"They won't come here," Lucas said calmly. "You can go once they are inside the house.""I... I'm not scared." Irene shut the door and turned around, slightly calmer but still awkward. "Mr. Lucas, Mrs. Woods really didn't send me. Even if she wanted to do something to you, she wouldn't ask for my help. In her eyes, apart from my ugliness, the rest of me is insignificant." "No matter how hard you try to explain yourself, you still spent that money." Lucas still felt wary, but he was no longer as angry.While she had spent the money, he was the one who had eaten the food and used the medicine."I didn't spend all of it. There is around sixty dollars left." She took out the change from her purse. "I will throw it away.""What's the point of throwing it away now?" He shot her a cold look. "Don't cry."She froze, thinking that he regretted shouting at her. Just when she felt moved by his words and was about to forgive him, he continued, "You look horrible when you cry.""... Mr. Luc
"So they can just kill someone's pet and step on others' pride if they have money... What a great thing money is." Lucas clenched his fists."Just white knuckle through it, Mr. Lucas! You just need to focus on your study, and once you graduate, you may move out. Mrs. Woods won't be able to bully you anymore," Irene said as she cleaned the table."That's your plan? You can stop working for the Woods once you graduate from university." Lucas watched as she picked up the trash and changed the trash bag."That's right! Once I earn enough to pay for my tuition, I will go to college and study. After graduation, I will get a proper job." She fantasized about the future with a smile. "The future is definitely going to be better than the present."He stared at her frail frame, and his chest tightened at the thought of how helpless she was. "Did your parents die in that fire you mentioned?"Stunned, she wanted to nod, but she did not wish to lie to him."You're not eighteen yet, and with a
The scar mask was made using silicone that was molded to the shape of her face, and paint was used to add color to the scar.No one had ever discovered that the scar was fake, as no one apart from her grandmother, had ever studied her face carefully.At first glance, everyone would be caught off guard by her scar, and they would hastily look away. No one gave her a second glance. Like Mrs. Woods had said, the scar on her face would disgust anyone who saw her, and no one would repeatedly stare at something that disgusted them.Though she had encountered injustice in her life due to the scar on her face, she was still grateful for it. Her grandmother had mentioned that there were bad people looking for her and who might harm her.She had ensured to keep the prosthetic on ever since she was a child, and though everyone had called her ugly, she had not been harmed physically. After all, even bad people would be scared off by her scar.After tearing the scar off, she stared at her re
There were a few children playing in the snow nearby. Her lips curled into a smile as she watched the smile on their faces and heard the sound of their laughter.Beautiful things had always moved her easily. Encouraged, she put on a scarf and went outside.She stood a distance away from the children, and she started building a snowman. She made two snowmen, one slightly bigger than another."Big Sister, is that you? Are your mom?" asked a little girl who had come over. She was staring at the snowmen that Irene had built. Irene buried her face in the scarf around her neck, leaving only her eyes unconcealed. "It's me and my grandma.""Oh... So the big one is your grandma and the small one is you!" the little girl said.Irene shook her head. "I'm the bigger one. The smaller one is my grandma."Her grandmother had always been a petite old woman, and ever since she had fallen ill, she had only lost more weight.Her grandmother appeared like a tall tree when Irene was younger, giv
She stood up abruptly, intending to plead her case to the butler."Where are you going?" Lucas yelled."I'm going to talk to the butler.""What's the point? Do you think that my dad is going to listen to the butler?" Lucas said calmly."It's still better than not explaining myself at all, right?" Irene insisted on talking to the butler.Lucas had merely wanted to see how she would react. He had not expected her to be this nervous."I've explained the situation to my dad." He thought back to how swiftly had she run into the rain and realized that Irene could disappear in an instant if he didn't explain everything to his father. "I told him that I was the one who ordered you to buy this."She stilled before sighing a breath of relief. "And what did he say? Is he angry with me?""He didn't say anything. He left after I finished my food.""Oh. So, you intentionally mentioned that he was going to punish me to tease me. Mr. Lucas, you are horrible. I brought you food and you try to
"Do you always study until this late?" He watched as she frantically put her books away and picked up one of the books. "Your handwriting is nice."She beamed at the compliment. "Do you think I got those questions right, Mr. Lucas?"The calm mask on Lucas's face dropped as he wondered whether he looked like someone who studied.He shoved the book into her bag and changed the subject. "You don't have to send food to me tomorrow."She froze. "Is the food in the fridge enough for tomorrow?""You can come here and cook for me tomorrow," Lucas said. "My dad messaged me just now, saying that he is taking his wife and his daughter out on a trip."She beamed. "That's great! Mr. Lucas, you are free!""Whatever. It's not like I want to go outside even if I'm allowed to," he said proudly."Is it too cold for you out there? It's not that cold. Your jacket is just too thin. Do you have a down jacket?" She studied the jacket he was wearing and asked, "Your dad said that he is giving you an a
"Do you think we believe you? You either pay us back the money or give us this bag!""Sir, no, I bought this for Mr. Lucas. Sir, I'm now working for the Woods family. Mrs. Woods has said that she will double my pay. When I receive my pay next month, I'll give it all to you." Irene hid the bag behind her. "The money I used to buy this jacket was given to me by Mr. Lucas. This isn't my money. I'm not lying to you.""Who on earth in the Woods family would want you as a servant? Don't you realize how ugly you are? You don't even know how to lie!" The man walked behind her and snatched her bag."Sir, if you don't believe me, you can follow me. I've almost reached my destination. Mr. Woods has brought his son home, and Mrs. Woods doesn't like him, so she got me to serve him," Irene said. "Sir, I can't lose this job. If I lose this job, I won't have the money to pay you back.""Irene, when your grandmother died, didn't she leave you anything valuable?" the man hissed. "She had been workin
"Who hurt you?""I'm fine." Irene did not want others to be affected by her negative emotions. She took the down jacket out of the bag."Mr. Lucas, I used the remaining money to buy you a down jacket. When you head out in the future, wear this!" She passed him the jacket. "I bought it with your money. You don't have to thank me.""I'm asking you who hurt you!" Lucas furrowed his brows. He threw the down jacket on the sofa, not even bothering to look at it. "Mr. Lucas, this is a private matter. It will not affect my job." Irene placed her bag down. She had intended to place it in the shoe cupboard. "Your grandmother is dead. Now you're alone. Other than work and study, what other private matters do you have?" Lucas looked at her bag and said, "Your bag is a little dirty today."That comment undid Irene. She bent down and covered her face. She cried, "They took away the bracelet that Grandma gave me. That was the only thing she left for me… Grandma said that the bracelet is n