PUNISHMENT AND CONSEQUENCES

[~Song Recommendation: Surrender by Birdy~]

Layla's hands clenched hard on the pile. Her heartbeat paced up and she barely managed to keep herself steady. To assure herself she re-read the first few lines multiple times as she just couldn't believe what lay before her eyes.

The paper said…

'Miss Layla, please be informed that certain changes are being made to your job role. You are not here to serve any Conner, nor is your position that of a maid in this household. Instead, you are required to serve Mr. Specter in the post specified. Kindly read this contract carefully.'

The specified post was the sole reason for her despair. 'Slave.' Layla slumped down on the floor with her eyes already brimming with tears. 

"Why is this happening God?... I was supposed to serve Alfred Conner as his maid but this…" she couldn't complete her words as she sobbed with the paper still clasped in her hands. 'Mom! Where are you?' More tears rolled down her cheeks and some of them landed on the paper resulting in getting her attention back on it. 

As she further read, she came to the rules of the agreement.

'Rule No. 1: Tending to your Master's needs should be your top priority. Failing to do so, he can punish you however he pleases.' 

'However, he pleases? What he's gonna do to me?' She mused and felt her heart sinking to the bottom of her chest. 

'Rule No. 2: You cannot say 'no' or oppose your Master's orders.'

'Rule No. 3: You're free to wear clothes of your choice… However, he can make you change it if he wants.'

'Rule No. 4: You are not allowed to step outside of the property.'

'Rule No. 5: You will be provided a doctor to check up on your health. You can share anything and everything concerning your health with her.'

'Rule No. 6: You should look good. To ensure that you'll be provided with a cosmetologist to enhance your beauty.' Layla glanced towards the window glass reflecting herself. Being a mere servant she never cared much about her looks, and neither did she expect a personal beautician in her life.

'Rule No. 7: You cannot contact someone via phone. To ensure that, there are dynamic jammers all around the property.' Layla couldn't believe what she just read so she took out her phone and tried to call David Park. Dread crept up her chest when she failed miserably for the seventh time in calling her former employer. 

'Wait… Will I be getting the said salary?' she thought because if that is the case then she'll still be happy as she could meet the debts of her Mom. She turned the pages one by one and with her blurred vision, she still could identify there were several other rules and stuff printed in the pile but none of them mentioned anything related to her pay. 

"Oh God!... What will happen if I don't get any salary?" she muttered as more tears left her eyes when she reached the last page discarding reading the other rules.

It read. 'I Layla Mclan hereby agree to all the rules, terms and conditions of this contract. I will be happy to face any kind of punishment and consequences if I breach any of these terms of my service as a slave.' At the bottom of the page, there was a blank space, below which it quoted, 'Sign here.'

"There's no point in denying the inevitable. It's not like they couldn't force me to sign." Layla sighed one last time before she rubbed her tears and signed the contract that came with an attached pen. 

A sudden knock on the door prompted her out of her thoughts. She felt her skin losing color as she pondered what awaited her on the other side of the door. She glanced one time at the open window, her mind pondering on the idea that she could make it. But she put that thought behind her head and slowly approached the door with the little courage she managed to gather.

"Wh-Who's there?" Her feeble voice was barely audible.

When she opened the door, a gray-haired lady close to her mid-fifties welcomed her vision. She stood there holding a food tray with a gentle smile covering her face. Layla didn't know why she felt like she could trust her, so she welcomed her inside her room before taking over the tray from her hands.

As she revealed her condition to her, the old lady genuinely seemed worried. However, she prompted her that she couldn't help her directly in escaping, although she offered her an idea for which Layla felt obliged.

"By the way my name is Rubina… But some people prefer to call me Nana for reasons best known to them. I'm the headmaid of the mansion but I consider myself more of like a caretaker of the maids. You can call me anything you like," she chuckled after finishing. "Your name?…"

"Oh… I'm sorry Nana. My name's Layla; Layla Mclan. Thanks a lot for everything," she gently offered her a bow as Nana left the room and she felt a little bit better after talking to such a kind lady. Surviving as a maid from an early age, wasting food was never an option. 

As she was about to retire for the night in her new room filled with luxuries and comfort she never experienced, her thoughts drifted back to the words Nana said. 'You are the first person master Michael is enslaving…' She couldn't comprehend if she should take it as a compliment or consider her bad luck.

"I need to clear the most important point with him, whether I'll be getting paid the said amount or not; if it's a no then I'll run…" Layla couldn't complete her words as she recalled the tight security guarding the place. She observed them from above a few moments back when she was checking out her room's attached balcony. They even carried guns.

Dread crept up her chest and she clutched tightly the sheet covering her body as she felt that familiar pain in her throat. She tried to control but again she lost herself in crying. 

*******

Layla was deep asleep for hours after her crying sessions drained most of her energy along with the soft bed that was providing her that extra comfort. "..." A sudden call on her phone broke her slumber. As she retrieved the noisy phone and witnessed the caller ID flashing on the screen, a shiver ran down her spine.