1.

Iris stood in front of the sophisticated coffee machine with her head hanging low. She had a terrible headache as a result of the lack of adequate sleep.

She watched the dark liquid drip silently into her step-sister’s favourite white mug with a struggle because her eyes kept closing as exhaustion took over her slowly.

“Hurry up, Iris. Miss Helen already has a frown on her face” Alanna told her with a worried glance in her direction as she scrambled to grab the plates of pancakes off the table as the chef served them.

“Oh shit" Iris cried our softly, now alert. "it’s too early for her to be grumpy. She is going to torment me today” Her best friend threw her a sympathetic look because she was well aware of how terrible Helen got when she had it out for her.

“Just get coffee to the hall now, hurry” Alanna told her before disappearing again.

She quickly grabbed the mug and dumped two sugars and a little cream into the cup just how Helen liked it before placing the cup on a tray and running towards the dining hall, careful not to spill it if she didn’t want her blood to also be on the tray along with the spilt coffee.

Her father, Stephen sat at the head of the oversized table with his wife, Vera who was chatting happily while he grunted occasionally in reply but his attention was on the newspaper in his hand. Iris always wondered why Stephen liked to read the paper instead of using the internet.

Iris felt her heart lurch a little when she saw Alanna was right and Helen had a frown on her face as she typed furiously on her phone. Her knees buckled in nervous anticipation because she knew with Helen already slightly pissed, there was nothing she could do to prevent the nightmare that would rain down on her today.

She placed the cup of coffee and took a step back and watched as Helen shifted her attention from her phone to her coffee which she grabbed to take a sip.

Iris almost breathed out in relief when she didn’t lash out at her but the relief didn’t last as a snarl passed Helen’s lips and she was on her feet immediately.

Iris felt the slap before she saw the movement of the hand and before she knew it, her body had dropped to the floor as a result of how hard the smack was.

The hall grew silent as everyone’s attention was now on both ladies but no one dared to come forward to stop it if they didn’t want to experience the wrath of Helen.

“What nonsense is this?” Helen yelled before using her hand to swipe the cup off the table. The mug shattered loudly and Iris hissed in pain as some of the coffee spilled onto her legs.

“Is this how to make my coffee?” Helen continued to scream but Iris made sure to keep her mouth shut if she didn’t want to make things worse for herself.

“You are the dumbest person alive. How can you still not make a proper cup of coffee after living in the kitchen all your life or are you planning to kill me?”

“I’m sorry Helen. I’ll make another cup immediately” Iris scrambled to her feet, moving to pick up the shards left by the cup before it could hurt someone.

“Don’t bother about that before you try to kill me like your useless mother” She hissed and Iris froze in shock.

“Helen” Stephen snapped and Helen huffed before sitting back down after throwing a hateful glare in Iris’s direction.

“Hurry and get her another cup of coffee” Stephen commanded and Iris scrambled out of the room.

Helen’s comments about her mother cut her deeply but it was not the first time and it would probably not be the last. Iris tried not to blame them even when they said harsh words to her.

“She is so annoying Mom. Why do I have to put up with her?" Helen whined.

“Don’t let her spoil your mood, my dear” Iris heard Vera try to soothe her daughter as she practically flew out of the room.

As Iris fled the room, she kept telling herself that she deserved the way she was being treated. After all, she was a bastard child. This was how she lived since she was a child and she didn’t expect it to change anytime soon.

Stephen was a very influential person who got the maid of his wife pregnant so after Iris was born, he made sure that no one was aware of his illegitimate child.

After her mother died when she was two, Iris was turned into a maid but she was treated worse than the other workers and was given twice the work in the mansion.

Anytime Helen and Vera did hurtful things to her, Iris always told herself she deserved it and would have probably done the same if her husband brought in his illegitimate child to live in the same house as her.

She told herself that Vera and Helen were the victims. Vera was cheated on and was forced to see the proof of her husband’s infidelity every day but sometimes, Iris could not help but be affected by the things they said about her and her mother.

She had killed every fibre of her being that held hope that one day Stephen would defend her from the actions of his wife and daughter. He may not say anything to her but she was aware of the hate and disgust in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

She doesn’t waste time in the kitchen, repeating the same actions she did earlier on the coffee before taking it back to the dining hall.

“Here is your cup of coffee.” She told Helen, placing the new cup in front of her. Iris released a shaky breath when she didn't comment after taking a sip and began to type on her phone instead.

“Do you hear from Luca? The engagement is taking too long to be announced and I am on the edge of my patience” Stephen asked Helen who looked up with a scoff.

“I don’t care if he calls me, Daddy. All I need is to get married into that family and become Mrs Rutherford” Helen replied.

Helen had been engaged to Luca Rutherford for almost a year now. He was the heir to one of the biggest conglomerates in the world. The marriage was arranged because Stephen needed the support of the Rutherfords since his business was on the brink of going bankrupt but because of the delay of the engagement announcement, he had been on edge.

“Will you keep quiet?” He snapped and Helen’s eyes widened in surprise. Her Father never raised his voice at her. That side of him was reserved especially for Iris. “You need to remember that you must behave well. This wedding must not be called off for any reason so you better not do anything that will make him angry. I’ve warned you, Helen, you need to always be on your best behaviour.” He warned her.

“How do I behave well and keep him impressed if he doesn’t even call or want to spend time with me? I go to his penthouse every day since he came back to the States but I barely see him and when I do he barely gives me any attention” she whined like a little child.

“How can he not want to marry you? You are the most beautiful girl in the country. He should know how lucky he is to have you as his future wife." Vera reached out to tuck a strand of Helen's hair behind her ears "Don’t worry, he will get married to you. His mother already promised that the wedding will be held.” Her mother said with an encouraging smile.

Helen is indeed a very stunning lady. She stands at 5’6 with a slim model-like figure, natural cat eyes and full lips which gives her a sultry look without her having to put in much effort. She was the complete opposite of Iris’ plain self.

“I’ll be going to his place after breakfast. He usually gets home by midnight so I will probably stay over” The pout on her face turned into a sly smirk mirroring that of her mother.

“You should wear the dress I got for you yesterday. You look sexy in it and I am certain Luca would not be able to take his eyes off you when he sees you in it.” Her mom suggested and Iris felt her stomach churn with disgust she wouldn’t dare show on her face as she kept her head down.

“You know I will. I’ll also try to convince him to tell his mom to hurry up with the engagement. It’s been close to a year now. I need to become Mrs Rutherford as soon as possible”

“I agree with you” Vera said with a slight frown on her face. She was also worried about the delayed announcement of the engagement from the Rutherfords.

“How are the preparations going for the party to host the members of the upper class?” Stephen asked his wife, finally folding the newspaper and dropping it on the table.

“Perfect. The guest list has been decided and everything is set for the party on Friday. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will make sure it all goes well”

“Good. You know this is another opportunity to show the Rutherfords we are capable of becoming their in-laws in case that is the cause of the delay. We need them to invest in the company soon and they won’t do that without the wedding”

“You don’t have to worry. There would be no mistakes during the party. I am certain that they will announce the engagement to the press soon” Vera tried to assure her husband.

“Yes Daddy, you don’t have to be anxious. Everything is going to go as you plan and when I finally become Luca’s wife, we won’t ever have a cause to worry” Helen bragged with stars in her eyes as she imagined what it would be like to be married to Luca.

“Why are you still standing there? Have you finished cleaning the rooms upstairs?” Vera suddenly snapped at Iris.

“No. I was waiting for Helen to finish her breakfast so I could clear the table”

“She is such a good maid, isn’t she, mother?” Helen said with a smirk and turned to look at Iris with a mocking smile before continuing “Don’t worry, Iris. When I become Mrs Rutherford, I’ll take you with me so you can also experience what it’s like to work for the wife of a multi-billionaire” She cackled but her mom frowned at the suggestion.

“She won’t be going with you when you marry Luca. What if she turns out to be like her mother and tries to steal your husband as well? After all, she has the same whorish blood flowing through her veins?”

The room goes black for a moment as despair overwhelms Iris and her vision becomes blurry with tears pooling in her eyes. It should have gotten easier to hear these words but she could never get used to it. How does one get conditioned to such vicious and hurtful words?

“Her?” Helen scoffed “Steal Luca from me?” She paused and examined Iris with such a condescending look that made Iris squirm

“That’s not possible Mom. Look at how filthy and ugly she looks and I'm sure even Luca would not want this swine in his arms. I’m not scared at all, she can never compare to me” She bragged but the concerned look didn't drop from her mother’s face.

“Helen, you can never be too careful with cunning people like her. Look at me, I was so confident that my maid would never snatch my husband but I was so wrong and the reminder is in my face every day” She glared at Stephen who ignored her like she wasn’t referring to him.

“Mom, are you trying to say she is on my level?” She mocked before standing up to poke Iris hard in the chest, making her stumble backwards.

“You think you can compare with me?” She asked shoving Iris again.

“I would not dare. How can I even compare to you, Helen? I’m just a worthless maid” Iris stuttered and made sure not to lift her head because then she would say Iris was trying to challenge her.

“Of course you are worthless and you should always remember your place. You are nothing but the mistake of MY father. A dirty maid that will never be worthy of the Taylor name” She spat and Iris flinched with every word that fell out of her mouth.

Iris's fist clenched at her sides and her body trembled as Helen’s words gutted her painfully. She hated that Helen was correct. She would always be a mistake and the words wrecked her from the inside out.

Iris risked peeking out at Helen from under her lashes to see the sickening smile on her face as she watched Iris try not to fall apart from her words.

She turned to her mother who had a satisfied smile on her face. Vera was proud that her daughter had successfully put Iris in her place once again while Stephen remained stoic and indifferent like he always did in situations like this.

She grabbed her bag off the table and turned to Stephen with a bright smile as if she didn’t just treat her sister lower than dirt.

“Dad, I’m heading over to Luca’s”

“That’s good. You both should spend time together.”

“Make sure to do my Laundry. You better be careful with my limited Saint Laurent dress. If you ruin it, I will rip you to shreds.” She growled at Iris before shoving her with her shoulders. Iris fell on her ass again and Helen gave her a disgusted look over before stepping over her and strutting out of the room.

“What are you still doing on the floor? Hurry up and clear the table or are you going to stay there all day when there are chores to do?” Vera sneered, her lips twisted in scorn as she stared at Iris with hatred.

Iris's knees felt like jelly but she hurried to her feet and began to clean the table. Her heart was aching as she turned and walked back to the kitchen. She hated them all. She hated that she was such a coward that would never stand up to herself.

She knew she didn’t deserve to be treated better because she was a bastard but was it bad to hope that she was treated a little nice?

She knows that she would never be enough to become a Taylor and she so much wanted to blame her mother for giving her such a miserable life but how could she blame someone who was just a victim of falling in love with a cold-hearted person like Stephen?