Chapter 9

As soon as I stepped into the guest house and closed the door behind me, something felt off.

The estate was too quiet for this time of day. I checked my phone — 10:13 a.m. Cassian and Victor should have left for the office long ago. Why were they still here? And Hanna having friends over this early in the morning? That was strange. Rich wives usually started their gossip sessions much later.

I walked into the bedroom, dropped my small bag on the chair, and placed the important folder from Marie carefully on the bedside table. Then I lay down on the soft bed, staring at the ceiling.

Sometimes I wondered how much longer I could keep pretending—pretending everything was fine, pretending I wasn’t drowning, pretending my life hadn’t become a carefully constructed lie.

If I felt this exhausted now, what about Mom? That woman had been trapped in this house for nearly twenty years, hiding like a ghost in her own home. When I was little, we had a nanny who watched me during the day. Mom never came out of the basement. She lived in fear that the nanny would see her scarred face and talk. She only emerged after the nanny went home, moving through the shadows like she belonged to them. That routine lasted until I started high school. Once the nanny was let go, Mom finally came upstairs again, breathing freer but still cautious. She never went out to work a normal job. Instead, she started coding, programming, and hacking on the black market under the name “K.” The money she made from that secret world paid for my food, my clothes, my school, and everything else. She sacrificed her life so I could become the weapon she needed.

So if I backed out now, what would happen to her? The thought twisted in my gut like a knife. I couldn’t abandon the plan, no matter how much it sickened me. Backing down would make all her years in the dark meaningless.

I was mentally cursing Cassian for causing all this pain when my phone suddenly rang. I checked the caller ID and smiled. It was Lila.

I answered the call. “Hey, Lila.”

“Hazel! Where are you? I went to your apartment to surprise you with breakfast, but the landlord said you moved out last night!” she sounded worried and confused.

I quickly switched the call to video. The moment Lila saw the luxurious bedroom behind me — the big bed, the elegant curtains, the expensive furniture — she screamed so loud I had to turn down the volume.

“Oh my God! Hazel! What is this place? Did you win the lottery? Are you being kidnapped? Did you scam someone? Tell me everything!”

I laughed softly and tried to calm her down. “Lila, relax. I didn’t scam anyone, and I definitely don’t have a sugar daddy. Stop saying stupid things.”

“Then explain!” she demanded, eyes wide on the screen.

I sighed and told her the story. “Last night after work, I was almost killed by those loan sharks. They surrounded me right outside my building. Mr. Hale showed up out of nowhere and saved me again. He said it wasn’t safe for me to stay there anymore, so he asked me to move into his guest house.”

Lila was quiet for a few seconds. Then she screamed again. I had to lower the volume even more.

“Cassian Hale? The Ice King himself? Oh my God, Hazel! He has a crush on you! That’s why he’s helping you like this. The coldest man in Germany suddenly playing hero for a waitress? It’s fate!”

I shook my head and smiled at her dramatic face on the screen. “Lila, he’s married. Remember? Hanna Hale. I’m not interested in married men. I’m just very grateful for what he did. He saved my life twice now.”

Lila scoffed loudly. “Married? Please. Men like him have side chicks all the time. Do you even know what you’re talking about? Cassian Hale is one of the richest men in Germany. His AI company, Hale Dynamics, is one of the biggest in the world. Rumors say he’s building a new AI model that can act as a wife and even give birth — like planting an embryo into the AI. It can also serve as a surrogate mother for couples who don’t want another woman carrying their child. Imagine that!”

I smiled but said nothing. I already knew about the project. Marie had just given me the missing piece this morning.

Lila kept going, her voice full of excitement. “If he asks you to be his mistress, you should agree! At least your life of suffering would finally end. No more four jobs, no more debt, no more loan sharks. Think about it, Hazel!”

“You’re talking nonsense,” I said gently. “I admire Mr. Hale for his kindness, but I can never break his marriage. Never. That’s not who I am.”

Lila laughed loudly. “You’re too good for this world, girl. Call me later, okay? And send more pictures of that fancy place!”

She ended the call.

I placed my phone on the bedside table and glanced toward the window. A shadow moved outside — someone was watching. I smiled to myself, turned my back to the window, and pretended to fall asleep.

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**Later that morning – Main House**

Hanna sat in the elegant living room with three of her closest friends — all rich, well-dressed socialites who had known her since their school days at Kingsford Imperial Academy. They sipped expensive coffee and whispered excitedly.

“So, tell us everything,” one of them said, leaning forward. “Your husband really brought a poor waitress home?”

Hanna’s face was tight with anger. “Yes. A nobody. She works at Blue Stars Hotel. Cassian claims he saved her from being assaulted and now from loan sharks. He says her life is in danger, so he moved her into the guest house.”

The women exchanged knowing looks.

“Classic move,” another friend said. “Men always start with the ‘she’s in danger’ excuse. Next thing you know, she’ll be in the main bedroom.”

Hanna’s eyes flashed. “I won’t let that happen. I’ve been with Cassian for twenty-nine years. I’m not losing my position to some dirty little orphan.”

One of the women smiled wickedly. “Then we need a plan. We can dig into her background. Find out who she really is. Make her look bad in front of Cassian.”

Hanna nodded slowly. “Do it quietly. I want to know everything about Hazel Lett — her past, her debts, her family. If she has any secrets, we will expose them.”