The next day was Saturday, and Aria Snow thought she could rest, but a phone call from Kane Rivers shattered her peace.
"Pack your things, we're going back to the old mansion." His voice revealed no emotion.
Aria Snow was stunned. The Rivers family estate—that was the place she had been most familiar with five years ago, and also the source of her most painful memories.
"Why go there?" she asked.
"Augustus Rivers wants to see you." Kane Rivers' answer was concise, "We leave in an hour."
Aria Snow's heart sank. Augustus Rivers had never liked her, and the events from five years ago had made the old man hate her even more.
An hour later, the Rolls-Royce stopped in front of the Rivers family estate. This classical mansion was still majestic and solemn, but Aria Snow felt an indescribable oppression.
"Remember." Kane Rivers said before getting out of the car, "Your status now is my servant, not a guest."
Aria Snow nodded. She understood this was the beginning of another humiliation.
Sure enough, upon entering, Kane Rivers told the butler: "Arrange servant quarters for Aria Snow, have her stay with the other maids."
"Yes, young master." The butler's gaze toward Aria Snow carried disdain.
During lunch, Augustus Rivers sat in the main seat, Kane Rivers on the right, while Aria Snow stood by the wall like a real servant.
"Kane, is this the woman you mentioned?" Augustus Rivers glanced at Aria Snow, his tone full of disgust.
"Yes, grandfather." Kane Rivers responded coolly, "She's now my personal servant."
"Servant?" Augustus Rivers sneered, "So proud back then, and now nothing more than this."
Aria Snow kept her head down, silently enduring the old man's humiliation. Strangely, she found she was no longer as angry as before, instead feeling a kind of numb calm.
"Aria Snow, come pour tea for grandfather." Kane Rivers suddenly spoke.
Aria Snow walked over, carefully pouring tea for the old man.
"Hands are shaking, can't even pour tea properly." Augustus Rivers deliberately found fault, "Pour it again."
Aria Snow silently poured again.
"Still not right, again."
This continued, with Aria Snow repeatedly pouring tea five or six times, each time being criticized. But her expression grew calmer, even beginning to get used to this feeling of being nitpicked.
Kane Rivers watched from the side, his emotions complex. He wanted to see Aria Snow's humiliation and pain, but when she truly became this submissive, he felt an indescribable loss.
"Enough." He finally spoke, "Aria Snow, go to the kitchen and help prepare dinner."
In the kitchen, other servants bossed Aria Snow around, making her do the dirtiest and most tiring work. Washing vegetables, scrubbing pots, mopping floors—Aria Snow did everything silently.
"I heard you used to be the young master's girlfriend?" An older servant mocked, "Now you're just a servant like us."
"Yeah, thought she was so precious." Another servant chimed in.
Aria Snow didn't argue, just continued her work. She found that when she stopped caring about these taunts, everything became simple. Even in some ways, this feeling of being looked down upon freed her from any expectations, which was actually easier.
During dinner, Aria Snow stood by the wall serving like other servants. Kane Rivers and Augustus Rivers discussed business, as if she didn't exist.
"Kane, what's the use of keeping this woman?" Augustus Rivers drank some wine, "If you ask me, just get rid of her."
"She's still useful." Kane Rivers glanced at Aria Snow, "At least she's obedient."
"Obedient..." Augustus Rivers pondered, "Then keep her, she can't cause any trouble anyway."
Hearing such conversation, Aria Snow felt no waves in her heart. She had gotten used to being discussed like an object.
At night, Aria Snow lay in the small servant's room, listening to the whispered conversations of servants next door. They were discussing her past, speculating about her relationship with Kane Rivers.
But Aria Snow felt a strange peace. In this small room, no one had any expectations of her, no one required her to make any decisions. She just needed to obey, just needed to be compliant.
This feeling was surprisingly... comfortable.
In the middle of the night, Kane Rivers quietly came to the servant's quarters.
"Come out." He said in a low voice.
Aria Snow silently followed him to the garden. Under the moonlight, his expression was unclear.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Fine." Aria Snow's answer was calm.
"Being treated like that, you're not angry?"
"Why should I be angry?" Aria Snow asked back, "This is my status now, isn't it?"
Kane Rivers was stunned. He thought she would be angry, wronged, would plead with him. But her calmness made him feel an indescribable defeat.
"Aria Snow, you've changed." He said.
"Yes, I've changed." Aria Snow looked at him, "I've learned to adapt. To adapt to being humiliated, to being looked down upon, to... being tormented by you."
"Don't you feel pain?"
"Pain is exhausting." Aria Snow's voice was soft, "I no longer have the energy to feel pain. And I've discovered that when I don't resist, everything becomes simple. You're happy, I'm relaxed."
These words made Kane Rivers feel deep unease. He didn't want this kind of Aria Snow—he wanted...
But he himself didn't know what he wanted.
"Tomorrow we're going back to the city." He said.
"Alright." Aria Snow nodded, "Any other instructions?"
Kane Rivers looked at her, suddenly feeling a deep emptiness. She had become so obedient, so submissive, but this submission filled him with fear.
Because she was becoming someone he didn't recognize.
And this—was it what he wanted, or what he feared most?