Chapter 5 What's Your Mission

The elevator doors slid open and the twins stepped out, followed by Lena. Her eyes widened as she looked around the place; she couldn't help but admire her surroundings. The place was nothing like she had seen before. "Here we are!" Natalie announced. She turned and smiled at Lena, who nodded back with a smile. Lena then glanced back at Nathan, expecting the same energy but he scoffed and looked away from her, instead. Her smile faded slightly. Natalie noticed and immediately gestured for Lena to lower her head so she could whisper to her. Lena did exactly that. "Don't let it get to you, he's always like that." "Hey, I heard that!" Nathan snapped. Natalie shrugged and opened the door, revealing a room that was made out of a dream. Wow! Lena exclaimed in her head. The room was everything she had never imagined, a wide clean, luxury space. A large flat-screen TV was mounted on the wall and a large antique wardrobe at the corner of the room. A table and two cozy armchairs by the window. The dresser and the giant mirror got her mouth open. And the bed at the center of the room was way too big for one person. It could literally accommodate five of Lena's body types on it! Lena's eyes moved from the bed to the large glass doors that led to a wide balcony in astonishment. "It's amazing, right?" Natalie's voice cut through her thoughts. Lena smiled back at her and nodded. "It's got a view of the gardens and you can see the pool area from the balcony. You can even spend hours there relaxing when you are bored or just watching the whole estate, you are on the top floor." Nathan, who had been standing off to the side, finally spoke. "Great, you got your room. I'll be in my room. Don't bother me tomorrow unless you have to. Ms. Nanny." "Her name is Lena," Natalie corrected. "Whatever, I don't like her," he muttered and walked toward the door. Lena watched him leave, feeling a pang of sadness. She knew it wouldn't be easy to win him over. I have a lot of work to do with him. Unlike his sister, he seems to find it hard to accept me, she thought. "Don't mind Nathan," Natalie said, cutting into her thoughts. "He's just... just... you know. He doesn't really like people, and he gets uncomfortable when things don't go his way. But I think you'll do just fine. You're nice, and I can tell he has a spot for you, already." Lena smiled back at her gently, her heart lifting a little. She then signed thank you to Natalie. "That's a thank you in sign language?" she asked. Lena nodded. "What's the sign for, you are welcome?" Natalie asked. Lena demonstrated it. "Got it"she replied and turned to the door. "See ya tomorrow, Lena. The maid will bring your dinner..soon." Lena signed thank you again, and felt chills when Natalie immediately signed back with, "You are welcome." Then, she exited the room. Lena couldn't stop smiling. Natalie is such a sweet kid. She sighed loudly and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, her eyes wandering around the room again. "The room is so nice. If only Chris and Emma could see this, she thought to herself. They would have loved it here. Chris would have been really proud of my new job, and Emma would have been fascinated by the luxury and run around the whole room giggling." She thought and swallowed hard. Feeling her eyes wet, she squeezed them shut, forcing back the tears. Not now. She wasn't here to dwell on the past. It's been two years already. She had to focus. Opening her eyes, her mind went back to earlier-the moment she almost broke down in front of Mr King. "Why on earth did I have to cry in front of him? Why couldn't I hold it together? His eyes seemed so cold and frustrated, even irritated." She groaned inwardly. "That was so embarrassing. I shouldn't have let him see me like that. I can't let him think I'm weak. Otherwise, I won't be fit for this job. Taking care of the twins requires a lot of strength and effort, especially Nathan. " Just then, a knock sounded on the door interrupting her moment. She flinched and sat upright, immediately drying off her wet face. The knock came again,louder. She stood up and walked to the door,hesitating only a second before opening it. She found four maids standing in front of her. One of them looked like a woman was in her mid-forties, and a younger one was holding a food tray, while the other two stood behind them. Lena suddenly felt a bit nervous but pushed it down, offering them a polite smile back. She was expecting only a maid to bring her dinner, like Natalie informed her earlier. Why are they all here? Could this be a traditional welcome visit for the new staff? Whatever it is, I should try and make friends with them as soon as possible, she thought. "Well, hello," Mrs. Edith said, breaking into her thoughts. Lena waved back with a smile, then immediately stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter the room. They did, as soon as they stepped into her room, they compared it to their own rooms with envy. After Lena shut the door, she returned to them, only to find them making faces and glancing at each other as if they were secretly communicating. A strange unease curled in Lena's stomach. Why... does it suddenly feel like they don't like me? Did I do something wrong? "You're the new nanny?" Mrs. Edith asked. Lena smiled at her, nodding politely. "I see... I am Edith, the chief housekeeper. You see, we have rules here. First, you have to earn our trust, which means you don't communicate anything about us to the boss. It's between us only. If you choose to do otherwise, you're going to be on the blacklist. Got it?" Lena blinked confused, her eyes wandered on each of their faces, none of them seemed like they were joking. So she nodded again, offering a smile that came off awkwardly this time. "Good, now girls, introduce yourselves". Edith instructed the others. "I am Ruth, the cook". Lena signed "nice to meet you". "I am Zara, in charge of laundry". She signed again. "Nice to meet you". Although they can't understand, they choose to ignore her sign language. Brooklyn circled her like a vulture, comparing her similarities with Mr. King's ex, Nadia. Then she reached out and twirled a strand of Lena's long red curls between her fingers. "Is this your natural hair color?" She asked. Lena nodded slowly,unsure why that was even a question. "You dyed it?" She asked again. Lena quickly shook her head. She just indicated that it was natural a second ago! Brooklyn and the rest exchanged glances. "So, you came here with the mission to replace Madam Nadia, then?" Lena blinked. Madam... who? She never heard that name before. She frowned slightly. Something felt off. She was about to sign-I don't understand, please. What's happening?- Unfortunately, she never got the chance to finish. Brooklyn yanked her hair tightly as if pulling them off her scalp. "Bitch". A broken sob escaped from Lena's throat.