Nova wasn't surprised to see less than fifty dollars in her old bank account; she had a faint but sad smile on her face. No matter how difficult it was, slowly but surely, she would pick up pieces of her life and put them back together, one step at a time.
She put her laptop away so that she could return to arranging. Books were next and it was very helpful that there was a reading desk and table right in front of a decently-sized bookshelf.
It was well into the afternoon when she began on this task, ignoring her hunger and not requesting a meal because although the chef would prepare her a meal worthy of a three-star Michelin restaurant, she knew well that she would just give the maids more chances to tamper with her food.
By the time evening came around, she had actually done a lot more than she thought she would be able to, the boxes had drastically reduced and if she kept up this speed she would be completely done in a couple more days.
She took a shower and decided to tackle the anxiety-inducing task of asking for dinner, she had thought she could eat her meals in the lounge but she could barely eat them hidden away in her room - She really didn't want to have to do this.
Nova's hunger won, however, and she rang the bell, the food showing up quicker this time only for her to see the carnage done to the food right away. They had decided to do more than just spill her wine all over the meal, this time parts of the food were completely missing altogether.
Some meals had been mixed together, parts of the pie stirred into the soup, the salad now a soup as her drink had been poured into the salad bowl. The maid waited until she came over to the sitting area, a haughty expression on her face as she waited for Nova to say something.
When Nova did nothing of the sort and instead silently waited for her to leave, she stomped out with a loud hiss, slamming the door on her way out.
Nova wearily stared at the food, she wanted to go to her bed and just sleep but this would be her only meal for another day so she had to try to eat. She picked at the parts of the meal that were still edible, going right to bed without calling for a maid to pick up the tray.
By the third day, Nova didn't want to get out of bed, her treatment by the maids had sapped her of all her strength in every way. She didn't know why she still couldn't find her phone but it didn't matter because she would rather chew on broken glass and sawdust than complain to Roan while he was away on a business trip after his generosity to her.
She just had to endure this for four more days and then Roan would return, by then she would fully be his secretary so she would be able to afford to buy her own food. And if the time came for Roan to go on another solo business trip, she would have earned enough to rent her own place...
It was just a little bad food, she could put up with it.
+
In the staff rooms that were behind the house, the four maids who worked in Roan's mansion all gathered in a circle on a bed with disgusted expressions on their faces.
"Is she still here?" One asked, her dark hair was hidden under a maid cap.
"I checked this morning, she is." Another responded.
"She's so persistent," The third maid rolled her eyes while chewing on gum. "You would think that someone of such low class would know when to quit."
The fourth maid remained silent but there was a grave expression on her face and from the way the other maids watched her expectantly, it was clear that she was the mastermind of the operation.
"What should we do, Camilla?" The first maid asked, tucking stray wisps of her dark hair behind her ear.
"Shut up, I'm trying to think," Camilla said rudely, a scowl on her face.
They had been working for Mr. Reyes for a couple of years now, and in that time, they had never seen a woman be invited to spend the night, much more be allowed to move in. So who was this low-class garbage that Mr. Reyes had picked off the streets and brought home?
They had done some research on her and found completely nothing, not even a single article had been written about her - well except the news that started flying around after she went to the company dinner with Mr. Reyes. But even that had died down completely like it never happened, so why was she still here?
They were confident in their positions as the only women allowed into Mr. Reyes' personal space, as long as things remained this way, there was a chance for one of them to end up with Mr. Reyes. The important part though was that things had to remain the same and the trash in the mansion was threatening that.
"We might just have to take it a step further," Camilla broke the silence, genuine cruelty in her eyes as she spoke.
She was confident that she was the most favorable to Mr. Reyes and it earned her the respect of the other maids, she wouldn't lose her hard-earned position to some street hussy who didn't have a single clue how the wealthy lived.
The others waited with bated breaths to hear the rest of her sentence, their eyes wide and eager.
"Lucy, take her meal to her tonight, and this time I want you to make it completely inedible, fill it with sand if you have to and by tomorrow night if she's still around, I'll take what will be her last meal to her."