Sophia stepped once more into the presidential suite with a heart heavy with dread. Everything felt familiar, yet dangerously laden with memories. The moment she closed the door behind her, her breath hitched. All she wanted was to finish her work quietly and slip away without drawing attention.
But though she told herself it was just another day, an unspoken tension lingered. In every corner of the room, in every polished surface, she saw the ghost of Alexander Wittingtons gazecalm yet piercing, as if he could read her every thought.
As she smoothed the silk pillows on the bed, the door opened again. The sound of confident footsteps filled the room. Sophia froze, her fingers tightening around the fabric.
“Not running this time,” his deep voice murmured, surprisingly gentle.
She turned slowly. Alexander stood there, as immaculate as ever, but his eyes held something newwarm curiosity, laced with faint amusement.
“I thought I thought Id be in the way,” she stammered.
“If you were, youd know by now. And yet, I didnt call security or the manager. Can you guess why?”
She shook her head, lost for words.
“Because I want to know who you are,” he said. “A woman who falls asleep in a strangers bed is either reckless or has a soul so pure that exhaustion is her only sin. And you, Sophia, seem the latter.”
Hearing her name in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. How did he know it? Then she rememberedthe name tag pinned to her uniform.
“Im nothing special,” she whispered. “Just a maid.”
Alexander smiled for the first timebrief, but enough to unsettle her.
“Just a maid? No. A woman who works herself to exhaustion yet looks like some forgotten painting in a hidden gallery. Do you call that nothing?”
Her cheeks burned. She wanted to thank him, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she lowered her eyes, struggling to regain composure.
“I I should finish cleaning,” she managed at last.
“Finish, then,” he said simply, but he stayed, watching her every move.
The hours passed in quiet tension. He asked small questionswhere she was from, why shed come to the city, if she liked the hotel. She answered shyly, each reply unraveling a little more of her story. She came from a small village where her parents struggled against poverty. Shed worked since childhood, sending most of her wages home.
Alexander listened with unexpected attentiveness. For once, someone saw him not as a businessman, but simply as a mancaptivated by a womans honesty.
In the days that followed, their encounters repeated. Each visit to the suite became a scene from a secret novel. He always seemed to appear, as if waiting for her. Hed help her straighten a vase, adjust a painting, or just watch in silence, letting the quiet speak.
Her coworkers began to whisper. “Why is Sophia always up there?” they asked. She couldnt explain. She didnt even know if it was just a game to himor something more.
One rainy evening, when lamplight glowed against the suites tall windows, Alexander stopped her with an unexpected gesture.
“Stay awhile, Sophia. Not as staff. As a woman.”
She froze, her pulse racing.
“I I cant. Youre too far above me.”
“High and low are illusions,” he said, stepping closer. “What matters is what we feel.”
His fingers brushed her wrista simple touch that undid her. His eyes held no billionaires arrogance, only the longing of an ordinary man.
“I dont mean to frighten you,” he said. “If you leave now, I wont stop you. But if you stay, know youre here because I chose you and because you chose me, even without realizing it.”
Sophia felt her world collapse and remake itself in the same breath. A lifetime of running from dreams too big, fearing theyd break her. And yet, under Alexanders gaze, she understoodsome dreams must be lived, no matter the risk.
She stepped closer, wordless. He held her with a gentleness that belied his strength. For the first time, Sophia didnt feel like a weary maid, but a woman desired.
The nights that followed were like a dream. Alexander showed her a hidden worldprivate dinners, drives through empty streets, long talks where he bared his fears. To him, Sophia became a refuge, a truth money couldnt buy.
But reality soon caught up. The hotels management noticed her frequent visits and the attention she received. Rumours grew too loud. One morning, the manager summoned her.
“Sophia, youll need to find another job. You cant stay here.”
The words struck like thunder. She left with her small suitcase and a heavy heart, certain their story had ended.
Yet that evening, as she stepped outside, a black car waited at the curb. The window lowered, revealing Alexanders steady gaze.
“Did you think youd escape me so easily?” he asked, smiling.
“I didnt want to cause trouble,” she whispered.
“Sophia, youre not the trouble. Youre the answer.”
He opened the door, offering his hand. She hesitated only a moment before taking it.
And so their true life together began. It wasnt without obstaclesdifferences in station, public scrutiny, envy. But every night, alone, Alexander looked at her with the same intensity as the first day.
For Sophia, the world was no longer a cold hotel where she worked to exhaustion. It had become a place where love could bridge two souls from opposite worlds.
And whenever she remembered that nightfalling asleep in a strangers bedshe smiled. For she knew it had been the start of her destiny.
