ADEBIMPE (Episode 3)

The other maids did not wait long.

The moment I stepped into the courtyard, carrying nothing but my thoughts and an empty tray, they surrounded me like curious birds.

“So?” one of them asked, lowering her voice.

“How did it go?” another pressed.

“Did he shout?”

“Did he smile?”

“Did he even let you leave alive?”

I shook my head, confused by the storm of questions.

“I only served his coffee,” I said. “Nothing happened.”

They exchanged looks.

“You are lucky then,” a girl whispered. “Rumor has it that Prince Adewale is wicked. They say he dismisses servants for breathing wrongly.”

My stomach tightened.

“I couldn’t even look at his face properly,” I lied quickly, afraid that honesty might sound like pride. “I bowed and left.”

Before they could ask more, a familiar voice cut through our circle.

“Adebimpe.”

We all turned.

Iya Morounkeji, the head cook, stood there with her hands on her hips, eyes sharp like a hawk’s. The other maids scattered immediately, fear sending them away faster than gossip ever could.

“You,” she said, pointing at me. “Come.”

My heart sank.

As we walked toward the kitchen, she spoke in a low voice. “You will serve the prince again.”

I stopped walking.

“Again?” I whispered. “Iya… I...

She looked at me sharply. “Do you know something, child? You are the first maid the prince did not complain about.”

My breath caught.

“That is why,” she continued. “So don’t let fear turn your hands foolish. Be careful.”

Working in the palace was not easy every step felt like walking on broken glass but the mansion itself… it was beautiful. Wide corridors, polished floors that reflected light like water, walls that whispered old stories. Sometimes, I forgot I was a slave and imagined I was only a visitor passing through wonder.

Maybe, I thought, I will even see his room again.

The thought scared and thrilled me all at once.

I carried the tray this time proper food, carefully arranged. My hands trembled despite my efforts to steady them.

“Be careful,” Iya Morounkeji warned again.

I knocked.

“Come in,” the prince said.

I entered and this time, I lifted my eyes with a little confidence.

Oh.

His room.

It was more beautiful than memory had allowed. Sunlight poured through tall windows draped with cream-colored curtains that moved gently with the breeze. The walls were decorated with carved symbols and framed art ancient battles, kings long gone, victories remembered in silence. A low bookshelf stood against one wall, filled with leather-bound books. A small fountain murmured softly in one corner, its sound calming, almost intimate.

This was not the room of a wicked man.

This was the room of someone thoughtful… maybe lonely.

I stepped forward, placed the tray down gently, and bowed.

“Good afternoon, my prince.”

I felt his eyes on me again

PRINCE ADEWALE POV

This girl again.

I recognized her immediately the careful steps, the quiet presence, the way she bowed as though the ground itself deserved respect.

Adebimpe, I remembered. The name stayed with me longer than it should have.

She placed my food down, her movements neat, unhurried. Many servants rushed, eager to leave my presence. She did not.

“Why,” I asked, watching her closely, “bearing Adebimpe… are you from a king’s lineage?”

She looked up, startled by the question.

“No, my prince,” she answered simply.

No flattery. No trembling lies. Just truth.

Interesting.

Her eyes were clear, untrained in deception. The palace usually drained that purity quickly. I wondered how long it would take before it touched her too.

“You may raise your head,” I said.

She did.

There was strength there. Hidden, but undeniable.

“You serve well,” I added. “Most people are afraid of this room.”

She hesitated. “It is… beautiful, my prince.”

I almost laughed. Almost.

Few people spoke honestly to me. Fewer still spoke kindly.

“Do not let beauty deceive you,” I said. “Palaces swallow people whole.”

She nodded slowly, as though she already knew.

As she turned to leave, something unfamiliar stirred in my chest not desire, not power, but curiosity.

And curiosity, in a palace like this, was dangerous.

ADEBIMPE POV

When I left his chamber, my heart beat louder than my footsteps.

I did not know what this attention meant. I did not know if it would save me or destroy me.

But I knew one thing for certain:

In a palace full of shadows,

Prince Adewale had seen me.

And I was no longer just a new slave.

Continue reading Episode 4