Secret in the dark
1344 Words
BRENDA POV
Xavier's eyes were like ice storms as he took in the scene, Daniel standing over Max with his hand raised, me cowering against the counter, my face streaked with tears.
"Maxwell, what happened?" Xavier asked, his voice deadly quiet.
Max didn't hesitate. "That man grabbed Brenda from behind and started touching her. When she pushed him away, he called her horrible names and said she was sleeping with you to get this job."
Xavier's face went completely white, then flushed red with rage. "He did what?"
"Xavier, it's not…." I started.
"Then when I told him to leave her alone, he tried to hit me," Max continued, his voice shaking but determined. "Just because I stood up for my sister."
I watched Xavier's hands clenched into fists, his whole body trembling with barely controlled fury. He took a step toward Daniel, and for a moment, I thought he might actually throw a punch.
"Xavier, don't," I whispered.
"You touched her?" Xavier's voice was a low growl. "You put your hands on her?"
Daniel straightened his shirt, trying to regain his composure. "It was just a misunderstanding. The girl overreacted."
"Overreacted?" Xavier laughed, but there was no humor in it. "She slapped you because you were assaulting her in my kitchen!"
"Assault is a strong word.."
"What would you call grabbing a woman against her will?" Xavier stepped closer, and I could see the resemblance between the brothers in their anger, both dangerous, but Xavier's rage was controlled, focused….
"Boys! What is this commotion?"
Mrs. Huntington-Reynolds swept into the kitchen, Rosiana close behind her. Both women took in the scene with sharp eyes.
"Daniel was just leaving," Xavier said without taking his eyes off his brother.
"Actually, I was hoping to stay the night," Daniel replied with a smirk. "Catch up on old times."
"No." Xavier's voice was final. "You're leaving. Now."
Mrs. Huntington-Reynolds frowned. "Xavier, what's gotten into you? Daniel is your brother."
"My brother just sexually harassed my employee and threatened a thirteen-year-old boy," Xavier said flatly. "He's not welcome in my home."
Daniel's face twisted with rage. "Your home? This was Father's house first, and mine by rights—"
"Get out," Xavier cut him off. "Before I do something we'll both regret."
For a tense moment, the brothers stared at each other. Finally, Daniel straightened his jacket and headed for the door.
"This isn't over, little brother," he said as he passed. Then his eyes found mine. "And you, next time, think twice before you slap your betters."
"There won't be a next time," Xavier said coldly. "Because if you ever touch either of them again, I'll destroy you. Business, reputation, everything. Do I make myself clear?"
Daniel paused, then laughed. "Crystal. See you at the wedding, brother."
After he left, an uncomfortable silence filled the kitchen. Mrs. Huntington-Reynolds looked between Xavier and me with obvious disapproval.
"Was all that drama really necessary?" she asked. "Over the help?"
"Yes," Xavier said simply. "It was."
He turned to Max. "Are you hurt?"
Max shook his head. "No, sir. Thank you for stopping him."
"Nobody should have had to stop him in the first place." Xavier looked at me. "I'm sorry this happened in my home."
"It's not your fault," I managed.
"Go rest," he said gently. "Both of you. We'll discuss this tomorrow."
As Max and I headed toward our room, I caught Rosiana staring at Xavier with an unreadable expression. Something cold flickered in her eyes.
The next few days were hell.
It started small, my uniform went missing, so I had to work in my regular clothes, earning disapproving looks from Mrs. Huntington-Reynolds. Then my cleaning supplies disappeared, making my tasks take twice as long.
"You're moving like a snail today," Rosiana sneered as I scrubbed the bathroom floors on my hands and knees. "Perhaps you're not as capable as Xavier thinks."
When I went to prepare lunch, half the ingredients I needed had vanished from the refrigerator.
"Oh, I threw those out," Rosiana said casually when I asked. "They looked spoiled to me."
They hadn't been spoiled. I'd checked them that morning.
The worst was when I found broken glass in my shoe not enough to cut me badly, but enough to make walking painful. When I mentioned it to Johnson, he looked at me with suspicion.
"Perhaps you should be more careful with the crystal," he suggested coldly.
But I knew. And from the satisfied smirk on Rosiana's face whenever something went wrong for me, she knew I knew.
The breaking point came three days after Daniel's visit. I was serving tea in the afternoon when I accidentally brushed against Rosiana's arm while pouring.
"Clumsy fool!" she shrieked, jumping up as if I'd burned her. "Look what you've done!"
I stared in confusion. I hadn't spilled a drop.
"You've ruined my dress!"
I looked closer and saw a small stain on her white designer dress, but it wasn't tea. It looked like ink.
"I didn't.." I began.
"Don't lie to me!" she screamed. "Xavier! XAVIER!"
He came running from his office, alarm on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Your precious maid has ruined my favorite dress! The one I was planning to wear to the charity gala!"
Xavier looked at the dress, then at me. "Brenda, what happened?"
"I was pouring tea, but I didn't spill anything," I said desperately. "I swear, I was careful."
"She's lying," Rosiana said, tears streaming down her face. "I saw her do it deliberately. She's jealous of me, Xavier. She wants what I have."
Something flickered in Xavier's eyes as he looked between us. "That's... quite an accusation, Rosiana."
"Are you taking her side over mine?" Rosiana's voice went dangerously quiet.
"I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm trying to understand what happened."
"What's to understand? She destroyed my property out of spite!"
****
Later that night, after I'd endured another hour of Rosiana's verbal abuse and Mrs. Huntington-Reynolds' cold disapproval, I couldn't sleep. My body ached from the extra work I'd been given as "punishment," and my mind raced with worry about how much more of this Max and I could take.
I slipped out of our room and walked quietly through the penthouse. Sometimes moving helped me think, and the halls were peaceful at night.
I was passing by the library when I heard voices, hushed but urgent. I paused, not meaning to eavesdrop, but something in the tone made me freeze.
"...can't keep doing this," a woman was saying. "Xavier is getting suspicious."
"Let him suspect," came the reply in a voice I recognized as Daniel's. "What can he prove?"
My heart pounded. Daniel was back? Xavier had banned him from the house.
I crept closer to the partially open door and peered through the c***k.
What I saw made my blood run cold.
Rosiana was pressed against the bookshelf, Daniel's hands on either side of her head, their bodies intimately close.
"He's weak," Rosiana whispered. "Always has been. Playing the noble gentleman while you take what you want."
"Just like when we were children," Daniel murmured against her neck. "You always preferred the stronger brother."
"This marriage is purely business," she continued, her fingers trailing down his chest. "My family needs the Reynolds connection, and his family needs our political influence. But once we're married..."
"Once you're married, you'll be my sister-in-law," Daniel said with a dark smile. "How scandalous."
"The scandal would be if people knew how I really feel," Rosiana breathed. "How I've always felt."
I watched in horror as Daniel tilted her chin up, their faces inches apart.
"Three more months," he said. "Then you'll be Mrs. Xavier Reynolds by day..."
"And yours every night," she finished.
Their lips met in a passionate kiss that made my stomach turn. This wasn't the first time they moved together with familiar intimacy, hands roaming with practiced ease.
I stumbled backward, my hand flying to my mouth to muffle my gasp. The floor creaked under my foot.
Both of them froze.
"What was that?" Rosiana hissed.
I ran…
- Writer
