The lady with Ambitions

Chapter 5

Irene peeks out of the bedroom door and searches for an exit.

I'd ask another maid, but they all seemed to have gone upstairs once the family was proclaimed to be returning.

I'm not sure how many doors I walked through, but there were too many to count.

Maybe I needed to go upstairs? I'd previously investigated every door down here, but none of them led to the exit.

Hesitatingly, I approach up the steps, hearing various voices roaring throughout the home as I get closer.

My pulse is pounding in my chest as I step out into the light corridors, seeking the exit.

Mrs Carmen notices me standing alone and gives me a puzzled look before storming up and grasping my arm.

I try not to make it clear that's where I've been injured several times, hiding the misery in my face as she takes me down the corridor.

"Are you insane?" "I told you to leave, why are you still here?" She spits, her tone low yet serious.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find the exit," I say, attempting to keep up with her quick speed.

"This is not the time to be lost." She scowls and turns sharply down a hallway.

I gasp as I come into touch with something hard, staggering backwards and onto the ground as Mrs. Carmen's grasp on me breaks.

"s**t, I'm sorry." A deep voice speaks from above me, and I glance up from the floor to find an extraordinarily handsome guy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, standing 6'4.

"Are you okay?" He asks, holding out his hand to me. His expression is filled with care, something I never imagined anyone could have for me.

My gaze moves to his extended hand and then to Mrs. Carmen's outraged expression. I slowly stand up on my own, disregarding his hand. I assumed Mrs. Carmen would be upset if I spoke to him in any way, as he appeared to dwell here.

I just guessed because of the fancy labels he was wearing and the gold watch on his wrist.

The guy looks down at his rejected hand, a little smirk on his face, and his gaze moves across my face.

I swallow the knot in my throat and look to Mrs. Carmen for assistance. I wasn't sure what was going on, why this guy was gazing at me, and if I should apologise or not.

"I sincerely apologise on behalf of her, Mr. Ace; she's new to the job." Mrs. Carmen speaks abruptly, bending her head slightly.

I wrinkle my brows in response to her action and swiftly follow suit.

"That's alright, Angie; I don't mind at all." He smirks, looks at me again, and walks away.

I took a big breath when he left, expecting to be shouted at by Mrs Carmen, whose first name I had just discovered was Angie.

" Out." She promptly responds, pointing to a door at the end of the corridor.

I'm going to say anything, but I realise I've done enough and walk shamefully to the door.

One more day of school until I leave that hell.

~ ~ ~

"Where do you think you're going, Hart?"

I feel my entire body freeze as the mocking voice behind me rips through my ears. Every time I heard his voice, it seemed like millions of needles were poking my ear one by one.

I did not want to hear it. I never did.

"H..home," I say, not daring to turn back. I didn't want to think he was behind me, that in just a few seconds, I'd be beaten again.

Today was my last day at school before heading to the Agosti Estate, but I couldn't go without being caught. Of course, today, I couldn't escape the devil himself.

"You haven't forgotten about our deal yet, have you?" He says, getting closer behind me. I feel his ragged breath across my neck, creeping up to my ear.

"N...no, of course not." I stagger out, my fingers securely wrapped around my backpack's straps, staring blankly at the wall in front of me. He was alone this time, and it didn't help that there wasn't anybody else on the street.

The town was normally deserted during the day, but it got more busy at night, with inebriated students committing crimes almost every hour.

"Good because you should know very well by now what I'll do to you if I don't get the money." Sydney moans and moves his mouth beneath my ear, letting his horrible lips contact my flesh.

I feel hot tears trickle down my cheeks as his hands touch regions of my body that belong solely to me.

I felt like vomiting.

"P..please don't." I cry out, attempting to move his searing hands away from my chest, but he simply clutches my hand harder and pulls it back down.

"Shut the f**k up!" He grimaced and pushed me down into the rough cement.

I was too wobbly to control my fall and ended up crashing on the side of my face.

I feel the cut behind my eye, the blood slowly flowing down with my tears, which mingle and fall drop by drop onto the soft earth under me.

"The next time I see you, you meet me in the spot at 2 am, got it, little b***h?" He spat. I can't respond as I struggle to catch my breath.

This made him enraged.

"Did you f*****g hear me?!" He cries, gripping my hair, and I nod my head, my body quivering in terror as I try to move away from him.

" Y...y..e..s" My words barely made it out; I was horrible.

"Good, now go make my money." He gives an unpleasant smirk before turning and walking away.

It's quiet while I collect my possessions, shower, and dress in a black baggy sweatshirt and slacks.

I've been wearing big clothes for the past 5 years, starting in Sydney. When I didn't, I felt like I was just making myself an easier target for him, living up to how he saw me: an item for his delight.

Sydney made sure to remind me of this whenever he touched my body.

I looked awful, and the gushing cut beneath my eye began to bruise, turning a dark purple surrounding the region.

How could I work somewhere that looked so extravagant? Being like this? Being me?

I take my dad's enormous old sunglasses and hide my eyes as I go out of the flat with my bag of stuff.

I walk slowly to the bus, and by the time I get to Rupert City, the sun has already set.

It was dark outside, Mrs. Carmen had ordered me to come promptly after school, but walking hurt so much that I couldn't move quickly.

This time, I try to walk faster towards the Agosti Estate, but my legs give out entirely, leading me to tumble to the ground.

And that is when I broke.

I cry as I slowly stand up, my entire body aching as I barely make it to the gates, and by the time I ring the bell, my tears have already been wiped away.

I put on the most normal look a girl could have, or as normal as I could make it, and proceeded in the same direction Mrs. Carmen had led me the day before.

I enter my room and leave my belongings on the floor. My gaze shifts to the letter on my desk, and I take the little paper in my hands, reading the words written in fine handwriting.

Change into your uniform and meet me in the kitchen at 8 p.m., Mrs. Carmen.

I check the clock and immediately grab my uniform when I realise it's 7:45.

The outfit was a modest black dress with a white apron and a ribbon tied into a bow at the back. I was given black flats to wear as shoes, a name badge, and instructed to keep my hair pulled back.

I take off my sunglasses, flinching at the scene before me. I had no option, though; Mrs. Carmen would never let me wear my sunglasses to work.

I pull my hair back into a low ponytail and exit the room, walking upstairs, where I expect to find the kitchen.

Several maids were hurrying around the home, some carrying trays and others holding cleaning materials as they rushed back and forth.

I attempt to ignore their puzzled stares as I stroll inside the kitchen I've somehow made my way to.

Mrs Carmen was on the opposite side, instructing a guy to chop the potatoes differently until she noticed me. Her shoes make a loud sound as she approaches me, holding a clipboard.

"Miss. Hart, follow me." She says, strolling straight by me, and I nod, looking at the kitchen staff before following her.

"About the parent consent form, I have signed it for now as a guardian." I glance up at her, wide-eyed.

" R...really? Thank you, Mrs. Carmen- "

"I was going to have you start in the kitchen tonight, but one of our cleaners got sick, so you will be attending the main rooms." She pauses my statement by pointing to a cleaning closet.

I look at her for permission before entering the door to see a nicely arranged shelf with cleaning supplies.

"This is all you'll need. I would start with Mr and Mrs Agosti's room first because they return home the earliest, and then you could handle Mr Ace Agosti." She pauses for a while, and I catch her looking into my eyes before continuing to speak as if what she witnessed never happened.

Usually, no one paid any attention to my injuries or me in general. Nobody cared to inquire how my day was going, why I arrived at school limping, why I never smiled, or why I was always so silent. I never expected them to.

"Leave Mr. Caden Agosti for last; he's usually not home until very late or never." She adds, her voice tinged with irritation, as she passes me some cleaning items.

The person I met yesterday may have been one of the sons. Whatever his parents looked like, they certainly gave him good genes.

"You should never be in the rooms while they're in them, so be careful with how long you take." She adds.

"Yes, ma'am," I remark, trying not to spill anything, as she adds the bottle of window spray to my already large pile.

"When you're done, you may go to bed and rest early since tonight is your first shift." She says this before heading down the hall, leaving me with all of the cleaning supplies.

I hope she wasn't upset because my face looked like it had been run over by a train. I felt pitiful since all of the other maids were so neat and well-groomed.

I blow a strand of hair out of my face as I grab the items before continuing up another set of lengthy steps.

My legs could hardly keep up, but I persevered until I reached the top level of the home, where Mrs. Carmen promised I'd find all the rooms.

Cleaning Mr and Mrs Agostis' room was not too difficult, given how clean they had left it, and I was completed by half past ten.

The rooms were so.