Come With Me

I could still vividly remember the first morning I had spent in the Luo family. The morning sunlight shone into the room through
the curtain's gap, and the faint fragrance of lavender didn't dissipate for quite a long time.
Then, I pulled open the curtain to welcome the bright sunshine. There, I took a peak at what was outside the window and saw
the different flowers that grew in the luscious garden.
I couldn't help but look back at the room where I was in. It was much larger than the one I had been living in. At that moment, I
felt like I was in a dream.
Rogelio was still sleeping. Well, he had been sleeping for a very long time. I couldn't help walking up to him and looking at him
carefully.
Even though Rogelio looked pale, and thinner than Robbie, his exquisite facial features still made people feel that he was
particularly good-looking.
Then, a thought struck my mind—what was Rogelio like in the past? If he had been as healthy as he was before, then surely,
many women would have fallen in love with him.
"Hello there, I'm Jasmine. Do you still remember me?"
Of course there was no response. I shrugged and laughed at myself for being childish.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door so I quickly tidied up my clothes and went to open the door.
What greeted me was a strange woman's face. Judging from her clothes, I guessed that she was one of the servants in the Luo
family.
I nodded at her politely and said "Hello".
Apparently, she was there to give me a message. She said that Mrs. Nancy had asked me to come and see her.
So, I followed the servant into the dining room. Meanwhile, Nancy was there, sitting by the dining table and enjoying her
breakfast.
However, there was only one breakfast meal on the dining table, and Nancy didn't ask me to have a seat. Obviously, there was
nothing I could do but to stand there.

Nancy then wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and looked up at me. "Robbie insisted on giving Rogelio a wife. I
know he wants to make his brother's life complete and find someone to take care of Rogelio in the future. I don't want to let him
down, which is why when he let you marry him, I didn't object."
Nancy paused as she squinted her eyes at me for a few seconds. Then, she looked at me from head to toe, making me feel so
uncomfortable yet again.
"I didn't say anything against it. But to be honest, you are not the ideal daughter-in-law for me."
In fact, I could understand what Nancy was really thinking at that time. I believed that I wouldn't be married into the Luo family if it
hadn't been for the fact that Rogelio was a vegetable.
"It's true that the Luo family does not have a problem with money, but it doesn't mean that we are willing to give money to anyone
like a money-spinner. If you can take good care of Rogelio, then I will give you the money you deserve."
Nancy then ticked her finger at the maid who just brought me here. Then, in an instant, the servant put a bank card on the
dining-table in front of me.
I was lost at what Nancy was trying to say. As seeing the card, I didn't know what to do with it...
"No matter who asks, let it be people from the inside or the outside, you have to remember that you can only answer that you are
the personal maid hired by the Luo family to take care of Rogelio. You cannot take yourself as his wife."
Then, Nancy stood up and said, "This is a wage card and every servant in this family has one. Everyone gets their wage on time
on the tenth day of every month. I don't know how much Robbie has already paid you, but here, I only have this one for you.
Don't expect anything else."
I hesitated for a while, and then finally took the so-called "wage card". After all, this was my only economic source after I lost my
job, and also I knew that only by taking this card would Nancy feel a little bit more at ease.
Otherwise, she would probably think that I was greedy, and want more than that what she was offering me.
The corners of Nancy's mouth started to curl up upon seeing that I had taken the wage card. She then turned to the maid and
said, "Maria, let her eat with you in the kitchen from now on, and then teach her how to take care of Rogelio."
As soon as Nancy went upstairs, I took a look at the bank card in my hand. There, I realized that I was no more than just a maid
in this house.

Then, Maria handed me two pieces of A4 sized paper. The sheets of paper were so full of words. Little did I know that this would
be my daily routine in taking care of Rogelio.
The paper would serve as my guide, more like an instruction manual on when I needed to feed Rogelio, when to give him water,
when to turn his body over, etc.
"Maria, do I really need to do this?"
I asked as I shyly pointed at one of the instructions which said that I should wipe Rogelio's body once a day, and change his
diapers.
I didn't mean to deny the request. It was just that if Rogelio were a woman, then I wouldn't have asked Maria this question at all.
Blinking impatiently, Maria looked at me with raised eyebrows and then said, "Who else do you think should do it? Although Mrs.
Nancy doesn't want you to announce your relationship with Mr. Rogelio, don't forget that you are still Mr. Rogelio's wife. As his
wife, it is your duty to take care of him."
Then, Maria looked at me with great contempt and said, "If it isn't for this reason, then why do you think we need to find a wife for
the forever sleeping Mr. Rogelio? Do you really think that you could be married to him?"
Upon hearing those words, I felt that Maria had struck my heart with a dagger.
I tried to convince myself not to look at those eyes full of mockery. Clenching the wage card in my hand, I told myself that
working here and earning money by my labor was not, at all, going to be shameful for me.
Although I had an official marriage certificate with Rogelio, I just regarded myself as a servant of the Luo family, just as Nancy
hoped.
Even so, when I cleaned Rogelio's body, I still felt embarrassed as I struggled to do it right for a long time.
Afterwards, I just closed my eyes and turned my head. I could still vividly remember the first time my fingers touched his skin. As
I recalled, my face turned red and my heart beat rapidly.
As a woman who valued the boundary between being the official young lady and being the maid, I only thought that I should try
my best at that time to live up to the wage that the Luo family had been giving me.

Besides, I still owned Robbie a big deal. After all, he had rescued me from those horrible men in the first place. Only for that
reason, I should work hard here to pay him in return.