ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond-Chapter 145: Decorations

Chapter 145: Decorations
Chapter 145
KATYA POV
The elevator hummed softly as it descended, and for a few blessed seconds I let myself breathe.
Just the quiet whirring. Just the promise of work. Just... space.
But the second the doors slid open. Chaos swallowed me whole. I froze on the threshold.
The entire third floor buzzed like a kicked anthill.
Maids rushed back and forth in every direction, arms full of trays, flowers, fabrics, polished glasses, metal stands, crates of champagne, baskets of whatever, boxes sealed with gold labels I didn’t recognize.
A rolling cart rattled past me, stacked so high with decorations it looked like it might tip.
Someone was shouting orders. Someone else was yelling back. Shoes clicked, heels clacked, brooms swept, doors slammed, and voices overlapped in frantic waves.
I blinked rapidly.
What...?
A maid nearly collided with me, skidding to a stop. "Watch it!" she snapped before bolting off again without waiting for a reaction.
I stepped fully out of the elevator, pressed flat against the wall so I wouldn’t get run over by the next stampede.
My heart thudded in confusion. What was happening? It wasn’t like the usual busy.
This was different. This was... urgent. Prepared. Coordinated to the point of panic.
Decorations? Drinks? Flowers? Why would they—?
I took a small step forward, still hugging myself, still trying to make sense of any of it. Was there... an event? A dinner? A gathering?
No one had told me anything. Not that they ever did. But this—this was a level of frantic I’d never seen before.
Miss Stella appeared from the kitchen doors like a storm. All sharp movements and clipped commands, her tablet clutched to her chest.
"Move those vases! No, not there—if the guests arrive early I swear—Someone get the lighting crew down there now! And who put the wine crates in the wrong corridor—again?!"
I stiffened.
Guests?
My stomach dropped even before my brain pieced the rest together. This wasn’t just some random event. Whatever this was... it was big.
Important.
And clearly happening tonight.
Which meant—
No.
No, that didn’t make sense. Couldn’t make sense.
No one said anything about—
A loud clatter snapped me from my thoughts. I looked to the right in time to see two maids struggling with a towering arrangement of white roses—White. Gold. Crystal.
I swallowed, suddenly feeling even more out of place than before, as if the chaos around me was a language I wasn’t meant to understand.
Before I could make sense of any of it, a sharp voice cut through the noise.
"Katya!"My head snapped up.
Miss Stella’s eyes locked onto me from across the floor, wide, relieved, and a little irritated like she’d been searching for me for hours.
She marched toward me with the speed and precision of someone who had absolutely no time left in her day.
"Where on earth have you been since afternoon?" she demanded, not unkindly, but with that strict edge she used when everything was falling apart.
I opened my mouth... but nothing came out.
My brain was still stuck on what is happening, while my body was still trying not to get crushed by passing trays and floral arrangements.
Miss Stella didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed two trays of sparkling drinks from a side table and thrust one into my hands.
"Come on, help me take these to the fourth floor."
Fourth floor?
All that came out of my mouth was a tiny, confused noise. "Huh—?"
But Miss Stella was already turning, expecting me to follow.
Still disoriented, still trying to catch up, I clutched the tray and hurried after her before someone yelled at me for blocking the walkway.
My feet moved automatically, though my mind lagged behind in a fog of why, what, when, who, because I had absolutely no idea what I’d just walked into.
We bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairs.
The fourth floor. I remembered that one. A ballroom. Huge, bright, echoing. And suddenly something cold slid down my spine.
Were we going there? To that room?
Last I heard the room was only used for big events. Important events. It had never been used before—well since I came.
I swallowed as we walked quickly down the stairs, my grip tightening on the tray so it wouldn’t shake with my nerves.
Miss Stella didn’t slow down—not even a little—as we reached the landing. She pushed the heavy double doors open with her shoulder and swept inside like she’d been holding the entire house together with sheer force of will.
I stepped in behind her. And instantly stopped breathing.
Again, for the tenth time.
The hall, no scratch that the ballroom—
Whatever this place was supposed to be... It was unrecognizable.
I’d never been inside before. It had always been locked, lights off, half-forgotten behind velvet ropes and polished brass handles.
ust a rumor of a room. A shape behind a door. Now it looked like something out of a dream.
Huge didn’t even begin to cover it. The ceiling arched like a cathedral, covered in soft golden lighting that hummed against crystal chandeliers.
The walls were draped with cascading fabrics—white, deep gold, and soft black—layered in a way that made the whole room feel like it glowed.
But the real shock came from the movement.
Dozens of maids, decorators, servers—everyone—were weaving through the space, transforming it piece by piece.
Chairs wrapped in satin bows. Tables dressed in black and white cloths, trimmed with subtle gold edges.
Centerpieces tall enough to block faces, spilling with white roses, lilies, soft glitter dust that shimmered under the lights. Everything sparkled. Everything had a place.
And everything was already halfway to perfect.
My feet rooted at the entrance. I’d never seen luxury like this. Not from the sidelines. Not from inside a room I wasn’t supposed to breathe in, let alone stand in.
Miss Stella turned back, noticed me frozen, and clicked her tongue. "Katya, move. We don’t have time."
Right. Time. Tasks. Something I came here for. I forced myself forward, gripping the tray tighter as I stepped fully into the chaos.
My eyes darted everywhere at once. Music was being tested through hidden speakers—soft, elegant violins that made the room feel even more surreal.
More carts rattled by, carrying pastries shaped like tiny sculptures. A man I’d never seen before stood by the stage adjusting some massive velvet curtains.
And every person here looked like they knew exactly what they were doing. Everyone except me.