Part 2: The Splendid Masks
Alexander and Ethan rushed down the stairs. In the center of the opulent living room stood Victoria, a sharp-edged businesswoman clad in expensive designer wear, her hands on her hips. At her feet lay the shards of a shattered crystal glass, and Elena was kneeling, quietly gathering the fragments.
“What happened?” Alexander frowned.
Victoria’s expression shifted instantly. Her cold eyes suddenly turned tender, and her voice became syrupy sweet. “Oh Alexander, it was just a small accident. This maid was a bit careless, and I was simply reminding her to be more cautious so Ethan wouldn’t get hurt.”
Ethan looked at Elena’s trembling hands—she was trying to hide a small cut on her finger. The boy said nothing, but his eyes recorded everything.
In the first week, the five women began a race to win Ethan’s favor.
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Victoria gifted him the world’s most expensive video game consoles.
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Isabella, a famous artist, tried to teach him to paint, but she grew furious whenever he accidentally stained the costly rugs.
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Sophia, an academic, stuffed his head with business management theories.
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Catherine and Olivia pretended to be homemakers by ordering the chef to cook and then claiming the meals as their own.
Whenever Alexander was present, they were “perfect mothers.” But the moment he turned his back, they treated Ethan like a pawn and Elena like a thorn in their side.
Part 3: The Angel in the Shadows
In contrast to the noise of the guests, Elena went about her work in silence. She was the only one who knew Ethan liked his toast slightly burnt on the edges, that he suffered from nightmares on rainy nights, and that he still kept a photograph of his late mother hidden under his pillow.
One evening, while Alexander was away on business, Ethan fell ill with a high fever. The five women, exhausted from a long day of “acting,” had either gone to bed early or were busy with social calls.
Only Elena stayed awake through the night. She used warm towels to soothe his forehead and whispered stories about the stars—the same stories his mother used to tell.
“Why are you so good to me?” Ethan whispered through his fever.
Elena smiled, her eyes filled with kindness. “Because every child deserves to be loved with the heart, not with a calculation, Ethan.”
The next morning, when Alexander returned, Victoria was the first to run to the door, feigning exhaustion. “My dear, Ethan had a fever last night. I stayed up all night taking care of him!”
Alexander was moved, but Ethan—who had just stepped down from his room—looked at Victoria with cold eyes and walked right past her. He went straight to Elena, who was mopping the floor. “Miss Elena, has the cut on your hand healed yet?”
Part 4: The Truth Revealed
The one-month deadline arrived. Alexander hosted a grand gala to have Ethan announce his choice. The elite flocked to the Hawthorne estate, curious to see who would become the new lady of the house.
The five women, dazzling in their evening gowns, stood in a row. Alexander spoke with pride: “Ethan, my son, choose the woman who will join me in caring for you from now on.”
Ethan stepped forward. He looked past Victoria, Isabella, Sophia, Catherine, and Olivia. They all smiled confidently, certain that their wealth and status had secured the win.
But Ethan did not stop in front of them. He kept walking, passing the line of sophisticated ladies, toward a shadowed corner of the grand hall—where Elena stood modestly in her simple maid’s uniform.
The boy took Elena’s rough hand and led her to the center of the hall.
“I choose Miss Elena,” Ethan’s voice rang out clearly, shattering the silence of the gala.
Part 5: The Millionaire’s Lesson
The room erupted in whispers. Alexander was stunned. “Ethan! Do you realize what you’re saying? This is Elena; she is the staff. Those women over there can give you a future, an education…”
“You said they could give me everything,” Ethan interrupted, tears beginning to fall. “But they didn’t give me love. Victoria screamed at Elena over a glass, yet she called herself a ‘good mother’ in front of you. They look down on those who have less. But Miss Elena… she stayed awake all night when I was sick. She knows I miss Mom. She has never lied to me.”
Ethan looked directly into his father’s eyes. “You said wealth guarantees quality and achievement equals virtue. But Dad, you forgot to look at their hearts.”
Alexander looked at Elena. She stood there, trembling, but her gaze remained fiercely protective of Ethan. He suddenly remembered the times he had returned home late; it was Elena who always had a warm cup of tea ready, Elena who kept the house feeling like a home rather than a cold museum.
Victoria shrieked in anger, “This is a farce! Are you really going to let a servant run this house?”
Alexander remained silent for a long time. He walked over and looked at the small scar on Elena’s hand—the mark of her silent sacrifice. He realized he had been so busy chasing glamorous values that he had forgotten the core of humanity.
Epilogue: A New Beginning
Alexander turned to the guests and the five women. “The party is over. My son has taught me a lesson that money could never buy.”
He asked the five women to leave immediately. The crowd dispersed in shock.
The villa returned to silence, but this time, it wasn’t the silence of the grave. Alexander knelt before Ethan and Elena.
“Elena,” he said softly. “I cannot force you to be Ethan’s mother instantly, as that requires love from both sides. But I ask you to stay here as a member of this family. Give me the chance to learn how to love again, the way you have loved my son.”
Years later, people no longer called Elena “the Hawthorne maid.” She became Alexander’s wife, not because of his wealth, but because they built a home out of compassion. Ethan grew up not just with riches, but with a heart that could feel for others—the most precious lesson he received on that spring morning when he chose the hand of the woman who was once “invisible.”
