HOW YOU LIKE THAT | JENLISA

Chapter 28

Jennie

I thought that Lisa would take me back to my room, but I was wrong. Instead, she carried me upstairs to her bedroom and headed straight to the bathroom.

She pulled out a little bathtub stool and made me sit on it. Bambam had already left; so I assumed that he'd already gone to bed by now and he has left me alone with Lisa and oddly, I felt safe being close to her. If Lisa was with me the other night, I'm sure that she would have protected me against her evil pair of siblings.

I'd never been inside Lisa's bathroom before. It was big enough to be a bedroom; the tiles were all in white marble. A large vintage bathtub sat in the centre, with transparent sliding doors leading to a shower space. I could see my battered reflection in the enormous masculine sink with matching marble countertop. It was lined up with bottles of shampoo, perfume, and cologne. Everything here was a glimpse into Lisa's life before her accident.

I watched Lisa as she pulled out the shower heads next to the wall near the bathtub and sprayed some water over her hand to check the temperature before reaching for my dress and lifting it, trying to undress me.

I shook my head; with my heart was pounding against my chest. "I'll... I'll do it alone."

My body hurt from staying on the concrete floor for over a week, but I wouldn't admit that to her. Lisa regarded me with a concerned look in her eyes, and she didn't take her hands off my dress.

"You can wait outside." I whispered.

She stared at me for a long moment and that made me wonder if she was going to refuse to leave but seconds later; she gave me a nod, while placing a bottle of body wash next to me, and she stepped outside, sliding the door behind her.

Once I've made sure that she wasn't going to return, I peeled off my dress and completely stripped down. I tried to avoid getting the water on my plastered legs and let the warm jet of spray soak me entirely. I took some of the body wash liquid into my palm and scrubbed the lather all over my body.

There was a knock at the door.

"I'm not done yet." I called out frantically, thinking that Lisa would enter, not knowing that I was naked.

"Ms. Kim, it's me, Minnie. Ms. Manoban, sent me here to assist you. May I come in?"

"Oh, I see." I said, relieved that it was her. "Yes, please do come in."

Minnie stepped inside the bathroom carrying a towel and some clothes. I believed Minnie was one of the nicer maids. She didn't seem like an emotionless doll, like the rest of the staff, and I've always liked that about her.

After the bath, Minnie helped me to dress up. I couldn't stand up without any support, so I couldn't be embarrassed about being naked in front of her. She dried my hair and even combed it for me. When I glanced into the mirror, I seemed to look fine, but a lot of changes had happened between the naïve Jennie who'd joined the Manoban household a few weeks ago and the Jennie now who'd endured mental and physical pain. What I'd learned until now is to trust no one, and surely not the ones that seemed "normal".

I was really on my own.

I noticed that Minnie was wearing a similar ankle tracker, and that made me wonder if she'd been put through hell too or if she'd accepted her fate and remained silent.

"Minnie, how long have you been working for the Manobans?"

"Five years." She replied.

"Do you like it here?"

I didn't want to ask her any direct questions and get the both of us into trouble.

Her dark eyes met mine in the mirror. "Yes, and besides, Mr. Manoban made sure that my mother is getting proper treatment in one of the best hospitals in the country. That's all that matters to me."

I had no doubt that she was talking about Nichkhun. They used people's weakness to bind them to this place, and if that didn't work, they will use any force that they deem was necessary.

"I see." I said. "Was Lisa married?"

"No, she dated someone for a while..." She paused, "... but they broke up a few months before she lost her memory."

A wave of relief washed over me, knowing that she wasn't married. It was strange. I mean, why should I even care about things like that when I was only her caregiver? I didn't think that it would be appropriate for me to ask Minnie, questions about their family background. She could recite this entire conversation to Nichkhun and Sorn, and then they would make my life miserable again.

"You're really pretty." She commented without a hint of a smile on her face, and I wondered if it was even a compliment.

"Thanks, Minnie."