3 - The Suspicion
1164 Words
As Lady Loretta was dismissing 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 the lady wincing in pain and alighting the staircase with great difficulty.
"Melody," Lady Loretta looked shocked upon seeing how disheveled Melody appeared, as if she had been beaten to a stupor.
"What happened to you?" Lady Loretta inquired in shock while all the maids in the living room paused to look at Melody, gasping at the horror they saw in the once-arrogant lady.
"Milady, 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 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 with us, 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 did another maid do this to you?"
While the older woman was busy questioning Melody after all the guests had left the mansion, Derrick walked back into the living room and looked stunned, seeing that there was still a guest left.
"She did this, ma'am. I cannot lie to you. Miranda lied about me to Master Derrick, and after he left us, she pounced on me and hurt me to this extent. She is evil, Ma'am." Melody started sobbing upon seeing Derrick looking at her.
"What's happening here, Mom?" Derrick asked as 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 thought he would summon the maid.
After Melody lost her job, she expected Miranda would also 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 meetings. Similarly, she didn't have an 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. He frowned as his mother said, "Derrick, I will return to my room. But where is Miranda if Melody accused her of beating her up?"
"Do not worry yourself, Mother. I will have the guards investigate what happened. Melody, you may leave now," Derrick dismissed Melody without bothering to summon Miranda.
He walked with his mother along the stairs and assisted her in returning to her room on the top floor. It took the older lady a while to climb the flight of stairs, and Derrick considered relocating his mother's room to a room on the ground floor.
Arriving at Lady Loretta's room 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 accompanying her as she climbed 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? It’s for you to settle down. Your father worked 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, son. It’s not until you reach thirty that you should do so, my son."
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 his mother's words 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 Luis Firm."
"That's fine, Mom. I guess I should leave you to rest now. Have a sound 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 herself in a warm bath in one of the lush rooms.
"Oh my goodness! This feels so good," she said, bathing without caring for the consequences of her actions.
She had hurried into this room, and it was totally different from the others that she was assigned to take care of downstairs.
"Mm," Miranda mumbled, enjoying herself in the warm bath. After dealing with the lady that dared to slap her, Miranda thought to show the lady what it feels like to be dejected. She was not a woman to take abuse from others. Coming from a lower-class family and becoming an orphan at a young age, Miranda knew the world had no respect for the poor, so she was determined to become wealthy, even if it meant climbing on others to attain that. She admired a good life, wanted a good job, and dreamt of owning a big supermarket or a shopping mall in her name.
Thinking about her life struggles, Miranda didn't care how much time she had spent soaking in this exquisite, large, pristine bathtub. The bubbling water filled with scented soaps soothed her body, and with the chilly weather of the night, Miranda felt no urge to come out of the bath. She wanted to sleep there and forget all her worries. She had even let her blonde hair fall behind her back. She was extremely beautiful, but remembering the slap that Melody had given her made Miranda feel like strangling the lady's neck. However, she knew she would be jailed, and no one would come to her rescue.
"Mmmmm," Miranda enjoyed 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 lady of the house's children's rooms.
"I hope this isn't Master Derrick's room," Miranda muttered under her breath until she heard the bathroom door slide open.
- Writer
