When Charlene entered her room, she let out an irritated breath. She was still carrying the clothes and items they had bought earlier. She placed everything on her bed, then stood in front of the full-body mirror beside it. Annoyed, she rubbed at the ketchup stain on her shorts.
"Ugh! Why won't this come off?" she muttered. She grabbed a clean pair of shorts from the shopping bags and headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, someone knocked on her door.
"Open up." The cold, commanding voice was instantly recognizable—it was Kerill. Charlene opened the door, but before she could say anything, he threw something at her.
"A napkin?" she murmured, then frowned. "It's for your… uh…" Kerill didn't finish his sentence. Charlene blinked, then remembered what she had said earlier. "But I'm not really—"
"Shut up and take it. I'm busy," he cut her off before turning away and walking down the hallway. Charlene blinked several times, stunned that he actually believed her lie. "That guy is crazy," she muttered as she closed the door. She placed the sanitary pads inside a drawer since she didn't need them anyway.
That night, Charlene helped prepare dinner and slowly began getting closer to the household staff.
"My goodness, Ma'am Charlene, if you had met Sir's first wife, you'd be shocked. That woman was so nasty," Sarah said while peeling potatoes. "I don't even know why Sir liked her, or how he lasted with her attitude," added Bernadet, the gardener who had joined them just to gossip. "Both of you, stop it! What if Sir hears you?" Betty, the youngest maid, scolded. "So what? We're just telling the truth. And honestly, it's not surprising where the kids got their attitude—from their mother, of course," Sarah replied. Charlene simply smiled while listening to their stories about life inside the mansion.
After dinner, Kerill summoned Charlene to his office.
"You survived three executive days, so I'm setting new rules for you," he said. Charlene rolled her eyes inwardly. "What now?" she muttered. "Fine. Go ahead."
"First rule: you are not allowed to go outside without my permission."
"What? That's like keeping me on a leash—"
"You think I care?" he cut her off. "Second rule: you are not allowed to discipline my children. No yelling at them, and especially no physical punishment, or else you know what will happen to you."
"So that explains their attitude," Charlene whispered. "You said something?" Kerill asked. "Nothing. Go on."
"Last rule: you are not allowed to enter any room or hallway I haven't approved, especially the west wing."
"What's in there?"
"That's none of your business. Just do your job for three months, take the money, and go back to wherever you came from. I don't care." His words stung more than she expected. "You really know how to hurt people," she said.
"Really? What's wrong with that? You don't like me anyway. After three months, take your money and leave."
"The way you talk, it's like we're just hired women you bring here. FYI, if I didn't need the money, I wouldn't put up with you."
"Same here. Now do your job properly so you get paid. End of discussion."
"Wait, that sounds unfair," Charlene suddenly said. "What now?" Kerill asked irritably as he took a sip of his drink. "What if I leave too, just like the others because of your kids? Do I still get paid?"
Kerill let out a cold laugh. "Are you stupid? Of course you won't get anything unless you finish the job."
"With how terrible your kids are, that sounds impossible."
"That's your problem, not mine."
"That's because you never discipline them. This is your fault too," Charlene shot back. Kerill stood up, his expression dark.
"Don't you dare question how I raised my children. Remember your place in this house, Charlene. You're not my wife, and you're not their mother. You're just a temporary Mrs. Wang. Know your place."
"That's exactly your problem," she snapped. "You're always angry and you never admit when you're wrong!"
"You—!"
They were cut off when the door suddenly opened and Saviel peeked inside. "Uh… sorry. Am I interrupting?" he asked before quickly closing it again.
"Out," Kerill said coldly as he turned back to Charlene. "I'm leaving anyway!" she snapped before storming out of his office.