Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The journey back to the Leonardo Residence felt much colder for Ameena. Inside the luxurious sedan speeding through the darkness of the night, she sat motionless, staring blankly out the window. Her thoughts were still at the apartment complex, with the warmth of Alby’s embrace still lingering around her neck. The pain of having to part from her child gripped her so tightly, as if her heart had been forcibly ripped from her chest.

When her hand touched her left earlobe, her fingers found nothing but a strand of hair. Ameena jolted. The silver rose-engraved earring that usually hung there was gone. That earring was not merely an inexpensive piece of jewelry; it was the only remaining possession left behind by her husband. With trembling hands, she immediately removed its matching earring from her right ear. She stared at the tiny object in the dim glow of the streetlights before carefully placing it inside her worn-out wallet.

“Where did I drop it?” she whispered softly, trying to remember those exhausting days. Her thoughts returned to the forest, where she had first found the dying man. Was it possible that the earring had fallen there while she was frantically unbuttoning her clothes?

However, that anxiety was soon replaced by a new fear when the car entered the gates of the Leonardo Residence. She could not search for the earring now. Her priority was Alby, and the only way to make sure Alby could continue to eat was by obeying the rules of this Mafia family.

The next morning, the atmosphere in the mansion felt more formal and tense. Ameena, already changed into a black-and-white maid uniform, was arranging breastfeeding equipment in the living room when she accidentally overheard a conversation coming from the open family room.

“Damien, how long do you intend to keep living like this?” Madam Sarah, Damien’s mother, said loudly and emphatically. “My grandson needs a mother figure. You need a partner who can protect our position. Find a surrogate mother to take the place of a wife, or at least someone who can officially accompany you.”

Ameena, who was standing behind a large pillar, froze. She tried to move away, but her steps stopped when she heard the man’s reply.

“No, Mother,” Damien’s voice sounded cold and sharp, leaving no room for negotiation. “I will never marry again. One woman I loved was already enough to become a victim of the brutality of this world. I will not let another woman die simply because she is by my side.”

That voice... it was so deep and authoritative. Ameena felt her entire body tremble violently. She remembered the battered man she had helped in the forest. Although the man now standing in the living room looked perfect—with none of the bruises she had seen the other day—the cold tone and intimidating aura radiating from him made the hair on Ameena’s neck stand on end. This family was not merely rich; they were monsters dressed in perfectly tailored suits. She was trapped in a lion’s den.

Ameena tried to control her breathing so she would not be heard, but her stiff leg accidentally bumped into a flower vase on the side table beside the pillar. The vase wobbled, then crashed onto the marble floor with a loud bang that shattered the silence of the room.

CRASH!

The conversation in the family room immediately came to a complete stop.

“Who’s there?” Damien’s voice thundered, cold as ice.

Ameena jolted violently. She felt like a fugitive caught red-handed. With trembling legs, she stepped out from behind the pillar and lowered her head deeply until her chin touched her chest.

“I-I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t mean to. I... I was just doing my duty and tidying the room,” she said with a choked voice.

Damien stepped closer. His heavy, steady footsteps against the marble floor sounded like the ticking of a death clock to Ameena. She could feel the dominant aura radiating from him, making it almost difficult for her to breathe.

Ameena panicked. As she tried to bend down to pick up the broken pieces of the vase, her foot slipped on the water spilled from the flowers. Her plus-size body lost its balance. She stumbled violently forward, and instinctively, Damien caught her arm to keep her from falling onto the shards of glass.

However, the position of her fall caused Ameena to land directly against Damien’s chest. The maid’s blouse she was wearing had loosened slightly around the top buttons because of the sudden movement. In their extremely close and awkward position, Ameena’s full cleavage was clearly exposed beneath the collar of her blouse, which had opened due to gravity.

Damien, who was holding Ameena’s arm, froze. His eyes lowered, landing directly on the woman’s cleavage.

At that very moment, Damien’s breath caught. The memory of the warmth that had once touched his lips in the forest suddenly surged back through his mind. His gaze did not move. The man stared with widened eyes, his jaw tightening from a combination of the disturbing familiarity and inexplicable anger.

“You...” Damien’s voice dropped, almost like a savage growl.

Ameena, whose face had already turned as pale as paper, tried to step back in panic.

“Sir, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean—”

Before she could finish, Damien roughly released his grip, causing Ameena to stagger backward until her back slammed hard against the wall. Damien stared at her with an intensely sharp, contemptuous gaze, accusing and filled with suddenly ignited anger.

“So this is how you seek attention?” Damien sneered, his voice filled with contempt. “Using your body to seduce the men in this house? Do you think that just because you are my son’s wet nurse, you can behave cheaply like every other slut?”

Ameena’s eyes widened, her heart sinking.

“No! Sir, I didn’t mean to! I swear to God, I didn’t mean it!”

“Silence!” Damien stepped forward, closing the distance between them until Ameena felt cornered. “The women in this mansion know their place. If you don’t want to end up like trash out there, never show that disgusting side of yourself in front of me again. Understood?”

Damien turned abruptly, then walked away, leaving Ameena still trembling violently in the corner of the room. Ameena sank onto the cold floor, tears slowly beginning to flow. She did not understand what had happened, why the man hated her so much, or why every time he looked at her, she felt as though she were being judged by something she could not understand.

“Hah...” Ameena sobbed softly, covering her face with both hands. Living here was truly hell. And she realized that the protection she had sought for money had instead dragged her into a whirlpool of problems far more dangerous than mere poverty.