Chapter 3
1147 Words
I woke up to the sound of my bedroom door slamming open.
Before I could even process what was happening, two pairs of rough hands grabbed my arms and yanked me out of bed. I hit the cold marble floor with a painful thud.
"Ouch!" I hissed, rubbing my elbow as I struggled to my feet. "What is the meaning of this?"
Two maids stood before me with smug expressions. One of them carried a neatly folded black-and-white maid's uniform.
"Hey, newbie," the taller one scoffed, tossing the uniform at me. "You don't speak to your seniors like that. You sleep like a log of wood."
The other maid folded her arms with a mocking smile.
"No, Maria," she corrected dramatically. "She sleeps like a princess."
Maria burst into laughter.
"Oh, Ann, you're absolutely right. A maid princess. Probably a messy one too."
The two women laughed as though they had just made the funniest joke in the world.
"I don't have time for this," I muttered, brushing past them.
I barely took two steps before Ann grabbed my wrist.
With surprising strength, she shoved me backward, sending me crashing onto the bed.
Well... one disadvantage of not being fat.
She leaned over me, her eyes hard.
"Now listen carefully. We are your seniors in this mansion. You're beneath us. You do whatever we tell you, run whatever errands we give you, and never question us. The boss won't even notice if you disappear, so get that into your thick skull."
I slowly sat up, refusing to let her see how angry I was.
Maria stepped forward with narrowed eyes.
"And I saw the way Sir Alessandro looked at you last night."
I frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
She ignored my question.
"You little seductress. Stay away from him. If I catch you trying anything, you'll regret ever stepping into this mansion."
Like hell I'd ever like him.
I already hated both of you.
"Let's go, Ann," Maria said after shooting me one last warning glare.
The two women stormed out, slamming the door so hard the walls seemed to shake.
Silence filled the room.
I let out a long sigh.
"What a dramatic way to start the morning."
Honestly, I couldn't even blame them completely.
Sir Alessandro Vittorio De Luca was ridiculously handsome. Cold, mysterious, filthy rich, and powerful. I had seen enough women stare at him yesterday to understand why these maids were acting as though he belonged to them.
Still...
They were crazy.
I stood up, stretched my aching body, and walked into the bathroom.
Thankfully, I wasn't the type to spend hours bathing.
Within fifteen minutes, I was dressed in the maid's uniform.
To my surprise, it fit perfectly, hugging my figure without being too tight.
At least they got my size right.
I smiled slightly at my reflection before leaving the room.
As I struggled to pull up the zipper at the side of my waist, I walked absentmindedly through the hallway.
Then...
Bang!
I collided with something hard.
Very hard.
Definitely not a wall.
Rubbing my forehead, I looked up.
My heart nearly stopped.
Standing before me was none other than Alessandro Vittorio De Luca himself.
No...
Not this early in the morning.
His towering frame blocked the hallway completely. His black dress shirt hugged his muscular body perfectly, while the sleeves rolled up to his forearms revealed veins that somehow looked intimidating.
His sharp jaw tightened.
"Don't you watch where you're going?" he asked in his deep baritone voice.
His voice alone was enough to make anyone nervous.
"I-I'm sorry, sir," I quickly apologized, lowering my head respectfully.
Instead of answering immediately, he simply stared at me.
One second.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
His piercing gray eyes remained fixed on my face without revealing a single emotion.
Seriously...
Did this man ever blink?
His expression was like carved marble—cold, unreadable, impossible to understand.
What was he even doing in the servants' quarters?
As though he had heard my thoughts, he finally spoke.
"You don't have the right to question me."
His cold gaze swept over me.
"Such a low life."
Without another word, he walked away.
I remained frozen.
What did he just call me?
Low life?
Wow.
People could really be rude.
I rolled my eyes after he disappeared around the corner.
"Good morning to you too, Your Majesty."
Thankfully, I refused to let one arrogant billionaire ruin my day.
Taking a deep breath, I headed downstairs.
The servants were already gathered in neat lines inside the grand hall.
Everyone stood quietly while the elderly butler, Mr. Moretti, held a clipboard and assigned duties one by one.
He looked strict but far kinder than the people I had met so far.
"Good morning," a soft voice beside me said.
I turned to find a smiling girl around my age.
"I'm Juliet."
I smiled back.
"I'm Alice."
"You're the new maid, right?"
"Yes. I arrived yesterday."
She nodded.
"I came here about a month ago."
"Then you're still new yourself."
She laughed.
"I guess so."
For the first time since arriving at the mansion, I felt comfortable talking to someone.
Juliet seemed warm and genuine.
"So," she asked quietly, "how has your first day been?"
I hesitated.
"Interesting."
She chuckled.
"That bad?"
I leaned closer.
"I accidentally bumped into the boss this morning."
Her smile vanished instantly.
"Shhh!"
She glanced around nervously before lowering her voice.
"What did you do?"
"I... bumped into him."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
Juliet sighed in relief.
"You scared me."
I blinked.
"Why?"
"Sir Alessandro hates being touched. No one dares invade his personal space unless they're family or someone he deeply trusts."
"Oh."
"I thought he would've fired you immediately."
I shrugged.
"He only called me a low life."
Juliet winced.
"That's... actually better than I expected."
I couldn't help laughing.
"Your boss is terrifying."
"You'll get used to him."
"I doubt that."
She smiled sympathetically.
"Just avoid making the same mistake again."
"I definitely will."
Before either of us could continue talking, Mr. Moretti cleared his throat loudly.
"Silence."
The entire hall fell quiet.
He adjusted his glasses and began calling names.
"Kitchen staff..."
Several maids stepped forward.
"Garden maintenance..."
More servants answered.
Then his eyes landed on me.
"Alice."
"Yes, sir."
"You'll report directly to the east wing."
Murmurs spread among the servants.
Juliet's eyes widened.
"The east wing?" she whispered.
I frowned.
"Is something wrong?"
Before she could answer, Maria smirked from the opposite line.
"Oh, this should be interesting."
Mr. Moretti looked at me calmly.
"From today onward, your primary responsibility will be cleaning the private floor occupied by Sir Alessandro Vittorio De Luca."
The entire hall fell into stunned silence.
Every pair of eyes turned toward me.
And somehow...
I had a terrible feeling my peaceful first week in this mansion had just come to an end.
- Writer
