ADAM’S POVI have almost recovered, and the thought of Aria leaving fills me with dread. Every night, I lie awake, worrying about the moment she might say she's going. I don't want her to leave, but I also don't want to remain in this vulnerable state. It makes me feel less of a man, and I despise the idea of faking my recovery to keep her here.Aria has been taking on so much around the house, often making breakfast for us. I wanted to tell her to stop, that she doesn’t need to act like a maid, but she took that step on her own, which is a relief. She ordered food for everyone the other day, telling the maids there would be no cooking required. The genuine respect they showed her was heartwarming. Instead of needing to command them to respect her, they did so willingly. I even overheard the maids praising Aria.“She’s such a kind-hearted lady.”“This never happened before.”Caroline, however, remains distant and reserved, but that’s nothing new. She’s always been like that. She’s the
ARIA’S POVThe twilight wraps the garden in a shroud of tranquil hues, the sky shifting from deep indigo to a softer blend of violet and navy. Each stroke of the brush seems to echo the delicate balance between day and night, capturing a fleeting moment of serenity that has always eluded me. The cool air whispers through the leaves, and the distant hum of crickets adds a gentle rhythm to my creative process. In this ethereal light, the garden transforms into a sacred space where time seems to slow, allowing me to lose myself completely in the act of painting.The garden has been my refuge, a sanctuary from the chaos that often swirled around me, both at Adam’s house and at work. During those dark days, when the world felt unbearably heavy, I would slip from my bed and seek solace beneath the open sky. The night’s embrace, with its veil of stars and moonlight, offered a respite from the incessant noise of my thoughts. I’d sit among the flowers and shrubs, the cool grass a soothing balm
ARIA’S POVCaroline’s attitude has curdled like spoiled milk, permeating every interaction we have with an acidity that’s impossible to ignore. It's as though, in Elodie’s absence, she believes she’s been promoted to some unspoken role—a self-appointed matriarch, lording over the household as if it were her domain.But it’s more than that. It’s the entitlement that comes from her years of service to Adam, a role she’s clearly let swell in her mind. Does she truly believe that just because she cared for him since he was a child, she’s somehow elevated to the status of my “mother-in-law”? Or perhaps it’s something darker—maybe she’s still clinging to the past, to the days when I was married to Adam and reduced to less than a maid in this very house. Back then, Caroline treated me with thinly veiled disdain, always ensuring I knew my place beneath her. Does she think those days can somehow be resurrected now, that she can still exercise her will over me as she did then?It’s almost laugh
ADAM’S POVI stand frozen near the door, my heart sinking as I witness the confrontation between Aria and Caroline. The venom in Caroline’s voice, the coldness in her eyes—it’s a side of her I’ve never seen before, and it chills me to the core. Caroline has always been my favorite, a steady presence in my life who I thought could do no wrong. But now, as I see her treating Aria with such disdain, such utter disrespect, I feel a wave of shock and disgust crash over me.Aria’s words, sharp and unyielding, cut through the air like a blade. Each one is a revelation, a window into a reality I’ve been blind to for far too long. The commanding tone Caroline used, the expectation that Aria would simply comply without question—it all feels eerily familiar, like a haunting echo from the past. It reminds me of the way Eva and my mother used to treat those they deemed beneath them, the way they wielded power like a weapon. I never thought Caroline, of all people, would act in the same way. But he
ARIA’S POVSeeing Adam at the door, a look of shock etched across his face, is something I hadn’t anticipated. His eyes dart between Caroline and me, struggling to comprehend the confrontation he’s just witnessed. It’s clear that this is a side of his favorite maid he’s never seen before—the condescending, manipulative woman who has tried for years to keep me in my place, believing herself to be above me in every way.For a moment, we just stand there, the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a knife. I can see the questions brewing in his mind, the disbelief slowly giving way to realization.“Has it always been like this?”When he finally speaks, his voice is quiet, almost hesitant, as if he’s afraid of the answer. He asks if this has always been the case, if Caroline has always treated me like this. I nod, feeling a mixture of vindication and sadness as I finally lay it all out in the open.“It was thanks to you, Adam.”Yes, I tell him, this is how it’s always been. But it w
ARIA’S POV“How dare you insult Aria? You’re FIRED!”Adam’s decision to fire Caroline hits us both like a bolt from the blue. We stand there, equally baffled, as his words hang in the air, their finality unmistakable. This was not what I expected. I knew he was angry, that he felt guilty for not recognizing how badly I was treated, but this…this is a level of decisiveness I hadn’t anticipated.In that moment, it becomes clear that once Adam is done, he’s truly done. I recall how he didn’t hesitate to leave his sister behind bars when she crossed a line, or to place his mother in a retirement home when she became too difficult to handle. And Caroline—she’s just a maid, after all. But still, the swiftness of his decision is shocking.“Please, Adam…. Please don’t do this to me.”Caroline, on her knees now, crawls towards Adam, her dignity abandoned in a desperate plea for mercy. She begs him, her voice choked with fear and regret. The sight of her, reduced to this state, would have once
ARIA’S POVWith Caroline out of Adam’s house, her sobs echoing in the halls as she leaves, I can’t help but feel a pang of unease. There’s a sense of finality in her departure, but also an underlying fear. I wonder if I’ve just made another enemy.You never know how people will react when their world is turned upside down, and Caroline, despite being at fault, may still harbor a grudge. People these days, regardless of their wrongdoings, often feel justified in seeking revenge, as if their insolence and crime deserve no punishment.Life around here settles into a strange, uneasy calm. Work continues as usual, and Adam is nearly fully recovered. On the surface, everything seems normal, but there’s a tension in the air that wasn’t there before. It’s as if we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the consequences of Caroline’s dismissal to manifest in some unforeseen way. I can’t shake the feeling that this calm is only temporary, that something else is brewing beneath the surfa
ARIA’S POVThe evening at Adam's place has a strange tension in the air, the kind that seems to settle in the corners of the room, waiting to pounce at the most inconvenient moment. Regis is here tonight, and although it's been a long time since we last saw each other, the memory of our last encounter lingers between us like a ghost.That stunt he pulled at the restaurant when I was out with Tony was supposed to be forgotten, but the weight of his overprotectiveness, his concern, and his unspoken feelings for me have made it impossible to erase.“How has it been, Aria?”“Pretty rough.”As we gather around the dinner table, I find myself hyper-aware of Regis' presence. He’s seated across from me, and though he tries to keep the conversation light and casual, there’s an undercurrent of something more—something deeper and more complicated that neither of us seems willing to address. I catch him watching me out of the corner of his eye, his expression a mix of fondness and something that