Under His Roof

The Start of Living Hell

SARAH

Life is so cruel and no doubt, my life was about to be a living hell.

Rian of all people?

I reduced to nothing when our eyes locked. I was now living with the boy who occupied my thoughts since I changed school. It would've been understandagke if I was only sharing his room because I was homeless rather than having to serve him as a househelp.

Getting everything I thought I wanted in the worst possible way.

I can’t even stop imagining the worst. What if he tells everyone at school? What if he makes my life miserable just because he can? I need to start hunting for a job that comes with accommodation. That is my only means of survival now that my secret crush has become my potential tormentor.

I sank my head into the bed and muffled a scream. I wish I had a relative I could live with like every other normal kid. Someone who wouldn’t judge me or use my circumstances against me.

The digital clock on the nightstand glowed 6:42 AM. In a few hours, I’d have to face him again, pretending like seeing him in pajamas didn’t make my stomach flutter despite everything. All that's if I made it out of this house earlier

As I wore my uniform, I couldn’t stop frowning about going to school as I tucked my shirt into my pleated navy skirt. There was almost no way I wouldn’t bump into Rian and only God knows if I will be the trendy student before the end of today—obviously in a bad way.

Every girl at Vale Mount would kill to be in my position, living in the same house as Rian Walker, the golden boy with his effortless charm and the heir to a leading construction company. But they would never see the cold looks he gives me for them not to be jealous of me.

I was squeezing a full toast into my mouth, trying to finish breakfast as quickly as possible to avoid any awkward encounters, when I bumped into him. All I could pray for was for the ground to come to my aid as my hand paused with the toast partly in my mouth as I stared at him.

He stood there in his perfectly pressed uniform, his dark messy quiff haircut laid perfect. Even first thing in the morning, he looked like a god. Meanwhile, I probably looked like I had fought a giant in my dream.

I should hate him right now for the humiliation in class, but sadly I don't think it was his fault. He was only trying to be safe. It feels good to be the first person to set my eyes on him before others at school. There was something intimate about seeing him do everything he can't do in school, even if that intimacy was completely one-sided. His presence filled the spacious kitchen, making the room feel smaller despite its grand proportions.

To be sincere, I really feel bad for myself because I knew there was no chance with Rian again, not that there ever really was one. Any fantasy I’d harbored about him noticing me, asking me or him loving me for a day has all that crumbled the moment I stepped into his house as a househelp. And good at the same time because I would be able to admire him from proximity for the time being, even though he acted like he never noticed me.

He stared at me like someone who’d never had to worry about where his next meal was coming from, never had to choose between pride and survival.

“How are you doing Sarah?” Mrs. Walker called out, jolting me away from my thoughts. She appeared in the doorway wearing an elegant furry robe, her blonde hair perfectly styled even at this early hour. I guessed she was going out too.

“Good morning. I’m fine, thank you,” I responded, quickly swallowing the rest of my toast and wiping my hands on my uniform.

“Good that you are prepared for school. You will ride with Rian,” she announced casually.

“Rian?” I yelled, the word escaping before I could stop it. The thought of being trapped in a close space with him was scary. Didn't she notice his hatred for me or what?

“Is there a problem with that?” Mrs. Walker’s perfectly arched eyebrow rose slightly, and I caught the subtle warning in her tone.

“No ma’am,” I nodded, forcing my voice to remain steady even as my heart hammered against my ribcage.

I looked at Rian who just stood without a word, his expression unreadable. But I’m quite good at reading people’s expressions. The stare in his eyes was more like saying I will make you refuse the offer yourself. It was a challenge, a test to see how much discomfort I could endure.

****

I fastened my belt in the fully conditioned white Mercedes car. I managed to steal a few glances without getting caught, studying his cute face as he adjusted the rearview mirror and synced his phone to the car’s Bluetooth system.

His left hand on the steering wheel was adorned with a shining silver watch.

We were just about one kilometer away from the house when he suddenly pulled the car over. The engine purred and died into an alarming silence. I looked at him in shock, my mind racing through possibilities. Why would the car get faulty today? Of all days, why now? I really don’t want to be pictured as someone with a bad aura, someone who brings misfortune wherever she goes.

“Get out,” he commanded rudely, nodding towards the door with the casual dismissal of someone discarding a piece of trash.

“Why would you do this in the middle of the road?” I questioned, my voice rising with a mixture of disbelief and rising panic. We were on a road full of moving vehicles which was something, where anything could’ve happened.

“As a matter of fact, the car is mine. So I choose whoever I want in my car.” His voice was flat, like he was explaining something obvious to a particularly slow child.

Putting everything in place, I wished I had ridden my bicycle or better still, kept it in his car boot if he had given me a hint he would be moving this mad. But then again, when did the privileged ever give warnings to the rest of us? We haven’t even gotten to half of the journey. This is pure torture designed to remind me exactly where I stand in his world.

“Please, Rian. Just this once and I will never bother you. I wouldn’t even tell your mom,” I heard myself begging, hating how desperate I sounded but unable to stop the words from tumbling out.

“Your brain isn’t all that empty,” he shot rudely, and I caught the hint of surprise in his voice, like he hadn’t expected me to figure out how to give up so quickly.

“If you behave well, I might consider your request and not tell the whole school you are a maid at my house,” he said, and there it was, the sword pointing directly to my throat. The leverage he might never stop using over me.

I looked at him in surprise, though I shouldn’t have been. In his world, everything was a transaction, everything had a price.

“If I do otherwise, you know what that means,” he threatened further with a wicked side smile that transformed his handsome features into something cold.

Before I knew what was happening, he was beside me, having moved with the fluid grace of a predator. He held the door wide for me to really get out, his closeness making my skin tingle despite my anger and humiliation.

An inner part of me keeps telling me to plead with him more, that maybe if I appeal to whatever humanity exists beneath his privileged exterior, he will spare me. But to hell with that thought for not saving me from embarrassment—some bridges are burned the moment you try to cross them.

Unfastening my seat belt, he dragged me out of the car with the ass hitting the floor. He still didn't feel remorseful, and he threw my bag at me. My books poured out of my bag, scattering across the road.

Without thinking twice, he zoomed off, leaving me in a shattered dignity.

I got up from the floor and dusted my uniform, watching his car disappear.