Chapter 5

When Carmen woke up, she was in a hospital. Claudio's eyes were reddened as he explained in a guilty tone, "Carmy, I intended to keep you safe just now. In my haste, I grabbed the person, though." He never stopped kissing her hand as if he wanted to tell her how much he loved her. Regrettably, he failed to notice that the hand he was holding was a prosthetic. To Carmen, his words and gestures rang hollow. Everything he had just said was an absolute lie. "What do you plan to do with the waiting staff from before?" Carmen asked. She saw it. The champagne tower's collapse wasn't an accident. Rosalia had meant for it to happen. Claudio's expression froze momentarily before he said, "She did make a blunder, so I've given the word. She's blacklisted globally, and she won't be able to work as a waiting staff again for the rest of her life." Carmen was stunned. Out of nowhere, she burst out laughing. Her heart ached every time she guffawed, sending her into indescribable pain. Rosalia wasn't a waiting staff, to begin with. The punishment Claudio dished out wasn't going to affect her. It was absurd, to say the least. Claudio noticed that Carmen was laughing, so he laughed along, too. After that, he looked after her with unwavering tenderness. He kept a close eye on her IV drip and dressed her wound affectionately. He even fed her the snacks and wiped the crumbs from her lips. The doctors and nurses walking past her ward envied her for having such a wonderful husband. At some point, a familiar ringtone rang out in the air. Claudio hesitated for a while before he spoke with practiced composure. "Carmy, something came up at the company. I have to leave for a while." After he disappeared from sight, Carmen pressed the receiver on the ring. As it turned out, Rosalia was admitted to the hospital as well. Claudio didn't pay close attention to Rosalia's IV drip, nor did he change her dressing. After all, she was merely scratched up a little and had long recovered from it. Naturally, he didn't feed her snacks. Instead, he ordered her to leave the crumbs on her lips, so he could lick them off before having his way with her. Carmen couldn't listen to it anymore. Just as she was about to turn the receiver off, she heard Rosalia's pleas. "Darling, my depression is going to become worse if you keep me locked up. I'm going crazy. Please don't keep me locked up at the villa anymore. I want to go out, and I want to be all intimate with you in front of Ms. Whitman…" Rosalia was cut off, her words turning into sensual moans as Claudio relentlessly drove himself into her. Once it was over, he repeated what he had said a while ago. "I'll allow it." Three days later, Carmen was discharged. Claudio carried her into the car. Once they arrived at the villa, he carried her to the couch in the house. This time, he said it was that she had just recovered from her injuries and that he couldn't bring himself to let her wear herself out. It sounded very lovely, but the endearing feelings were cut off when she noticed Rosalia standing among the maids. Her heart clenched as she shot Claudio a look of utter disbelief. Rosalia told him that she wanted to leave the villa on the mountain top, and his brilliant idea was to take her back to his own place. "Carmy, here's the thing." Claudio pulled Carmen closer to his embrace, his tone tender yet firm. "If I put her behind bars, she'll regain her freedom in three years. By all means, I should've set her free back then. "But I don't want to let her off this easily. So, I made her a maid here to serve you. Consider it her way of redeeming herself. "I also consulted a psychiatrist. You've been stressed out previously, and being around her might just help your condition a little. Trust me, Carmy. I made all this arrangement because I love you." Claudio was spouting lies, and yet his tone carried such heartfelt sincerity that he reminded her of the moment he proposed to her five years ago. Back then, he had taken a solemn oath, swearing that he would never wrong her. Now, however, he was repeatedly crossing the line for Rosalia. At first, Carmen thought she would be so heartbroken that she'd turn his offer down. She thought that rage would consume her, and she would put up a fight. To her surprise, she felt hollow. She simply couldn't care about anything anymore. "Okay. Let's do it your way." Carmen would've agreed to it if Claudio wanted Rosalina to become his wife, let alone a maid in this villa. After all, it wouldn't be long before she walked out of his life.