Mae grew up in a remote mountain vige. When she was barely a teenager, <b>her </b>parents forced her to marry a man she’d never even met. She gave birth to two daughters, but both babies were taken from her and discarded, no matter how much she pleaded. Later, her husband was killed in andslide while working in the mountains, leaving Mae a widow. The vigers gossiped about her, constantly pointing fingers.
A local vagrant started harassing her. One day, while defending herself, Mae identally killed him. She spent several years in prison, and when she got out, the only work she could find was as a menialborer.
Maybe Alessia was too young to remember, but the first time the eldest Tate son took her to a restaurant, they happened to see Mae there, begging the owner for any odd job. Little Alessia pointed at her, and from that day on, Mae became a fixture in the Tate household.
“I’m not a youngdy of the house anymore, Mae. If you keep calling me ‘miss‘ doesn’t that mean…” Alessia trailed off.
Mae waved her hands frantically. “No, no, I didn’t mean anything by it!”
Seeing her flustered, Alessia let it go.
“Mae, my birth parents have opened a small café. They’re shorthanded and need someone experienced to help out. You were the very first person I thought of. Butpared to working here at the Tate estate, it’ll be a bit tougher. Are you willing?”
Alessia hated pressuring people. If someone agreed, that was wonderful; if they didn’t, she’d never mention it again. She wasn’t one to plead or
bargain–opportunity came only once.
“Of course, if you’d rather stay at the Tate house, I promise I’ll never trouble you
again.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Just as Alessia assumed Mae would turn her down and was about to leave, Mae suddenly called out.
“Miss! No… Lessie!”
Alessia arched her brow, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“I’mpletely on my own. If it weren’t for you, I never would’ve gotten the chance to work at the Tate ce. Now that you’re leaving, there’s no reason for me to stay
<b>here</b><b>–</b>why <b>stick </b><b>around </b><b>just </b><b>to </b><b>be </b><b>looked </b><b>down </b><b>on</b><b>? </b>I <b>can </b><b>handle </b><b>any </b><b>work</b><b>, </b><b>no </b>matter how <b>dirty or </b>tiring. It’s all service <b>work</b><b>, </b>so why <b>not go </b>with <b>you </b><b>instead </b><b>of </b>making myself miserable here<b>?</b><b>” </b>
“Alright. I’ll arrange a ce for you to stay, and for this first month, you can <b>focus </b>on resting and recovering. Three days from now, I’ll send someone to pick you <b>up</b><b>.” </b>
“Thank you, miss… Lessie.” Mae caught Alessia’s look and quickly tapped herself on the lips, grinning sheepishly.
“Get some rest. I’ll head out now.”
Mae wanted to walk Alessia out, but Alessia gently refused. All Mae could do was stand in the doorway, watching her leave.
Back in her room, Mae nced around. To her, a room was just a room–she’d never been attached to the Tate family or their home; her feelings were all for Alessia. With Alessia gone, there was nothing left for her here. All she had to do was do her job as a maid, nothing more.
She was sad to see Alessia go, but mostly she felt happy for her. After all, Mae had seen firsthand how the Tate family treated Alessia all these years. Such a talented, wonderful girl, yet all because she was a daughter, she was overlooked and unloved.
Mae knew Alessia–if the girl didn’t care about someone, she’d never offer help. For her to ask Mae toe along meant her new family must be truly good people. Atst, fàte was being kind; her miss deserved to be cherished.
Sometimes Mae wondered, if her own two daughters were still alive, would they have grown up to be smart, beautiful, and kind like Alessia? Even if they weren’t, that wouldn’t have mattered. As long as they were good–hearted and safe, that would have been enough.
The thought brought tears to her eyes, and she wiped them away.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Alessia and Ste marched straight to the vi and kicked open Ileana’s bedroom door.