For Eliana, everything that happened last night felt like a dream. When she woke up, she knew it was time to face reality.
Dylan could have countless women, could engage in passionate affairs with anyone he desired, but that woman would never be her. In his eyes, she was still a servant of the Cunningham Family, a redemption-bound slave.
Biting her lip, she remembered the harsh lesson she'd learned: survival in the Cunningham Family meant she had to keep her teeth clenched and her pain hidden. No matter what had transpired between them, when the sun rose, he was still Dylan, and she was still Eliana.
Their relationship, hidden from the world, was their secret. However, that secret had now been exposed due to an unexpected overnight stay.
Rose, irritated by yesterday's events, had trouble sleeping and woke up early. It was just her luck to witness Dylan coming out of Eliana's room. Many things didn't need an explanation, especially not to a sensitive woman like Rose. She had long felt that Dylan's gaze towards Eliana was different.
Slap!
Eliana had barely left her room when she received a resounding slap from Rose.
"You wretched woman! You're nothing but a wretched woman!"
"What do you mean, Ms. Eastwood? I don't understand."
"Eliana, don't play dumb with me. What did you do to Dylan? It's all because of your seductive face!" Rose's words were extremely harsh.
Though their relationship had nothing to do with seduction, it had become tainted between her and Dylan.
"I don't need to explain anything to you. I'm a servant of the Cunningham Family, and you're just a guest..." Eliana retorted with an air of dominance.
She had once been a wealthy heiress, and deep down, she still carried that pride. In front of Cunningham Family members, she bowed her head and swallowed her pride to protect her family, but she didn't need to bow to someone like Rose.
"Well, you shitty servant, dare to talk back to me? I'll smash that seductive face of yours!" Rose threatened as she raised her hand, but this time, Eliana blocked it with her own. "Ms. Eastwood, regardless of whether I'm a servant or not, I belong to the Cunningham Family. Your name, Li, doesn't matter."
Eliana had been doing the rough work in the Cunningham Family for three years, and she had the strength to fend off Rose.
Rabbits would bite when cornered. Though she had endured countless lashes from Mrs. Cunningham the day before, it didn't mean she would bow down to everyone and wag her tail like a dog.
"Huh, you bitch, just watch what happens. My cousin belongs to me. You, of all people, are not worthy of the Cunningham Family." Rose left in frustration.
Seeing the arrogant Rose walk away, Eliana slumped onto a nearby flowerbed. "Worthy or not, it's already like this. It's all fate." She sighed, taking a deep breath. Since she had entered the Cunningham Family, she had accepted that she had no control over her fate.
In the days that followed, Eliana deliberately avoided Dylan. The only interaction between them was at night when he would stand by the window, almost unconsciously, until the faint light went out.
For Dylan, it had been an ongoing struggle. He couldn't explain, nor face, his feelings for Eliana.
He considered himself a highly disciplined man, but over the past three years, he had found himself unable to resist succumbing to his desires with her time and time again. It was no longer a matter of mere release.
The tension between them was a terrifying, unfathomable abyss, yet it held an inexplicable allure that made him yearn for more. Like moths to a flame...
The night was deep, the sky filled with countless stars, and such a beautiful night made it easier for people's hearts to tremble with anticipation.
Dragging her tired body back home after a long day of work, Eliana noticed that there was someone else in her room as soon as she entered.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Dylan's sudden accusation caught her off guard as he grabbed Eliana and pulled her into his embrace.
"I... I'm not." She struggled to breathe as she was enveloped by him. His presence made her heart race once again.
"You're lying."
"You should leave. If the madam finds out about this, she'll kill me, and you won't have any sympathy for me, right?" Eliana feigned indifference, but her heart was in turmoil.
"You deliberately avoided me, didn't you?" he asked ambiguously.
"Yes, because I'm afraid..."
"With me here, you have nothing to fear."
Before Eliana could respond, Dylan's lips were on hers.
If it felt as freezing as poison, as intoxicatingly wonderful, it was a sensation that left one mesmerized.
Dylan was different this time, his dominance tinged with a touch of tenderness.
Eliana's heart was torn in conflicting struggles, as if she were being tossed into a frying pan. She didn't dare to resist, couldn't resist, or perhaps she simply didn't want to resist.
Maybe she knew deep down that this man was simply acting on a whim, but her heart had been lonely and cold for too long. She had even begun to crave these traces of tenderness from him.
After an unknown amount of time, her surroundings returned to the disarray of the first encounter. This time, Dylan didn't say a word. He simply looked at her with his eyes, as deep and complex as a cold abyss. Perhaps only Eliana could decipher the turmoil, the contradictions, and even the pain in that gaze. Because she knew that everything between them was destined to have no future.
"We shouldn't do this again in the future," Eliana spoke first this time.
She didn't want it to be like before, where he left without a word. That feeling made her feel as though she was just another woman, or maybe he truly regarded her as such. Despite her having humbled herself to the point of being dust, a trace of her former pride still lingered in her heart.
"You are mine, and when to stop is something I'll decide..." Dylan was domineering, very domineering indeed.
From that moment on, their relationship underwent a strange and mysterious transformation. They were still themselves, and yet they weren't. During the day, they were the maid and the young master of the Cunningham Family, but at night, they shed all constraints and met candidly.
Their relationship was one of blushing cheeks and pounding hearts, thrilling yet fraught with danger.
But paper couldn't wrap up fire forever. One day, a stack of anonymous photos was discreetly placed on Mrs. Cunningham's vanity.
"Bitch... this shameless creature..."
Mrs. Cunningham was furious. She gathered all the workers in the Cunningham Family, from drivers to gardeners, from bodyguards to housekeepers, as long as they were male, no one was spared.
Eliana and a few maids were held down, as if they were impure women awaiting a dunking in a pigsty.
"Eliana, tell me... who is that man?" Mrs. Cunningham personally gave Eliana two slaps. She never showed mercy to her enemy's daughter.
"Madam, I don't know. I don't know what's going on with those photos."
Eliana understood perfectly well who the pixelated man in the photos was, and she had a pretty good idea who was framing her. But she couldn't admit it. If Mrs. Cunningham found out who had been sneaking into her room every night, the Randle Family would be in grave danger.
Apart from keeping silent and enduring, Eliana didn't know what else she could do.
"If you won't talk, then... someone, bring me a whip. I'll keep whipping you until you talk..."
Eliana had been prepared for the Cunningham Family's whip, but every time she saw it, her scalp would still tingle.
Mrs. Cunningham didn't want her to dirty the main house, so Eliana was dragged to the backyard and tied to a frame. She was whipped mercilessly in front of dozens of members of the Cunningham Family. Rose was gloating on the side, pretending to look away but making snide remarks.
"Eliana, just confess, who is that man? Otherwise, the feeling of the whip won't be pleasant..." Rose's words made the situation even more unbearable.
"No... I really don't know what's going on. I was framed. Ms. Eastwood probably knows more than I do..." Eliana spat at Rose's face.
"Oh my! Auntie, look at her. This wretched woman. If you don't give her a taste of your authority, she won't understand!" Rose was furious.
She didn't want Dylan to be exposed. She was calculating that once Eliana was ruined, the affair between them would also come to an end.