Chapter 5: His Window Repairer

Before they went to his workplace, Cleo found herself at the door of her room having a staring contest on the contract posted in front of her door with added signature from both of them at the end of the paper as if boasting that she was binded by a contract with him.

She didn't thought signature could become a huge deal in this situation. This signature certainly looked like one from Alas Crowne, a quick dash of his name in cursive with a flair of what seemed like a crown on the end. She have seen lots of it in Spain though he now gave an alias of his name; 'Ace Crowne', it's easy to fathom that it was his alias, she watched from afar on every paper he signed and it must've been thirteen metres apart but she could undoubtedly say that the way he signed the contract was the same as when he was in Spain. 

Cleo turned around as soon as the door opened behind her. There he was, struggling to pull a big board with fancy glitters and pink things and unicorns and rainbows outside his room. 

"Care to help me?" he asked but more like commanded, but with an asking tone. 

Cleo shrugged and tried to subside her irritation towards him before she went to the other end of the board and help him. She wonders what would be the scheme of this guy again.

But she dared not asked the question lingering on her mind, instead she patiently waited for the board to be settled on the living room. 

"Thanks!" He huffed and puffed air on his cheeks. 

Suddenly, before he started saying another command, the door rang, they exchange looks.

"Was that the window glass replacer?" He thought, raising a brow.

Cleo shrugged, she never expected anyone and why does he asked him like they share the house in a goody-goody manner. Cleo planned to stay here temporarily. After everything's done, after she learned to love him, she would go back on her little corner in Belgium. 

"I'll go open it." 

She watched him opened the door after couple of seconds passed where the only sound heard was the doorbell. 

"Penelope, what're you doing here?!"

Cleo was amazed by his voice that was always in good quality even after he got exasperated seconds ago. She made a mental note to place his vocal folds and larynx in a big jar filled with formalin after killing him. 

"I came here to see you!" A girly voice replied in the same high, ear-wrecking and irritating pitch as his. 

"Great," he replied, but he said that with a low tone as if he was disappointed that she did the same giddy tone as his. 

"Won't you let me in your house?" 

"Ah, sure. Come," He replied with visible contemplation in his voice. 

Cleo step backward towards her room but let the door on her room ajar, just to know who was the girl that the guy let in his house. Was he really that welcoming that he let others in his house? What if his going to kill him? Like what Cleo planned to do? Or what if she's a thief? Who's a fan of his vocal chords? 

"Thank you, remember we were just so young and you— Oh wow!" The girl held her hand to her mouth as soon as they reach the common area. 

Cleo inch closer from the door and saw perfectly from the little crease she made how the girl has a fresh and charming presence.

The girl looked like a goddess with her white cotton dress, she has pretty eyes and a long black hair with full bangs that made her seemed like a sharp, sassy goddess who got her power of curiosity like Pandora's and now she's running berserk. 

"What is this shiny glittery, sparkling beautiful board doing here?" she asked, shocked and confused as to why a boy like him have a board so glittery and girly just like what Cleo thought.

The guy didn't answered, he roamed his eyes and stopped when he saw Cleo peeking on the little crease she made on her bedroom door. 

Penelope, the name of the girl, shrugged when she got silence, she tried to shook it and noticed the broken window. 

Cleo saw him massaged the back of his neck then looked at the girl he called Penelope. "It was just because I'm bored...."

Cleo can hear their conversation perfectly, she covered her mouth when she heard his silly reply. It was so much for having him. 

"Do all boys like doing this kind of things when they're bored?" The girl pointed at the pink unicorn stickers he placed on the center table and the broken window full of ineffective duct tape.  

"Uh? Kinda?" he replied nervously and Cleo almost chuckled loudly. 

Penelope then travelled near the tall broken window and pointed it, showing her shiny shade of bright pink nails that painted her title: the head of the house. "What happened to your window?" 

At that moment, Cleo and Ace both agreed that she asked too many questions; nodding in unison even though Cleo was behind the door and cannot know it. 

"By the way, why pay me a visit?" he said instead of sarcastically saying 'someone broke it, obviously.' 

"Oh, nothing, just want to see you back after your visit in Spain. Why did you stay there for so long? I thought it's just for a month?" 

"Oh that, something came up. I had things to do," Ace slightly turned his body to the side as if feeling uncomfortable.

"Really?" 

"Please don't look so much into it, Pen." 

"I'm not." The girl let out a laugh. "Just thought I'd tell you personally that your dad want to see you," she said and grinned at him as if she once again managed to top up her power at that moment.

There's a long pause after she said that and Cleo felt the sudden pressure in the air. Ace  stood right in front of her was blocking the view with his stupid tensed back. 

Suddenly, she thought about what things could come up if she continued hiding in the corner. 

They don't really need to hide things. First of all, she was a maid, and he treat her like a robot. They could just plainly introduced themselves as that. 

She left the door ajar as Penelope throw her a glance, hastily noticing her presence.

"Who's this?" She asked in bafflement like she always do in the past hour. Her tone made a certain high-pitched order that demanded an answer.

Cleo answered in a humdrum , "I'm here to be his maid, my name's Cleo."

As she studied her, Ace, who was on the side of two girls, knotted his brow, he seemed to be perplexed, then nervous, then he gave a small smile.

"Ah yes! She's a maid, helping me in this country! You know to familiarize things," he quickly catch-up, but with a nervous laugh. "Ah right, I implemented rules, she's a robot that needs to obey 3 rules!" He continued, pointing at  the paper pasted on her bedroom door. Cleo glanced at him, he clearly heard yesterday that there were four rules.

"I could get it for you to see it!" He added. 

"I don't need to see it." Penelope declared, raising her hand to stop him, she gazed back on Cleo and walked near her. "Cleo, right?" 

A girl with an adorable smile can make no harm right? It only made her countenance comfortable and her feelings less guilty. 

"Yes Miss. I'm the maid." She said, lowering her head in a 90-degree posture, but that was not what Penelope wanted to see, but for her, it's as long as she avoid hiding secrets she's safe. 

"You can call me Penelope then, I'm Ace's fiancé," she finished with the same high-pitched irritating tone. 

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