The mansion looked like something out of a lifestyle magazine, tall iron gates, polished marble drive, vines trained to perfection on either side of the walls. Kael stood outside for a few seconds longer than necessary, just staring, he tugged once at the borrowed shirt he had carefully ironed and approached the gate.The security guards didn't smile.
"Name?"
"Kael."
The older guard narrowed his eyes. "Kael what?"
He hesitated. "Just Kael."
A flicker of recognition, or doubt passed through the man's face, but before he could press further, a calm voice drifted from the entrance.
"He's with me," Sai said.
She wore a linen shift dress, her hair tied in a loose knot at the nape of her neck. No makeup. No pretenses. She walked toward them like she was used to being obeyed.
The gate opened, Kael stepped through, and for a moment, his chest tightened.
---
The scent of trimmed hedges and distant chlorine filled his head with memories. Years ago, in a different mansion, his father's .... Kael had lived this life. Woke up to breakfast set out on crisp white linen. A private driver waited beside the car, engine running. The chef always asked if he wanted strawberries on the side. Someone ironed his clothes before he even thought of wearing them, he hadn't been cruel. Just... clueless.
The housekeepers knew to stay quiet when he passed. The gardeners bent slightly in his presence. He had thought that was normal. That respect and readiness came with his last name, he remembered the head maid once scolding a new staff in front of him and then saying gently, "True royalty isn't in what you wear, Kael. It's in how you see others."
He hadn't understood it then.
Now he did.
Now, watching a gardener rake neatly fallen leaves at the corner of the driveway, sweat on his brow, Kael swallowed hard, because now he was the one who would serve.
---
Inside, everything smelled of wood polish and flowers. A maid led him into a sitting room with tall windows and gold-trimmed curtains. Sai's parents were already seated, her mother was regal, sharp cheekbones, silk wrapper, soft perfume that didn't mask the stiffness in her posture, her father sat like a man used to commanding boardrooms, not living rooms.
Kael straightened his spine.
"Kael," Mr. Asoluka said. "Sai tells us you're... applying as a driver."
"Yes, sir."
"Experience?"
"None official. But I've driven for years."
"That's not what I asked."
Kael met his eyes and said evenly, "No previous employers."
Mr. Asoluka leaned back. "Ever been entrusted with someone else's property?"
"Yes."
"And how did that end?"
Kael hesitated. "It was taken from me."
There was a long pause. Sai, standing by the window, said nothing, her gaze was steady, but Kael couldn't tell if it was encouragement or warning. Mrs. Asoluka cleared her throat. "We'll consider this a trial week."
Mr. Asoluka nodded curtly. "Any trouble, you're gone." He only nodded his head.
---
Outside, he was handed a key fob. The car was a sleek black sedan, too expensive for mistakes. He exhaled and opened the door, adjusting the seat carefully before starting the engine. It roared to life like a beast. Sai entered through the back.
"To CityPoint Art Studio, please."
He pulled onto the driveway, carefully navigating the turns, mirrors adjusted, hands firm on the wheel, for the first few minutes, Sai said nothing.
Then: "You drive like someone who's trying not to be noticed."
"I am." She smiled faintly. "You know... you don't need to pretend around me." He didn't answer.
She turned her face to the window. "Silence doesn't scare me."
---
The drive was smooth. He dropped her off and she stepped out without another word. Kael sat in the car for a second longer, the scent of her still lingering. A strange calmness settled in him. When he returned to the mansion, an elderly gardener paused from trimming the bushes. He gave Kael a slow, respectful nod.
Kael nodded back, It was just a moment.
But it mattered.
---
That evening, Kael sat under a quiet tree on the mansion grounds. The sun dipped low, and the marble reflected soft pink light, he looked down at his hands, steady on the wheel earlier, now folded in his lap , and thought of the days he never said thank you to the driver, the cook, the staff who rose before him and slept after. He thought of how invisible they must have felt, now he understood, now he carried their weight and he would carry it with dignity.
---
Kael didn't know if he belonged in this world of polished floors and soft-spoken power, but for now, he had a uniform, a duty and a reason to show up again tomorrow.