C8 I am the mistress of this mansion.

"And who are you?" That was the first question Natalia got the next morning while sitting on the terrace, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

She had done what Mavros had requested and moved to the furthest room, fuming at his vulgarity.

It took her a while to sleep since she had slept a bit before that. She woke up at quarter to nine to find him gone.

She mused; there were literally just strangers cohabiting. She had been basking in the tranquility of the environment until this moment.

Though her thoughts had been anything but tranquil, they ravaged her mind, struggling to figure out how to reclaim her innocence. But nothing was forthcoming. Where does she even start from? She had no legal standing, no financial resources, no connections, no power, and no influence.

And don't even get her started on her powerful billionaire husband—he would be the first one to clip her wings. With the way things had gone these few hours, she was sure about that.

This case was one she had to be fully armed and equally prepared for, especially with what she had just discovered about that deceitful bastard. He was as sly as a fox and twice as dangerous.

The rude woman, who seemed to be in her late fifties, glared at her with a mixture of disdain and curiosity.

"Who am I?" Natalia repeated, ignoring her disdainful look.

"Are you returning my question with a question? I asked, Who the fuck are you? And what are you doing here? Are you one of his mistresses?" She looked down at her from head to toe.

Natalia flinched at the onslaught of questions, then scoffed. 'Mistresses. How polite. What held her from saying the word whores.'?

"Excuse me? May I know who you are?" Natalia was trying really hard to be polite here. Her parents might have been horrible, but one thing they had taught her was to respect her elders. Though it's not as if this woman was putting in any effort to earn it.

"Oh, it's now an onslaught of questions."

She scoffed, "Well, I will go first. I am Fiona, the mother-in-law of the owner of this mansion. And you, who or what are you?"

Natalia's eyes rocketed open, her pupils dilating in stunned disbelief. Diana's mother? She quickly returned to a neutral expression.

He still had a close relationship with his ex's family? Why didn't he even let her know about this? She felt like an idiot, not even knowing how to handle the woman.

"Have you gone deaf? Wait, don't tell me you're a tick?" Fiona continued with her crass questions. 'How about I tell you, I'm your deceased precious daughter's proclaimed murderer?' Her intrusive thoughts whispered, but she kicked against it.

"I'm the mistress..." She paused, playing with her words, and Fiona jumped in, just as Natalia had wanted, and bursted out.

"I knew it! Hmph, you look like one of them. Poor Mavros would never find a daughter like mine. That's why it's so hard for him to settle down after many years. He may have lost his wife, not his mother-in-law."

She waited for her to finish before she hit hard. "Mistress of this mansion." She completed triumphantly.

Fiona stumbled at her words; her eyes struck. "W...what? What did you just say?" Her mind was reeling at what she just heard.

The groceries she had just bought fell out of her hands. Natalia watched with satisfaction as Fiona's composure crumbled, her own words having salvaged the woman's haughty demeanor and reduced her to a state of astonishment.

Another occasion of witnessing 'Pride goes before Fall' firsthand.

Natalia bent down at her figure on the floor, her face etched with a sweet smile. "Are you okay? It's an honor to meet you. Is that for my... darling husband?"

She made to reach for her and the groceries, but Fiona snapped, "Don't you dare!" She sobbed, "This can't be happening. How would he do this to her? To us? He already moved on?" rummaging for her phone lost in her big bag "Where is it? Where the hell is it?"

She finally found it, dialing Mavros' number at once. "Answer, answer, answer!" she chanted, her eyes blazing with anger and betrayal.

At the second dial, the call was answered, and Fiona began her outbursts, weeping.

"How could you do this to us, after all we've been through together? Who would you replace Diana with? A cruel and evil woman who threw me to the floor, violently subjugating me to such humiliation?"

She wailed, scrunching her nose in anguish. "As if it's not enough that you moved on so quickly, you've brought into our home a woman who treats me with such disdain! I don't think I will ever forgive you for what you've done to me and our family. Tell me, what crime did we commit in loving and accepting you? Is this the way you repay our kindness?"

She ended the call abruptly, wiping away her tears with a delicate touch. With the look of things, Mavros would be arriving shortly.

"Are you going to sit there on the floor, wallowing in self-pity, or are you going to wait for him inside like a decent person?" Natalia asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"Why? Are you afraid he would see you for who you truly are?" She bit back with venom.

"Of course not. Did I do anything wrong to you? And why did you lie about me pushing you down anyway? It was literally your own doing."

"We will see about that," Fiona threatened, her eyes blazing with anger, but she remained seated on the floor, making no attempt to get up.

Natalia shrugged and returned to her former position, her outer composure remarkably calm, but she couldn't say the same for her inner one.

Mavros arrived earlier than she had anticipated, his presence marked by the sound of his car pulling into the driveway.

His tires screeched in protest as he slammed on the brakes. He had exceeded the speed limit, pushing his car to its limits in order to get home quickly after Fiona's frantic phone call.

As he stepped out of the car, he saw her sitting on the floor, her eyes red and puffy from crying. His lips compressed into a thin lip, his eyes flashing with a cold, calculated fury that left no doubt...

"Fiona, what happened?" he asked, his voice firm and cold. Mavros helped Fiona to her feet, picking up her bags of groceries that were scattered across the floor.

Natalia gradually stepped out of the terrace, her eyes fixed on the scene before her. But as Mavros' gaze turned to her, she took a step back, fear written across her face. "You," he growled, his finger pointing at her. "You did this, didn't you?"

Natalia quailed, her face pale. "I... I didn't do it," she stammered, shaking her head negatively.

Fiona, still sniffling, spoke up, "Mavros, she was so cruel to me. She pushed me down and humiliated me. You have to do something about her. I know you were overwhelmed by Diana's demise, but you didn't have to stoop so low by settling for a heartless woman like her."

"It's okay, Fiona. I'm sorry on her behalf. Please come inside."

He ushered Fiona inside, commanding Natalia, "Take this to the kitchen." He thrust the bag of groceries at her, making his way inside with the older woman.

Natalia trudged dejectedly into the kitchen, her head hung in shame.

After a little while, Mavros entered the kitchen, slamming his fist on the counter, making Natalia jump. "How could you, Natalia? How could you treat Fiona like that?"

Natalia cowered, "I... didn't do it, Mavros. I swear. What you saw there was far from what actually happened."

Mavros' expression turned from anger to disgust. "You're so unbelievable! You were just outside, arguing and subjecting her to verbal abuse and scorn."

Natalia shook her head. "I wasn't arguing with her. She came in here, demeaning and belittling me. Her being on the floor was her own doing; she wanted you to see her in that pitiful state. She was playing the victim, Mavros, wanting to make you think I'm the villain."

Natalia's voice trembled as she continued, "All I did was let her know my real status in this house," her voice barely audible.

He snapped, his voice trailing off. "Gloating, is that it? Did you tell her your real status? That you're nothing but her daughter's replacement?"

Natalia's flinched, her face crumpling as she struggled to hold back tears. She didn't respond, too shattered by Mavros' vulgar words and contempt.

Just then, Mavros remembered that Fiona was waiting in the sitting room, unaware of the drama that had unfolded in the kitchen.

"I'll be right back," he told Natalia, excusing himself to get a glass of water.

As he left the kitchen, Natalia collapsed into a chair, her body shaking with sobs.