Falling For The Sister I Seek

The Conversation

Nath POV

I was curiously looking for her the following day when I batch into my study and found her there cleaning the study. I stood at the entrance for a while but she didn't notice me, she focused on aligning the books on the shelf in my study. Not just arranging them… understanding them. She paused over a rare leather-bound book, her fingers brushing the back of the book with a kind of respect most people reserve for living things…… I was surprised myself when I saw the way she does this thing

“You know that one’s worth more than most apartments in the city,” I said…. Her head lifted slowly but she didn't startle gasp, nor fumbling. Just a calm acknowledgment of my presence, as if I was another object to categorize and place. “I assumed as much,” she replied softly and briefly. Trying to discharge me even before I start the conversation ....“You keep the most valuable items closest to your desk.”

She was damned correct….. I stepped into the room and closed the door gently but she wasn’t intimidated. “You’ve worked here for three days,” I said, moving closer……. And you are very interesting. “Most people in this house haven’t noticed that pattern after three years.”

She didn’t blush. She didn’t look flatten, Instead, she set the book down with deliberate care. “I like to understand the spaces I work in. It helps me do my job better.”...Her job. Right….. I was able to see her clean features when the sunlight shone on her as she turned away to adjust the lamp on my desk. She tilted it by a fraction. She didn't try to decorate it but is at the exact angle I preferred when reading at night.“Have you been observing me?”

She froze for the first time. Only for a second. Then she faced me fully, her eyes sharp. “I observe everything, sir. That is part of being thorough.”....Sir…… It should have sounded respectful.

Instead, it sounded like a challenge wrapped in politeness…… I moved closer, close enough to see the faintest dusting of warmth on her cheeks. She didn’t step away.

“What did you observe about me, then?” I asked, curious to see how far her honesty would go…… Her lips parted slightly not in fear, but thought. She held my gaze, assessing me with those intelligent eyes…… “You like control,” she said softly. “Details matter to you. You prefer silence to noise, precision to decoration. You’re difficult to read, but very easy to predict if someone pays attention.”...A slow breath escaped me.

She is bold, giving me an unexpected answer and it's true, I wanted to hug her but I restrained myself ....“And you are more intelligent than an ordinary maid”, I must be sincere, I admire your level of boldness and understanding. I stepped closer, just a few distance between us.

A knock broke the moment.

One of my senior staff, flustered. “Sir, your meeting”......“I’m busy.” My voice came out sharper than intended. The door closed again…. Her gaze returned to me, calm and steady. She didn’t ask what that moment had been. She didn’t pretend not to notice it either….. “I should finish the study,” she said softly….. But she didn’t move.

“Tell me your name again.”.... She spoke it quietly, and the sound of it settled in my chest with an unfamiliar weight….

I repeated it once under my breath.

Not to test the sound…. But to memorize it…… Because whether she realized it or not, this house had just become far more interesting since she walked into it.

_______

She finally stepped back toward the shelf, but I could tell her mind hadn’t moved with her body. Mine hadn’t either….“Leave the books,” I said quietly….. “Is something wrong with the arrangement?”.... “No,” I answered. “I just prefer talking to someone who actually thinks.”

There it was,her first real reaction. Not a smile… something subtler. A spark behind her eyes. A curiosity she couldn’t quite hide….. I gestured toward the seating area near the window. “Sit. Just for a moment.”.....

Her brows lifted slightly. “Sir, I’m on duty.”...... “I’m aware,” I said, my voice lowering, “and I’m telling you to sit.”..... She hesitated, long enough for me to see her mind race through protocol. But then she walked over quietly, and sat on the edge of the sofa, sat straight, and confidently.

I took the seat opposite her,studying her with more interest than I should allow….“What’s your story?” I asked…… she lowered her lashes slightly. “I don’t have one that’s relevant.”.... “Everything about you feels relevant.”...... She inhaled slow, controlled. “I came here to work, sir. Not to be studied.”

“That’s the thing,” I murmured, “I don’t study people. I read them. And you… you’re a very interesting book.”........She looked at me then really looked. Her eyes met mine without flinching, without performing…..“I think too much,” she said softly. “That’s all. Some people call it intelligence. Others call it a problem.”“And what do you call it?”

She was about to answer when my mom appeared right at the door ..“Nath, have you seen—oh.”My mother…… Elegantly dressed. And staring at us with that sharp, high-and-mighty look that is impossible to hide, looking at the space between us.

A slow, assessing breath…..She stepped inside, closing the door behind her deliberately. “I wasn’t aware you’d begun hosting staff for private chats in the study.”....The maid stood immediately, bowing her head. “Ma’am—”...... My mother lifted one hand. “Save it, dear. I can see you’re… new.”....Her tone wasn’t insulting.

Worse, it was coldly polite…..I stood as well, jaw tightening. “We were just talking.”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes narrowing with furry, “I could see that.”.... My mother walked closer. She looked at the maid angrily , examining with hatred and furry… ..“What is your name?” my mother asked……The maid spoke gently. She didn’t fidget.

“Daisy”. And you’ve been here… what? A few days?”“Yes, ma’am.”..“And you are already in my son’s private study?”“Mother—” I warned…..She ignored me entirely….. …“Tell me, dear,” my mother continued, her tone deceptively smooth, “are you always this comfortable around the head of the house?”

The maid met her gaze calm, steady, respectful…..“No, ma’am. I am only comfortable around the truth.”..... My mother froze for half a second…… Then her eyes flicked to me, sharp with meaning…..“Oh, I see,” she said quietly. “This one is bold.”The air tightened.I stepped between them—not aggressively, but with enough finality that both women knew the moment had shifted.

“That’s enough, Mother,” I said. “She’s here because I asked her to stay.”....My mother’s lips curved into a knowing, dangerous smile. “Of course she is.”....She turned toward the door, her tone sweet and slicing at once. “Do carry on, darling. But remember…”

Her gaze drifted back to the maid, lingering.“…people talk.” I was looking for you about your father's hospital appointment today. He told me he gave you an important assignment, to make sure you didn't disappoint him.

When she left the maid exhaled sharply. “Please, I need to get back to work.”

…“Not yet, not until I am done talking to you”....I said softly. ”Her pulse twitch in her gullet.

And for the first time, she looked slightly unnerved……Not by fear.

By what she felt standing this close to me.