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Rhea POV

I don’t even know how long I cried that night. By the time I stopped, my face was so swollen it barely felt like mine.

Mom was still unconscious, so eventually I had no choice but to drag myself home.

I forced myself to sleep—if you could even call it that—because work was waiting, and I needed every dollar I could get now more than ever.

“Hey, you. Come over here,” the head maid, Mrs. Agnes, snapped while I was mopping the floors.

Mrs. Agnes was a fifty-year-old grumpy woman, respected by everyone. She had been working as a maid here since she was eighteen, and one look from her could make a new maid cry and a grown man scrub the floor twice as hard.

At first, I didn’t even realize she meant me. She never called me for anything—our tasks were always split and structured.

“Me?” I pointed to myself.

Her frown deepened, and my stomach dropped. I quickly set the mop aside and hurried over, bowing my head.

“Are you busy?” she asked.

Before I could even get a word out, she waved me off. “Good. Miss Vivienne needs extra hands in her chambers. Something about the wedding preparations.” Then she turned to leave.

“But ma’am…” I blurted.

She halted, glancing over her shoulder with eyes sharp enough to slice me in half.

“I don’t work in the east wing,” I stammered quickly. My throat was tight, my hands gripping the hem of my skirt until my knuckles hurt. “I’m not… permitted.”

The east wing. That was where the higher ranks resided. The Alpha. Him.

The only reason I had survived the last four hours was because I knew he would never notice me here in the west halls. The only reason I had dared return to work at all was because I knew I could avoid him for a while.

“Are you questioning me, girl?” she asked coldly.

My heart stopped and I shook my head frantically.

“No, ma’am,” I whispered.

“Then get moving. Don’t keep Miss Vivienne waiting.” She walked away, leaving me frozen in place, my hand trembling.

If I went there—if I crossed that threshold—I knew it would lead me straight to him.

I was so doomed.

————————

Inside her chambers, Vivienne lounged in the sitting area, in a long silk robe while she flipped through hand-drawn sketches of wedding gowns from top designers.

There were other maids like myself around her. One massaging her feet, another balancing a tray of tea and pastries, another standing by the door. I was shoved to a corner, holding out different rolls of fabric for her to choose from, even though they all looked the same. White.

“Mm… yes, Dorian is such a sweetheart,” she cooed into the phone, twirling a lock of hair.

Even her voice sounded enchanting, but my heart still clenched tight at the mention of Alpha Dorian.

“He even surprised me with a diamond bracelet last week,” she bragged. “And yesterday, he sent me flowers. Honestly, sometimes I think I’m the luckiest woman alive… to marry a man like him.”

The maids around her giggled softly, but for me, every word she spoke was like a deep cut to my heart.

Because all I could see was Dorian in that room last night while Vivienne was here gushing about what a perfect man he was.

It just wasn’t fair to her. She was beautiful, wealthy, adored—she could have anyone she wanted. So why him? Why a man who cheated on her in private?

I told myself to stay quiet, mind my business, do my job and just leave—but I felt so guilty.

“Uhm… ma’am?” I blurted as soon as the call ended. “Can I… can I speak to you privately?”

The silence that followed was suffocating, every maid looking at me like I had grown horns and a second head.

“Privately?” she repeated, slowly lowering the sketchbook, eyeing me from head to toe with an arched brow.

“Who do you think—” one of the other maids, probably her personal attendant, started to snarl, but Vivienne raised a hand lazily, silencing her without a glance.

“Leave,” she said simply.

The other maids exchanged quick glances but obeyed, leaving one by one until it was just me inside with the Alpha’s bride-to-be and my racing heart.

“Well?” she finally said, leaning back against the chaise. “You wanted to speak to me privately… so speak.”

For more than thirty seconds I opened my mouth only to close it again, already regretting my words. I just hadn’t expected her to give in so easily.

“Don’t keep me waiting,” she said, tapping her manicured fingers against the armrest. The sound was like a clock ticking louder and louder until it felt like it was inside my skull.

So I swallowed nothing, taking a deep breath, my palms suddenly sweaty against the fabric rolls I was still clutching. “It’s… it’s about the Alpha,” I finally whispered.

Her lips pressed together. “And?” she pressed.

I hesitated again, my mind screaming at me to stop, shut up, take it back before I went too far—but my mouth betrayed me.

“I… I saw him last night. With two women.” My voice broke as I whispered. “I… I think he’s having an affair.”

The silence after that was so torturing I lowered my head even more, too afraid to see what her expression was like. Then she started laughing.

The sound made my brows furrow in confusion. Did she not hear what I said?

“Is that it?” she questioned as her laughter slowly died down.

“Yes…” I whispered.

“Oh… I know,” she said simply, and my eyes widened.

She knew?

She stopped flipping through the sketchbook and closed it shut. “What man in the pack—or anywhere at all—doesn’t have a mistress or two, or even a dozen? It’s expected. What I am still trying to understand is how that is any of your business.” Her eyes suddenly turned cold. “Were you spying on your Alpha?”

My eyes widened even more at her accusation. “No, ma’am, I would never… I was just passing by, it was an accident.” My words tumbled out desperately, but the more I spoke, the colder her expression became, even though there was still that cruel little smile on her lips.

“Do you know what happens to maids who forget their place?” she asked softly.

Of course I knew. It was death. Maids had been slaughtered for less—just for seeing too much, hearing too much.

What had I done to myself?

She slowly got up and began walking towards me, and as she did, I fell to my knees instantly, trembling so hard my bones felt like they’d rattle apart. “Please forgive me… I had no idea you were aware. I was simply informing you. I swear I wasn’t spying.”

My voice cracked into a sob, my entire body shaking now, my forehead nearly pressed to the floor. That’s when her heel suddenly came down, pressing my fingers mercilessly.

The pain was unbearable, but I dared not make a sound. I bit down so hard on my lip I tasted blood, forcing myself to stay still as she practically ground my bones into the hard floor.

But before she could speak again, the heavy double doors opened behind me.

And my breath hitched violently as I felt that pull in my chest.

The mate bond.

I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. My heart betrayed me, pounding so loud it drowned out every sound in the room.