Ruth would surely find a way to get me out of here. She didn’t like me, and she especially didn’t want me living in this house. That was an open secret.
But I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
While I was in the middle of my shower, the hot water suddenly stopped. Immediately after, the light in the bathroom went out.
The abrupt cold water made me shiver involuntarily.
But I still hadn’t rinsed off all the soap.
With no other choice, I called out, gritting my teeth, “Aunt, there’s no hot water!”
In response, I heard a much younger voice.
“You’re the daughter Dad brought back from his ex-wife, right?”
It was Anna at the door.
The hot water cutoff and the lights going out? That was definitely her doing.
I answered, “There’s no hot water in here. Do you know what to do?”
Without hesitation, Anna replied, “If there’s no hot water, just use cold water. Don’t tell me that in the city, you’re too fancy for that now? Didn’t you use cold water to bathe in your village every day?”
When I had gone upstairs earlier, I didn’t see her. It turned out she’d already set up this little trap for me.
But either way, I couldn’t go out with soap all over me, so I gritted my teeth and washed off with the cold water.
Though we didn’t have hot water in our village, every summer, my grandmother would fill a big basin with water and leave it in the sun to warm up. That way, at least I could have warm water to bathe with.
The cold shower left me shivering, and when I stepped out, I saw a little girl standing at the door, her expression full of contempt.
She was beautiful, the kind of girl who looked like she had everything. Dressed in a fancy, frilly pink princess dress, with a crown on her head, she stood there with her nose in the air, a true little princess.
She eyed me disdainfully, scanning me up and down before huffing.
“As expected, a country bumpkin is a country bumpkin. You can tell just by looking at her, she’s poor and uncouth.”
I stood frozen in place, not knowing how to respond.
Anna shoved me aside and walked straight into the bathroom, tossing the towel I had just used into the trash without a second thought.
“Who allowed you to use my towel? What if you have some dirty disease and you infect me? What then?”
I quickly shook my head and explained, “I don’t have any disease.”
“Your words don’t mean anything. What if you have something and you give it to me? What am I supposed to do?”
Anna glared at me.
“Next time, don’t touch my things. If you dare again, I’ll throw you out. There are plenty of beggars outside, one less won’t make a difference.”
I lowered my head, feeling guilty, and said, “I’m sorry. It’s the only towel I had. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Hmph. Let me tell you something. In this house, if you offend me, you won’t have a single good day. Dad already said that bringing you here means you’re going to be my maid. Whatever you do, you’ll follow my orders. Got it?”
As she spoke, Anna suddenly pointed to the ground.
“If you kneel and bark like a dog three times right now, maybe your life here will be a little easier.”
I froze at her words.
Anna couldn’t have been more than a teenager. Where had she learned such cruel ways to humiliate someone?
Kneeling on the ground and barking like a dog?
Was this really something a child her age would come up with?