2

Iris felt like she was going to fall over and spill the tray of drinks she was holding as she walked from table to table offering wine to the members of the high society the Taylors were hosting in their mansion.

She was always tired due to how much she worked but today was different. Most of the arrangements for the party had been done by her.

Even though Vera had hired professionals, Iris was still ordered to help them with their laborious task so her body had been aching since she hadn’t gotten any time to rest her assaulted joints.

Iris would have been better off sleeping in her small bed that was barely enough to fit her small frame, hidden and tucked away from the narcissistic people who glared at her as she passed them as if she didn’t already know she was way lower than the dirt on their luxury shoes but Vera and Helen would never allow her to have that luxury.

She passed the buffet table and her eyes met her best friend, Alanna. She was her only friend and also the only person who didn’t mind that Iris was the bastard child of the Taylors, a fact that none of the Taylors' sophisticated friends and acquaintances could ever find out.

“Hey girlie, you look terrible. Like a legit zombie” Alanna whispered when Iris came to stand beside her so she could take a break from walking around the large ballroom. Who even had a ballroom in this day and age?

“I feel like I’m going to faint if I don’t find somewhere to sit soon” Iris whispered back just as another wave of headache hit her like a freight train. She used her free hand to massage her forehead gently but it did no good to ease the ache in her head.

“Maybe you should go and rest for a bit. I doubt anyone would notice if you are gone for thirty minutes or thereabout” Alanna suggested and Iris turned to her friend to look at her.

“Are you crazy?" She whispered harshly "You know Vera and Helen would kill me if they don’t find me when they need me. They already warned me before the party started that I should make sure to work this party like my life depended on it. I really don’t need to make matters worse for myself”

“Why are they so mean to you? It’s not your fault that Vera couldn’t keep her husband and he strayed. Why does she take out her anger on you instead of her husband who cheated? God, they make me so mad” Alanna gritted out, her voice more than a whisper attracting a small number of guests beside them who turned to see the reason for such agitation.

“Ouch” Alanna hissed when Iris pinched her painfully on her thighs. “What did you do that for?” She whined but clamped her mouth shut when she saw the deadly glare Iris was sending her way.

“I can’t believe you. Are you trying to get me killed?” Iris hissed and Alanna flinched. Her eyes widened as she realised that her voice wasn’t exactly quiet but thankfully not loud enough that the people beside them could hear what she said since they had turned back their attention to more important discussions.

“I know you are trying to be angry for my sake but please don’t do it in such a scene and put me in more shit than I already am.”

“But Iris, you deserve better” Alanna cried quietly.

“I deserve nothing and you better keep quiet before someone hears you. I’m already being tormented enough.” She spat and moved briskly away from Alanna before she would start to believe the words that came out of her mouth.

She knew that Alanna meant no harm and was only trying to protect and fight for her but the girl was going to put her in deep shit with the way she runs her mouth without a care. They might both be maids but Iris was of a lower standard when compared to Alanna so she lived her life like she was walking on a path with ticking bombs.

According to some of the staff, The period when Vera found out about her mom's pregnancy was the most chaotic period in the mansion.

Vera was close to going insane and her mother had gone through a lot of horrible things, taking the brunt of her anger. Her mother was threatened to abort the child but she didn’t which gave Stephen no choice but the keep her mother till she gave birth.

Since Stephen was such an influential man and would not risk ruining his reputation, he made sure word didn’t get out about his affair and bastard child even after Iris's mother was killed.

“Iris, come here” Vera's sharp voice tore through the hall and Iris ran over to her after placing the tray of drinks on a nearby table.

“Yes?”

“Have you seen Helen? She should be here but I can’t find her. The Rutherfords are here already and she is nowhere to be found” Vera asked, her eyes scanning the hall again to see if she could find Helen.

“I haven’t seen her tonight” Iris replied and flinched back when she saw Vera’s lips curl up into a snarl.

“Aren’t you the most useless person to ever exist? You can’t even do anything right. You are supposed to take care of her and make sure she is here but because you are very dumb and can’t do anything right, she isn’t here”

Iris took a step back when she noticed Vera’s clenched fists. She said a silent prayer thanking the heavens that they were in public because if they weren’t, she might have gotten hit.

“I’ll go and search for her” She answered shakily instead of telling Vera that she had been serving drinks all evening, making it impossible to watch over Helen.

“You better find her and bring her here in less than ten minutes else you are not going to be able to use those legs of yours for the remaining days of the week” Vera growled lowly and Iris glanced towards her father, Stephen who had been standing beside his wife, quietly but his face remained stoic, as if nothing was happening in front of him as usual.

Iris quietly berated herself as she hurried out of the hall in search of Helen for making herself hope that Stephen would ever stand up to his wife for her. It was a bad habit she needed to get rid of fast.

“Hey, have you seen Helen?” She asked one of the maids coming down the stairs on her way to the first floor of the house..

“Yes, I saw her going to her room with a male guest” The maid replied before scurrying off, not waiting to hear a reply from Iris.

Iris frowned in surprise but she began to make her way up the stairs to Helen’s bedroom.

“A male guest? Could it be Mr Luca? But I doubt that. She has been missing for over an hour and the Rutherfords just arrived except he came earlier”

She pushed the door open and gasped loudly when she saw Helen bent over her bed, being fucked by a stranger she was certain wasn’t Luca Rutherford.

The man had his hand in her hair which he used to force her head backwards as he fucked her hard and fast.

Iris didn't know where else to look as Helen's face was closed and her mother slightly opened as she moaned in pleasure.

“Fuck, who is she?” The stranger cussed, pulling himself from Helen and Iris quickly averted her gaze when he turned to face her fully naked.

“A piece of scum, lower than the worst vermin” Helen spat and Iris felt her heart lurch with every word she said.

“A maid I guess?” The stranger said, his worry turning into a smirk as he approached Iris.

“Lower than dirt” Helen smirked at the man who was now standing in front of Iris. He traced her cheeks and she jumped back not wanting him to touch her. Her eyes were going all over the place to prevent her from staring at his very erect dick.

“Can I have her?” He asked teasingly and Helen’s eyes flared up.

“Are you crazy? Do you want to fuck this scum after sleeping with me? You are such an asshole, Jace”

Iris's eyes widened even further and her head snapped towards the stranger. No wonder he looked familiar. He was Luca's cousin. Helen was sleeping with her fiancée’s cousin. Won’t that cause a lot of trouble when it gets out?

Helen must have seen the realization on her face because she stormed over to Iris and shoved her into the wall. Iris winced as her shoulders slammed the hard walls hard and she knew that it was going to hurt later.

Helen grabbed her jaw and pushed her head painfully into the wall before snarling in her face. “If a word about this gets out, I will ruin you and by the time I am done with you, even pieces of your body would not be recovered”

The sound that escaped Iris was more than just fear, it was terror. She didn’t know if Helen was bluffing but she didn’t want to find that out either.

“I won’t tell a soul I promise. I didn’t see anything” She choked out. She felt the walls closing in on her and her heart was racing faster than it had ever done before.

Helen’s lips twisted into a sick smile and she shoved Iris to the ground “I thought you’ll see it my way. Get out”

“Your mom said Mr Luca was here and you should come down immediately” Iris still managed to rasp out and she saw the panicked expression on both of their faces but she didn’t wait for their reply before running out of the room.

On her way down the stairs, she ran into a hard chest and arms wrapped around her waist, steadying her before she could fall.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching” She apologized.

Iris looked up to see who she had bumped into and moved back in shock almost tripping again but Luca’s hand still wrapped around her arm, prevented that.

“Be careful” He grunted out.

“I’m sorry” She apologized again but he was already halfway up the stairs. She was about to turn and continue her way to the party when she noticed that he was heading towards Helen’s bedroom.

“Oh god” She breathed out in horror before running after him. Just as he was about to open the door, she grabbed his hand and pulled him from the door.

Luca turned to her with a scowl and a hitched brow. “What is it?” He was pissed.

“I forgot to thank you for helping me out just now” She lamely stuttered as she had nothing else to say.

“You already did that” He said gruffly before turning to open the door again.

“Are you hurt?” She asked again in an effort to stop him but he didn’t pay her any mind. Instead, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

They were met with the same sight that greeted Iris early, only this time Helen was on top of Jace riding him like he was the best thing to happen to her. Because Luca opened the door quietly, they didn’t take notice of him.

Luca glared at Iris so hard she almost disappeared. She could see the hatred and conclusion in his eyes as he thought she was trying to cover up for Helen which she was. She looked at the oblivious couple on the bed and wanted to scream at them but the words were lodged in her throat and she was frozen on her feet.

Luca began to clap slowly causing Helen and Jace to take notice of them. They scrambled apart with wide eyes, horrified that they were caught.

“Luca, it’s not what you think. It’s all a mistake” Helen stuttered, grabbing the covers to wrap around her body and stumbling towards Luca.

“Oh, I think it’s exactly what it is." He snapped and she flinched "Thank you, Helen. I never wanted to marry you and you just gave me what I wanted on a silver platter” He smirked before walking out of the room.

“You” Helen snarled at Iris “You did this. You called him here because I threatened you a little?”

Iris's eyes widened in fear and she began to shake her head furiously “No, I didn’t tell him. I swear” She began to cry when she saw that Helen didn’t believe her.

“You better pray to your worthless mother in her grave that this wedding happens else you will leave this house in a body bag”