After the news of our mother's passing reached the ears of our father, Arthur Lim, he had us fetched from our once dilapidated rented house and will be brought to their grand and luxurious estate in the most expensive and biggest exclusive villa in the entire country.
Arthur Lim is an infamous business tycoon. To others outside his close acquaintances, he seems to be a dignified family man. Behind the curtains, Arthur is the ugly opposite.
Two weeks have passed since our Ma was laid to rest. As expected, only Ryan and I were there when our mother was laid to her final rest.
It never came into my mind that Ryan and I, aged 17 and 16 respectively, will have to bid goodbye to our beloved mother.
While packing for our clothes, Ryan and I argued. I sentimentally looked around the house and cherished every memory we shared with our Ma there.
We may not have the necessary financial resources at the time all three were together but we sure were happy. As if taking a mental picture of the place, I held my mother's remaining clothes that I will be bringing with me.
"Don't you think we'd both be in hell if we go with him, Ryan? I am pretty sure he has ulterior motives for having us there. He is never this benevolent." I growled at him, pertaining to our father's wishes to let us stay in his mansion.
Ryan is a year younger than me but oftentimes, he acts like an older brother. He is cunning in a good way, wise, and thinks a few steps ahead. He acts more mature than those lads in his age. On top of that, Ryan is gifted with a charismatic and handsome face.
In a swift and calculated motion, Ryan zipped his gray backpack close before standing up. "Don't worry. This gives us an opportunity to make him pay, Celestine. The closer we are with them, the better." He calmly said.
As a response, I nodded my head. I am certain that he already laid out a plan on how the two of us will survive in that heck of a place.
Ryan unceremoniously walked outside the main door of our rented house for years while tears were looming in the corner of my eyes thinking about the struggles we endured together in this worn-out and shabby house.
Two of our father's uniformed staff were already waiting for us outside in a black and spotless luxury car. I peeked one last time at our small moth-eaten house before getting inside the car.
During the entire ride, Ryan is silent than usual while looking at the buildings we passed. He looked like he had something serious running inside his mind.
Since the night he saw us on the floor of the hospital that eventful night our Ma died, my brother's once hopeful face turned grim and cold, ready to lash out on everyone who contributed to our misfortunes.
The moment we laid our Ma to rest, the two of us as siblings sort of had a significant unspoken pact of seeking vengeance. We and our Ma did not deserve any of the cruel things that happened to us.
As soon as we arrived, the giant golden gates of their mansion welcomed us. I stretched my head upwards to see the end of the gate but I could not.
The house is tranquil but I feel negative energy looming around. It was as if a lion may appear any moment from now and devour everyone.
I stick close to Ryan who is wearing a determined expression on his face. I leaned closer to him and asked in a low voice, "Are you alright?"
He simply nodded while I deeply exhaled, thinking about the kind of lives we will be leading here.
"This is your room." A middle-aged lady informed me pitifully as if she wished my father had given me a better room than this dark, dusty, and gloomy one.
The woman sighed and looked at me wistfully, "I have always known you'd grow up to be a beautiful lady just like your late mother." She said and warmly smiled at me. She sniffed and got a handkerchief from her servant uniform to wipe her tears.
In calculated movements, she regained her composure, fearing that anyone might see her crying.
I felt a sense of warmth inside my heart for the first time since I set foot in this extravagant and palatial mansion, "Do you know our Ma?" My heart hoped that she'd say yes.
I was hoping that this middle-aged servant really did know our Ma and give me a sense of happiness inside my heart that someone other than Ryan and I thought fondly of her, thinking of her, and misses her as much as we do.
She then lightly grabbed my hand and escorted me inside my room which is shabbier than my room back in our dilapidated rented house, "Come here, dear." She has this warmth which makes me feel that our Ma is still with us.
"I served your Ma's family starting when she was just a young lady like you until she married your Pa. You may have forgotten already but I was with you and your brother Ryan while growing up." With this, she started sobbing harder.
I was about to cry with her but I stopped myself. I could not let anyone see me weak.
She continued, "Your father wanted me to continue working for him even for his new family. I was scared to decline because we all know how powerful your father is and how dangerous he becomes when angry. I had no choice. I was so saddened about your Ma's passing but no servants were allowed to talk about it with your Pa's wife."
My room is located on the second floor of their massive third floor mansion. Ryan's room is on the third floor.
The middle-aged lady's name is Fe, the longest-serving servant of our father. She helped me clean my room, we cleared out cobwebs, swept and mopped the floor, and changed the sheets and curtains.
Fe helped me while our father, his mistress, and our half-siblings were away for a vacation because if they were there, the mistress would have opposed the maid helping me.
Just as I thought that the outside gates were already gigantic, I was surprised to see how beautiful the mansion is from the inside.
Everything in the house is shiny and mostly made out of gold. There are numerous paintings hanging in the walls screaming wealth and fortune.
What caught my sight the most is a huge oil painting of them, our father, his mistress, and his three children all dressed up in fancy clothes and looking regal. They looked so beautiful, like a respectable and prominent family.
I scoffed at the sight of it. The audacity they have.
Their eldest son is Creed Everett Lim who is just around the same age as me, only that he is a few months older. He is studying overseas so we are not expecting to see him around. Given we are just around the same age, it cringes me. How long has Dad been cheating on our Ma with a mere housemaid?
Next is Amira Isabelle Lim, the middle child who is two years younger than me. I don't exactly have an idea of what kind of a person she is but I am expecting that she is equally bad.
A fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.
The youngest son is Cassian Fox Lim, ten years old. I don't know much about him either but I am not excited to meet anyone from this family.
Two days later, they arrived from an international trip while visiting Creed in Great Britain.
No mistress or other woman is not insecure in her coveted man's legal family. This is what I kept in mind.
While I was washing my own clothes in the laundry room, someone dropped a huge pile of soiled clothes in front of me which caught my attention.
"Wash these clothes." She mockingly ordered and looked at me as if I was the poorest thing on the planet.
A woman in her late 30s stood proudly while looking down on me. She is wearing a tight jaguar print dress and a pearl necklace hand around her neck.
"Just so you know, I am Arthur's wife, Ingrid." She spat with fake authority.
I scoffed. 'Arthur did not even marry you.' I thought to myself.
No matter how hard she tries to dress elegantly, nothing looked good on her which made me think how class can never be bought even with a large sum of money. Like a pig in a mud puddle wearing a golden necklace, Ingrid was like that.
I wiped the soap bubbles away on my apron and stood up to meet her eyes. Being taller than her, she had to look upwards to meet my eyes and maintain the proud look on her face.