CHAPTER 3

SCARLETT HAYES POV

"Are you planning on standing up, or do you always greet your employers by throwing yourself at them?"

The voice was deep, incredibly smooth, and freezing cold.

My breath caught in my throat. I looked up, my eyes traveling from a sharp, tailored lapel to a strong jawline, and finally to a pair of stormy, silver-gray eyes that looked down at me with absolute, razor-sharp focus.

Lucien Reed.

He was even more imposing in person than in the rare, blurry photos in business magazines. His dark hair was styled back, a few stray pieces framing his forehead. He radiated the kind of quiet, suffocating power that made you want to apologize just for breathing the same air.

"I—I’m sorry," I stammered, scrambling to find my footing.

He let go of my shoulders instantly, as if my very touch was an inconvenience. He reached down, slowly smoothing out the front of his flawless charcoal suit jacket.

"Who are you?" Lucien asked, his eyes scanning my damp, faded clothes, my messy ponytail, and the raw, red skin on my hands. "You don't look like the usual staff."

This is it, Scarlett. Do not mess this up. Your brother's life depends on these next ten seconds. My heart was beating so loudly against my ribs I was terrified he could hear it.

"I'm Scarlett," I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "I'm the new stay-in maid. Mr. Reed, please. I know this is highly inappropriate, and I know I’m violating the rules by coming up here, but I need your help. I desperately need an advance on my salary."

Lucien didn't blink. He just stared at me, his expression completely unreadable. "An advance? On your first day?"

"My brother is in the pediatric ICU," I rushed out, the words spilling over each other in a desperate torrent. "He needs a life-saving surgery. The hospital just called. If I don't pay the deposit of five hundred thousand pesos by five o'clock today, they'll cancel the procedure. Please. I will sign any contract. I will work for you for free for the next ten years. I'll do anything. Just help me save Toby."

For a long, excruciating moment, the only sound in the hallway was my own shallow, panicked breathing.

Lucien raised an eyebrow. "And why should I care?"

The cruelty of his words hit me like cold water. Of course. Why would a billionaire care about a maid's dying brother? To him, we're just numbers. Disposable assets. My throat burned with a mixture of grief and mounting fury.

"Because he’s a child," I whispered, my fists clenching at my sides. "And because I have nowhere else to go."

Lucien didn't answer. Instead, his gaze shifted slightly, landing on my worn canvas bag that had slipped off my shoulder during my fall. It lay open on the floor, its contents spilled across the polished mahogany.

Among my keys and a half-empty pack of tissues was my old, tattered wallet. The flap had popped open, revealing a faded polaroid of Toby smiling widely, his tiny arms wrapped around my neck, alongside a stack of unpaid, overdue hospital bills stamped with red warnings.

Lucien looked at the photo, then back to my face. A strange, calculating shadow flickered across his silver eyes. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a cold, business-like calculation.

"Five hundred thousand," Lucien murmured, crossing his arms. "To you, it's an impossible fortune. To me, it's pocket change. But I am not a charity, Scarlett. I don't give away money without getting something of equal value in return."

"I told you, I'll work," I pleaded, taking a step closer. "I'll clean, I'll cook, I'll do whatever Selena—"

"I don't need another maid," Lucien interrupted, his voice dropping to a low, quiet register that made the hairs on my arms stand up. "But I do need something else. Something much more complicated."

I frowned, my panic briefly giving way to confusion. "What do you mean?"

"My grandfather is currently in the hospital, stubborn and demanding as ever," Lucien said, his tone dry and devoid of affection. "He has decided that I must marry and settle down within the next week. If I don't, he has threatened to hand over forty percent of my family’s shares to my cousin—a man who would destroy everything I’ve built in a matter of months."

He stepped closer, his towering shadow completely enveloping me. The scent of cedarwood and rain washed over my senses again, dizzying and sharp.

"I have no interest in marrying the vapid, greedy heiresses my grandfather keeps throwing at me," Lucien continued, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that felt almost physical. "They want my name, my money, and my status. I need someone who has none of those things. Someone who is entirely dependent on me. Someone who will sign a contract, play the part of a devoted wife, and vanish without a fuss when the time is up."

My breath hitched. A contract? He wants me to pretend to be his wife?

"You want me to... marry you?" I whispered, the concept so absurd it felt like a dream.

"A business arrangement," Lucien corrected coldly. "One year. I will pay off your brother's entire medical bill, secure him the best doctors in the country, and pay you a monthly allowance. In return, you will wear my ring, attend family dinners, and convince my grandfather that we are madly in love."

Before I could process his words, my phone buzzed in my pocket again. I pulled it out with trembling hands. It was a text message from the hospital's billing system: Payment reminder for Patient Toby Hayes. Deadline: 5:00 PM.

The clock on my phone screen read 12:45 PM.

Time was running out. Toby was running out of time.

I looked up at Lucien Reed. He stood there, perfectly composed, offering me a lifeline wrapped in a golden cage. I didn't care about the cage. I only cared about the boy in the ICU bed.

"If I do this," I said, my voice suddenly clear and resolute. "You pay the hospital directly. Now."

Lucien pulled a sleek, black smartphone from his pocket, tapped the screen a few times, and held it up to show me. The screen displayed a pending wire transfer of five hundred thousand pesos to Saint Jude’s Pediatric Hospital, with Toby’s case number listed as the reference.

"All I have to do is press authorize," Lucien said, his thumb hovering over the screen. "Do we have a deal, Scarlett?"

I took a deep, shuddering breath and reached out, grabbing his warm, firm hand to seal the bargain.

"Authorize it," I said.