Chapter 8

• I can see half of his face through a shaft of light that slips from somewhere in the room. I want to step back, but I’m pinned to the wall with his hands on my wrist, pushing me a little harder. His breathing rapid, his chiseled mouth almost touching mine. A familiar smell of aftershave tickles my nose.
• “Alayna Hart!”
• “Oh God—” I look around me as the sharp sound of bells ring.
• Ms. Lennie glares at me. She is holding a small bell, enough to wake a girl who had an intimidating dream. Next to her are two maids who look precisely alike, and they are staring at me. Obviously, they are trying their hardest not to laugh. Their small, marble eyes betray their fake expressionless look. I feel my face burning with shame.
• What are they doing here?
• “The Master will see you in ten minutes. He expects you to be early,” Ms. Lennie says.
• “What? He’s—he’s what? Why?” I ask in a panic. “What did I do wrong now?”
• “For your information, young lady, you forced the Master hand with your conditions. I want you out of your bed now and stop complaining. He sent these clothes for you to wear to your breakfast with him,” she explains. My eyes travel to what they are holding. A white-silk bulky dress and white flat shoes patterned with sequins.
• I frown. “Breakfast?” He’s really—never mind! I rush out of bed, grabbing the shoes and the dress.
• The twins jerk, shocked by my sudden move.
• “We’re supposed to help you with that, miss—”
• I hold up my hand, signaling them to stop. They eye each other, then settle their gaze back on mine.
• “I can do this all by myself, thank you,” I say and waltz toward the bathroom.
• I gargle mouthwash and search for dry shampoo. “Moisturizer, hair mask, shower gel—no. Where is it? There! Dove!” I’ve certainly formed a habit of talking to myself in private. I open the cap and spray the shampoo on my hair.
• I didn’t know working in a mansion could be such torture. How am I supposed to get ready within the ten-minute lag he gave me? Ms. Lennie just woke me up!
• I quickly put on the dress, but I notice it has too many ties.
• Ties? Ties don’t zip. Zipper zips, not ties. How am I going to tie this up all by myself?
• I go out of the bathroom, almost tripping. Ms. Lennie and the twins are still in my room. I heave a sigh of relief.
• “Turn around and swallow your pride. You can’t tie that dress in a perfect knot alone,” Ms. Lennie scolds. I lazily turn my back on the twins. “Don’t you have any sense of fashion in you?” she questions. “Take off your bra.”
• The maids secretly laugh.
• Wait. Take my bra off?
• “Are you kidding? I’m going to have breakfast with him and not wear a bra? Isn’t that a little inappropriate? I should be presentable!”
• “Yes, you should be. And this bra could slip out of that dress. Didn’t you notice the padding?”
• I place both my hands in front of the dress and squeeze it a little. The padding. Yeah, there is padding. But no, I had not, in my entire life, tried to go out of my room without wearing a brassiere.
• “No!”
• “The Master isn’t going to strip you, young lady! I can’t even believe he’ll actually show himself after all these years.”
• “It’s uncomfortable. God, I’m only going to eat breakfast with him. Why is everyone overreacting?”
• She doesn’t answer the question. She unhooks my bra and grabs it out. “You’ll feel comfortable soon enough. You’ll feel the padding doing its job.”
• I roll my eyes. “You are curious too, aren’t you?” I ask, raising both my arms so the dress perfectly fits my body.
• “I know his family. I’ve been working for them for a long time.” She tightens the knot on the dress. “To be honest with you, I want to know how this meeting will go. I am expecting you to tell me how he is in front of someone else.” Her voice softens. It is surprising to see this side of her.
• I smile a little. I can see that she cares for him. “Sure.”
• “Come, now. I’ll take you to the dining room.”
• “To the dining room? He’s going to show himself to everyone?”
• “No. It’s just you and the Master.”
• I blow out a sharp breath. “I’m ready.”
• Ms. Lennie takes me to the mansion’s dining room. We stop at the entrance, and the maids gather around her.
• “This is how far I can take you. Mr. Katrakis will serve breakfast in about an hour, and that will give you and Master Brandon enough time to talk. You are late, as usual. He might be inside when you go in.”
• “Thank you, Ms. Lennie. I’ve been looking forward to this day.”
• She doesn’t smile, but her expression is pleasant. “Good luck, and you don’t have to knock.”
• I never bother knocking. When I get in, I expect him to be sitting, waiting impatiently at the long table, but he isn’t. He is standing in front of a beautiful painting of a young girl in a yellow dress. It’s as if the girl is staring at him. I beam when I realize he really is the man from the bathroom. He has the same features of the man who stands in front of me, the same perfect back covered in a black bespoke designer suit that impeccably hugs his body.
• I clear my throat, loudly enough to catch his attention. “Hi...”
• “I know you are there, Miss Hart,” he says icily, yet the melodious sound is there. He is still looking at the painting.
• “I’m sorry I had to do this.”
• “Sit down, Miss Hart.”
• I tug at the chair on the other side of the long dining table and sit quietly.
• The world seems to have stopped, then slows down as he turns to show himself to me. His face. Half of this face has precisely the same features of the handsome young man in the painting in the living room. I’d stared at it every day for the last month, so I was sure of this. But he doesn’t show me his entire face. He’s wearing a mask.
• A white mask on the right side of his face.
• He settles across from me. He places a black folder in front of him and taps it three times.
• “This is your contract. I want you to watch me sign this using my own hand”—he lifts his fist, showing me his thumb—“as you have asked for.”
• I don’t fully understand what he’s just said. I’m too distracted looking at his exquisite male beauty. Even showing only half of his face, it is undeniable.
• Intense gray eyes, dark, wavy hair that falls right at the back of his neck. His bone structure is defined, and he is savagely breathtaking. His undershirt and suit are both black, but his tie is a dark gray that matches his mysterious eyes.
• There is no single trace of Oliver’s genes in his features. While Oliver is golden and charming, his cousin’s presence alone radiates power and dominance. The natural reaction of a typical person is to be creeped out, given the mask on his face. But I find myself captivated.
• “Miss Hart?”
• “Hi. Yes?”
• “Did you hear what I just said?”
• “Yes.” My eyes are still glued to the unmasked side of his face.
• He looks away, but my gaze follows his movement. “Don’t stare at me.”
• “Please, don’t look away.” I don’t know where my words came from.
• “Don’t what?”
• “Don’t look away,” I repeat softly.
• He clears his throat. “Let’s proceed, Alayna.”
• “Say that again.”
• “Alayna, please...”
• “Mister Lucien, I mean, Master Brandon. I—you—um, you are wearing a mask.”
• His jaw ripples and he almost crumples the paper he’s holding. “Does it bother you?”
• “No, no. I’m just wondering why.”
• “It has nothing to do with our deal.” He finally faces me. I almost fall out of my seat. All those times I looked at the painting... I never expected that the portrait would really turn out to be him.
• “You’re the young man in the painting.”
• He peers at me. “How do you know?”
• “I just know. It’s you.”
• He lets out an exasperated breath. “If you still want your contract, I don’t want you to say anything that doesn’t have to do with our deal.”
• “I’m sorry. I’m just surprised. But you’re here, physically, and I’m glad you showed up.” I smile.
• “You’re not going to say anything to Lennie. If you do, I won’t hesitate to terminate this contract. Do you understand?”
• Why? She is so worried about him. “Sure.”
• “And stop looking at me like that.”
• “I’m sorry, you’re just so—so beautiful.” My eyes widen in shock when the words hang in the air. I cover my mouth and look down at my lap.