Chapter 2

A car pulled up outside the old house, the color on the walls was starting to come off and a few windows were broken. But to everyone's surprise, people still lived there and had been for decades.

The car looked pretty luxurious and the people in that area were shocked to see it parked there. The whole street was filled with chatter cause people were too shocked to see the Anderson family's car parked in such a poor area.

Anderson family, better off known as the royal family of A city. They had been ruling the city for the past several decades.

The current head of the family was Clara Anderson, she wasn't the actual head but she took care of all the business of the family after her husband Albert passed away 8 years ago.

The old house that the luxurious car stood in front of, belonged to the Moore family and was now under the current head, Mrs. Abigail Moore who was the mother to two kids, Ethan and Alyssa. Just like the house, the whole family lived in poor conditions.

They made a living by working for the Anderson family, the royal family of A city. Well, they used to work and at that time they were in a well-off condition. But a few years after the previous head Charles passed away, they all were thrown out of the place they worked in.

The kids of the Moore family were supposed to work hard to pay for their mom's medical expenses. However, Ethan was stuck on drugs and did nothing for the family but just wasted their money. Alyssa, on the other hand, was still studying in college but did several part-time jobs to make money for the family.

The front door of the car opened and a middle-aged guy came out. He was wearing a black suit and anyone could easily tell that he worked for the royal family. His name was Edwin and he was the butler of the Anderson family who mainly worked for Madam Clara.

The butler walked towards the door and rang the bell then he stood there patiently waiting for someone to come out.

After a few seconds, he could hear footsteps from inside the house running towards the door. He smiled as he realized that she was still the same as ever; freaking out whenever the bell rang.

The doorknob turned and the door finally opened and a girl popped out from behind the door.

Fair skin with rose cheeks, green eyes that loved to explore everything and black hair with red streaks complimented her beauty. The butler recognized her immediately, that beauty was his favorite girl, Alyssa.

"Uncle Edwin!" Her eyes twinkled with joy as she saw the tall man standing outside her door.

"Aly!" Edwin smiled as he opened his arms for a hug. The cold face finally changed in front of the young girl.

They both knew each other well as they used to work for the same person in the past but then Alyssa had to leave but their bond remained the same. Alyssa was still Edwin's favorite girl.

"It's so nice to see you again." Alyssa smiled brightly as she stepped outside to hug him. She was the happiest she had ever been in weeks.

"But...what brought you here so suddenly?" She asked as realization hit her. Her heart was filled with fear and anxiety as she started jumping to conclusions once again.

"...The madam wants to see you." Edwin said after a long pause; he seemed kind of awkward in that situation.

He knew very well about the past and thus he also knew how much Alyssa feared the Madam. She always got anxious whenever she was asked to face Madam.

It had been years since she stopped working at the palace so he had no idea how she'll react now. He was expecting her to refuse the request cause she didn't work for the Madam anymore.

Alyssa's skin went pale as soon as she heard the Madam's name but still, she pulled a smile on her face and looked at him. She had to act strong for her family.

"Ahh...I wasn't expecting this so suddenly." She said as she laughed but he could easily tell that she was about to cry. He felt bad for her as he didn't want her to experience any pain, however, he had no option but to follow his orders.

"I...I'll go get dressed...I can't see the madam in this condition." She shrugged as she looked at her clothes. That's when Edwin noticed her clothes.

She was wearing a t-shirt that had several holes and stitches in it; sweatpants that seemed to have worn several times and her shoes were on the verge of tearing apart. He looked at her up and down and soon noticed that she had several bruises and cuts on her arms.

He looked concerned and wanted to ask her, but he looked at her faint smile and stopped immediately. He realized that she was trying to stay strong and didn't want anyone to ask as that might end up breaking her completely.

He smiled at her as she went back inside. He sighed and was in pain himself after seeing her in that state. He closed his eyes and wished that her life might get better after that day. He prayed that she might accept the Madam's request.

Alyssa came outside the house after a few minutes, she was wearing a light purple dress that went down to her knees and her hair was now tied into a ponytail. That was the only nice dress she had and she had treasured it so much because it was gifted by a very special person.

She smiled brightly as she looked at Edwin, but that smile seemed bitter. It seemed as if she was smiling through her pain, hiding the fact that she was suffering.

"Let's go!" She said with a smile as she walked out. Edwin nodded and guided her towards the car.

As soon as the doors closed and everyone turned away, the smile on her face faded. The smile was a mask to hide her fear and anxiousness.

She was afraid to face the madam as she feared that she might have to face her past again and that incident might be brought up once again. She didn't want that to happen as she didn't want to hurt her again.

The whole journey for her was filled with negative thoughts of what might happen next. She wasn't happy cause she was too embarrassed and nervous to face her but then again, she had no idea if she still lived at that place. Maybe she moved away after what happened in the past or maybe she hated her now.

That thought brought tears to her eyes cause she couldn't bear her hate, she could stay away or never see her but being hated by her love was just too cruel.

*

The gates opened and they finally entered the Anderson mansion, there was still a long road until they finally reached the mansion. Along the way, there were several guards standing at some distance with loaded guns in their hands.

*Screech* The car came to a stop and the guards were alerted immediately. Alyssa had no idea what was happening or where she was; she was too lost in thought to notice her surroundings.

The front door opened and the butler came out from the passenger seat. He signaled the guard as soon as he came out, who nodded back and gave some instructions on the microphone.

"The girl has arrived, inform Madam- the girl has arrived." The guard said in a somewhat a robotic voice. Alyssa was the girl they were talking about cause they were ordered to bring her over.

The butler then walked to the back and opened the door for her. He was a little shocked to see that she had cried a little and was still zoned out. He knew what she was thinking about but he couldn't say anything to her cause of how many people were around them.

"This way, miss." He said politely as he pointed towards the dazzling grand mansion that stood in front of them.

The mansion was still away as before it stood a beautiful fountain that never went dry, and a road on both of its sides followed by rows of bushes on each side, neatly trimmed and some even carved into shapes; the bushes were followed by huge lands of grasses on both sides.

There were gardeners watering flowers that were planted on the land, the land was neatly kept and decorated with various flowers and plants. There was one rule in the mansion- everything needed to be perfect.

"Aly..." Edwin repeated in a low voice as he bent down a little to get her attention.

She was having flashbacks of the past as she entered that mansion again. A girl ran and laughed loudly, her hair flying along with the wind. She had that smile Alyssa loved the most, it put her at ease.

However, the next flashback was of them separating...Alyssa crying as she was being pulled away from her. That girl just stood still and got smaller with the increasing distance between them. The girl had tears in her eyes, her hand slowly extended towards Alyssa and she whispered, "I love you..."

Alyssa flinched as she snapped back to reality and looked at him with tears in her eyes. She told herself that it wasn't true and Diana never said that, it was just her illusion.

"Are you okay...?" Edwin asked and was concerned about her. She nodded slowly as she wiped away her tears.

Alyssa looked outside and realized that they were already at the mansion. She had nowhere to escape anymore and had to face Madam. She bit her lip lightly as she was uncertain about what was going to happen.

The Madam had contacted her after almost 6 years and had given orders to meet her without telling her anything else. It was sudden and unexpected which scared the heck out of her.

She was completely blank about what was going to happen, something told her that maybe it was the only chance to meet Diana again...ah that name always brought tears to her eyes.

A painful love story of an heiress and peasant that didn't even get a proper beginning as Diana disappeared right after they were separated and Alyssa never heard back from her ever again.

Going back to the place she left almost 6 years ago was like getting hope that she could at least get a glance at her.

She took a deep breath and finally stepped out of the car, she smiled faintly at the butler and he sighed in relief.

He nodded to the guards and they checked her with gadgets to make sure she didn't have any weapons or dangerous objects with her. Alyssa wasn't even surprised as she had been through that process multiple times in the past.

The checking ended after some time and they finally progressed forward, inside the mansion.

The doors opened to a glamorous hall with stairs and had the starting of hallways that led to several rooms. In the center, there was expensive furniture that Alyssa could never even imagine getting. The butler took her to the Madam's office without saying anything else.

Alyssa was looking around in surprise as everything seemed to be completely different from before. It was making her anxious as she felt like there was no sign of Diana there, not even a single photo.

But then she remembered that Diana never actually lived in that mansion, she was kept away from the world, in a villa outside the city- the place where Alyssa worked since she was a child until she was forced to leave the job.

Diana was taken away one day, the madam just said that they were taking her to the main mansion of the family but now there seemed to be no sign of her here. Where was she…?