LOGIN“Miss Elena?” Thomas, the personal assistant of young master Zachary Dawson called her, waking her from her reverie.
“Uh, yes, sir.” She answered shyly. Her smooth cheeks were flushed red, making her look even more adorable.
But Thomas cursed in his heart.
There was this very beautiful and sweet woman in front of him, but instead of feeling blushed or happy, he was so tense. One mistake and maybe his master's gun was not only pointed at him to threaten him. He might be pulling the trigger for real this time, moreover if Zachary Dawson saw like it was him that flirt with her from the CCTV.
“Have you finished reading the contract?” he asked again and this time Elena immediately nodded.
“But… do I really have to stay here?” She asked. She did live alone. Living anywhere was fine as long as it was safe. The thing is, she wanted to know or at least took a glance at her boss’s face. But considering the rumors about him hates woman, she kept her mouth shut about it.
“Ah, yes.” Thomas nodded. “That’s one of the conditions. You have to live here while you work here.”
Is this safe? She thought. She still remembered her foster mother's words when she was still in the orphanage. Mrs. Terry, who had been looking after and taking care of all of them there. Mrs. Terry was not the only foster mother in the orphanage, but Elena was the closest and most familiar with her.
“Elena, my dear, it’s hard to let you go. But you’re right, you have to continue your life out of here. You’re young, there are so much you need to explore. You need to see outside world other than this small place …” Terry shed tears, seeing the little baby that she once cared for with all her heart, now grown into a beautiful and kind woman.
“Yes, Mam. Thank you for supporting me, and for taking care of me all this time. Without you, I wouldn’t be alive…” Elena said in a trembling voice, but a sweet smile was still on her beautiful face.
She tried not to cry. In the end, she also had to leave the orphanage that had been her home since she was a baby. Apart from Elena having to work to support herself, she also wanted to help her family here even a little. This is a small orphanage where the founder was a single mother that care about abandoned babies and children. She took them in and build this place with her own money. She wanted to help. There are babies, kids who needed milk and food every day. She was them years ago, she didn’t want them to go hungry and cold.
Elena didn't want to see them fighting over food.
Even though she didn't tell Mrs. Terry, Elena had already made up her mind. They were the only and real family she had.
“Be careful, my dear. Remember to always be alert. You are a beautiful, brilliant girl, never put yourself in a dangerous position. Becareful…” Terry stroked her soft hair.
That day, Terry said many things that Elena would never forget. Advice to always be careful was something she often said. Elena was very reluctant to let go of her daughter, afraid that the world would be so cruel to that innocent child.
Terry gave her some money from her savings, even bought a cell phone which she immediately gave to Elena.
“Mam… This is too much, I can buy it myself when I have a job,” Elena was wide-eyed when she saw Terry handing her the phone.
Terry shook her head and put the phone in her bag.
“It’s not a new brand phone but it’s still good and the price was cheap. You will need it, we should keep in touch with each other. I will call you every day, okay?”
Elena remembered those times, when she agreed to always give her update about her daily life. Telling her everything she did in town and what jobs she got. Although Elena was still sad because she still couldn't help the orphanage like she secretly promised, but she still gave her foster mother news every day.
“Do you… refuse staying here?” Thomas asked, breaking her reverie once again.
Elena smiled nervously and shook her head quickly. "It's not like that, sir..."
“Oh, just call me Thomas,” He interrupted, uncomfortable when Elena called him so formally. He had a feeling that this beautiful lady in front of him would have permanent status here in the future.
Well, their young master spent a lot of time just to find out her background and even gave special order to his men to record her daily life and guard her.
Thomas suspected that he was actually talking to potential lady of the house.
Meanwhile, Elena, who was clueless about that, still busy with her thoughts.
Did they want to trick her and lock her up here? The conditions were not that strange, but the salary was so high just for a maid.
Thomas who saw the doubt in Elena's eyes began to shed cold sweat. If this negotiation failed, he didn't know how young master would end him.
“You will stay here, but don't worry, you still get two days off, Saturday and Sunday. However you must be present not later than six o’clock in the evening at Sunday.
Her bright green pupils started to show interest and this made Thomas a little relieved.
“Oh, so… can I go home at weekend then?” She asked, and Thomas immediately nodded.
“Of course. But there are some conditions,” Thomas cleared his throat and began to express his young master’s intentions in better language.
“If the young master happened to stay at the Villa during the weekend, you can only go home on Saturday and must return Sunday morning. But if not, you can go home on Friday morning.”
Elena nodded in understanding and thought about it. This was a great offer. She could visit her family at the orphanage every week!
The orphanage is on the outskirts of town, two hours away from here. Not bad. But it would probably cost a lot of money if she come home too often.
“What if… I stay during weekend instead, is that allowed?” She asked.
“Ah, that’s right, if you decide to work on the weekend of course it will count as overtime. And the overtime bonus money will be added to your salary every week.” Thomas explained and this made Elena even more interested, but also even more suspicious.
"You might be wondering why the pay is so high though your position is a maid," Thomas said as if he had finally read Elena's mind.
“...We don’t just look for anyone to take care of the young master’s needs, that’s why there are some risks that must be borne. Do you know the rumors about our young master, Zachary Dawson?” He half whispered, pretending to hide this conversation from his boss, even though he was the one who set up this scenario and spread the strange news.
“He… hate women?” Elena asked.
“Yes. And it’s not really just a rumor.” Thomas sighed and scratched the back of his head, which wasn’t itchy.
“There is a possibility that you will not meet him at all while working here..”
“What?”
Thomas pursed his lips, “Mona will explain more of the rules to you later. So, are you ready to work?”
As Elena nodded slowly and signed the contract that she had read twice, Thomas could finally breathe a sigh of relief. His neck, which had been tense even though his face was smiling the whole time, was now a little more relaxed.
He could hear Zachary Dawson saying “good job,” in the back of his head even though the vicious man was currently watching them from every single CCTV in this villa.
“Our staff will help you carry your belongings, you will return with the car that we already prepared.” Thomas said while tidying up the documents that had been signed by Elena.
Meanwhile, she was wide-eyed when she heard it.
“Wait, now? But I haven’t even spoken to my bosses where I work, I’m not resigned yet...”
“Oh, don’t worry, Miss. You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll take care of everything.” Thomas said with a polite smile. “You just need to bring the things you’ll use while staying here and Mona will guide you from now on.”
Of course it wouldn't be difficult. Just hearing the name of Zachary Dawson would make people shudder and not want to get in the way or get into the mafia Don's wrath, let alone if they knew Elena was one of his people now.
Thomas bowed politely, which was immediately returned by Elena who was still confused. Despite Thomas' strange attitude of being too formal to her, who was just a new maid in this villa, she was still surprised by all this suddenness that she neglected other things she should have asked.
For example, what does this famous young Mr. Dawson look like? Shouldn't she recognize the person who hired her better, now?
Elena sighed as she looked at the beautiful shimmering ocean.The wind blew her hair. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The sea breeze that once cleared her thoughts, the waves that once soothed her, now made her feel suffocated.Not without reason, but these days, she couldn’t even step out of the villa like she used to.Zachary forbid her to go out without him.She couldn’t even go to the beach, the private beach just under the cliff.He tightened the security. More and more big men in suits guarded the place, until Elena felt like she was trapped in a prison.A luxury prison.It had been two months since they stayed here. Not that Elena had started to hate this place. The villa, the island, everything was beautiful.But what was the point when she couldn’t enjoy it?And Zachary was absent most of the time. She barely saw him. Even these days, at night, she couldn’t feel his presence beside her on the bed.Elena knew.He was keeping his words.He had promised to build a sa
The sun on the island rose slow and heavy, spilling gold across the sea like melted metal. Zachary’s villa, his private fortress carved into the cliff, was wrapped in the quiet hush of early morning. The world outside was waking, but inside their bedroom, time felt suspended.Elena blinked awake first.Her cheek rested on Zachary’s bare chest, her fingers curled lightly at the place where his heartbeat thumped, slow and steady, like the pulse of the earth. He had fallen asleep holding her, practically wrapped around her, one arm over her waist, the other beneath her pillow, his leg thrown protectively across hers.She had nowhere to go, and he made sure of it.Slowly, she lifted her head, noticing the faint lines on his face. He looked… peaceful. Softer. Younger. But even asleep, he held her like someone terrified of losing her.She brushed her fingers lightly along his jaw and Zachary’s eyes opened immediately.Not groggy. Not confused. Just awake, alert, and solely focused on her.“
The doctor’s footsteps faded down the corridor, swallowed slowly by the vast silence of the villa.A silence that didn’t feel empty anymore.It felt alive, vibrating, shifting.Elena’s breath trembled in her chest as Zachary stayed kneeling before her, his forehead still hovering against her stomach as if he were afraid to lift his eyes and wake from a fragile dream.Or a nightmare. She couldn’t tell which.“Zachary…” she whispered.His hands tightened on her hips, not painfully, just enough to still her breath.“Say it again,” he murmured, voice barely holding itself together. “Please.”Her heart fluttered painfully. She'd never heard him ask for anything so sincerely. Never heard him plead in that weak tone. “I’m… pregnant.”His breath ripped out of him in one violent exhale. A sound too raw, too broken, too full. He didn’t move for several seconds.Not a word. Not a breath.Just silence strangling him and the tremor under his palms.Then...He kissed her stomach.Not softly.Not s
Elena had never heard silence roar before, she even let out the air from her little by little, afraid that her own breath bothered the silence. But in the master bedroom in the villa on the edge of the cliff, the quiet was deafening. It pressed against her ribs, crawled up her throat, and settled like a stone behind her heartbeat.The villa was too quiet.Too… empty.Elena’s eyes drifted to the hallway beyond the open door. “Zachary… the workers. Why is the house so...”“Don’t,” he said softly, but with that dangerous finality she knew well.She swallowed. Her voice came thin. “Are they…?”He didn’t look away. “Yes.”A cold ripple ran through her spine.All the villa workers. Gone. Because Henry reached her. Because Zachary failed once... once, to predict a threat.She gripped her arms. “They didn’t deserve it...”“They allowed a breach.” His tone was low, controlled. “Their lives were paid by the wrong hands, not mine. Henry killed them. I ended Henry.”She stared at him.It wasn’t
The villa had never felt so quiet.Not even the silence after Zachary’s violent nights matched this one. A silence that wrapped the walls like a held breath, heavy and trembling. The moment they crossed the threshold, Elena felt the weight of everything she hadn’t processed pressing in on her.Zachary didn’t let her walk.Not inside.Not even across the creamy marble floors.He held her as if she would disappear the moment he loosened his grip.“Elena, careful,” he murmured, guiding her closer to his chest when she shifted. “Lean on me. Don’t try to move.”Her voice was small, raw. “I’m okay… really.” Her cheeks went red. “No,” he whispered, tightening his hold. “Not after what happened. Not after what almost happened.”His words cracked on the edges, but his steps stayed steady as he carried her straight to the master bedroom, the one he’d never allowed anyone else to enter. Not even servants.He laid her on the bed carefully, like she was something sacred. Or breakable.Elena’s fi
The world didn’t fall silent.It collapsed.One moment Elena was bracing for the gunshot from Henry’s shaking hands. She felt the burn of the cold muzzle against her skin, and heard Zachary’s voice low enough to freeze the world.It happened in a flash. The sound of a loud crack followed by a body hitting the floor.Henry slid down like a puppet with its strings cut, eyes still wide with the last fragment of obsession he’d ever feel.Blood pooled beneath him, blooming slowly like a dark, wilting flower.Elena froze on her feet, eyes widened stared at him.Her heartbeat thudded once, twice, then stopped. She didn’t scream, didn’t move, didn’t breathe. Something inside her simply… went still.Henry was dead.The boy who gave her ice cream.The boy who held her hand behind the chapel.The boy who promised to protect her.The boy who destroyed every home she ever tried to belong to.The one and only person she thought was her only 'best-friend'. Gone.Her knees buckled. But Zachary caugh







