Chapter 3 - Dismissed Melody

Lady Loretta was dismissing the maids to clear the used plates and empty bottles, and to tidy up the living room after the guests had left her mansion. She noticed the lady wincing in pain and alighting the staircase with much difficulty.

"Melody," Lady Loretta looked shocked upon seeing how disheveled Melody looked, like she was beaten to stupor.

"What happened to you?" Lady Loretta inquired in shock, while the maids in the living room paused to look at Melody. They gasped at the horror at which they previously arrogant lady now look.

"Madam, it was one of the maids. The maid you assigned to show me to the top floor. She dealt with me." Melody managed to speak, her cheeks were visibly swollen.

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

While Lady Loretta was busy questioning Melody after the guests had left the mansion, Derrick walked back into the living room and was stunned to see there was still a guest present.

"She did this, ma'am. I cannot lie to you. Miranda lied about me to Master Derrick, and after he left us, she pounced upon me and dealt with me to this extent. She is evil, ma'am." Melody started crying upon seeing Derrick looking at her.

"What's happening here, Mom?" As Derrick asked the question, he strolled up to meet his mother.

"Mom, you know it's already late. You should get some rest," Derrick said, not casting a glance at Melody, who had expected him to summon Miranda.

After Melody lost her job, she expected Miranda to lose her job as a maid in the exquisite villa. Melody knew she didn't stand a chance of getting closer to Derrick again. He was mostly busy in the office and attending business-class meetings. Similarly, she didn't have an excuse to use to see him. Alexa was there as his secretary, and many other top female staff members long to be with Derrick.

"Mom," Derrick whispered, looking at his aged mother, whose hair was filled with gray hair. 

Derrick frowned, and his mother said, "Derrick, I will return to my room. But where is Miranda if Melody accuses Miranda of beating her up?"

"Do not worry yourself, Mother. I will have the bodyguards investigate what happened. Melody, you may leave us now," Derrick dismissed. He does not care to summon Miranda out.

Derrick walked with his mother along the stairs and assisted her in returning to her room on the top floor. It took Lady Loretta hours to climb the flight of stairs, and Derrick considered relocating his mother's room to a room on the ground floor.

Arriving at his mother's room door, Derrick paused and gently opened the door. The maid knows it is best to avoid him, when he is with his mother.

"Mom, you should get enough rest. I don't want anything to go wrong with you," Derrick said to his mother in a gentle voice after assisting her to climb on her bed. 

Lady Loretta and Derrick were both dark in complexion. She smiled at her son's care and replied, "I am fine, but you know what will make me happy and rest well is if you settle down. Your father had worked so hard to acquire all this wealth for you. I am over 70 years old, and you don't expect me to remain youthful. You should consider marrying a wife. It's not until you get to thirty that you should do so, my son."

Derrick held his mother's warm left hand, as she laid on the bed and said, "My wish for you is that you should 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, and watching you both from heaven."

"Mom," Derrick interrupted his mother's words with a deep scowl. "You are not leaving me anytime soon." Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes; his mother mostly spoke to him about leaving, and he wished he could trade their family wealth for a longer life span with her, so that she wouldn't leave him anytime soon.

"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 get married, and to see the next heir of Luis corporation."

"That's fine, Mom. I guess I should leave you to rest now. Have a sound sleep," Derrick said and leaned over, kissing his mother's forehead goodnight. 

She smiled and watched him exit her room.

Meanwhile, in the master's bathroom of the exquisite mansion, Miranda soaked herself inside a pristine, warm bathtub.

"Oh my goodness! This feels so good," she exclaimed, enjoying her bath and not caring for the consequences of her actions.

Miranda had hurried into this room, and it was totally different from the other rooms that she was assigned to take care of downstairs.

The room had white plain walls, the bathroom was beautiful, and also the inviting bed.

Miranda flee into the bathroom to have a shower.

"Mm," she mumbled, enjoying herself in a cool night bath.

After dealing with the silly Melody who dared to slap her, Miranda thought to show Melody what it feels like to be disrespected.

 She was not a lady to take shit from others, but after coming from a lower-class family and also becoming an orphan at a younger age, Miranda knew the world had no respect for the poor. So, she wanted to become rich, even if it meant climbing on others to attain that. She admires the good life, wants a good job, and wants to own a big supermarket or shopping mall in her name.

Thinking about her life struggles, Miranda didn't care how much time she had spent soaking herself in this exquisite, pristine bathtub.

The bubbling waters filled with scented soap soothe her body, and accompanied by the chilly weather of the night, Miranda doesn't feel like coming out of the bath.

She wanted to sleep there and forget all her worries. She had even let her blonde hair cascade behind her back. 

She was extremely beautiful, but she remembered the hard slap that Melody had given her.

Miranda felt like strangling Melody's neck, but she knew she would be jailed and no one would come for her rescue.

"Mmmmm." Miranda continued enjoying herself inside the bathtub 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; however, reality dawned on her that she was in one of the master's rooms.

"I hope this isn't Master Derrick's bedroom," Miranda muttered, however she heard the bathroom door slide.