Chapter 4

**ARIA**

I walked back to my room, mind foggy.

My legs moved on autopilot, carrying me down that long hallway while my brain tried to process what had just happened. What I'd just agreed to without reading a single goddamn word.

‘Private maid’.

The words kept replaying in my head, each repetition sending fresh waves of terror through my body.

I reached the door to my room and practically fell inside, closing it behind me and leaning against the solid wood like it could protect me from whatever came next.

It couldn't.

Nothing could.

The room was exactly as I'd left it, absurdly luxurious and completely surreal. King size bed with silk sheets that seemed to sparkle. Floor to ceiling windows showing the glittering city below. Art on the walls. Thick carpet under my feet.

A prison that looked like paradise.

I walked to the bed and sank down, then immediately fell back because holy fuck, the mattress was softer than anything I'd ever touched. It literally felt like sleeping on a cloud. 

For the first time since I'd arrived, I let myself really think about what happened in his office.

I'd signed a contract to be Jade Black's private maid.

His private maid.

The words tasted wrong in my head, dirty and shameful and somehow exciting in a way that made me hate myself.

I forced myself to believe I could survive this...I could. 

One year. Just one year of playing dress up and serving a gorgeous, terrifying man who looked at me like I was something he wanted to devour. Three hundred and sixty five days and then I'd be free and Dad's debt would be gone and I could go back to my normal life.

Except I didn't have a normal life anymore.

I had this.

The wall clock above the dresser caught my eye. 10:00 PM. I'd been here less than two hours and it already felt like a lifetime.

I should try to get some rest before tomorrow when whatever hell Jade had planned for me began.

But I felt gross. Sticky. It felt like the stress and fear of the night had coated my skin in a film I needed to scrub off.

I forced myself up and walked to the bathroom, pushing open the door.

And froze.

The bathroom was heaven.

Marble everything. A tub the size of a small pool. A shower with multiple heads and controls I didn't understand. And the counter, Jesus Christ, the counter was covered in bottles and jars and tubes of expensive products I'd only ever seen in magazines.

Imported soaps from France. Japanese bath oils. Korean skincare. Body scrubs that cost more per ounce than I used to spend on groceries. Everything arranged perfectly, labels facing out, like a luxury spa had exploded in here.

For the first time since I'd arrived, I felt a flicker of something that wasn't terror.

Maybe this wouldn't be completely horrible. Maybe there would be small moments like this, tiny luxuries that made the rest bearable.

I turned on the shower, figuring out the controls through trial and error until hot water cascaded from multiple angles. Steam filled the bathroom immediately, fogging the mirrors, and I stripped off my clothes and stepped under the spray.

The water pressure was perfect. The temperature exactly right. And when I opened one of those expensive bottles and the scent of jasmine and vanilla filled the air, I actually moaned.

I bathed slowly, letting the hot water and expensive soap calm my frayed nerves. I washed my hair with shampoo that made it feel like silk. I spent 20 minutes in the bathroom pretending it was a mini spa.

Then I stepped out and reality crashed back down.

I wrapped myself in a towel, fluffy and warm from a heated rack, and stared at my reflection in the now clear mirror.

Wet hair. Flushed skin. Wide, scared eyes.

I looked like prey.

I walked over to my bag to get clothing.

But instantly I remembered the Lydia's instructions

‘Don't wear anything you brought. Everything has been prepared for you.’

Everything Jade wanted me to wear.

My stomach twisted as I walked to the closet and opened those double doors again.

The clothes were even worse than I remembered.

Short skirts that would barely cover my ass. Tight dresses designed to show every curve. Silk tops so thin I could see through them. Everything black or white or deep red, and expensive. All the clothes there were meant to make me look like exactly what I was.

His.

I dug through the hangers desperately, looking for something, anything that wasn't designed for seduction. My hands were shaking, my breath coming faster, panic rising in my chest.

Finally, pushed to the very back, I found a nightgown.

It was still indecent. Thin black silk that would cling to every curve, hem that would hit mid thigh, spaghetti straps that left my shoulders bare. But compared to everything else, it was practically modest.

I grabbed it and pulled it on before I could second guess myself.

The silk was cool against my heated skin, sliding over my body like water, clinging to my damp body. I could see my nipples through the fabric, hard points pressing against the thin material. The hem barely covered my ass.

I looked at myself in the full length mirror.

The nightgown clung to my tits, my waist, my hips. My hair hung damp and dark around my shoulders. My face was flushed, lips swollen from biting them.

I literally looked like I was dressed for sex.

Shit.

I turned away from the mirror and climbed into bed, pulling the silk sheets up even though the room was perfectly climate controlled. I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to sleep.

I'd deal with everything tomorrow.

_____________________

A violent knock slammed into my dreams.

"You're still asleep!?"

I jerked upright, heart hammering, completely disoriented. The clock on the wall read 5:30 AM.

What the fuck?

The door flew open and Lydia stood there with a look that could have frozen hell.

I scrambled up, rubbing my eyes. "I'm awake, sorry, I didn't hear an alarm—"

"No excuses." She walked into the room and dropped a bundle of clothing onto the bed. "Your uniform. You have ten minutes to dress and present yourself."

I stared at the clothes.

It was a maid outfit, but not the kind you'd see in an actual household. This was the kind you'd see in a p**n movie. Black dress with a white apron, but the skirt wasn't even halfway close to my knees, the neckline plunged so low it would show the curves of my breasts. White thigh high stockings. Black heels. A ridiculous little headband.

"I can't wear that,” I said, my voice almost loud.

Lydia's eyebrows rose. "Why not?"

"It's too short. It's indecent. It's—"

"It's what Master Jade selected for you." Her voice went cold as ice. "You don't make demands here, Miss Finner. You follow orders. You wear what you're told. You do what you're told."

My throat tightened. Shame burned through me, hot and suffocating.

"Put on the uniform," Lydia said, turning toward the door. "You have nine minutes now."

"Wait." My voice came out small. "What do I... what am I supposed to do after I dress?"

She paused, looking back at me with something that might have been pity if her eyes weren't so cold.

"You go straight to Master Jade. He'll tell you what he needs."

My heart stopped.

Straight to him? First thing in the morning? Dressed like this?

"But I thought..." I swallowed hard. "I thought I'd be cleaning or cooking or something. Normal maid stuff."

Lydia's laugh was sharp and humorless.

"You're not a normal maid, Miss Finner. You're Master Jade's private maid. Which means your duties are whatever he decides they are, whenever he decides he wants them." She opened the door. "Eight minutes. Don't keep him waiting. He hates tardiness."

She left.

I sat there on that expensive bed in my thin silk nightgown, staring at the uniform, feeling my chest tighten until I couldn't breathe.

This was real. This was actually happening.

In eight minutes I had to put on clothes designed to make me look like a fantasy and walk through this house to wherever Jade was waiting. 

This was nothing like what I expected. A year of servitude…. more like year as a prostitute.

My hands shook as I picked up the dress. The fabric was quality, expensive, but there was barely any of it.

I thought about refusing, throwing the uniform in Lydia's face and demanding real clothes, real work, real fucking dignity.

But I thought about my father too. About his bloody face and broken voice. About what would happen to him if I failed.

I nodded to myself.

Fine. I'd wear the goddamn uniform.

I stripped off the nightgown and pulled on the dress, struggling with the zipper in back. The fabric was tight, the skirt barely covered the bottom of my ass, the neckline showing so much cleavage I felt naked. The stockings came next, white and sheer, held up by garters attached to the dress. Then the heels, black and high enough to make me wobble. Finally the headband, perched in my damp hair.

I looked at myself in the mirror and wanted to cry.

These people want to make me an anime character!

A knock came from the door. "Time's up."

I walked to the door on shaking legs and opened it.

Lydia gave me a slow, assessing look. Her eyes lingered on my exposed thighs, my pushed up tits, the way the uniform made me look like pure temptation.

"Better," she said finally. "Follow me."

She led me down the hallway, her heels clicking against the hardwood, my heart slamming against my ribs with every step.

We stopped in front of a door. Lydia knocked twice.

"Enter." Jade's voice came from inside, deep and commanding.

Lydia opened the door and gestured for me to go in.

I looked at her, confused. "What am I supposed to—"

"He'll tell you what he needs." She stepped back, her expression unreadable. "Remember what you are in this house, Miss Finner."

Then she was gone and I was standing in the doorway, about to face the devil who owned me.

I took a breath that did nothing to calm my racing heart.

And walked inside.