Eliza felt Celine’s presence before she even saw her.

Some people entered a room quietly. Celine Hart entered with the confidence of a woman who had never heard the word no in her life.

Her perfume,the sharp, expensive kind,drifted through the hallway long before her heels clicked across the marble floors. The air thickened around her, as if the mansion itself stiffened when she walked inside.

Eliza was arranging fresh linens in the hallway closet when she heard their voices.

Celine’s first.

Smooth. Sharp.

Almost smug.

“I’m back, darling. Miss me?”

Alexander’s reply was clipped. Controlled.

“You’re early.”

Eliza froze.

Something ugly twisted inside her chest.

She didn’t want to listen—but she couldn’t make herself walk away either.

She moved quietly to the corner, staying out of sight.

Celine laughed, low and sultry. “Can’t a woman surprise her favorite man?”

Alexander’s sigh was audible. “You’re here for work, Celine. Don’t make this difficult.”

“Oh, Alexander.”

Her voice dripped with false pity.

“You’ve changed. Since she arrived.”

Eliza stiffened.

She knew exactly who “she” meant.

Alexander stood behind his desk, jaw tight.

He’d been trying to avoid this exact confrontation, but Celine was relentless.

She shut the study door slowly, locking it behind her without breaking eye contact.

“Celine,” he said sharply, “unlock the door.”

She smiled as she leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You didn’t mind locked doors last time.”

“That was a mistake,” he replied coldly.

“You used to be fun. Dangerous. Untouchable. Now you’re… soft.” Said celine.

Alexander’s eyes narrowed. “What did you find on Eliza?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, please. We’ll get to the little maid later.”

“Her name is Eliza,” he snapped.

That made Celine pause.

Her lips curved slowly. “Oh. So it’s like that now.”

“It’s professional,” he lied.

Celine laughed—sharp, mocking. “Alexander Drake, undone by a pair of big, soft brown eyes and dish soap?”

His jaw clenched. “Watch your mouth.”

She sauntered closer, placing her hands on the edge of his desk.

Her blouse dipped low, her perfume overwhelming.

“I could remind you what a real woman feels like,” she whispered. “We could forget this little delusion you’re entertaining.”

He stepped back.

“No.”

Her eyes flickered with irritation. “You’re choosing her?”

“I’m choosing boundaries.”

“You mean you’re choosing a maid. A stray.”

Alexander’s expression iced over. “Celine.”

“A nobody,” she pressed. “A girl who scrubs floors and looks at you like you’re God. No education. No background. No family. You have no idea where she came from, what she’s hiding”

“Enough,” he said, voice dangerously low.

But Celine had tasted blood.

“She’s beneath you, Alexander. And you don’t even realize it because you’re blinded by whatever pathetic attachment you think you have. She’s a pretty distraction. That’s all.”

Alexander stepped forward so fast she flinched.

“Don’t speak about her like that,” he growled.

The room went still.

Celine blinked—and a slow smile returned.

“Oh, Alexander,” she breathed, delighted. “You’re in so much trouble.”

Outside the study, Eliza’s heart was beating painfully.

She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to breathe.

A nobody.

A stray.

A maid who didn’t belong here.

Celine’s words sliced deeper than she wanted to admit.

She tried to walk away but her feet wouldn’t move.

She wanted to leave—yet she needed to hear how Alexander responded.

Please defend me, she thought desperately.

Please… care.

“I hired you to investigate,” Alexander said, voice strained. “Not to insult the woman who works in my home.”

“Works in your home?” Celine smirked. “Darling, she’s working her way into your bed.”

Eliza’s face flushed with humiliation.

Alexander’s voice dropped to a lethal quiet.

“That’s enough.”

Celine circled his desk, closing the distance between them.

“You know what? Let’s forget about her for a moment,” she whispered, placing a hand on his chest.

He grabbed her wrist—not gently—and pushed her hand away.

She gasped. “Alexander”

“You will not touch me again.”

Something dark flashed across Celine’s face.

“Wow,” she breathed. “She really has you whipped.”

Alexander’s hands tightened at his sides.

“Give me the case file,” he said. “And leave.”

Celine laughed softly.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I will make sure you never work in this industry again.”

Her smile faltered.

“A maid?” she hissed. “You’d throw your connections away for a maid?”

Alexander’s voice softened in a way that terrified her.

“She’s not just a maid.”

Eliza pressed her hand over her mouth.

Tears filled her eyes, but they weren’t from pain this time,

they were from something far more dangerous.

Hope.

Celine Explodes.

“You want her,” Celine spat. “You want that little fragile thing. That pathetic, trembling”

Alexander slammed his hands on the desk, making her jump.

“Say one more word about her,” he said, voice shaking with fury, “and I swear you will regret it.”

Celine stared at him, stunned.

Then her expression twisted into something venomous.

“I knew it,” she said softly. “You’re in love with her.”

Alexander didn’t deny it.

He didn’t have to.

His silence was louder than any confession.

Celine’s face burned red with humiliation.

“You ungrateful bastard,” she whispered. “You think she’s better than me? You think she’s worthy of you?”

“She’s worth more than you’ll ever understand,” he replied.

And that…

that destroyed Celine completely.

She lunged toward him, but Alexander stepped aside.

“Get. Out.”

“You’re weak,” she hissed. “She’s ruining you”

“Get out of my house,” he roared.

The entire mansion seemed to tremble with his voice.

Celine finally realized she had lost.

She grabbed her purse, sneering.

“You’ll regret this decision, Alexander.”

“Not as much as I’d regret keeping you around.”

She stormed out, heels cracking against the floor like gunshots.

When she threw open the study door—There stood Eliza.

Celine froze.

For a moment, the hallway filled with a thick, poisonous silence.

“So,” Celine purred bitterly. “The little maid was listening.”

Eliza lowered her gaze, biting back tears.

“You disgust me,” Celine hissed. “You think he cares about you? You think you can compete with”

“Celine.”

Alexander’s voice from behind her was ice.

“Leave. Now.”

Celine shot Eliza one last hateful look, then stormed down the hall and out of the mansion.

The echo of the door slamming rang through the silence.

Alexander Faces Eliza

Eliza remained frozen, eyes on the floor.

She heard him step behind her.

“Eliza,” he said softly. “I didn’t know you were”

“I wasn’t listening intentionally,” she whispered.

Her voice shook.

“I was just… passing by.”

He exhaled slowly. “I’m glad you heard.”

She blinked, surprised.

“I don’t want you to ever doubt your worth,” Alexander said quietly. “Or your place here.”

“My place?” she whispered.

He moved closer.

“Eliza… you matter to me more than I should admit.”

Her breath caught.

“I fired her because of how she spoke about you,” he said. “And because she crossed a line that should never be crossed.”

Silence stretched between them,heavy, charged, warm.

Eliza finally looked up.

“I’m not used to being defended,” she whispered.

“And I don’t know what to do with it.”

He stepped close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin.

“Then let me show you,” he murmured.

Her pulse skipped.

She took a small step back, overwhelmed.

“Alexander,” she whispered, “you shouldn’t say that.”

“Then why does it feel true every time I do?”

Her cheeks grew warm. “Please don’t—”

“I can’t help it,” he admitted, voice low. “I can’t stop… feeling you.”

Her breath trembled.

“But we can’t—” she began.

“Tell me to stop,” he said softly. “And I will.”

She didn’t say a word.

She couldn’t.

He reached up slowly—giving her time to pull away—and brushed his fingers gently along her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered.

“Eliza,” he whispered, “you deserve someone who sees you. I see you.”

Her throat tightened. “And that scares me.”

He smiled faintly. “Me too.”

They stood there in the quiet hallway, both breathing hard, both trembling with emotions neither dared to name yet.

Alexander stepped back first, giving her space.

“Get some rest,” he said gently. “Today was too much for you.”

“For both of us,” she corrected softly.

His eyes softened.

“You’re right.”

He turned toward his study, pausing once more to look at her.

“Goodnight, Eliza.”

“Goodnight, Alexander.”

Eliza didn’t sleep well after the confrontation with Celine.

Not because of the insults—those she could swallow with enough effort—but because of Alexander’s reaction.

He had defended her.

So fiercely. So instinctively.

So unlike the man who usually hid every emotion beneath iron walls.

She replayed it all in her mind:

The way he barked at Celine.

The way he stepped closer to Eliza afterward, his voice quiet but aching with sincerity.

“You matter to me more than I should admit.”

The words had stayed with her long into the night, echoing in her chest until sleep finally claimed her.

By morning, she had convinced herself it meant nothing.

He was her employer. Nothing more.

And whatever flickered between them was a dangerous illusion she needed to suppress.

But that illusion ignited the moment she entered the hallway and found Mrs. Hayworth waiting for her.

“Mr. Drake wants you dressed and ready by noon,” Mrs. Hayworth said.

Eliza blinked. “Ready… for what?”

“Lunch.”

“Oh. Should I prepare something in advance?”

Mrs. Hayworth gave her a strange look. “Not prepare. Attend.”

Eliza froze. “Attend… lunch? With him?”

Mrs. Hayworth’s brow lifted. “He said, and I quote, ‘Tell Eliza I need her for service today at noon. Outside.’ But I’ve seen the way he phrased things. That wasn’t an order. That was an attempt at subtlety.”

Eliza’s heart flipped. “I—I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to,” Mrs. Hayworth sighed with a faint smile. “Just get ready.”

Alexander Refuses the Search

His assistant peeked in.

“Sir, about the incomplete background check—should we continue with another investigator?”

“No,” Alexander said sharply.

The assistant blinked. “But sir—”

“No,” he repeated, softer this time. “I don’t want another report. I’ll ask Eliza anything I need to know.”

The assistant nodded and left.

Alexander leaned back, rubbing his forehead. A strange peace washed over him.

He knew the decision was risky. Irresponsible, even.

But something in him insisted that pushing deeper through paperwork would mean betraying the trust forming between them.

He didn’t want records.

He wanted truth from her lips.

And he was going to start today.

The Invitation

Eliza stepped outside at exactly noon, wearing a simple cream blouse and dark skirt—nothing extravagant, but somehow still too pretty for a work day.

She expected Alexander to hand her a list of tasks or instructions.

But instead, he stood by the car… dressed casually.

Dark jeans. A fitted shirt. No tie, no suit jacket.

His hair slightly tousled.

A version of Alexander Drake she’d never seen.

Her breath caught.

“You’re late,” he teased gently, though she wasn’t.

“I—I didn’t know what to wear,” she murmured.

He smiled faintly. “You look perfect.”

Her cheeks warmed.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Lunch.”

She blinked. “With you?”

He opened the car door. “With me.”

There was no room for argument in his tone.

She climbed in, heart racing.

The Drive

The ride was quiet, but not uncomfortable.

Eliza kept her hands folded in her lap, staring at her reflection in the window.

Alexander drove with one hand on the wheel, glancing at her now and then as though confirming she was real.

“Are you nervous?” he asked suddenly.

“Yes,” she admitted.

He smirked. “Good. So am I.”

She turned to him, surprised. “Why?”

His jaw tightened, his voice softened.

“Because I care what you think of me.”

Her breath caught.

They both turned away quickly, unable to handle the weight of the moment.

Lunch in the Quiet Corner of the City

He took her to a private restaurant outside the city—quiet, elegant, with soft lighting and tall windows overlooking the water.

The hostess greeted him warmly, then eyed Eliza with curiosity.

Alexander ignored it.

“I want the private booth,” he told the staff.

They were led to a secluded corner with velvet seating and a view of the river.

When they sat, Eliza whispered, “This place is… beautiful.”

He smiled softly. “I wanted somewhere you wouldn’t feel… watched.”

“You’re being very thoughtful,” she murmured.

“I try,” he said quietly.

He Wants to Know Her

After ordering, Alexander leaned forward slightly.

“Eliza,” he began, “I want to know you. Not as an employee. Not as someone who works in my house. I want to know you.”

She swallowed.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” he said honestly.

She laughed nervously. “That’s… a lot.”

“I have time.”

Her chest tightened with something warm and dangerous.

He asked softly:

“What were you like as a child?”

Eliza exhaled. “I don’t remember much. I woke up in a hospital with no memories. Martha—the woman who raised me—told me I was in an accident.”

His face softened. “You must have been terrified.”

“I was. But Martha made me feel safe.”

He nodded slowly.

“What do you fear now?” he asked next.

She hesitated.

“Not belonging,” she whispered. “Being somewhere I’m not wanted.”

Alexander’s breath hitched.

“You belong,” he said quietly. “More than you know.”

She looked up sharply—and found his gaze fixed on her like he was memorizing the shape of her soul.

“And dreams?” he asked. “What do you dream about when you let yourself dream?”

She smiled faintly. “Warmth. Home. Someone who looks at me like I matter.”

His throat tightened.

“Eliza…”

His voice was low, pained, wanting.

She looked away quickly, overwhelmed.

Their Hands Brush

When the plates arrived, they ate quietly.

At one point, Eliza reached for her glass just as Alexander reached for the same thing.

Their fingers brushed—soft, warm, electric.

She froze.

He didn’t move.

For a moment, their hands remained touching—not by accident anymore.

Eliza slowly pulled back.

Alexander watched her with an expression that made her stomach flutter.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be.”

His voice was almost a whisper.

Meanwhile, Celine Moves

At that exact moment, miles away, Celine sat hunched over a desk covered in old files.

Her expression wild.

Her red lipstick smudged from biting her lips.

The glow of her laptop reflected in her eyes.

She had called in every favor she had.

Dug through records she shouldn’t access.

Cross-referenced every detail.

And then—she found it.

An old police file.

A name circled in red.

Lisha Drake.

She smiled coldly.

“Oh, Eliza,” she whispered. “You’re about to lose everything.”

The Ride Home

Alexander opened the door for Eliza as they returned to the mansion.

Their eyes met in a way that made her pulse flutter uncontrollably.

The car was filled with unspoken emotion.

When they reached the gate, he turned off the engine but didn’t move.

“Eliza,” he said softly.

She looked at him.

“This isn’t the last time.”

She swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not done getting to know you,” he murmured.

Her breath trembled. She nodded, barely able to speak.

He stepped out, walked around, and opened her door again.

When she stood, the air between them hummed with possibility.

He reached out—just lightly—and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

Her knees nearly buckled.

“Goodnight, Eliza,” he said, his voice low and intimate.

“Goodnight,” she whispered.

As they walked into the mansion, neither noticed the black car parked across the street.

Inside it, Celine watched them with a cold, vicious smile.

She finally had the truth.

And she intended to destroy them with it.