The Billionaire’s Maid

3

Maya’s POV

She walked slowly toward me, each step sharp against the marble floor. It felt like the hallway got smaller the closer she came. If looks could burn, I would already be on fire.

“What are you doing here?” she repeated again, slower this time, like she wanted me to feel stupid for standing there.

I tried to speak, but nothing came out. My throat felt tight, like my voice had been taken away.

“You know the new maid?” he asked from beside her, his tone calm, almost curious.

“New maid?” Miss Sinclair’s eyes lit up immediately, but not in a good way. It was the kind of light that meant trouble. She turned fully to face me now, her lips curling slightly.

Then she laughed.

It was short, sharp, and cruel.

“Don’t tell me,” she said, dragging her gaze over me like I was something dirty on the floor. “After losing your job at the café because of your clumsiness, you still have the nerve to come here and want to work in a rich household.”

My fingers curled at my sides.

She stepped closer again.

“You want to spill coffee on all my designer clothes too?”

The words hit harder than I expected. My cheeks burned, but I forced myself to stand still.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” I said quietly.

That only made her smile wider.

“Of course you didn’t,” she said. “People like you never take responsibility. You just break things and then act innocent.”

I felt my chest tighten. I wanted to explain. I wanted to defend myself. But every time I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

Because she wasn’t listening. She never was.

Her eyes flicked back to him, like she suddenly remembered he was there.

“Aidan, you cannot consider hiring someone like her,” she said, softer now, but more dangerous.

He didn’t answer immediately.

That silence made my heart beat faster.

And she noticed it too.

Her smile faded just slightly.

“Aidan,” she said, using his name like she owned it, “tell me you’re not considering her.”

Still, he said nothing.

The air between them changed.

I could feel it even if I didn’t understand it.

Then she turned back to me.

Her voice dropped lower.

“You really don’t know where you are, do you?”

I swallowed hard.

“This is the Hartwell house,” she continued. “And you don’t belong anywhere near it.”

I had been holding myself together since morning, since the café, since the dismissal, since every single problem stacking on top of each other. But standing in front of her again, in this place that felt too big for me, I realized I had nothing left to hold on to.

My throat tightened.

My vision blurred slightly.

I looked at Aidan for help without meaning to. He stood there like a wall, unreadable, cold, not stepping in, not stopping her. Just watching. Like this was something he wanted to understand before he acted.

She smiled faintly.

“You see?” she said softly. “Even he knows it. You don’t belong here.”

That was it.

Something inside me snapped.

Because it wasn’t just about me anymore.

It was about my mother.

The hospital bills. The treatment. The way she smiled weakly every time I told her I was fine even when I wasn’t.

I couldn’t lose this chance.

Not again.

My legs gave out before I could think.

I dropped to my knees on the cold marble floor.

The sound was small but it echoed in my ears like it was too loud for this place.

She stopped talking.

Even Aidan shifted slightly, his eyes narrowing a little, but still he didn’t move forward.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, my voice shaking. “Please… I’m sorry for everything.”

Miss Sinclair blinked slowly like she was enjoying a show.

I didn’t care anymore.

My pride didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered except survival.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I continued, my voice breaking. “I really didn’t. I just need this job. Please.”

My hands trembled as I reached forward instinctively, trying to hold onto anything, her dress, her hand, anything that would make her listen. But she moved back immediately, like my touch was something dirty.

That only made my panic worse.

“I have no other job,” I said, tears building in my eyes now. “My mother is sick. I need money for her treatment. Please, I’m begging you.”

My voice cracked completely at the end.

The words felt heavy leaving my mouth.

Begging.

I had never begged anyone like this before.

But now I was.

She tilted her head slightly, watching me carefully like I was interesting again.

Aidan still said nothing.

That silence hurt more than her words. I felt helpless.

I lowered my head more.

“I will work hard,” I whispered. “I will do anything. Just don’t take this away from me.”

My tears finally fell.

One. Then another.

I hated it.

I hated crying in front of her.

But I couldn’t stop.

She took a slow step back, just enough to keep distance between us, and crossed her arms.

She looked at me like she was deciding something.

Not out of kindness.

Out of entertainment.

“So this is what you’ve become,” she said softly. “From spilling coffee to kneeling on the floor.”

Then she looked at Aidan..

“Do you see this?” she asked him.

He didn’t answer immediately.

His gaze stayed on me.

Longer than before.

I felt exposed under it.

Like he could see everything I was trying to hide.

My hunger. My fear. My desperation.

Finally, he spoke.

“Get up.”

His voice was cold, controlled.

Not cruel like hers.

But not kind either.

Just firm.

I hesitated.

I didn’t want to disobey.

But I also didn’t want to stop pleading.

Miss Sinclair stepped in first.

“Oh no,” she said lightly. “Let her stay like that. I think it suits her better.”

A small smile played on her lips again.

She enjoyed this.

I could see it clearly now.

My humiliation was not an accident to her.

It was entertainment.

I swallowed hard.

“Please,” I said again, quieter now. “Just give me a chance.”

She looked at me for a long moment.

Then she slowly turned her gaze back to Aidan.

“You really want to fall for her crocodile tears?” she asked again, her tone sharper now.

Aidan didn’t look away from me.

“I make decisions here, Vanessa,” he said coolly.

That sentence made something shift in the air.

Vanessa’s smile faded slightly.

I didn’t understand what was happening between them, but I could feel it. Power. Control. Something deeper than just an argument.

Vanessa turned back to me.

And for the first time, her expression changed.

There was no softness in it.

She looked at me like she was suddenly seeing a use for me.

A reason.

Something she could turn to her advantage.

She crouched slightly so she was closer to my level.

Her voice dropped.

“You want this job that badly?”

I nodded quickly.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Please.”

She studied my face for a few seconds.

Then she smiled again.

But this time, it was different.

It wasn’t just cruel.

It was satisfied.

“Fine,” she said.

My heart stopped slightly.

Vanessa stood up again and brushed her dress like nothing had happened.

“I don’t mind you offering her the job, Aidan,” she said casually.

My chest tightened in confusion.

But then she added, slowly, looking directly at me.

“Let her work here.”

Then her smile sharpened again.

“I want to see how long she survives in this house with how clumsy she is.”