Semua Bab The Billionaire's Maid Bride: Bab 1 - Bab 5

SCARLETT HAYES POV“We need the downpayment for the surgery by tomorrow morning, Ms. Hayes. Otherwise, we’ll have to postpone the procedure.”The billing clerk's voice was flat, as though she'd delivered the same heartbreaking news hundreds of times before.“Postpone?” My voice cracked, raw and barely audible. “He’s seven. If you postpone it—”“Those are the hospital rules, Ms. Hayes. I'm sorry.”The line went dead. I stared at my cracked phone screen, the heavy, suffocating silence of the hospital corridor pressing down on me. The scent of antiseptic and bleach always made my throat tight, but tonight, it felt like it was outright choking me.I leaned my forehead against the cold glass of the ICU viewing window. On the other side, my seven-year-old brother, Toby, looked impossibly small beneath the tangle of wires. Every steady beep of the heart monitor reminded me that I was running out of time.Where am I going to get fifty five thousand dollars in less than twenty-four hours? I ha

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 ponyta

SCARLETT HAYES POVThe silence that followed Lucien’s words was heavy, suffocating, and absolute.I forgot how to breathe. Beside me, Ethan looked like he had just been slapped. His jaw hung open, his face draining of what little color it had left. Selena’s hands began to visibly shake, her fingers twitching against her sides as she stared at Lucien, then at me, as if trying to calculate if she had suddenly fallen into an alternate reality."F-Fiancée?" Selena stammered, her voice cracking under the sheer weight of the word. "But... Mr. Reed, she’s a maid. She just got hired yesterday. There must be some kind of mistake—""The only mistake here is your presence in my house," Lucien said, his voice dropping to a low, icy register that made everyone in the room flinch. He didn’t even raise his voice, yet the authority he carried was absolute. "I do not tolerate staff who orchestrate cheap, pathetic dramas to settle personal vendettas. Pack your things. Both of you. You have ten minutes