Chapter One

"Aria, Jesus! I've been calling you for the past five minutes, girl. Get that damn thing off your ears." I heard a loud yell, followed by a small pat on my shoulders from Ginny, my best friend and the cook of the mansion where I am currently working along with my grandfather. He works as the gardener whereas I do a bit of everything from cleaning, doing the dishes and making sure everything look neat around this huge ass house. My OCD issues were not an issue anymore if it pays me for my tuition fees,right?

I know it's not much but I was just 21 and trying to make it work somehow with the hope that I might be able to go to college one day like most of my friends. I've been saving up since I wasn't fortunate enough to enjoy the luxury of having rich parents like them or just having parents in general.

Sucks to be me at the moment!

I pulled out my earphones and frowned at Ginny for interrupting my work time jam. I have a separate playlist for each of my activities throughout the day and right now I was vibing to Ariana Grande's dish-washing mix.

"What is it?" I asked as I yawned and turn around to face her. I wiped my wet hands on my apron and gave her a confused look as she had the most terrified look on her face. Ginny might look like a tough woman in her late 50's but she was more softer and gentler than me and gets frightened by the slightest of things.

"Xavier!" She whispered and I go still as soon as that God forbid name leaves her mouth. Now, I get why she looks like she just saw a ghost. I feel you, Ginny.

What has he done now?

Let me tell you about Xavier Hudson, the devil himself. He was 26 years old, single child, filthy rich, annoyingly handsome for someone with a poor attitude.

What a waste of potential?!

He runs his dad's company along with his grandfather which was a part of his inheritance and lives alone in this mansion. I heard that both of his parents died when he was a teenager. He has probably more than 20 people working for him just for his basic needs. He has a personal trainer, designer, assistant, driver, hair-dresser and the list goes on. I am also convinced that he hates everyone and everything. I think someone took out the words related to happiness from his dictionary. He always has a sour expression and I've never ever seen him smile even once.

What an absolute jerk!

"Oh, crap! Please don't tell me he broke another glass." I whined as I removed my apron and Ginny gave me an apologetic look. She hates his guts but at the same time she is scared as hell to deal with his attitude. I do get scared sometimes at the way he lashes at his employees and breaks things around the house for no reason but he has never looked at me directly or complained about my work even once. I should be proud of myself for my perfect work record but I didn't want to jinx it.

"Please, dear. I swear I'll do it the next time. I just want to go home and be with my grandkids today with a bright smile which I know for sure will be ruined by that devil."

I laughed at her response and shook my head as I grabbed the broom and the dustpan from my cleaning supplies kit. As much as I wanted to say no to her, I simply couldn't. I mean, how can I? She has always been like a mother to me and what I'm about to do is hardly anything compared to what she has done for me all these years. Even though I started working in this mansion only recently, Ginny has always helped me and my grandfather both financially and mentally.

She is basically family at this point.

"Only for you, Ginny." I mumbled as I gave her a small smile and she returned it with a tight hug before grabbing her things to leave for the day.

"See you tomorrow then, I owe you for this."

"Can you tell my grandpa to go home on your way out? I think it will take time for me to clean up everything. He might be waiting for me."

"Sure thing, girl. Love you!"

"Love you too, Ginny." I smiled at her warm face and ran upstairs to clean the mess created by Xavier. It should be a piece of cake as I have cleaned up his mess more than a hundred times.

How rich must he be to ruin a perfectly nice wine glass every time he drinks himself to death?

I walked up to his study and found his door slightly open. I took a deep breath and got closer to the door. Once I was standing in front of it, I gave it a small knock.

"Come in!" I heard his loud booming voice, the one that will forever be etched in my brain. There was a slight slur in his tone but nevertheless how can someone sound so scary and intimidating when they speak normally? I took slow steps inside to find broken shards of glass all over the floor in front of him. He was sitting on his chair, in front of his desk with his eyes closed. I couldn't help but run my eyes all over his study room. It was massive and screamed elegance and luxury like every other part of his house. My fingers itched to tidy up his messy mahogany desk but I didn't want to risk my job just yet. I swallowed hard as I observed his face.

The way his thick lashes formed a shadow of its own under his eyes made me envious and his long jet black hair was swept back like he had run his fingers through it multiple times. I got slightly distracted by his sharp jawline and the way his white dress shirt stuck to his chest. It is unbuttoned at the collar and before I could go any further, he shifts in his seat, making me shake my head.

Dammit, admiring the devil? Real smooth.

He is what people call sexy these days but I've known him enough to certify him as the devil reincarnated rather than sexy. He was super drunk as usual so I got down to business. I bent down on the floor to clean up the mess slowly and carefully, making sure that I didn't wake him up. I was almost done and just when I was about to leave, I heard the sound of him clearing his throat which sent a shiver down my spine.

Holy shit! Do I look up? What do I do? This doesn't happen.

"Umm...I'm almost done, Sir." I blurted out in panic and cursed internally.

Sir? Who even uses this term anymore? I should say Mr. Hudson.

"Who are you?" he asked, his tone filled with confusion and I almost bursted out in laughter. He doesn't even know me and I've been working here for six months.

Jesus! This man is so full of himself.

"I'm Aria Abrams, the house help. My grandfather works here as the gardener." I explained as I stand up with my broom and dustpan filled with broken glassware awkwardly. He blinked twice and I noticed his face became rigid and his knuckles turned white. He looked at me up and down and I felt so embarrassed to be standing in front of him in my worn out blue jeans and a plain red t-shirt tucked inside my jeans since it had a few holes in them. I looked down and stare at his shiny formal shoes before staring down at my own dirty sneakers.

Great! I probably jinxed my winning streak at work. I'm going to be his new poorly dressed victim.

Here we go!

"Are you done?" he asked in a monotonous tone, surprisingly and I finally looked up to see him staring at me with a straight face. That's when I notice his eye colour which are a beautiful shade of ocean green.

Wow! Another waste of good feature on a guy like him.

Before I could do something stupid like drop my dustpan, I nodded my head clumsily and took a few steps backward, indicating that I'm about to leave.

"I'll leave now, Si—Mr. Hudson." I stumbled upon my words and squeezed my eyes shut as my cheeks burn in embarrassment. I immediately turned around and rushed outside in panic. Once I was out of his study, I closed the door and sighed heavily. I wiped my forehead which had been filled with tiny beads of sweat and rolled my eyes, thinking about how intimidating and awkward that interaction was.

Totally unnecessary! I would have done my job and left in peace as usual.

"Asshole!" I muttered angrily. I didn't like the way he intimidated me or how much power he has over everyone who works under him. No wonder Ginny shits her pants every time there is a mention of his name.