Chapter 3. Mother's advice

As Lady Loretta dismissed the maids to clear the used plates and empty bottles and to tidy up the living room after all the guests had left her mansion, she noticed Melody wincing in pain as she descended the staircase with great difficulty.

"Melody," Lady Loretta said, shocked upon seeing how disheveled Melody looked, as though she had been beaten senseless.

"What happened to you?" Lady Loretta inquired, her shock evident, while the other maids in the living room paused to look at Melody and gasped at the horror they now saw.

"Milady, it was one of the maids—the one you assigned to show me to the top floor. She dealt with me," Melody managed to say, her cheeks visibly swollen.

"You mean Miranda did this to you? I don’t believe it. Miranda is innocent and cannot hurt a fly. Ever since she has been working here, she hasn’t gotten into a fight with any of the maids, to my knowledge. Are you sure you’re referring to Miranda, or did another maid do this to you?"

While the older woman questioned Melody, Derrick walked back into the living room and looked stunned to see that there was still a guest left.

“She did this, ma'am. I can’t lie to you. Miranda lied about me to Master Derrick, and after he left, she pounced on me and dealt with me to this extent. She is evil, ma'am,” Melody sobbed as she caught Derrick's gaze.

"What’s happening here, Mom?" Derrick asked as he walked toward his mother.

“Mom, it’s already late. You should get some rest,” Derrick said, not glancing at Melody, who had expected him to summon the maid.

After losing her job, Melody anticipated that Miranda would also be dismissed from her position as a maid in the exquisite villa. She knew she didn’t stand a chance of getting closer to Derrick again; he was mostly busy at the office and attending business meetings. Additionally, she had no good excuse to see him. Alexa was there as his secretary, along with many other top female staff who longed to be with Derrick.

“Mom,” Derrick said, looking at his aged mother, whose hair was filled with gray. Derrick frowned as Lady Loretta said, “Derrick, I will return to my room. But where is Miranda if Melody accused her of beating her up?”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I will have the guards investigate what happened. Melody, you may leave now,” Derrick dismissed Melody, not caring to summon Miranda.

He walked with his mother toward the stairs and helped her back to her room on the top floor. It took the older lady a long time to climb the flight of stairs, and Derrick considered relocating her room to the ground floor.

Arriving at Lady Loretta Luis’s door, Derrick paused and gently opened it. The maids 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 spoke to his mother in a hushed tone after helping her climb into bed. Lady Loretta and Derrick both had dark complexions. She smiled at her son’s care and replied, “I am fine, but you know what would make me happy and allow me to rest well: for you to settle down. Your father worked so hard to acquire all this wealth for you. I am already over 70 years old, and you don’t expect me to remain youthful. You should consider marrying a wife. You don’t have to wait until you’re thirty.”

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, and take good care of you while I am away, watching you both from heaven.”

“Mom,” Derrick interrupted with a frown. “You aren’t leaving me anytime soon.” Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. His mother often spoke to him 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 have to go for the world to become balanced and to allow our generations to continue from where we stopped. But I am not leaving you anytime soon. I still want to see you settle down first and to see the next heir of the Luis firm.”

“That’s fine, Mom. I guess I should leave you to rest now. Have a good 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 exquisite mansion, Miranda soaked in a warm bath in one of the luxurious rooms.

“Oh my goodness! This feels so good,” she said, bathing without a care for the consequences of her actions.

She had hurried into this room, which was entirely different from the other rooms she was assigned to care for downstairs.

“Mm,” Miranda mumbled, enjoying herself in a soothing bath. After dealing with the rude lady who dared to slap her, Miranda thought to show Melody what it felt like to be on the receiving end of disdain. She was not someone to take disrespect from anyone, but having come from a lower-class family and becoming an orphan at a young age, Miranda knew the world had no respect for the poor. Thus, she wanted to become rich, even if it meant stepping on others to achieve that. She admired a good life and aspired to own a large supermarket or shopping mall in her name.

Thinking about her struggles, Miranda didn’t care how much time she had spent soaking in the exquisite, large pristine bathtub. The bubbling water, filled with scented soaps, soothed her body, and the chilly night air made her not want to leave the bath. She wanted to sleep there and forget all her worries. She even let down her blonde hair to fall behind her back; she was extremely beautiful. But remembering the slap Melody had given her, Miranda felt like strangling that lady's neck. However, she knew she would be jailed, and no one would come to her rescue.

“Mmmmm,” Miranda sighed in pleasure until she heard the sound of the room door shut.

“Who’s there?” Miranda asked, thinking she was in her maid room on the lower floor of the mansion. Reality dawned on her that she was in one of the children’s rooms belonging to the lady of the house.

“I hope this isn’t Master Derrick’s room,” Miranda muttered to herself until she heard the bathroom door slide open.