Author's P.O.V
Alexander sent the girls home in his car and ordered another one from his office. He decided to not join them and to wait inside the cafe instead. He didn't want things to go different, besides he wanted to give Emma some emotional space for what he was going to do to her tonight was going to take a toll on her. He had been waiting for this time to come for a long time. He could no longer resist at this point.
The girls were seated in the back as the car swiftly drove down the street. For the first ten minutes or so, there was absolute silence in the car. Neither of them uttered a syllable. Both of them were frightened. Alexa at last spoke up and said, "I wonder why Master had to send us home in the car. We could've taken a cab." Emma didn't respond. She was too scared to even think about it. Alexa put her hand on Emma's pale and cold hand and apologized: "I'm really sorry this happened. I didn't realize that Master would be there too." Emma struggled to speak but gave her a soft smile and told her that it was okay. But she knew it wasn't going to be okay. She was terrified. She knew that she would have to face terrible consequences later on. Alexander liked to keep people in suspense. He liked seeing fear in their eyes, especially in her eyes, and she knew that.
The car finally came to a halt in front of the mansion. They were home. Both of them got out of the car and walked to the door. They rang the bell. The French doors were opened, revealing Ela blankly staring at them. "You guys have finally arrived", she said in a cold tone. The girls knew she was mad. "I thought you went shopping only for the necessities?", she asked crossing her arms. She had no emotion on her face, just an expressionless look.
Alexa and Emma looked at each other for support because they were clueless about what to say.
"We're really sorry. The store was pretty crow-"
"Don't give me that excuse, Alexa. Did the busy store delay you or did buying that thing did?" Her eyes pointed to the bag of donuts in Emma's hand.
Emma gulped and looked down, muttering an apology. She knew stopping by the cafe could get her in trouble and that's exactly what happened.
"Ela, it wasn't her fault. I insisted on going to the cafe. She didn't even want to go", replied Alexa politely. Ela didn't say anything else and excused Emma. She slightly nodded her head and went off.
Ela sighed and excused Alexa as well. She was then about to get back to her work when she looked over the window and saw Alexander's black Mercedes. She frowned, thinking Alexander might have come home. But the vehicle was parked and he wasn't in it. She didn't give it too much thought and closed the window.
She knew Alexander's timing and that it was too early for him to come home. But no one used that car except him. He has been using it every day since he bought it and would never send it back home empty...
Suddenly, a thought struck her and her eyes widened. Her palms started to sweat.
"I'll be damned if it is what I think it is!"
She rushed towards Alexa and spun her around holding her arm.
"Tell me what happened!" Alexa was scared by Ela's sudden outburst, but she knew she had to tell her everything. She was about to anyway.
Alexa told her everything. Ela's face turned pale from her original light brown tone. She knew she was in trouble.
"Are you okay, Ela?" Alexa asked. Ela flinched at her sudden question and shakily replied. "I-I'm fine. Go back to work. I will take care of it."
Emma was in her room. After she was done washing her hands and face, she sat on her bed and looked at the donuts packet Alexa bought her. She was reluctant to get out of her room because she knew Alexander would be home soon, she knew what could happen! It was breaking her apart. A few droplets of tears rolled down her cheeks; she never wanted this. Why was he after her so badly? Why does it matter to him if she went out with her friend? Why does it matter to him if she talked with other males? Alexander did not even like her talking to his brother, Liam when he was the only member of the King family who was nice to Emma.
The thought of Alexander made her body shiver. She never thought a person like Alexander would come into her life. All of the things he had done to Emma were vile enough for any girl to fear for themselves. She had never thought of herself as a strong girl and she had to be strong. But how? She had always been a quiet girl. After her parents, she had become even quieter. She was scared to get close to people. But she wanted friends which she never had in her childhood. All the schoolmates had, bullied her. She never understood why. She never dared to stand up for herself; throughout her life, she just tolerated all the things that were happening to her in the hope that one day everything might be alright. All she had ever wanted was to have a normal life and to earn enough money for her Aunt Caroline. In some ways, she wanted to repay Caroline for what she had done for Emma.
Her cries turned into muffled sobs, she covered her mouth with her hands. Her suppressed cries told a lot about what she had gone through. She wished she was not there, because she knew the moment her master would come home, he would not spare her. She regretted going out, but there was no point in regretting it anymore. She went back to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands; Her eyes had turned red from crying. She washed her face and wiped it with a towel. She had to get back to the work, that was why she was hired and she had no choice but to face him. It was his house after all. He would come home sooner or later and whatever was bound to happen would happen.
Ela was working as usual and guiding the maids but her mind was elsewhere. She was lost thinking to herself. It was a mistake. I should have known before, I gave too much space to these girls.
She thought to herself. She sighed in annoyance and asked the girls about Emma.
"I saw her going back to her roo-, oh there she is." Emma walked into the kitchen wearing her usual formal maid outfit.
"What do I have to do now, Ela?" She asked in a low voice. Ela's arms were crossed on her chest as she approached Emma.
"Why are you so late?" She asked, but her tone did not sound like her normal cold tone. It was different. She sounded mad at Emma.
"I-I u-um was i-in the bathroom, I-I'm sorry," She stuttered.
"Enough of your excuses, what do you girls think you're doing? At first, you both came home late after spending your quality time at god knows where and even got yourself some treats as well! How amazing!" She threw her hands in the air and pointed at both Alexa and Emma who both had their head down in shame.
She came closer to Emma, almost towering over her small feature. She was breathing heavily and was nervous. Ela grabbed her arm tight and whispered in her ear. "You are in so much trouble, you can't even imagine." Emma's mouth was agape in incredulity. She looked at Ela's cold blank eyes and then looked down to her feet, panting and breathing heavily.
Ela let go of her arm and walked away from her while her eyes were still on Emma. "Everyone get back to work." None of the girls wasted a second. They all continued what they were doing before. Alexa looked back at Emma and saw her standing still, scared and shaking. She walked to her and consoled her.
"Emma... don't mind Ela, she is just upset with us. that's why she scolded you. Come now, don't think about it." Alexa held Emma's shoulder with her hands and they moved away from there.
'She has so many things to see..' Ela whispered to herself.