Eliza felt Celine’s presence before she even saw her.
Some people entered a room quietly. Celine Hart entered with the confidence of a woman who had never heard the word no in her life.
Her perfume,the sharp, expensive kind,drifted through the hallway long before her heels clicked across the marble floors. The air thickened around her, as if the mansion itself stiffened when she walked inside.
Eliza was arranging fresh linens in the hallway closet when she heard their voices.
Celine’s first.
Smooth. Sharp.
Almost smug.
“I’m back, darling. Miss me?”
Alexander’s reply was clipped. Controlled.
“You’re early.”
Eliza froze.
Something ugly twisted inside her chest.
She didn’t want to listen—but she couldn’t make herself walk away either.
She moved quietly to the corner, staying out of sight.
Celine laughed, low and sultry. “Can’t a woman surprise her favorite man?”
Alexander’s sigh was audible. “You’re here for work, Celine. Don’t make this difficult.”
“Oh, Alexander.”
Her voice dripped with false pity.
“You’ve changed. Since she arrived.”
Eliza stiffened.
She knew exactly who “she” meant.
Alexander stood behind his desk, jaw tight.
He’d been trying to avoid this exact confrontation, but Celine was relentless.
She shut the study door slowly, locking it behind her without breaking eye contact.
“Celine,” he said sharply, “unlock the door.”
She smiled as she leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You didn’t mind locked doors last time.”
“That was a mistake,” he replied coldly.
“You used to be fun. Dangerous. Untouchable. Now you’re… soft.” Said celine.
Alexander’s eyes narrowed. “What did you find on Eliza?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, please. We’ll get to the little maid later.”
“Her name is Eliza,” he snapped.
That made Celine pause.
Her lips curved slowly. “Oh. So it’s like that now.”
“It’s professional,” he lied.
Celine laughed—sharp, mocking. “Alexander Drake, undone by a pair of big, soft brown eyes and dish soap?”
His jaw clenched. “Watch your mouth.”
She sauntered closer, placing her hands on the edge of his desk.
Her blouse dipped low, her perfume overwhelming.
“I could remind you what a real woman feels like,” she whispered. “We could forget this little delusion you’re entertaining.”
He stepped back.
“No.”
Her eyes flickered with irritation. “You’re choosing her?”
“I’m choosing boundaries.”
“You mean you’re choosing a maid. A stray.”
Alexander’s expression iced over. “Celine.”
“A nobody,” she pressed. “A girl who scrubs floors and looks at you like you’re God. No education. No background. No family. You have no idea where she came from, what she’s hiding”
“Enough,” he said, voice dangerously low.
But Celine had tasted blood.
“She’s beneath you, Alexander. And you don’t even realize it because you’re blinded by whatever pathetic attachment you think you have. She’s a pretty distraction. That’s all.”
Alexander stepped forward so fast she flinched.
“Don’t speak about her like that,” he growled.
The room went still.
Celine blinked—and a slow smile returned.
“Oh, Alexander,” she breathed, delighted. “You’re in so much trouble.”
Outside the study, Eliza’s heart was beating painfully.
She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to breathe.
A nobody.
A stray.
A maid who didn’t belong here.
Celine’s words sliced deeper than she wanted to admit.
She tried to walk away but her feet wouldn’t move.
She wanted to leave—yet she needed to hear how Alexander responded.
Please defend me, she thought desperately.
Please… care.
“I hired you to investigate,” Alexander said, voice strained. “Not to insult the woman who works in my home.”
“Works in your home?” Celine smirked. “Darling, she’s working her way into your bed.”
Eliza’s face flushed with humiliation.
Alexander’s voice dropped to a lethal quiet.
“That’s enough.”
Celine circled his desk, closing the distance between them.
“You know what? Let’s forget about her for a moment,” she whispered, placing a hand on his chest.
He grabbed her wrist—not gently—and pushed her hand away.
She gasped. “Alexander”
“You will not touch me again.”
Something dark flashed across Celine’s face.
“Wow,” she breathed. “She really has you whipped.”
Alexander’s hands tightened at his sides.
“Give me the case file,” he said. “And leave.”
Celine laughed softly.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I will make sure you never work in this industry again.”
Her smile faltered.
“A maid?” she hissed. “You’d throw your connections away for a maid?”
Alexander’s voice softened in a way that terrified her.
“She’s not just a maid.”
Eliza pressed her hand over her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes, but they weren’t from pain this time,
they were from something far more dangerous.
Hope.
Celine Explodes.
“You want her,” Celine spat. “You want that little fragile thing. That pathetic, trembling”
Alexander slammed his hands on the desk, making her jump.
“Say one more word about her,” he said, voice shaking with fury, “and I swear you will regret it.”
Celine stared at him, stunned.
Then her expression twisted into something venomous.
“I knew it,” she said softly. “You’re in love with her.”
Alexander didn’t deny it.
He didn’t have to.
His silence was louder than any confession.
Celine’s face burned red with humiliation.
“You ungrateful bastard,” she whispered. “You think she’s better than me? You think she’s worthy of you?”
“She’s worth more than you’ll ever understand,” he replied.
And that…
that destroyed Celine completely.
She lunged toward him, but Alexander stepped aside.
“Get. Out.”
“You’re weak,” she hissed. “She’s ruining you”
“Get out of my house,” he roared.
The entire mansion seemed to tremble with his voice.
Celine finally realized she had lost.
She grabbed her purse, sneering.
“You’ll regret this decision, Alexander.”
“Not as much as I’d regret keeping you around.”
She stormed out, heels cracking against the floor like gunshots.
When she threw open the study door—There stood Eliza.
Celine froze.
For a moment, the hallway filled with a thick, poisonous silence.
“So,” Celine purred bitterly. “The little maid was listening.”
Eliza lowered her gaze, biting back tears.
“You disgust me,” Celine hissed. “You think he cares about you? You think you can compete with”
“Celine.”
Alexander’s voice from behind her was ice.
“Leave. Now.”
Celine shot Eliza one last hateful look, then stormed down the hall and out of the mansion.
The echo of the door slamming rang through the silence.
Alexander Faces Eliza
Eliza remained frozen, eyes on the floor.
She heard him step behind her.
“Eliza,” he said softly. “I didn’t know you were”
“I wasn’t listening intentionally,” she whispered.
Her voice shook.
“I was just… passing by.”
He exhaled slowly. “I’m glad you heard.”
She blinked, surprised.
“I don’t want you to ever doubt your worth,” Alexander said quietly. “Or your place here.”
“My place?” she whispered.
He moved closer.
“Eliza… you matter to me more than I should admit.”
Her breath caught.
“I fired her because of how she spoke about you,” he said. “And because she crossed a line that should never be crossed.”
Silence stretched between them,heavy, charged, warm.
Eliza finally looked up.
“I’m not used to being defended,” she whispered.
“And I don’t know what to do with it.”
He stepped close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin.
“Then let me show you,” he murmured.
Her pulse skipped.
She took a small step back, overwhelmed.
“Alexander,” she whispered, “you shouldn’t say that.”
“Then why does it feel true every time I do?”
Her cheeks grew warm. “Please don’t—”
“I can’t help it,” he admitted, voice low. “I can’t stop… feeling you.”
Her breath trembled.
“But we can’t—” she began.
“Tell me to stop,” he said softly. “And I will.”
She didn’t say a word.
She couldn’t.
He reached up slowly—giving her time to pull away—and brushed his fingers gently along her cheek.
Her eyes fluttered.
“Eliza,” he whispered, “you deserve someone who sees you. I see you.”
Her throat tightened. “And that scares me.”
He smiled faintly. “Me too.”
They stood there in the quiet hallway, both breathing hard, both trembling with emotions neither dared to name yet.
Alexander stepped back first, giving her space.
“Get some rest,” he said gently. “Today was too much for you.”
“For both of us,” she corrected softly.
His eyes softened.
“You’re right.”
He turned toward his study, pausing once more to look at her.
“Goodnight, Eliza.”
“Goodnight, Alexander.”
