Chapter 3

The so-called "couple days" turned into a fixed arrangement every single weekend.

Every Friday night, Lavinia would show up at my house right on schedule and only leave Monday morning.

At first, Lavinia just liked taking photos in the living room and posting on Twitter to show off to her classmates that she lived in a big house.

I could understand that—everyone wants to look glamorous in front of others.

But what I couldn't understand was how Lavinia always looked at me with disgust and disdain, as if I owed her millions.

Several times, when I was sitting on the sofa watching TV, she deliberately covered her nose and complained loudly:

"So annoying! How can such a luxurious villa have this constant stench of poverty?"

I thought she genuinely smelled something odd, so I specifically asked Levitt to give the house a thorough cleaning.

But Lavinia only got more exaggerated—either spraying disinfectant everywhere I sat, or putting disposable covers on the sofa for me to sit on.

A few times I even saw her throw things I'd used straight into the trash.

When I questioned her, Levitt would always sheepishly explain in private:

"Lavinia is just worried those things aren't clean and might affect your hygiene and safety, so she's being extra careful."

I didn't think much of it.

After all, besides attending classes, I had to handle various company matters large and small. I was swamped every day and didn't have the energy to argue with her over these things.

Until this afternoon, when I saw that note on the door, it finally dawned on me.

Lavinia thought I was living in her house.

Originally I planned to teach Levitt and Lavinia a lesson.

But now, Levitt kept pleading with me:

"Miss Alice, I promise there won't be a next time."

"I'll explain the situation to Lavinia today and won't let her come stay anymore."

"Please, for the sake of all the years I've served your parents, forgive me this once."

Seeing Levitt's humble expression, I sighed: "Fine."

"I won't pursue it."

After the officers left, Levitt let out a huge sigh of relief, thanking me repeatedly with an excellent attitude.

After that day, Lavinia indeed never came to my house again.

Levitt remained as diligent as ever, keeping the house spotlessly clean.

The only thing she didn't do well was that things kept going missing from the house.

Today a bottle of wine, tomorrow a set of dishes, the day after a set of expensive clothes.

Every time I asked, Levitt had excuses and reasons:

"Miss Alice, I'm so sorry. I accidentally broke that bottle of wine while cleaning."

"Miss Alice, that set of dishes was used for too long. When I was washing them I noticed cracks and worried they might cut you, so I threw them away."

"Miss Alice, I took those clothes to the dry cleaner and they lost them."

Although the reasons sounded far-fetched each time, given her decent attitude, I didn't make a big deal of it.

I thought that was the end of it.

Until that day, after paying respects to my parents, I decided to go thoroughly clean their suburban villa where they'd lived for half their lives.

That was my parents' favorite place.

The yard was filled with my mother's most beloved flowers, and the house was full of souvenirs my father had brought back from around the world.

Before my mother died, she held my hand and said that house was her and my father's life's work, telling me to take good care of it.

I treasured that villa deeply. Even though I was afraid of the painful memories and moved out to live alone, I would still personally go clean it regularly, carefully wiping every piece of furniture and trimming the flowers in the yard.

But this time, when I arrived at the villa entrance, I froze.

The villa's gate, which was always kept closed, was wide open.

From inside the villa came faint sounds of deafening music and noisy laughter.

I immediately went forward and pushed open the half-closed door.

After seeing what was inside, I was completely stunned.