The Heiress' Revenge

Chapter 186: My Heart Belonged To Dante

Ariana’s POV

I walked in the hallway, my eyes filled with tears. I could hear the music, the laughter, and the clinking of glasses.

Rich people are having fun living their lives. Not caring about the maids who cleaned up after them.

I had been crying in the bathroom for the past ten minutes, hiding in the stall and covering my mouth.

Trying not to make a sound.

The other maids were already used to it.

They didn’t ask questions anymore. They didn’t care. I was just the weird masked woman who cried in the bathroom.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

I wiped my eyes and straightened my uniform. I pulled my mask up to make sure it was covering my nose and mouth.

Then I opened the stall door and walked out. I kept my head down.

I didn’t look at myself in the mirror.

I didn’t want to see my red eyes, my puffy face, and pathetic reflection.

I pushed open the bathroom door and walked into the hallway with my feet heavy and my heart.

Heck, everything was heavy.

I turned the corner, and I bumped into someone.

Hard.

A man.

Tall.

Broad.

Strong.

His arms wrapped around my waist. He caught me before I fell. I stumbled against his chest.

My hands pressed against his shoulders, his suit was expensive, his cologne was subtle, and his heart was beating under my palm.

I looked up.

He was looking down at me with his eyes, blue and bright, kind.

He had dark hair.

A strong jaw.

A small smile on his lips.

He was handsome, not in the way Dante was handsome, but handsome nonetheless.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice was deep and gentle.

I couldn’t speak; I was frozen.

His arms were still around my waist.

His chest was still pressed against mine. I could feel his warmth.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

The words were stuck in my throat.

Natasha’s voice cut through the air sharply. Cruel. "Phillip. What are you doing? Get away from her. She’s just a maid."

The man.

Phillip.

He didn’t let go and kept his arms around me. He kept his eyes on me. "I asked if you were okay. You didn’t answer."

I finally found my voice. "I’m fine, I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going. I’m so sorry."

Natasha walked closer.

Her heels clicked on the marble floor.

Her dress was red and expensive. Her hair was perfect, and her makeup was flawless. Her face was twisted with disgust.

"Phillip, step away from her. She’s disgusting, don’t touch her. She has some kind of disease. You don’t want to catch whatever she has."

Phillip ignored her.

He looked at my mask at my eyes, probably seeing the tears that were still wet on my cheeks. "Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?"

I shook my head. "No. No one hurt me. I’m fine. Really. I just... I had something in my eye. It’s nothing."

Natasha grabbed Phillip’s arm. She tried to pull him away. "Phillip, come on. Mum is looking for you. The guests are waiting. You’ve been away for months. Everyone wants to see you."

Phillip didn’t move. He kept his eyes on me. "What’s your name?"

I hesitated. I tell him the real name, I couldn’t tell anyone my real name. "Emily," I said. "My name is Emily."

Phillip smiled. "Emily, that’s a nice name."

Natasha made a sound of disgust. "Phillip, stop. She’s nothing, she’s a maid. She’s not worth your time."

Phillip finally let go of me and stepped back, but his eyes were still on me. "I’ll find you later, Emily."

My heart started pounding. "There’s nothing to know, I’m just a maid. I’m nobody."

Natasha laughed. It was a cold sound. "Finally, she says something true... she’s nobody. She’s nothing. Now come on, Phillip, we have guests waiting."

Phillip looked at his sister. His face was hard. "I’ll be there in a moment. I need to use the restroom."

Natasha glared at me. She looked at me like I was dirt on her shoe. "If I find out you’ve been spreading your disease to my brother, I’ll have you fired. I’ll have you blacklisted. You’ll never work in this country again. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yes, miss. I understand."

She walked away with her heels clicking on the floor. Her red dress disappeared around the corner.

Phillip sighed and then looked at me. "I’m sorry about her. She’s not... she’s not as bad as she seems, she’s just protective. She’s just worried about the family reputation."

I shook my head. "You don’t have to apologize. She’s right, I’m just a maid, a nobody. I shouldn’t have bumped into you. I’m sorry."

Phillip stepped closer. "You’re nobody. Everyone is somebody and you... You have sad eyes, the kind of eyes that have seen too much. The kind of eyes that have lost too much."

I felt the tears come again I blinked them back. "I should go, I have work to do. The party won’t clean itself."

I turned away and started walking fast and away with my heart pounding.

My hands were shaking.

"Emily," Phillip called after me.

I didn’t stop, I just kept walking and turned the corner. I disappeared into the service hallway.

I got to my room, closed the door behind me, and leaned against it. I slid down to the floor.

The tears came.

They always came.

I had chosen this life.

I had chosen to hide.

I had chosen to disappear.

I had chosen to be nobody.

So why did it hurt so much? Why did it hurt to be treated like nothing? Why did it hurt to be called disgusting? Why did it hurt to be invisible?

I put my head in my hands and sobbed into my mask.

Phillip Anderson.

The oldest son.

The heir to the Anderson fortune.

He had been away for years on business. In America. I had heard the other maids talking about him.

He was kind, they said.

Gentle.

Respectful.

He treated the staff like human beings, not like servants.

I had never met him before today, and now I had bumped into him, literally, and he had held me.

And Natasha, the oldest daughter, is the cruel one. The one who made my life miserable, not just mine, but everyone who worked here.

I should be used to it by now.

I had been here for two years.

I had been called every name in the book.

I had been mocked.

Ridiculed.

Humiliated.

I should be numb to it by now.

But I wasn’t ever insulted, still stung.

Phil Andreson.

What was I doing? I shouldn’t be thinking about him.

My heart belonged to Dante.

It always would, even though he thought I was dead.

I loved him, I would always love him, and no one could ever take his place.

Not even a kind, handsome, blue-eyed heir to a fortune.

No one.