he Scratch
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The Scratch
We both turned our heads toward Thomas, who was now standing there, and I was taken by surprise by the look on his face. I had never seen Thomas angry before.
He was always the quiet one, the one who smiled, took instructions, and kept to himself. He never got involved in household matters. So seeing him like this was a shock, but it also made me pause,
He shut Rose down with a single look, his voice a little too cold.
“Know your place in this house.”
Without another word, he walked toward me, opening the door to the back garden.
“Miss, they’re out there,” he said quietly, gesturing toward where Emerson and Madeline were.
I could tell Thomas wanted a moment alone with Rose, so I shot her one last look and stepped outside, letting the door close behind me.
As I walked down the garden path, I tried to shake off the strange feeling from earlier, but something was still bothering me. The tension was high, not just from Rose’s words but from the whole atmosphere in this house. And yet, I found myself distracted by Thomas. Who knew the quiet guy had that side to him?
Shaking my head, I focused on the path, which led me through the neatly manicured garden. Then, in the distance, I saw them…Emerson and Madeline–sitting on a bench beside the fountain, deep in conversation.
There was something about the way they were sitting, both leaning toward each. other, Emerson’s hand resting lightly on her arm, that made me feel a sharp pang of something I wasn’t ready for.
Jealousy.
What the hell? I thought, inwardly chastising myself. Why am I jealous? I can’t be jealous.
I stood there for a moment, watching as Emerson turned his head toward me. When our eyes met, he waved, and I forced myself to wave back. Madeline, noticing the interaction, looked in my direction too, and the instant frown on her face didn’t go unnoticed.
It was clear she wasn’t happy to see me. Not that it was surprising; I was beginning
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The Scratch
to understand that not many people in this house were thrilled I was here.
Well, they’re just going to have to deal with it, I told myself as I continued walking toward them. Emerson got up and started walking in my direction, leaving Madeline behind.
We met halfway.
“Hey, what’s up?” he greeted me, his voice light but tinged with curiosity. “It thought you’d be in your office for a while. I didn’t expect you to leave so quickly.”
“I actually wanted to show you something inside,” I replied, my earlier frustration still simmering beneath. “That’s why I came looking for you.”
“Oh?” His brows lifted, intrigued. “What is it?”
For some reason, my eye went towards Madeline. She was still sitting on the chair, but she was looking straight at us, and there was something about the way she was looking at us, the way she was watching us. Maybe it was all in my head because she was a bit far away, but I could see the challenge in her eyes. It was as if she was trying to figure me out, sizing me up.
This was a new feeling for me from Madeline, and it sent something through me that I did not want to agree with.
Could there be more to what is going on between Emerson and Madeline?
I could kick myself in the head. Of course, there’s nothing going on… I have known. these people for years, and if these two were to be together, they would have been. together. They lived in the same house before I did. They would have been married before I when Eric was small, and then he was big, and then when we got married.
Why are all these thoughts coming towards me right now?
As I was thinking that, Emerson got my attention again.
“Mina, do you hear me?”
“Yes,” I said, snapping out of my thoughts.
“What were you talking to Madeline about?” I found myself asking before I could stop myself.
Emerson frowned slightly as he looked back towards Madeline, who had stood up as she was now walking back towards the door that led to the staff houses. He turned his attention towards me and found me looking at him straight in the
eye.
The Sa
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“What?” He asked, almost like he could feel the question in my eyes.
“Nothing, I just asked you what you were talking about with Madeline. You told me that you were going to do something very quick.”
“Yeah, since I left this morning, I didn’t see her. I just wanted to know if she was okay because, as you recall, she wasn’t feeling good yesterday. I just wanted to know how she was feeling.”
I looked at him for a few bits before I answered. “Okay..”
‘what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” He said a bit, a little too quickly, like he couldn’t wait for the conversation about Madeline to be over.
That’s when I remembered the reason that brought me out here in the first place.
“It’s my office,” I said.
“What’s wrong with your office? Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know, but someone scratched the edge of the desk. You told me that it was new. Is it new?”
“Yes, it is, brand new. The designer was just here.”
“There are scratches on the desk, and I think someone scratched the edge on it and wrote the word bitch.”
“What?.” He asked clearly taken aback.
“I know. I was surprised too. Like, why would someone scratch the desk and write that?”
ou sure?”
“Are you
“I am sure. Come on, let’s go. I’m going to show you.”
So I started walking, and Emerson followed.
“it doesn’t make any sense. Why would someone do that?”
“I know, just look at it and tell me I’m not crazy.‘
We walked up the stairs into my new office, and then I went towards the edge of the desk and shouted to Emerson,
“Look! Look at it!” I told him.
The Scratch
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He went towards it and said, “Yeah, there is a scratch, but I don’t know, it doesn’t look like any word is written here.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him.
“It just looks scratched, but I don’t think there is any word written here.”
“Do you want some glasses?” I told him because I could not believe that what I just saw here had magically disappeared.
“Come on, look at it yourself. Think this is because I’m older than you?” He asked with a scowl.
“You’re damn old,” I said as I came towards him and looked at the scratch, but he was right. Someone had finished off the words B–I–T–C–H from the desk, and now it just looked like someone had scratched it.
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