LOGINDiana's POV I don’t know what exactly I did in my past life to deserve this level of humiliation, but here I am—being forced to have breakfast with this man, this walking definition of arrogance, and his daughter, who funnily enough is the only person at this table who isn’t a problem. No, the real issue is the woman sitting opposite me. Another female in his life. His girlfriend? Lover? Personal entertainment? I don’t know—she looks too at home, too settled, like someone who knows her seat at this table won’t ever be taken from her.She snaps her fingers lightly at the maids to get her a plate. Comfortable. Too comfortable. Maybe she’s his sister? Yeah. Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe this is totally innocent—“Mummy, Daddy gave me a lot of candy yesterday!”Nope. Nope, I am not overreacting. ‘Mummy’? MUMMY?!!! My brain short-circuits.My eyes dart to Roland, waiting—hoping—to see a flicker of shame or discomfort. Nothing. His face is a slab of marble. Unreadable. Cold. As always.The
It’s almost midnight, and I’m still in my home office pretending to focus on paperwork. My eyes keep scanning pages, but my mind refuses to stay put. It keeps dragging me back to dinner… to her face, the moment she found out about Lilly.I still don’t know which part upset her more—the fact that I have a child, or the fact that I didn’t tell her. Either way, it’s done. I can’t change anything now. People like me don’t get to undo things; we just carry them.I’m flipping to the next page when my door flies open. I don’t look up right away, but my hand stills. My workers would never enter without permission. Lilly always knocks. Debbie doesn’t come upstairs. That leaves one person.She steps in and slams the door shut behind her.I lean back in my chair and finally look at her, curious.“You know, I tried to wrap my mind around it,” she explodes instantly, pacing but refusing to meet my eyes. “I tried to cook up any reason why having a child would be such a trivial thing to hide from th
Roland's POV I’ve been home for an hour, and Diana is still nowhere. The maids claim she refused to stay in my room. As if I’d ever let her. My mother keeps reminding me to “be nice,” but she doesn’t understand that niceness isn’t something I bother with.I shower, change, and head to the dining room. The long table is empty. Cold. Too quiet.“Mathew,” I call out.He appears immediately. “Yes, sir.”“Where is she?”“In her bedroom, sir.”“For how long?”“Since you left.”I scoff. So she thinks hiding behind a door is bravery? She runs her mouth when she feels bold, but the moment she gets space, she retreats. Typical.“Get a maid to bring her down.”“Yes, sir.”While I wait, my mind wanders — too many outcomes, too many possible reactions. How she’ll act when she sees Lilly. How I’ll explain it. If I’ll explain at all. It wasn’t in the original plan, but I don’t regret any part of it.Soft footsteps approach. Not her — too light, too careful.“Good evening, Master Roland.”“You’re no
One word. Low. Deep. Almost bored.But it slides down my spine like ice water.I turn slowly. He still isn’t looking at me.Annoyance flares hot in my chest. Who does he think he is? Why does he talk like the world bends for him automatically?The servants are watching. Their eyes dart between us like a tennis match. I refuse to give them a show, so I swallow my pride and sit—not next to him. I go straight to the opposite side of the table, at the far end. I pull out the chair, annoyed that it doesn’t make a noise. Even the furniture is obedient here.I sit and stare at him.Two minutes.He doesn’t look up for two… whole… minutes.Then finally, with the grace of someone who knows he owns the silence, he lifts his eyes lazily to meet mine.“Is there something on my face, Diana?”“Oh, so you do speak?” I snap sarcastically.He doesn’t even blink. My irritation slides right off him like water on glass.Instead, he turns to the chef standing beside him. “Serve dinner.”The chef bows and s
Ma’am… ma’am.”The voice keeps poking at the edges of my dream, irritating and sharp—completely out of place because I’m busy imagining Tairan, my new fictional obsession, doing absolutely unholy things to me in a forest made of neon lights and by unholy I mean burning my palms with melting wax and using the fire to melt it again after it solidifies, yeah he's the psycho in my book that I'm in love with. But back to the topic. No one calls him “ma’am,” so obviously something is wrong in this universe.A soft pat lands on my shoulder.And just like that, the dream dissolves and I’m dragged—ripped—back into my very real, very unwanted life.I blink awake to see one of the maids hovering over me in her black-and-white uniform. Her smile is polite, stiff, the kind you put on when you’re too afraid to show you actually feel anything.“Good evening, ma’am. Master Roland asked me to call you down for dinner.”Evening?It was barely afternoon when I closed my eyes. I must have knocked out har
Diana's POV Once again, I step into his gigantic castle of a house. But this time, instead of the cold, dismissive treatment I got earlier, there are rows of maids and workers lined at the entrance—heads bowed, hands folded, posture stiff. I guess this is their “good behavior.” I don’t blame them though. If I had a boss like this cocky, stone-faced bastard, I’d probably walk on eggshells too.Two maids move toward the trunk to retrieve my luggage, but before they can even touch the bags, Roland lifts a hand. They freeze instantly, like someone pressed pause on their lives.“Attention,” his voice cuts through the air—sharp, uninterested, bored even. “I heard you treated this young lady harshly earlier today.”Oh great. Now I’m the villain. Their faces twist with fear, some of them swallowing hard, others staring at the ground like they’re waiting for a blow.He continues, “As you should. You all did a good job.”My jaw drops. What?He glances sideways at me with a slow, arrogant smirk







