All Chapters of The Maid's Deception: Chapter 131 - Chapter 136

ARIA'S POVThe text from Damien haunted Aria for the rest of the afternoon.Stop trying to remember. Some things are better left forgotten.She deleted it immediately....didn't want evidence of his personal communication on her work phone...but the words burned in her mind.He'd done something. Something he didn't want her to remember. Something significant enough that he'd broken his own rule about not texting her personally to tell her to stop digging.Which only made her want to remember more.She tried to focus on work. Tried to lose herself in the mundane tasks of scheduling meetings and preparing documents and managing his impossibly complex calendar.But every few minutes, another flash would surface.His mouth on her neck. Hot. Possessive. Marking her.Fingers.....his fingers?...sliding through wetness, exploring, claiming.A voice...his voice....rough with need: "You're mine."Each fragment was visceral, physical, undeniable. Not dreams. Not fantasies. Memories. Her body reme

ARIA'S POV The day began like all the others....too early, too exhausting, too full of reminders that Aria was trying to earn back the trust of a man who was determined to keep her at arm's length.But at least the physical soreness from whatever had happened days ago had faded. Her body no longer ached with every movement, no longer reminded her with painful clarity that Damien had touched her in ways she couldn't remember.Small mercies.She arrived at the office at 7:45 AM, prepared his coffee with mechanical precision, and settled at her desk to review the day's schedule.Board meeting at 10 AM. Lunch with potential investors at 12:30 PM. Conference calls at 2 PM and 4 PM. A full day, as always.At 8 AM sharp, Damien arrived.Their routine had become almost comfortable in its predictability. He walked past her desk with a curt nod. She brought him his coffee two minutes later. He thanked her without looking up from his computer. She returned to her desk and began the day's work.

ARIA'S POVAria returned to the office exactly fifteen minutes later, her face carefully composed, her makeup fixed, all evidence of tears erased.She could do this. She could walk back to her desk and pretend everything was fine. Could maintain professional distance. Could endure.Even if it was killing her.The 47th floor was quieter now, late afternoon settling into early evening. Most of the junior staff had already left. Just the executives remained, their offices still lit, still working.And Damien. Always Damien.She could see him through the glass walls of his office. Alone now, thank god. Victoria was gone.Aria settled at her desk and tried to focus on her work. She had emails to respond to, schedules to coordinate, documents to prepare for tomorrow's meetings.Normal tasks. Normal work. Nothing that required her to think about Victoria or jealousy or the fact that another woman had touched him and he'd allowed it.She'd been working for maybe five minutes when movement cau