Love Whispers

The sun was setting, casting a blanket of darkness over the city.

Street lamps soon lit up, dimly lighting the broad roads. The night brought silence along with it. It was, of course, different at the North Ring Street just east of Q City. When the sun was down, it meant that place would soon buzz with life. It was truly a place of wealth and extravagance.

Penisula Hotel, which was situated right at the top of the street, was one of the most luxurious and most expensive hotels in Asia.

Sophia Ye stood in the elevator of Peninsula Hotel with her hands clenched tightly at her sides. Even the elevator was lavish. The marble flooring was polished enough that you could see your own reflection. There was even a tiny chandelier hanging overhead. Sophia sighed loudly. She was dragged here by her cousin, Maria Ye.

Upon their arrival, someone had told them that Maria's husband, who was about twenty years older than she was, was at a luxury suite with some other woman. Unable to face the horrid possibility, Maria Ye urged her cousin to go up and check if it was true.

Sophia Ye was a kind-hearted girl, and had strong viewpoints on what was good and bad. What was more, she hated fickle men the most. Because of this, she agreed to Maria's request without hesitation.

She would catch that dirty, old man in the act and then punch him right at the face to avenge her cousin! Sophia nodded to herself, determined with her plan.

"The guest in Room 2801 is really your brother-in-law?" The porter looked at her doubtfully. If she hadn't said she was related to the man on that floor, the porter would not have allowed her to come in with him. She nodded as she cast a quick glance at the note her cousin wrote for her, not bothering to check it twice nor read it carefully the first time around. 'Yes, that bastard is definitely in room 2801.'

"To be honest, I hope that he isn't in that room or else I'm going to whoop his ass! He just is a rich jerk. He doesn't deserve my cousin at all!" She added. Her angry expression made the waiter no longer doubt her. "I heard that your brother-in-law isn't just filthy rich. They say he's also a very lustful man who's a god in bed,"

the porter commented. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Sophia rushed out like a rocket and left the porter behind.

The presidential suite was truly magnificent. Even the balcony outside was beautifully decorated, almost just like the imperial palace. As Sophia looked around in awe, she heard a door opening. A woman was pushed out the room, or more precisely, thrown out. She hit the floor with a loud thud.

Sophia was frozen in shock. The woman lay on the ground motionlessly for a while. Afterwards, a gorgeous evening gown was thrown out as well, covering her naked body.

"Is this the shameless mistress?" Sophia said as she approached the woman with a sneer.

That woman was really beautiful and attractive, with the face of an angel and the body of an evil temptress. It was too bad for her to be such a shameful woman.

"Go to the hell!" Sophia spat at the woman. "Well, you are pretty enough to get any man you want. Why do you sabotage other peoples' families? Isn't it a waste of your youth to date an old man? Don't you know that if you do so many bad things, karma will eventually catch up with you? I think you must get used to the life of being lazy and sluggish, and you don't want to work on your own. I hate the kind of people like you most, who expect to get a free ride from dirty, rich, old men. You're so lewd and brazen that I'm sure your parents are so ashamed of you if they found out what kind of woman you turned out to be!" Sophia rambled to the girl as her hands motioned expressively.

The woman gave her a ferocious stare but said nothing back to Sophia. She slowly got to her feet. "Ouch!" she exclaimed as she stood up. She saw a waiter standing at the door of the elevator and staring at her. In a hurry, she grabbed her clothes, wrapped herself up, and fled into the elevator.

After the woman left, Sophia couldn't help but think that maybe the old man wasn't as immoral as she thought he was. At least he still had some sort of conscience.

With these thoughts in her mind, Sophia walked up to the waiter and took the food trolley from him. "Let me help you with these things."

"Ah... Okay. Thank you..." The waiter nodded in a daze, seeming to be still shocked at what had just happened.

"What's in it?"

"Ice... Just ice."

"Ice? But it's not even hot in here. Why does he need ice?"

"I don't know. You know how rich men are. They always have their quirks."

Shrugging her shoulders, Sophia didn't say anything more, and then pushed the trolley towards the room.

The door was ajar, a faint, warm light pouring out the opening. "Brother-in-law?" Sophia called out. When no one responded, she pushed the door and let herself inside.

It was dark in the room. The light only came through the open glass window. It had a nice effect on the room, and made it look all the more magnificent.

"Hello?" she called out again in a louder voice. There was still no answer.

Was there any other women inside? Thinking of this, she quickly took out her mobile phone to prepare for shooting evidence.

All of a sudden, someone had grabbed her from behind, the force was as strong as a hurricane. Before she could react, a heavy mountainous body was pressed against hers, rendering her unable to move.

The man had no shirt on. Sophia could feel his skin through her clothes. It was as hot as fire. His warm breath grazed on her face. Without a doubt, this man was very young and strong.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Sophia didn't realize that he was not the old man she was looking for at all. She struggled desperately and tried to push him away. However, his strength was greater than hers.

Without a moment's time to react, her shirt was suddenly torn open, the several buttons falling onto the crystal tea table beside the sofa.

"No --" she was so terrified that tears of humiliation gushed out of her eyes. She used all her strength to hit and kick the man, but nothing seemed to work. At this point, it seemed that he could not be stopped at all.

"Help, help, help --" she knew the only thing she could do at the moment was to shout for help. But there was no one else on the whole floor except the two of them. No one could hear her cry even if she screamed from the top of her lungs.

The night wind blew in from the open glass window, and the enchanting white curtains were flying in the dark, like they were ghosts dancing in a fire. As Sophia struggled, she saw a blue and white porcelain vase under the beam of the cold moonlight. This was her chance.

In one swift movement, she grabbed the vase and smashed it against the man's head.

With a groan, he fell unconscious on her body.

She pushed him away, put on her clothes hastily and rushed out of the room.

The room was so quiet all of a sudden that she could even hear his breath swirling in the air.

She curled up in the stairwell that lead to a fire escape, trembling and sobbing. After some time, she slowly stood up and went down the stairs.

Maria was still waiting at the entrance of the hotel. When she saw Sophia, she quickly walked up to her.

"How did it go? Was he in there?" Maria asked. Sophia just continued to walk and went out the hotel in a daze.

"No.. I don't know," Sophia mumbled as she approached their car. She opened the car door and got inside.

"What happened? Why is your face so pale? Are you feeling unwell?" said Maria, touching her head.

"No. It's nothing," Sophia replied, shrinking back into her seat.

"You were gone for such a long time. What happened?" Maria pouted.

"It's a huge place. I got lost and searched for a long time. When I finally got there, I didn't see anyone. Maybe they finished up and left," explained Sophia, trying to make her story as convincing as she could.

Then no matter how much Maria asked for more details, Sophia just fell into silence.

For the entire night, Sophia was not able to sleep well. Nightmares pounded in her head like dark waves.

If John Xu knew that she had been touched and seen by another man, would he get mad and leave her?

The thought made her want to disappear from the face of the world. It was a good plan, she thought, to just disappear and die. Sophia was an ordinary girl.

She came from an ordinary family, with a mediocre academic record, a normal job with a basic income. Makeup and dressing up were unfamiliar concepts to her. From head to toe, inside and out, she was average. If she was drowned in the sea, the surface wouldn't even break into ripples. With all that said, Sophia was very optimistic. There was never a time she became desperate for anything nor did she get easily discouraged. For her, she believed that if God closes all the doors in front of you, there is a window somewhere that God has opened.

And for Sophia, John Xu was the window.

John Xu was born in a rich family. Not only did he get good grades--he was also very handsome and had a well-toned body. It was no surprise that ever since he was young, all the girls in the school were crazy for him. But in his eyes, Sophia was the only one for him!

How did she get so lucky with him?

Sophia and John were like a match made in heaven. They were born in the same place and grew up in the same neighborhood. They even had the same birthday! It was as if the entire universe had made it so that they would be brought together.

As long as they were together, Sophia didn't care about anything else.

She was willing to lose everything she had if it meant that she wouldn't lose him.

John was her heaven on earth, her whole world and life!

Tossing and turning in bed, she jumped off and rushed into the bathroom to wash away all the places the man had touched. Last night, she had already taken a bath for nearly five times. The large bottle of bath gel was all used up. However, she could still feel all the places the man had touched. What was worse, there was still a kiss mark on her neck.

When she walked out of the bathroom the sixth time around, her stomach rumbled. Thoughtfully, she patted her belly. It was getting late. Dressing quickly, she tidied herself up and went out.

Just when she arrived at the gate of the community, she was stopped by two towering, muscular men in black suits.

"Are you Sophia Ye?" one of them asked.

"What do you want?" She looked at the blank faces of the men, feeling that they were dangerous and unkind.

"Our boss wants to see you," the man said coldly.

"You must have mistaken me for someone else," she mumbled.

She took two steps back and wanted to run away. But before she could turn around, she was grabbed by two big hands and was dragged into the black Rolls Royce.

There was a man sitting at the back. The seats were made of crocodile skin leather. He had one of his leg on top of the other, and his arms were spread across leisurely. There was some gauze at the top of his head, but it still didn't hide the fact that he was unbelievably handsome. He looked so breathtaking that it was as if God had taken special care to make him.

The man's wheat-toned skin was smooth and flawless. His deep facial features were as delicate as a masterpiece that has been carefully carved by a skilled craftsman. His body was also undeniably glorious. It was like he had jumped out from a Greek painting, his entire presence emanating charm, glamour, and perfection.

Sophia was taken aback and inhaled sharply. Unconsciously, she leaned against the window to set more space in between them. Then, she lifted her gaze and met the man's eyes.

He had a pair of eyes as sharp and cold as the Arctic star. There was a deadly charm in his deep and dark eyes. People would imperceptibly step away when they saw him, afraid that he could seize their souls any time he wished.

Her heart trembled inexplicably and she looked away in a hurry.

"Who are you? I don't know you," Sophia stammered as she clasped her hands nervously in front of her. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Really?" The man leaned against the seat, the corners of his mouth raising up to a devious smile. His thin lips curved up to a dazzling arc. "Did you forget what happened last night so quickly?" he asked, his voice low and raspy.

Last... night?!

When she realized who this man was, Sophia's eyes widened in shock.

The person who assaulted her last night wasn't her brother-in-law but rather....

"I don't understand what you're talking about. You must have mistaken me for someone else," Sophia lied as she shook her head in panic. She had no idea why she had to deny it--she was the victim, after all!

The man raised his thick eyebrows slightly and sneered. He took out a mobile phone from the drawer built in at the bottom of the seat, holding it up for her to see. "Technology nowadays is so advanced. It's so easy to find anyone you want to find."

Sophia recognized immediately that it was her phone in his hands. No wonder she couldn't find it when she got home.

"I was about to call the police. I didn't expect that you would come here. At least it would be easier to turn you in," she bluffed, trying to keep calm.

"Call the police?" The man sneered and retorted. "Fine. I will even call the police for you. Maybe you'll be so kind to explain how you sneaked into my room last night, hurt me and shattered my sixty-million-dollar porcelain vase?" After saying that, he picked up a bag of broken porcelain pieces at his feet and threw them in front of her. She trembled violently as if she was struck by electricity. Then, she gritted her teeth and glared at him. "That's nonsense. You were molesting me. It was just self-defense!"

"Molesting you?" The man's face showed an extremely sarcastic look. "Weren't you the one who slipped into my room and tried to seduce me?" His eyes fell on her neck, where the trace of his kiss was still marked on her skin vividly. Seeing this, an amused smile appeared on his lips.

Sophia saw where he was looking and she pulled up her collar in a hurry, feeling ashamed and angry. Then she raised her arm and threw a punch at the window. "Who do you think you are? You think you're so great because of all the money you have. Well guess what? I hate assholes like you the most, and I do not have an ounce of interest in you! I was just there at the hotel to go see my brother-in-law. How was I supposed to know that you were in that room instead?" she shouted at him.

Her words did not anger him. In fact, it appeared as if he got even more amused. "Breaking in to others' property... I can put you in prison for at least five or six years, do you know that?"

"What... What do you mean?" Her heart jolted in her chest.

"What do you think I meant?" The man asked.

She bit her lower lip and lowered her head as she thought of what she should do or say next. Her thick eyelashes cast a dark shadow on her bright eyes. How could she explain to the police that she had gotten inside the wrong room? She couldn't afford to offend rich people like him.

"What do you want?" She said flatly as she looked up at him.

"Well, now that you've asked, I will get straight to the point," He pursed his lips and said. "I'm a tolerant person. As long as you serve me for one year, all our scores will be settled!"

'Serve him? Like... a maid?' She almost screamed out. Was he going to make her serve him?

She stared incredulously at the gorgeous face in front of her, her fists clenched. "No way! I won't be your maid!"

"It's up to you..." With a hint of slyness in his eyes, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed. "Hmm. Police. Last night, there was a female bandit..."

She jumped from the seat and grabbed his phone. To be honest, she really wanted to punch him, but she couldn't. She had to endure it. She couldn't be put in jail and lose John.

She took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. "Okay, fine!" she said with her eyes closed in defeat. "I'll do as you say. But you have to give me a salary, one thousand and five hundred every month. I can't just work for you around the clock without pay. I have to eat, pay rent and utilities, and other daily expenses!"

The man did not answer, but his silence seemed to show his approval.

"On top of that, I need a day off every week. I'm not a machine, so I need to rest," She added, trying to fight for the little rights she had.

The man stared at her without beating an eyelash, his eyes deep and unpredictable. "You'll get your day off when I'm not around," he coldly said after a while.

"All right." She shrugged and reached out her hand to him, "Now, it's time to return my phone to me, right?"

The man smiled, and twirled her phone around his fingers. Then he opened it and showed her a picture of her and John together. "Is this your boyfriend?" he asked.

"You went through my phone. That's an invasion of privacy!" She sneered as she blushed slightly.

"Well, if I didn't go through your phone, how would I be able to find you?" The man raised his eyebrows.

All of a sudden, Sophia jumped at the man and tried to forcibly take her phone from him. The mad didn't expect that she would do something like that, and so he fell onto the seat with her.

Their two bodies were tightly interlaced as they grappled each other, their breath warm and hot. It was just like what happened last night, except for the fact that they could see each other clearly and that she was on top of him this time.

The man's face twisted to a complicated look. He released her and sat up straight. Sophia quickly scampered back to her seat, panting.

"From now on, you can't get closer to me than five feet!" She said through her teeth as she stared at him.

"You still haven't answered my question. Is he your boyfriend?" he said hoarsely as he straightened up the suit he was wearing.

"So what if he's my boyfriend?" She pouted.

"How is your relationship with him?" He asked, pressing further into the matter.

"That's none of your business!" scoffed Sophia.

"I'm asking in regards to your employment to me. I don't want my maid to have any unnecessary feelings while she's working!" His tone was cold and harsh. He needed the people he wanted to be pleasing to the eye and would have no problems while on duty.

"Don't bother, alright? I am not interested in you and I never will be!" She looked resolute and aggressive.

A complicated expression flashed through his eyes. He frowned and said coldly, "I'll give you a day to solve your problem."

With an exasperated sigh, Sophia rolled her eyes and got out of the car.

Sophia arrived at the company an hour later than usual.

She was feeling nervous when she saw that her supervisor was waiting for her. Was he going to reprimand her for coming late to work? Much to her surprise, that wasn't the case.

As would be the case, someone had filed for her resignation early that morning.

"You younger generation are so fickle! Always jumping from one thing to another. I can assure you that if you keep this up, you'll have a hard time in life and just end up living in your parents' house for the rest of your life! But I guess that's not up for me to decide," Sophia's supervisor scolded her in a shrill voice as she rolled her eyes.

As she would always do, Sophia didn't bother to argue with her, and quietly swallowed her anger.

To be honest, this job was practically boring. Her salary was poor, and she worked overtime without pay every day. On weekends, she only had one day to rest. The thing she hated most about her job, however, was that that awful, bossy woman who was always picking on her. But she still endured it. It wasn't that easy to get a job nowadays. The economic situation in the whole country was at a downward spiral. There were a lot of people who didn't have jobs and it didn't look like the situation was going to change any time soon. Sophia felt relieved that she was even able to find this job after she graduated.

With a polite nod, Sophia packed up all her things silently and walked out of the company.

Feeling annoyed and defeated, she went back to her cramped apartment. Before she could even put her things down, her landlord knocked on her door. He said that she was to leave as soon as she could. Someone had told her landlord that she wouldn't be living there anymore.

Even her own home was taken away from her!

Did that arrogant, rich man really want to drive her to her own death?!

When she closed the door behind her, she couldn't help but grunt in annoyance. "What an asshole!" she exclaimed. Sophia took deep breaths, and tried to think about the only positive thing left in her life, John.

After they graduated from high school, he was admitted to Columbia University in America with his excellent grades. In order to get to his level, she studied very hard every day. Finally, she was admitted to one of the top national universities, Q University.

John said he would come back and marry her as soon as he graduated. But it had been three months since he graduated. Why hadn't he come back yet?

"John, please come back soon. I miss you so much!"

She stared at the picture on her phone, lost in thought.

Before dawn the next day, she was awakened by a loud knock at the door. A man named Mike was sent to pick her up. Sophia could only assume that this was someone working for the man she hated so much.

She followed him into the car, yawning. "Who is your boss anyway? Why does he act all arrogant as if he's the king of the world?"

"I'll tell you who he is. But you might get frightened and eat your words," Mike said with a coy smile. Sophia raised her eyebrows.

"Just say it. Let's see how frightened I'll get," she replied mockingly as she rolled her eyes at him.

Mike gave a cough and cleared his throat, "Alright then. His name is Lucas Mo."

"Never heard of him," she shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

"He is the famous Mr. Lucas!" Mike stared at her fiercely, as if her ignorance and indifference were a great insult to him.

"What's the big deal?" Sophia snorted as she threw up her hands.

"Mr. Lucas was admitted to Harvard University at the age of 16. Currently, he is in charge of the ZW Group, one of the Global 500 in the world," Mike shook his head in disbelief that someone wouldn't know who his boss was. There was glint in his eye that made it obvious that Mike was honored because his employer was such a distinguished person.

After more than an hour's journey, the car had entered a large neighborhood. Among the mountains and trees, a uniquely shaped villa emerged. Looking from afar, it looked like a white swan with its wings extended, breaking free and yearning for freedom.

Sophia entered the villa. She waited a long time at the living room before Lucas came downstairs, the housekeeper closely by his side.

Rose, the housekeeper, was to be Sophia's new supervisor. She looked about forty years old. Judging by her metal framed glasses and stern face, she looked like a very tough woman. At this moment, her eyes were constantly sizing Sophia up.

Lucas sat cross legged on the sofa and winked at Rose.

Rose turned to Sophia and began to announce the rules. "In the villa, don't cry and laugh. Don't speak loudly. In short, don't make any noise. Don't use perfume, and make sure that you don't leave any smell of disinfectant in your body. You are responsible for the cleaning of the villa from the first floor to the third floor. You must clean it every morning and evening. There should not be a speck of dust on the carpet and tiles. Do not leave any dust, especially hair, in the windows, doors and furniture!" Rose stopped for a moment, pushed her glasses up and continued, "You must absolutely obey all of Mr. Lucas' orders and requirements. On top of that, you must be with Mr. Lucas if he tells you so. Never say "no" to Mr. Lucas. Do you have any questions?"

"All of his orders and requirements? I will never sell myself out!" Sophia complained.

"I am sorry to have misunderstood you." Wearing an extremely sarcastic smile. "You've been the hundredth maid in the villa since the past six months. I advise you to think twice before you say things like that about the boss. Anyone who has an interest in our boss..." Rose stopped and after raising her hand to make a gesture of cutting her throat, she continued, "will get fired!" But she didn't tell Sophia that the job given to her was shared by a team of four maids before.

Although he did not speak, the sneer on Lucas' face was enough to know what he was thinking. Seeing this, Sophia got ever angrier. She shook her head with disdain. "This is ridiculous. That's too many things for me to do on my own! Besides, what's so great about this person? I've looked at him about a hundred times since I've met him, and he's not as great as everyone gives him credit for!" she retorted, her arms crossed over her chest.

Rose snorted. She knew for a fact that most women were obsessed with Lucas. They were mad about getting his affection. Some have jumped off buildings or cut their wrists just so that he'd notice them. There were also some who had suffered from anorexia or had gone totally crazy. All because of Lucas.

Ignoring her, Rose turned to Lucas. "Boss, I'll take her to her room," she told him with a slight bow.

He nodded slightly with a very strange smile on his face.

Sophia's intuition told her that it wasn't going to be easy working here for him.

She followed Rose to the second floor and down the very end of the hall.

As soon as the door opened, a white Samoyed came at them.

"This is Tommy. You will have to share a room with him." Rose then pointed to the two beds in the room and said, "The big bed is Tommy's. The small bed is yours. Don't mix it up. Tommy doesn't like others occupying his bed! Which reminds me, you have to take care of Tommy. Bathe him and brush his teeth every day. He has an eating schedule and you need to follow that."

Sophia felt that her head was going to explode from anger. Letting her live together with a dog. How degrading!

Sophia took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. There was no other choice. She had to put up with all those things or be on the losing end.

Did he think that he could crush her spirits this way? Well, he was absolutely wrong!

She had a dog in her house when she was a child. She liked dogs very much and knew how to live in peace with them.

Sophia bent over and smiled, petting Tommy on the head. "Tommy, be good. Let's be good friends, alright? I'll cook delicious meals for you if you will be nice."

In an instant, Tommy wagged its tail at Sophia. It looked like they were going to get along well.