The Maid's Deception-Chapter 67 - 66: Desperation

ARIA’S POV

Aria woke three days after Victoria’s threat, tangled in Damien’s sheets, her body pleasantly sore and her mind clearer than it had been in weeks.

The past three days had been....incredible. Damien had been attentive, protective, possessive in all the best ways. He’d made love to her every night, bringing her to his bed and worshipping her body for hours until she passed out from exhaustion.

Victoria was gone. The threat was neutralized. And Aria had been working up the courage to finally tell Damien the truth. The whole truth. About her mother. About why she’d really come here. About everything.

Maybe today. Maybe tonight she’d find the words.

Her phone rang, jarring her from her thoughts. She reached for it groggily, seeing it was her regular phone.....not her work phone. The one only a few people had the number to.

Marcus. Her friend from medical school who’d been checking on her mother.

She answered quickly. "Marcus? What’s wrong?"

"Aria." His voice was strained, urgent. "You need to come to the hospital. Now. Your mother....she took a turn last night. They moved her back to ICU. The doctors are saying....." His voice broke. "They’re saying it’s time. Hours, maybe a day at most. If you want to say goodbye....."

The words hit like a physical blow, stealing the air from her lungs.

"What? No. She had two weeks. They said two weeks....."

"The disease is progressing faster than anticipated. Her body is shutting down. I’m so sorry, Aria. But you need to come now."

"I’ll be there. I’m leaving now." Her hands were shaking so badly she almost dropped the phone. "Tell her....tell her I’m coming. That I love her. That I’m....."

"I’ll tell her. Just hurry."

The call ended and Aria sat frozen, the phone still pressed to her ear, her mind unable to process what she’d just heard.

Hours. Her mother had hours.

Not two weeks. Not days. Hours.

And she still didn’t have the cure. Still hadn’t figured out how to get the Vitalis Radix. Still hadn’t.....

A sob tore from her throat, violent and wrenching. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when she’d been so close to finding another way. So close to maybe asking Damien for help.

But there was no time now. No time for honesty or trust or doing things the right way.

There was only one option left.

Tonight. She had to steal the plant tonight.

*******

DAMIEN’S POV - 9 AM

Damien was in a meeting with his executive team when his phone vibrated with a text from the head of household security.

Sarah Mitchell just received a call. Based on audio surveillance, her mother’s condition has become critical. She’s being told to come to the hospital immediately. Time frame: hours, not days.

His stomach dropped. This was it. The moment he’d been preparing for. The moment when Aria would be desperate enough to make her move.

He’d known it was coming. Had been monitoring the situation at Mount Sinai, receiving updates on Mei Chen’s deteriorating condition. But he’d hoped....foolishly, perhaps....that she’d come to him first. That she’d ask for help before resorting to theft.

Another text came through, this one from his contact at the hospital:

Patient Mei Chen moved to ICU at 3 AM. Vitals declining rapidly. Doctor estimates 12-18 hours maximum. Recommend immediate family presence.

Damien’s jaw clenched. He’d been preparing the Vitalis Radix treatment for weeks, waiting for Aria to confess so he could offer it openly. But time had run out.

He had two choices: Tell her now that he’d been preparing treatment, that he knew everything and was ready to help. Or let her try to steal it, catch her in the act, and force the final confrontation.

The first option was kinder. More honest. But it would rob her of agency, of making the choice to trust him.

The second option was cruel. Manipulative. But it would finally force all the secrets into the open.

He made his decision.

"Excuse me," he said, standing abruptly. "This meeting is over. Marcus, handle the rest."

He left without waiting for a response, heading straight for the greenhouse. If Aria was going to steal the plant tonight, he needed to be ready. Needed to be there when she made her attempt.

Needed to finally, finally end this elaborate game they’d been playing.

ARIA’S POV - 2 PM

Aria had spent the morning in a daze, going through the motions of her duties while her mind raced with plans.

She’d gone to the hospital during her lunch break, taking a taxi that drained most of her remaining cash. The visit had been devastating.

Her mother had looked so small in that hospital bed, her skin gray, her breathing labored. The machines surrounding her beeped with ominous irregularity, tracking systems that were failing one by one.

"Aria," her mother had whispered, her voice barely audible. "My beautiful girl."

"I’m here, Mama. I’m here." Aria had held her hand so carefully, afraid of breaking the fragile bones.

"Don’t cry, baby. It’s okay. I’m ready."

"No. No, you’re not ready. You can’t.....I’m going to fix this. I promise. I’m going to....."

"Shh." Mei’s eyes had filled with tears. "Aria, listen to me. Whatever you’re planning.....whatever desperate thing you think you need to do.....don’t. Promise me you won’t do something that will destroy your life trying to save mine."

"I can’t promise that."

"Please." Mei’s grip had tightened with surprising strength. "I’ve lived a good life. I’ve raised an incredible daughter. I’m at peace. But I need to know.....I need to know that when I’m gone, you’ll be okay. That you’ll be happy. That you’ll have love and joy and all the things I wanted for you."

"I can’t be happy without you."

"Yes, you can. You have to be." Mei had smiled weakly. "Tell me about him. The man you’ve been seeing. Damien."

Aria had broken down then, crying against her mother’s chest like a child. "I love him, Mama. So much. But I’m going to lose him. Because I’m about to do something that will make him hate me. And I don’t know how to stop it."

"Then don’t do it. Whatever it is.....find another way. Trust the people who love you to help you."

But there was no other way. No time for trust. No time for anything except action.

Now, back at the estate, Aria stood in her room and made her final preparations.

Tonight at 2 AM, when Damien would be asleep, she’d use the access card he’d given her weeks ago.....the one she’d kept hidden, waiting for this moment. She’d go to the greenhouse, take enough Vitalis Radix for her mother’s treatment, and disappear before anyone discovered what she’d done.

She’d thought about leaving a note for Damien. Explaining. Apologizing. Begging him to understand. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But what could she say? Sorry I betrayed you, but my mother was dying? Sorry I lied about everything, but I didn’t have a choice?

There were no words that would make this okay. No explanation that would soften the blow of her betrayal.

So she’d leave nothing. Would just vanish like she’d never existed. And Damien would wake up tomorrow to find both her and the plant gone, and he’d know.....he’d finally know....exactly what she’d been planning all along.

The thought made her sick. Made her want to scream. But what choice did she have?

Her phone buzzed. A text from Damien.

Come to dinner tonight. My private quarters, 8 PM. I have something important to discuss with you.

Her heart clenched. One last dinner. One last evening with him before she destroyed everything.

She typed back with trembling fingers: I’ll be there.

Maybe she could memorize him. Every detail. Every expression. Every word. Store them up to sustain her through all the lonely years to come, when she’d replay these memories and wonder what might have been if only she’d been braver. If only she’d trusted him. If only there had been more time.

But there wasn’t more time.

There was only tonight. And the impossible choice she’d already made.

DAMIEN’S POV - 7 PM

Damien stood in his private quarters, checking everything one last time.

The greenhouse was prepared. Security had been instructed to let Aria through if she attempted to enter the restricted area....but to alert him immediately.

He’d be watching. Waiting. Ready to intercept her before she could take the plant and disappear.

And then....then they’d have it out. All of it. Every secret. Every lie. Every desperate choice.

He’d already called Dr. Morrison at Mount Sinai, confirming that Mei Chen’s treatment could begin immediately once he gave the word. The Vitalis Radix was prepared. The protocols were ready. All he needed was Aria’s consent.

Which he’d get. Tonight. After the confrontation.

After she finally understood that he’d known everything all along. That he’d been waiting for her to trust him. That he’d been preparing to save her mother for weeks.

It was manipulative. Cruel, perhaps. But necessary.

Because Aria needed to learn....once and for all.....that she didn’t have to carry impossible burdens alone. That asking for help wasn’t weakness. That the people who loved her would move heaven and earth to give her what she needed.

Even if she couldn’t ask for it.

At exactly 8 PM, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Aria entered, and his breath caught despite himself. She’d dressed carefully....the emerald dress he loved, her hair down, minimal makeup that somehow made her look both beautiful and heartbreakingly vulnerable.

She looked like she was preparing for a last meal. A final goodbye.

Which, in a way, she was.

"Hi," she said softly, closing the door behind her.

"Hi." He crossed to her, pulling her into his arms. She came willingly, pressing her face against his chest like she was trying to memorize the feel of him.

They stood like that for a long moment, just holding each other, both knowing that everything was about to change but neither saying it aloud.

"Are you hungry?" he finally asked.

"Not really. But I’ll eat if you want me to."

He’d had Mrs. Chen prepare all of Aria’s favorite foods, laid out beautifully on the small table by the window. They sat and ate in near silence, the tension between them thick enough to cut.

"Aria," he finally said, setting down his fork. "There’s something I need to....."

"No." She interrupted, her voice firm. "Please. Not yet. Just.....can we just have tonight? Can we just pretend, for a few more hours, that everything is simple? That we’re just....two people who love each other?"

He wanted to push. Wanted to force the conversation. But looking at her....at the desperate plea in her eyes.....he found himself nodding.

"Okay. Tonight, we pretend."

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. "Thank you."

After dinner, he took her to his bed and made love to her with a tenderness that bordered on reverence. No games. No control. Just honesty in the only language they both spoke fluently.

And when she fell asleep in his arms hours later, exhausted and sated, he held her and waited.

Waited for her to wake. Waited for her to slip out of his bed thinking he was asleep. Waited for her to make her move.

So he could finally, finally end this.

And save them both.