Chapter 6

Elena pulled the blanket away from her body at exactly 4 a.m. It has been a normal routine for her because she has to prepare early and leave for work.

Elena opened her eyes slowly. Her body ached from the previous day, but she forced herself out of bed. She could not remember the last time she had woken up feeling rested.

She quietly washed her face and tied her hair into a neat ponytail. There was no time to think about her own comfort.

Even though Aaron's parents did not really like her, and he had also been distant from her recently, she was not giving up on him. 

The kitchen was already waiting for her. But there was no need to panic because she was going to get everything done with the blink of an eye even before Aaron got up from bed.

She prepared breakfast for the entire Calvalli family. Fresh bread, eggs, fruit, coffee, and tea filled the dining table. While the food cooked, she packed Aaron’s lunch, cleaned the kitchen counters, and started the washing machine.

When breakfast was ready, Aaron’s parents entered the dining room.

His mother looked around with folded arms. 

Elena knew what would come out of her mouth because it was normal for her to do it every morning, and she always talked about the flowers on the table. 

But before she could talk, something else caught her attention when the lights from her phone screen blinked. 

Even though she was still standing there she just picked up the phone to check what was happening

Then Elena looked at them. They had been replaced only yesterday. How come? Is she going to complain again?

At some point, Elena started to believe that she was doing everything on purpose and she just wanted to get on her nerves.

But still her greatest surprise, Aaron’s mother did not talk about the flowers anymore. Her mind immediately diverted to something else.

It was the hard napkins on the table. “How did you not change the napkins? Do you want to get me infected?” 

“I’m sorry. I’ll change them right away.”

His mother shook her head. “You always have an excuse.”

Elena quickly replaced the napkins without hesitation before anyone else noticed.

Aaron walked downstairs without even looking at her. He took his coffee, glanced at his phone, and left the house after eating only a few bites.

Not once did he thank her. Not once did he ask if she had eaten.

He didn’t even hug her before leaving the house and completely behaved as if she were invisible. 

This was gradually killing her, even after she put in so much effort.

She watched his car disappear through the front gate before rushing back inside to finish cleaning.

By the time she left for work, she was already exhausted. 

Aaron could have just waited and probably taken her with him to the office. It wasn’t even like he was that late.

There was still time and a lot of it. 

At the company, things became even harder. The accounting department needed several reports before noon.

The marketing team wanted corrections on a proposal. Human resources had questions about employee records.

Everyone seemed to need Elena at the same time and the worst part of it all was that there was no assistance to help her with all the duties

She hurried from one desk to another without taking a single break.

While other employees laughed together during coffee time, Elena stayed behind to finish paperwork.

Sometimes it was beginning to look like she was nobody and was just a girl who was trying to survive or maybe trying to prove a point to her husband and his family. 

Or maybe she was just being generous and doing all she could to promote the family business

She rubbed her tired eyes and continued typing.

Just as she completed one report, another stack of files landed on her desk.

“We need these before the meeting,” a manager said before walking away.

Elena nodded quietly. “I’ll finish them.”

No one asked if she already had too much work.

No one cared. It wasn’t even her business in the first place to do all of it. She just volunteered to help because she was good at what she does and that was the mistake she made from the very beginning.

Later that morning, she passed Aaron’s office.

The blinds were open. Inside, Aaron and Tiffani were smiling over something on his computer.

They looked relaxed and the worst part was that she didn’t even bother to leave that office. It was almost like they were sharing the same office all the time.

They were laughing together while Elena struggled to breathe under the pressure that was everywhere and for a brief moment, Aaron looked up.

His eyes met hers.

Instead of calling her inside or asking if she needed help, he simply looked away and continued talking to Tiffani.

Elena lowered her head and walked on. By lunchtime, she had not eaten anything. Even that short break lasted less than two minutes before someone called her again.

By evening, her legs felt weak. She finally returned to the Calvalli mansion hoping for a little rest.

Instead, another list of chores waited for her.

She changed into simple clothes and began preparing dinner.

She cleaned vegetables, cooked soup, grilled meat, and made dessert.

After dinner, she washed every plate by hand because one of the kitchen helpers had suddenly become “too busy.”

As she cleaned, one of the younger maids stood nearby watching her. “You missed a spot,” the maid said carelessly.

Elena looked down.

She had already cleaned the counter. Still, she wiped it again.

The maid smiled proudly.  It was the same smile Elena had once seen only on Aaron’s mother.

The disrespect was spreading. The house staff had noticed how the family treated her.

Now they believed they could treat her the same way.

A few minutes later, another servant handed Elena a basket of clean clothes. “Fold these before you sleep.”

Elena blinked in surprise. “I thought that was already assigned to someone.”

The servant shrugged. “You don’t seem busy.”

Without waiting for an answer, she walked away. Elena silently carried the basket upstairs.

She folded every shirt, towel, and bedsheet.

Her fingers trembled from exhaustion.

When she finished, Aaron’s mother called her downstairs again.

“You came from a simple background. It shows in everything you do.”

Elena lowered her head. She did not know whether that particular state was coming from, but she was not going to say anything.

All she knew was that she came from a very good background, and she was not going to banter words with anybody because she wanted to prove a point. 

Her silence was mistaken for weakness.

“You should be grateful we even accepted you,” Aaron’s mother continued.

“Without Aaron, where would you be?”