All Chapters of The Billionaire's Contract Maid: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

AMBER HART POV By Thursday morning, the mansion felt less like a sanctuary and more like a high-security bunker. Everywhere I looked, there were new security guards in crisp black suits pacing the perimeter of the lawn, their earpieces glinting in the morning sun. Marcus had completely locked down the estate gates. Two news vans had tried to park down the road, but they were cleared out within ten minutes. I stood by the window of the upstairs sitting room, holding a glass of orange juice. The stress in the house was thick enough to feel. Even the housekeepers were moving faster, their faces tight as they avoided the main wing where Kalix and his team were locked away. I knew my role. I was the fiancée. I was supposed to be the picture of calm, unaffected elegance while Kalix fought Richard Vance in the boardrooms. But sitting in these giant, empty rooms doing nothing was making my head spin. The media was already picking apart my life. Marcus had managed to keep my name out of

AMBER HART POVThe heavy wooden doors of the boardroom clicked shut behind us, cutting off the low hum of panicked whispering from the partners inside. The hallway was brightly lit, the long white runner carpet absorbing the sound of my high heels as we walked away from the room.My hands were shaking. I had to tighten my grip on my small evening clutch just to keep them steady.That was insane. I had actually just looked at a multi-millionaire corporate raider and called him out on his numbers in front of his peers. My heart was thumping so hard against my ribs I was sure Kalix could hear it standing right next to me.Back at the diner, a bad day meant someone sent their steak back or tipped me with loose pennies. The stakes there were small, personal, and easy to forget by the time I clocked out. But standing in that boardroom, watching Richard Vance look at me like I was a piece of trash on his expensive rug, a switch just flipped inside me. I was so sick of these people thinking th

AMBER HART POV The afternoon sun was warming up the stone pathways of the greenhouse by the time I walked down from the main house. I had changed into my favorite oversized knit sweater and some old jeans—clothes that actually felt like mine. Walking into the glass structure, the humid air immediately hit me, carrying that rich, comforting smell of damp earth and blooming jasmine. It was a massive relief from the filtered, chilly air conditioning of the mansion. I wandered past the rows of hanging ferns and bright orchids, finding a small wooden stool near a shelf of untrimmed terracotta pots. There was an old pair of gardening gloves sitting on the edge of the workbench. I pulled them on, picking up a small trowel. Since Kalix said I was free to do whatever I wanted this weekend, I figured some manual labor would keep my hands busy. I grabbed a small, slightly overgrown ivy plant that was spilling out of its plastic container and started carefully loosening the soil around its ro

AMBER HART POVThe dining room was massive, but tonight, it felt small. The long mahogany table was set for two, with silver candlesticks throwing long, dancing shadows against the wood-paneled walls. The food smelled amazing—some kind of slow-cooked beef with a rich wine reduction—but I could barely swallow a single bite. My fork just tracked patterns in the sauce on my plate. Seeing Mark like that, desperate and pathetically bold, had left a sour taste in my mouth. It wasn't because I missed him. God, no. The moment he walked out on me, whatever affection I had for him died. It was the absolute nerve of the guy. He genuinely thought he had a right to my life just because he used to be in it. He saw me on a screen, saw the name Smith, and immediately thought of a dollar sign. I glanced up across the table. Kalix was cutting his steak with precise, effortless movements. He looked so calm, like handling an unhinged ex-boyfriend was just part of his standard evening routine. A heavy

AMBER HART POV The condensation from the iced tea glass ran down my fingers, dropping onto the sun-warmed stone of the bench. The cool water from the fountain nearby kept misting the air, cutting through the heavy afternoon heat. Kalix was still looking at me, his hand resting on the stone just an inch away from mine. My heart was doing that weird, uneven tapping thing again. It was ridiculous. I was a practical girl. I knew exactly how much my bank account had grown since I signed that contract. I knew the exact duration of this arrangement. But sitting out here, with his tie gone and the sun catching the dark brown hints in his hair, it was getting harder to maintain the wall I had built. He wasn't acting like the arrogant CEO who used to look past me in the hallways. He was looking at me like I actually mattered to him outside of the boardrooms. I looked down at his hand, then slowly slid my fingers across the warm stone until they brushed against his. Kalix didn't hesitate. H