LILY'S POV

His words rang in my head over and over again as I tried to understand what the cryptic message could possibly mean. I had only been working here a day, and it felt like the peace I was craving was far beyond reach. My heart was racing as I rushed back to my room like something was chasing me.

I didn't sleep at all that night because my mind was filled with thoughts. What did he mean? I worried that Mr. Stone would dig into my past, and then everything would be out in the open. It was not hard to find, especially for somebody with as much money and resources as Maxwell Stone. He'd probably dig it out in thirty minutes.

Was this all some strange test? But for what? My mind struggled to understand.

The memory of his eyes on me is so intense. It was almost like he could see right through me. I curled deeper into my blanket in order to try to get rid of the cold feeling in my bones. My past was my well-kept secret because it was always so painful to think about. Keeping it buried was my way of not acknowledging it.

***

I stayed in the farthest corner of the room, afraid that he would come again. No matter how much I tried to hide, he always found me. He came every day and touched me in places that we both knew that he was not supposed to. He said that if I ever told anyone, he would make sure that I didn't have a place to live. So I endured it day after day.

I heard the door open, and I closed my eyes tightly, trying not to breathe too loud and hoping that he would leave. I was tired of enduring the abuse, tired of allowing him to leave with a part of me each time he came.

“I've told you to stop hiding from me.” I heard his angry voice say. “You better come out, or else if I find you myself, there will be hell to pay.” I knew he meant it, and I wanted to come out, but a part of me thought there was a possible chance that he would not find me.

I was wrong. Strong hands grabbed my legs and pulled me out from my hiding spot under the bed. I tried to scream, but his hands clasped my mouth tightly. I fought and kicked, but it was a wasted effort—as usual. He was stronger than me. There was nothing I could do to save myself from him.

***

I woke up drenched in sweat and my heart was beating loudly. I had not had nightmares in a long time, or at least they were not as frequent as they used to be. I knew my conversation with Mr. Stone had triggered it, which only added to my anxiety. This was why my demons had to stay hidden. I was not ready to face them yet.

I checked the time on my broken watch and saw that I had just forty-five minutes to get ready if I wanted to be in the kitchen in time to serve him. After what happened yesterday night, the thought of seeing him again wasn't so thrilling, but I had no choice.

When I arrived at the house, Shayna and her bubbly personality were already there. I had no desire to be chatty today, but that would not be fair to her because she wasn't the cause of my problems, but I did a horrible job of masking it.

“Oy, you look like you've seen a ghost. Did you sleep at all yesterday?” She asked.

I shook my head. “I was up all night reading a book. I could not put it down.” I lied smoothly. It was better than telling her what had actually happened.

She chuckled. “I can't judge you. It happens to me sometimes. Don't worry. Once the boss leaves and the place is tidied up, you'll be able to sleep for some time before you have to serve dinner.”

I looked at the tray of boiled eggs, coffee, and wheat bread and wished that it could somehow serve itself. I picked up the tray and carried it to the table. I was glad when I discovered that Mr. Stone was not there. I placed the food on the table, and then I left.

***

MAXWELL'S POV

I knew that she was avoiding me, I was sure of it. When I walked into the dining room this morning expecting to see her, but she wasn't there, I felt a heavy sense of disappointment that was hard to understand.

I almost wanted to call her out, but I knew that I'd put too much pressure on her yesterday. I wanted to stop questioning her, allow her to come to me by herself. But I didn't have a lot of patience, and I was too curious to know her story.

“I need you to do a background check on her.” I said to my best friend, Harden Crowley. Placing a file with all her information in front of him.

“Good morning to you too, asshole.” He scoffed before picking up the file and looking through it. “Wow, she's pretty. Why are you looking into her?”

“What's it to you?” I asked, sounding very defensive, which made him laugh.

“Oh, have the mighty fallen? Are you smitten with the new girl?” He said, reading from her file that she worked for me.

“Can you just do it? I want to know everything about her, especially from her past.”

“This sounds very serious. I've never seen you this way about a woman before.” He said seriously now.

“I don't understand it either. There is something about her, I want to get to know her, to be inside her head. I want to know everything about her.”

“I like seeing you like this.” He said with a smirk.

“Just shut up and get it done. I want the information before the end of the day.”

I said and stormed out before hearing his response. I was going to find out everything about Lily Carter and make her mine.