Beyond

Chapter 10

Jesse

I couldn't take my mind off what happened last night. I was supposed to avoid him, yet I'm the one who has the audacity to touch his hand and enjoy it. It was embarrassing that I couldn't even look into his eyes during breakfast an hour ago.

"Jesse? Are you listening?"

"Uh—yes!" I said, smiling at her.

Anna sighed. "As I was saying, you won't be seeing me this winter!" She pulled me closer for a hug. "I'm going to miss you!"

I patted her back awkwardly. "Did you get fired?"

Anna broke our hug, offended by what I said. "So you really weren't listening..."

"I'm sorry."

"The servants have two weeks of vacation every season! That's why I'm going home! I didn't get fired," Anna said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I see," I said. "But shouldn't you be staying here? Your lover... is here..." I mumbled, looking around for any signs of Payne since he was the topic and he might also get jealous once he saw me with Anna.

"Oh." Anna moved a strand of her hair behind her ear and chuckled. "Well, we'll be meeting each other at the Snow Festival, and I'm excited to introduce him to my family!" My heart dropped.

They're meeting each other's family now.

I cleared my throat, trying to hide how shaken I was by her words. "I see..." I muttered, feeling the tears building up in my eyes. I wiped them away before she saw them.

"My mother makes very delicious cookies. I'll make sure to give you one once I get back here!" Anna said.

"Sure. I... would like to have some." I gave her a tight smile, trying to hide my jealousy.

My eyes widened, seeing Payne approaching us. I panicked as I looked at Anna, who was starting to pick up the dried branches on the ground, unaware that her lover was approaching us.

My eyes met with his red ones, and he was probably giving me a signal that he wanted to spend some time alone with her. Despite the heavy feeling in my heart, I knew that I needed to run away.

"I have to use the restroom!" I announced before running and leaving Anna by herself.

I went inside one of the empty rooms in the house, panting. I looked around the room before taking a seat to steady my breathing. In reflex, I tried to use my Beyond to drink some water but groaned, realizing that I couldn't use it.

Throughout my weeks of working, I've cleaned different places with the servants. Lou lied to me. Payne gave me the biggest room, and he would definitely move me to a smaller one if I kept approaching Anna and making him jealous.

But it can't be helped though? Anna's my friend, and she's the one who's initiating a conversation first.

My soul jumped out of my body for a second when the door opened.

"Jesse? What are you doing here?" I sighed in relief when I realized that it was just Seb, holding a cloth to probably wipe away the dust gathering in the corners of the room.

"Just sitting," I said, leaning on my seat to find a more comfortable position.

"I see." Seb started to work, not minding me.

"Has Payne ever had a lover?" I asked. He looked back at me with his eyes wide open. "Just curious. Since he has a handsome face, I'm sure he had a lot of lovers in the past."

"You're right!" Seb nodded his head frantically. My heart throbbed. "But despite a lot of people confessing their feelings for him and sending him love letters, he never once accepted them. Master is just the type of person who waits for the right person in his life." Seb smirked. "Kind of like me."