Chapter 2.03: A Day to Remember

"You look beautiful."

With a sly grin, Alek slipped into Leila’s room, where Jisu was hurrying to finish her hair. The heiress enjoyed having it be long. But she was thinking about cutting it to shoulder length. Hearing her brother come in caused her to look over and see him holding a rose in his hand. This made her stomach twist. She wasn't exactly sure how to feel about the feelings he had. Of course, she muddied the waters by threatening him all those weeks ago. If she hadn't, Alek probably would never have felt these desires toward her. But she couldn't regret her actions as they earned her an ally. One who was completely loyal to her and would support any decision she made. Still, it was sickening to think that those feelings were incestuous.

These thoughts were unknown to Alek, who received a giggle in reply. The heiress blushed and covered her mouth with her hand coyly. "Big brother, you're going to embarrass me. Where did you get the rose? You know Mother doesn't like you picking from the garden and neither do the gardeners."

The older man shrugged and walked over to her. He handed over the large rose, which she instantly accepted, careful not to disturb Jisu. The woman gave the plant a whiff and grinned. It smelled like heaven being very fragrant. The flower was a bright red that matched the aesthetic she tended to wear these days. So the care he put into getting a rose so bright and vibrant pleased her. Even Jisu, who didn't like her brother that much, let out a gasp of astonishment at the sight. She set it down on her dresser with a wistful expression on her face. Soon after, her look was finished, and she bid Jisu goodbye with a quick hug. The hug left her feeling more comfortable with the upcoming dinner. A dinner where she'd be stuck with her brother's wife. Just her, Alek, her parents, and an innocent alone.

Honestly, Leila didn't know how the woman would take sitting down with her for an hour or more. The younger girl was very fragile looking. And she was so afraid of the dark-haired heiress that talking to her was out of the question. This just left her feeling frustrated and lost. If she tried to speak to the girl at dinner, it might come across as an ambush. But if she left the younger woman to eat in silence outside of the conversation, then she would feel like an outsider. In her previous life, Leila had experienced this many times. And she wouldn't feel right having such a humiliating opportunity to ruin her chances of controlling the girl. She needed her to feel safe enough to be friends with the assassin. Their friendship wouldn't be really true, but strong enough for her brother to be betrayed.

"How has the country bumpkin been adjusting?" Leila asked her brother in a serious tone. She wanted to make sure no servants got bold.

Alek hummed and moved a lock of her hair out of her face. It wasn't bothering her, but clearly, he just wanted an excuse to touch a part of her. "Not that well. She's uncomfortable about having a maid."

Leila nodded her head with a soft hum. "That makes sense. Her family lived frugally, right?" She had felt the same when first entering this world.

The heiress couldn't scold the girl for not wanting a person working under her. Honestly, it still bugged the teenager to deal with it. Yeah, she was starting to get used to it, but it still was foreign to her. She was raised not the poorest, but she wasn't middle class in the real world. Her loved ones struggled to put food on the table more than once. She wore clothes from thrift shops and yard sales often. To suddenly go from a lifetime of that to being served hand and foot 24/7 was a shell shock. Leila felt like this girl would bring back a lot of her doubts. Could she use her without feeling guilty after everything was all said and done? Or would she just pity her in silence while her brother brutalized her? Both questions she struggled to answer without pause.

But thankfully, something disrupted her thoughts before she could become troubled. The two heard a loud crash from outside Leila’s bedroom. It was like a glass vase or something that had shattered into millions of pieces. Soon she could hear the distinctive voice of a fly who had annoyed her for months. Seanna, the now twenty-year-old maid, was yelling her head off at whoever broke the object. The girl sounded like she was about to lose her breath from how angry she was. Before Alek could even react, she got up and made her way out of the room. If Seanna was fighting with another maid, she wanted to stop a potential catfight. But if it was with another servant, there was a civil war at risk between the staff that was in the house. Both situations would be one hell of a headache to deal with.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The commotion had drawn the attention of some of the younger maids who followed Seanna around. It startled them at the sight of her walking over, but acted respectfully to avoid any drama. Leila knew that they didn't care for her and paid them no mind. Instead, she focused on whoever the maid was verbally assaulting. Seanna's back was to her with her long ponytail moving from side to side as she continued with her rant. The person she was talking to was awfully silent, which worried the heiress. Quickly, Leila placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, which made her stop briefly. She looked over with disdain to see who was touching her and shut up when she realized it was her boss. With her head out of the way, it was possible for Leila to see who else was there. And this made her curse.

Silently crying with a scrunched-up face and a timid expression was her brother's fiance. At her feet were a metal tray, and a broken pitcher. Ice cubes sat in a puddle nearby, making Leila believe the two women had collided. Which led to Seanna becoming enraged and screeching in her face.

"Are you okay?" The dark-haired heiress reached out a hand, but the other woman jumped back. "Hey. I'm not gonna yell at you. Can you just explain to me what happened between you two?"

The blonde's bottom lip shook as she looked away. This seemingly set Seanna off, who pointed at her with an enraged tone of voice. "I'll tell you what happened! She was running out of her room and slammed right into me! And then had the nerve to stand there when I demanded an apology."

One of the younger maids backed Seanna up. "We were bringing her a drink, and this is how she repays us! Talk about being ungrateful!" The maid crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. The situation was getting tenser than the minute.

Leila didn't want to yell her head off at her brother's fiance. It wouldn't solve anything and would make her a major bitch. But the maids, as annoying as they could be, were actually right. The girl had slammed into them, ruining their workday and possibly their paychecks. If she let her slide without an apology, they would trust her even less. The heiress held a hand to her head, trying not to lose her mind with the decision she had to make. She put on her brightest, loveliest smile before acting.

"I want to know why you ran out of your room. Did something scare you? Did someone upset you?" She asked the timid girl, who nervously shuddered.

"I…I got overwhelmed by everything. And back home I go out to the fields to think, to relax. So I was trying to get out to the gardens, but I panicked." Her soft pink eyes filled with more tears. She started to hiccup as she struggled to talk. "I'm so sorry."

"I will accept your apology if you clean up the mess you made. And apologize to Seanna." As much as Leila despised the maid, she deserved an apology.

If she just let her brother's wife say sorry for her, it would look pretty awful. Apologizing directly to the chief servant, she offended, and cleaning up was good enough in her eyes. So with her hands now on her hips, she gestured for the girl to do so. Seanna would remain respectful. And if she didn't, she would immediately have the apology taken back. There wasn't any reason for this simple accident to turn into world war three between the women. Later on, she would try to find a way to manage the newcomers' anxiety in a more productive manner.

The girl bit her bottom lip and hesitantly looked over at Seanna. Her voice was wobbly as she gave an earnest apology, crying some more. "I'm sorry. I'll clean up the mess I made with a broom and mop."

Leila turned to Seanna, who was huffing and puffing, with her eyes rolling. But when she noticed that the other was looking, she quickly stopped. "Well." She cleared her throat before continuing as her minions listened on. "I accept your apology."

The situation still felt awfully awkward, but Leila didn't have time to dwell. They had dinner to get ready for and to attend.