3

“Hey! What the hell are you doing down there? Crawling on the grass like a lunatic—who are you hiding from?”

Olivia nearly jumped out of her skin from shock. Annoyed, she turned to Mariz and quickly motioned for her to shut up. She yanked her friend down with her to hide behind the thick bushes in the Andrade family garden.

Mariz gave her a puzzled look. “What’s your deal, girl?” She peeked through the leaves, trying to see who Olivia was avoiding.

“Keep your voice down, big mouth! He’ll hear us!” Via hissed irritably.

“Wait... is that Mr. Grayson? Why do you keep looking at him? Do you like the madam’s son or something?!” Mariz gasped, eyes wide, clutching her chest in shock.

Via smacked her arm. “Idiot! I don’t like that pervert! He pisses me off and I don’t want to see his face!” she snapped.

She was beyond irritated by the madam’s youngest son. From what she knew, he’d flown in from the U.S. just for Don Sergio’s funeral. Her irritation flared again as last night’s incident replayed in her mind. What pissed her off more was how her own body reacted—when his hard...thing pressed against her back, it sent a jolt through her whole body. She actually felt her panties get wet!

“So why don’t you want to see him? You’ve been staring at him nonstop,” Mariz teased.

That made Via stop. She had a point. But the truth was, she didn’t want him to see her—because of what she’d done. It wasn’t intentional, but it still happened. And she knew damn well he was looking for her... probably to make her pay.

Via let out a long sigh and flopped onto the bermuda grass.

From where they were hiding, she could see the gazebo where Madam Patricia and her sons, Diego and Javier, were having breakfast—along with Grayson.

“Rosy’s been looking for you. Said she hasn’t seen you since dawn. I think she wants you to do something.”

Via scratched her head even though it wasn’t itchy. Great. Now she was in trouble with the housekeeper. And worse, she was probably also in trouble with Grayson. She didn’t know which was scarier—getting scolded by Rosy or getting punished by that smug bastard.

“Do you think he’ll remember me if we see each other again?” she asked out loud, without realizing it.

“Huh? Who?”

She quickly shook her head and forced a smile. “No one. I better go find Rosy before she blows a fuse.”

Instead of walking the proper way to the kitchen, Via crawled her way out of the garden and sprinted toward the back of the mansion. No way could Grayson see her—she’d be screwed if he did.

She finally found Rosy in the kitchen, where the other maids were running around like headless chickens, clearly in the middle of something hectic. Via frowned.

What’s going on? she wondered.

She tapped one of her fellow maids. “Nita, what’s happening? Why is everyone so busy?”

The older woman, around her forties with streaks of white hair, smiled kindly at Via. “Oh good, you’re here! Rosy’s been looking all over for you,” she chuckled.

Before Via could respond, a hand smacked her shoulder.

“Olivia! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, young lady! What on earth were you doing? You’ve got work to do!” Rosy scolded, pinching her side.

Via winced in exaggerated pain. “Ouch!” she cried dramatically, even though it barely hurt.

Then she got a lemongrass leaf smack to the face, making the other maids burst into laughter. Via just pouted. She was the youngest among the staff, and had been working as a cleaner in the mansion for a year now—thanks to Rosy, who took her in like her own daughter after her real mom passed away. Rosy was her stepfather’s mother, and even though they weren’t blood-related, she loved her like family.

“I was just cleaning the garden,” Via said with a pout, trying to play innocent.

Nita laughed harder. Everyone knew that was a lie—there was already a gardener who did that.

“Don’t you lie to me! You weren’t even near the garden!” Rosy scolded. “From today on, you’ll be in charge of cleaning Senyorito Grayson’s room. Every day. Change the sheets and curtains too.”

“What?!” Via stood up straight, eyes wide. “Me?!” She even pointed to herself just to be sure.

“Who else would I be talking to? Now go clean before he comes back. Don’t embarrass me in front of Madam Patricia.”

Via felt like crawling to Grayson’s room. This was a disaster.

Lord, please take me now, she thought miserably. She seriously regretted what she did last night. Sure, he was drunk, but what she did… that was a crime.

When she saw the door to his room, her stomach dropped.

By the end of the day, she was sure she’d be fired.

But then she remembered Rosy saying he was still at breakfast. That gave her hope. She could clean fast and avoid him completely. Every day, she’d time it perfectly. No encounters. No problems.

Via smiled. “You’re a genius, Olivia.” She even patted her own shoulder.

She ran to the door and, without knocking, barged inside. She was sure no one was there. The perv was still at the gazebo. Safe.

She locked the door behind her to be sure. She’d clean up and leave no trace she was ever there.

She started with the bedsheets. The room was big, with its own sitting area and even a small room within it that held the bed.

Thinking she was alone, she opened the inner door—and froze.

Her mouth dropped open.

There he was. The very man she’d been hiding from.

Lying on the bed. Naked.

His legs were spread wide, one hand loosely holding his limp—but still huge—manhood. Moans from the TV echoed in the background. He was watching p**n.

Via’s eyes dropped. Even soft, it was... massive.

“What the fuck?! Who the hell are you?!” he shouted, grabbing a blanket to cover himself.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry, sir! I didn’t know you were here! I was just—just cleaning!” she stammered, panicking.

He jumped off the bed and stormed toward her. She stepped back fast, heart pounding. He looked furious—eyes blazing, neck flushed red.

“Don’t you know how to knock?!” he roared, grabbing her arm.

“Please don’t, sir!” she cried, eyes shut.

I’m dead. I’m so, so dead. Via's mind cried.

But then, he stopped.

Everything went quiet.

When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her with an odd look.

He leaned in closer… and sniffed her neck. His eyes fluttered shut for a second as he breathed her in.

Via bit her lip. Sparks shot through her body from the contact.

Their eyes met again. His gaze burned into her.

“It’s you. You’re the woman from last night.”

That wasn’t a question.

I’m double dead, Via thought. She knew then—there was no escape.