“Y-yes,” Anastasya replied stiffly.
Alex noticed the innocence on the new maid’s face and spoke up. “You’re pretty too. What’s your name?” Alex asked.
“Anastasya, sir,” Anastasya answered, lowering her head.
“Oh, Anastasya,” Alex continued.
“Um... yeah,” Anastasya replied.
Even though Alex had complimented her, Anastasya wasn’t interested in or attracted to the handsome man at all. In fact, she wanted to hurry out of the room, leaving the man behind with his strange behavior and mannerisms. Anastasya wanted to do that because Alex made her uncomfortable.
“Good Lord, what kind of creature am I going to meet next in this house? He’s handsome, but filthy and looks like no one takes care of him. Does he rarely bathe?” Anastasya thought.
Alex then spoke to the new maid.
“Okay, I’m going to take a shower first. Do you want to shower with me?” Alex asked, once again seeming to tease Anastasya.
Anastasya seethed inwardly and immediately rejected Alex’s bizarre-sounding invitation.
“I’m sorry, sir... I still have a lot of work waiting for me. Excuse me,” Anastasya said before quickly leaving Alex in front of the room.
She didn’t want to look at Alex’s face, even though the man was smiling at her.
On the contrary, Alex seemed challenged when he saw Anastasya acting that way. His blood surged. His adrenaline seemed to race.
Never before in his life had there been a woman like her—so indifferent and composed. She made the embers sleeping inside him seem to flare up, urging him to soften a woman’s heart.
“Hmm... interesting. This is the first time I’ve seen a beautiful girl reject me like this, but we’ll see. I’ll make sure you end up kneeling before me. No one is allowed to reject handsome Alex. Every woman has to become my lover. And once I’ve chosen one, I can get the others with money,” Alex declared as he entered his room.
He thought money was everything, that it could buy any woman he wanted. But apparently, that wasn’t true for Anastasya. The girl was truly different from the others. She might even be a rare creature.
Still on the second floor, Anastasya decided to open the other unoccupied rooms, but all three doors were locked. Anastasya decided not to worry too much about the matter.
“Ah, forget it. I guess these rooms don’t need to be cleaned. Isn’t my only job to clean Mr. David’s and Mr. Alex’s rooms? If I’m not allowed to clean these rooms, I should just go to another one. But I’m already hungry,” Anastasya thought.
She had already been working as a cleaner for three hours, starting by sweeping the very large yard, then walking up the stairs to the second floor and cleaning the two untidy rooms. All of that had left Anastasya sweating and exhausted.
Next, Anastasya decided to head to Mr. Abraham’s room. Despite her stomach growling with hunger, she still remembered what the green-uniformed servant had said in the front yard: if the work wasn’t finished, she wouldn’t be given lunch.
“Be patient, little worms in my stomach. Mom’s still working. You’ll eat soon. Please don’t bite Mom’s stomach,” Anastasya said, holding her stomach.
Then she walked on with determination until she reached Mr. Abraham’s room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
After she knocked softly, a woman greeted her warmly from inside the room.
“I’m Jasmin, Abraham’s wife,” the woman said after opening the door.
Anastasya immediately bowed politely before Jasmin.
“I’m Anastasya, the cleaner. May I come in and do my work, ma’am?” Anastasya asked Jasmin.
Jasmin smiled at the new maid and invited Anastasya into her room.
“Come in. You don’t have to be so shy,” Jasmin told Anastasya.
“All right, ma’am. Excuse me,” Anastasya said as she entered Mr. Abraham’s room.
“Yes,” Yasmin replied.
The room turned out to be just as neat, almost like Vivi’s and David’s rooms. It also contained Abraham’s private office.
Anastasya immediately mopped the floor and cleaned the other things, wiping the tables and chairs and polishing the glass cabinet until it gleamed again. She also cleaned several ceramic vases in the office that were part of Abraham’s private collection.
She noticed some fruit on the table and wanted to eat it, but she didn’t dare take a bite. All Anastasya could do was swallow dryly.
After she finished her work, Anastasya said goodbye to Jasmin. Her stomach cramped from having eaten nothing, and her face had begun to turn pale.
Jasmin noticed Anastasya’s face and grew slightly worried about the girl.