ตอน 21: 21. The Master's demand

Steadily and slowly, with his fingers pressing the keys professionally, George ended the song, sending a relaxing vibe into the atmosphere.

George turned to the woman staying by his side with a smile. "I'm happy to make you smile. It seemed so impossible because of everything that happened," he mentioned before pulling his chair close to Anna.

Anna nodded. "I can't believe it myself," she uttered. "Master George, where did you learn to play?" Her question came out abruptly.

"I loved it so I learned. I wanted to impress someone back then. She was beautiful and always cheerful and I just wanted to do something that would make her smile and eventually…I got the chance to play it for her and she was happy and relaxed," George explained.

"Your ex-girlfriend?" Anna asked.

George shook his head, that calm smile still plastered on his face. "I've never dated a woman," he uttered. "I had a huge crush on her and damn…I eventually fell for her," George said.

Anna glanced at George for a minute. "Tell me, was I able to make you feel happy?"

"Yes, the sad thing about happiness is that it doesn't last. You'll be gone again tomorrow and I wonder when I'll see you again."

"Anna, now, how do I say this to you?" George suddenly made Anna curious. "I won't be available for some days because I have a business trip…"

"It's okay," Anna cut him off. "I'll spend my time working hard to get my abilities back," she said.

"True…I can be a distraction," George chuckled. "But it's just two days, not a whole month," George clarified.

Anna looked into his eyes and turned away.

"Come on, the Doctor will be here soon and you need to eat so let's wash up first," George uttered, rising to his feet.

"That reminds me," Anna uttered. "I want to teach the whole maids a big lesson, including the head maid."

"Why? Did something happen?" George went to stand in front of Anna to learn more.

"Wei Yan is being bullied by her mates here. They barely do their job and make Wei Yan do them all. They also torture her physically. Zhu Jia, she needs to be fired but I need to punish her first," Anna uttered with determination.

"Do we need to meddle?"

"Wei Yan is such a nice girl. I don't trust anyone in this house but I feel like I can at least trust Wei Yan and you," Anna said.

George nodded his head thoughtfully and touched Anna's head, agreeing to her statement. "So how do you plan to punish her?" George asked. "You have me for the whole day," he mentioned.

"Can I eat first?" Anna, after thinking it through, asked. "Outside…perhaps a…"

"You want to go outside," George uttered to confirm her statement.

"If it's unsafe then I'll just…"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," George interrupted. "Let's wash you up first," he whispered and smiled calmly at Anna as a sign of warmth before taking her chair to push Anna back to her room.

The movement back to Anna's room was gradual until they both began to hear some background voices and from the sound of it, violence could be heard.

"Zhu Jia is doing it again," Anna said.

"Wait…is it that serious?" George was shocked when he heard how Zhu Jia was speaking to Wei Yan.

George then moved Anna's chair and went closer to the dining room.

At this point, Zhu Jia was so focused on making things hard for Wei Yan that she didn't know that her boss was in the room.

"Master!" The other maids announced George's presence by saluting him.

Zhu Jia was then alarmed that her Master was present in the room. She began to ask herself questions about how and when the Master entered the room. Did he see how she treated Wei Yan?

Wei Yan stood up as she was on her knees mopping the floor but Zhu Jia was getting on her nerves by messing the floor up again and eventually, she stepped on Wei Yan's fingers, insulting her.

Zhu Jia began to wonder if the Master heard what she said to Wei Yan. She gulped and greeted the Master too after Wei Yan had.

"What's going on?" George asked while Anna was seated, glaring at Zhu Jia. If only she could walk, oh, she'd go up to that witch and serve her a fitting slap that would leave an everlasting scar on her stupid ugly face.

Anna was angered and it only rose because she couldn't do anything about it.

However, Anna didn't stay silent, she faced Zhu Jia bluntly. "You were bullying Wei Yan, Am I wrong?"

"No, Madam," Zhu Jia answered.

"So are you trying to say that I'm hallucinating about what I heard you say? You were literally glaring down at your colleague," Anna was on her best behavior, trying her best to keep her calm and refrain from insulting Zhu Jia because if she did, she would be proving to them all that she wasn't different from Zhu Jia.

"No, Madam, no," Zhu Jia was stuck in a tight spot. She didn't know what to say to defend herself.

"Were you bullying Wei Yan?" George simply asked after a long time of silence.

But Zhu Jia chose to stay shut so George faced Wei Yan and she also was silent.

"Where's head maid Feng?" George asked, demanding her presence.

And after a short moment, head maid Feng Jin showed up, bowing her head to the Master.

"Here I am, Master. Is there anything I can help you with?" Feng Jin could already tell what was going on but she still had to ask.

George scanned Feng Jin for a while. "Zhu Jia was caught bullying her mate. I ask that you punish her severely and if you fail to do so…" George paused because he realized that he shouldn't disrespect the head maid in front of the others.

"I urge you to punish Zhu Jia and be reminded that Wei Yan's job here is to look after Anna and not perform all these chores, do you understand, head maid Feng?"

"I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding Master, It won't repeat itself and I'll make sure that everyone understands their job. I also won't forget to punish Zhu Jia for her actions. I understand your request, Master. I extend my apologies once again," Feng Jin bowed her head and when she raised her head, Master was gone.

She looked around her to see that Wei Yan had followed Master and Madam. The anger she felt was then vented on Zhu Jia with a killer glare.

And all Zhu Jia could do was bow her head, cursing Anna and Wei Yan in her mind.