Mariam_Oseni

In the glittering heart of New York City, where power, money, and status define everything, Kate Johnson lives in the shadows—quiet, hardworking, and overlooked. As a live-in maid in the luxurious penthouse of Jade Williams, a cold, enigmatic billionaire heir, Kate keeps her head down and her heart guarded.

But one fateful night changes everything.

After an unexpected encounter laced with vulnerability and forbidden desire, Kate finds herself tangled in a web of secrets, betrayal, and passion. She soon discovers she’s pregnant—and her world flips. Jade, known for his ruthlessness in business and indifference to emotions, steps up with a shocking proposal: marriage. Not for love, but protection, reputation, and legacy.

What starts as a contract turns into a complicated dance of suppressed feelings, heated arguments, stolen glances, and undeniable chemistry. As Kate navigates the cold world of Manhattan elites and the vicious media, she begins to uncover truths about Jade’s past, including family betrayals, corporate conspiracies, and a hidden will that could destroy everything.

With a baby on the way, enemies circling, and a love neither of them expected growing in the unlikeliest of places, Kate must decide: is she just a pawn in Jade’s world—or the queen he never knew he needed?

Tangled with the Boss

Kate arrived at the Foundation the next morning feeling like her skin was still buzzing from Jade's touch.

Every step she took toward her office carried the memory of his mouth on her skin, the rasp of his voice in her ear, the way his hands had claimed her with such need, such intensity.

But the moment she stepped into the hallway, something shifted.

It was in the air — subtle, invisible, but undeniably cold.

Talia, usually brisk but professional, barely acknowledged her with a nod. A pair of junior interns stopped whispering when she walked by. And when she reached the break room, the room quieted as soon as she stepped in.

No. That was impossible. They were careful. Weren't they?

She poured herself a cup of coffee, forcing her hands to stay steady. But the unease in her chest tightened when she noticed Evelyn Torres sitting at a back table, eyes trained on her like a predator watching a lamb.

Evelyn lifted her coffee cup in mock greeting.

Kate offered a polite smile — and got a smirk in return.

Later that afternoon, Jade messaged her on the office app:

> 🖤 Dinner tonight? Your place or mine?

Kate stared at the screen a little too long before replying:

She wasn't sure why she sent it — only that she needed answers before they got deeper into something that was already cracking at the seams.

That evening, in the safety of her small apartment in Brooklyn, Jade stood by her window with his tie loose and brows furrowed.

"You think someone saw us?" he asked.

Kate hugged her knees on the couch. "It's more than a feeling. Evelyn looked at me like she knew something. And the way the others acted today…"

Jade sighed, turning to face her. "I'll handle it."

"That's not the point, Jade." Her voice trembled. "This thing between us—it's real, I know that now. But I'm the one who'll pay the price if it gets out."

He crossed the room and sat beside her. "Then I'll make sure you don't have to."

"How? Are you going to fire Evelyn? The interns? The entire staff?"

"No," he said carefully. "But I can get ahead of it. If you want, I'll go public. I'll tell the board I'm seeing someone—consensually, respectfully—and that she's not to be treated any differently. I'll take the heat."

She looked at him, torn between awe and fear. "You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do worse if it meant protecting you."

Silence hung between them for a beat.

Then Kate asked, "Would you still want this… if we weren't sneaking around?"

Jade's eyes darkened with sincerity. "Kate, I didn't fall for you because it was forbidden. I fell for you because you look at me like I'm not broken. Because you challenge me. Because you make me feel again."

Her breath hitched. "I'm scared, Jade."

"So am I," he admitted. "But if this world burns down tomorrow, I want to know I didn't let fear stop me from choosing you."

Meanwhile, in the upper levels of the Foundation building, Evelyn Torres was seated in a dim bar downtown with a cocktail in hand and a phone glowing on the table.

Across from her sat her cousin, a junior editor for The New York Echo.

"I'm not saying publish anything yet," Evelyn said with a sly smile. "I'm just saying… if a certain billionaire CEO is involved with a former maid-turned-mystery employee, it might make a very juicy headline. Especially during donation season."

Her cousin arched a brow. "You have proof?"

Evelyn grinned and tapped her phone.

A blurry but unmistakable photo flashed on screen — two silhouettes in an office, entangled on a desk, caught in a moment of undeniable heat.

"Let's just say," she said with a sip of her drink, "my lips are sealed… unless someone gives me a reason not to talk."

Chapter 7