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“Is everything okay?” she asked.
I didn’t know if I should laugh or fall down and cry.
No. Of course everything was not okay.
Instead, I said, “Yes,” my voice small.
Lena looked at me suspiciously but didn’t push. Giving me a small smile, she turned toward the other two maids.
“This is Moira,” she said, indicating the blonde, who gave me a blank stare.
I nodded in greeting.
“And this is Milena.” The short woman with caramel skin, her black hair tied in a tight bun, waved at me with a smile. I smiled back and felt myself relax.
“Welcome,” Milena said softly.
At least there were two people who didn’t look like they wanted to kill me.
“Now that introductions have been made, Milena and Moira, get back to work,” Lena said in a stern voice.
Both women said nothing before they walked out of the kitchen. Lena grabbed my arms and gently shoved me toward the stools.
“Sit,” she said. I did as I was told.
“Did you eat breakfast yet?” Lena asked as she went through the refrigerator.
I shook my head but then realized that she couldn’t see me.
“No. I haven’t,” I replied.
“I thought so.” She closed the fridge, her arms full of ingredients. I reached out to help her, but she shook her head.
Sitting back down, I waited for her next instruction.
Lena made breakfast while talking animatedly the whole time. She was excited, as if she hadn’t had a chance to talk to someone for a long while.
She talked about everything and nothing. Sometimes none of it made sense. She told me about her experience working as a maid. I also found out that I was the youngest maid here, which surprised her.
“Hmm. Alessio never hires young maids. He says they are incompetent.”
I didn’t tell her how Alessio came to hire me, and she never asked, so I kept quiet. As she continued talking, I felt myself relaxing.
The tense muscles in my shoulders started to loosen and I sagged into my stool. Crossing my legs, I moved my elbows on the bar and placed my chin in my palms, watching Lena talk. Her voice soothed me and I smiled.
She was sweet and adorable and I felt comfortable around her. I don’t know how long I sat there and listened to her talk, but she eventually brought a plate to me. Placing it front of me, Lena smiled and nodded toward the food.
“Dig in, hon.”
The plate was brimming with toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried diced potatoes, and a small bowl of mixed fruits.
She watched me with a soft expression. My nose started to tingle and I felt hot tears at the back of my eyes. I sniffed and looked down at the plate of food.
Nobody had ever made me food like that. Sure, I had maids back at my father’s estate and I always had food. But no one ever prepared it with love. Nobody cared if I ate or not. I simply didn’t exist. I lived as a shadow.
My heart constricted and I held the fork with a shaky hand.
As I took the first bite, a tear fell down my cheek. Quickly swiping it away with my other hand, I took a second bite. Then a third. With each bite, it felt like my heart would burst at any moment.
When Lena gave me a gentle pat on the hand, I looked up with red-rimmed eyes. She gave me a sad smile and then nodded, as if telling me that everything would be okay. Lena didn’t ask any questions. She just accepted me.
She turned around and went back to filling the other plates. I looked back at the food, then stared at the hand she had touched.
Kindness wasn’t something I saw much of. In fact, I had never experienced true kindness in my life.
My days were spent locked in my room and my nights were filled with terrors. I didn’t know what kindness was.
But with that simple action from Lena, I saw kindness for the first time. I felt it for the first time.
Chapter 7
Ayla
As I cleaned the smooth surface, I heard Lena ask, “Honey, are you done?”
Leaning away from the bar, I turned toward her. I smiled, waving the cleaning towel in the air. “Almost. I just need to finish wiping down the bar.”
“Okay. Hurry up and finish, then you are done for today.”
It’s been a week since I started working at the estate. I didn’t know anything about cooking or cleaning. At my father’s house, I had maids who did it all while I was trapped in my bedroom.
But Lena helped me with the transition, and she was always gentle. When she assigned me to work, she made sure I was only doing the cleaning. And I was always with her, so the other maids wouldn’t judge me.
Even though I knew the house was filled with people, I was surprised that I barely saw anyone other than a few maids here and there, as if everyone was in the shadows.
