Adam pushed his empty plate away and smiled sarcastically at Jenna.
"Did you really think I'd allow you to run off to warn her and her father, Jenna? Did you really think I was that naive?"
"I... No. If you don't let him, he won't know anything, so you can tell me."
"So, Jenna, don't tell anyone about what we're talking about here. It would be a lot of work for me to manipulate your mind so that you can't write anything else. As for how long I give her, it will depend on the life she's leading there... I bet her father will enroll her again. And if that's the case, I'll wait for her to graduate. I don't want her to miss out on any of her adolescence, and changing schools means she won't have any friends her own age. I want to steal her happiness. But there's unfinished business between us..."
"You put a detective on her, right?" Jenna asked smiling, interrupting Adam.
"I don't leave my treasures without proper attention. After her escape, I became more careful."
"And what are you going to do during the time she's studying?"
"I'm going to marry Kate."
Jenna widened her eyes in surprise, but also disgust.
"And you'll want Anna back to be your mistress? Because you can't believe you're going to allow her to be a guest in the green house."
"You don't know my feelings and you don't know what I'm capable of, Jenna. Anna is no longer someone I will protect. I'm the worst thing that can happen to her, but Kate and I... It's not going to be a real wedding. I'm going to hire actors to pose as a justice of the peace and people who know me. I'll pick them up far away so they never come back to disturb me. If I put werewolves in, she'd get suspicious."
"Why are you going to all this trouble to fool her? Kate will lie with you even now, if you call her."
"It's not sex I want... I need her to do something for me. She said she could help me with one problem, but she can help with two problems. She still has Allister's will."
"Tell me what the other problem is, and I'll get help myself, without you having to pay for it."
"No. It's a private matter of mine and I've only talked about it with her, and I don't feel like repeating myself."
"You know I'm going to have to leave this house, don't you?"
Adam looked at her amused.
"Why?"
"Do you think Kate, who thinks she owns the house, won't throw me out?"
"I'll take care of it, but you can't abandon me, either. You're like a friend to me. You know that, right? You'll leave here straight to your death. That's the unfinished business between us, Jenna. We both know I'm going to kill you, but I'm hesitating and putting it off, because I really admire your loyalty."
Jenna smiled.
"You're not going to kill me, boss. We both know that. And as for your wife... I won't obey her humiliating orders. You know I don't need that."
"All right. You're the housekeeper, and I won't let her take away your authority. I'll... I'll make it clear to her that she won't have a say with the servants in the house, but in return she'll be able to go out and have fun whenever she wants."
Jenna picked up the glass of juice she had brought for herself and raised a toast.
"To your wedding, then."
Adam picked up his vodka and toasted with it.
...
Later that day, Caricatura let people back into the mansion as normal, under the angry gaze of Kate, who spent around two hours begging him to let her in, and that it wasn't Adam's order.
He simply stared at her and then, with a vacant look, continued with his position guarding the door. Inside, he was having a great time. He'd always wanted to do something to upset that stuck-up girl, and she was giving him the opportunity right now, and he wasn't going to miss it.
She walked past him, glaring at him, and he admired her for the first time. And secretly, after that day, he began to long to have that beast in his bed.
Caricature realized that she had gone straight to the boss's office, and went to sit with the other men on the balcony, who were laughing without measure at Kate's punishment and drinking beer in celebration of the shrew's anger.
Kate walked slowly into Adam's office, afraid of being rejected. She saw that Adam was looking at some papers on his desk, totally distracted. She made a noise with her heels to announce her presence, and Adam looked up from his papers and smiled at her, as if she were his favorite person.
'Sit down, Kate. I made a promise to you a while ago and... We need to sort out the details of our wedding." He got up and went over to the drinks cabinet, took a champagne from the ice bucket and two glasses, and brought it over to the table. Only then did he notice that Kate seemed frozen in place, surprise in her eyes. "Wasn't that what we agreed? Don't you want to marry me anymore?" He asked, looking at her amused.
"Yes... Of course..." She said, sitting up after coming out of her daze and accepting the glass of champagne.
...
Anna marveled at the grandeur of the mansion her father had given her. Beautiful streetlights dotted the stone-lined road in front of the house.
Maxwell stopped right in front of the mansion, and several servants were dressed neatly in their uniforms bearing their names and positions, and were waiting in front of the mansion to welcome them.
Anna was enjoying everything she saw. Maxwell accompanied her as she greeted each of the staff and explored the mansion in euphoric silence. Every room was spacious and tastefully decorated. And the smell of new furniture was still in the air. After a while, Anna began to give her opinions and talked non-stop about her plans for them there, in that house.