03
I spun around and came face to face with his seething glare. It wasn’t the first time I’d caught a glimpse of that particular look in his eyes, yet it was the very first time I’d found myself squarely in the sights of such an intense stare.
All of a sudden, memories of the time when I had just married into his family surged into my mind. At that period, it was common knowledge among everyone that I was nothing more than a
caregiver to look after Claudio, much like a nanny. Consequently, none of them ever showed me
any kindness. Even the servants treated me with disdain and barely gave me a second glance.
On one occasion, a servant, while tidying up, accidentally smashed a piece of porcelain.
Fearful of facing punishment, she pinned the blame on me and even conspired with other
servants to concoct false testimony. When Samanta got wind of it, she reprimanded me with
an icy expression, uttering a string of hurtful remarks. I tried to explain myself out of instinct,
yet she simply refused to believe me. Finally, it was Claudio who came dashing downstairs. He
positioned himself right in front of me, shielding me from her and declared, “Don’t bully Dora.”
Despite being only a child’s intelligence and ordinarily timid, he didn’t hesitate for a moment and
stood his ground firmly in front of me that day.
But now…
Everything was the same except the people had changed.
He fixed his eyes on me and ordered, “Apologize.”
I swallowed down the annoyance welling up inside me and murmured in a low voice,
“Sorry, Ms. Gallo. It’s not that I don’t like you. I just don’t wanna mess up the time you guys spend
together.”
Upon getting a reply that satisfied her, she flashed a beaming smile and said, “Sorry about
that, Dora. I got the wrong idea.”
“It’s all right. Just forget about her.” Claudio said with doting affection, “You hungry? Wanna eat something?”
Alessa’s eyes darted around for a moment before he fixed them on me and said, “Dora,
wanna eat something with us?”
I hastily waved my hands and refused, “No, thanks. I’ll head home and fix myself something.
I’ll leave you two alone.”
Never did I realize that I had inadvertently created a mess for myself.
Alessa’s countenance was aglow with happiness as she uttered, “Well, can I try some of your
cooking? Dora, would you mind making–dinner for me and Claudio?”
Not giving me so much as a sidelong glance, Claudio exclaimed all of a sudden, “Of course. Anything you ask for, I’ll make it happen for you.”
Feeling helpless, I had no option but to go home with the two of them and whip up a me afterwards.
Once the meal was cooked to perfection, Alessa looked over at me and asked, “Dora, would you like to join us?”
80%
Once the meal was cooked to perfection, Alessa looked over at me and asked, “Dora, would you like to join us?”
I shook my head and replied, “No, thanks. Go ahead and enjoy your food, I’m gonna leave you be.”
She grinned and nodded as she spoke, “Alright. Then pull the door shut for me when you go out. Thanks a lot.”
I just let out a “hum” to show I got it and then spun around to leave. Once I was out the door, I strolled around aimlessly till it was past ten at night. I figured it’d been four hours already, so surely they must’ve wrapped up their meal. By the time I made it back home, the place was as dark as a coal mine and not a soul in sight. I heaved a sigh of relief, thinking, Finally, some peace and quiet.”
1 I fumbled my way to locate the light switch. And the very instant the lights flickered on, there was Claudio, sitting bolt upright on the sofa, boring his eyes right into me.
He snarled, “So you do know to come back?”
I was truly taken aback by him. Seriously, what kind of normal person would sit at home in the dark and start speaking the instant the lights were switched on? I even had the wild thought for a moment that it seemed I didn’t turn on the light but rather the switch that triggered his speech.
I replied with a question, “So you’re home. Why didn’t you put the lights on? It’s freaking me out.”
He said, “Come here.”
I strolled over to him at a leisurely pace. Gazing at his disgruntled look, I reckoned that the reason behind it was probably that my showing up today had messed up his date with Alessa.
He carried on, “Dora, remember who you are and don’t overstep your bounds. Understand?”
Just as I expected, he was pissed off precisely because I swaggered up to Alessa flaunting my identity as Mrs. Falcone. I nodded and replied, “I got it, Mr. Falcone. You can set your mind at ease. From now on, whenever I bump into you and Alessa, I’ll just make a wide detour. I swear I won’t be a nuisance or get in your way.”
At those words, his face darkened even more. I was left feeling all at sea, having no clue
which of my remarks had rubbed him the wrong way and ticked him off.
In the next moment, he grabbed my chin and let out a scornful laugh, claiming, “Well, remember your words. You’d better do as you said.”
I rushed to respond, “Of course. Rest assured, Mr. Falcone.”
He let go of me and made his way back to the couch to take a seat. Then he said, “Go and do what you’re supposed to do.”
The things I was supposed to do? I hesitated for a moment and then turned around and went upstairs. Back when he hadn’t fully recovered, my job was to look after him. For example, I w run him a bath before he went to sleep and help him bathe. But now that he was back on his feet, just forget about washing him, but I guess I could still draw the bathwater. After that, I stood on the second floor, looking down at him, and said politely, “Mr. Falcone, the bath is ready for you.”
Exhausted from a day’s toil, I now felt like I could finally unwind and relax.
