97- Fifth Stick Ashley Walters pov The elderly woman was still the same. Except, she was no more wearing the maid uniform. Her white hair was still tied back in
a bun. One or two more wrinkles had appeared on her face, but she still was the same. Her posture wa s straight, at least better than mine, her chin was up and that might be the reason. she still didnât have
a double chin.
âHello, Ms. Walters.â She said with a cordial smile. Unexpectedly Edith didnât take time and brought her to me within one hour, âI have heard you want to talk to me?â
They both took their seats before us.
âPlease answer whatever she wants to know.â Said Justin sitting beside me. All this time, his hand neve r left mine, âAlso she is NOT Ms. Walters. You can call her Mrs. Deluca.â
The way Justin told her, made my heart flutter in my chest. A smile started teasing the corner of my mouth.
âOh,â she nodded in understanding, âI am sorry, Mrs. Deluca,â my heart was racing by now. A person ca lling me Mrs. Deluca was something I never imagined.
I knew what Justin was trying to do. He was doing everything in his power to win my heart.
âEdith and I think that you heard our conversation when we thought you were sleeping,â Justin turned t o me with questions in his eyes. I never told him that I heard something about the curse before.
âMs. Walters⦠I mean⦠please excuse me. Mrs. Deluca. The curse has been with the Deluca family fo r generations. Deluca people own an empire but always prayed for daughters. They had no problems if instead of a male child, their daughte rs would inherit their properties. According to the curse, the daughter -inâ
laws must bear its consequences, but the sonâinâ
laws are safe. If a generation will have a daughter as their first born the spell can be broken.â
What? A firstborn daughter could break the curse? Then why Delucas never went for gender selection?
âI know what you are thinking, maâam.â Helga cleared her throat, âBut it must be a natural birth. Even IV F or any other technique wonât work. The older generations got alarmed when they started putting the pieces together. They went to palmists, fortune tellers, Astrologists, and whatnot. Every one
of them advised Delucas to make their sons marry some other girl and then later they could marry their
beloved.â She paused for a moment, âAfter so many generations, the young master was the first male child who not o nly married the girl but also started falling for her.â
I felt Justin squeezing my hand and I squeezed it back.
âNobody wanted you here because we all knew what would happen to you. None of us was expecting that he would fall for you. When he heard that I could not give your luggage bag to you, he w as mad at me. He warned me and then tossed me out of the household.â She sighed and then tried to hide her shivering hand, âI have got sons who w ere never ready to support me. I did their upbringing singleâ
handedly.â Her lips quivered for a little while.
After I was sent away, I tried fitting into my sonsâ families because I was not left with any means of earn ing. My savings were spent on their studies plus I also gave them loans to build their houses. That was when I went back to the young Master Deluca and apologized.
I wanted help. A job to sustain myself. He told me that he would never take me back on the job but would help me with my finances. He started paying me my salary and arra nged a small place where I could live peacefully.
Now my sons love me again because now their mom has her own money. But by this time, I have also l earned my lesson.â
I was aware of her teary eyes but didnât remark. She was a woman with pride and would never like it if someone would point out her flaws.
âMs. Helga⦠Iâ¦â She didnât let me finish.
âPlease call me Helga, Mrs. Deluca.â She said with a smile, and I nodded at her.
âHelga. I didnât call you here to know about the curse,â her eyes snapped up in disbelief, âI never wante d to know about the curse. But thank you for letting me know.â I said with a smile, âIt was very helpful a nd explains why you two were talking about me.â
âThen may I know why you called me here? Edith asked me toâ¦â She seemed confused now. Even Ed ith seemed puzzled.
âEdith must have misunderstood. I heard your conversation and donât have any problem with gossiping
too. Unless you are not planning anything against your master or his family.â I assured her.
âI will never do that, maâam. I practically did his brought up and would never wish ill for him or anyone o f the Deluca.â She gestured towards Justin and me. She was including me among the Delucas âHelga. The first day I entered the Deluca mansion as a bride,â Getting to the point, I tried to remind her .â my luggage went missing and after a lot of requests I only got my one suitcase while the other remain ed missing till this date.â
Helga stayed silent staring at her lap.
âYou need to answer her, please,â Justin said in an authoritative tone.
âB⦠but young master⦠Iâ¦â Poor woman got easily intimidated by Justin, but I didnât want that. I want ed her to trust me that nothing would happen if she decided to be truthful.
âListen, Helga.â I leaned forward, propping my elbows on my lap, âI need honesty from you. Not for me
but for the sake of young master.â
I tilted my head towards Justin, âYou did something against the mansion rules and were sent away. He
stayed kind to you and is still paying you. He is still better than your sons. You donât want to end up at t heir doorstep again, Helga. You need to speak up.â
She exhaled a deep breath and rolled her lips between her teeth. It showed her inner battle, but I was p ositive that she would spill the beans.
âThe senior Mrs. Deluca. She asked me to hide your suitcases.â
âMrs. Electra Deluca?â
âGranny?â Justin and I both asked her at the same time, and she nodded her head.
Flashback starts:
âNo need to send her suitcases, Helga. She doesnât need them. We have provided her with a luxurious
room and an attached bath. She must have experienced such luxury only in her dreams.â
âBut Mrs. Deluca. Young master wonât like it if he would come to know.â Helga tried to reason with the el derly lady. Though she was the owner, but Helga knew this wasnât right.
âAnd who will tell him? Sarah is not here. She is on vacation. Justin already told me not to involve him in this mess. So, no one knows.â Electra Deluca smirked sarcastically.
Helga loved Justin but she also feared Sarah and Electra Deluca. Justin was never interested in family
politics. For him, only his business mattered most.
On the other hand, Sarah used to give her handsome tips so Helga could not go against Sarahâs wishe s. That evening a young maid came to her, âMaâam. The girl in the young masterâs bedroom. She is asking for her luggage.â
Helga didnât know what to say, âI asked you not to communicate with the girl. Just drop her meals and g et done with it. Show her as if you havenât got a tongue.â
Helga hissed at the young girl and turned to leave, âWhat if â¦â the girlâs small voice made her stop, âWhat if I go to deliver her next meal and she again asks for her things?â
âThen skip the meal! Got it? Now shoo away and do your work,â As a head, most of the maids used to bring their problems to her but this problem seemed to get out of hand.
She was planning to deliver at least one suitcase when she decided to call Sarah who was on vacation.
The reason for calling Sarah was to inform her about Ashley. The girl got married to Justin. She took th e advantage of Justinâs presence and demanded her suitcases from Helga.
âHow is that maid, Helga? Is she beautiful? Cunning?â Sarah asked her on the call.
âThe girl might not be as pretty but she sure is too cunning,â Helga informed her. She also informed Sarah that the girlâs suitcases were still with her.
âHelga! Itâs not good! Thatâs a breach of privacy. Itâs her right to get her suitcases back.â Helga wanted t o involve Sarah so that she could put some sense into Electra Delucaâs head.
Because of Justin, Helga decided to return only one suitcase. Later when Sarah returned, Helga was al ready kicked out of the house.
Soon after, Sarah called her and instead of asking about Helgaâs wellâ
being, she straight away asked about Ashleyâs other suitcase.
âMs. Sarah. The suitcase must be still there in the storeroom located in the basement.â She informed S arah, âHer stuff is not returned yet?â Helga asked her.
âNo, Helga. Her one suitcase is still missing.â
âIf you want, you can ask Maria to bring it to you,â Helga suggested on the phone. After Helga, Maria was
the second senior maid of the mansion. When Helga left, Maria started heading the servants.
âNo, Helga. I want to do it on my own without involving anyone.
I will myself go to the storeroom and get her suitcase.â Before Helga could say anything else, Sarah hung up the phone.
Flashback ends.
âSo, you mean to say isâ¦â I closed my eyes thoughtfully, âSarah might know about my stuff?â
âYes,â Helga nodded, âThe last time I talked to her she asked me about it and never called me again.â T hen she stopped and became a bit hesitant, âI am sorry⦠I am just a servant, and Ms. Sarah is one of
my employers who used to pay me generous tips. But depending on her nature, she would have called me again if she hadnât found the suitcase. If there is no call that might be possible that she still has the other suitcase.â
After Helga and Edith left the room, I looked at Justin questioningly, âWill you ask Sarah, or should I talk to her?â
âGo ahead.â Justin held my hand, âYou can talk and ask her. I can be there for you if you want. Or I can talk to her on your behalf.
Do whatever your heart desires.â
I wish I could tell him that my heart desired him. Only him.
âLetâs go out. Get up!â Justin suddenly started pulling me on my feet.
âBâ¦But Justin!â
âStop whining, kitten. Donât be a bummer. Come on!â
Holding my hand, he was dragging me into the market. On one hand, it was giving me anxiety because On the other hand, I was excited that he was with me. A few minutes before last night, I was so deeply. hating him that I could not even think of looking at his face.
But now?
Now, I could not take my eyes off his face.
So, I came up with something to divert my attention away from his face, âJustin! Take me back. I missed âShh,â he held my face and looked into my eyes, âNow whatâs done is done! It canât be undone!â I pouted but couldnât nega âSo be a good girl. Enjoy the moment!â he gave a quick kiss on my lips and started walking while still holding my hand.
Grinning like a silly ape, I kept walking beside him when suddenly my gaze fell on a familiar stall.
âJustin!â I jumped up with excitement, âCotton candy! Look!â
Justin followed my gaze and shook his head, âCotton candy! Ashley!â but now he was grinning too, âHow many?â
After a few moments, he was rolling his eyes when I was holding four sticks in my hand, âBuy your own. I wonât give you mine!â
I said tilting away a little to keep my cotton candy safe, âAll of them are mine!â I narrowed my eyes at him.
âThere is a fifth stick that also belongs to you.â My hand froze midway, and I turned to him. Did he justâ¦
He had gotten busy inspecting another stall that had colorful vases.
âWh⦠What did you just say?â I blinked back as if I was in a dream.
âNothing!â he said with a poker face, but his voice was laced with amusement.
âJustin Deluca!â Shifting the candy sticks in one hand, I screamed and hit his ass with my free hand, âYo Spread the love Daily Fast update Please Bookmark this site The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!