I couldn't sleep that night, I had witnessed too much. I wished that I could erase all the previous events. The threatenings, the beating, Haris' screaming, how he pushed me against the wall, the pain. I realised that I couldn't be in bed, I had to take a walk, not necessary outside since the mansion was big enough. It was empty, I assumed that the rest were asleep. It was late, a few minutes past midnight. I carefully sat down on the beige couch, my eyes trailed off to the garden. It looked so peaceful, very well taken care of. I didn't notice his presence, my focus was somewhere else, deep in thought. I was deeply trying to wrap my head about the previous events, it was easier said than done.

"You should be sleeping" he said, his tone was firm yet softer than before.

"You too" I softly said. He quickly nodded as he poured himself some scotch.

"I usually don't go to bed early" he stated, a small smile making its way to his face. "I'm too busy with work" he added.

"You guys seem to be very busy" I casually replied to which he nodded, one more time.

"I see that you're a student, what are you studying?" he asked, I was a bit taken by his sudden interest in me.

"I study law, it's my third year so far" his eyes went wide when he heard my response.

"You are in the most illegal household in the entire country, Emiliana" he responded as he chuckled. "Which makes it rather ironic actually" he added.

"I figured" I shortly replied. I couldn't believe he was having a conversation with me. His eyes weren't dark anymore, he seemed relaxed. He had a glimt in his eyes which made him attractive.

"How's your head? Are you in pain?" he asked, for a moment he even sounded genuinely concerned.

"Oh, no. Don't worry about me" I lied, the last thing I wanted was to show more weakness.

"You're lying, Emiliana" he spoke, his eyes were almost loosing the little yet so important spark.

"I'm not lying, Mr. Lyonheart." I reassured him which didn't seem to work, therefore I tried to change the subject. "Would you want to take a walk?" I asked, already regretting my question. He raised an eyebrow.

"If you insist" he answered and we made our way out of the mansion. I could see Zoran walking back and forth by the gate, his mind must have been somewhere far away.

"Good evening Mr. Lyonheart and Emiliana" he said with a smirk plastered to his face.

"Gdje si brate?" (What's up brother?) Haris asked in what I assumed was Bosnian.

"Evo me brate, nista. Vi setate, jeli?" (Nothing special brother, you're out for a walk?), Zoran asked as he lit a cigarette. He offered me one but I quickly shook my head and smiled. Haris nodded to Zoran's question and we walked out of the Lyonheart residence. We walked in silence for a while, our breathing could be the only thing heard.

"Is it normal to abuse in your family?" I asked, the question was rather unclear but he would most likely understand.

"Is it  normal to solve issues together?" he rephrased my question and I took a deep breath.

"You can't solve anything by using violence" I spoke and he chuckled, to my surprise.

"In my world, everything is solved by violence, Emiliana." he responded as he sighed. "You're too innocent, aren't you? I bet you've never witnessed any type of violence" he added. I bit my lip as all the memories of my childhood passed by in my mind - on replay. He would hit her, slap her, beat her. She was still there for him, at the end they would sit down together and use drugs. They would fight over money, they would sell their souls in order to consume drugs. But no Haris, I had never witnessed any type of violence.

"Wow Mr. Lyonheart. You really figured me out" I responded, trying to sound trustworthy. By the time I had responded we were already at the main entrance of the mansion.

"I apologise" he said, his eyes meeting mine.

"For what?" I quickly asked.

"For making you witness violence and feel it on your own skin" with that said he turned around and walked away. He was cruel, he was welcoming me into a world I hated. But to say he was the first who showed me the true colours of violence was a lie. A big one.

The next few days were plain boring, I would go to class, come back to the mansion, cook, clean and study. After mine and Haris conversation he had disappeared, by mistake I had overheard Leila mentioning his name and Belgrade. I assumed that he was gone for a business trip and would be back soon. I stood by the stove preparing dinner once again, the family seemed to be pleased by my cooking so far since they hadn't complained. For a second I felt as if someone was watching me. I hastily turned around only to find him staring at me, his eyes were dark as usual. The glimt that appeared during our walk had now vanished, as his gaze inspected every inch of me I felt a nervous feeling in my stomach. My subconscious was telling me that something was off, terribly off.

"Good evening, Mr. Lyonheart." I broke the silence.

"Don't you ever ask me to take a walk with you" he firmly stated. An expression of confusion was plastered on my face. "Don't give me that look, Emiliana. You are fully aware of my intention with this conversation" he strictly added. His expression was cold, as usual. Nothing new.

"It was just a walk Mr. Lyonheart" I responded, doing my best to ignore the feeling in my gut.

"Forget about the walk and the talk. Erase it." he demanded. I took a deep breath trying to figure out a proper answer.

"We were having a normal conversation Haris" I accidentally said his name out loud. His facial expression changed within a second. His dark eyes turned even darker, rather spiteful. He took a step closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine.

"It's Mr. Lyonheart for you. Who gave you the permission to call me by my first name?" his voice was raising, I couldn't face him anymore, his tone and behaviour was turning into something else, something I didn't want.

"I apologise Mr. Lyonheart" I said, emphasizing his last name. "It accidentally slipped, I didn't mean to offend you"

"You seem to have an intention with everything you do, Emiliana"

"Perhaps, but my genuin intention wasn't to offend you by any means. Regarding the walk, it simply won't happen again" I said, making myself clear. He bitterly sighed, gave me a last look before walking away. He was complicated, he was unclear and I wanted to hate him. I strongly disliked him, he was messing with me and I wouldn't allow it.

He strode past me, he didn't even look my way. I wasn't expecting him to be kind but for some odd reason I thought that he would at least be respectful. Obviously a very stupid assumption from my side. Moments later I served them dinner and stood by the corner as always, I would eat dinner when they had finished alone in the kitchen. I was obviously not invited to dine with them since I was a maid. 

"How was your trip to Belgrade, brate?" The golden chain asked.

"It was hectic, the goods will be shipped as planned. Keep your eyes on those two new boys, I don't completely trust them" he responded. The golden chain smirked.

"Do you want me to teach them a little lesson?" he was grinning, he almost looked excited.

"Dino" Haris warningly said "keep your fists at bay" The golden chain, also known as Dino rolled his eyes at his brother's statement.

"Whatever" he muttered and continued eating his food.

"You know son, violence can solve a lot of issues in our world" Zlatko's deep voice spoke, his attention was on his son, Haris. "I'm speaking out of experience" he added.

"I ordered him to keep his eyes on them, not to beat them till death. So far, they haven't done anything wrong, perhaps they will, perhaps they won't." Haris harshly responded to his father.

"You're too naive, son. Why don't you scare them a little, yeah?" the older man tried.

"Because I'm not you, alright? Quit trying to turn me into yourself, because that won't happen" I could sense the tension in the room, Haris seemed pretty irritated by his father's attempts.

"You'll be surprised. I never wanted to turn into your grandfather either, but here I am"

"You're talking nonsense, father" Haris said, his voice was slightly raising. I still stood in the corner of the room carefully watching the situation, hopefully it wouldn't escalate.

"Watch it, son" Zlatko warned his son. Anessa's eyes were glued on Haris, she was probably very excited about the situation.

"Enough, both of you" Leila's powerful voice said. She stood up from her chair and pointed a finger at Haris. "You cannot deny the fact that Zlatko has shown great leadership throughout the years. He should be a role model for you Haris, especially since you're supposed to take over. I am, however in doubt. You let your emotions get the best of you" My eyes gently landed on Haris, his body was tensed. His face was turning red which meant he was about to lecture the whole room.

"Doubt me all you want, mother. I couldn't care less. You'll see it with your own eyes where my leadership contra his leadership will take the family name." A heavy silence fell over the room, no one dared to say a word. I assumed they had finished the dinner, I slowly approached the table. As my hand grabbed Haris plate his voice was heard again, this time directed to me.

"Who the hell gave you the permission to clean up the table?" he barked, my eyes went wide. I almost dropped the plate to the floor.

"I'm sorry" I mumbled and returned the plate, when the plate was in front of him he grabbed it and smashed it against the grey floor, with all his strength. I flinched and backed away, he was capable of hurting me again, I didn't want to risk it.

"When we're having a discussion you're supposed to get the fuck away from here. You think I'm blind, don't you? I see how you're listening to every word, I feel you judging us you good for nothing" he yelled, he was livid. Tears fell down my cheeks, I didn't even bother to hide them. He had no right to speak to me in a disrespectful kind of way.

"Please brother. She didn't do anything wrong" the youngest brother spoke up. I bent down to pick up the pieces of the shattered plate.

"Shut the hell up, Amar" Haris bellowed as his fist collided with the table. I was still gathering the pieces, one by one when I felt a sharp pain in my hand, I yelped. I bit my lip, hard. The blood trailed down my hand. Amar bent down to help me pick up the pieces when he noticed the cut in my hand.

"Oh don't worry Emiliana. We will solve this" Amar's smooth voice said as he took my hand and added pressure to the cut. No one else offered any help as we walked past them. The first aid kit was in the kitchen, I winced in pain as he tried to clean the cut.

"I'm sorry dear, I'll try to be more gentle" he spoke, his eyes focusing on my hand. He wrapped the cut up with a bandaid.

"Thank you so much for helping me, I really appreciate it" I said with a smile, he returned it.

"No problem, Emiliana. I'm sorry you had to see that part of my brother. You didn't deserve to be yelled at."

"I'm a maid, nothing else in his eyes" I said, Haris' behaviour was hurtful. I tried to blink away the tears forming in my eyes.

"He is a very complex individual. He used to be different, he used to have a heart. His heart is replaced with a stone, he feels nothing for no one." Amar explained as he gave me a quick hug.

"I have to quit this job" I stated and Amar sighed, once again.

"That's the thing, he will most likely not let you. Why? His twisted brain has the answer, no one else." Amar spoke.

"He will have to let me go. However, I'm very thankful for your help and support. It means a lot to me" I thanked him for being the only kind soul in this household, he must have been adopted since the rest were heartless - especially Haris.

Mine and Amar's conversation was interrupted by a call, he shot me a quick apologetic smile and a wave as he answered the call, leaving the kitchen. I was loading the dishwasher with million thoughts running around in my mind. Haris' behaviour was uncalled for, the way he took his anger out on me was definitely not appropriate. Why was I dealing with this family at all? No money in the world could pay freedom, my freedom was restricted. Leila didn't mention anything about spiteful words and mood swings in the contract. I was Haris' trashcan, he took his anger out, relieved himself and left me with questions. I wanted to leave but I had no where to go, I would have to solve this issue. I had some saved money on my account that could pay a few nights in a motel, I knew that I couldn't stay in the mansion anymore - my only option was to leave.

The kitchen was cleaned, spotless. My belongings were packed. I was ready to find Leila and tell her that I was the wrong person for this job. I wasn't the right profile, I couldn't stand injustice, I couldn't handle hurtful words and I was a terrible cook. I wasn't going to lie, I would tell her the truth. Finding her was easier said, than done. She was no where to be found, I even asked Anessa. Her response was bitter as expected, but she eventually walked me to Leila and Zlatko's bedroom. I gently knocked on the door, I waited a few seconds and knocked again. When no one answered the door, I turned around making my way downstairs.

"Emiliana?" I recognized Leila's voice.

"Oh good evening, Mrs. Lyonheart. I was looking for you"

"What's the matter?" she immediately asked, she must have sensed something on my low energy.

"I'm not the right person for this job, Mrs. Lyonheart."

"Why would you think that, Emiliana?" she asked, a hint of concern taking over the tone in her voice.

"I'm just not the right person" my answer sounded absolutely ridiculous, almost like a whine.

"It's about Haris, isn't it?" she asked, I didn't even have to answer the question - she already knew.

"I guess so" I sighed.

"He has had a couple of bad days, he will come around" she responded, almost as she shrugged the problem away.

"What if he doesn't?" I asked whereon she heavy sighed.

"He will, Emiliana. Don't worry" with that she ended the conversation and went back to her bedroom.

Well that went great, I thought to myself. Bloody hell. I promised myself, one more thing and I was leaving. One more outburst from his side and I would leave this hellhole without further notice. Haris could behave as he pleased, no one dared to teach him a lesson, he was disrespectful to everyone below him. Amar was right, his heart was replaced with a stone. I wanted to understand him but I knew nothing about him which was fair, I was a maid - nothing else.

It was late, a few hour past midnight but I didn't care. I had an urge to leave the mansion, I couldn't think straight in there. I felt locked, restricted and I was going out of my mind. The injustice was killing me, it angered me. How could he treat a stranger so poorly? I dressed myself in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, my brown hair was up in a pony tail. I didn't even bother looking good.

Zoran stood by the gates with a cigarette in his hands, as usual. He was wearing an adidas hoodie, no suit to my surprise. He seemed to have noticed my energy since he immediately handed me a cigarette.

"You need this, I can sense it." he said as he took a lighter out of his pocket "I always smoke when I'm aggravated, which happens to be twice every hour" he added. It brought a smile to my face, the way he would try to cheer me up.

"You're crazy, you know that?" I laughed and he chuckled.

"I wouldn't be standing here with a gun if I wasn't out of my fucking mind" he joked and I laughed, again.

"How did you end up here?" I asked, I wanted to know more about Zoran. He was definitely not American.

"I was born in Bosnia, my father was a close friend to Zlatko. He was responsible for the security, so the Lyonhearts have always been very close to me. When the war started in Balkan they helped us flee to the States, my father died ten years ago and I took over. Ever since I have been by these gates." he explained as he inhaled the smoke.

"I'm sorry for your loss" I gently spoke "You've known Haris for a long time, I assume" It was my turn to inhale the smoke as Zoran nodded to my assumption.

"Yes, that bastard." Zoran said and laughed "he used to be very kind but it changed. Now, he's more or less heartless. He has his good days sometimes, not too often but it does occur." he honestly added.

"What happened?" I bluntly asked, already regretting my curiousness.

"A huge shame for the Lyonheart household" he responded, I didn't want to ask any further since he would most likely not tell me.

"I'll be back in a few, I just need to take a walk" I informed Zoran.

"Feel free, it's pretty calm around here. If you need me, call me" he said as he handed me his number, I thanked him and finally left the mansion, for now at least.

The walk was refreshing, my thoughts had settled down and I was ready to return to the mansion. In the background I heard a faint sound of a car, to my surprise. I hadn't seen a soul in the area before which was strange. Was the car passing by or was it approaching the mansion? I shrugged the thoughts away and kept walking towards the mansion. Seconds later I heard the car brake, rather harshly. I rapidly turned around only to see a black SUV, the driver hopped out of the car and began walking towards me. I couldn't recognise the person since it was pitch black, the moon was covered by a cloud. My heart began racing, I quickly dialed Zoran's number, as I was about to press the call button the person spoke.

"What the hell are you doing out here alone?" the voice belonged to the one and only Haris Lyonheart. His tone was firm, the average person would actually assume that he was concerned -but he wasn't. "You could actually get hurt" he added.

"Oh really? It's fine, you hurt me in the mansion anyway" I cockily replied. At this point I didn't give a damn about his reaction.

"Emiliana." he warned, his eyes were borring into mine. "You cut yourself, I didn't lay a hand on you"

"Of course you didn't. You're quite the talent when it comes to verbal insulting" I shot back, he exhaled loudly as he was trying to keep his frustration at bay.

"You're not in the position to tell me how to speak to you, Emiliana. You're a maid, nothing else" he spat. I felt the anger fill my veins, he was a piece of shit and I hated him with all my heart. I wasn't going to be silent this time, he didn't deserve to be treated with respect.

"First of all, I'm a human being therefore I require respect from you. If you can't stand me, don't bother speaking to me. Second of all, don't even try to downgrade me, I'm more than a maid. Do me a favour and keep your unwanted insults away from me" I harshly spoke to him, my eyes didn't leave his. He pulled his hand through his hair and breathed heavily, he was angry.

"You're talking nonsense, Emiliana" he sneered.

"Feel free to leave me the hell alone, Haris" I shot back. I knew he hated it when a maid called him by his first name.

"Watch it, Emiliana" he warned, I sighed in frustration and continued walking. I caught the last sentence he said before hopping in the car;

"She's pretty when she's mad"