The cold war between mother and son.

As more days passed by, the servants noticed that the master of the house seemed more withdrawn than they had ever seen as he always spent his time in the study or his room and rarely came out. At first, his family members seemed to be unaffected by his behavior but when Eloise told her mother about the rumours spreading in the house, the old woman frowned and decided to pay him an unexpected visit in his study.

But then, Master Aidan was with Antoniette in the secret room lying on the bed as they intertwined their fingers and chatted like every other day since that kiss. She had been very shy and timid around him at first but after seeing him so acting so undisturbed about it, it made her feel comfortable and somewhat relieved that he hadn't asked for anything else like she had heard from the fellow maids. Day by day, her love for him grew stronger the more she spent time with him and it seemed like he couldn't bear to part from her either.

"Do you wish to leave this place?" Aidan's voice brought her out of her deep thoughts as he turned to the side to face her side profile.

"What?" She was a little flustered seeing his face up close and feeling his warm breath down her neck that she couldn't help but shiver slightly beside him. Her thoughts seemed to have disappeared when she found herself staring at his light blue eyes and she unconsciously clenched her fists around the sheets.

Aidan noticed her reaction and chuckled lightly as he took one of his hands to push away a strand of her hair and said. "I asked if you wanted to leave this house, Antoniette. I can find you a job downtown where you can live your life like a normal person instead of staying here in a constricted place like this. "

Antoniette fell quiet when she heard his words. She had been having these thoughts for a while but she was a little startled to hear him reflect her inner thoughts. Although she couldn't bear to leave him alone, she also yearned to have her normal life back where she could go where she wanted and do what she pleased. "Are you sure you are going to be okay alone? Here in the mansion?"

"Of course, I will be fine. This is my house, Antoniette." He smiled gently as he played with her hair and continued to say. "I won't stop coming to see you, either. If you want, I can come and spend some time in your place when you want to be with me ."

Antoniette looked into his eyes immediately she heard his soft words and felt her heart melting again as she looked at him. She could feel her emotions threatening to overwhelm her as she tried to restrain herself from saying the words that she vowed she wouldn't say first. "You promise?"

"I promise." Aidan wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her closer as he lowered his face to kiss her. She arched her back as soon as their lips touched as she closed her eyes and indulged in his taste. This was the man she loved the most and she had already given her heart to him.

The minutes seemed to have become slower as they kissed and she found herself holding onto his strong arms for her dear life. She became more desperate with the heat she was feeling within her and so she whispered onto her breath. "Aidan.... please...."

Aidan's jaw hardened at her breathless request and plunged himself deeper in her warm mouth, trying to ignore his urges. He was not a virgin and knew exactly what she wanted and needed but he was not ready to give it to her. Not under the circumstances. Seeing that she was becoming more restless, he tightened his hold over her waist to restrain her before she drove him crazy with her movements and slowed down the kiss. "Shh.... Antoniette..."

Her naughty hands had somehow found their way under his shirt and the mere touch made him groan, forcing him to contemplate his actions mentally before his desire took control. At that same time, they both heard a faint knock on the door from the study which indicated that there was a visitor. "Aidan? Aidan, are you there?"

The voice of Aidan's mother was like cold water poured on the flames of her passion. They both stopped and looked at each other sharing a faint emotion of fear and shock for a brief moment before Aidan stood up and arranged his clothes, leaving the secret room. Immediately the door closed, she stood up and leaned against it to eavesdrop on the conversation between them.

Aidan's mother walked into the study when the door opened for her and glanced around before she noticed her son's disheveled look. "Why are you dressed this way, Aidan?"

"I am sorry, Mother. I had been working for a while before I decided to take a brief nap." Aidan explained to his mother with an expressionless face as he offered her a seat. "May I ask what brings you here at this late hour?"

"I just wanted to see how you have been doing, is that so hard to believe?" His mother arched a brow at him while she said passively. "You seemed to be very distant recently from dinner so I decided to check on you."

Aidan revealed a sarcastic smile when he heard her words while his tone became icy. "How caring, Mother to know that you didn't come here just to spy on my activities at all."

His mother frowned at him while she struggled to restrain her temper. "You are always like this. It makes it hard to converse with you at times."

"That's because I have nothing to say to you." He stood up immediately he finished saying those words and moved to his desk, refusing to pay her any further attention. "I have something important things to do right now.".

His mother completely lost her faint smile when she heard his indirect way of telling her to leave. She humphed and said to him before she left. "You should know that Victoria is coming tomorrow. Make preparations to welcome her."