Met Her

It had been years since various maids had tried to gain his attention. A few were bold enough to drop their clothes and lay in his bed waiting for him. They did not fear Eve. but they did not need to. Because… Cedric did not need the protection of his wife or her jealousy.

Whenever a woman tried to lure him, they ended up on the streets, like a beggar or worse. When it comes to Cedric, he knows no mercy.

So, with time, the maids had given up on seducing him directly. But that does not mean they have given up completely. They still wear smaller dresses than required and find excuses to talk to him. 

Many of them were sure that they were different and when Cedric would realize it, he would fall in love with them, many tried. All failed miserably.

The woman smiled more gracefully, loathing Eve in her heart but still copying her style.

"If you allow.." but she was cut short as Cedric picked up his phone and dialed a number. They waited for the call to end but Cedric only spoke nine words. But they were enough to break all of their silver hopes.

"Eve is busy so you will handle the rest." with that he wiped his face, stood up, and left for his office. But just as he held the door of his office, he paused.

"Send the soup to her room. And tell her that she must finish it." The slight frown on his face would have confused the staff that the cold blizzard finally had feelings for his wife if they were not sure that he did not have the heart to have feelings.

As the door was closed, they busied them with other work. Emily was the one to bring soup to Eve. She noticed that Eve was wiping her face. She looked pale and sick.

"Madam, shall I call the doctor?" listening to the genuine concern in her voice Eve stiffened. Calling a doctor might be a wise decision. If her hunch was right, the doctor would surely inform Cedric too, and then.. But what if he did not care about that too?

The thought was like stale food in her mouth. She could neither spit it nor swallow it. 

"No, there must be a lot of work left." She sat on the sofa and took a deep breath as if she was collecting herself.

The maid sighed and brought the soup to her.

"Sir had called his assistant. He had handled everything. You need not worry. Sir had asked me to serve you soup too." she smiled as he picked up the soup from the tray and forced the bowl into her stiffened hands.

For some reason, she felt that their boss went paler than before instead of being touched.

"What is wrong, madam?" she asked again but Eve only shook her head. Emily was a young girl who already had a committed boyfriend. She did not believe in snatching her boss. And the loyalty toward work had earned Eve's appreciation.

Eve had offered her dresses to Emily a few times earning the loyalty of the young girl completely. But it did not mean that she trusted Emily completely. She could not share that she loathed that assistant, Mark.

Mark was a hardworking, diligent, smart, and talented young man. He could handle the work of two to three people alone. Anyone would have loved the company of such a bright man like him. Cedric did that too. That was why he always called Mark if he needed anything and offered him bonuses all the time.

It was a perfect thing except.. Mark is the ear of her mother-in-law. Since Eve had not studied business as her major. She is not good with striking deals or handling matters. But since Cedric had refused her to do another job and only allowed her in his office, she had chosen to be his secretary.

She was good at serving him meals but when it came to striking business deals or checking papers, she had to take a step back. But her salary was higher than Mark's.

 And that had made her the target of scorns of her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law. Now she had to hear their taunts again. Acting sick so that she could rest while Mark would work overtime. 

But he remembered to bring soup for her. The moment she took a sip, bile rose to her throat again. Emily looked at her with worried eyes but Eve shook her head. She took another sip and then another.. Slowly she finished the whole bowl of soup. 

"You can leave.'' The words came through difficulty. Emily wanted to refuse but Eve ran to the washroom before she could. 

In the evening,

 Eve finally felt better after a long sleep. But when she opened her eyes and found the room cold, her eyes dimmed.

She wanted to call for maids. But thought better of it. She dressed herself and applied a thick layer of makeup to hide her pale face. Once she was assured that she looked well enough for the party, she left the room. She had only descended the stairs when the sound of guests started to fill her ears.

Instead of arranging the party at the hotel, they had arranged the party at home because Elene wanted it homely. She had requested that there should not be a crowd. Since it would make her restless.

But now look at the amount of guests. Men and women were swarming over like bees and insects. Many heads craned their heads to look at her. Many ran to welcome her. She was surrounded by distant relatives who fawned over her or mocked her to fawn over her mother-in-law. But she was always the center of attention.

Her head throbs when they all speak at once. Though she knew they were addressing her sweetly, she felt irked by their presence.

Something was wrong with her.