บททั้งหมดของ BENEATH THE LIES : บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

071**STANLEY’S POV**Later that night, I lay on my bed, tossing and turning, waiting for sleep to claim me. But each time I closed my eyes, one face kept haunting me.Alora.Her image burned in my mind, vivid and unrelenting. Why was I losing my sanity over a girl who once worked as a maid in my household? I questioned myself, my thoughts spiraling. Was it pity for her situation, or was there something deeper? Then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit me—I was in love with Alora.But how? Another question surged through my mind like wildfire. Why was I so inexplicably drawn to her? I had no answers, only the pounding of my heart and the certainty that I couldn’t ignore this any longer.I let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm my racing thoughts. It was time to tell Alora how I felt, even if the idea seemed absurd. A wealthy man like me, confessing love to a former maid? Society would scoff, but I didn’t care. My feelings were real, and I had to act on them.Without overthinking it, I leap

073 ALORA'S POV I shifted back, my throat tightening as I swallowed hard. My heart pounded in my chest. Just then, I bolted for the door, my feet moving before my mind could catch up. But before I could reach the handle, Stanley had already risen from the floor. With a swift step, he planted himself in the doorway, his broad frame blocking my path. He extended both hands, palms out, as if to physically hold me in place. “Alora, please wait,” he said, his voice low and urgent. He scrubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand, a gesture that betrayed his own nervousness. “You have to listen.” I crossed my arms over my chest, anchoring myself against the storm of emotions swirling inside me. My stance was defiant, but my voice trembled slightly. “No, Stanley,” I said, forcing the words out. “I don’t want to listen to anything. Please move.” I stepped forward, trying to slip past him, but he shifted, blocking me again with an ease that made my frustration flare. “I won’t go anywhere u

075A few minutes later, I pulled up at the gates of my sprawling estate in a rickshaw, its rickety frame creaking as it came to a stop. I climbed out, my shirt still faintly stained from the baby’s earlier mishap, and tossed a few bills to the driver as a tip. My legs felt heavy, but I forced myself to move toward the gates, the weight of the morning’s absurdity pressing down on me.The guards stationed at the entrance stared at me, their jaws practically hitting the ground. They looked as if they’d just witnessed a scene from a horror movie, their eyes wide with disbelief. “Sir, are you okay?” one of them asked, rushing toward me, his voice laced with concern. But I ignored him, my focus singular. I kept walking as fast as my tired limbs could carry me, my shoes scuffing against the gravel path. There was no time for explanations—not when Alora’s deadline loomed over me like a guillotine.The journey from the estate gates to the mansion was another grueling endeavor. The driveway st

077“What?!” I exclaimed, my voice cracking with disbelief. Alora had just announced, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, that I was to babysit two children. After the humiliation I’d endured washing Mr. Lin’s truck—mocked by a toddler who called me a “she-male”—I was far from trusting these little monsters. “You’re joking, right?” I asked, exhaustion etched across my face. “I can’t possibly babysit them.”“Yes, you can, and you will,” Alora replied, her tone infuriatingly calm. She turned and walked toward her room, leaving me standing there, dumbfounded.I was rooted to the spot, my mind reeling. Is it this difficult to win the heart of someone you love? I asked myself. The question echoed in my head, heavy with frustration. For love, I’d become unrecognizable to myself. Who would have thought that someone like me—Stanley Richardson, billionaire tycoon—would be reduced to wearing a pink feminine singlet, scrubbing a grumpy old man’s truck while being insulted by a chi

079I gulped as Stanley leaned in closer, our lips mere inches apart. His question echoed in my mind, intensifying the tension between us. He was right—we both felt the pull, the undeniable spark that crackled in the air. So, what was holding us back? The answer came crashing in like a wave: fear. The memory of my heart shattering into a thousand pieces, the pain of betrayal still raw from past wounds. I couldn’t let it happen again. Not with Stanley.My mind flashed to the past—how Stanley had believed the baseless allegations thrown at me, how he’d sided with Charles at first, leaving me to question his loyalty. Trusting him now felt like stepping onto thin ice, knowing it could crack beneath me. No matter how much my body responded to his closeness, my heart wasn’t ready to take that risk.I snapped back to reality, as if waking from a daze. Before his lips could brush against mine, I acted on instinct, delivering a swift kick to his groin. He stumbled to the ground, groaning in pa