3: The suspicion

Lady Loretta was dismissing the maids to clear the used plates and empty bottles, as well as tidy up the living room after all the guests had left her mansion. She noticed Melody wince in pain as she slowly descended the stairs.

"Melody," Lady Loretta said, looking shocked to see how disheveled Melody now was, as though she had been beaten.

"What happened to you?" Lady Loretta inquired in disbelief, while all the maids in the living room paused to look at Melody in shock, gasping at the sight of the once-arrogant lady's current appearance.

"Milady, it was one of the maids—the one you assigned to show me to the top floor. She did this to me," Melody managed to say, her cheeks visibly swollen.

"You mean Miranda did this to you? I don’t believe it. Miranda is innocent and cannot hurt a fly. As far as I'm aware, she hasn’t been in a fight with any of the maids since she started working here. Are you sure you're referring to Miranda and not another maid?"

While the older woman was busy questioning Melody, Derrick walked back into the living room and looked stunned to see that there was still a guest present.

"She did this, ma’am. I cannot lie to you. Miranda lied about me to Master Derrick, and after he left us, she pounced on me and did this. She is evil, ma’am," Melody started sobbing upon seeing Derrick looking at her.

"What’s happening here, Mom?" Derrick asked as he approached his mother.

"Mom, you know it’s already late. You should get some rest," Derrick said, not casting a glance at Melody again, who had expected him to summon the maid.

After losing her job, Melody expected Miranda to also lose her position as a maid in the exquisite villa. She knew she didn’t stand a chance of getting closer to Derrick again, as he was mostly busy at the office and attending important meetings. Additionally, she had no excuse to see him, as Alexa was there as well as many other top female staff members longed to be with Derrick.

"Mom," Derrick said, looking at his aged mother, whose hair was now filled with gray. He frowned as she spoke again, "Derrick, I will return to my room. But where is Miranda, if Melody accuses her of beating her up?"

"Do not worry yourself, Mother. I will have the guards investigate what happened. Melody, you may leave now," Derrick dismissed, not bothering to summon Miranda.

He walked with his mother along the stairs, assisting her in returning to her room on the top floor. It took the older lady quite a while to climb the flight of stairs, and Derrick considered relocating his mother’s room to the ground floor.

Arriving at Lady Loretta Luis’s room door, Derrick paused and gently opened it. The maids knew it was best to avoid him, especially when he was with his mother.

"Mom, you should get enough rest. I don’t want anything to go wrong with you," Derrick said in a hushed tone after helping her onto the bed.

Both Derrick and Lady Loretta had dark complexions. She smiled at her son’s care and replied, "I am fine, but you know what would make me happy and help me rest well? It’s if you settled down. Your father worked so hard to acquire all this wealth for you. I am already over 70 years old, and you shouldn’t expect me to remain youthful. You should consider marrying a wife. You shouldn’t wait until you’re thirty to do so, my son."

Holding his mother’s warm left hand as she lay on the bed, Derrick heard her say, "My wish for you is that you find a good woman who will love you very much, and pamper you like her baby. Also, taking good care of you while I am away, and watch over you both from heaven."

"Mom," Derrick interrupted with a frown. "You aren’t leaving me anytime soon." Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, as his mother often spoke to him about leaving, and he wished he could exchange all their wealth for a longer life so she wouldn’t have to leave him.

"It’s life, Derrick. We have to go for the world to become balanced and to allow our generations to continue from where we stopped. But I am not leaving you anytime soon. I still want to see you settle down first and then witness the next heir of the Luis firm."

"That’s fine, Mom. I guess I should leave you to rest now. Have a sound sleep." Derrick leaned over and kissed his mother’s forehead goodnight. She smiled and watched him exit her room.

Meanwhile, in the master's bedroom of the exquisite mansion, Miranda soaked herself in a warm bath inside one of the luxury bathrooms.

"Oh my goodness! This feels so good," she said, not caring about the consequences of her actions, nor the time she spent in this warm bath.

She had hurried into this room, which was completely different from the other rooms she had been assigned to take care of downstairs.

"Mmm," Miranda mumbled, enjoying herself in the warm bath. After dealing with the silly lady who dared to slap her, Miranda wanted to show Melody what it felt like to be dejected. She was not one to take disrespect from others, but after coming from a lower-class family and becoming an orphan at a young age, Miranda knew the world had no respect for the poor. As a result, she longed to become rich, even if it meant stepping on others to achieve that. She admired the good life, wanted a respectable job, and dreamed of owning a big supermarket or shopping mall in her name.

Thinking about her life struggles, Miranda didn’t care how much time she had spent luxuriating in that exquisite, large, pristine bathtub. The bubbling waters, filled with scented soap, soothed her body, and combined with the chilly weather of the night, Miranda felt unwilling to leave the bath. She wanted to sleep there and forget all her worries. She even let her blonde hair cascade behind her back. She was extremely beautiful, but she still remembered the slap that Melody had given her. Miranda felt like strangling Melody's neck, but she knew she would be jailed and that no one would come to her rescue.

"Mmmmm." Miranda was enjoying herself in the bathtub until she heard the sound of a door shut.

"Who's there?" Miranda asked, thinking she was in her maid's room on the lower floor. Reality suddenly dawned on her that she was inside one of the master's bathrooms.

"I hope this isn't Master Derrick's room," Miranda muttered softly until she heard the bathroom door slide open.