Chapter 50: Chapter 50

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

A rush of fear washed over my system when I saw the lethal look in Garren's eyes.

"We coincidentally bumped into each other, and she helped me with something," Enzo explained, still smiling.

I can't say the same thing with this man behind me, though. He's looking at him as if he's the most insipid and deplorable person in existence.

Garren didn't reply to him and instead glanced to me. "Let's go. Greyson is waiting outside.

I turned to Enzo. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. It's nice to see you again, Enzo."

He beamed heartily. "No problem."

He pulled something from his pocket. It's a piece of paper and a pen. He handed those to me.

"May I ask your number? I really want to reciprocate the favor that you gave me today. Perhaps we can grab some coffee someday."

"You actually don't-"

"I insist," he cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

I heaved out a sigh. I had no choice but to quickly write my number.

I was almost done when someone suddenly held my wrist, causing the pen to fall to the floor. I turned around and saw the irked expression carved on Garren's face.

Damn it. I'm screwed.

"Didn't I tell you to move? Don't make me mad, Cleo," he said, the low and gravely tone of his voice making it seem like a threat.

I began breaking out in cold sweat. "I'm sorry, sir. Enzo was just-"

"Shut the hell up!"

His enraged shouts made me take a step back.

"Dude, you don't have to raise your voice at her," Enzo stood up for me.

While I'm happy that he did, I also feel pathetic. I don't want to have this feeling of being frail and vulnerable in front of anyone. I don't want to be a damsel in distress who needs saving.

But I could not even open my mouth to defend myself.

"Stop sticking your nose on this, Lorenzo. She's my maid. I can do anything to her, and you can't do a single thing about that."

With that, he pulled me away. I wasn't able to fight back because it was so abrupt. But even if I did, I know my body has no match for his frame.

For the love of pearl, this man could easily crush me if he wanted to.

I smiled apologetically at Enzo. He just watched us with a concerned look on his face.

This feels like deja vu. The last time Enzo and I talked, it was also Garren who intruded in our conversation, and I wasn't able to bid a proper farewell.

I kept my head on the floor as Garren yanked me out of the store. I can feel the stares of the people around us and their murmurs.

He only let go of my hand when we reached the escalator. I could feel the corners of my eyes heating up in both anger and fear.

If I could just strangle him to death right now, I would do that.

When we reached the ground floor where his car was parked, he quietly walked towards the driver's seat.

I, on the other hand, opened the door on the back.

"Cleo!" Greyson greeted me gaily as soon as I hopped inside.

I forced a smile in and slumped in the chair. I heaved out a sigh.

I didn't even do anything arduous and yet i feel jaded. This is all Garren's fault.

"Is everything alright? You two are acting strangely silent."

Garren and I looked at each other's eyes for a split second and answered him in chorus.

"Yes, son."

"I'm just a bit tired."

Greyson seems unconvinced. He crossed his arms and screwed up his eyes at us.

"You guys are not lying, right?"

I pinched his nose. "You're always too skeptical. We're telling the truth."

Certainly, we're not alright. My wrist is twinging as hell because of how tight his father's grip was.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. I believe you now."

That relieved me. Although this kid is smart, there are still times when he's naive and gullible. And I'm glad that side of him has come out now.I don't think my mind is still up for some interrogation.

Garren started the car's engine. In no time, we began taking the street back home.

"We've been waiting for you for like ten minutes in front of the store," Greyson blurted out all of a sudden.

I was bereft of speech and at lost for words.

What?! They've been waiting for me for more than ten minutes?!

I didn't notice that I was taking so long helping Lorenzo. I presumed that we would be done finding a present for his friend before they finished paying Greyson's purchases.

"So dad brought me here in the car while he looked for you, although I insisted that I could wait for him outside the department store."

I turned my head toward Garren. I can see his face through the rearview mirror. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed, and the creases in his forehead are evident.

Garren loathes waiting. I know that because I notice how he frowns every time I take more than a minute to follow them outside the mansion when he drives his son to school.

Now it made sense why he was furious a while ago. But still, he didn't have to drag me around like a deuced rag. He humiliated me in front of many people.

When we arrived home, after parking in their huge garage and carrying his son out of the car, Garren headed inside the mansion right away.

We followed him afterwards. Aunt Esther was the first one to greet us. Then Greyson ran towards her to show her the stuff he bought.

While they were busy talking, I took the time to run after Garren. Fortunately, I was able to catch up to him.

I quickly held his right arm, causing him to stop.

"What do you need?" The impassive tone of his voice made my blood run cold.

I puffed out a deep breath. "I want to apologize for what happened earlier, sir. I shouldn't have made you wait-"

He fended off my hands, almost throwing me off balance.

"Forget about it," he said dismissively and continued walking through the stairs.

I followed him with my eyes. My shoulder languished.

Although I stand by the fact that what I did wasn't enough of a reason for him to treat me like a rubbish crap, I still felt the need to beg his pardon so I could acquit myself from guilt.

But if he doesn't want to accept it, then fine.

••••••

"This is not the coffee that I want. It's too sweet."

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. I'm on the brink of bawling at the top of my lungs and pouring this hot cup of coffee that I'm holding at Garren, but I have to quell myself.

This is my fifth attempt at making him coffee, and it still doesn't suit his taste.

I don't know if he's purposely doing this to get on my nerves or if I just can't really make a good coffee, but nonetheless, he's infuriating as fuck.

This morning, as soon as I left my room and found him sitting in the living room, Garren started ruffling my feathers again. He ordered me to make him a coffee, which is something that I've never done before because it's either him or Aunt Esther who do this work.

You read it right... AGAIN. FUCKING AGAIN.

This is not the first time he has done something like this. He began acting off his rocker after our altercation on the mall four days ago.

He has been ordering me here and there; wash his clothes, which are not even dirty, mop the floor, water the plants in the front and backyard alone, and take out some trash.

He even asked me once to clean the pool because he said he wanted to swim, but that day passed and he didn't even use it. And now, he's ordering me to make his own coffee.

Not just that, he has also become more short-tempered. If he was already cranky before, then his grumpiness became tenfold worse. He always yells at me even at the tiniest mistakes and calls me stupid for the pettiest and most ridiculous reasons. He basically treats me as if I'm a slave who owes him something.

He's making my life a living hell! That might an exaggeration but still, I abhor him for that.

There were times that I just wanted to flip my lid and tell him how unreasonable he's been acting and that the things he's making me do aren't even part of my work duties, but I knew for a fact that he would rub me the wrong way with his "If you have a problem with how I run this house, then pack your things and leave" bullshit.

As much as I want to throw a fit over his outrageous and absurd behavior, I can't. I have to bear with his vile attitude because I need this job.

I heaved a deep sigh before adding a half tablespoon of sugar. I gave him a whole spoon a while ago, and he said that it was too sweet.

I blew a fuse. "If he's still not content with this, I might really spill this over his head."

I laughed at that thought because I know I can never do that in a million years.

After I poured hot water on the coffee and stirred it, I went back to the living room, where my demon-incarnate boss is reading a catalog of some business whatnot.

"Here's your coffee, sir." I carefully placed the mug on the table in front of him.

It didn't escape my eyes how the corner of his lips tugged upward.

Does it satisfy his ego to see me suffer while he's acting like a ruthless king? God he's hopeless.

He put down the catalog and grabbed the glass. I soot there in bated breath while waiting for his reaction.

"It's..." He put the cup down. "Decent, at last."

I let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"But you still have to work your skills out. It took you six attempts to even make a decent coffee."

I clenched my fist. If it wasn't for him being over-fastidious, then I would've finished this job earlier.

"By the way, clean the mugs that you used before you do anything else."

That just rattled my cage even more. But as usual, I had to pacify my wrath. I just obeyed his order in silence.

Right after that, I walked into my room to change clothes because I was already sweating bullets. Then I climbed upstairs to wake Greyson up for breakfast.

When afternoon came, I went to the laundry area to wash my clothes. Aunt Esther actually volunteered to wash them for me, but I vehemently refused. I don't want to give her additional duties, like what our boss is doing to me. I'm not as shameless as that bastard.

While I was filling the tub with water, my phone suddenly rang. I stood up to see who was calling.

A smile appeared between my lips when i saw Lorenzo's name flashed on the screen.