"Ria! Come on, take more drinks out. We have VIP guests to serve!"

Ria just heaved a sigh upon hearing her supervisor call her again when she has just come back from serving drinks. Her feet seriously hurt, she has been walking and serving for two hours straight without taking a single rest, yet there was her supervisor calling her again as if she was doing nothing. She wanted to shout, to demand, to give her a break even just a moment, though she knew she couldn't do that.

"I have to endure, I am still under probation and I couldn't lose this job," she mumbled to herself before straightening her body. "I'm coming!"

And though her body was shouting for rest, she went to the kitchen and get more drinks.

"Good. Now, serve the table out there," her supervisor pointed to a table where there was a group of people laughing their hearts out. "And be careful. The host of the party, Miss Callie Smith was there. Be sure to be polite."

She nodded, "Noted, Ma'am."

With the tray of drinks in her hand, she walked to the table assigned to her and served. As she was handling the guests their drinks, she could hear them talking about how their careers were booming, how they receive offers from one company to another, and she couldn't help but to listen and wish for her to be like them.

"But how is that going to happen? I'm seriously broke right now with only a few dollars left in my wallet." she thought. "And I am just under probation in this new job, my second time being part of the catering services team, yet my body is giving up."

Ariadne Miller was an orphan, struggling not just financially but her whole life was a series of struggles. At the age of twenty-six, she was still unsure of her purpose in life. She has nothing but herself and her tragedy; her mother died upon giving birth to her, leaving her to his father who re-married when she was seven and died when she was twelve due to cardiac arrest. Since then, her life became miserable as her stepmother and stepsister treated her like a maid, though her father told them before he died to take care of her for she was the princess of his life.

But what could a dead father's wish do against the two living evils of her life?

Her step-sister, Karrie, who always made fun of her when they were still in high school, and her step-mother, Mrs. Karla Hitcher-Miller, would double her pain and sufferings by mistreating and hurting her whenever she gets the chance. She didn't even let her finish high school and cut supporting her allowance, leaving her no choice but to work for herself to support her studies till she finish high school. And when she did, she left their house, although it has been her home for years, and worked as a nanny to a wealthy family.

She worked there for years until one day, she made a mistake that brought her boss' child's life in danger, resulting in them to fire her without giving her the last salary for the remaining days she worked for. With no one else to go to, she had no choice but to go back to her stepmother and worked again as a catering staff on a catering service near their neighborhood to continue making money. And right now, she was at a cocktail party held by Callie Smith, a famous world-class fashion designer, where every elite in the city was present.

Her savings have gone nothing but in the hands of Karla who had the audacity to make her pay in exchange for living in their house, when in fact, the house was supposed to be hers. In the eyes of others, Ria was a living Cinderella, but for her, she was far from being Cinderella.

"Cinderella has a fairy godmother who helped her to find her prince charming and happy ever after, while I, I have no one. And at my age, there was still no trace of finding my prince charming. I don't even know if I have one."

It was always her thought whenever she would hear someone talking about her and telling her she was like Cinderella. She was only miserable, that's it.

Her train of thoughts about how her life was going through the previous years was suddenly cut off when she suddenly felt a sticky liquid on her arms and when she snapped back to reality, she realized that one of the guests had just threw up on her. All the eyes were now on them and she was frozen in her spot, unable to move, until someone softly pulled her away.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry. Lyn is drunk,"

When she looked at the woman who owned the voice and the hand that was softly holding her hand, she figured it was the host of the party, Miss Callie Smith.

"I-it's okay," she managed to reply. "Uhm, I'll just change—"

"No, let me treat you with a dress. Come, I have something up there."

She was shocked upon the offer of Callie. A famous fashion designer would treat her a dress just because one of the guests threw up on her. Though the idea sounded good, she knew she couldn't, she needed to decline and work.

"Your offer sounds good and I really appreciate it, Ma'am, but, I need to work—"

"Don't worry about your work. I'll take care of it." the good fashion designer replied.

"But—"

"I don't accept buts. So, you'll go with me and change, whether you like it or not. Come on,"

Ria didn't have a choice but to go when Callie pulled her upstairs after she advised her friends to go take care of Lyn. She pulled Ria into her dressing room and lend her a dress that they didn't pick to include in her previous collection show, which thankfully, became successful again.

"I think this one will look good on you," she uttered.

Callie actually knew that Ria would be a good model the moment she saw her, the girl was naturally beautiful and just needed a bit of transformation which she knew she could easily make. In her mind, the girl probably came from a middle-class family, hence, its potential beauty was not yet discovered and she would be glad to be the first one to discover her. She was actually planning to talk to the girl and offer her a job that she knew would surely suit her, she was just waiting for the perfect time.

"Ma'am, you really don't have to. I have an extra uniform with me and—"

"Oh, please, dear." she cut her off again. "Let me do this, okay? I know this would suit you and you don't have to worry about work. I'll take care of it."

Seeing the determination on Callie's face and knowing she wouldn't let her go until she says yes, she nodded which made the latter smile.

"Great! Now, before everything else, may I know your name, beautiful lad?"

The way Callie called her moved something in her. It was boosting her confidence though something was still pushing it off the ground.

"My name is Ariadne Miller. But, you can call me Ria, as Ariadne is too long." she shyly introduced herself.

"Ariadne, the name suits you. Okay, Ria, I want you first to take a quick shower, and then, we'll do everything fast but splendid, okay? The party is not going to end too soon. Though Lyn had taken too much that's why she was drunk."

Callie didn't let her talk respond and guided her towards the high-class bathroom and prepared her bath, though she insisted that she didn't need a good one for she will do it quickly. When Callie left her alone in the bathroom, she sighed and quickly grabbed the extra scrub and bathing soap that Callie gave her. It smelled good, even the shampoo smelled heaven. If only Callie wasn't waiting for her outside, she would take her time enjoying the warm water.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Callie was smiling as she guided her to the vanity mirror and everything happened in a blur. When she looked at herself in the mirror after Callie's work, her mouth just hung in shock.

There was no trace of the miserable Ria that she used to see whenever she was looking at herself in the mirror.

Meanwhile, at the party, William Davidson, a famous business tycoon, and a billionaire philanthropist was waiting impatiently for her cousin, Callie to come back so he could bid goodbye. Though William was known to be a good man, he was impatient with this kind of gatherings.

He wasn't used to it. He would rather stay in his room or in his office, either working his ass out or planning for another innovative gadget that his tech company would develop.

William Davidson was a thirty-two years old billionaire who inherited a large sum of money when his father died when he looked just twenty-six. And he turned that inheritance into something more through the years of working hard in his tech company that makes innovative, futuristic, and eco-friendly gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, computers, and other softwares.

He was still single despite his age, one of the most wealthiest bachelors, not just in the continent but in the whole world. Though he was down to Earth, kind, and caring which the public believe was the reason why he kept on receiving blessings. But behind the kind and smart philanthropist billionaire that everyone sees, he has his own dark story that only a few know.

"Sir, do you want me to look for Miss Callie?" his long-time secretary, Geneva asked upon seeing him getting impatient.

"No, it's fine. I'll wait for a few more minutes and if he's still not here after that, I'll be the one to look for her."

Geneva nodded and let him be. He sighed and shook his head, his cousin, Callie knew well that he wasn't the kind of guy who would enjoy such a gathering, yet because they haven't seen each other for a year, he gave in to Callie's request. Well, she always has that power over him, perks of treating her like a younger sister that he never had. And it has been a year since they last bonded and saw each other, Callie has been busy with her fashion designing career.

William heaved another sigh when three minutes passed and he still didn't see any signs of his dear cousin. He was getting impatient yet trying his best to wait for a few more especially when a few of the elites present there walked to his table and talked to him, mostly those he wasn't able to talk to during the start of the party.

"By the way, I haven't seen Callie for a while. Where is she?" a famous banker asked and looked at him.

He was about to answer when one of the women wearing a fancy evening gown with a thick make-up replied to the banker, "I guess she was still upstairs, apologizing and taking care of that caterer."

"Is that so? Well, she wasn't supposed to apologize. It was Lyn's fault for getting too drunk."

"Maybe she took too much, that's why."

"Ah, kids nowadays. This was a cocktail party and getting drunk was normal, but, that drunk?"

He listened as they talked about the incident just a while ago when Lyn, one of Callie's friends threw up on one of the caterers serving them. He actually wanted to see what was happening, but his cousin was there and she knew she could handle it all by herself. Perhaps that was the reason why she wasn't still here until now.

The chatter on their table continued. He was silent as always and just talking whenever he needed to, until everyone became silent, followed by several gasps. And when he turned in the direction where everyone was looking to, everything stopped revolving and it happened absurdly but real.

As William Davidson, a billionaire, blessed with wealth, brain, and looks, it wasn't hard for him to get a woman. Every woman who would see him would do everything just to have him, just so he would choose them. He had a fair share of women though none of them were able to catch his attention like the way the woman he was currently looking into did.

On the grand staircase of Smith Mansion's function hall, his cousin, Callie, was walking down and she wasn't alone. Beside her was a beautiful lady walking shyly while everyone's eyes were on her.

At that moment, nothing in the world matters to him. The world was nothing, it wasn't revolving, the crowd around him was not there because there was only him and the woman walking down the staircase, wearing a simple dress that probably his cousin made.

"Damn beautiful," was the only thing he could mumble.

When he snapped back to reality, he only has one thing in his mind;

He needs to know who was that woman.

He needs to meet her.

He will get her one way or another.