Stranger in my Ass-Chapter 258

Olivia’s POV

We grabbed each other’s hands and jumped up and down, screaming like maniacs, our exhaustion completely forgotten.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," I kept repeating. "This is insane. This is completely insane."

"Your stranger bought you a house!" Kira was laughing and crying at the same time. "A HOUSE, Liv! Not an apartment! A whole house!"

"We need to see it. Right now. We need to go look at this place."

"YES! Absolutely yes!" Kira was already grabbing her purse. "Forget unpacking! Forget being tired! We have a house to see!"

I looked at the key in my hand, then at the address on the note. "It’s getting quite late though..."

"I don’t care if it’s three in the morning! We’re going!"

We flew down the stairs and flagged down a taxi that was dropping someone off nearby.

"Where to?" the driver asked as we piled into the backseat.

Kira read off the address, and I watched the driver’s eyebrows rise in his rearview mirror.

"That’s a very nice neighborhood," he said carefully. "Very expensive."

"We know!" Kira and I said in unison, then dissolved into giggles.

The drive felt eternal and instantaneous all at once. We sat pressed together, the key clutched between our joined hands, watching the city transform from our modest neighborhood to upscale streets.

Tree-lined avenues. Beautiful brownstones. Elegant apartment buildings with doormen.

And then we turned onto the street, and the driver slowed to check building numbers.

"Here we are," he announced, pulling to a stop.

We stared out the window.

The house - our house - was a pristine brownstone set back slightly from the street. Three stories of classic New York architecture with a wrought-iron gate, a small front garden with actual flowers, and warm lights glowing in the windows.

It was the kind of house you saw in movies. The kind you walked past and imagined what it would be like to live there but never actually believed you could.

"Holy shit," Kira breathed.

"Is this real?" I whispered. "Kira, pinch me. Tell me this is real."

She pinched my arm. Hard.

"Ow!"

"It’s real. We’re really here. We really have a house."

We paid the driver, and stood on the sidewalk, just staring.

"Okay," Kira said, taking a deep breath. "Let’s go see our house."

The gate opened smoothly with the key. We walked up the stone path, and I noticed how well-maintained everything was. Fresh mulch in the garden beds. Not a weed in sight. Perfectly trimmed hedges.

And there, in the driveway to the side of the house, sat a car.

Not just any car. A sleek, gorgeous Mercedes sedan in midnight blue, gleaming under the streetlights.

"Is that...?" Kira moved toward it. "Is that ours too?"

"I don’t know. Maybe it belongs to someone else? Maybe someone is inside the house."

But the car sat on our property, idling quietly as if waiting.

We reached the front door, and the same key that opened the gate fit perfectly in the lock.

The door swung open.

And we stepped into heaven.

The foyer alone was bigger than our entire apartment. Marble floors. A crystal chandelier. A grand staircase with an ornate wooden banister curving up to the second floor.

"I’m going to pass out," Kira said faintly. "Liv, I think I’m going to actually pass out."

We moved through the first floor in stunned silence.

A living room with plush sofas and armchairs arranged around a fireplace - a real, working fireplace. Built-in bookshelves already filled with books. Art on the walls that looked original and expensive.

A dining room with a table that could seat twelve, set with elegant place settings like we might host a dinner party at any moment.

A kitchen that made me want to cry. Marble countertops. Professional-grade appliances. A refrigerator that was already stocked with fresh food. An island with bar stools. Copper pots hanging from a rack.

"There’s a breakfast nook," Kira said, her voice barely above a whisper. "With windows overlooking a garden. Liv, there’s a garden."

We rushed to the back windows.

The backyard was modest but really massive. A perfectly manicured lawn. A stone patio with comfortable outdoor furniture. String lights overhead. And...

"Is that a pool?" I pressed my face against the glass. "Please tell me that’s a pool."

"That’s a pool." Kira was laughing now, the kind of slightly hysterical laughter that came from overwhelm. "We have a pool. We have a pool."

We were still taking it all in when a voice behind us said, "Welcome home, mistress."

We both screamed and spun around.

A woman stood in the kitchen doorway. She was middle-aged and she was smiling so beautifully. She was wearing a neat black dress and white apron.

"I’m so sorry!" She pressed a hand to her chest. "I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Mrs. Hillary, the housekeeper. Your... benefactor hired me to maintain the house and assist you in any way you need."

Kira and I just stared at her, mouths open.

"You have a housekeeper," Kira said to me.

"We have a housekeeper," I corrected.

"The house is yours, Miss Hopton," Mrs. Hillary said gently. "But yes, I’m here to help both of you, if you choose to accept my services. Cooking, cleaning, errands...whatever you need. I have my own apartment in the neighborhood and can work whatever hours suit your schedule."

"This is..." I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Mrs. Hillary’s smile widened. "Overwhelming? I imagine so. Would you like me to show you the rest of the house? Or would you prefer to explore on your own?"

"Show us," Kira said immediately. "Please. Before we wake up from this dream."

Mrs. Hillary led us through the first floor, pointing out details we’d missed. A powder room with Italian tile. A study with a massive desk and walls of bookshelves. A mudroom with built-in storage and a washer and dryer - a washer and dryer in the actual house, not in some basement shared with forty other people.

Then up the stairs to the second floor.

"There are four bedrooms," Mrs. Hillary explained. "The master suite is here..." she opened double doors to reveal a room bigger than our entire old apartment, with a king-size bed, sitting area, walk-in closet, and an en-suite bathroom with both a soaking tub and a rainfall shower. "Two guest rooms here and here. And this..." she opened another door, "... I was told might be needed soon."