12
1137 Words
For the first time since Aidan had walked into the room, the confidence disappeared from Vanessa’s face.
Her eyes instinctively darted toward the security camera mounted high in the corner of the living room.
It lasted only a second.
But I saw it.
Aidan saw it too.
The room fell into an uneasy silence as everyone followed our gazes to the camera.
My heart began to race.
The camera.
Of course.
It had seen everything.
It had seen Vanessa order me around for nearly an hour. It had seen her humiliate me in front of her friends. It had seen her force me to pick up broken glass with my bare hands.
Most importantly…
It had seen her cut her own hand.
For the first time that afternoon, hope bloomed inside me.
Aidan looked toward the head butler.
“Retrieve the security footage.”
“Yes, sir.”
The butler gave a respectful nod and immediately left the room.
Vanessa forced out a small laugh.
“Really?”
No one answered.
She looked at Aidan.
“You’re actually going to review security footage over a maid?”
Aidan’s expression remained unreadable.
“You said she attacked you.”
“I did.”
“Then the footage will confirm it.”
His answer was simple.
Matter-of-fact.
Vanessa’s smile stiffened.
She folded her arms.
“I just think this is unnecessary.”
“I don’t.”
“You really don’t trust my word?”
Aidan didn’t respond.
The silence between them stretched longer than I expected.
Vanessa let out a quiet sigh before picking up her champagne again.
“I never imagined we’d reach a point where I’d have to prove I’m telling the truth.”
No one spoke.
Several minutes later, the butler returned with the head of security.
The man carried a tablet in his hands.
“I apologize, Mr. Hartwell.”
Aidan looked at him.
“The footage isn’t available.”
My heart skipped.
“What do you mean?” Aidan asked.
The security officer looked genuinely embarrassed.
“The security system wasn’t activated today.”
Silence.
He continued carefully.
“Since the house was expected to be empty while you and Miss Sinclair attended your engagement celebration, the indoor cameras were never switched on.”
The hope inside me shattered instantly.
No footage.
No proof.
Nothing.
Aidan frowned.
“So nothing was recorded?”
“No, sir.”
“The cameras were inactive.”
The room fell deathly quiet.
I lowered my head.
Of course.
Nothing ever went my way.
Vanessa slowly set her champagne glass down.
Then she laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough.
“I suppose that settles it.”
No one answered.
She turned toward Aidan, disbelief written across her face.
“I honestly can’t believe this.”
Her eyes became glossy with tears.
“They had to bring security into this?”
Her voice cracked just enough to sound convincing.
“Over me?”
Aidan remained silent.
She walked toward him slowly.
“I’ve been with you for three years.”
She searched his face.
“Three years, Aidan.”
“I know.”
“I’ve stood beside you through every board meeting, every family gathering, every charity gala.”
She placed a hand over her chest.
“I’ve defended you when people criticized you.”
She shook her head slowly.
“And today…”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“…today you looked at me as if I were the one lying.”
The guests shifted uncomfortably.
No one dared interrupt.
“Aidan,” Vanessa whispered, “are you seriously choosing to believe a maid over your own fiancée?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
She laughed bitterly.
“The moment you asked for the footage, you already decided I wasn’t telling the truth.”
“I asked because I wanted to know what happened.”
“And my word wasn’t enough?”
She took another step toward him.
“I love you.”
Her voice broke.
“We’re getting married.”
She gestured toward the guests.
“We just announced our engagement a few hours ago.”
She wiped another tear from her cheek.
“Yet the first thing you do after coming home is investigate me because of…”
She turned to look at me with open contempt.
“…her.”
Every eye in the room shifted toward me.
I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
Vanessa looked back at Aidan.
“What exactly have I done to deserve that?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
His jaw tightened.
“I wasn’t accusing you.”
“But you doubted me.”
Silence.
“You actually entertained the possibility that I would lie about being attacked.”
“I was trying to understand the situation.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You were trying to prove me wrong.”
She glanced around at her friends before looking back at him.
“Do you know how humiliating that is?”
Another tear escaped.
“I’ve spent years earning your family’s trust.”
Her breathing became uneven.
“I’ve spent years proving that I belong in this family.”
She smiled sadly.
“And all it took was one crying maid for you to question me.”
The room became painfully quiet.
Even I could admit…
She was convincing.
If I hadn’t been there…
If I hadn’t lived through everything she had done to me…
I might have believed her too.
Vanessa slowly removed the diamond engagement ring from her finger.
The same ring Aidan had placed there only hours earlier.
She stared at it for a long moment before placing it carefully on the coffee table.
A collective gasp filled the room.
“If this is what our relationship has become…”
She looked directly into Aidan’s eyes.
“…then maybe we’re making a mistake.”
My breath caught.
Aidan’s expression changed for the first time since he walked into the room.
“Vanessa.”
“No.”
She stepped back.
“I won’t marry a man who finds it easier to trust a stranger than the woman he’s promised to spend the rest of his life with.”
She turned as though to leave.
Then stopped.
Without looking back, she said quietly,
“If you still think I would hurt myself just to frame a maid…”
She paused.
“…perhaps you never knew me at all.”
With that, she walked toward the front door.
The entire room remained frozen.
No one tried to stop her.
Everyone waited.
Waited to see what Aidan would do.
After what felt like an eternity…
He finally spoke.
“Vanessa.”
She stopped walking.
But she didn’t turn around.
His next words made my heart sink.
“…wait.”
- Writer
