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Chapter V

Oh please don't let it be that dreamy maid. If I keep quiet she might go away. She can bring my things later.

Suddenly there was another knock on the door. My God, they're so pushy here.

I stood up and opened the door with an annoyed sigh.

"Yes?" Well, he didn't look like a maid. A young man of around 22, maybe 23, stood in front of me.

He had raven-black hair that was styled wildly and loosely. I guess someone likes him, I just got up .

He was wearing a black t-shirt that sat tightly on his upper arms and black jeans. My gaze wandered back to his striking face until I looked into brown-green eyes.

"Woha, take a photo if you like what you see, sister-in-law." He grinned cheekily at me and walked past me into my room.

What? Sister-in-law?

I turned to him in shock and saw him already sitting on my bed. He was looking at me just as I had looked at him.

Suddenly he stood up and held out his hand to me. "Welcome, I'm Marco Martinelli, Dante's younger brother. Well, one of them. And you must be Anastasia. You're even prettier than everyone says."

Irritated by his direct statement, I took his hand. "Who says that?" I wanted to know from him.

Marco took a few steps back and fell onto my bed. "Well, everyone, my father, my uncle and Dante."

When he heard Dante's name, he waggled his eyebrows. What was that supposed to tell me? Does he know why I'm here?!

"What do you want here?" I asked straight out. I wasn't in the mood for pubescent games or childish hints.

"Uh, not very hospitable, but don't worry, we'll get to that."

Great, someone must have had a clown for breakfast. I simply ignored his comment and demonstratively opened the door. Let's hope he understands signals as well as he gives them out.

He stood up and left the room with a "see you at dinner". Of course, not without winking at me first.

I slammed the door a little harder than I intended and turned back toward the room.

Only now did I take a closer look at the room. The four-poster bed was in the center. Above it hung a Rembrandt. Well, it wasn't my taste, but it would fit in with any interior.

Opposite, there was a large television on the wall and next to it was a small sofa corner. Behind the sofa there were floor-length windows, one of which led to the balcony.

Thank God I had my purse with me. I opened it and with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter I made my way to the balcony. There I sat down on one of the chairs and lit a cigarette.

In the last month I have gone from smoking occasionally to smoking constantly. Maybe I'll die before I get married if I carry on like this. I never thought that such a thought would creep into my mind. Well, for some people, marriage is the beginning of life, and for me it's the end.

The smoke from my cigarette made its way over the balcony into the garden and I followed it with my eyes.

The garden was really huge and beautiful. Next to a group of trees I could see Dante talking to a man I didn't know. The two men were also smoking.

Dante ran his hand through his hair while the other man talked to him.

Unfortunately, I was too far away to hear what they were saying.

I heard a knock on my door again. Before the men could recognize me, I put out my cigarette and went back inside.

"If that's you again, Marco, then God help you." I muttered quietly to myself before opening the door.

Nop, maid. Well, I really wasn't good at guessing today.

Oh well, all good things come in threes.

Without saying a word, she walked past me into the room.

She was followed by two security guards who were packed full of my suitcases. The girl pointed to a door that was probably the dressing room and followed the men in.

That's not going to happen.

I ran after her and saw that she was already getting things out of my suitcase. The men walked past me and left the room.

When the maid noticed me, she asked in a fake-nice voice, "Do you really want to keep all of it? Or just the new collection?" She ran her hand over my suitcase.

Really? Well, we're not going to be friends. If she thinks I haven't seen her dreamy look at Dante, she's wrong. Not that I'm jealous, by God. But her intentions are pretty clear.

I just hope my life doesn't turn into a Spanish telenovela.

I took a deep breath. Being criticized for my clothes by a maid was the last thing I wanted to do here.

She was still standing in front of me with her arms crossed and one foot demonstratively tapping on the floor. Someone is trying to mark their territory.

That's fine with me, but I'm still going to teach her a little lesson for her arrogance. I'm going to take a closer look at her now.

She was wearing quite a lot of make-up, which was slightly flaking around her eyes. It wasn't much, and most people would have missed it. It's a good thing I wasn't most people. So her make-up wasn't of good quality. Her

dyed hairline was also clearly visible.

She was wearing a Pandora bracelet on her right arm, not cheap, but not particularly expensive either. There could be two reasons why she didn't take it off at work.

Either the bracelet means something to her emotionally and that's why she always wears it, or it's a status symbol and that's why she waves it around proudly in front of my nose. But I don't know what she's trying to achieve with it, because even my cell phone case cost more.

Even though both reasons are possible, I don't really think this girl is the emotional type.

But I wouldn't be me if I acted too quickly. Let's see what this girl wants to teach me about fashion.

I'm going to play along for now and see where this leads. Oh man, another game and I've only been here for two hours.

"Yes, please just sort the newest collections." I actually hate it when other people rummage through my things, but I'm just too curious.

Without looking at her, I left the dressing room and went into my bathroom.

Wow, not bad. The floor was covered with black granite slabs and the walls had a marble look.

There was a freestanding bathtub in the middle of the room and a freestanding shower to the left.

The bathroom is definitely my favorite room.

I washed my hands and went back to my room. There I collapsed onto the bed. I could still hear the maid bustling around in the dressing room.

When would she notice that the suitcase only contains the latest collections? I grin to myself.

Even though I never placed much value on brands, I am now glad that my aunt insisted on beating the world of fashion into my head.

I had to grin when I remembered our shopping trips. She didn't have it easy with me, or I with her. I resisted it for as long as I could, even though it never worked. She did her best to raise me as ladylike as possible and to replace my mother.

Suddenly the maid came out of the dressing room again and stood in front of me.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked in a voice that was much too high. She was carrying a pile of my clothes in her arms. Apparently they hadn't made it into the closet.

Oh fuck, that's my black Saint Laurent dress on her arm. If my aunt saw that, she'd have a heart attack. She had the dress flown in especially and bought it just 2 days ago. I have to suppress a laugh.

Only now do I notice that the girl is still waiting.

"No, you can go." I said in a cold tone and burst out laughing as soon as she was out of the room.

Where did I end up here? A cold and disinterested fiancé, his childish and far too direct brother, and now a haughty and arrogant maid.

If the cigarettes don't kill me, I'll probably end up in a madhouse.

I went into the dressing room and grabbed the first thing I could find. Then I treated myself to a hot shower to relieve the tension from the flights. Just as I was heading to my room, freshly showered and dressed, the door opened and Dante came in.

What was that again, all good things come in threes.

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