Bound by Fate

Chapter 5: The Demon

In truth, serving Ethan Blackwood was one of the easiest tasks—she just had to bring him breakfast, make coffee, and occasionally do small errands. He liked to be alone, so when she wasn’t needed, she could do as she pleased. Lily Thompson had thought he might not dislike her as much anymore, but she realized she had been wrong.

He still looked at her with the same disdain and impatience, which left Lily feeling frustrated. So, whenever she didn’t need to be around him, she continued to avoid him.

"Ah..." Early in the morning, a piercing scream shattered the villa’s quiet atmosphere. Yet, oddly enough, no one came out to see what had happened. That was because the sound had come from the second floor—the master’s domain. The maids had been strictly instructed not to go upstairs without permission, and with David West’s strict management, they dared not disobey. Losing such a well-paying job over a bit of curiosity was simply not worth it.

Lily was on her way to deliver Ethan’s breakfast when the scream startled her so much that she nearly dropped the entire tray. She let out a deep breath, placing a hand over her racing heart. "Phew, good thing I didn’t drop it!"

Curious, she glanced upstairs and hesitated for a moment before tiptoeing up. Noticing that the door wasn’t fully closed, Lily peeked inside. She saw Ethan sitting on the bed, shirtless, his eyes cold as they bore into the disheveled woman on the floor.

Lily followed his gaze and recognized the woman—it was one of the maids who had bullied her before. The woman was now sitting on the floor in pain, her wrists bent at unnatural angles, with white bones piercing through the skin. Her eyes were filled with terror as she looked at Ethan.

Instead of being frightened by the scene, Lily furrowed her brows, looking troubled. What should she do? He seemed really angry. He disliked her so much that if she went in now, he’d only get angrier. But if she didn’t go in, wouldn’t he be left hungry?

Her frown deepened, but then her eyes suddenly brightened as she tiptoed back downstairs. Ethan glanced toward the door—he had known the moment Lily came upstairs. The fact that she hadn’t screamed surprised him.

"David... David..." Lily called softly, and David West appeared, looking at her with mild exasperation. "Lily, could you please use a different name? Anyone who doesn’t know better would think you’ve got two dogs!" She called the Tibetan Mastiff in the garden "Big White."

Lily giggled. "No way, David is such a cute name!"

"Sigh... What do you need?"

"Hehe..." Lily smiled a bit sheepishly. "David, could you take the breakfast up to the master for me?"

"Hmm?" David raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong?" This girl wasn’t afraid of the boss, so why was she suddenly asking him to do it?

"Um..." Lily tugged at her hair and pouted. "The master is angry! If he sees me, he’ll get even angrier. So, could you please take it up for me?"

Angry? David had heard the scream earlier and wasn’t surprised—it was probably another woman trying to sneak into Ethan’s bed. But why would seeing Lily make him angrier?

"David... Please?" Seeing his hesitation, Lily tugged on his sleeve, pleading.

"Alright, alright! Stop shaking me!"

"Hehe... David, you’re the best! The breakfast is in the kitchen. You take it up, and I’ll go watch TV!"

David shook his head in disbelief as he headed to the kitchen. He really didn’t understand why this girl was so obsessed with watching TV.

"Knock, knock..." Although the door was already ajar, David politely knocked before entering. "Master..." he said respectfully as he placed the breakfast down.

Ethan didn’t say much upon seeing him, likely assuming that the little rabbit had been too scared to come in. He glanced coldly at the woman on the floor and said, "Throw her out."

David was about to drag the woman out when Ethan added, "Fire all the maids!" He was fed up with women sneaking into his room every few days.

David was taken aback. Fire them all? He couldn’t help but ask, "What about... Lily Thompson?"

Ethan frowned slightly. "She can stay."

Downstairs in the main hall, a commotion had broken out as all the maids gathered.

"This isn’t fair!"

"Exactly! How can they just fire us like that?"

Even though the master had given them a generous severance, what they really wanted was to become the lady of this villa!

Lily was engrossed in the TV, grinning foolishly. She had to admit that being a maid here came with great perks. Even though she stayed in the servants' quarters, it was fully equipped and quite comfortable.

The increasing noise outside pulled Lily out of her TV-induced trance. She tilted her head in confusion, glancing at the door and then back at the TV. After a brief struggle, she finally decided to go to the door. She opened it slightly and peeked out.

"Quiet!" David’s voice was filled with irritation. "You all have two hours to leave the villa!" With that, he turned and walked away.

Lily shrank back slightly. David could be so scary! As soon as he left, the maids started whispering again.

"This is so unfair. Do we really have to leave? I can’t accept this!"

"Yeah, who can?"

"Does anyone know what’s going on?"

"I do! You all heard that scream this morning, right?" Seeing everyone nod, the maid continued, "I heard someone tried to get into the master’s bed, and he was furious!"

"What? Which shameless woman was it? Now we’re all suffering because of her!" She conveniently forgot that she had the same intentions.

"Whoever isn’t here now must be the one!"

"You mean that little rabbit?"

"No, not her! Didn’t you notice someone else is missing? I heard the master broke her wrists and threw her out!"

"Broke her wrists?" Everyone glanced at their own wrists and shuddered. "Isn’t the master a bit too cruel?"

One of the quieter women finally spoke up. "You all thought the master was a prince charming, didn’t you? I’m telling you, he’s a demon! I’ve been here longer than any of you, and I know more. Breaking someone’s wrists is nothing. Once, a pregnant woman came here, claiming she was carrying the master’s child and demanding that he take responsibility. She wouldn’t leave, so the master kicked her out. Can you believe it? She was pregnant!"

"No way! That’s so cruel! Was it really his child?"

"Who knows? I bet it was!"

"They say even a tiger won’t eat its cubs, but the master... that’s too much! Who would ever dare marry him?"

The woman looked around the room and shook her head. "You all need to stop dreaming. If you get pregnant, you might end up getting beaten too."

"It’s terrifying! No wonder I can’t even look him in the eye. He really is a demon!"