I Was His Wife for 8 Years, He Paid Me Like a Maid Chapter 06
Damon pulled the contract from my hand and flipped to the last page.
“Care for Stella Hayes. Household management. Half–year advance of three hundred thousand.”
He read it aloud, then his eyes darkened.
“You signed without even knowing who this man is?”
“Naomi has known him for over a decade.”
“So?”
“So she’s more trustworthy than Vivian.”
Damon’s expression shifted.
Vivian spoke up immediately. “Miss Sterling, Mr. Ashford is only concerned about you.”
“The Hayes household needs more than a housekeeper. Everyone knows Evan Hayes is looking for a
stepmother for his daughter.”
“Then it goes in the contract.”
Evan approached from the other end of the corridor, attorney behind him.
“Miss Sterling is only responsible for the duties outlined in her contract.”
“No personal companionship. No so–called emotional labor.”
He handed me a supplementary agreement.
Lily could live with me. Two days off per week.
All expenses related to Stella’s care would be covered by the Hayes household.
I read every line carefully and signed.
Damon watched my pen move. His voice went cold. “Three hundred thousand? I can give you three million.”
“It’s not the same.”
“What’s different?”
“This is a salary.”
The words seemed to cut into him.
“So you take three hundred thousand and leave with a stranger? How is that different from choosing the gold
bracelet back then?”
The words left his mouth before he could stop them.
I slowly removed the bracelet from my wrist.
“There’s one difference.”
“That time, I thought when you brought out the gold, you were asking me to marry you.”
“This time, I know I’m signing an employment contract.”
“Damon, I’m honest. I’m not heartless.”
His throat moved. Vivian tried to speak. He cut her off coldly. “Shut up.”
But it was too late. I took Lily’s hand and started to leave.
Damon blocked my path. “You can go. Lily stays.”
Lily immediately wrapped her arms around my leg. “I’m going with Mommy.”
Damon crouched down. “Daddy will buy you white strawberries and new shoes. I’ll take you to the
amusement park.”
Lily looked at him. “Daddy, do you know what shoe size I wear?”
Damon didn’t answer. “Do you know what I can’t drink?”
Still nothing. Lily shrank behind me. “You always tell me to ask Vivian. But Vivian ignores Mommy.”
That night, I returned to the penthouse to pack. Eight years of my life fit into two suitcases.
I didn’t take any of the jewelry Damon had bought.
Only the old gold bracelet and Lily’s things.
Before leaving, I sorted Grandma Ashford’s medication for the next month.
Dosages, schedules, restrictions.
Written out clearly.
When Damon came home to the empty apartment, he found a household notebook in the kitchen.
First page read: [Damon doesn’t eat scallions. Stomach medication thirty minutes after meals.]
The last page was dated today.
Beneath it, one line. [From tomorrow on, none of it is my job anymore.]
