Chapter 10 - THE MAID WHO BECAME QUEEN
One year later.
The Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel was filled with hundreds of New York’s most prominent figures—city leaders, business executives, international diplomats, and medical directors.
It was the inauguration gala for the Draper-Marchetti Neurological Rehabilitation Center—a state-of-the-art medical facility fully funded by the Marchetti Foundation, dedicated to providing free, high-end care to underprivileged spinal injury patients.
Standing near the main stage, wearing a sharp tuxedo and walking completely unassisted with only a stylish wooden cane, was twenty-year-old Ellis Draper. He was laughing and talking with a group of chief neurosurgeons, his eyes bright with health and ambition.
Standing beside the grand staircase, wearing a breathtaking floor-length dark emerald silk gown, was Noel Marchetti.
Her dark hair was styled in an elegant updo, a delicate diamond necklace sparkling at her throat. But the most radiant thing about her was the calm, unshakeable confidence in her eyes.
Cassian walked up behind her, dressed in a bespoke black tuxedo, holding two glasses of sparkling champagne.
He slid his arm around her waist, kissing her shoulder softly.
"Your brother just gave a brilliant opening speech to the board," Cassian said proudly. "He’s going to make an incredible director of our medical technology division."
Noel turned her head, resting her cheek against Cassian’s chest, looking out at her brother smiling across the room.
"It feels like a dream sometimes," Noel whispered softly. "Two years ago, I was standing in a cold basement at the Ashcroft, being searched for a watch I never stole."
Cassian’s eyes darkened slightly with protective warmth. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, framed document.
"I bought the Ashcroft Hotel last week," Cassian revealed with a dry, wicked smirk.
Noel blinked, startled. "You what?"
"I bought it," Cassian repeated calmly. "And yesterday, my legal team officially fired Raymond Pike and Stacey, while filing formal compensation settlements for every maid who was ever mistreated by that management."
Noel looked at her husband, a warm, incredulous laugh escaping her lips.
"You are unbelievable, Cassian Marchetti," she smiled, reaching up to smooth his lapels.
"I am a man who protects what belongs to him," Cassian corrected gently, taking her glass and setting both drinks on a nearby tray.
He took both of her hands in his, looking down at her with boundless, unyielding love.
"Tonight," Cassian whispered, his grey eyes shining, "we leave the gala early."
Noel raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile touching her lips. "Oh? And why is that, Mr. Marchetti?"
Cassian leaned down, his lips brushing her ear, his deep voice sending a familiar, exhilarating shiver down her spine.
"Because forty-two floors above the East River, my bedroom is quiet, the city is peaceful, and I cannot sleep a single minute unless my wife is fast asleep against my heart."
Noel wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a deep, loving kiss in the center of the grand ballroom.
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"Take me home, Cassian," Noel whispered against his lips.
Together, hand in hand, the former maid and the king of Brooklyn walked out into the cool autumn night—a night that held no more shadows, no more secrets, and a love that would shine brighter than a thousand suns for the rest of their lives.
