The door slammed behind her, and Ashley barely noticed how loud it was. Her breath caught in her throat like a sob that refused to be born.
Jake's smug expression still lingered in her mind — that ridiculous half-smile like he was enjoying her humiliation and taunting her like he had won something.
But worse than Jake was Andrew. It was his words that dug deepest.
"One mistake and you're out."
The words had landed like a slap. Like a cold, deliberate, and cruel threat. Something about how the statement sounded made it feel like he could intentionally sabotage her. No matter how she tried, she couldn't ward these feelings off.
Ashley turned sharply into the side corridor and kept walking. Her vision blurred slightly, but she kept her chin lifted. This wasn't the first time she'd felt unwanted — but somehow, in this mansion, the rejection felt heavier and sharper. It felt like knives had pressed into the softest part of her body.
She turned a corner and finally stopped near a long stretch of hallway lined with aged portraits. Her breath hitched and her throat tightened. And right there, the tears she had been struggling to hold in came.
She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. For a moment, the world blurred — the faces in the portraits, the pale morning light — everything dissolved into the ache in her chest. She realized there that she had missed her mother so much. God, she missed her so much it hurt to breathe.
Ashley pressed her forehead to her knees. "Why did I come here?" she whispered, her voice muffled and shaky. "Why did I leave her when she needed me most?"
There had been no other choice, she reminded herself. There was neither no money nor job back home. The hospital bills were mounting and her mother's ailment had worsened. She had thought this job would help. Like a few months of hard work with decent pay will produce something to send back.
But at that moment, all Ashley wanted was to be in her mother's room again. That stuffy little apartment with the cracked walls and a scent of antiseptic and boiled ginger lingering in the air. Her mother's fingers brushing her knuckles. Her voice, faint but loving.
She missed her.
She missed herself.
Ashley sank down, pressing her hands to her face, not caring if her makeup smudged. No one in this house saw her anyway. Not as a person, not even as a girl barely keeping herself from falling apart.
Five long minutes passed before she pushed herself up again. Her legs wobbled, but she was done crying. Almost at least.
She smoothed her apron, blinked her vision clear, and began walking again.
But the Cross mansion wasn't just a house. It was a machine. A living, breathing thing that watched and consumed and never let anyone rest.
And now, she was alone. In a place where even kindness came wrapped in suspicion.
Ashley wiped her eyes with the corner of her sleeve. "Get it together," she whispered. "You don't get to fall apart."
She stood slowly, shoulders slumping under invisible weight, and began walking again. The sharp echo of her shoes on the floor felt like a countdown to something she couldn't name.
The hallway felt colder somehow. She quickened her pace down the corridor, her shoes thudding over polished marble. Her fists were clenched at her sides, not out of fury — at least not anymore — but out of defense. Like she was holding herself together with sheer will.
She turned a corner into one of the quieter servant passages and collapsed against the wall. The ornate wallpaper scratched against her back, but she barely felt it.
Tears burned hot in her eyes.
Why am I even here?
The mansion had never felt like a home. She had told herself over and over again that this job was a means to an end — to pay for her mother's medicine, to keep her alive just a little longer.
As she neared the servant corridor, she caught sight of a familiar figure. It was Elise.
The girl was standing on a small step stool, dusting the high brass chandelier in the hallway near the conservatory. Sunlight filtered through the glass roof, casting a golden shimmer across the space. Elise hadn't noticed her yet. She was humming softly to herself, balanced on tiptoes, and had a cloth for cleaning in hand. The morning sunlight filtered in through the glass ceiling casted golden patches on her dark brown skin and neat uniform. Her hair was pulled into a perfect low puff. Elise looked peaceful. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and her curls were bouncing slightly as she moved.
Ashley paused for a second, considering turning around. But she kept moving her feet forward.
"Elise," she said softly.
Elise turned around so fast, she nearly dropped her cloth. "Oh! Ashley. You scared the life out of me."
"Sorry." Ashley attempted a smile. "Didn't mean to sneak up."
Elise chuckled. "Girl, your face looks pale. You good?"
Ashley shrugged, eyes darting briefly to the window. "Yeah. Just… tired."
Elise tilted her head. "That's not tired-tired. That's something-happened-and-you're-trying-to-play-it-cool tired."
Ashley exhaled. "Have you always been this observant?"
"Only when my favorite coworker looks like she's been crying."
Ashley blinked. "That obvious?"
Elise stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Did something happen?"
Ashley looked at her for a moment, longer than she usually does. She noticed Elise had kind eyes. And more than that, she was the only one here who had never looked at her like she was an intruder.
So she nodded just once.
"Jake pulled one of his stupid stunts again," she said, voice low. "Said something slick. And Andrew… he threatened to get me fired."
Elise's mouth parted slightly. "Wait, what? Andrew?"
Ashley nodded. "He said if i make a mistake, I'd be thrown out. He even tried to tip the tray i was holding. They both hate my guts."
"Wow. That's… harsh. Even for him."
Ashley laughed, but it was hollow. "It's like… every time I breathe, one of them acts like I'm tainting the air."
Elise leaned against the wall. "What did you even say to set him off?"
"Nothing. Just existed, apparently."
"That sounds about right." Elise said.
They both laughed, but Ashley's smile faded almost immediately.
Elise noticed. "Okay, real talk. You've been off since the morning meeting. And now you look like you want to crawl under a table and disappear. Spill all the tea. I'm here for it."
Ashley hesitated, then slowly sat down on the narrow wooden bench beside the window. Elise followed without hesitation.
"I just…" Ashley began, fingers twisting in her lap. "I miss my mom."
Elise's expression softened instantly. "How's she doing?"
"She is still sick. Some days she says she's fine. Other days, she can barely speak above a whisper. And I'm here, dusting vases and pretending like I'm not dying inside."
"You're not pretending very well today," Elise said gently.
"I know," Ashley whispered. "It's just… I thought I could do this. I thought I could keep my head down, earn, and get her better meds. But this house will eat you up, no matter who you are. And the Cross brothers…" She trailed off.
"What about them?"
Ashley looked up. "They're playing games with me. Both of them. Jake looks down on me, I know I'm just a maid but he's doing too much. He makes the most arrogant comments. While Andrew acts like I'm dirt under his shoes but watches me like he's trying to figure out what I'll do next."
"That's disturbing," Elise muttered.
"I keep asking myself… why me? Why hire someone you clearly despise? What's the point?"
Elise said nothing for a long moment, then reached over and took her hand. "Maybe you were meant to find something. Meant to be here, not for them, but for something bigger."
Ashley blinked. "That's… exactly how I feel sometimes."
Elise gave a half-smile. "Then trust it. Even if it doesn't make sense yet."
Ashley hesitated again. Her fingers tightened around something in her apron pocket.
"I found something," she said slowly. "Something I'm not sure I was supposed to see."
Elise's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Ashley pulled out a folded sheet of paper, its edges slightly browned from age. "It was tucked behind one of the old books in the library. Near the fireplace."
She unfolded it carefully and read aloud:
"They told me to forget you. That love wasn't worth it. But every night I close my eyes and see the life we should have had.
— N.C."
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Elise looked at the paper, then back at Ashley. "That's… a love letter."
"Feels more like a heartbreak letter," Ashley murmured.
"You think it's real? Like… someone in this house wrote it?"
"I don't know. But it felt wrong to leave it there."
Elise leaned in. "N.C. Who could that be?"
Ashley shook her head. "I've been thinking about that nonstop. There's no Cross with an N, right?"
"Not in the current family. But maybe someone from the past?" Elise stared at the letter a moment longer. "It's kind of sad. Like… unfinished grief."
Ashley nodded. "Yeah. It feels like a secret that's been rotting here. Waiting for someone to notice."
Before Elise could reply, a sharp voice sliced through the quiet.
"Ladies."
They both turned.
Mrs. Maureen stood at the far end of the hallway, arms crossed, lips pursed.
Ashley's spine straightened instinctively. Elise rose to her feet.
Maureen walked toward them slowly, her heels echoing in the long corridor. "Is there a reason you two are having an unscheduled chat while the chandelier room still needs polishing?"
Elise stammered, "We— I mean, I was—"
"I'm sure you were," Maureen interrupted, her eyes narrowing slightly on Ashley. "Miss Dade, you'll assist Margot in the parlor now. They're behind."
"Yes, ma'am," Elise murmured, casting Ashley a quick apologetic glance before walking away briskly.
Ashley stood as well, clutching the letter against her apron.
Maureen turned to her, tone colder. "Miss Patterson, may I remind you that this is a place of order. Curiosity, while charming in books, is disruptive in this house. Do I make myself clear?"
Ashley's breath caught. "Yes, ma'am."
Maureen offered a tight smile. "Good."
She walked past without another word, with her heels tapping sharply down the corridor. She strode away, leaving a perfume trail and silence in her wake.
Ashley let out a shaky breath. Something about the way Maureen looked at her… it didn't feel like suspicion. It felt like knowing.
She reached into her apron pocket, to tuck the letter back in. Her fingers were searching for the letter and her hand closed on air. Her stomach dropped. She searched again, her hand met the fabric. She checked her pockets and sleeves. She even checked under the bench and around her feet, still nothing.
Her hands began to tremble and her breath came faster.
Her chest tightened. "No… no, no—" She spun around, scanning the ground for the second time. She found nothing still.
"No…" she whispered.
She looked up the hallway, but Elise was gone and so was Mrs. Maureen.
Ashley stood in the middle of the corridor, heart in her throat, pulse hammering against her ribs.
The paper… the only trace of the secret she hadn't meant to find… was gone.