A MAZE OF GREED

The next day Thea woke up with a headache. Last night was chaos. After her mother got to know that the man she thought was Rees's childhood friend was actually the heir of the O'Dell family, she freaked out, to say the least.

Edwin was very uncomfortable when Mrs Green kept apologising over and over. Thea should have thought about the probability of her mother and Edwin meeting each other before. Alas!

Although Mrs Green was shell shocked at the revelation, she still thought that he and Ruth were the perfect match. Of course, now she could not say it out loud or hope for that miracle to happen because no elite had ever married a poor in the history that she knew.

"Are you ready for your first-day love?" Rees asked after kissing her on the cheek after they both got ready for the work.

"Yes." Thea smiled.

Rees pulled her in a hug, and Thea enjoyed the feel of it.

"Remember Thea, working with Master is not easy. You have to be very patient with him. He is a very impatient man and acts impulsively. Do not, and I repeat, do NOT EVER challenge his wolf or anger him.

You know what happened the last time he lost control. We do not want that to happen again. Do you understand?"

He asked while running his hand on her head.

Thea nodded her head on his chest. "Hmm"

"And do not forget why master has appointed you on this position. It is for Ruth. After the attack, he is very possessive and worried for her."

Rees pulled away a little from her, and staring in her eyes, he continued, "He has a great purpose to serve Thea. And we all have to serve ours by assisting him in every way possible!"

Thea took Rees's hand in hers. She gazed at her mark on his neck- the symbol of their love given by the Moon Goddess herself- an Arrow. She raised on the tip-toes and kissed the arrow softly.

Rees had goosebumps on his body. He always get them whenever she kissed her mark.

"I promise to fulfil all of my duties, as not only Mrs Welby, but also as Ruth's best friend and a part of your world for the safe future of both of our worlds!" Thea smiled.

"You are just too damn good Mrs Welby!" Rees kissed her passionately, pulling her close again.

Twenty minutes later, Thea stood outside Edwin's private chamber. She knocked on the door five times but got nothing in response.

That was not how she had envisioned her first day to be.

"Is he inside?" She asked a guard stationed at the door.

"Yes, he is. He will come out in next ten minutes." He replied.

Thea narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know that?"

"That is his routine. It hardly changes."

Thea had nothing else to do other than wait for Edwin to come out of his chamber.

As the guard had said, he indeed came out after ten minutes. Thea had a disapproving look on her face. He did not say anything to her other than telling her to follow him.

Thea was annoyed, yet she followed him to his office. Edwin sat on the couch, and Thea stood in front of him.

"Why did you not open the door?" She asked.

"Because you will not come in my chamber." He answered simply.

"What? But I am your head maid. How am I supposed to serve you if I can not go in your chamber?" Thea was always the hot-headed woman with a sharp tongue.

Fortunately, Edwin knew her well, and thus he tried keeping up with her.

"Yes. And that is why you will first meet me in my office. No one, especially a woman is allowed to enter my chamber."

"What kind of rule is this? Are you going to tell the same to Ruth? Do you tell this to all the women you-" Thea held back her tongue abruptly, but the words had already done their thing.

Edwin's mood changed.

"I... I am sorry. I did not mean to... you know..."

Edwin stood up and walked to Thea. Looking down at her, he said, "Thea. I do not know if your perspective about me has changed or not. But I am not Edwin Berrycloth. I am Edwin O'Dell and I have zero tolerance towards disrespect. Keep that in mind!"

That was how Thea's first day of work began in 'the great manor'. By the time she met her friends over lunch, she was on the verge of crying.

"I told you!" Ida shrugged her shoulder, munching on her bite of chicken.

Ruth ignored her and held Thea's hand in hers. "Thea, it is your first day. You have no experience of working as a maid of someone and, he had zero experience of having a maid around.

You both need to understand each other and cooperate with each other. It is a two-way thing. I know he is a little difficult to understand. He does not say anything clearly. Actually, he does not say anything at all.

So you have to observe him, study him. His likes, dislikes, his habits, schedule, his tantrums and moods. You will get there slowly. And then you will realise that he is not that bad. He is just... different!"

As Ruth rambled on about Edwin, she got lost in her thoughts that she did not notice how her friends had teased and knew smiles on their faces.

"Looks like your position is in danger Thea." Ida smiled mischievously.

Thea sighed dramatically. "Yes, Ida. I think young Master would prefer someone who knows him well over me."

Ruth blinked, and it dawned upon her. Her friends were teasing her.

"You two... wait!"

Ruth sprinted as Ida and Thea ran away, making faces to tease her more.

"Stop! I said stop, you two!" Ruth was annoyed that her friends made fun of her.

Ida and Thea giggled as they ran ahead of Ruth. A movement to her left caught Ruth's attention. Edwin was walking while reading some papers in his hand. An idea popped up in her head.

Her luck was in her favour, it seemed. They had no conversation after he warned her to not touch any other man. Ruth was confused but then thought that Edwin was finally falling into her trap. She only needed to push him some more, and then she would cross the first stage of her plan.

She speed up a little after analysing the situation. Her calculations were so correct that she crashed into him, just when he turned around the corner.

Ida and Thea stopped running after hearing their crash, but they hide behind the wall to see their exchange.

The papers in Edwin's hand went flying in the air and scattered on the ground. He instinctively held Ruth before she hit the ground. She knew that he would hold her!

Edwin recovered from the shock earlier than she expected. He was careful with her still-healing hand as he held her firmly by her waist and shoulder. Ruth held his biceps as he stared down at her in his arms.

"Miss Moore, are you alright?" He asked.

Miss Moore again? Hmm!

Ruth was about to open her mouth to say yes but stopped when she saw Theodora and Fannie watching them from the paralleled building.

It was just a cherry on the cake for Ruth! She patted her back mentally for choosing the right time.

"Ouch! Aaaahhh... my ankle..." She cried, careful to not look too dramatic.

Thea was concerned and was about to step out of the corner, but Ida held her. She shook her head with a smile. Now Thea knew what was running in that girl's mind. They both stifled their giggles.

Edwin's face instantly morphed into worry.

"Let me see, okay." He made her sit down, and he crouched in front of her.

Ruth tactfully sat in such a way that their interaction and facial expressions would be clearly visible from where Theodora and Fannie stood.

Edwin had a deep frown on his face, and that irked Fannie. Edwin would care less if his closest person was hurt, then why was he so concerned about this filthy woman? Fannie grinded her teeth in anger.

Edwin slowly touched her leg.

"Your dress..." He said.

Ruth nodded in understanding and raised her dress to show him her ankle. When Edwin's gaze fall down, Ruth smirked in Theodora's way. Theodora narrowed her eyes in confusion, but soon it transformed into anger when she saw Ruth pulling her dress unnecessarily up.

Edwin paused. It was not right to check her ankle in open. The world still did not know that Ruth was his mate, and the only other impression that people might felt got Edwin disgusted.

Glancing around, he picked Ruth bridal style in his arms.

"What are you doing?" She gasped.

"Taking you to a place where I can see what is wrong with your ankle."

Ida and Thea were more than ecstatic. But they were not the only ones happy then.. Ruth glanced in Theodora's way and snaked her arms around Edwin's neck. She even put her head on his chest to make her point clear- The challenge had just begun!