Chapter 10

The next morning, I woke up early. Or maybe I hadn’t really slept at all—I spent the whole night overthinking what might happen today. Thank God Marco didn’t sleep in his room. If he had, I probably wouldn’t have been able to close my eyes.

I was really nervous about what was coming. I just hoped Marco would actually follow my terms.

Nana Lucing arrived in the morning to bring me breakfast. She also handed me a document—the contract between Marco and me.

I felt shivers run down my spine as I read through it. Damn. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself entering into something like this.

He could do almost anything to me, except force me or have sex with me. We had to do the act every night. One hour every single night. And because it was daily, I had to go wherever he went.

How was I supposed to go home now? How could I possibly explain all of this to Greg?

But I had no choice but to accept and sign the contract. Anything was better than Greg finding out what I’d done.

How annoying! Why did I even think of doing this in the first place? If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be stuck in this mess!

After signing it, I just left the paper on the table. Marco could deal with it. Or whoever he really was.

After freshening up, I decided to leave the room. Nana Lucing had left me a floral dress that fit my body perfectly—like it had been tailored just for me.

I still couldn’t stop marveling at how enormous the mansion was. It felt more like a palace. How many rooms did it even have? Probably over a hundred. Even the living room alone was bigger than the entire house I shared with Greg.

“Wow? What do you think you’re doing? Walking around like you own the place?”

I stopped in my tracks when I heard a woman’s sharp voice. When I turned around, it was the same woman from yesterday. What was her name again? Lucille?

I rolled my eyes.

“What do you want?” I shot back.

Lucille’s mouth fell open, clearly shocked.

“You… You have some nerve!”

Pak!

I staggered backward as she suddenly slapped me across the face. I didn’t see it coming, so the shock left me stunned and disoriented.

“Why did you slap me?!” I cried.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. She gave a signal, and the two women behind her immediately moved. They grabbed my arms and forcefully pushed me down to my knees.

“What are you doing?! Let go of me!” I protested.

But these women felt more like security guards than maids. They were incredibly strong—I couldn’t even stand up.

“Just because Master brought you here, you think you can disrespect me? I’m still his mistress! The only woman in his life!” Lucille declared.

I stopped struggling and stared at her in confusion.

“His woman? Then why is he forcing me to sign—”

“Of course. You’re just a plaything to him,” she cut me off. It seemed she already knew exactly what I was about to say.

I fell silent. I studied Lucille carefully. She was beautiful, but she looked desperate. If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead already. She didn’t seem like an ordinary person either. Every movement she made had class, but she was acting crazy because of Marco.

“Are you jealous of me?” I asked bluntly.

Lucille went quiet. The maids holding me gasped loudly—loud enough for me to clearly hear.

“How dare you?! Miss Lucille? Don’t you know who she is?!” one of the women snapped.

“Yeah! She’s the most famous actress in Asia right now! She’s even starring in Hollywood films!” the other added. “She’s Lucille Montemayor!”

My brows furrowed. Montemayor?

I stared at her harder. Suddenly, I remembered one of her shows.

That’s right! That’s why she looked so familiar yesterday.

But why was a huge superstar chasing after Marco like this? Who the hell was that man really?

“I… I didn’t recognize you,” I said.

“And now you think I’m jealous of you? Please. You’re not even close to my level!” Lucille sneered.

She suddenly grabbed a fistful of my hair from the back and yanked it hard, forcing me to tilt my head up.

“Ouch! Let go of me!” I screamed.

“If I were you, I’d leave this place right now. Because trust me, I will make your life a living hell! Master is mine and mine alone!”

She shoved me away roughly. The two maids did the same, nearly causing me to fall face-first onto the floor.

I couldn’t stop the anger rising inside me because of what they did.

Couldn’t they see that I never wanted to be in this situation in the first place?