Chapter 2

I stood frozen after I heard him accused me of being a witch. Did he see it all? I wanted to ask him, but I was scared to even utter another word.

“You can’t deny it because I saw everything,” he said.

“N-no, I’m not like that. You just misunderstood what you saw, Mister.” I denied then I gathered up all my strength and ran away as fast as I could.

When I looked back, I was surprised that he was still following me. I was out of breath when I reached the highway but my car was no longer there. It’s gone!

“So the Camaro belongs to you.

I was startled to hear him speak behind me and I wanted to blame him for my misfortunes. “My father will be mad at me,” I replied in a low voice after I realized that the bloody man earlier probably took the Camaro. It was stupid of me to leave the car unsecured!

“Why don’t you summon your broom and ride it to wherever you want to go? You know what, a witch who knows how to drive a car left me speechless!” He made fun at me and I could only scowl at him for being mean.

I gritted my teeth at his continuous jab at me for being someone that I’m not. “If I’m a witch, you are already dead by now!” I sneered at him. Everything’s gone – the car, my bag, wallet and phone, and I wanted to put thblameSince I was still in Oslob, I could still go back home if I wanted to, but it’s far from happening! I planned to prove to my parents and myself that even with the curse, I could still have a normal life.

“Touché! Anyway, I can give you a ride as long as you will not curse at me while I’m driving.” Then he pretended to shiver at the thought that I would practice some black magic on him. “Wait, where do you live? Is it near? I’m not a bad person if you are worried,” he changed his tone suddenly and I wondered why.

I convinced myself that the man was too gorgeous to be a criminal and decided to take a risk with him. “Take me with you,” I said. I knew that I was being impulsive, but I was desperate to leave and he was the only person who could help me at the moment.

“Are you out of your mind?” He snapped and it only convinced me even more that he was not a bad person. I just hoped that I wasn’t wrong in my judgment.

“No, I’m perfectly sane, mister. So, are you just going to argue with me and wait for the police to arrive or will you decide now?” I urged him to hurry up with his decision because I believe that none of us wanted to be questioned as witnesses when the police would come, especially when the supposed victim was already gone. It would be bothersome and complicated. I saw how he clenched his jaw and I chose to ignore it.

He shook his head and said, “That sassy attitude you have, when you’re on the run and penniless, won’t convince me to help you.

He scolded me and I immediately lowered my eyes on the ground because he was on point. “My father is scary and I’m terrified to return home now that his car was stolen.” While it was true that my father was scary when angry, he wouldn’t hurt me at all. “Please help me,” I begged and I tried to look pitiful in his eyes.

He sighed deeply and said, “Well, I need a housemaid.

A housemaid? After his deliberate thinking, he would only ask me to be his housemaid? How in the hell would I be able to do the job? “Fine, I’ll do it.” I accepted his offer without considering the consequences later. Anyway, I was a fast learner, and I knew that I could do anything as long as I put my mind into it! Although the idea of working as a housemaid scared me, I had no choice at all! I needed a temporary place to stay.

“Are you sure? It won’t be easy,” he warned.

“I’ll do my best, as long as you will allow me to go outside sometimes,” I told him about my condition.

“Hmmm, well see about that Miss?

“Ariana Madrigal at your service, sir,” I replied, and it was late when I realized that I shouldn’t have told him about my true name.

“Nice name for a witch,” he replied nonchalantly without even considering that my feelings would be hurt.

“I’m not a witch! Maybe I am cursed, but definitely, I’m not a wicked witch!” I defended myself for the nth time but it seemed that he enjoyed teasing me when I saw him smiling. I wanted to inform him that he looked harmless when he smiled but held my tongue after a thorough consideration because it wouldn’t be wise to praise his good features.

“If you say so, but you don’t have to be sensitive about it. You can’t blame me to call you that after I witnessed how you helped that man,” he said.

I gave him a death stare at his lame explanation but then I recalled that he didn’t tell me his name yet. “It’s unfair that you know my name while you didn’t tell me yours,” I said.

“Just call me Kit,” he replied.

“Kit? What a tacky name for someone like you,” I muttered in my seat.

“Someone like me? What do you mean by that, witch?” Kit asked in a tone that seemed to be mad or annoyed, but I had more reasons to be angry.

“Will you please stop calling me a witch? I have a name, and it’s Ariana!” I was pissed when he continued to refer me as a witch. Kit laughed at my outburst, probably assuming that I was still immature. Well, being immature at twenty-two was not a grave sin, I thought and shrugged off my shoulders like I wouldn’t give a damn if he would think I’m still immature.

“Okay, Ariana. Would you like some sandwich?” Kit changed the topic and I shook my head in response.

“I don’t want to impose myself on you, Mister Kit,” I refused his offer.

“That’s nice of you Ariana, but no, a housemaid got to enjoy free meals from the boss. It’s on me, don’t worry about the bill.” Kit said and then he glanced at me like I was an immature little kid who’s sulking. “By the way, how old are you?” He asked about my age.

“Twenty-two, and you?” Since I first saw him, I wanted to know his age but it would be too forward to ask him when we haven’t introduced ourselves yet.

“Thirty-two, so I am ten years older than you.” He responded.

“You’re still thirty-two? Seriously? I thought you are already in your late thirties or maybe forty-year-old, something like that, Mister Kit.” I used to question my mother why she loved to tease my father about his age and I just realized that it’s an effective method to shut him up or the opposite. “Oh, did I say something wrong?” I asked innocently while Kit was trying hard to control his anger.

Next chapter