Half An Hour Contract

Theo descended the stairs slowly, each step deliberate. Daisy stood there waiting, her face streaked with dried tears, hair slightly out of place. Still, she met his eyes.

"I guess I can talk to you directly, Mr. Theo." Her lips pressed into a thin line, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

The moment he reached the floor, Theo didn't look at her first.

His eyes went straight to the maid.

"You," he said, tilting his head slightly. "You're fired."

The maid's face paled. "Sorry, sir?"

"I've been working with you for three years already," she added quickly, her voice rising in disbelief.

"So?" His voice was low, calm, but there was no warmth in it. "Does that make you superior to her?"

The room fell silent.

"Sir—"

The maid stepped forward, trying to plead, but Theo had already lifted his hand and waved. Two security staff appeared almost instantly, as if they'd been waiting nearby.

"Remove her," he said without looking again.

The maid's face crumpled in shock, but she didn't get another word out before the guards escorted her away.

Theo turned back to Daisy, his gaze remained sharp and cold.

"What is it? Five minutes. I don't have much time."

"I refuse this job," Daisy said flatly. "Let's cancel the contract."

There was no hesitation in her voice, only exhaustion. She didn't care to explain herself. Her hand throbbed with every breath she took, and she was certain the pain shooting up her arm meant more than just a sprain.

She needed a hospital more than anything at this moment.

"Okay," Theo said simply. No hesitation. No attempt to stop her.

"Thanks." She nodded once, turned away, and held back the tears as she dragged her suitcase with her uninjured hand.

This time, no buggy came to take her back to the gate.

She walked alone, step by step, through the long compound in silence and pain.

The moment she reached the gate, she fumbled for her phone and dialed Aurora's number.

"Hey, did you arrive home?" Her shaky eyes and voice couldn't hide the pain she felt both in her finger and heart.

"No, I'm actually still nearby. What is it? Did you change your mind? Did something happen? I'll pick you up right away! Stay there!"

Daisy didn't even manage a full word. But Aurora could hear it, something was wrong in her breathing, in the trembling of her silence.

She dropped down on the grass by the roadside, shoulders shaking. This time, she didn't try to hold it in.

She cried.

Not the silent kind. Not the delicate kind. But the ugly one, the kind that made her forget who might see.

She remembered just that morning, smiling while packing, telling herself this job was going to be easy money.

And now, here she was. Her finger swollen, pain crawling up her arm, her suitcase beside her like some lost child in the rain.

"It's all because I'm bad at everything…" she mumbled through the tears, sniffling and wiping at her face with the back of her hand. "I mess up everything…I can't even do anything right…"

A small red car screeched to a stop a few feet away about ten minutes later.

Aurora jumped out before the engine even settled. "Daisy!"

She rushed over and dropped to her knees beside her friend, eyes wide with panic. "Oh my god… Daisy, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left! I should've stayed until everything was okay… God, I'm such an idiot—"

Daisy shook her head weakly, still holding her injured hand close. "It's not your fault. Can you just… take me to the hospital?"

Aurora nodded fast, tears pooling in her own eyes now. "What happened?" Her eyes searched over Daisy's body, to find the hurting part and caught the trembling fingers. "Did he hurt you?!"

"No, no…it just happened. Can we just go now?"

"All right, come on." She helped Daisy to her feet gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they walked to the car. Daisy winced when her hand bumped against her side, but she didn't say anything more. She was too tired for words.

Neither of them noticed the camera perched just above the gate.

Inside the house, on a quiet floor lined with glass and silence, Theo stood before a monitor.

The live feed from the gate showed two girls getting into a car, one cradling her hand against her chest and the other gently helping her into the passenger seat.

Theo didn't say a word.

He just stared, spinning the pen slowly between his fingers.

Then, without a word, he placed the pen down, clicked a few keys on the keyboard, and sent a document to print.

The quiet hum of the printer started almost immediately.

He stood, walked over, and picked up the printed paper. His eyes scanned the image. It was her at the gate, holding her hand against her chest, tears still visible around the edges of her face. He didn't know why he took that screenshot. Maybe to make sense of something he couldn't explain.

He scribbled today's date in the corner.

Then he simply held the paper for a moment, lost in thought.

He turned toward the tall bookshelf at the far end of the room and found the worn spine he always reached for, an old book with no title, no dust, no purpose except the one he gave it.

He pulled it.

A soft click, followed by the shelf shifting open to reveal a narrow passage lit faintly with a row of built-in lights.

Theo stepped in.

The door closed behind him with a soft thud.