CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

With Lorenzo out of the room, Natasha let out a sigh of relief. Sarah noticed and gave her a strange look.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

She didn't know how to answer the question. No. Of course, everything was not okay. Instead, she said, "Yes," her voice small.

Sarah looked at her suspiciously but didn't push. Giving her a small smile, she turned toward the other two maids.

"This is Laura," she said, indicating the unfriendly brunette, who gave her a blank stare.

Natasha nodded in greeting.

"And this is Eva." The short woman with pale skin, her black hair tied in a tight bun, waved at her with a smile. Natasha smiled back and felt herself relax.

"Welcome," Eva said softly.

At least there were two people who didn't look like they wanted to kill her.

"Now that introductions have been made, Laura and Eva, get back to work," Sarah said in a stern voice.

Both women said nothing before they walked out of the kitchen. Sarah grabbed her arms and gently shoved her toward the stools.

"Sit," she said. Natasha did as she was told. "Did you eat breakfast yet?" Sarah asked as she went through the refrigerator.

She shook her head, but then realized that she couldn't see her. "No. I haven't," Natasha replied.

"I thought so." She closed the fridge, her arms full of ingredients. She reached out to help her, but she

shook her head. Sitting back down, Natasha waited for her next instruction.

Sarah 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 Natasha about her experience working as a maid. She also found out that Natasha was the youngest maid there, which surprised her.

"Hmm. Lorenzo never hires young maids. He says they are incompetent."

Natasha wasn't much of a talker or spill secrets, so she made sure to avoid telling Sarah how the hiring process came about. She allowed Sarah to continue talking to her fill.

The tense muscles in her shoulders started to loosen, and she sagged into her stool. Crossing her legs, she moved her elbows on the bar and placed her chin in her palms, watching Sarah talk. Her voice soothed her and she smiled.

She was adorable, and Natasha felt comfortable around her. It has been a long time since she had someone to converse like that with. Not even with her sister.

Natasha lost track of time, just listening and enjoying hearing Sarah talk. To her surprise, Sarah served a plate before her.

Sarah smiled and nodded toward the food. "Dig in, love."

The plate was brimming with toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried diced potatoes, and a small bowl of mixed fruits.

She watched her with a soft expression. Her nose started to tingle, and she felt warm tears at the back of her eyes. Natasha sniffed and looked down at the plate of food.

Nobody had ever made her food like that. Sure, she had eaten delicacies by chefs, but it was just for the purpose of feeding. No one took the time to prepare the meal with love and kindness.

Nobody cared enough to ask and make sure she had breakfast.

Her heart constricted, and she held the fork with a shaky hand. As she took the first bite, a tear fell down my cheek.

Quickly swiping it away with her other hand, she took a second bite. Then a third. With each bite, it felt like her heart would burst at any moment.

When Sarah gave her a gentle pat on the hand, Natasha looked up with red-rimmed eyes. She gave her a sad smile and then nodded as if telling her that everything would be okay. Sarah didn't ask any questions. She just accepted her.

She turned around and went back to filling the other plates. Natasha looked back at the food, then stared at the hand she had touched. Kindness wasn't something she saw much of. In fact, she had never experienced true kindness in her life.

She lived every day as if she was battling in war, fighting to survive the day and at night, dealing with people who belittled her. Kindness was an expensive gem for her.

But with that simple action from Sarah, she saw kindness for the first time. She felt it for the first time.

Natasha ate to fill her while staring at the lovely woman before her.

* * *

As she cleaned the smooth surface, she heard Sarah ask, "Honey, are you done?"

Leaning away from the bar, she turned toward her. She smiled, waving the cleaning towel in the air. "Almost. I just need to finish wiping down the bar."

"Okay. Hurry and finish, then you are done for today."

It's been a week since she started working at the mansion. She wasn't so great at her job, occasionally getting into trouble, but Sarah helped her with the transition. She was always gentle.

Sarah made sure that Natasha was always close to her, and she didn't do much. She treated her like a daughter.

Natasha, on the other hand, hasn't seen anything different with Lorenzo. She hardly saw him around. He left early and came back late and since two days ago, he hasn't been around. When she asked Sarah, her response was, "oh, dear. Not to worry. He's on a business trip. You will get used to his absence."

With the guards, they were practically invisible. Even though the house was filled with people, Natasha hardly saw anyone. It was as if they were being discreet.

Most of her time, she spent in the kitchen helping Sarah make the food, and she would clean up afterward, although it often ended in a disaster. Thankfully, Sarah was always cheerful and encouraging.

A few minutes later, she was done. Swiping at her forehead tiredly, she sagged against the counter. Most of the time, she was done around six or eight. But they had guests over, so the house was really busy. Now it was close to midnight.

She had tried hard to find out who the guests were, but, they were kept away from the main building. Especially her.

After doing a quick check around the kitchen to make sure that she was finished, she turned off the lights and walked out.

As she closed the door, she saw Sarah stomping toward her. The look on her face screamed trouble and for the first time, she was growing at Natasha.

Natasha's heart sank as she waited to embrace her ordeal, whatever it was.