My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Trauma (3)
[TW: Mentions of sexually explicit and suicide.]

“And that infuriating son of a bitch dared to ignore me!”

[Bam! Smash!]

A pink vase went flying across a pink sanctuary, right beside a brunette girl holding a cig and a bottle of alcohol in hand.

She tilted her head and glared at the raging boy.

“Are you fucking high? Do you wanna die so badly?”

Lee plopped onto his bed with a thud. He had on a pair of flimsy boxers and a pout as he reached out to his phone.

He cupped his cheeks and spoke with a sad voice, “I can’t even get it up these days because I’m so worried.”

“Why?” the girl questioned.

Someone like this asshole wasn’t one to care. He could pretend to, but it was impossible for him to care.

“I think he’s serious this time,” he muttered while scrolling through his phone. “It’s been like a week and nothing. He went from ignoring my calls to blocking me, and now he’s changed his whole line.”

He tossed aside his phone across the bed before crawling to the bedside stand to retrieve an item. “I got the good stuff. You want some?”

“I’m not as strong as you are. You can go ahead and smoke whatever that shit is.”

Lee shrugged. “You’re missing out.”

“Either way, isn’t this better? Now you can do whatever you want without bothering with his whining.”

Lee groaned loudly, returning the item and slamming the cupboard shut roughly.

“I liked—no, loved—his whining. It made me feel wanted beyond my body! Scratch that. I just liked him whining. I loved everything about that relationship. Wait, am I the toxic one? I seem to be the only one benefiting…”

The brunette gave a throaty laugh. “You cannot be serious.”

“Okay, okay, I’m the toxic one, but come on, you’d have to be crazy not to want me. I mean… Look~ at~ me~,” he sing-songed.

Prancing towards the brunette, he stole her stick of cig before dipping in for a kiss. His black eyes glistened, and a coy smile curled up his face.

“Wanna console me, babe? You know I can do any style you wan—”

He was shoved away and fell on his butt, giggling.

“Ew, no,” the brunette gagged. “I don’t do whores.”

She brought out a new stick and lit it up. “I like my people innocent and adorable. You can’t even cosplay that…”

“But I can! Come on, why do you keep rejecting me—”

The next few minutes that followed were chaotic. Lee did all he could to get the brunette to consider a night with him but was ruthlessly rejected.

And when he pushed even further, a dizzying punch swung his way. He watched as the infuriated female left angrily, smearing the butt of her cigarette on the clear walls in petty punishment.

There was quiet for a long while after she was gone. A quietness enough for him to ruminate and conclude that, in truth, he didn’t want Terrence anymore.

He’d had enough of being pampered, tolerated, and adored so much… it had become boring. Right now, the type of relationship he wanted was the complete opposite.

A relationship where he’d be ignored. With someone who wouldn’t tolerate his bullshit. One where he’d be berated. One where he’d be treated like a worthless toy… something exciting.

The image of the disgusting glare from the brunette came to his mind, and he gulped.

“Damn, I’ve been so wrong about my type…”

***

“Mister Terrence… Are you okay?” the tense maid whispered as her eyes swept across the lavish meal placed on the table before the dull male.

Just like the past couple of days, it had been barely touched. It seemed to have worsened, though. Did he even take at least two bites?

“Yes,” Terrence replied bluntly before standing up.

He shot her a look.

“Don’t forget our agreement.”

The maid gulped. “Yes, Mister Terrence.”

She stood with a rigid smile until he left, and as soon as he did, she let out a loud sigh.

“Well, more food for me, I guess.”

After his return from his… questionable lover’s place, her young master had been acting up. To be precise, he devolved back to his original state—gloomy but very great at pretending to be okay when with his family.

However, he suddenly requested to eat alone.

Since he was very meticulous with hiding his condition, only she knew, and he decided to make sure it remained so.

He threatened her that if she spoke to others of his condition, he’d have her fired. He agreed with her that either she’d properly dispose of the food or eat it herself to prevent anyone from finding out anything.

Of course, she chose to eat it. The workers’ food was good but not as sumptuous as their employers’, and she was also promised a secret raise by him if she did so!

Who would reject good food and money??

Better to be realistic than a saintess. Besides, rich people were ticking time bombs. She might decide to be kind and report for his safety and still get fired for it.

Much better to agree to his deal and, in the worst-case scenario, claim that she had no idea something was wrong with him.

Additionally, the young master even promised to cover her, so why hesitate at all?

She plunked a fork into the fluffy chocolate cake and nearly fainted with pleasure.

“Oh gosh… this is so fucking—”

[Smash!]

Her fork rolled under the table, and she grasped the floor rug with widened eyes.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Her soul just left her?! What the fuck was that?!

“Mister Terrence!” she immediately stood up in a panic and desecrated his sanctuary.

But what else was she to do?! What if that had been—

“Holy! What?! Why did the light suddenly fall off!”

One of the bulbs had fallen and shattered into pieces. The good thing was that Terrence wasn’t around.

She sighed in relief. With a quick walk out, she was back with items to clean up the mess. She’d have to report to the butler about the lights.

Yes, indeed. They’d have to do a more thorough check on the bulbs to avoid further mishaps.

“Phew,” she wiped her sweat, overlooking the pieces of glass inside the Parker. “It’d be bad if Mister Terrence was… But where is he?”

She panicked a bit. He should be fine, right? But this silence was truly unnerving, and he wasn’t even on his bed, so what could he be doing that’d perpetuate such silence?

She was reluctant but persisted and, after whispering his name, decided to take the risk and make a full-on holler.

But there was still no reply. Her mind wandered to all his previous attitudes and…

Now she was really panicking.

“Mister Terrence!” she exclaimed while opening the backdoor of his room to the beautiful garden outside but still didn’t find him.

“Mister Terrence?!” He couldn’t have left his room, right? Was he a ghost for her not to catch that?

“Mister Terrence, where the fu—” she stopped, huffing and puffing from the boisterousness of her movement.

Before her was the bathroom, the only place she had yet to search.

“Mister Terrence?” she called out calmly. But there was no reply.

“Mister Terrence?” she knocked, but there still was no reply.

Traces of hesitation flushed her visage before vanishing with a beam of resolution.

She grasped the door handle and pushed. Locked.

She gulped. Her hands were shivering, but she still reached out steadily with the keys.

“Mister Terrence, I—I’m sorry for this.”

These keys had been handed over to her in case of dire situations because the Astridge family were once worried Terrence’s depression would take a drastic turn.

Not anymore since he had been better… Until now.

“Urck!” she grunted. The key had fallen off due to her trembling.

She picked them up again and, with a deep breath, suppressed her fear and sharply inserted it.

The door creaked open, and the sweet smell of peaches assaulted her nostrils.

Too… Much! Why was it so concentrated?

“Mister Terrence!” she called out one last time, and after it had been concluded she had no other choice but to continue, she did.

The closer she got, the stronger the smell, so thick she choked up multiple times. But she was glad—at least she had an excuse if asked why she was intruding into the youth’s privacy.

The first segment of the bathroom was where bathing and skincare took place, and the second segment, separated by sliding doors, was where the water closet was.

The bathroom was very large, and just walking into the whole first segment could take a while… not too much, but she was being cautious to maintain a position where she’d immediately turn away in case the teen suddenly appeared before her buck naked.

She really liked this job and wouldn’t like to lose it. Mainly because she was well paid but also because she could never be lucky enough to get something so good again if it failed.

After all, she wasn’t even that qualified and only got in because all of the male’s former servants were creeps who couldn’t control themselves.

She thought it was an exaggeration and the Astridges had just been unlucky with people until she saw Terrence.

Luckily, she was blessed with the innate benefit of only being seduced by food, or else she’d have kissed the job goodbye instead of risking jail time.

She stopped, having finally arrived at the bathtub covered with frosted glass. She sighed and hard-heartedly slid it open.

“Ah!” A sharp shriek escaped her. She tumbled backward, hands on mouth, with eyes widened to form an animate look of horror.

Her eyes caught the reddened water and then slowly moved to the limp body within, and she nearly hurled.

The sour smell of peach and blood, no longer being trapped in the tub, spread out, leaving her dry heaving.

This… This…

“Somebody…” her voice stuttered out with a squeak as she rushed out of the bathroom.

But then, stumbling out of the room, outside, it crescendoed into a blare:

“HELP!!!”