Chapter 38: The Family GossiperDay 10/365 VICKY. I blinked awake to a quiet room.The sky outside was dark, and the curtains swayed gently from the night breeze. My heart skipped when I turned and saw the space beside me empty.Rue was gone.For a second, panic bubbled up again. I sat up quickly, but then I noticed the folded paper on the bedside table.I reached for it, fingers trembling a little.“I didn’t want to wake you, I went to handle something at home. There’s food downstairs, i cooked ,don’t wait up. I’ll be back tonight. – Rue.”I stared at the note for a long time.Handle something.I already knew what that meant.Someone in his family had leaked that video. And he was going to find out who.I hugged the note to my chest for a second, then got up.The house was too quiet.When I reached the kitchen, the lights were on, and on the marble counter was a covered dish, still warm. My stomach growled as I lifted the lid.Spaghetti. His usual comfort dinner. With extra sauce
.Chapter 37: Everyone is a suspect RUE.It was almost 2 a.m. when I left Vicky’s room.She was finally asleep—barely. I could still hear her breathing unevenly through the door.But I couldn’t rest.Not after what I saw.Not after what she showed me.A video from the family house kitchen trending online. TOnly people close to us would have had access.And we had a estate that the whole family lived in except me and that video was taken in our main kitchen , it had to be one of them . Someone had leaked that video to disgrace Vicky . No, not just her—me.I drove straight to the estate.I didn’t wait till the heat had died down . I didn’t care if they were busy . I summoned all of them—Mom, Dad, Jeremy , Calvin and their wives , Even Grandma if she was awake. I didn’t knock. I barged in.They were all in the living room except Grandma when I arrived, wearing a mix of robes, pajamas, and confused expressions.“Why do you want to see us , Again ? Talking about that girl is giving me
Chapter 36: The Trending TopicDay 9/365VICKY.I woke up to noise.Not just the usual clinking and humming from downstairs, but full-blown chaos. My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. I blinked against the bright light coming from the screen and reached for it.“#RUEANDVICKY”“THE MAID WHO STOLE THE CEO’S HEART?”“LOVE OR SOCIAL CLIMBING?”“REAL LIFE FAIRYTALE?”“What the hell…” I whispered.My inbox was a mess. I had hundreds of messages—some calling me an inspiration, some calling me names I wouldn’t even say out loud.“Vicky, you need to see this,” Julia barged into the room, phone in hand, panic on her face.“What now?”She didn’t say anything. She just handed me her phone. The video was already playing.It was me.In the Roger’s mansion kitchen.In a maid uniform.Washing dishes.Someone had zoomed in on my face, and the caption read:“And this is who Rue Rogers is marrying? His maid?”I felt my heart drop.“Where did this come from?” I asked, trying to keep calm.“No idea. It’s every
Chapter 35: The Big AnnouncementDay 8/365VICKY.The party officially began at 8:30. This didn’t look like a company dinner at all. The yard was crowded with guests, and cameras were everywhere. I watched from the rooftop, waiting for Rue to cue me.My eyes scanned the crowd below until they landed on Williams and Valerie. Williams was glued to his phone, probably trying to distract himself, while Valerie was already restless — gulping drinks and moving around like she couldn’t sit still. She had seen me earlier with Rue when we kissed, so if Williams had told her Rue was announcing his engagement tonight, she probably needed to confirm it with her own eyes.Julia came rushing in behind me, panting.“What’s wrong?” I asked.“Rue says you need to be seated. Here—your glasses.” She handed them to me.It was the perfect disguise. I looked so different, I was sure no one would recognize me — well, no one except Valerie. Williams hadn’t seen me all dolled up like this yet.“How do I just
Chapter 34: 30 Minutes to the Party.Day 8/365VICKY(7:30 pm)I was fully dressed in a red, sleek, custom-made dress. My hair was curled, I had light makeup on, and my jewelry perfectly complimented my look. I looked perfect—but there was this weird feeling in my stomach. To make matters worse? I hadn’t seen Rue. The party was starting in an hour, and he was nowhere to be found.“Have you seen him yet?” I asked Julie, who had just walked in. She’d been the one going around for me since I couldn’t check if Rue was back myself.“I didn’t check yet, but last time I did, he wasn’t back…” she replied cautiously.“His car isn’t here, and he won’t answer his calls. There’s no way I’m going out there when he’s nowhere to be found. What am I going to do there?” I snapped, pacing the room.“I think you should relax,” she said gently.“I need fresh air. I’ve been in this room all day,” I muttered, grabbing my phone and heading for the door, finally stepping out after hours.“But you said you ca
Chapter 33: The Assistant _JulieDay 8/365VICKYI didn’t get enough sleep last night. My mind kept running in circles, wondering if Bella had seen the medical report. I needed to hear it directly from her that she hadn’t. I rolled to the other side of my bed and back again. Then I reached for my diary from its hiding spot, but my mind was blank—I couldn’t write anything. I tossed it back under the bed.Dragging myself out of bed, I brushed my teeth and tied my hair into a messy bun. As I walked to the window, I noticed several cars driving into the compound. I squinted. What’s going on?Then it hit me—today was the company dinner.But why were they arriving this early in the morning? There was no way the dinner was being hosted here… and even if it was, it was freaking so early to start storming the house .“How am I going to keep up with this?” I stretched lazily just as the doorbell rang.I already knew it wasn’t Rue—he never rang the bell; he just knocked.“Rue?” I called out, adj