I FEIGNED ‘DEATH’ TO TEST MY SHY MAID’S LOYALTY. “I FEIGNED ‘DEATH’ TO TEST MY SHY MAID’S LOYALTY — BUT WHAT I DISCOVERED… WENT DEEPER THAN MY HEART COULD HANDLE.”

I am Lorenzo Vergara, 41. CEO. Wealthy. Everyone looks up to me— except for one person: Mara, my shyest and most loyal maid. She is quiet. Respectful. She doesn’t know how to be rude. She never speaks unless necessary. And in the two years I’ve been with her… not once has she looked me straight in the eye.

But there is something different about her— a kindness I cannot explain. And because I have been hurt so many times by “nice” people, I began to ask: Is she truly loyal? Or is this all just a show? And that is where the plan I never should have made began.

THE DECEPTION I THOUGHT WAS SIMPLE I prepared the plan for a week: Pretend I had a heart attack. Pretend I collapsed. Pretend I wasn’t breathing. I wanted to see her true reaction. I wanted to know if she would take care of me… or run away like almost everyone else. Grief? Fear? Calling for help? Or… Indifference?

One afternoon, I did it. I lay on the living room floor— motionless, voiceless. And I waited for Mara to enter.

THE REACTION I DIDN’T EXPECT When she opened the door, she took off her slippers as usual, sweeping quietly. But when she saw me on the floor… The broom dropped. She ran over. She kneeled. And before I could even react, her tears fell onto my cheek.

I couldn’t handle it. The tears were real. The fear was real. The trembling voice was real.

Mara: “Sir… sir… please not now… please don’t leave me… please…”

She sniffled, like a scared child. She didn’t call me “Sir Vergara” like she used to— but just Sir, filled with tenderness, pain, and pleading. And maybe… I should have told the truth right then. But I couldn’t. I still wanted to know what she would do next.

THE TRUTH THAT WOKE ME UP She called an ambulance— hands shaking. Running back and forth inside the house, unsure where to find the strength. She held my hand. And she spoke softly.

Mara: “If you only knew… how kind you are to me, even if I never say it. If you only knew how much I… cherish you.”

And there— My heart beat loudly. Not because of pain… but because of her. I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to see her crumble because of my lie. So, I slowly opened my eyes.

THE SHOCK THAT SILENCED HER Me: “M-Mara…?” Mara (backing away): “S-Sir? You’re alive?! You’re alive!!!”

She ran away— mortified, trembling, blushing, looking as if she would faint.

Me: “Mara! Wait!” I caught up to her in the kitchen. She was leaning against the fridge, holding her chest, gasping for air.

Me: “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done it.” Mara: “Sir… why did you trick me?” Me: “I wanted to know if… you were real.” Mara: “I am real. I’m just a human too, Sir. I get hurt. I get scared. And yes… I have feelings.”

I looked at her. Me: “What… feelings?” Mara (closing her eyes, looking away): “That… I don’t want to lose you.”

And there, the world seemed to stop. Me. The man who never let any woman make him cry— now standing in front of the woman I couldn’t even look at for months because I was afraid of what I felt.

THE TRUTH THAT HELD MY HEART BACK I moved closer. Softly. Carefully. Me: “Mara… if you only knew… you are the first person to show me kindness without asking for anything in return.”

She looked at me— and there I saw the secret she had hidden for two years: Love. Care. Hiding for fear of getting hurt.

Me: “I didn’t want to hurt you. But you made me wake up. And you made the beat of my heart, which had long been dead, return.”

She took a deep breath. Tears fell. Mara: “Sir… don’t say that if you don’t mean it.” Me: “It’s true. And from now on… I don’t want you to call me ‘Sir’ anymore.”

She shook her head, smiling. Mara: “Then what should I call you?” I leaned in, holding her cold hand. Me: “Lorenzo.”

And there… she laughed for the first time. And there… I finally surrendered.

EPILOGUE — THE START OF A LIE THAT BROUGHT THE TRUTH Now, we have been together for a year. She is no longer a maid. She is my companion for every dinner, every story, every new beginning. And sometimes, she asks me:

Mara: “If you hadn’t tested me back then… would you have known the truth?” Me: “No. And thank God… I tested you— because that is how I found the woman who would fix my life.”

And me? I don’t pretend to be dead anymore. Because of her— I am truly alive again.