He should make her fall in love with him

Chase stepped forward, pulse quickening. He looked around, then gently took her wrist and guided her deeper into Harold’s empty room, closing the door behind them.

He turned to face her, heart pounding, and then softly spoke:

“Deeper now.”

Her posture slackened even more.

“Drop back into that warm, quiet place… That safe little space where my voice is the only thing that matters. You’re back there again, aren’t you?”

“Yes…” she whispered, eyelids fluttering shut.

Chase sat on the edge of Harold’s old desk and crossed his arms. He could feel it now — the power. And it felt good.

“Good girl,” he murmured. “You did very well. That was exactly how I wanted you to act. No suspicion, no weird behavior. Just… natural. But you don’t need to worry about that anymore. You’re safe here, with me.”

She stood silently, her breathing deep and steady.

Chase tilted his head, thinking for a moment.

“You remember how upset you were with me yesterday? That anger… that disappointment?” he said gently. “It’s gone now. Completely gone.”

He leaned in slightly, voice softening further.

“You’ve forgiven me. No, more than that — you’re proud of me. You understand now that Diego’s mother overstepped. The way she barged into this house? The way she intends to humiliate you in front of other parents? You’re still furious… but not at me.”

He watched her lips twitch slightly.

“You’re annoyed at her. You can’t stand her arrogance. And you think Diego deserves to be taken down a peg… and that I should be the one to do it.”

He stepped closer now, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“And you’re going to help me do it. Because you believe in me. Because it’s our little secret. Our little game.”

She nodded faintly, lost in the spiral of his words.

“But more than anything else,” Chase said, staring directly into her blank face, “you love me.”

Her breath hitched.

“But not just as a mother. You’re falling in love with me. Slowly… uncontrollably. You want to love me. You crave being close to me. My approval makes you feel warm. My smile lights up your whole day. And when I praise you… it’s like a reward.”

He watched her face soften, her lips part just slightly more.

“You’re mine now,” he whispered. “And that makes you happy.”

A long pause.

“Now…” he said with a small grin, “wake up.”

She blinked.

The transformation was seamless.

She looked around the butler’s quarters, then at her son. “What are we doing in Harold’s room?” she asked, brushing a non-existent speck of dust off her sleeve.

“You wanted to make sure he didn’t leave anything behind,” Chase lied smoothly.

“Ah… yes. That’s right,” she said, frowning briefly before shaking her head. “What a shame.”

She turned around, but didn’t walk out right away. Instead, she paused just before the door, casting a glance around the modest butler’s quarters with a look that held no sentiment anymore — just mild, detached curiosity.

“I always liked Harold,” she said, lips pursed thoughtfully. “But you were right. He was starting to think he was part of the family. The help should know their place.”

Her tone was cool. Dismissive. Almost cruel in its casualness. She turned back to Chase with a smile — soft, warm, but tinged with arousal.

“I’ll speak to your father tonight,” she said, casually brushing a hand down her hip, smoothing her robe. “Convince him to drop your grounding. The man likes to bark, but he’s easy enough to tame.”

Her eyes glimmered. “I have my ways of persuading the old fart.”

She giggled at her own phrasing — the sound light and breathy, oddly girlish — before her expression shifted, darkening just slightly.

“And don’t you worry about that woman,” she said, venom slipping into her voice. “Storming into our house, acting like we raised a monster. That Diego… pathetic little thing. Snivelling, weak. Just like his mother.”

She ran a hand through her hair, casually tossing it over her shoulder.

“I don’t know how you put up with them for so long,” she continued, looking at him with a new kind of admiration — deeper, more personal. “I like that fire in you, Chase. I think it’s time we stop apologizing for it.”

She poked her head out of the room slowly, her eyes scanning the hallway before dipping back into the room like a teenager sneaking off to meet a forbidden crush.

Her hand brushed against his chest, feather-light.

“Just between us,” she whispered, a secret tucked behind her lips, “I’ve never felt closer to you.”

Then — without hesitation — she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

Soft. Lingering. Wet.

Her eyes stayed on his, glowing with a heady blend of devotion and mischief.

“I’ll see you soon,” she whispered, before slipping out the door.

Chase watched her go, the sway of her hips matching the little hum that floated back into the hallway.

His mother.

Now his subservient partner.

And she was fucking perfect.