Love, Lies, and Billion-Dollar Secrets

“Are you sure this isn’t sketchy?” I squinted at him suspiciously. Like, for real—I barely knew this guy. What if he’s playing me?He scoffed, clearly annoyed. “Tss. I’m not a scammer, okay?”“You’re also not, like, a total psycho, right?” I pushed further. He gave me a sharp glare that screamed girl, don’t test me. I just threw up a quick peace sign before he could snap. Oops.“If I was a bad person, Amelia, I wouldn’t waste my time helping you,” he said, way too serious.I shut up real quick after that. Fair point. Still... why did he sound so mad? Chill, dude.My mind started to drift as we drove. I couldn’t help but wonder—who exactly was this mystery person looking for a housemaid? A woman? A dude? Maybe it was just some rich middle-aged couple. Or maybe someone his age. Who knows?Honestly, I didn’t even care at this point. I was desperate. Like, rock-bottom desperate. Reminded me of how my dad would ask me to sell his rice and avocados online, and I’d end up being his unpaid ma

We stepped out of that weird-ass room in total silence. Me and Lorenzo, just... walking. No one dared to speak. Until—“Damn,” I muttered under my breath, “Even the way Ryou cusses sounds expensive. Like... is that trademarked?”Lorenzo glanced at me, confused. I looked back at him and raised a brow.“Your friend’s kinda... creepy,” I whispered.“Kinda?” he asked. His brows furrowed.“His room was giving horror film vibes. Dark. Candles everywhere. Tell me he’s not part of a cult,” I deadpanned.And for the first time ever, I saw Lorenzo smile. Like, real-life smile. Not a fake, PR-type smirk. His lips curled just a bit, no teeth—but still! Progress!I pointed at his lips dramatically. “Bro. You do know how to smile.”As if I jinxed it, his smile dropped instantly. He looked away.“Tss. He’s not in a cult. Nagti-tipid lang sa kuryente.”Translation: he's being cheap. Wow.“He’s rich but stingy?” I mumbled, matching his pace as we walked. “What a combo.”“You really made a scene, Ameli

I didn’t even glance back—I sprinted out of his room and bolted down the stairs like my life depended on it. By the time I reached the ground floor, I skidded to a stop next to the trolley and clutched my chest.I just stood there, completely dazed.What the actual hell just happened? My brain felt like it got hit by a freakin’ tornado.I jumped when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around and came face-to-face with a woman I didn’t recognize.“You good? You look like you just saw a ghost or something.”I pulled myself together real quick and tried to fix my posture.“That was... worse than a ghost,” I muttered under my breath.She raised a brow at me, clearly confused, so I just waved her off with a fake smile.“No big deal. I just ran up and down the stairs, that’s all.”She nodded like she bought my lame excuse.“Where’s the tray?”I blinked. Oh crap.“The tray? Uh... I may or may not have left it upstairs,” I said with an awkward grin.She sighed and motioned toward the trolley

I stumbled back, heart racing like I’d just seen a ghost. My hands turned ice-cold, and I could already feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead.Without thinking, I dropped into a squat and started picking up the broken pieces of the bowl and plate I just shattered. My fingers trembled, and I hissed when a shard sliced across my finger. But I ignored the sting—pain was the least of my worries right now.Because Ryoushin was standing right there.And I had no idea what he was going to do.I froze when a hand—warm and surprisingly gentle—wrapped around my wrist. My heart practically did a backflip.“Leave it,” he said coldly.I swallowed hard. He was way too close. I wasn’t used to him being this near. Towering over me, but leaning forward just enough that when I looked up—Boom. His face was right there.Our eyes locked, and my breath hitched. His eyes were intense. Deep. Way too deep. Like he could see everything I was trying to hide.I instantly looked away, pulling my hand out of

I was in the lounge, full-on spiraling after everything that went down.Who knew my first laundry day would end in complete disaster?I didn’t even notice Giselle until she sat beside me, eyes widening when she saw the tears running down my face. Yep. I was crying—real crying this time. No faking it. I couldn't even stop if I wanted to.Miss Pen had yelled at me. Like, really yelled. It was the first time someone other than my dad ever got mad at me like that—and honestly, it stung more than I thought it would.“Amelia, what happened?” Giselle asked, gently rubbing my back as I sobbed into my palms.I sniffled. “I-I stained Master Ryou’s clothes,” I choked out, trying to hide my face even more. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to mix whites with colors!”“Oh no…” she whispered. “Amelia, you do know he’s super strict when it comes to his clothes, right? Like, if there’s one thing you don’t mess with—it’s his wardrobe. If those stains didn’t come out, you’d be out of a job.”Her words m