3

Chapter 3

Yza caught a glimpse of a woman outside while she was wiping tables in the living room. She heard the voice of a woman shouting, “Adam, you son of a bitch! Get out! You animal!” The woman’s voice was so loud that Yza could hear it despite the mansion’s glass surroundings. It was clear that the woman was angry, given the bulging veins in her neck. Yza swallowed nervously and touched her own neck, feeling as if her vocal cords might snap, not the scandalous woman outside who seemed to have given birth to Satan himself with her string of profanities.

“Damn you! You animal! Get out of there! You demon, Adam! Fuck you! You’re a son of a bitch! Son of a slut! Get out!!!” the woman continued to scream, almost hysterical with anger.

Yza was perplexed about the woman’s identity and furrowed her brow. She appeared sophisticated but had an extremely sharp tongue, spewing foul language like a sewer.

The woman was approaching the open door, and Yza tried to rush to close it to prevent her from entering, but she was too slow. The door was pushed open by the furious lady, who entered their home without any manners, behaving like a noblewoman.

Yza was stopped in her tracks, trying to get a better look at the woman. She was heavily made up, beautiful, tall, and fair-skinned. Her dress was very revealing, with a high slit in the front. The outfit covered only the front and was open at the back, held together by a string. Her hair was long, reaching past her waist, with large burgundy curls.

The woman gave Yza a scornful look, and for some reason, her face reddened even more with anger.

“You animal! You’re his new woman!” she cursed at Yza and launched a hair-pulling attack.

“Ouch!” Yza cried out in pain as she grabbed the woman’s hair, but she was quickly hit with a double attack of slaps and hair-pulling from the couple.

“Let go of me!” she shouted as she shook the woman’s head, but the lady remained stubborn. She seemed used to physical altercations and was quite scandalous.

“I’ll kill you, bitch! I’ll kill you! You’re the reason he left me! Screw you!” she continued, pushing Yza to the ground and causing her head to hit the wooden Cleopatra set.

Yza touched her head and couldn’t help but cry out in pain. It felt like her head had cracked from the impact.

“Grandma!” she shouted, feeling a bump on her head.

Why did she call her grandmother when she was the stronger one? But she couldn’t defend herself from this woman, who was bigger than her.

Soon, she heard the woman’s scream again, and she was pinned down on her stomach. She heard other people screaming at the entrance of the dining room, likely the other household staff like her, but they couldn’t approach to break up the fight.

She tried to hit back, but she was overpowered, and she felt her arms throbbing with pain.

The woman scratched her, and then she was slapped again. She felt her arms getting weaker and weaker.

“Arianna!!!” a fierce shout came from the stairs, and the woman still wanted to hurt the guy, but she couldn’t.

Then, a powerful slap from Adam landed on the woman’s cheek, and Yza gasped. She saw Adam gripping the woman’s arms firmly.

His face was grim, with clenched jaws and gritted teeth.

“Real slut!!!” Adam shouted at the woman, who wanted to hurt the guy too, but couldn’t.

Suddenly, a very strong slap from Adam hit the woman’s cheek, and Yza gasped, but instead of the woman passing out, it was her who lost consciousness due to the shock and fatigue.

“My God, grandma, I can’t take this anymore,” she muttered before her eyes closed, and she lost consciousness completely.

Yza was jolted awake when she felt a cold sensation touch her face.

“Ugh,” she let out a faint groan while wincing.

As her eyes fluttered open, she found her male employer standing by, arms crossed over his broad chest, looking at her with a stern expression.

Beside him, a fair-skinned woman gave her a faint smile, which initially confused Yza. She had thought it was the same troublesome woman who had startled her at first.

“How do you feel?” Adam asked.

“Better,” she wanted to reply sarcastically. After all, who would feel good after being attacked by a lunatic? Because of this man, she had been hurt, and he even accused her of being the other woman. Despite being in her pajamas, did she really look like a mistress?

“N-Not good,” she gave a straightforward response. Her head ached, and she knew she had a bump on her head.

Adam raised his eyebrows at her response. Shortly after, the nurse stood up and left her bedside. She realized she was in a hospital.

Yza noticed three long scratches on her arm. Her previously smooth, fair skin was now marred by those wounds, which appeared to be healing.

She looked at the man again, recalling that he had slapped the woman quite forcefully. “W-Where is she?” she hesitantly asked.

She cleared her throat before continuing. “She left,” he replied plainly, causing her to nod in agreement.

She then looked at him again. His jaw was still tense, and his lips were pressed tightly together. What had the woman gone through after such a strong slap?

“You don’t know how to fight. You’re so fragile,” he said, moving closer to the chair beside her bed.

She tried not to be intimidated, knowing he would sit close to her. He sat there like a demigod, and even the chair seemed embarrassed by his striking handsomeness and confidence.

“It’s because I don’t know how to fight, and I didn’t expect your girlfriend to do that to me,” she stammered. She didn’t know if this explanation was any better.

He didn't respond, just stared at her with an intense look. She felt a bit nervous, unsure if he would try to touch her or if he was just angry at the sight of her injuries.

She glanced at his large, gentle-looking hands, which had inflicted such a slap, or perhaps even worse when he was angry. She couldn’t tell which was scarier.

Adam seemed to get even more irritated with her reaction. He leaned back in his chair, raised an eyebrow, and pursed his lips, his gaze remaining unyielding.

“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?” he asked with apparent annoyance.

She neither nodded nor denied it, merely bowed her head and avoided his gaze, fidgeting with her fingers.

Eventually, he stood up. “The nurse will take you for a CT scan. You might have bleeding in your head. I’m leaving. My people will take care of you. I’ll be out of the country for a few days. You can find your grandmother’s salary on the bedside table, use it to cover the hospital expenses. Let them run the tests.”

She nodded and stole a quick glance at him, but his expression remained unchanged. She was starting to wonder if he had any interest in her, considering how handsome he was. Perhaps his standards were too high for her.

Maybe he just looked this way, incredibly attractive and intimidating.

He was about to leave when the door suddenly opened, and DJ walked in. Her eyes widened when she saw her suitor. He looked genuinely concerned and his gaze was fixed solely on her, not even acknowledging Adam.

“DJ?” she exclaimed when she spotted the man she was dating. They were more than just dating, almost in a relationship. After she graduated and found a job, they would likely become an official couple.

She liked DJ, maybe even loved him. He was kind and highly respectful of her. They had known each other since they were kids in their hometown in Laguna, and he was three years older than her, working as an engineer in a large company in Manila.

He had been visiting her regularly at her apartment and would sometimes pick her up from school. They acted like a real couple, but DJ had never made any physical advances towards her, which she appreciated. He understood her standards when it came to physical intimacy.

That’s why she liked him so much, even from their childhood. Besides his good looks, he was very respectful.

"Alexa." he said to her, almost hugging her when he got closer, but she avoided it.

"Sorry." he just stroked her head and smiled.

From behind DJ, Yza could clearly see how Adam examined him as if he wanted to devour him whole, until her master cleared his throat, making DJ look at the man.

She spoke hesitantly.

"M-Mr. Adam, my employer, Mr. Adam." Yza introduced Adam while studying the handsome boss's facial expression.

"Dan James, Mr. De Lorenzo, Alexa's fiancé." DJ added and wanted to slap himself for saying that.

But it was also true because she had no intention of having a different boyfriend other than DJ, and planning to marry him in the near future.

DJ automatically extended his arm for a handshake and smiled widely, but Adam didn't reciprocate.

Her boss examined DJ as if he thought that there were a bunch of germs that would transfer to his hand if he shook hands with DJ. He retracted his own hand and wiped it on his pants before smiling at him hesitantly.

Her master just nodded slightly while still looking at her childhood friend. It was almost an imperceptible nod. The man was very reserved. In his smile, in his nod, he was saving a lot. He was wealthy, but frugal? What could he be saving? Women?

He nodded, but the expression on his face was unclear, still stern and dim; his eyes darkened again. When DJ turned around again, one corner of his lips seemed to rise, but it was a different kind of smile—a mysterious, unsettling one.

Then he turned around without saying goodbye and left.

What a grump...