Elise lifted her head to look at the tall man standing before her, his face hidden by the harsh glow of the car's headlights. Her green innocent eyes glowed beneath the bright cat light.
Rain slid down her lashes as she quickly straightened her drenched jacket and forced her lips into a smile.
Her body was weak, dangerously so. Her head throbbed, her legs trembled, and she knew she could faint at any second. But she still stood.
If she was going to work here, she had to look strong and useful.
"Good evening, sir," Elise said, her teeth gnashing softly from the cold.
The man studied her for a moment before responding. His voice, when he spoke, was polite, too polite.
"Good evening, young lady. May I ask what you're doing here?"
The tone made her uneasy. He sounded like the kind of man adults warned children about. The kind who smiled before doing terrible things.
But Elise was no child.
And dying at the hands of a stranger felt kinder than going home, where her family debated her body like spare parts.
"I…" She swallowed. "I'm here for the job advertised at the gate. The maid position. Is it still available?"
The man's gaze swept over her slowly, in a 'Are. You. Sure. Manner.'
He stared at her Jade-green eyes. Pale skin. Blonde hair tucked beneath a scarf. She looked fragile, too fragile.
Almost too young.
He wasn't sure she could survive the work. She looked like someone who would just fall and die any moment now.
"Yes," he finally said. "It's still available."
Hope flickered in her chest.
"What's your name? And your age?"
"I'm Elise," she answered quickly, lifting her chin. "I'm twenty-two."
The man paused again.
At least she wasn't underage. His master wouldn't object to that. Only that, she was too small. Her size would be a little problem.
"Alright," he said. "You'll be interviewed shortly. My master will see you."
Elise's eyes widened.
So this man wasn't even the master?
A chill ran through her, not from the rain this time. If this man was intimidating, what kind of person owned a place like this?
The iron gates groaned open.
Elise stepped aside as a sleek black car drove in. Without thinking, she followed behind it, rain clinging to her dress, her shoes heavy with water. The car stopped at the mansion's entrance.
The man moved ahead to unlock the door, then a man stepped out in a tailored black suit. His dark hair was combed back neatly, rain sliding off sharp lines and broad shoulders. He was tall, unfairly so, built with quiet power, the kind that didn't need to announce itself.
When he straightened, the air seemed to tighten around him.
Elise didn't get to see his face to know what he looked like, but the back view was already enough proof that he was handsome.
Not the gentleman handsome. The dangerous handsome.
The kind of man you didn't look at twice because the first look already left you breathless.
He walked inside the mansion without sparing her a glance.
For a second, Elise forgot to breathe.
"Come with me," the first man said.
She nodded quickly, adjusting her worn purse, the leather peeling from too much rain and too many years. The purse had truly served its time, but she couldn't throw it away until she got a new one.
She followed him inside.
"You can call me John," he said with a reassuring smile.
"I'm Mr. Voss's personal assistant," John added as they both stepped inside the mansion.
The mansion's interior stole her breath the moment she stepped in. Nothing in this world could describe how beautiful it looked. From the floor to the ceiling. Even the movies she's watched were nothing compared to this.
"Please sit here," John said, gesturing to an elegant couch. "My master will be with you shortly."
Elise hesitated, glancing at her soaked clothes.
"I don't want to dirty..." She started.
"You're fine," John said gently. "My master won't mind."
She sat carefully.
"Thank you, sir."
"You look cold. I'll make you some coffee."
"No... please," she said quickly. "I'm allergic."
It wasn't entirely a lie. Coffee never sat well with her. Green tea was the only thing her body tolerated anymore.
She had lived carefully. Ate carefully. Drank carefully, still, her illness worsened every day.
Elise stared at her hands. All she wanted now was to live. At least a little longer until she finds a lover. Someone she could love before she leaves this world.
To be happy, just once in her miserable life.
John returned with a cup of tea instead. She smiled softly as he placed it in her hands before walking away to call his master.
As Elise watched him walk away, her phone buzzed. She placed the cup on the table and quickly opened her bag to check her phone. Luckily, her phone wasn't drenched as her clothes were. Her bag protected it very well.
When she turned on her cellphone, Elise realized she had received 50 missed calls and a dozen messages. 2 calls were from her best friend, and the other from her family.
She ignored her family and opened her friend's message.
Elise, where are you? Your sisters came looking for you.
They're saying awful things about you. My parents don't want us talking anymore.
Elise exhaled slowly.
That sounded like them.
She typed back:
I ran away. They want me to donate my remaining kidney.
Before another reply could come...
"You're hired."
Elise's head snapped up.
John stood before her, smiling.
That… easily? she asked inwardly stunned. She thought his master was going to interview her?
"You'll be on a one-month trial," he said. "Full salary paid."
"If you pass, you get to stay. You'll be Mr. Voss's personal maid. You'll care for him, attend to his needs, and accompany him wherever he goes."
She nodded quickly, barely containing her relief.
"If you fail, you'll be dismissed."
"I won't," she said firmly. She needed the money to hire a man she could love and care for.
"Good."
She hesitated, then asked softly, "Do I… live here too?"
John smiled.
"Of course."
For the first time that night, Elise felt happy. This meant she was never returning home. She couldn't fail, not yet.
Unaware that somewhere deeper inside the mansion, a man who never had time for love was about to have his carefully controlled life disturbed forever.