Chapter 9
Vanessa tried one last time to get back into my life.
She showed up at the estate two weeks later, wearing a simple but elegant dress and carrying a small gift box. When the new housekeeper tried to turn her away, she caused a scene at the gate.
I eventually agreed to see her in the garden, mostly out of curiosity.
She looked different. The arrogance was gone, replaced by something that almost resembled desperation.
“Alexander,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’ve been thinking a lot since… everything that happened. I made mistakes. I was scared. But I still love you.”
I looked at her without expression.
“Vanessa, you didn’t love me. You loved what I could give you. There’s a difference.”
She stepped closer.
“I know I said some terrible things. But we can start over. I can change. We can still get married and—”
“No,” I said firmly.
She stopped.
I continued.
“Even if I wanted to, I could never trust you again. You showed me exactly who you are when you thought I had nothing left. And I will never forget it.”
Vanessa’s expression hardened.
“So that’s it? You’re choosing the maid over me?”
I smiled faintly.
“I’m choosing someone who treated me with respect when I had nothing to offer. Someone who didn’t need my money or my status to be kind. That’s not something you can compete with, Vanessa.”
She stared at me for a long moment, then laughed bitterly.
“You’ll regret this. You think that little maid can give you what I could? She has nothing.”
I looked at her calmly.
“That’s exactly why I trust her. Because she stayed even when she had nothing to gain.”
Vanessa’s face twisted with anger and humiliation.
She turned and walked away without another word.
I watched her leave and felt nothing but relief.
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For the first time in years, I was free from people who only wanted me for what I could give them.
And that freedom was worth more than all the money in the world.
