Chapter 4 Perks of having a gossipy friend

"There is no use crying over spilled milk," she consoled herself as she went to take her bath.

"What is going on here?" she asked Claudia, shocked.

"Since Mister Thompson is going to spend the night here, then I rearranged the room, and I was instructed that you are meant to take a beauty bath every evening before you go to bed," Claudia said with a smile.

"You are disturbing and stressing yourself for no reason. He has gone back to where he came from," Claudia gasped. "Did you make Mister Thompson angry? You have to appease him when he comes next, or else you will be dead," Claudia said, scared.

Astrid was shocked about how scared Claudia was and how Claudia feared the cycle so much. "Why are you afraid?" Astrid asked.

Claudia replied, "Nothing, miss."

"Not wanting to leak out information for the sake of her life," Astrid thought.

"Talk to me and drop this formal behavior," Astrid said.

"I was instructed to say nothing regarding my past," Claudia said.

Astrid sighed because of that, because that cycle might have had some delays with her family too, and she is here to make up for the debt.

Please remove the petals on the bed. I will like to rest once I am done with my bath," Astrid said.

Astrid went inside the bathroom and was shocked to see that the bathtub was also with petals floating in the water. Astrid laughed aloud; she couldn't hold it anymore.

"Andrew loves petals this much," she decided not to say anything and just enjoy her bath.

While Astrid was enjoying her bath, Claudia came inside, saying, "Sorry I am late."

"Why are you here?" Astrid asked.

"I am here to help you take your bath," Claudia replied.

"I can do it myself," Astrid said.

"I am meant to ensure that your personal hygiene is up to one hundred and one percent," Claudia said.

"Go away," Astrid said.

"Unfortunately, I am under strict orders," Claudia replied. "I don't need your help. I can also give you a massage if you want," Claudia said

"I don't need this; I can do everything on my own," Astrid said. "Let's agree on something," Astrid requested.

"Okay, I will do some of my work, and I won't tell Mister Thompson that I did them myself. Is that okay?" Astrid asked.

"I'm sorry," Claudia said, apologizing as she picked up the sponge, and Astrid lay back, knowing that Claudia's loyalty was 100%.

After the bath, Claudia gave Astrid a nightwear, and she had dinner. "Where are my bags?" Astrid asked.

"Mister Thompson sent them, but he threw away your clothes. Why, I don't know," Astrid said. At least her laptop, important documents, and her mother's picture were still safe.

She decided to check on the vacancies available, so she would try her luck tomorrow. Astrid woke up and found out that she had fallen asleep on the dining table. She checked her email and found out that out of all the available companies she had applied to, only three had approved of her work and asked her to come for an interview. But luckily, the interview was scheduled at different times, so she would be able to make it.

She rushed to the shower because her next interview was in an hour and thirty minutes. After getting dressed, she faced the biggest problem: there was no mode of transportation. She didn't have any money on her. She saw her car parked neatly in the parking lot, but she wasn't with the key. She didn't even know where exactly the villa was located, so she would know how far she was from her next destination.

Time was already running out. She pondered on what to do and finally decided to call her friend Ashley to come and pick her up. "Where are you?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know... I'm at one of Mister Thompson's mansions," Astrid said.

"What are you doing there?" Ashley asked.

"It's a long story; please just hurry. I don't know where that is because I can't go looking for you in every mansion he owns. He owns...," Ashley replied.

"I'll send you my exact location. Please hurry up; I'm running late," Astrid said, ending the call.

Everywhere was quiet; Claudia and the rest were still sleeping. She checked the time, and it was 8:25. She barely had an hour left, and her ride wasn't there yet. The environment was empty; there was no one around aside from the guard, who kept grumpy faces. She couldn't imagine talking to them or telling them her movement, so she decided to wait for Ashley.

Ashley arrived by 8:55, and Astrid was pissed. "What kept you so long?" Astrid asked.

"Number one, I was barely out of bed when you called. Plus, no one informed me that I had to do an early pickup this morning. Can't you see I'm still in my nightwear? I just rushed out to help you. Number two, finding this place wasn't easy, and there is tight security outside this gate. This gate is as if he bought everywhere...," Ashley said.

"Please Astrid interrupted because she was tired of listening to Ashley. But I mean, did he buy this whole...?" Ashley asked.

"What exactly are you doing here? I thought Mira was the one who was engaged to him. What are you doing here? What about George and Mira? Do you know this? We're friends, we're best friends, and you're keeping everything away from me."

"This was the exact reason we no longer became best friends. The main reason I became distant. Best friends won't sell you out for likes and comments on Instagram," Astrid said.