Chapter 144 His Maid's Voice
ANNA'S POV
He didn’t tell me that Tracey was coming to his place.
That single fact had refused to leave my mind since yesterday, looping endlessly like a broken record. No matter how much I tried to focus on work, no matter how many documents I opened or emails I skimmed through, it always crept back in.
I heard it clearly.
His maid’s voice.
The way she announced it so casually, like it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Did he not know that I heard the maid when she told him?
And even if he didn’t know then, he still didn’t mention it later.
That was the part that bothered me the most.
I leaned back in my office chair, the leather creaking softly beneath my weight as I tilted my head and stared at the ceiling. The white surface above me felt too close, almost suffocating, as my thoughts raced uncontrollably.
My mind was racing like hell right now.
I hadn’t called Ryan since yesterday.
Not because I didn’t want to talk to him, if anything, I wanted to hear his voice but because I was afraid. Afraid that if I called, my emotions would get the better of me. Afraid I would say something impulsive, something accusatory, something I wouldn’t be able to take back.
He might probably be the one to call, I told myself.
Or maybe that was just me hoping.
I wasn’t that old, but if you told someone that I’d only been in less than three relationships my whole life, they’d probably think I was lying straight to their face. People always made assumptions about me, about my looks, about the attention they thought I received.
I was a beautiful lady.
Because of that, most people assumed my college years were filled with endless admirers, boys lining up, attention coming from all directions. They wouldn’t know that the opposite was true. They wouldn’t know how reserved I’d been, how careful, how distant.
I never let people get too close.
And because of that, my experience in relationships was limited. Two relationships in particular had ended badly, but James’ own left the deepest mark. That one broke something in me.
It scared me.
It scared me enough that even now, as I allowed myself to date again, my mind automatically jumped to conclusions. Every situation became a question. Every silence became suspicious.
Does this next person want to hurt me the same way James did?
That question lingered in my head more often than I liked to admit.
And when those thoughts took over, I acted out. I overthought. I pulled away. I said things I later regretted. I created problems where there were none, all because fear spoke louder than reason.
That was why I built walls around myself.
Being single had been simple. Calm. Peaceful. My life was predictable, and my mind didn’t spiral into endless possibilities. I didn’t have to wonder where someone was or who they were with. I didn’t have to second-guess anyone’s intentions.
But that wall didn’t last.
It started cracking the very first day I met Ryan.
I hadn’t planned for it. I hadn’t expected it. One moment, I was content in my solitude, and the next, he was there — steady, calm, patient in ways that disarmed me completely.
Now, I found myself constantly thinking about him.
Where he was.
Who he was with.
And especially now, after hearing his maid tell him that Tracey was downstairs.
That name alone made something tighten in my chest.
I tried, God knows I tried to believe that she was just a good friend of his. Someone harmless. Someone from his past who held no threat.
But my instincts whispered something else.
They told me she wasn’t telling us everything.
“Ma’am!”
The voice startled me, pulling me sharply out of my thoughts. I straightened up immediately in my chair, my gaze snapping forward.
Bella stood at the entrance of my office, holding her cleaning utensils neatly. Her posture was polite, careful, like she was unsure whether she was interrupting something important.
Right.
Yesterday, I’d told her she could return to work today.
It was probably time for her to clean my office.
“Can I come in?” she asked, her voice respectful.
“Yes, go ahead,” I nodded.
She stepped inside without wasting time and began sweeping the office floor with practiced movements. The soft sound of the broom against the tiles filled the room. To avoid the space becoming awkwardly quiet, I opened my laptop, pretending to be busy.
“I noticed you were lost in deep thoughts,” Bella said gently.
I glanced up at her briefly. It was strange hearing concern in her voice. “Yeah,” I replied, keeping my eyes on the laptop screen. “Happens a lot.”
She continued sweeping. “It usually takes me thirty minutes to sweep, mop, and clean all the tables here in your office. I have enough time to listen and if possible, give advice, if you want to talk about it.”
I let out a quiet breath. “And then you’d lose concentration from your work and not get the job done properly?” I asked.
“No, ma’am,” she said quickly. “That wouldn’t happen, I promise.”
She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I know you might not want me to say this, and I know it’s all in the past, but we were once sisters. I threw all that away because I didn’t value it then. I didn’t get to experience what actually speaking with my sister would look like.”
“So you’re trying that now?” I interrupted, my tone sharper than intended.
She paused but didn’t seem offended. “Not as your sister,” she replied calmly. “Like I said, all that is in the past. Just as a caring staff worker. That’s all.”
I opened my mouth to tell her to get back to work, but Ryan’s words echoed in my head.
Try the other way.
It wouldn’t kill me if I did.
I’d already stopped keeping malice with both her and her mother. I spoke with my receptionist, Abby, from time to time. Talking to another worker wouldn’t be crossing any line.
Still, I couldn’t open up completely.
I couldn’t tell her about my insecurities. About my fears. About my relationship.