Katherine’s povWasn’t Grace the head maid? Why was she being treated like some slave?“Stop it!” I shouted, though I knew they couldn’t hear. My breath fogged the glass, my fists aching against it.Grace stumbled forward, caught herself, but I saw the tears in her eyes even from here. She kept her head low, no defense, no words. Just silent suffering.I waited in my room until Grace came to meet me.“What is going on?” I asked. “Why are you being treated that way by Carla!?”“Apparently I was demoted to being an ordinary maid and Carla is now the new head maid.”“What?! Have you seen Dacre? Maybe you can…”“I can’t,” she said. “They told me I wasn’t allowed.They’d refused her just like they had me.She set down something on my bedside table. It was a simple sandwich wrapped in wax paper.“You missed these at dinner.”“A letter,” she whispered.I scowled and accepted it. The writing on the body looked like it was Dacre’s. He was up and he didn’t want to see me? Why?But when I start
Zelda’s povI blinked, mouth parting a little bit, because it was his voice in the words — not literally, but the phrasing, the bluntness of them. That was Dacre. That was how he would have actually put it if he really wanted to end something.A weird shudder went through me. Half of me wanted to put it in a frame and make Katherine read it till her tears had soaked through the paper.“This is . . .” I stopped and started again, trying to sound cool. “Yes. It’s right.”Maya didn’t say anything. She only shifted her weight and reached into her bag.“There’s also the recording,” she said, pulling out her laptop and sliding it across the desk. She opened the lid, pressed a key, and after a moment, Dacre’s voice filled the room.Not his real voice — but God, it sounded like it.“You think you matter to me? You don’t. You were useful, that’s all. Now I’m through with you. Take what I’ve given you and get lost. And stay the hell away from me.”I hated hearing it. The sound of my own son’s v
Zelda’s povI looked at Renee as she entered and frowned.“You’re just enjoying this aren’t you?” I asked as she shrugged. “Are you sure this woman is the one who almost killed Dacre? I don’t want to call the police and make a fool of myself.”“Trust me ma, she is the one who caused all this trouble. I’ve given you the evidence haven’t I?”“All you gave me was a screenshot of her chats with a random man about killing dacre. But what I need to do is trace the number. The number keeps going to voicemail. I need solid proof.”She looked around and nodded. “I’ll get you more solid proof.”I nodded as she left.I then called my lawyer and talked to him for a while before cutting the call and leaning back to think on what he had said.“If she were married, it’d be messier. But she’s not. You could get rid of her.” That was all I needed to know and I could feel my insides jumping for joy at that little knowledge.“Kick her out,” he said. Like it was that easy. It wasn’t. Not with Dacre’s te
Katherine’s povI sat in my room that day wondering how I was going to go about my day as I started to feel bad for everything that was happening. How was I being beaten around like this? This was wrong.A knock on my door had me looking up as it opened with Grace coming in.“Madam Zelda wants to see you,” she said as I sighed.“Why? What does she want now?”She shrugged. “I have no idea. But whatever it is, it looks serious.”Now my heart was thumping. I nodded and got up as I grabbed my phone and walked out of my room.On my way to the study I could see so many people looking at me like I had killed someone but I tried to ignore them. They were not my problem.The moment I got into the study I could see her pacing around.“You ungrateful bitch!” She snapped as she pointed to me. “After everything—everything—you repay us with this?”I blinked my eyes, still trying to grasp the present. “What… what are you talking about?”“Don’t play dumb with me,” she hissed, slamming the paper down
Katherine’s pov“But… what do you mean? He’s—he’s hurt! I’m his…” My head spun trying to think of the word for him. Boyfriend? Lover? Fiancé? Who cared about any of that because it wouldn’t have been true anyway."It’s Madam Zelda’s order,” the guard said flatly.Of course it was.“Please just let me through.”We cant.”“Are you serious right now? He almost died last night, and you’re telling me I can’t even see him? What kind of—”They didn’t budge. Didn’t move. Just stood there like they were keeping me out.I felt the anger within me but I would not let them stop me. I tried to slip past them as they stepped together to block my way.Then it struck me. Zelda.Grace came to me and she led me away before things would get out of hand.I walked to Zelda’s office. I needed to ask why.I entered and saw her sitting at her table while answering calls.She looked… unaffected. As if nothing had happened at all. Like last night hadn’t even reached her.Her eyes narrowed when they found me an
Zelda’s povI entered Dacre’s room as I saw him lying on the bed. Pale and bruised.The doctors and maids had tried their best in cleaning him up and making him look better but it was no use. He was down.“Your son needs to rest. He shouldn’t be moving for days,” the doctor said with his thin lips pressed tight, as if that would calm me down.Rest? Days? My boy, my strong boy who was never meant to be weakened, lying there because of her. Katherine. That girl. That curse.I could feel my rage boiling as I started to laugh.That bitch was trouble. I had said it from day one but he was too stubborn to listen to me. Always dragging Dacre into messes he had no business being in.My insides burned with pain as I saw my son just lying helpless there.I caught something in the corner of my eyes as I looked and saw Renee by the door with a pale face and trembling lips.She stepped in slowly like her feet were heavy blocks of stone.Her eyes landed on Dacre, and when she noticed the bloody sh