Nine

That girl. The new maid. Recently, he had been thinking about her a lot. He could remember her pale face, water dripping off her hair, trailing down her face and mouth. Those lips. He felt like he wanted her, but he wanted nearly every female in close proximity. This one seemed different it confused him. There was some kind of emotion or feelings or he was just confused with what was going on in his life. He shook his head. How could he fall for a mere maid, without any royal blood, no class, inheritance or anything? 

Surely, such nonsense only happened in movies and books. Not in real life. It was probably what all the maids dreamed of. To be the ones who finally tied down the handsome. The unique ones who could change him. Ha Ha. As if that could happen. From his experience with women, which was a lot, he had realized they were all pretty much the same. Some might pretend and act all manly but if you removed the outer shell, you’d have your typical woman. Vulnerable, weak, and soft. The maid seemed to be the perfect description of a real woman as she needed a lot of saving.

Above all that, he was extremely furious at Adley for playing him. He hoped she was the one orchestrating it and no one else knew about it. It was a given that Cady knew about it, for all he knew, they’d recorded the video together. The only solution he could think of was to tell his mother about everything. Orianna always found a way to solve things without causing a big mess. Also, she was the one who had separate him from Adley, causing him pain. Maybe guilt would make her protect him form more pain which would come from being married to Adley.

The problem was that Orianna had started to prefer Adley over all the women he had seen over the years. She’d definitely support the idea if she knew she could control. If she showed her the extent of Adley’s evil, she might feel out of control. She could kill the two girls. What if someone else had the videos? Adley and Cady’s death would cause a lot of trouble because they were of high society unlike Ann’s. The lower class would an riot because of Ann’s but the high classes, most of whom have been part of illegal dealings, wouldn’t bat an eyelash over a mere maid’s death. He saw her, Adley, wearing a long black gown covering her long curvy body. Other occasions, he’d feel totally different emotions but now it was intense hatred which made him feel like ripping her to shreds.

“Hello,” his thoughts were interrupted by a beautiful voice. He turned and saw a beautiful woman, holding a glass of wine. 

“Hello,” he said, sipping his wine. 

“How is it possible that the king is alone?”

“It’s such a small island that people don’t treat me like a king anymore.”

“That’s too bad,” she said, tilting her head and looking very pretty. “I think you’re a great king.”

She took a few steps closer. “Given the chance, I’d definitely treat you like the great king you are. He resisted the urge to bite his lip and accept the offer right away. Now he was not even in the mood to flirt. “Well. That’s sweet of you.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she purred.

“I hope they’re good things.”  

Blatant flirting didn’t do it for him anymore. He froze. Since when? He was now even more confused.

“Armand!” he heard his name and turned away from the lady and onto the new comer, his rescuer. 

“Gavin.” he spoke to the dark haired man, wearing a dark blue suit that looked like it had been shipped off a designer’s newest collection. 

“When did you return?” Armand asked after they’d shared a man hug. As he listened to Gavin’s escapades in foreign cities, the woman and all his problems were soon forgotten.

He and Gavin had met while in high school. They shared a strong bond because of their wild personalities back then. Gavin was a son to one of the wealthiest men in Niveria. Even at thirty-four, he spent his life traveling, chasing women, buying designer clothes and getting into different kinds of trouble. A bad boy who had failed to grow out of that phase.

At the end of the party, he was driven back home alone because Adley was still gossiping with her girls. The car had just driven into the palace when he saw her. The maid. She was chatting with one of the security guards. He felt something but he didn’t know what it was. All he knew was that he didn’t like seeing them together. 

“Get up and stop gossiping you two,” he said. It was lunch time but he didn’t care. They got up quickly and the maid made her way to the kitchen. So annoying. 

He hadn’t talked to that woman ever since he got hired but he felt like it was something he needed to do. After all, he had recommended her and it was his duty to know more about a person he hired. 

Maybe he could get more. Considering that Ann was gone, he needed someone to give him the love he desperately needed. Having to share a bed with a green snake was not an easy thing. Adley was the most dangerous of them all.

All this time, he had been thinking she had moved on and was about to introduce a new gentleman to the social world. Now, it turned out that all she wanted was to rule the society, to become queen and lord over everyone. It was unfortunate that the queen mother was on a business trip in another island. As soon as she arrived, he would open up and spill all his dirty secrets to someone who could solve all his problems. 

He admired his mother’s efficiency. That woman was one in a million. He wondered how her brain worked and produced the best ideas. He wished he could meet a woman like her to marry but it seemed impossible. All these other women were weaklings. Adley was proving not to be like them but she couldn’t hold a candle to his mother. Orianna would crush Adley and completely destroy her in seconds if he wanted. All he needed to do was make Orianna want to destroy Adley. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Everything would go back to normal and Adley would stop coming to visit him. 

It would be such a relief.