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I smiled and shut the door.
“Let’s go. Mom is waiting for us,” Maddie said as she grabbed my arm and started pulling me down the hall.
As we headed for the stairs, I didn’t see Alessio or his men anywhere.
Viktor, Nikolay, Phoenix, and Artur were always with him wherever he went. They were his most trusted associates.
Artur was the only one who seemed friendly. Maybe I thought so because Maddie was with him.
Nikolay always glared at everyone. I didn’t think he even knew how to smile. The only time I heard him talk nicely was with Lena, probably because she is the mother of house. Nobody talked harshly to her or even tried to be rude. Even Alessio.
As Maddie and I stepped off the last stair, I saw Alessio coming in, followed by his men.
They were whispering quietly. When Alessio made eye contact with me, his mouth froze. He stared at me, his eyes unflinching as he took me in.
And then, his lips twitched in that smirk that I hated.
Looking away, I followed Maddie to the kitchen. Time to work.
Food was served and I was about to retreat back into the kitchen when someone stopped us.
“You and Maddie stay back this time,” said one of the other maids, a girl named Lila. For every meal, two of us had to stay back and serve if the men needed any help. For the last two days, Maddie and I had escaped that duty.
“Okay,” I said.
Maddie scowled. She hated it, and I hated it too. Only because I had to be where Alessio was.
“Ayla, pass me the garlic bread.” Alessio’s demanding voice penetrated my mind. My head snapped up and I looked at him, confused.
“Huh?”
“I said pass me the bread,” he repeated, sounding annoyed. Maddie was standing closer to it.
I looked back at Alessio, but he was staring at me expectantly. He raised an eyebrow when I didn’t move. Turning my head, I swallowed and then nodded at Maddie. Her eyes widened in amusement.
“Maddie, can you please give Alessio the bread? You are closer,” I said as softly as I could, my voice quiet.
Her mouth fell open in shock, and from the corner of my eyes I saw all the men staring at me with amused expressions. I couldn’t believe it either. I had just gone against Alessio and did it in front of his men.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted it.
Maddie’s mouth snapped shut and she chuckled under her breath. Before I could change my mind, she grabbed the basket and walked over to Alessio at the other end of the table. Placing it in front of him, she said, sounding almost sarcastic, “There you go, Alessio. Your hot, crispy, buttery garlic bread. Enjoy.”
Alessio took his eyes off me and glared at Maddie. She smiled wide and then sashayed away.
She was playing with fire but she knew that Alessio wouldn’t do or say anything to her. Alessio, Viktor, and Maddie were close when they were little. They grew up together, sisters and brothers from another mother.
Maddie told me stories about how they would always play together and how she would always follow them around and get in trouble together.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt someone poking me. Turning my head to the side, I saw Maddie standing next to me. “You are playing with fire, babe. Don’t poke the beast or you won’t be able to deal with it,” she whispered in my ear before walking away and standing behind Artur.
I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. She was right. I didn’t know what came over me.
Standing there, I shifted on my feet a couple of times, suddenly growing nervous when I noticed their attention on me. I saw Viktor smirking, and then he went back to eating. When Alessio cleared his throat, everyone looked away.
I kept my focus away from Alessio, but I still felt his gaze on me. As each minute passed, my hands grew colder and my insides shook with tension.
“Ayla, can you bring me the rice?” he asked.
I knew it. I just knew it. I knew he was going to do this.
I looked up and saw that his eyes were twinkling with mirth and his right eyebrow was raised in challenge. I looked down and saw that the bowl was right next to me.
Releasing a long breath, I took the bowl of rice in my hand and slowly walked toward him. His eyes were on me the whole time and his smirk was back. He licked his lips.
When I stopped next to him, I placed the bowl down but he didn’t move. Alessio looked up at me expectantly and then nodded toward the rice.
Sighing, I grabbed the spoon and put some rice on his plate. Something touched my leg, and I jumped in fright and then looked down.
