into thin slices, I fried it in the pan with some spices. I took a deep breath, put it all together and started working on some more sauce. It's been a while since I made something like this. When the pasta got boiled, mixed it all up with sauce and placed all but two servings in the bowl along with two forks and two napkins, and put it in front of me at the table for me and Lance.

"Lance, the food is ready. Come and eat with me." Lance stood still as a mannequin. "What are you standing there for? Have a seat and eat." 

Finally, Lance took a seat across from me. While we're eating, someone knocked on the door. Is it Levi again? 

When Lance tried to get up, I asked him to continue eating and I walked to the door to open it. When I opened the door, Mr Ackerman was standing in front of me holding his bag. He walked in and sniffed the air asking, "Smells good. Were you eating?" 

"About to."

He nodded and walked inside the house. 

I walked to the dining table and took a seat beside Lance and started eating. 

"Who's it?" Lance asked me when I sat at the dining table.

"It's Mr Ackerman."

He stood up and said, "Then I'll…"

"Finish eating and go." 

After hearing that, Lance continued eating with me.

While we're eating, Mr Ackerman came to the dining table and asked, "Where did you buy this, Lance?" He took a sniff and said, "Smells delicious." 

"I didn't buy, sir. Miss Jones made it by herself."

"Do you know how to cook?" 

"I know how to cook because I lived by myself for a long time. Eat and see if I know or not." And I continued eating. 

"Alright." 

He took a bite from the Alfredo fettuccine pasta and said, "Tastes good. Where did you learn to cook?" 

"I learnt it when I worked in restaurants."

He took a seat and put some on his plate and started eating the pasta. 

I asked Mr Ackerman, "Didn't you say you'll be here on Sunday?" 

"Yeah, but the meeting ended soon so I came back." And he continued eating. 

"Levi came this morning to congratulate us on our wedding. After knowing that you aren't here, he left." 

He nodded and said, "I rushed here not because the meeting ended soon but also there's another thing. I heard grandfather returned home from his business trip so let's go and meet him today."

"Okay."

Once he finished the pasta, he said, "I liked the food. Thanks for the delicious food." And stood up from his chair saying, "Come to my room once you finish eating."

When Lance stood up, Mr Ackerman said to him, "Sit and finish eating. I'll take care of the bag."