Rebirth Revenge Is Everything (Ariana) novel Chapter 553

It could be said that Sheryl's audacious personality was largely fostered by Ariana's leniency.

In wealthy aristocratic families like these, domestic helpers usually know their place all too well. The cliché in novels where playboy heirs make advances on attractive maids rarely happens in reality. Born into such privileged families, these young masters have naturally high social standing and have seen plenty of beautiful women—there's simply no need for them to stir up trouble at home. If their parents found out, it would be beyond embarrassing, and if word got out, it wouldn't be seen as charming—just disgraceful.

Unless they were truly shameless, most scions of wealthy families wouldn’t lay a hand on their own servants. Not only would it degrade their status, but if word spread, the humiliation would be unbearable. That’s why, in these circles, there’s an unspoken rule among second- and third-generation heirs: never mess with the household staff.

Especially in a long-established family like the Stone Family household. Most servants working there understood their position and this unwritten rule. None would be foolish enough to try seducing the young master—except for Sheryl, the maid assigned to serve Ariana and Lambert in their villa.

Over time, she had begun to nurture some inappropriate thoughts.

The reason this could be blamed on Ariana was that she treated the servants with unusual kindness. Had Sheryl been assigned to the first or second branch of the family, she would never have dared entertain such ideas.

The ruthless Madam Aster or Khloe would have scared her out of her wits long ago.

Meanwhile, Sheryl carried the dinner upstairs.

Gazing at the exquisite dishes on the tray, a pang of bitterness and envy twisted in her chest. Why was the gap between people so vast? She couldn’t help but compare herself to Ariana—her looks weren’t any worse, yet fate had dealt them entirely different hands...

Suppressing the sour jealousy gnawing at her heart, Sheryl lightly rapped on the door.

From inside, Ariana’s indifferent voice responded, "Come in."

Sheryl entered, passing through the foyer before stepping into the master bedroom, where she found Ariana seated at the desk, gripping a mouse as she focused intently on the game flashing across the screen.

"Madam, your dinner is ready," Sheryl said softly.

Without turning, Ariana merely replied, "Just leave it there." She was too absorbed in honing her skills.

She was determined to prove something to that infuriating Lambert—

That even without him, she was still the undisputed—best player! After all, this was her company’s game. She had secretly strong-armed (and maybe sweet-talked) her team’s programmers into slipping her a tiny, *tiny* advantage...

Thankfully, Lambert had no idea. If he ever found out, he’d probably be speechless.

Who’d ever heard of a gaming company’s CEO actively *creating* cheats for herself? Ariana was truly in a league of her own...

*Ahem.*

The First Cheater.

But Ariana couldn't care less. In her mind, this was just another form of competence!

Lost in her own amusement, Ariana didn’t notice the flash of resentment and humiliation on Sheryl’s face when she casually dismissed her with a simple "Put it down." To Sheryl, the way Ariana spoke without even sparing her a glance was nothing short of an insult.

And a blatant look of disdain.

Who did she think she was to look down on Sheryl?

Everyone knew Ariana’s family background was nowhere near prestigious enough to warrant a marriage alliance with the Stone family’s son. To put it bluntly, Ariana was just a sparrow—

One that had somehow managed to cling onto Lambert’s coattails.

If not for that, how could she ever have become the future matriarch of the Stone family?

And yet, this was the attitude she had.

Sheryl had just stepped outside when she happened to run into him.

Today, Lucian was different from his usual self. His small face was smudged with dirt, his clothes wrinkled and stained. Faint traces of dried, dark blood were visible on his knees. Startled, Sheryl immediately asked, "Young Master, what happened to you?" Because of the inexplicable feelings she harbored for Lambert, she had always treated Lucian with extra care.

Lucian pressed his lips together, glanced at the maid, then shook his head. "It's nothing."

Sheryl frowned. "How can it be nothing? If Madam sees you like this, she’ll surely blame us."

Lucian froze slightly.

He furrowed his little brows tightly, pondering for a moment before murmuring, "It's nothing serious... Just put some medicine on me. I took a little fall." To be precise, he'd gotten into a fight. At just four years old, he had already started kindergarten.

This was Lucian's first time attending preschool.

At first, he had been quite excited.

His mother had told him he could make friends with other kids his age. But things didn’t go as he expected. While some classmates were nice, others were downright awful—especially one chubby boy who claimed Lucian’s mother mistreated his little brother and called her a wicked woman!

That had made him furious, so he threw himself at the boy.

Of course, his small frame wasn’t exactly a match, but he still managed to take the kid down—with the help of a handy "weapon." The victory came at a cost, though. His leg was scraped and bleeding.

Sheryl gave a quick nod and hurried off to fetch the first-aid kit.

As she turned to leave, Lucian added sternly, his voice firm with childish authority, "Don’t tell Mom."