Was it love - A billionaire's maid

The thunder was as severe as the storm that day. The rain was splashing like a whip all around. The sound of the wind was growling in the background. Teresa was shivering as she got slowly wet. The ceiling of the underpass, where she had taken shelter was already leaking. Her clothes and the little bag of belongings were getting all wet. The temperature had dropped all of a sudden and it was cold as hell. But that's not even a proper comparison, hell is supposed to be hot. Anyway, Teresa was still holding on to her dear life under that leaking underpass, somehow.

It was over a year that the orphanage she grew up in had to close due to legal issues. It wasn't that good a place to live in, though Teresa atleast had a roof above her head. There were frequent incidents of child abuse in that orphanage. Teresa too had been involved in many of them. But she didn't complain. She didn't complain because she didn't know how else anybody lived. She didn't complain because she had no idea that what she was experiencing was actually wrong. All her life, she had been part of that abusive environment, being exploited in the name of a home. However, at the point where she was now, she would happily exchange being exploited than freezing to death.

Suddenly, her eyes caught a black and white blob, braving the storm, just a few metres away from her. She strained her eyes trying to have a good look. Then her ears caught a faint meowing sound too.

" Is that a cat? What is it doing in this rain? Weren't animals supposed to be smart about natural disasters? Why didn't that idiot hide? "She was mumbling to herself. More like she was fighting her desire to stay put or go and get the kitty. After a few more heated debate with herself, she finally stood up.

" Ahhhh! I hate you for this. " She stamped her feet at herself and went running over to the spot where the kitten was struggling . It had a paw stuck between a rod and a boulder. In fact it's paw was pressed down by the boulder itself.

" Awwww, cutie. How did you get stuck like this? "She tried picking the boulder up and then the kitten itself, " Ssshhh! It's alright. Don't worry, you will be fine in just a few days. Sshhhhh! " Teresa consoled the kitten as it yelped in pain.She braced it in her arms and ran straight back inside her den.

But as soon as she stepped inside, she was pushed out by two firm hands. Teresa looked up with difficulty . She was already fully drenched. The rain battering over her eyes made it difficult to look ahead. She held one hand up her forehead to shelter her eyes.

"Who are you? What do want? Let me get in. I'm freezing here, " She asked looking up. There were about four people, all looked homeless like her, crouched where she was. They had taken her spot when she left.

" First come, first take, " Replied a fat lady pushing her further.

" I was sitting here first. I had just gone to bring this one, " Teresa protested as she showed them the kitten. It was leeching tightly onto her but was very calm , unlike before. It too was drenching, but didn't complain.

"We do not care. We don't care at all. Let's see if you can come inside, " Another man came in the front to face Teresa this time.

But Teresa was wise. She knew very well how it would end if she stood her ground. She grabbed her bag and then turned the other way and started walking down the street. As she went, she took one last glace at the intruders and then showed them the finger before running ahead for her dear life.

She had hoped to find another shelter near by or atleast had hoped that the storm would slow down. But nothing like that happened. She kept walking and walking, until her hands and legs started to feel numb and heavy. She was about to collapse when suddenly she saw a light approaching her at an alarming speed. Unable to make out what it was, she tried moving away from its direction. But she didn't notice the oncoming bus behind her as she stepped on the main road by mistake. It was a very close call but somebody grabbed her tshirt and pulled her on the side.

"Are you crazy? If you want to die, go die by yourself. Why are you taking this one along? Bloody homeless.Bloody thief." The hands snatched the almost dead kitty from her arms and left before Teresa could even have a proper look at the face. She could only hear the noise of a motorcycle as it's engine started and took off. Before her eyes closed Teresa saw that light which earlier had startled her, tear the haze created by the rain and storm, as it went ahead. As it went, the sound too accompanied it.

" So it was a motorcycle on the footpath. Huh! You can even scold me because I have no money. Even though there was no fault of mine. You almost hit me. That caused me to almost come under that bus. And you dare to shout at me and take my kitty away?Bloody homeless huh! Yeah I'm homeless,so what? So what you moroon? Does that give you the right to call me a thief? Bloody rich brats. " Teresa yelled at no one at the top of her lungs. " Sure. Sure. In this world, you are right even when you are wrong , when you have the money. The money huh! " Teresa mumbled as her eyes no longer could carry on. Slowly her hands, legs and chest, all started to give in, one by one. The storm still raged on as if her existence didn't matter even for the nature around. She was a nobody, in fact a perfect nobody that nobody cared about. Nothing before her nothing after her. She was just a pause.

At the Richard Mansion all the maids were lined up. They stood in perfect silence with their heads bowed. None dared to look up. They were waiting patiently for something. Something that surely they all dreaded.

" Who were the ones that had taken Mrs. Cathy for grooming? " Asked a very sly feminine voice, but it didn't belong to a female. It belonged to the head of the maids, Dusty. Though he looked like a male from the outside, he resembled a female from every other way. From clothing to habits, from preferences to poise. He was the child of the Richard's oldest maid in charge , but was abandoned at birth due to his gender being 'questionable'. It was a taboo for his old fashioned father to bring forth infront of the society a child that neither was a male nor was a female. He had sent him away to their remote ancestral home the moment he was born. It was only recently after his fathers untimely death that his mother could bring him back to live with her. The lad was unable to fit in or find a decent job as he had no education whatsoever. The Richards were kind enough to let him in as a maid on his mother's request. However he quickly climbed the ladder to become their head because of his sheer dedication and zeal.

His question rang like a sword dangling above their heads as the lad marched softly infront of them. Then turned towards them after getting no answer and barked, "Who was it? "

Three of the maid stepped out shivering from head to toe. He then turned towards them and asked, " So there were three of you. "

They nodded their heads as sweat trickled down their spine out of fear. Their heart pounded at a rapid speed inside their chests.

" So, there were three of you.You had three pairs of eyes. That makes six eyes in total. What use were they engaged in when the kitty went missing? " He yelled once more.

The maids shuddered but had no answer. Dusty slowly walked towards the elegant showcase in the Hall room. As he did so one of the three passed out of anxiety. The other two started getting weak at their knees. One managed to gather little bit of a courage and said " Please forgive us. We were careless. We forgot to count the kittens while putting them back in with their mother in their box. Please forgive us. "

" You forgot to count the kitties? Really? They are Mrs. Cathy's children. Don't you know what they mean to the Young master? You dare ask for forgiveness. Well. Well. " Dusty pulled out a very long and sleek looking stick from behind the showcase and admired it's craftsmanship as he walked up to the maids still standing.

" Since you say you merely forgot to count them, how about I too forget a few of you from my list. Will anybody care if one or two of you go missing? " His voice was icy chill and it left a cold rushing down the spine of the others.

He was about to strike randomly as he lifted his stick, just when a voice came from the upstairs balcony, " Dusty just dismiss this entire batch. I don't want anymore drama with such irresponsible fools. Just settle their payments and kick them all out. "There was a cough accompanying the order.

" Young Master. Why did you come out. Your fever is still not gone. I will deal with them. You should go and rest first. " Dusty rushed up to support a young man, who was burning with fever. " You have been out all day in the stormy rain looking for the kitten. This weather is new for you. You have lived all your life abroad. Your body will need time to adjust to this air. I will do as you said right away. You can rest assured and please go get some rest. " Dusty supported him back to his room. He helped him to his bed and also gave him his medicine.

" Did you check on the kitty? How is it doing? Will it survive? " The young man asked.

" The vet has taken it to their icu. It might take time to say whether or not it will survive. They said they were doing their best. I will give them another call in the morning. " Dusty assured.

" Don't bother. I will go pay the vet a visit in the morning. " He paused to take a sip from his glass of warm water, " You go deal with the mess down there. "

Dusty nodded his head and went out of the room, closing it behind him.

The young man was Peter. The youngest of the three sons that Mr and Mrs Richard's had.

But that was the end of their relationship. They were both tied in a business proposal and the only link between them were their sons.

Mrs Richards or Suzan had been down with full body paralysis after a tragic accident under very mysterious circumstances.

Her husband was quick enough to bring his mistress, her best friend, Clare quickly in front of the world in her absense.

The shame and regret had crippled Suzan more than her disease itself.

What a shame, the woman who had pretended to be her bosom buddy was in reality her home wrecker. Betrayal hurt more than the damage.

Suzan tried a couple of times to end her tragic life but fate did not even grant her that wish.

She kept living under the mercy of her caretakers and maids while her sons grew up far away in boarding schools abroad.

Peter was the worst affected from the separation. He had been his mother's favorite and had always blamed himself for her accident and unrecoverable condition.

He lost his childhood in all the confusion and had always blamed his father to lessen his own burden.

" Ouch, " Teresa opened her eyes with a jerk as the second dose of injection, pierced through her vein. She tried pulling her hand away instinctively, but was held down by two nurses.

" What are you doing? Where am I? " Teresa called out in protest.Her mind was still a muddle. She had vague visions from the past where two study men kept her down while a third pushed the string down her spine. The mere thought was enough to choke her and make her claustrophobic. She started throws her hands out in a fit, trying to get those images out. But somebody still kept pushing her where she lay while patting her head to calm her down. It wasn't a man, she could finally say as her eyes cleared up a bit. She blinked a few more times to get a clearer view and finally a warm lady's eye she met.

"Relax child. Relax. You are at the hospital. You have been here for a couple of days now. " One of the nurses told her as the third dose was administered intravenously. " Don't try pulling these. These are your saline bags. You have acute pneumonia. Had a kind lady not brought you in at the right time, it would have been impossible for us to save you. You were in and out of consciousness all these while. We are glad to finally have you back. Try being a good girl for awhile and you will recover in no time. " The nurse smiled at her before leaving and ruffled her hair a bit.

" How long have I been here? Be a good huh! What about the money. I have no money for any treatment. I better sneak out tonight. " Teresa thought out aloud , looking carefully at her saline bag.

" This is a government facility. You don't have to pay anything to them, " A voice from beside her, startled Teresa. " You can enjoy your stay for as long as they allow you. You even get the free food and clothes. " The voice yawned as she stretched herself on the bed beside Teresa.

There was another girl, almost Teresa's age on the next bed with both her legs bandaged.

" Really? " Teresa asked her with enthusiasm, hearing about the free food, " They give food for free? "

" Hhmm" , the voice nodded her head.

Teresa looked at her legs with sympathy and then asked, "What happened? Must be hurting a lot. "

" I jumped from the first floor. It's better than hurting at the Richards', " was the girl's prompt reply.

" You broke your legs on purpose? Why? " Teresa was shocked. What could be so wrong to make somebody hurt themselves.

" You won't understand. There was this place my agency was sending me to work. It's worse than hell, I swear. All my friends who have come back from there, are still recovering from trauma. But my agency wouldn't listen to me when I said I wouldn't go. So I had to do this, " she explained in a matter of fact manner.

" Don't they pay you we'll? " Aske Teresa innocently. She had known the rich to cheat the poor all her life.

" Nah! They do pay. In fact they pay good." she replied.

" Then do they not let you eat? " Teresa was looking for the exact reason behind her extreme decision.

" Not that. They let you eat alright. " The girl answered.

"Then what is the problem? " Teresa couldn't guess anything worse.

" There is this head of maids. He is ruthless. He beats up the maids at the slightest mistakes. Even chains them up. "the girl explained with such expression, expecting horror in Teresa's face. But she looked on at her eagerly. Teresa was still waiting for something more terrible. Being caned and chained didn't seem that bad to her when food and shelter was being provided. That had been the way she had grown up. This place was even paying money to top it up. It looked like a lucrative job for Teresa.

" That's it? Nothing else? " Teresa finally asked when the girl spoke no more, " That's not that bad. How could you break your own legs to avoid that? Isn't it stupid? " She asked.

" Stupid? You say because you haven't seen the horror in the eyes of the survivors. I have., " The girl felt almost offended as Teresa reprimanded her. " Well, if you so say, why don't you take my recommendation letter and go in for a few days. You can have a taste of what it actually feels like first hand. " The girl added with a smirk.

"Really? Will they take me in? " Teresa's eyes opened up sparkling.

" Why not? " the girl felt weird at Teresa's enthusiasm.

" Thank you. Thank you. Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much, " Teresa almost toppled her saline stand trying to give the girl a hug.

" I will give you the letter and I will teach you how to blend in. But you can't blame me if they find out we swapped. It would be all on you. " the girl took her caution.

" Yes. Sure. Sure. All on me. I would never tell on you even if they beat me to death, " Teresa was too happy at a job prospect. It felt like a dream to finally have a roof over her head and four square meals. She couldn't believe her luck.

She went back to lay down on her bed, with a wide smile on her face. This incident in the rain that had brought her here was in fact a lucky one, she thought. For the first time in her life, she felt being sick had it's pros. She couldn't wait to recover and go on her new mission. Life seemed so beautiful all of a sudden.