Chapter 11: You and I

You're the light

You are the night...

You're the color of my blood.

You're the cure,

You're the pain,

You're the only thing I wanna touch.

...

As I clean studio number 3 near the movie room, I can't help but sigh. He's like a beacon, shining brightly in everyone else's world. A light that doesn't quite belong to me.

Last night was one of the strangest I've experienced since coming here. I remember how we used to coincidentally run into each other at the swing or outside around 9:00pm or even later. But I doubt those chance encounters will happen anymore.

I've started to distance myself from him. Earlier, Erika seemed pleased when I let her clean Raze's room. Using my face, my voice, and my fingerprints, she could access her precious Señorito's space. I hope by doing her this favor, we can at least be on friendly terms. I don't want her to harbor resentment towards me forever.

♪You and I can be Aladin and Jasmin, Let's make it happen♪

As I wipe away my sweat, Mother Sharn calls out to me with excitement.

"I'm finished here, Mother Sharn. What can I assist with?" I inquire formally.

"Please clean the attic and lend Christian a hand assembling the telescope. Señorito messaged me just a while ago that he has a visitor," she explains.

"Star gazing?" I venture a guess.

"Perhaps!" She smiles and walks away.

With cleaning supplies in hand, I head up to the attic and begin tidying up. Once I'm done, I'll have some free time until noon to do as I please. While I work, I play music with a gentle melody, swaying to the rhythm as I clean.

After finishing the cleaning tasks, I call Christian, the mansion's maintenance personnel, to assist with assembling the telescope. Time seems to fly by unnoticed, and before I know it, it's already 11:30 am.

Once we finish our assigned tasks, I head to the kitchen with the other maids to help the chefs prepare breakfast. We eat around noon, and afterward, I take a warm shower, blow dry my hair, and finally, I rest. I find myself drifting off to sleep on the cozy cushion nest swing in the backyard after spending some time playing with the huskies. I even cuddle up with a ragdoll named Cally.

Suddenly, I'm jolted awake by someone shaking my shoulders. As I remove my eye mask and try to adjust to the light, I hear urgent voices.

"Why?" I mumble sleepily, squinting my eyes as everything seems blurry from just waking up.

"Señorito has arrived and he's furious. We don't know why, but after he left his room, he started yelling your name in anger!" my co-worker explains, and a wave of nervousness washes over me.

I rush to find out what's wrong, feeling anxious and curious, with my co-workers following close behind, eager to know what's happening.

"CHUMP!" The angry voice reverberates through the air, causing my heart to skip a beat. What could I have possibly done to upset him this time?

"R-raze?" I stammer out, my voice barely above a whisper.

"CALL ME SEÑORITO!" His voice booms, sending shivers down my spine. What have I done to provoke such wrath?

I step forward, trying to gather my composure, determined not to let tears escape. I'm not accustomed to being scolded in front of others, especially when my personal emotions are involved.

"Don't call me señorito. It's unlike you," his words from before flash through my mind, adding to my confusion.

"S-señorito! Why are you angry? What did I do?" I ask, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and desperation.

"What did you do to my Heiress Hero action figures Collection? You RUINED all of them!" His voice echoed with anger as he confronted me.

I stood there, mouth agape, unable to comprehend what he was accusing me of. I hadn't done anything to his collection.

"I-I didn't do anything, señorito. I would never..." I tried to explain, but he cut me off.

"That's bullshit! You're bullshit! My collection was precious to me! I trusted you, but look what you've done!" His words were like daggers, stabbing at my heart.

I glanced at Erika, silently pleading for answers, but she looked back at me with innocent eyes, denying any involvement.

"I swear, it's not me, señorito!" I insisted, my voice barely a whisper against his anger.

"Then who? Look at this!" 

"You did this, didn't you? You're the only one who cleans my room! Don't deny it!" His accusation was like a slap in the face, and then he threw the box at me, scattering broken figures across the floor.

"I-I swear, it wasn't me, señorito... Erika!" I pleaded, hoping she would come to my defense, but she just smirked.

"That's your fault, bitch!" she whispered, adding insult to injury as tears welled up in my eyes.

"Are you going to cry now? Idiot!" she taunted.

"Señorito! Hijo! That's enough, calm down!" It was mother Sharn, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife.

"What for, Masha? She ruined my collections!" he retorted angrily.

"But enough! Everyone, back to work! Stefanie, get a broom and clean up this mess. Lorence, come with me. I want an explanation." Mother Sharn's firm voice commanded obedience, and I followed her, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding.

Mother Sharn led me away from the chaotic scene, but my mind was still reeling with confusion and hurt. Why did Raze accuse me so suddenly? Why didn't he ask me first? He was being completely irrational. And why did I let Erika clean his room in the first place? I felt like a fool, played and rejected by someone I thought was nice.

Tears streamed down my face as we reached the quarters area.

"Mother Sharn," I choked out between sobs, "It wasn't me! I-I'm really sorry!" I cried, trying to keep my voice from breaking too loudly.

Mother Sharn comforted me, gently rubbing my back as I sobbed.

"Shhhh! Tell Raze about it," she urged softly.

"Mother Sharn! I can't... He'll hate me," I cried, my voice trembling with fear and sadness.

But I knew I had to come clean. With a deep breath, I confessed, "Sorry, Mother Sharn. I let Erika clean Raze's room because she wanted it! I can't tell Raze that, or else he'll hate me even more." My tears flowed freely as I admitted my mistake.

Mother Sharn's comforting presence was a balm to my soul. "Enough crying, let me explain it to him," she offered kindly.

"No, it's fine, Mother Sharn. Let me handle this. I'll talk to him when he's no longer mad," I insisted, wiping away my tears.

"Sure thing. For now, don't do anything that can make him mad. His future fiancée was with him," she advised gently.

As Mother Sharn left, I felt a heavy weight of regret and worry settle in my heart. Yesterday's sweetness now felt like a distant memory, overshadowed by the harsh reality of the present.

Thankfully, I never held back during those moments, so I can't regret that I'll always see him with another woman from now on.

But why am I saying this?

It feels like I'm letting go of someone I never truly had in the first place. He only gave me false hope, which ended up causing me so much pain.

What was that kiss all about? Was it just a joke?

His warm hug, his heartbeat, his smile... Were they all just meaningless gestures?

Was he playing around with my feelings?

Why didn't I see through it all from the beginning?

I can't help but despise myself for allowing him to hurt me like this.

"Lorence, what's wrong?" she asked, still standing before me, witnessing the raw vulnerability of my tears.

"Your tears flow silently, it means you're really hurt. Everything will be fine. I know that Señorito will forget everything; he's not really that hard-hearted of a man. I told you... he's a gentleman," she said, trying to reassure me.

"Yeah, maybe you're right, mother Sharn," I uttered sadly. I'd been overly dramatic since yesterday. Heck!

"Okay, I'll go now. You'll be alright," she said, tapping my shoulder before she left.

I wiped my tears and forced a smile in front of the full-length mirror.

I'm his maid, and my only role was to serve him... not to love him. RIGHT?

I stepped out and acted like nothing happened.

"Lorence, are you scared of dogs?" It was Haylee who asked me.

"No, why?" I responded.

"Can you bring the huskies inside?" Haylee asked.

"Ah, sure," I replied.

"Thank you! We're scared because their handler, Arron, wasn't here today!" she explained.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"In the backyard."

"Okay! I'll go now," I said as I left her. After that, I grabbed some toys from their room and headed to the backyard.

Oh? Why did they have to bring the dogs back inside? Wait!

Should I put them back inside? Or inside the room? Or in the cage?

"Aish! I think I need to use the remote, or should I call it the Texnobile since that's what I see on the label. Okay, Texnobile."

I pressed the four digits, and it only buzzed. I tried again, and it worked, finally.

"Yo! Do you know where I should put Raz-- ah! I mean Señorito's huskies?" I asked.

"Wait! Shit! Why are they asking you to do that? Just put them back in their room!" came the response.

"Okay, thanks!" I was about to end the call when...

"Don't cut the call, I'm watching over!" the voice continued.

"Huh? Where are you? Can't you help me here?" I asked.

"No! Well, Brix has the blue lace, Vyan has the pink lace, Red has the black lace, Ruth has the yellow lace, Vexx wears the orange one, and Drey uses the gray," came the response.

"O-okay, thanks by----"

"I said don't cut the line!"

"O-okay!" Is this Raze? He sounds like Raze.

I look at the mansion, but my sight couldn't find him.

"Come on Brix, I have some toys here!" I said and showed them what I've got.

It's a duck that squeaks, a snake stuffed toy, and a ball.

"Here, come on," I said and called each of their names, and they bark sweetly.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing? Who's that?" I heard a voice, so it's Raze and Sabrina.

"Nothing, let's go! Hey! Call them baby," he said and ended the line.

"Don't cut the line your ass!"

"Baby~" I called. Ah! That's awkward, but it works.

They gave me their attention and chased after me instead.

I also ran so that we could reach the room fast, yet suddenly, Brix jumped on me. I was so unprepared that we both fell onto the Bermuda grass.

Instead of being mad, I laughed out loud as he licked my face and smeared his fur on me.

"So it works, huh! Baby~" I whispered, then he barked, stole the snake toy, and ran inside. Maybe he knows where he can play with that toy properly.

I stood up while laughing and shook off the fur that was left on my uniform.

"Come on, boys! Baby! Vyan! Baby Ruth! Chase me!" I shouted, raising my hand that held their toys, waving it to catch their attention.

This is fun!

I never thought they were so easy to deal with.

"Lorence! Stop running. Oh! Shit!" I heard someone say, but I was too focused on the dogs and my way.

We arrived at their room, and I was laughing hard. That was very relaxing. They played while I threw myself onto the bed. My mood was restored.

"Thanks, babies," I said suddenly. Brix lay on my right, Vexx was beside him, and Drey while Vyan was at my left, sitting innocently. Red started to lick my shoes, so I laughed, while Red and Ruth were still playing and barking like crazy.

So, this is what it feels like to be surrounded by dogs. It's lovely.

After 10 minutes, I head out. I find myself in the garden.

"Aha! I know what to do now!" I rush inside and search for Mother Sharn.

"Where's Mother Sharn?" I ask Lian.

"She's at the visitors area, Cath!" she answers, lively.

"Thanks."

I hear a lovely sound...

As I reach the area,

"Mother Sharn! Oh!" I call out and freeze for a moment.

Raze is playing the piano, and Sabrina is beside him, smiling sweetly. I had thought the sound was just instrumental music, but it's actually a live, perfect play.

I stood there, waiting for Mother Sharn to draw near, but the play ended and she was still entertaining them. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, standing there at the entrance.

"Ahem! Sweetheart, wait!" Sabrina stood up, catching my attention.

"Hey! You're the girl from the shop and in his office, right?" she said, eyeing me up and down.

"Yeah, hi!" I greeted, feeling a bit uneasy under her scrutiny.

"So, you're just a maid, hmm? And here I thought you were my big rival, but thankfully, you're just..." She let the sentence hang, dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm not just a maid!"

"Yeah, right! Like you're just a maid, because you're trying to steal my place!" Sabrina rolled her eyes and turned her back, a clear display of rudeness.

She had no right to treat me like that, even if she was rich and not wearing a maid's uniform. Tsk!

"Lorence? Do you need me?" Mother Sharn was already starting to leave, so I walked with her.

"Can I water the flowers and plants in the garden?" I asked eagerly, clasping my hands together like an excited child.

"Sure! What did she say to you?" Mother Sharn asked, her voice tinged with concern.

"Ah, nothing. Yeah, nothing," I lied, then forced a laugh to cover it up.

The vibration of my phone caught my attention, and I checked it immediately.

It was a message from an unknown number.

"Sorry."

"Let's talk later."

Just two messages, but they stabbed at my heart. It felt like he was pulling me in, only to push me away later.

I hated this feeling.

I'd been broken before. I hoped that this time, I'd encounter the right man.