Million Dollar Maid ✔

Chapter 1

The walk from the bus stop to the estate was going to be a long one. She just didn't know what direction to walk in yet. The bus only stopped in town and Ava had no other means of transportation but her two strong legs. Luckily, she didn't mind walking.

Except for the fact that it had just rained hours before and her old worn sneakers were anything but waterproof. You'd think someone who has worked non-stop since turning eighteen would have enough to buy new ones but nothing could be further from the truth.

She'd worked as a maid ever since she got kicked out of the orphanage for being too old. Her previous employers liked to charge her for the room she occupied in their homes as well as the food she'd consume. At one point someone even charged her for the water she'd use while showering which meant that any money she'd have left over from her salary would have to go straight to her meager bank account.

She looked down at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand with the address of her next employer messily written down on it as if that would magically tell her which way to go. Sighing, she braced herself for having to ask a stranger for directions, which she hated.

She spotted a young man about her age walking her way and decided to ask him. But with every step she took towards him her nerves grew. Ava had never been good at talking to strangers, it made her anxious but she had no choice right now.

"Excuse me," she started, but he either didn't hear her soft voice or ignored her so she spoke up, "I'm looking for the Chastain Estate. Could you point me the way?"

The young man briefly looked up as he was about to pass her and said, "Google it," without stopping at all.

Ava couldn't do much more than stare at his back. So that didn't go well.

Discouraged, she really didn't want to ask anyone else but again, she had no choice. It's not like there was a sign anywhere pointing toward this particular estate. She looked around at the empty town's center. The retreating figure of the young man was the only person to be seen until the fragile frame of an elderly woman emerged from one of the nearby homes.

Relieved, Ava grabbed her small bag and made her way towards the woman while silently preparing herself for another rejection.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she said. To her relief, the woman immediately turned her attention to Ava, giving her the courage to go on, "I'm looking for the Chastain estate, I have the address right here but I don't know which way to go."

The elderly woman didn't even glance at the paper in her hand and pointed towards a road along the main street. "It's a long way if you're intending to walk there, dear. But if you follow this road for a few miles you'll run into the estate eventually, it's hard to miss."

Ava couldn't help but beam at the kind woman. "Thank you so much."

"Be careful, dear. It's dangerous to walk along the road so watch out for cars," the woman replied for continuing her way. 

It soon became clear what the woman meant with her warning. The road had no sidewalk so she either had to walk on the road itself or on the mossy side, which was tiresome. Luckily the cars that passed were few and far between so there wasn't much to worry about during her walk.

She tried her best to ignore the squeaking of her wet socks inside her shoes and she just hoped her new employees would think of them as acceptable. They were plain black shoes and they didn't even look that bad from the outside. Most of the holes were either invisible because of her cleverly-chosen black socks, or on the bottom of the shoe, which no one saw anyway.

The scenery around the town was beautiful. Thick, lush forest covered everything around the road and at one point she thought she saw a bunny sprint away. After walking for quite some time, she spotted a side road off in the distance. It wasn't until she got closer that she noticed it was actually a driveway with a beautiful cast-iron gate in front of it.