Chapter 3
1125 Words
Lady Loretta dismissed the maids to clear the used plates and empty bottles and to tidy up the living room after all the guests left her mansion. She noticed the lady wincing in pain as she descended the staircase with great difficulty.
"Melody," Lady Loretta said, shocked upon seeing how disheveled Melody looked, as if someone had beaten her senseless.
"What happened to you?" Lady Loretta inquired in shock while all the maids in the living room paused to look at Melody and gasped at the sight of the previously arrogant lady's condition.
"Madam, one of the maids did this to me. The maid you assigned to show me to the top floor. She attacked me," Melody managed to say as her cheeks visibly swelled.
"You mean Miranda did this to you? I don't believe it. Miranda is innocent and wouldn't hurt a fly. Ever since Miranda started working here, she hasn't gotten into a fight with any of the maids that I know of. Are you sure you're referring to Miranda, or did another maid do this to you?"
As the older woman questioned Melody after all the guests left the mansion, Derrick walked back into the living room and looked stunned to see there was still a guest present.
"She did this, ma'am. I cannot lie to you. Miranda lied about me to Master Derrick, and after he left us, she pounced on me and attacked me to this extent. She is evil, ma'am." Melody started sobbing when she saw Derrick looking at her.
"What's happening here, Mom?" Derrick asked as he strolled over to meet his mother.
"Mom, you know it's already late. You should get some rest," Derrick said, not casting a glance at Melody, who had expected him to summon the maid.
After losing her job, Melody had expected Miranda to also lose hers as a maid in the exquisite villa. Melody knew she didn't stand a chance of getting closer to Derrick again. He was mostly busy in the office attending business meetings. Similarly, she had no excuse to see him either. Alexa worked as his secretary, and many other top female staff members longed to be with Derrick.
"Mom," Derrick said, looking at his aged mother whose hair was filled with gray. He frowned, and his mother said, "Derrick, I will return to my room. But where is Miranda if Melody accuses her of beating her up?"
"Do not worry yourself, Mother. I will have the guards investigate what happened. Melody, you may leave now," Derrick dismissed. He didn't care to summon Miranda.
Derrick walked with his mother along the stairs and assisted her in returning to her room on the top floor. It took the older lady hours to climb the flight of stairs, and Derrick considered relocating his mother's room to the ground floor.
Arriving at Lady Loretta's room door, Derrick paused and gently opened it. The maid knew it was best to avoid him, especially when he was with his mother.
"Mom, you should get enough rest. I don't want anything to go wrong with you," Derrick said to his mother in a hushed tone after helping her onto the bed.
Lady Loretta and Derrick were both dark in complexion. She smiled at her son's care and replied, "I am fine, but you know what will make me happy and help me rest well? If you settle down. Your father worked so hard to acquire all this wealth for you. I am already over seventy years old, and you don't expect me to remain youthful. You should consider marrying a wife. It's not until you reach thirty that you must do so, my son."
Derrick frowned, holding his mother's warm left hand as she lay on the bed.
She said, "My wish for you is that you find a good woman who will love you very much, pamper you like her baby, take good care of you while I'm away, and watch over you both from heaven."
"Mom," Derrick interrupted his mother with a frown. "You're not leaving me anytime soon." Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes; his mother frequently spoke about leaving, and he wished he could exchange all their wealth for a longer life so she wouldn't leave him.
"It's life, Derrick. We all must go so the world stays balanced and allows our generations to continue where we stopped. But I'm not leaving you anytime soon. I still want to see you settle down first and see the next heir of Luis firm."
"That's fine, Mom. I guess I should leave you to rest now. Have a sound sleep." Derrick leaned over and kissed his mother's forehead goodbye. She smiled and watched him exit her room.
———
Meanwhile, in the master's bedroom of the Luis mansion, Miranda soaked herself in a warm bath inside one of the lush rooms.
"Oh my goodness! This feels so good," she said, not caring about the consequences of her actions.
Miranda had hurried into this room, and it was totally different from the other rooms she was assigned to care for downstairs.
"Mmm," Miranda mumbled, enjoying herself in a warm night bath. After dealing with the silly lady who dared to slap her, Miranda wanted to show the lady what it felt like to be defeated.
She was not a woman to take disrespect from others, but after coming from a lower-class family and becoming an orphan at a younger age, Miranda knew the world had no respect for the poor.
She wanted to become rich, even if it meant climbing over others to achieve that. She admired the good life, wanted a good job, and dreamed of owning a big supermarket in her name.
Thinking about her life struggles, Miranda didn't care how much time she spent soaking herself in this exquisite, large, pristine bathtub.
The bubbling water filled with scented soap soothed her body, and accompanied by the chilly night weather, Miranda didn't want to leave the bath.
She wanted to sleep there and forget all her worries. She had even let her blonde hair fall behind her back. She was extremely beautiful, but she remembered the slap Melody had given her.
Miranda felt like strangling Melody's neck, but she knew she would face jail time and no one would rescue her.
"Mmm." Miranda enjoyed herself in the bathtub until she heard the room door shut.
"Who's there?" Miranda asked, thinking she was in her maid room on the lower floor of the mansion. However, reality dawned on her—she was in one of the family's children's rooms.
"Oh my goodness! I hope this isn't Master Derrick's room," Miranda muttered. Just then, she heard the bathroom door slide open.
- Writer
