2

Yza hugged the bed sheets, curtains, pillowcases, and comforters while standing at the door of Adam’s room, but she couldn’t bring herself to knock.

Good grief. Her hands were trembling even though she wasn’t cold.

She was nervous, and she didn’t even know why. Why did her employer have such unusual eye color, and why was he so mysterious? Now, her heart was racing. She hadn’t even entered yet, and she was already struggling to breathe, gasping when the door suddenly opened.

She tightly gripped the extension rod of the hoover as she made eye contact with her employer, her chest tightening once again when she saw that he was only wrapped in a towel at the waist.

She quickly lowered her head. How shameless of him.

At first, she wanted to turn around and run away, but she felt like she was frozen to the spot.

“Get in,” Adam said formally, easing the door open.

Even though she was scared, Yza still followed. He probably wouldn’t do anything bad to her.

As soon as she entered, she immediately started the device to clean the floor when she heard the door click shut and lock.

Good grief.

She felt someone staring at her back, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to show her nervousness in front of her employer, who seemed to have absorbed all the good looks in the world.

“Don’t be tense. I don’t bite—hard,” he said, which made her lift her face to look at him.

There was no smile, but the glint in his eyes made her even more nervous.

She didn’t know why, but ever since she saw a man who stared intensely in front of their apartment, she had been afraid of men who looked like that.

Adam just passed by her and seemed to enter the walk-in closet, so she was able to breathe again after holding her breath.

She started working, wanting to finish quickly and get out of the room, but the scent inside was so pleasant. She knew it wasn’t from an air freshener. It was Adam’s scent—she recognized it. She smelled it when they bumped into each other this morning and already memorized his familiar, manly scent that could make any woman lose her senses.

She quickly returned to her task after setting down the fresh linens. She unlocked the door, just to be sure, even though it made her feel like she was being overly cautious.

“Why are you wearing pajamas? It's daytime,” he asked as he sat on the single couch, picking up some papers from the center table.

He stretched out and relaxed, leaning back on the sofa. He started flipping through the papers in his hands, but his eyes never left her, following her every movement.

She took a deep breath to calm herself before answering. There was nothing to be afraid of here, right? If he had any bad intentions, he would have made a move on her earlier.

Besides, hello? Feeling like a beauty queen, Yza? The beauty queen he kicked out earlier, and now, you? She thought to herself.

“I’m comfortable in this, even during the day,” she lied, but in reality, she wore pajamas before coming upstairs because she wanted to hide herself from his gaze.

She would have preferred to wear cement for clothes if she could, but in the apartment, she wore jeans, dolphin shorts, and thin tank tops.

She swallowed nervously when she felt like he didn’t believe her.

“Really?” he asked, his gaze becoming even more intense, so she walked toward the terrace door just to avoid him.

How could she tell him what she needed when she couldn’t get rid of her nervousness around him? She wanted to ask for her grandmother’s approval to take her to the doctor, but she was afraid Adam might snap at her. She let out a deep breath. She was thinking, because her Ate Perla told her not to speak unless spoken to. But how could she insert her problem if he wasn’t talking to her? It would just make her look silly.

She had been pacing back and forth and didn’t realize she had been vacuuming the same spot over and over.

“There’s something bothering you. What is it?” he suddenly asked, stopping her in her tracks.

She quickly looked at her young employer.

Had he been watching her all this time?

She shouldn’t deny it anymore. This was the right time to say something. With newfound courage, she turned off the vacuum and stepped closer to Adam.

She stood in front of him but kept her head down. “S-Señorito--” she began but didn’t finish.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

Yza complied, even though she felt like she might faint any second. She didn’t know why, but this was the first time she had met a man with such a sharp gaze, unlike the man who lived across from their apartment with Tiffany. She hadn’t even seen his face.

She bit her lip before speaking. “C-Can I tell you about Lola? I want to take her to the doctor for a check-up,” she asked him.

“Our family doctor is coming, but it's just for minor check-ups. Do you want Manang to undergo some lab tests?” His beautiful brows raised slightly, so she nodded.

“Can I? A-And also, is it okay if I do Lola’s work when I get home from school? My classes end at 4:00 PM, so I can still work until nine PM. And... is it possible for me to take Lola’s pay so I can use it for her check-up?” she asked, feeling embarrassed by her last question.

It was better to be honest than pretend she had money for her grandmother’s medication when she really didn’t. It was better to be truthful.

He just stared at her, and for a moment, she thought he wouldn’t say anything.

“RDLMH, take Manang there. Her medical check-up will be free. I’ll just call the desk assistant so you won’t have any trouble. And about the salary, yes, you may,” he told her, with the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as she smiled widely in response.

“Really? Thank you, Señorito Adam!” she exclaimed, but he just looked at her with narrowed eyes.

It didn’t seem like he was angry. His eyes almost seemed to smile, which made him even more handsome.

She was about to turn away, but he spoke again.

“What’s your full name again?” he asked, so she turned back toward him.

He wasn’t as scary as she thought. Maybe her Ate Perla was right about him—he was kind but just a bit quiet.

“Elyzabeth Alexa,” she answered, and he nodded. She then returned to what she was doing.

She couldn’t stop smiling out of joy, even as she changed the bed sheets on Adam’s bed.

“C-Could I climb onto the bed, Señorito? I can’t…” she didn’t finish her sentence because he immediately nodded.

She felt shy as she climbed onto the bed, and was surprised when a man entered the room, frowning as he saw her.

His brow furrowed when he saw her.

“Are you into younger girls now?” he asked Adam, who was relaxed and sitting on the couch.

“Don’t tell me you’re not. You’re the one married to a younger girl, and now you’re criticizing me. We’re even. What brings you here?” Adam responded to the newcomer.

From the looks of it, these two were about to fight. They both had a strong presence, bossy and confident. Both were handsome, and if they were both courting a woman, she would probably wish she had two hearts.

“Adam, Arianna Hidalgo filed a complaint at the station. Attempted Rape!” the newcomer exclaimed, making Yza cover her mouth.

It felt like she wanted to run out of the room, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know what to do. If she could just become deaf at that moment, she would have wished for it.

Adam looked at her, making her even more panicked. She quickly finished changing the bed sheets so she could leave. She shouldn’t have even been there, but what else could she do?

“I don’t need to rape someone to get a woman, Ghuix,” Adam answered simply, making her want to mark that moment with a cross.

“Adam, don’t fool me. I know you want revenge. I’m warning you, rape is nonbailable,” the man by Adam’s couch sneered, seemingly unconcerned.

He was bossy, with a gun at his side. Yza didn’t know, but he looked like a cop.

“Fine. Murder, anyway. I can just kill that bitch,” Adam said, and Yza’s fear intensified as his expression darkened.

She quickly gathered the laundry, unable to stay in Adam’s room any longer.

Goodness! How does such a handsome man live a life of crime? She wanted to ask him that.

She panicked even more when she noticed Adam stand up from the couch and walk toward her. She quickly jumped down from the bed and tripped over the hanging comforter, falling straight into Adam’s chest instead of avoiding him.

“Ouch!” she didn’t completely crash onto the floor, but instead, almost ended up kissing his chest.

Yza's head tilted back, and there it was again—the frightening smile of Adam, his eyes locked on her. She flinched when she felt his hands on her elbow and spine.

"I-I'll go now," she said, but she didn’t wait for him to respond.

She hurried past his guest, who was called Ghuix.

Is her boss a rapist? He's a handsome one, though. What kind of de Lorenzo family is this? They seem to have so many secrets. Maybe Adam's family are troublemakers.

Unintentionally, Yza glanced back, and there was her boss’s gaze, piercing and intense, his lips slightly curled into a smirk as his sharp eyes followed her. She quickened her pace, feeling like her life might end sooner than her sick grandmother.