Chapter 5

Aria POV

I chose the soft dove-gray dress first. The fabric whispered against my skin as I slipped it on in the adjoining dressing room, the silk so fine it felt almost weightless. When I stepped back out, the maids fell silent for a beat. Then the whispers began, soft enough that they probably thought I couldn’t hear.

“She is truly the Lord’s woman…”

“She is so beautiful.”

“No wonder the Lord stayed chaste for her for five years.”

“She has the aura of a fairy.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I kept my expression carefully neutral and walked toward the bodyguard, who stood near the door with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I was just hired as a family doctor,” I said, keeping my voice polite but firm. “How do I deserve to wear such nice clothes?”

He inclined his head slightly. “Miss Aria, you are now the Lord’s personal doctor. You represent the Kael family image. If you don’t dress well, people will misunderstand and think the family mistreats its employees. This is all for work. Everyone is treated the same. Just accept them with peace of mind.”

I didn’t believe him. Not fully. The jewelry alone on that rack probably cost more than I had earned in the last three years combined. Still, arguing felt dangerous. I managed a small, accepting smile.

“I understand.”

He turned to the maids. “Put all of these in the cloakroom.”

They moved quickly, rolling the heavy hanger away and carrying the velvet trays of jewelry with careful hands. The door closed behind them, leaving the bedroom suddenly quieter.

The bodyguard gestured toward the hallway. “Miss Aria, you can freely enter and exit most areas of the estate. Let me show you around first.”

I followed him.

He opened a set of double doors. “This is the villa’s private theater.”

I stepped inside and stopped. Rows of plush dark seats faced a screen larger than any I had ever seen outside of a commercial cinema. Soft lighting glowed along the walls. It looked like something from a magazine, not a place that belonged in a private home.

He led me farther down the corridor and opened another door. Warm, humid air drifted out.

“Indoor heated pool.”

The water stretched out in a perfect rectangle of turquoise, steam rising gently from the surface. Lounge chairs lined one side. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out into the forest, so that swimming would feel almost like being outside.

Next came the gym, all sleek black equipment and mirrored walls, then a game room with billiard tables, a massive television, and shelves of what looked like every console ever made. After that, the library. Tall shelves reached the ceiling, filled with books in multiple languages. Leather armchairs sat near tall windows. The smell of old paper and polished wood wrapped around me.

“You can use all of these,” the bodyguard said simply.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Every room felt like it belonged to a different world from the one Leo and I had lived in.

“Your daily necessities will all be arranged according to the Lord’s standard,” he added as we walked.

He brought me next to a dining room that put the earlier one to shame. The long table was already set with more dishes than I could count roast meats, delicate seafood, colorful vegetables arranged like art, soups still steaming, desserts that looked too beautiful to eat. The lighting was soft and golden.

A maid stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“Please enjoy your meal, our lady.”

Our lady.

The words landed strangely in my chest. I sat down slowly, staring at the spread. It looked like a feast prepared for a celebration, not a simple first meal for a newly hired doctor. I picked up a fork more out of politeness than hunger, still trying to process everything.

After a few quiet minutes the bodyguard appeared again and gestured toward the main entrance.

“When you go out,” he said as we walked, “you will be accompanied by ten luxury cars and thirty bodyguards for close protection.”

He opened the rear door of a sleek black car that waited at the bottom of the steps. The interior smelled of leather and something faintly expensive.

I slid into the seat, the soft material cradling me.

As the door closed with a solid, expensive thunk, one thought circled endlessly through my mind:

Do the family doctors of rich families all have this kind of setup?

Outside the tinted window the forest looked darker than before. Somewhere above the trees the moon was rising, full and bright. And somewhere in this impossible mansion, a man with golden eyes was waiting for the night to deepen.

I folded my hands in my lap and tried to breathe evenly.

One hundred thousand dollars a month.  

Room and board.  

Proper treatment for Leo.

I could endure strange rules. I could endure luxury that felt like a cage. I could even endure being called “

our lady” by strangers.

As long as my son got better, I could endure anything.