Aracely walked into the Hickman villa living room. The morning rain had soaked her clothes. She stood in the center of the room, shivering, her face pale.

Evelyn sat on the velvet sofa. She slapped a Non-Disclosure Agreement onto the coffee table. "Sign it."

Aracely picked up the pen. She didn't hesitate. She signed her name, desperate for the right to visit the hospital.

Evelyn scoffed. She tossed a clear plastic box at Aracely's feet. Inside was a realistic silicone scar.

"Put it on," Evelyn ordered. "The safest place to hide a secret is under his nose. Brennen loathes anything 'imperfect'—this scar will be your best shield. He’ll never deign to look at a monster twice."

Aracely stared at the grotesque piece of silicone. Bile rose in her throat. But the image of the ventilator flashed in her mind. She bent down and picked up the box.

She walked into the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror. She applied the pungent, chemical-smelling glue and pressed the ugly scar from her left eye down to her jawline.

The stunning beauty in the mirror was gone. A monster stared back. Aracely put on thick, black-rimmed glasses to hide her sharp eyes.

An hour later, Aracely walked into the grand foyer of the Levine Estate. She wore a scratchy, gray maid's uniform and carried a heavy bucket of water.

Martha Holloway, the head housekeeper, took one look at her face and stepped back. Disgust flashed in Martha's eyes.

"You do not show that face to Mr. Levine," Martha warned sharply. "You clean the corners. Stay out of sight."

Aracely lowered her head. She took her rag and started wiping a tall Ming dynasty vase in the corner.

The heavy front doors slammed open. Brennen stormed back into the foyer, his coat disheveled from a frantic morning search of the grounds.

Arthur followed him, tablet in hand. "Sir, the security footage was wiped. Also... the GPS on Madam’s car shows she never left her family home last night. The woman in your room was an intruder."

Brennen ripped his tie loose. His jaw was tight. The intense high from last night left him with zero patience today.

His eyes scanned the foyer. His gaze landed on the gray figure wiping the vase in the corner.

The curve of her back. The slope of her shoulders. It was the exact same body his hands had memorized in the dark.

Brennen stopped walking. His leather shoes went silent on the marble. The air pressure in the room dropped.

Aracely heard the footsteps stop. Her spine went rigid. The wet rag left a streak on the porcelain vase.

Brennen narrowed his eyes. He walked straight toward the corner.

His tall shadow swallowed her. "Turn around," he ordered.

Aracely had nowhere to run. She turned around slowly. She kept her chin tucked to her chest, staring at the tips of his polished shoes.

Brennen saw her fingers curling tightly into her palms. The familiarity hit him hard.

He lost his patience. He reached out and grabbed her chin. He forced her head up.

Aracely's long eyelashes fluttered. Her clear eyes crashed into his deep stare.

Brennen's heart skipped a beat. But then his eyes dropped to her cheek. He saw the dark red, mangled scar stretching across her face.

Instead of the divine scent from last night, the acrid smell of the adhesive hit him. The violent contrast triggered a wave of nausea. He let go of her chin instantly. He took two steps back in pure disgust.

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped the fingers that had touched her skin. "Martha," he snapped. "Since when did my estate become a homeless shelter?"

Aracely lowered her head again, hiding the humiliation in her eyes. Brennen threw the handkerchief into the trash can. He turned and walked up the stairs without looking back.

Brennen stepped onto the third stair. A draft of air swept through the foyer behind him. A faint, sweet scent of gardenia hit his nose.

He stopped dead in his tracks. He whipped around. He stared at the maid in the corner like a panther locking onto prey.

Aracely felt his gaze burning into her back. Her fingers gripped the wet rag so hard her knuckles turned white. Her nails bit into her palms.

Brennen walked back down the stairs. His face was dark. He didn't believe his nose was lying to him.

He reached out. He was going to grab the collar of her uniform and pull her close.

The sharp clack of high heels echoed from the second floor.

Evelyn rushed down the stairs in a custom designer dress. She wedged herself perfectly between Brennen and the maid.

"Darling, you're home." Evelyn said. She wrapped her arms around his bicep. Her voice was sickeningly sweet.

Brennen yanked his arm away. He pointed at Aracely, who was shaking with her head down. "Who is this ugly creature? And why does she smell like that?"

Evelyn felt a spike of panic pierce her chest, but she quickly masked it, raising her voice so everyone in the grand foyer could hear. "The poor thing was disfigured in a horrific fire, Brennen. That smell is just a cheap, backwater herbal burn ointment made from white cicada flowers. The country folk use it all the time. It has this sickly sweet, fake gardenia stench to it that lingers forever." She pinched her nose delicately, adding a look of exaggerated disgust to sell the lie.

Brennen frowned. "Cheap ointment?" His rational mind told him that scent was not medicine. But the idea that he had slept with this monster was too absurd.

Aracely played along with Evelyn's lie. She shrank her shoulders and made herself look small and pathetic.

Brennen stared at the scene. He felt ridiculous. His insomnia had driven him insane. He actually thought a burned maid was the perfect woman from last night.

He waved his hand in disgust. "Keep your charity cases out of my sight, Evelyn. Don't let her dirty my carpets."

Evelyn nodded quickly. She turned to Aracely. Her face twisted with malice. "Get to the kitchen and wash the dishes. Now."

Aracely picked up her bucket. She kept her head down. She hurried down the hallway toward the servant quarters, making sure to keep her posture hunched and her shoulders curled inward to maintain her pathetic facade.

Brennen walked into his massive mahogany study. He fell into his leather chair. He ripped open the top two buttons of his shirt.

The lack of sleep crashed over him. His temples throbbed violently. His vision blurred at the edges.

Arthur knocked and entered. He placed a glass of warm water and a bottle of strong prescription sleeping pills on the desk.

Brennen stared at the white pills. Rage flared in his chest. His body was completely immune to the chemicals now.

He closed his eyes. The image of the ugly maid's clear, stubborn eyes flashed in his mind.

Those eyes merged perfectly with the feeling of the woman crying in his arms last night.

Brennen snapped his eyes open. He grabbed the glass pill bottle. He hurled it across the room.

The bottle shattered against the wall. White pills scattered across the floor. Arthur flinched and kept his head down.

Brennen breathed heavily. He hated losing control. He hated that a low-class maid was stuck in his head.

"Arthur." Brennen said. His voice was like ice.

Arthur stopped picking up the glass. "Yes, sir?"

"Take that disfigured maid out of the kitchen. Her only job is to clean the hallway outside my study."

Arthur looked up in shock. He didn't understand why his boss wanted the ugliest thing in the house right outside his door.

Brennen sneered. He didn't explain. He was going to watch her closely. He was going to prove to himself that his instincts were wrong.

Down in the kitchen, Aracely was scrubbing a greasy pan. Martha walked in. Her face was cold. She told Aracely about the job transfer. Aracely dried her hands. A cold knot of dread formed in her stomach.

It was 2:00 AM. The massive Levine Estate was dead silent. Only a few dim wall sconces lit the second-floor hallway.

Aracely pushed the heavy cleaning cart. She walked softly. She ran the quiet vacuum over the thick Persian rug.

She glanced at the closed doors of the study. A thin line of light spilled out from underneath. The dangerous man inside was still awake.

Sweat beaded on Aracely's forehead. Her lower back ached from bending over for hours. But she didn't dare stop.

Inside the study, Brennen had been awake for forty-eight hours straight. His nerves were snapping one by one.

His eyes were bloodshot. He ripped his tie off completely. He paced the room like a caged beast.

His throat closed up. He couldn't breathe. He yanked the study door open to get some air.

The door swung wide. The air in the hallway shifted. The sweet, clean scent of gardenia hit him right in the face.

Brennen's vision was blurry. He only saw a slender back pushing a cart a few feet away.

The extreme sleep deprivation cut his logic completely. His body took over.

He stumbled forward. He lunged at her back like a dying man reaching for water.

Aracely heard the heavy footsteps. She spun around in terror. Before she could see his face, a massive force slammed into her.

Brennen pinned her hard against the cold wall. His arms locked around her waist like steel bands.

Aracely opened her mouth to scream. Brennen's hot, calloused hand clamped over her lips.

He buried his face deep into her neck. He inhaled the scent off her skin. He breathed her in like a drug addict.

The miracle happened again. The explosive pain in his head washed away instantly.

Brennen let out a low groan of pure relief. His hard muscles relaxed. He dropped his entire body weight onto Aracely.

Aracely couldn't breathe under his weight. She struggled wildly. She pushed her hands hard against his chest.

Brennen felt his prey fighting back. His arms tightened instinctively. One of his hands slid down her waist and slipped under the rough fabric of her uniform.

The contrast between the cheap cloth and her silky skin confused him for a second. But the hunger swallowed the confusion.

Aracely squeezed her eyes shut. She thought her identity was going to be exposed right here in the hallway.

Brennen lowered his lips to kiss her neck.

A guest room door further down the hall suddenly flew open, the brass handle clicking loudly in the quiet night. Evelyn walked out, having heard the muffled commotion. She wore a sheer red lace lingerie set, her makeup perfectly touched up in anticipation of being summoned. She was holding a glass of warm milk.

She saw the two bodies tangled against the wall. Her eyes went wide. A piercing scream ripped from her throat.

The scream hit Brennen like a bucket of ice water. He snapped out of his daze.

He opened his eyes. He looked down. He was holding the ugly maid with the hideous scar.

Intense self-hatred and nausea hit him at the same time. Brennen shoved Aracely away like she was on fire.

Aracely lost her balance. She crashed into the cleaning cart. Her elbow slammed into the metal edge. She hissed in pain.

Evelyn stomped over in her heels. She raised her hand to slap Aracely. "You cheap slut! Trying to seduce the master!"

"Stop!" Brennen roared. His face was pale. He looked at his own shaking hands. He couldn't believe he had just forced himself onto a monster.

He turned around, walked back into his study, and slammed the door so hard the walls shook.