Aston’s Maid

Two

Aston continued to stare at me with those unnerving eyes of his, not saying a word. I knew I shouldn’t care, but I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in that demonic head of his. I was here to answer the summon so he should accept me and put me to work. He could even humiliate me as much as he wanted, I wasn’t afraid of him.

Stop lying to yourself. You’re terrified of him.

Okay, I was scared but I couldn’t let him know. This was it for me. I had to be the one to answer the summon and protect my family from Aston and his darkness.

The rest of his cousins were no longer paying any attention to us, but I knew they were aware of what was transpiring over here. They were too smart not to.

“Yes. My maid,” Aston finally said, causing a shiver to run down my spine. “But I summoned Harlow here.”

“I have answered the summon, Master, therefore, it is only fitting that I become your maid,” I replied, doing my best to sound confident. I couldn’t let him get to Harlow. My family did not deserve to be a slave to the likes of him.

Aston shook his head. “That’s not how this works,” he said. “This job is for Harlow, specifically. You can’t be a substitute for her.”

“Harlow was unable to answer the summon, so I am here to do this job. I may not be Harlow but I have my own strengths, and I can do everything she can,” I argued.

He shook his head and looked at Kalen. “Where’s Grant? Tell him to send someone and bring Harlow to me. I will not tolerate disobedience.”

“No!” The word came out louder than I intended and immediately regretted it. Aston’s eyes hardened and I knew I’d crossed a line. “I—I mean i—it’s not re—required. I—I can be a perfectly good maid. I even know how to do all the stuff a maid is required to do. No need to send for Harlow. I assure you, Master, I will not let you down.”

His eyes narrowed to slits which told me he wasn’t buying into my bullshit. Aston was smart that way; they all were. But I needed him to accept me as his maid. If he insisted on bringing Harlow then I didn’t know what to do and how to protect my family. Aston Diamandis was a cruel and sadistic man and he would ruin Harlow. I was sure of it. That’s why I was here. And I was ready for him to ruin me.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but it’s almost as if you’re eager for me to take you on instead of your sister. I never knew anybody who will be so eager to be my maid,” he remarked, his voice soft which told me he was becoming suspicious.

I swallowed and tried to look for the best response. “Hardly, Master. Anyone will be eager to serve you. I saw a particularly eager woman who really needed the job of being your maid but Master Kalen threw her out.”

“Kalen is not your Master!” Aston roared, his eyes blazing with a strange intensity. “You address me as Master and nobody else, do you understand that?”

I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry. “Forgive me for my ignorance, Master.”

Aston continued to stare at me and I just wished he would stop and give me the list of chores he expected me to do on a daily basis and let me go. I couldn’t take more of his creepy presence. The man was too beautiful to be real.

“Being my maid will require more than you expect,” he said.

“I’m a quick learner,” I responded. I would just need to learn how to serve him from his previous maid and I’d be okay. The only thing I had to worry about was keeping Aston’s attention on me. He shouldn’t be thinking about Harlow or the other members of my family.

“Who’s going to teach her?” This came from Colton and the room came to a standstill all of a sudden. It was like all nine of them froze for some time before Aston blinked and the world went back to normal. Did I imagine all that?

Aston shot Colton a pointed look which was so filled with meaning and secrets that I felt I was drowning. What was going on in here? It was clear they were hiding something and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.

“We’ll see just how fast you learn. And considering you’re not the one I want, I will have to be more strict with you. I can’t give you room for mistakes. One wrong move and I will have Harlow dragged in here and lick the bottom of my shoes,” he stated, his words slicing into me like knives. I knew he was cruel, that’s why I wanted to keep my family away from him and I would make sure I was the perfect maid to him.

I nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry. I won’t give you any reason to complain.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Be careful of your words, Harmony, I have a habit of taking them literally.” He meant it as a warning but I knew I had to follow through with them if I had any chance of surviving in this Hell. And I needed to survive.

“You can take them as literally as you wish, Master. I always stay true to my word,” I stated.

“Always? That’s a big word for such a little girl,” he replied and I could feel my temper sparking. He was patronizing me. If he were any other man I would’ve shown him exactly what this little girl could do but as it was he was the one with all the power. “Alright, I guess I can test you out; see if you can handle this. If not, then Harlow is there but if you prove yourself then I’ll just keep you.”

I knew this was not a place or moment to celebrate but I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Aston would be busy with me and would not be bothering my family which was all I wanted. I would have to make sure to keep his focus on me. If he got to Harlow, I knew he would humiliate her to the point of making her lose her self respect and I couldn’t allow that. My sister deserved a bright future rather than worrying about being summoned by the Master.

“Thank you, Master,” I said, forcing myself to look away from him but failing to. His eyes had that effect on people. Once they captured you, it was nearly impossible for you to free yourself.

“I do have one condition…”

This time a smirk curved his lips and his eyes filled with amusement. “Condition? You really think you have the right to demand anything of me?”

“I know I don’t but I need this from you,” I said, hoping he’d take pity on me and give me this one thing. “I swear, if you give me this, I will never demand anything from you. Nothing at all.”

“Is it just me or is she a strange one?” Noah remarked and Aston’s smirk widened.

“You may not demand anything of me but if I give you whatever it is you want, then I will demand whatever I want and you will have no option but to give it to me.” He leaned forward. “And I mean anything.”

I was an i***t, I knew exactly what he meant and what I was getting myself into. If I agreed to this, then Aston could do whatever he wanted, even kill me and no one—especially my family—would be able to do anything about it. But this was important to me. So I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I understand. But it’s important for me, so I’ll be grateful if you… if you’ll agree to my condition,” I stated, forcing my voice to remain strong. I couldn’t show weakness to Aston. If he so much as got a whiff, he would pounce. Aston Diamandis was a hunter and I had no intention of being his prey.

He was intrigued, I could see it on his face. But that didn’t mean anything. If I was able to decipher the emotions on Aston’s face, it was because he was letting me see them. If he didn’t want me to know, then he would make sure I would never know a thing about him.

“What is your condition?”

“While I’m here serving you, for however long that may be, I don’t want you to tell my family. They mustn’t know I’m here serving you as your maid. They must never know,” I stated. I really wanted to say all this to him in private but that was impossible.

His eyes turned to slits and silence once again dominated the room. I really wanted to take the time to observe the room. I knew about the ornate light fixtures and the expensive chandelier hanging from the center of the room. But the couches and the bar which was situated in one corner was something I’d yet to explore. If Aston agreed to my demand, then I would get to have access to everything in this house. At least I thought I would.

“You haven’t told them you’ll be coming here?” He asked.

I shook my head. “I didn’t get a chance to tell them.”

The truth was, no one ever wanted to be summoned by the Diamandis. If by some misfortune your Master summoned you then one could easily kiss their freedom goodbye. And that’s exactly what I was going to do.

He arched an eyebrow; the amusement in his eyes growing. “So you’re telling me that you’re ready to forfeit your life and your family should never know about it,” he said it as more of a statement rather than a question. There really was nothing to question, I was here of my own free will and I couldn’t leave until Aston wanted.

“Yes,” I muttered, my voice dropping to a whisper. I had no idea how I was going to hide this from my family, but I knew if they got to know then they would be devastated and Harlow would definitely want to take my place and serve Aston the way she was meant to. But I couldn’t do that to her. Harlow was on her way to becoming an excellent architect and I couldn’t let Aston destroy her life and her dream. But no one could refuse the Diamandis, so I was here.

Aston turned to his cousins. “What do you all think? What would you do if you were in my place?”

The question surprised me. I didn’t expect Aston to care about anybody else’s opinions but his own. And here he was asking his cousins.

“I would kill her, no questions asked. She’s not the one I summoned, so death is the only action I would’ve carried out,” Colten stated, his words stabbing my heart with fear.

“I’m with Colt,” said Kalen.

“Me too,” Noah added.

I swallowed hard and tried to look for an escape. If Aston went with the authority then I was dead. And no one would be able to do anything about it. Even if my family wanted to complain to the police, they wouldn’t be able to because my entire family belonged to the Diamandis by law. Sometimes, I really hated my life.

Aston looked at me. “Death.” He let the word linger and I didn’t know why. If he was expecting me to cower or give him some kind of a reaction, then he would be disappointed. “An interesting idea.”

Silence. That was the only response I had for him. However, I really wanted to give him a piece of my mind and tell him exactly what I thought of him and his ridiculous summon.

“But I think having you serve me will be more entertaining.” He was clearly talking to himself. “Yes, I think death would be too merciful and I don’t know mercy.” He paused then focused his golden eyes on me. “Have Grant bring the contract and make sure she signs it. I have more important matters to attend to.” Aston stood up and instead of going towards the door like I expected him to he strode over to me. Placing both of his hands on the arm rests on either side of me he leaned forward until those demonic eyes captured me once again. “Once you finish signing the contract, I want you in my room. Stay there until I return. If I don’t find you there, then I will summon your sister here and we both know what will happen if I do that, correct?”

If he hadn’t chosen to threaten me even then I would’ve obeyed him without any argument, but he clearly told me how disobeying him wasn’t something I could even think of doing. I’d told him to keep my presence here a secret from my family, but inadvertently I’d handed complete control over to him. I could see it in his eyes. Aston Diamandis was going to use my family against me and I would let him. I wouldn’t fight him. I couldn’t.

I nodded. “Don’t worry. I told you I always keep my word. I’m here to serve you and that is what I’m going to do. I will be there in your room when you return unless you tell me otherwise.”

I couldn’t be afraid. Not anymore. I was doing this so my family could be safe; so my sister could live her life the way she wanted. I wanted Harlow to be a successful architect and marry her boyfriend and have a family of her own. I wanted my parents to be safe and happy. And if I had to turn to ash to make it happen I would.

Aston’s gaze lingered on me for a few more seconds before he stood up and strode out of the room, closing the door behind him, leaving me with the rest of his cousins and a contract that would make me his forever.