Chapter 6 - The Maid Who Became His Equal
The foundation grew.
Kayla became its director.
Gunther became chairman.
People stopped calling her the maid.
She corrected them.
“I was a maid.”
She never hid it.
She was proud of the work.
She knew what it meant to clean someone else's house while worrying about hospital bills.
She wanted other workers to know they mattered.
Gunther supported her.
Not as a favor.
As a partner.
Their relationship deepened.
He began sleeping better.
She began trusting people.
They cooked together.
They argued over dishes.
They laughed.
Sometimes, Kayla still caught herself waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Gunther noticed.
“Why are you afraid?”
“I don't know.”
He took her hand.
“Tell me anyway.”
“What if this ends?”
“It won't.”
“You don't know that.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“But I know what I choose.”
She smiled.
“What?”
“You.”
One year after the night she fell asleep in his bed, Gunther proposed.
Not in a ballroom.
Not in a restaurant.
In the same bedroom.
The room had changed.
Warm lights.
Photographs.
Books.
Family.
He knelt.
Kayla stared.
“I don't have a ring.”
She laughed.
“What?”
“I thought you did.”
“I did.”
He held up his hands.
“I lost it.”
“Gunther.”
He laughed.
“I was nervous.”
She covered her face.
“You?”
“Yes.”
He took a small velvet box from the nightstand.
Inside was a simple ring.
Not enormous.
Not flashy.
Perfect.
“Kayla Hughes.”
She looked at him.
“You changed my life.”
“I cleaned your room.”
“You did more.”
He took her hand.
“You were the first person who ever entered my life without wanting anything from me.”
She smiled.
“Except a paycheck.”
He laughed.
“Fair.”
He looked at her.
“Will you marry me?”
She cried.
“Yes.”
They married six months later.
Eleanor cried.
Sam gave Kayla away.
Victor gave a terrible speech.
Everyone laughed.
May you like
Gunther kissed her.
And for the first time, there was no empty room.
