A Nasty Scandal

Irene couldn't believe her eyes as a maid led her to her bedroom. The room seemed luxurious, ten times larger than her apartment. She even thought she could jog in the room without fear of tripping over things.

"I guess you brought me to the wrong place." Irene adjusted her bathrobe. After being pampered by a professional masseuse, Irene wanted to take a nap before walking around the mansion. But when she saw her cozy room, she had no desire to go anywhere.

"I make no mistakes, Miss Russell." The maid, named Jasmine Stones, smiled benignly at her. She opened the door wide and let Irene step into the room.

The flowery scent greeted her nose as soon as she stepped inside, making all of Irene's resentment toward Heather evaporate. "The room is too big for me."

"Mr. Delacroix asked me to prepare the bedroom beside his room, so the maids and I prepared this room for you."

Irene looked outside and saw a wooden door with intricate carvings on its surface. From the door alone, Irene could tell the owner was very fond of showing off his wealth.

"Can I move to another room?" asked Irene.

Jasmine rubbed her hands together and smiled awkwardly. "I'm afraid you'll have to ask Mr. Delacroix for permission first, Miss Russell."

Irene sighed, as she had expected. When she said nothing for a few moments, Jasmine said, "If you need anything, you can call me immediately."

Before Jasmine could excuse herself to leave the room, Irene motioned for her to come closer. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, please ask me anything, Miss Russell."

Irene sharpened her gaze as she said, "I know the housekeepers like to gossip behind their boss's back. That's why I assume you know about Mr. Delacroix's scandal."

Jasmine immediately dropped her eyes and looked panicked. She shook her head quickly, then stepped back toward the door. "I don't know anything about that, Miss Russell."

Irene sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling. She was annoyed that no one around Sebastian would open their mouths about the scandal.

She didn't care about Sebastian's personal affairs, but if the scandal involved her, then Irene had to know about it to be prepared to face the people around him.

It was then that Irene realized she might have to be more aggressive to get the answers she wanted.

When Jasmin tried to leave the room, Irene suddenly slammed the door until it made a banging sound. Her action made the maid jump in surprise, she didn't even dare to look at Irene directly.

"Your mouth says you don't know, but your body language tells me otherwise. Jasmine, has Mr. Delacroix told you who I am?"

With a trembling voice, Jasmine replied, "Mr. Delacroix told me that his fiancee is coming and that I must welcome her with the utmost courtesy."

"That means I will be the mistress of this house," Irene whispered close to Jasmine's ear. "I want you to know that I am not a patient person and I don't like it when people ignore my questions. So I'm going to ask you one more time, do you know anything about my fiancé's scandal."

Jasmine squeezed the hem of her dress. The pressure Irene was putting on her almost made her want to cry and run away. However, she knew the consequences that would await her if she chose to run away.

As the mistress of the house, Irene would have the authority to fire any housekeeper she did not like. For this reason, Jasmine chose to comply with Irene's wishes rather than end up jobless.

After controlling her breathing, Jasmine explained, "I don't know much about the scandal since I've only been working in this house for three months. However, I have often heard other maids say that the scandal involves Mr. Delacroix and the young miss."

Irene frowned. "Heather?"

"Yes, the scandal involves Mr. Delacroix and his sister." Jasmine lowered her head, but her eyes tried to meet Irene's. She bit her lower lip before saying, "Many people say their relationship is not like an ordinary sibling."

"What do you mean?"

Jasmine whispered, "People say they might have a romantic relationship."

"They ... they what?" Irene narrowed her eyes and replied Jasmine's voice in her mind.

When Jasmine wanted to speak, Irene stopped her, "No. Don't say it. I don't want to hear it." She paced the room and bit her thumb. She knew that many rich people had eccentric tastes, but she had not expected Sebastian to have such a disgusting scandal.

"You can go, Jasmine," Irene said.

Jasmine left the room immediately because she did not want to deal with Irene anymore. She did not know her future fate after leaking such crucial information, but she knew for sure that Irene would make her suffer if she did not open her mouth at that time.

• •

In the middle of the night, Sebastian arrived home. He rubbed his neck, which felt a little sore after a long day of dealing with so many problems at the office. Still, he couldn't stop grinning at the thought that he had managed to get a stubborn woman to move into his house.

When he walked into his house, most of the lights had been turned off, so many rooms looked dark. He had lived in the house for many years, so there was no need to bother turning on the lights to go to his bedroom.

"You're finally home."

Sebastian's heart almost jumped when he heard a woman's voice in the dark living room. As soon as he turned on the light, he saw Irene sitting alone on the sofa, doing nothing but staring at Sebastian with her piercing gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Sebastian scrunched his forehead, wondering if the woman in front of him was truly Irene or a ghost. "Why not turn on the light if you are sitting here?"

Irene replied nonchalantly. "I'm not reading or doing anything, so there's no need to turn on the light. But that's not important." She got up from the sofa and approached Sebastian. "I'm waiting for you."

Sebastian looked puzzled but decided to smile. "I'm flattered that you're waiting so late for your fiance. But wouldn't it be better to wait in your own room?"

Irene sighed. "Don't be so narcissistic. I waited for you because I wanted to talk to you about something important, but let's talk about it in a more private place."

"Why? You can say it right here."

She gave him a dirty look and asked a question that almost gave Sebastian a heart attack. "Did you fuck your own sister?"