𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

𝑒𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

In the luxurious bar of the Four Seasons Hotel, Hiram Lodge was having a cozy lunch with his daughter in the prospect of her confirmation. He was completely unaware of the daughter that was hiding just to cast a glimpse of what could've been her own life. 

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Nellie sat crouched behind an ornate vase. To every passerby, she pretended to be tying her shoe. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The beating nearly made it impossible to overhear her father who was sitting with his other daughter just a few tables further. 

"Veronica, darling," Hiram Lodge started. Nellie felt a lump in her throat. The sweet calling broke her heart but she knew she should've known better. Her father had never loved her the way he loved his Veronica. She knew that. 

"I hope you're not nervous for your confirmation on sunday," her father continued. Nellie crunched her nose. The girl sitting at the table was somewhere around her age, how could it be she still had to be confirmed. 

"Well, daddy," the black haired beauty started. "if I am to be completely honest, I kind of am." Veronica admits.

"You don't have to be, mija," Hiram says laying his hand comforting over his daughter's. "You and Josie will both be shining stars. You've rehearsed the song so much, I am honestly surprised the lyrics aren't the first words to come out of your mouth."

The admiring look he threw his daughter was breaking Nellie's heart as she glanced from behind the vase. 

"I'm not nervous for the song, daddy," Veronica admitted, fidgeting with the hem of her napkin. Confusion spread on Hiram's face. 

"Then, what's the matter?"

"Well," Veronica hesitated before she found the strength to face her father "I am worried about Archie." 

Hiram's face immediately fell to one of distrust. "What did he do, mija?" 

"Nothing you haven't asked of him, daddy. And that's what worries me, he's so loyal to you, perhaps to a point where he would blindly follow your orders. It scares me," Veronica said, her voice remarkably softer than when she had started the touchy subject. 

Hiram let his daughter's words wash over him. He leaned back in the polished chair, one arm dangling on the back. "His loyalty to me does not interfere with his loyalty to you, Veronica," Hiram explained.

Veronica only shook her head in response "It's not his loyalty to you that bothers me, rather the fact of what you can do with such loyalty," She rose her dark eyes to meet her father's. Hiram had turned silent at his daughter's revelation. 

Still crouched behind the vase, Nellie was eavesdropping like a pro. Veronica's statement held a lot of double information, a false bottom hidden behind her words. 

"I will not use your boyfriend for my business, mija, I promise. As long as he's under my care, he's safe," Hiram reached out for his daughter's hand, squeezing it in reassurance. Veronica seemed satisfied with her answer as she averted the topic to something else entirely. 

Nellie had been so enthralled to capture any part of the conversation, she hadn't heard the footsteps approaching her hiding spot. A hand on her shoulder, brought Nellie back to reality with jolt.

She immediately rose to her feet, shame coloring her cheeks as she looked at a tall man in uniform. 

"How can I help you," the man addressed her, throwing her an haughty look "Miss?"

Without missing a beat, Nellie fell back into the role she had been playing the entire morning. "I am looking for a job," she stated. 

The man looked surprised. His eyes skimmed over her appearance and once more was she reminded that although her half-sister was donned in the nicest fashions, Nellie had to work with a dirty pair of jeans and some guy's sweater. 

"Follow me," the man finally said. Guests had been looking at the interaction long enough to grow suspicious of the situation. Wanting to keep the reputation of the Four Seasons untainted, the maitre d'hotel let the girl follow him away from prying eyes. 

Once they were back in the lobby, he directed her to a small door. It was obviously less luxurious and wore a sign of "employees only". In silence, Nellie followed the man into a small office. There were no windows, only pale led-lights to illuminate the chaotic desk and crammed cabinets. 

"Experience?" the man suddenly asked, letting himself drop onto a creaky leather chair. Nellie's eyes fell upon a name plate, hidden between files with papers and empty plastic cups. 

"None in hotel and catering, Mister Harrington," Nellie admitted. Mister Harrington pinched the bridge of his crooked nose. 

"Than why apply for one, Miss?" he questioned, leaning heavily onto his desk. The question had Nellie dumbstruck for a moment. No one had asked her that this morning. They had just shooed her away or showered her with empty promises of a call that never was going to happen.

"I need the money," Nellie replied honestly, looking away from the older man. Mister Harrington sighed. 

"One of our maids is fired today because she was stealing from our clients. You can start tomorrow." He said, reaching in one of the overflowing cabinets of his desk to retrieve a contract. Expectantly, he held out a pen to Nellie.

Confused, she took it but hesitated to scribble her signature onto the document. "Why?" she said, looking up from the tiny print that was dancing before her eyes. 

"Poverty is a great motivation," Mister Harrington said. Nellie signed the first copy and handed it over to him without further thinking. Mister Harrington was right. 

The conversation she had just witnessed between her father and his real daughter had once more confirmed that Nellie did not belong in the luxurious life of Hiram Lodge. It hurt her immensely but she knew that if she were to stay here any longer without the prospect of leaving, the hurt of rejection would consume her altogether. Either way, she couldn't continue to live on the Serpent's expenses.

"Read your own copy carefully at home, Miss Hearst," Mister Harrington instructed her. "I expect you tomorrow morning at precisely 6 a.m. The employees entrance is on the right side of the building. Don't be late. You will get your uniform once you get here. Make sure you're presentable." 

Mister Harrington didn't waste any more words to the girl as he shoved her out of his office and showed her the way back out of the Four Seasons. 

Clutching her contract between her fingers, Nellie stood still at the bottom of the staircases outside. Just in time to see Hiram Lodge help his daughter back into a fancy black car. With a new hope of escaping the green jealousy that consumed her, Nellie turned around darting back to the busstop. 

Starting tomorrow, she could count the days it took to leave her father behind for good.