Aria's POV
The night everything changed, the mansion was too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet. The dangerous kind.
The kind that pressed against your ears until your own heartbeat became unbearable.
Sebastian had left that morning for his business trip.
Three days.That was what he said. But it had only been one.
And yet, the house already felt emptier.
Vivienne had not visited.
Bianca was in a foul mood.
Madam Sinclair had retired early, complaining of fatigue.
And I could not focus.
I folded the same towel three times.
Polished the same table twice.
Watering plants that were already drowning.
My chest felt tight all day, as if something terrible was approaching, moving slowly but surely toward me.
By evening, a storm rolled in. Thunder cracked open the sky. Rain slammed violently against the windows, like thousands of desperate fingers trying to get inside. I was in the laundry room when I heard it.
A car.
Fast.
Braking sharply.
Doors slamming.
Voices.
My heart leapt into my throat.
I stepped into the hallway just as Sebastian entered through the front doors.
Soaked.
His hair is wet.
His shirt was clinging to his skin.
His jaw was tight with fury.
Something was wrong.
Bianca appeared beside me.
"He's back already?" she whispered.
Sebastian did not look at anyone.He walked straight toward the stairs. Then he stopped.
Slowly… he turned.
His eyes found me instantly.
The world narrowed.
Thunder crashed.
"Aria," he said.
My name on his lips did something violent to my heart.
"Yes, sir?"
"Come with me."
Bianca's eyes widened.
My blood turned cold.
"I"
"Now." His voice was not loud. But it was dangerous.
I followed him.
Every step felt like walking toward my own execution. He led me to his study and closed the door behind us. The sound echoed like a gunshot.
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. He turned to face me. Up close, I saw it.
His hands were shaking.
Not with anger.
With something worse.
Pain.
"What happened, sir?" I whispered.
"You tell me," he said.
My stomach dropped.
"I don't understand."
He walked closer.
"Don't lie to me."
I shook my head.
"I'm not."
He laughed bitterly.
"They sent me photos." My heart stopped.
"Photos of you."
The world tilted.
"What?"
"Outside the mansion. At the back gate. Talking to a man." I stared at him.
"I've never"
"You were smiling," he said harshly.
My chest burned.
"That was the vegetable supplier. He asked for directions."
"Do you think I'm a fool?" he snapped.
I flinched.
He turned away, running a hand through his wet hair.
"You think I don't see what's happening?"
"What is happening?" I cried softly.
"This," he said, spinning around. "You."
My breath hitched.
"You walk into this house like you don't know what you're doing to me." I felt tears rise.
"I've done nothing."
"That's the problem."
Thunder roared.
"I can't think. I can't sleep. I can't breathe properly anymore."
My legs weakened.
"You look at me like I'm human," he said quietly.
"And I hate it." My heart shattered.
"You're engaged," I whispered.
"Yes."
"So why does this matter?"
He stared at me like he was at war with himself.
"Because I am not supposed to feel this way."
Tears spilled from my eyes.
"I never asked you to."
"I know."
"Then let me go," I begged.
"Let me be nothing again." His voice broke.
"I don't know how."
Silence swallowed us.
Rain pounded the roof.
"I should leave this job," I whispered.
His head snapped up.
"No."
"Your fiancée hates me."
"I don't care."
"I do," I cried.
"I'm tired of being humiliated."
He stepped closer.
"So am I."
We were too close now. I could feel his breath.
"I am tired of pretending I don't see you," he said.
"Stop," I whispered.
"You tremble when people speak to you."
"Please"
"You apologize for existing."
Tears streamed down my face.
"And when I hurt you, you still look at me like I'm not a monster."
My voice broke.
"You're not."
He closed his eyes.
"That's the problem."
He stepped back suddenly, like he'd been burned.
"This cannot continue."
My heart sank.
"You will be transferred to the guest house tomorrow."
The words cut deep. Away from him. Far.
"Is that what you want?" I whispered.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because if you stay here," he said, voice shaking, "I will destroy everything."
I wiped my tears.
"I don't want to be the reason you lose your life."
"You are the reason I remember I had one."
My knees almost buckled.
"Sebastian…"
He said my name back.
Softly, like a confession.
We stood there, two broken souls trapped in the same storm.
"I am engaged," he said again.
"I have duties. A future built by other people."
"And I am a maid," I whispered.
"And you are more than that." My heart screamed.
"I don't want to love you," I said.
He laughed bitterly.
"I don't want to love you either."
Silence.
Then footsteps outside.
Voices.
Vivienne's voice.
My blood ran cold. She was here.
Sebastian froze.
"Stay here," he whispered.
Too late.
The door opened.
Vivienne stepped inside, dry under an umbrella, eyes sharp.
"There you are," she said sweetly. Then she saw me. Her smile vanished.
"Of course."
"What is she doing here?" she demanded.
Sebastian stood in front of me instinctively.
"We were talking."
"Talking?" she laughed coldly.
"About what? Laundry?"
I stepped back.
"I should go."
She blocked the door.
"No. You should listen."
Her eyes burned into me.
"You think you're special?"
"I don't."
"You think you matter?"
"I never said"
"You are temporary," she hissed.
"I am permanent."
Sebastian spoke sharply.
"Enough."
She turned to him.
"You're defending her now?"
"She did nothing wrong."
"I saw the messages," Vivienne said.
My heart dropped.
"What messages?"
She smirked.
"The ones I sent to myself from her phone."
The world shattered.
"You what?"
"I needed proof."
"You framed her?" Sebastian whispered.
"She was already stealing you," Vivienne snapped.
I shook my head.
"I didn't send anything."
Sebastian stared at Vivienne like he had never seen her before.
"You destroyed her reputation."
"She's a maid."
"She's a human being."
Silence.
Vivienne laughed.
"You love her."
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
Vivienne's face hardened.
"Fine," she said coldly.
"Then choose."
My chest felt like it was tearing apart.
"Her… or me."
Thunder exploded.
Sebastian closed his eyes.
I stepped forward.
"Choose her," I whispered.
Both of them stared at me.
"She belongs to your world," I said softly.
"I don't."
Sebastian looked at me in pain.
"I don't belong anywhere."
"You belong where you are loved," I said.
His jaw tightened.
Vivienne waited.
The storm waited.
The mansion waited.
And in that moment…
everything stood still.