FROM MAID TO MISTRESS: THE RETURN

CHAPTER 2: HUMILIATION AND FAREWELL

Before I could even move or wipe the tears streaming down my face, the heavy double doors of the dining hall slammed open.

Walking in with heavy footsteps was Don Enrico, Sebastian’s father. Behind him, wearing a bright red dress and a triumphant smile, was Vanessa — the wealthy, beautiful socialite who had been Sebastian’s fiancée before the accident. She had left him the moment the doctors said he might never walk normally again. But now that his business was recovering, she was back, pretending to be the devoted lover.

They had heard everything.

Don Enrico’s face turned a violent shade of red. He stormed towards me, his hand raised high.

PAK!

The sound of the slap echoed loudly in the large room. My head snapped to the side, pain exploding across my cheek. I stumbled and fell to the floor, crying openly now.

"You shameless gold-digger!" Don Enrico roared, towering over me. "How dare you?! How dare you look at my son?! How dare you dream of being part of this family?! You are just a servant! We feed you, we house you, and this is how you repay us? By seducing the heir?!"

"No... Sir... I didn't..." I sobbed, looking past him towards Sebastian. Please... tell them. Tell them I didn't seduce you. Tell them you kissed me.

I looked at the man I loved, begging him with my eyes to save me, to tell the truth.

But Sebastian just adjusted his suit jacket, took a sip of his coffee, and looked away with a bored expression.

"Father is right," he said flatly, his voice void of any emotion or guilt. "She has been annoying me for months. Always lingering, always staring, always trying to touch me. I tolerated it because Mother is fond of her, but she has become too bold. It is disgusting."

His words hit me harder than the slap. He was throwing me under the bus to protect his pride. He was lying to make himself look noble, and me look like a villain.

"Get rid of her!" Don Enrico commanded, shouting at the guards who rushed in. "Throw her things out! Ban her from this city! If I see her face again, I will have her thrown in jail for theft and seduction!"

Two strong guards grabbed my arms, dragging me roughly across the floor. I kicked and screamed, struggling to break free.

"Let me go! Please! Let me say goodbye to Doña Solana! Please! She loves me! Let me see her!"

But they didn't listen. They dragged me all the way through the grand hallway, past the expensive paintings and chandeliers, past the other maids who watched and whispered, past the garden where I used to dream. They dragged me out to the main gate, opening the heavy iron bars, and threw me onto the dusty road outside.

One of them tossed my small, worn-out suitcase after me. It contained everything I owned in the world: a few clothes, some old books, and memories.

"Never come back!" they yelled, and slammed the gates shut with a deafening clang.

I sat there in the dirt, crying hysterically. I was broken, humiliated, homeless, and penniless. The pain in my chest was worse than any physical injury. How could he? I thought. How could I have loved a monster like him?

Suddenly, I heard the sound of running footsteps from inside the property, coming closer and closer to the gate.

"Arya! Arya, wait! Don't leave yet!"

I looked up. Through the iron bars, I saw her. Doña Solana.

She was running, breathless, her hair loose, tears streaming down her face. She held onto the bars, reaching her hands through the gaps to touch me. Her eyes were red and swollen.

"Oh, my child... my poor, sweet child..." she wept, her voice shaking. "I heard everything from the hallway. I tried to run to you, but Enrico locked me in my room. I am so sorry, Arya. I am so sorry for my husband... and for my son. They are blind. They are fools."

She looked back towards the mansion with pure anger in her eyes. "Sebastian... he will regret this. One day, he will realize what he threw away, and it will be too late."

She pulled a thick, white envelope from inside her robe and pushed it through the bars into my hands. It was heavy.

"Take this," she whispered urgently. "It is all my personal savings. I have been saving it for years. It is enough to finish your studies, enough to build a life. Please... take it. Don't refuse."

"Ma'am Solana..." I cried, clutching the envelope. "I can't... you have been so kind..."

"Take it!" she insisted, squeezing my hands tight. "Use it to make yourself great. Study hard. Be someone. Don't let them destroy you. And please... do not hate me, Arya. You are the daughter I never had."

"I could never hate you," I sobbed. "You are the only good thing that happened to me here."

I stood up slowly, wiping my tears. I looked at the beautiful mansion that had become my prison.

"I will go, Ma'am," I said, my voice trembling but filled with new determination. "I will use this. I will study. I will become someone. And one day... I promise you... I will return. Not for him. Never for him. But to see you again. And to make them realize that the maid they threw away... was worth more than all their gold combined."

She kissed my hands through the bars. "Go now, my daughter. Fly high. And remember... no matter what happens... I am always on your side."

I turned my back on Villa Montecillo. I walked away, leaving behind my heart, my tears, and the boy who broke me. But I carried with me the kindness of a mother, and a burning desire for success and revenge.