"I knew it!" Maggie is fuming with anger. "I knew that damned scumbag was cheating on you!" she adds furiously.
"Don't remind me, please... I don't feel well."
"I'm sorry... I don't want to hurt you more. I just want to make sure you're not going back to him." Sensing Sofía's silence, she slams on her car's brakes. "Are you thinking of going back to that bastard?"
"I... I don't feel well. We'll talk about this later. For now, take me to my job interview, please. I'll be late." She dries her tears, she is very hurt by her boyfriend's betrayal. She loves him; he has been everything to her.
"Okay, I won't say anything else about it. Just... promise me that after your interview, we'll go for a drink, okay? Don't let this bad streak ruin your special day, please." She continues driving.
"I can't promise you anything. The only thing I want right now is not to have seen that scene. You don't know how much it hurts, Maggie." Sofía covers her eyes with both hands to cry deeply, and Maggie swallows. She knows Sofía has lived a painful life after her mother passed away; she took refuge in her boyfriend and best friend.
"Don't cry anymore, please. You've been crying the whole way here. Look, they won't give you the job if they see you're a crybaby." Maggie stops her car in front of the large wooden gate. "It's like... far away? Who would live in a place like this? It looks very elegant."
"Thanks for bringing me, amiga." Sofía adjusts her hair and is not in the mood for anything, but she needs to work, especially now that her relationship with Antonio has ended and he was helping her financially. She can't be a burden on her best friend.
"Put on some lipstick." Maggie hands it to her.
"Thanks... you're very kind."
"Cheer up, Sofía, please. Don't let that put out your light. He doesn't deserve you."
"Maggie." Sofía mentions her, stopping her lip makeup and looking at herself in the rearview mirror. "There's something I haven't told you..."
"What's wrong?"
"When my father left my mother, he left her with a big debt that Antonio promised to pay, and he didn't... If I don't pay the installment month to month, they're going to hurt me, and I don't want to die."
"Why the hell didn't you tell me!?" Her friend gets worked up.
"I didn't want to worry you... It's something I have to solve... If I can get this job, I could cover that expense... The price is very high. They're a bunch of bastards who take advantage."
"Damn it, now I understand why you were late with the apartment rent installment!"
"Exactly... I'm sorry, amiga. I don't want to screw up your life, not like I have mine. Here's your lipstick, thanks. You can go, I'll take a taxi."
"No! I'll wait for you here, Sofía. And promise me that later you'll tell me about that debt, to see if we can do something."
"You're a great friend. I promise." She gets out of the car. "Thank you." She looks at her with gratitude.
"Good attitude. Remember you're beautiful." She compliments her, but Sofía's self-esteem is low.
My friend says I'm beautiful and I don't believe her... If I were, my boyfriend wouldn't have cheated on me. He looked so happy having sex with that bitch... Tears well up in her eyes again. Something he had a hard time doing with me. She feels a lump in her throat. Now I understand a lot of things. She swallows. But... who's going to love me? A girl without charm... Well, only Maggie loves me, but I wonder if a man will ever take me seriously. Before ringing the bell, she counts to 10 to calm the pain her heart feels and clenches her hands tightly because that scene is in her mind and doesn't want to leave. She gets startled when the doors open without her having rung the bell, and a elegantly dressed man looks at her seriously.
"How can I help you?" he asks, and his gaze is cold, too cold.
"I..." She clears her throat to not show weakness and takes a breath. "I am Sofía Mangano, I applied for the nanny position, sir."
"You have arrived late, the interview has already started." Lucifero maintains a firm posture and watches as Sofía plays with her hands as a sign of nerves.
"I had an inconvenience, I apologize for the delay. Please... I need this job." She had to beg because she needs this job; the pay is good. "Please, sir..."
"Follow me." His determined voice startled her, and she had no choice but to follow him, while Maggie was captivated by the man's physique.
I can't let the pain betray me, so I resist and observe in detail the great mansion in front of me. There are cameras everywhere; now I understand how the big doors opened without her having rung the bell. "Go ahead, you must wait your turn." He points to where there are 3 women waiting, so she observes, and when she looks back at him to thank him, the man is gone.
This man seems like a ghost. I continue to muster strength and approach a group of women who are very beautiful and well-presented, but my heart stops for a few seconds when I see a woman come out of a room crying while running. What on earth is happening? I look at her in fear, but the girls start to whisper. They don't even notice me; nobody does. I've always been a zero to the left.
In that spacious and elegant room, there is a strong argument.
"You can't be rude to all women, Leonardo!" His mother is angry. "My grandchildren need a maternal figure as soon as possible, and for you, none is good enough."
"None has been good enough!" he shouts, lighting a cigarette.
"Look, Leonardo! Lately, you've been very arrogant." The elegant 54-year-old woman, her short hair with some gray strands that adorn it and perfectly styled, approaches the window to see that there are only two women left, and that worries her. "You've been like this ever since that stupid Francesca..." He doesn't even let her finish because he slams his free hand hard on the desk.
"It's forbidden to mention that woman!! Forbidden!" He gets worked up, but then lowers his temper; he knows he can't be rude to his mother because she's the only one who can bring him down a notch. "You know... you choose, because I can't stand this situation anymore, this idea of yours has me stressed out!" He stands up.
"You're not going anywhere!" his mother reprimands him. "Your children are not to blame for their mother's mistakes. Your children need you, and you are becoming more and more distant. If I'm doing this, it's because I'm the grandmother, not the mother, and you know perfectly well that I can't be with them for long. Lucifero!" She mentions him with authority.
"At your service, Mrs. Minerva." He approaches with respect.
"Call the girl with the black hair." She orders firmly, and Lucifero obeys, leaving the room.
Leonardo continues to smoke, and his mother looks at him with disdain.
"You, come!" Lucifero orders.
"Me?" The brown-haired girl asks.
"No, the one with the black hair. Come quickly." He orders impatiently, and Sofía doesn't understand. Why her if it wasn't her turn?
"It's not fair! I came from very far away and they haven't even interviewed me." She gestures with her hands, complaining.
"If you want to see your family again, I advise you to leave right now." He threatens her, and the girl swallows hard. She feels her legs tremble, but Sofía even more, who senses that she is not in a good place. "Move!" He orders Sofía, and she nods her head.
I'm terrified. Why do I feel like I'm walking to my infernal destiny? My breathing gets more and more agitated as I watch the man in front of me, the ghost, open the door. "Move!" He orders me, and I hold back from responding rudely, although to be honest, I'm not in the mood.
Upon entering the room, I feel a chill run through my body. The room transmits to me as if it were the day of my death, so I blink several times and then scan the place until I see a man in front of me. Sitting there, as if he were the king, so handsome, but so handsome, carved by the gods, and he is smoking a cigarette, with his gaze fixed on me as if I were his prey... God, what have I gotten myself into? I say mentally, feeling my heart beat hard, as if it were going to jump out of my chest.
"Name?" a woman asks, getting my full attention. When I see her, I swallow hard. She is beautiful and elegant, her gaze scans me from head to toe, examining me completely, in fact, making me more nervous. She has that same look as that man who I'm sure is still looking at me. I can feel it. I feel small in this place.
"I asked you a question!" she adds, taking the words away from me with my treacherous nerves.
"So-sofía... Mangano," I answer, fixing my gaze on the wooden floor. I feel like I can't breathe and I want to get out of this place.
"You're hired!" the woman says firmly, causing shivers throughout my body. "You start right now, there's no time to lose." She approaches me and extends her hand to introduce herself. "I'm Minerva Di Napoli." I didn't want to be rude, so I shake her hand and I really want to see that man, so I look up to see him, but he's not there, and that makes me curious.
The lady lets go of my hand and stands in front of me, making me look at her. "My grandchildren are twins, who I'm going to introduce to you shortly. Don't worry about my son. I suppose you already know who he is."
"No," I answer with total sincerity, although I sense that I had seen him before.
"Leonardo Di Napoli, the multimillionaire, the most powerful and desired man."
"Di Napoli?" I ask, astonished because I had heard of him. In fact, many say he is related to the mafia.
"I'll only tell you one thing, Sofía. If anything happens to my grandchildren under your care, you will be a dead woman. This is not just any job."
"I understand... But I didn't know I would be working for a man like your son," I reply firmly, looking back to where that man was. I don't understand my need to see him, especially now that I know who he is.
The woman's laugh echoes in the room, getting my attention. I see her turn and walk to a table, where there is a brown folder, and she takes it and then turns to look at me. "Don't look where you have nothing to lose. This is not a game; if you make a mistake, you lose. Have you regretted coming?" Sofía looks at Minerva with concern. "There's no turning back, if you leave you'll die, and not just you, your little friend too."
"Are you forcing me?" she looks at Minerva with strangeness. "You can't say something so cruel to me."
"Do you want me to send your friend six feet under?"
"Fine! Don't hurt my friend, please!" I snap with anger, feeling like I'm between a rock and a hard place.
"Perfect." She smiles. "Lucifero, bring my grandchildren, please."
"As you order, ma'am." He leaves quickly.
"Sofía, this job will be short, until my grandchildren are teenagers. Don't look at me like that, dear. Instead, think that life is smiling at you. You will have many benefits, you will be a millionaire and you will lack nothing. Is there anything I can do for you? Any problem to solve...?" She takes the documents out of the folder and then the pen. "Come closer." She orders her, and Sofía nods.
"I..." She remembers the debt she has.
"You...? Tell me and sign quickly. Whatever you want, I will grant it to you. I will come to visit as many times as necessary."
"People with money do as they please. What you are doing is called manipulation. I regret having come."
"I like your honesty and strength to tell me what you think. Now, sign and leave your bank details so you can immediately receive your first payment."
Minerva places the document and the pen on the table, and Sofía approaches angrily. She wants to know many things. She needs to know the truth of why she was threatened into accepting this job and why the lady was the one who spoke and not the father of the twins.
"Sign." Minerva is impatient, and Sofía had no choice but to sign that document that she didn't even have time to read. If something happened to her friend, she would never forgive herself.
"Perfect." She says when she sees that Sofía signed and lets go of the pen to then regain her composure. "One more thing, darling. Change the way you dress. Here, I am the lady, and I am more fashionable than you." She smiles maliciously. "Be careful not to look at my son with other eyes. You are here only to be the nanny to my grandchildren. And one more thing. Call your friend and tell her to leave. My grandchildren need a lot of attention. As for when they ask you about their real mother, just tell them she is saving the animals in Africa."
"What? Why lie so much?" Sofía gets a headache with so much information she has to process.
"In time, you will know. And because I like you, I'll warn you, don't set your sights on my son Leonardo. He is out of reach and only hurts women..." She was going to tell her something else, but she was interrupted by a sweet voice.
"Grandma!" The girl stops when she sees her near a completely unknown woman. "Has my mommy arrived?" She asks, playing with her little hands and her small heart beating with excitement.
"My little Chiara." She speaks to her, being literally another person. She no longer has that strong, malicious character. Now she is gentle and loving.
"And where is she?" Michelle is the other twin and asks with arrogance.
Sofía looks at Minerva and doesn't feel capable of lying like that, not to innocent children who need their real mother.
"I can't, ma'am," she whispers, and Minerva gets worried.
"You already signed, just be a good girl. Do you want to hear them cry?" she asks, and Sofía shakes her head.
"Are you our mommy?" the girl asks, causing a jolt in Sofía's heart, who turns slowly with her nerves on edge and looks at those two little ones who are watching her with intrigue without blinking.
