"She's pretty when she's mad" his sentence was stuck in my mind. The words that slipped out of his mouth were meaningful for once. I hadn't seen him for days, he was probably out of the country. During every dinner my eyes would search for him, his words had made an unexpected impact on me. I sensed a warm tone in his voice, the warmth had an unexpected affect on me. It was in fact affecting me too much, I almost got addicted. The only thing I knew is that I wanted more, more of that friendliness more of the warmth.

Leila had given me orders to tidy Haris' room a bit before his arrival. She commanded me to change sheets, dust off the shelves and make sure everything looked "perfect". I had never stepped a foot near his room, let alone in his room. Overall Haris felt as a closed book, it was difficult to understand what was going on in his mind. I ached to know more about his past since I've heard that he used to be different. I felt a strong urge to find out what was going on in his mind. He was an asshole and he didn't deserve my time but for some odd reason I couldn't stay away. 

As I was about to step into his room, I didn't know what to expect. I had built an image of a messy room, decorated with dark shades belonging to a bachelor - I was met with the total opposite. As I stepped in I was met by the outstanding lighting coming from the windows. The room was very neat, a beautiful shade of green relaxed my tensed body as I was eyeing his bedroom. His bed was perfectly made, no dust could be seen on the shelves and in my eyes it all seemed spotless. I continued the tour and went to the connecting bathroom, once again I was met by a very clean surrounding. I spotted a bottle of perfume on the sink, he had probably applied it before leaving for the trip. I gently gripped the bottle, examining the brand - Hugo Boss. I lifted the bottle, closed my eyes, taking in his scent. I must have looked like an idiot, standing there, sniffing a stranger's perfume but at the moment I couldn't care less. 

"Missed me, already?" I heard a dark tone, a shiver went down my spine and out of fear the bottle slipped out of my hand, landing on the marble floor breaking into thousand pieces. The liquid splashed across the floor and on my legs.

"Fucking hell" I muttered as I fell down onto my knees ready to begin picking up the pieces.

"You'll cut yourself again, Emiliana" he gently said. My eyes wandered to his brown orbs. I couldn't believe his calm persona, I was expecting him to be beyond furious. 

"I'm so sorry, I'll buy you a new one" I ranted as I continued picking up the remainings of the bottle.

"Don't be ridiculous, Emiliana" he firmly stated "You're a curious one, aren't you?" he asked. I felt my cheeks heat at his statement, this was beyond embarrassing.

"I think it's a good trait for a future lawyer" I attempted to joke, he chuckled as he ran his hand through his thick brown hair. His muscles were flexing while he was moving his arm, I couldn't break my stare. Good God.

"Hopefully you'll be on the right side of the courtroom" he said with a smile. His smile was absolutely breathtaking, it changed his intimidating features and turned him into a warm individual. Why on earth was he this relaxed? Especially after I broke his expensive limited edition perfume. 

"Which side would that be?" I curiously asked.

"Not mine, Emiliana" he said as his focus drifted off to the window "I wouldn't be there in first place" his voice was confident.

"You seem rather convinced?" I questioned and he simply nodded his head.

"Nobody likes snitches in my business. We kill snitches, Emiliana. People are usually aware of what's awaiting if they even try" he casually spoke, as if he was talking about the most common topic, ever.

"Do you kill snitches?" I stared at him in awe. My question made him burst out in laughter, a deep laugh. What the hell?

"I'm at the very top, Emiliana. I don't do the dirty work, I command the dirty work."

"You're in the mob, Haris?" I blurted out, without further reflection.

"You're a clever one, Emiliana." his tone had changed into a darker one "If a word leaves those pretty lips about my name to the authorities, I'll make sure to command and do the dirty work, myself." I closed my eyes as I bit my lip, hard. He would most likely keep his promise about ending my life if I went against him.

"I'm not a snitch" I fearfully spoke, I didn't dare to meet his gaze. I felt his hand on my face, he gently held my jaw, forcing my eyes to meet his.

"If you want to stay alive, you'll keep your mouth shut" he said through gritted teeth. I took a deep breath, slightly trembling because of his touch. The bubbly man who spoke to me a minute ago was replaced by his old self. 

"I- I will" I stuttered, all of a sudden I felt intimidated by his presence. Him being involved with the mafia wasn't something I imagined, it was his reality. I was working for the mafia which was my reality. I wanted to run, to escape but I knew they wouldn't let me.

"You seem to be a bit off, Emiliana" he suddenly spoke, as if he could read my thoughts.

"Oh I'm not" I lied, I didn't even try to shake his hands off my face. I stood still.

"Emiliana!" he barked, I bit my lip and carefully tried to get his hands off my face "I see through you, I'm not stupid. You're afraid of me" he added. I shook my head, I didn't want him to think that I was afraid of him. It would be a disadvantage, he would take advantage of my fear - heartless piece of shit.

"Everything is fine" I tried to reassure him but to judge by the look he gave me, it didn't work at all.

"What's bothering you?" he asked, straight up "me being involved with the mafia? Or is it the threatening that's scaring you?" he suggested.

"Both" I blurted out, I should have kept my mouth shut. I carefully lift my head slightly to see his reaction. I didn't have enough time to react when I felt him embrace me. His strong arms were wrapped around my trembling body. He held me close to him, I closed my eyes, taking in his scent. After a few seconds I could feel my body relax against his, it felt comfortable, it felt welcoming and it scared the hell out of me. I didn't want him to let go of me, I wanted to stay in this position - wrapped in his arms forever. What the hell was wrong with me? No, I didn't want to stay in his arms, I wanted to break free from his life, from his reality. 

"Don't be scared of me, Emiliana. I'm more than a mafia boss" he mumbled in my neck. The emotional side of him was drawing me to him, I could get used to this I thought to myself.  I hoped he would stay like this forever but little did I know it would change within a second.

His arms wrapped around me was a surreal feeling. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I went from being completely scared to calm and relaxed within seconds. His touch was magical and it attracted a tingling sensation in my stomach. A phone call had interrupted our moment together, I had noticed that it was a rather serious call so I left him alone. I didn't want him to assume that I was eavesdropping or being too curious.

 As I was standing by the stove cooking dinner I saw Anessa's face appear in the kitchen. She ignored me and went to the fridge, she grabbed a chilled bottle of water and eyed me. I didn't react to her disrespectful behaviour since I didn't want to get involved with her. To be honest, I wanted to stay away from her, as far as possible. She was nothing but trouble, a simple conversation could lead to God knows what. 

"That looks disgusting" she pointed at the saucepan. I rolled my eyes, definitely not in the mood for her bratty behaviour. "Oh my god, are you rolling your eyes at me?" she dramatically asked.

"I happened to roll my eyes, yes" I dryly replied.

"I should thank you, ever since you started working here I have lost weight thanks to your terrible cooking. They should have fired you a long time ago" she spit the words out as venom.

"Thankfully, you're not in charge here. Therefore you have no say when it comes to my job" I shot back, she was killing my positive vibe.

"You are in no position to tell me anything. You're nothing than a worthless little maid who has no future" I took a deep breath, I wasn't going to allow her to piss me off. She wasn't worth it.

"If you say so" I simply replied.

"Just wait till dinner, I'm going to demolish you" she angrily said. I rolled my eyes, once again. I wasn't scared of her threat, in my opinion it was all empty words.At the same time she was willing to push it quite far in order to accomplish her plan. Perhaps I should have taken her threat seriously, a feeling in my stomach confirmed it all.

The family were already sitting at the table when I served them dinner, it was rather silent. Haris eyes weren't focusing on me this evening, they were somewhere else - to my disappointment. I only needed a quick look from him to feel acknowledged. His behaviour confirmed that I should forget about our little moment earlier, I should erase it. The silence around the table was broken by Anessa's high pitched voice.

"We are in a desperate need of a new maid. Her cooking is absolutely disgusting, her behaviour is reckless and she can be very aggressive, please look" she rolled up the sleeve of her dress and pointed at a bruise forming on her arm. I felt my jaw drop to the floor, hopefully they wouldn't believe her lies.

"Emiliana, is that true?" Leila's voice brought me back to reality.

"W-what? No, of course not. I would never" I tried to protect myself.

"Are you saying that Anessa here is lying?" Leila asked firmly.

"Yes ma'am" I quickly replied.

My desperate eyes instantly turned to Haris', I wanted to see if he believed me, I wanted him to understand that she was lying and I wanted him to give me a second of his attention. Regardless of my desperate attempts, he ignored me. It was as my existence was erased from the planet earth.

"Haris? What do you think about this situation?" Leila asked her son. He took a deep breath, he stared at Anessa for a second and then he turned his attention to me. I trusted him to take my side, he had proved that earlier. His eyes were stuck on mine and time had stopped.

"Why on earth would we trust a maid? Anessa has been in the family for years. If Anessa claims that Emiliana bruised her, then so be it." his words left me speechless, I felt my heart sink and tears made their way down my cheeks, again. I made myself look like a weak fool in front of the family again. I don't recall crying this much during my whole life, this experience was really different from any other. I slowly removed the apron, my eyes were etched to his. He was a piece of shit - a heartless piece of shit. I didn't utter a word, they didn't deserve to hear what I had to say. I was leaving the Lyonheart household, once and for all. I was definitely going to figure everything out, I was capable of taking care of myself. I had no other choice. I could possibly go back to my other part time job? 

"Where the hell are you going?" Haris voice boomed but it didn't stop me from walking away. I let my hair out of the bun and let it flow freely down my back. I had my mind set on leaving and nothing was going to stop me from doing so. I didn't reply to his cold and loud voice, I thought he was something else - for a split second. 

Injustice made me frustrated, I didn't want to spend another second in a home where the innocent one is being punished because of lies. I could walk out of the household with my head up high. Haris' heartless action pained me, why? Because I had seen a different side to him, a side that didn't last long. Being the naive idiot that I am, I strongly believed that he would take my side.  I dialed Zoran's number since he was the only contact I had outside the mansion, literally.

"Halo bre" (Hello) he answered, I could picture him having the cigarette in the corner of his lips while speaking to me.

"Can you please help me" I asked in a shaky voice.

"Oh Emiliana, hello! Of course, what do you need?"

"I need a ride to the motel nearby, I would walk but I have a few boxes" I explained.

"Are you leaving, Emiliana?" he asked, his voice turned rather emotional for a moment.

"Yes, Zoran. I am"

"No problems! I'll meet you at the main entrance in five minutes" he responded and hung up. I appreciated his help more than anything, especially since I had no one else. I was a loner which was maybe for the best. I placed the last few items in the box when I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in" I shouted and the door instantly opened. I turned my attention to the door and was met by Leila. She was formally dressed as always.

"I'm here to give you your last salary" she spoke while holding an envelope in her hand.

"I don't need it, ma'am. I have made enough money here already"

"You're aware of the fact that I can't have violent maids here" she said, she really believed Anessa.

"I'm not going to defend myself, Mrs Lyonheart. I know the truth, the rest can be on her conscience" I spoke truthfully. Leila was silent for a few moments, she seemed to be deep in thought.

"You know what? I trust you Emiliana. I know that I have a snake around my table. She is very manipulative, I apologise for my previous comment. However, I'm doing this for you Emiliana. Get away from here, not for my sake, not for her sake but for your sake. You're intelligent and the future is bright for you. I worked here as a maid many years ago, I understand you but please leave. You will get yourself involved in this lifestyle and there is no way out" she told me, her voice was soft and she embraced me.

"Thank you for everything, Mrs Lyonheart. I appreciate it" I said while hugging her.

"You have my number, if you ever need anything I'm here" I was a bit taken back by her hospitality, but I appreciated every part of it. Her hug was loving and warm, it was something I missed in my life, a mother's hug, a pure hug.