Chapter 16 - Elias Discovers Maeve Knew His Deepest Secret All Along
Late one evening, Elias and Maeve sat together in the estate library reviewing architectural blueprints for a new community hospital project.
“You have a remarkable head for corporate asset allocation, Maeve, considering you worked as a housekeeper,” Elias observed with genuine respect.
Maeve smiled softly, tracing her finger along the margin of the blueprint paper before looking up directly into his eyes.
“You know, Mr. Marchetti, I actually knew who you were long before Margaret Ashford dragged me into her kitchen,” Maeve confessed quietly.
Elias paused, narrowing his dark eyes slightly. “You knew my identity when you worked at the Ashford estate?”
“I saw you standing on the lower balcony three years ago during a charity gala, looking completely exhausted by everyone around you,” Maeve said.
“Most people looked at you and saw a monster or a king; I just saw a man carrying the weight of an entire city on his shoulders,” she added.
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Elias fell silent, feeling an unfamiliar warmth spread through his chest that no amount of power or money had ever provided.
For the first time in his life, someone had looked past the Marchetti armor and seen the lonely human being hiding underneath.
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