17

EMILY'S POV.

The dinner was an intense one for me, with the family not wasting time to hint at me not being good enough, especially the children.

In fact, the adults hinted at Katie being the better option, by complimenting her beauty, smooth skills, eloquence, and calmness, although they never said it out loud that they were comparing her to me.

It was what I ought to know since I wasn't a fool.

"Katie's so sweet with the knife." Derel said, staring at her in awe, as she cut up a strong piece of meat for him, and she smiled, giving him a little bow.

"I like how she's mysterious. I'll totally want her for a… uh, what's John to me?" Sadie asked, and everyone laughed.

"He's your cousin, darling." Her father replied.

"And what's my cousin's wife to me?" She asked.

"I think the answer is your cousin's wife." Derel replied, looking like he doubted his own words.

"It's Cousin-in-law." Jude corrected quietly.

"My smart beauty." Lady Genevieve said calmly, and for the first time that night, her smile looked real, and everyone laughed.

"That was so simple. Why didn't I think of it? Cousin-in-law." Sadie repeated.

"So I'm what if Jude's a smart beauty?" Derel asked.

"My charming prince." Lady Genevieve replied, and Derel blushed, with a hand on his heart, laughing out loud.

"So, I think I prefer Katie for a Cousin-in-law. She's a beta, and not an omega. I mean, I'm an Alpha. How can my Cousin-in-law be an omega?" Sadie asked, looking at me.

"But in a fight, she'll easily overpower you. You just have the eyes. You're yet to build the strength." Alpha Will said, with a little chuckle.

"But my rank's still higher." She said, and it was weird that they found her funny, and laughed.

"What about me? Can she beat me in a fight?" Derella asked, and everyone kept mute. It was obvious they thought she could overpower me, and maybe she could.

I'd never been trained in combat all my life.

I felt humiliated beyond words. I couldn't even eat, and picked at the green beans on my food.

They kept on talking, and didn't hesitate to make me feel more like a servant.

John kept on talking to, and laughing with Katie, while I got pierced in the heart, by spears thrown from the children. But the worst thing about it was that I still had to smile, and keeping my smile up seemed to destroy me bit by bit from within.

It made me wish I could suddenly scream, and hit John as badly as I wanted to. I regretted falling for him. No, I regretted ever meeting him.

Some professionals came to put on a show for entertainment, and I tried hard to concentrate on their tricks. Who in the world called jokers to their house just to welcome someone? It was lame. I couldn't even keep watching. Meanwhile they all laughed. They even made the jokers use me as an experiment for their tricks.

On the way back to John's mansion, I lagged behind on purpose. My every step felt heavy. All I wanted to do was see Dahlia, and have her wrap me in her arms.

~

The next morning, I woke up in my room feeling like I wouldn't be able to lift a leg, but I did. John had told me to be awake by Nine, and it was hard because my typical day always started at Ten; going to work at whatever time I liked, since I owned my business. It was hard to think of my business which had been shut down till further notice,

"The brighter days will come. The darkest time of night is the breaking of my dawn. I will look back and smile." I said, and pushed myself to my feet, trying to be optimistic.

"Fake it till you make it. We're going to fake being happy, Emily." I said to myself, and smiled in front of the mirror.

I stomped to my bathroom, and brushed my teeth, humming a bubbly song to myself.

Then I took a shower, singing and using my soap as a mic. My heart felt lighter, and it felt like the remedy for a depressed heart was acting happy. Although, I knew that couldn't always be the case.

I picked out a cream suit. It came with a skirt, but I didn't mind. Lady Genevieve wasn't there to tell me to change into pants. She was in her mansion doing whatever she always did.

Also, they thought I was still engaged to John. Did a woman still have the need to seduce her fiance?

Katie had told me where to find her, so I left my room, walking confidently, and sending smiles to the maids who bowed.

They all seemed nice, and didn't give me any kind of uncomfortable stare. It suited me well. However, when I got to Katie's mini office, my smile faded.

I wasn't going to fake a smile for her.

"Here. John's not around, so he dropped the list of things for you to do with me." She said, handing me a blank sheet of paper on which my duties had been typed out.

They were ridiculous duties that made me boil inside. He was despicable. He didn't put the duties of a secretary there, but chores of a maid, and had speculated the time for me to start and stop, without rest.

Was he joking around?

Since when did secretaries do work meant for the maids when the house was teeming with maids?

"Is… this for me?" I asked, and she sighed.

"That's what he gave to me." She said, and I nodded, leaving.

I went to the maids, who were lined up on the walls, trying to resist the urge to talk to each other.

"Did Alpha John say anything to you this morning?" I asked.

"He told us to stand guard for three hours before taking our rest. He also instructed us not to do a thing today." One of them said, with a bright smile.

"Yes. He said we'd lose our jobs. I didn't know he was that sweet." Another said, and it wasn't until I took off my shoes, and began to gather cleaning tools that they understood what was happening.

"Ma'am, but you're…"

"Don't bother." I said, dusting the shelves.

All of them immediately came to me to help, but I stopped them.

"Do you have other jobs elsewhere that pay as much as this?" I asked, and they looked guilty. "Return to your stations. Do as he said. He might have a camera recording things." I said, flatly and began to clean.

I dusted, vacuumed, and mopped the living room, arranged things, changed cushions on the sofa, went to the foyer, and cleaned each stair, and the handrails.

I dusted paintings, portraits, sculptures, and dusted, vacuumed and mopped.

In two hours, I was exhausted, and had taken off my suit jacket, wrapping it around my waist.

I regretted wearing a skirt, but couldn't go to change it because I was already behind on the time.

Room by room, I went in to clean, and mop the floors. I did the laundry, which was filled with completely clean clothes, and changed all the curtains.

Sweat drenched my white shirt, and the black brassiere I wore was beginning to show its outline.

I ended up packing my hair in a messy bun atop my head, and loosened two buttons on my shirt, breathing hard.

He had wanted to see me being a maid. John just had to have his way. If not, why else would a secretary act as a maid?

It was impossible to clean the whole mini-mansion by myself, but determination stemming from the burning hatred I felt towards John kept me going stubbornly.

The maids all looked troubled as the sun rose, and began to sink in the sky.

My steps had become sluggish, and I gave no care for the time. Every part of my body ached, and I was using my mouth to breathe.

The dishes were washed, and I even had to do the cooking for him.

The devilish idiot had made me prepare Spinach and Ricotta cheese ravioli in tomato cream sauce, knowing it took a long time to prepare.

I bet he searched it up because when I searched what he could have typed in, that meal came out in the exact manner he had written it for me. Then I searched for recipes.

Since he had left no time for a break for me, I happily cooked with sweat pouring out of all the holes in my skin. If it happened to drop in the food, then it was fine by me.

When he returned in the evening, I was cleaning the dining table after setting the dishes on it.

By then, my vision had gone dark, and I felt very heavy.

"Look at you still working. Do you know what you've gotten me into by breaking the heirloom? I have a whole lot to do just to restore the powers the new heirloom will have to possess, and it's only the start for me, but you? You're slacking off, doing chores you ought to have completed a few hours ago." He said, but his voice sounded like distant echoes.

I tried hard not to cry because every muscle in me shouted for rest. Doing those chores had been maybe the worst experience of my life.

Not even seeing him in bed with another woman, or having his family pick on me could compare to the pain of having to clean nonstop. Unable to bring up an excuse to stop, due to pride, and determination.

"Go on. Keep cleaning. Look at the leg. There's something here." He said, and I looked down at it.

Howeve r, as I bent to clean, instead of balancing gently, folding my knees, I fell to the floor, and the darkness stole my sight, and consciousness.