Chapter eighteen

Layla

Gosh! What have I gotten myself into? Martha warned me not to come but I was adamant, that and the irresistible pull towards Victor, now what I’m seeing is scaring the living crap out of me and keeping me frozen still and mute.

“I said, what are you doing in here?” He asked again, now with a deeper voice filled with so much power as well as authority, I know there is power behind his voice because I myself have tasted what that kind of power feels like because it had coursed through my very body, now his words carried such same feelings as I heard them and even though his kind of power is way different

from the type I’ve felt, yet, I still recognize it for what it was, one more thing was obvious, the power I feel coming from him is way out of the league of my powers, his feels boundless, kinda dark too while mine feels limited, specific and it has a joyfully bright feel to it.

“Uhm, good, day ssir” I stammered “I, I heard you’re back, so I decided to come attend to you” I said trying to act like everything was fine despite the fact that nothing was actually fine.

“Really? And you came in here when no one else would dare? You can see me like this and yet you act so casual, aren’t you scared? What if I do something to you?” He said looking a bit astonished despite his now medieval appearance, he looked like a dark prince from a very ancient time, at least the way they were portrayed in stories and movies, if it wasn’t that I was feeling the darkness and power emanating from him, I would have thought he was playing dress up or probably preparing for a movie role.

“Well, like I said, I only came to check if there’s anything you might need or anything I can do for you since you’re back, you are my master and employer after all” I said gaining a bit more confidence, where I got it from, I really don’t know, “Besides, I haven’t gotten around to thank you for saving me from strokes in the morning, I really don’t know what condition I’d be by now if that had happened, so thank you… sir” I added, now of course he was right, I should be scared, well ok, I am scared, but not enough to run away from him or anything, and maybe it was my new experience with the powers that was causing this but I knew I was going to be ok with him.

“Wow, really? Hmm, I have to say, I’m surprised, glad even” he said and it was obvious that he was getting calmer already, uhm did I do that? “Wow, suddenly I feel a whole lot better, hmm, but then you’ve seen me like this, so what do we do?” he asked and I realized that I truly wasn’t supposed to see him like this, it had to be some kind of secret that he hid from the world, does his family even know about it? Is that why Olivia seems so protective of him, because she’s trying to make sure no one finds out about this part of him? Does this have anything to do with the secret room? Many questions popped into my head all at once.

“Well, I don’t know what you mean… sir, but if you mean to say this is a secret, then who better to help you keep it than your personal maid, you’re saving my life on a daily basis now, first you’re saving me and my family from poverty through this job you hired me for, and then you are saving my dignity from the harassment and bullying of people who are with that intention towards me, the least I can do is return the favor by keeping your secret and ensuring that it is well hidden” I said giving him a genuine smile from deep within me, I meant every word I said to him.

He stared at me for a while, I think he was beyond surprised that I could say such words to him, I really couldn’t tell what he was feeling, but then he moved, he was so swift that all I saw was shadows and I felt the rush of wind blow on me as he closed the distance between us, next thing I felt in the next instant was his lips on mine. Now it was my turn to be surprised, my eyes were wide the first few seconds of feeling him kiss me, but once my brain calmed and registered that it was indeed happening, I closed my eyes and gave in to the kiss.

His lips felt like heaven, like a gentle death on a cool summer afternoon, he tasted like the four seasons blended together, and he smelled of icy winds and a funeral pyre made of cherry and alder

wood. He brought his hands up to hold my neck as he deepened the kiss, my brain lit up like fireworks as his hands caressed my neck and his fingers brushed my earlobes. ‘Gosh, this is indeed how heaven must feel, just take me now Lord, I’m ready’ my shameless mind proclaimed.

He broke the kiss and I slowly came back to reality, I opened my eyes and I saw that he had reverted back to his normal self, everything was back to normal except for his eyes, they still glowed startling grey and were rimmed with red, I could feel my eyes glowing too though, I saw the bluish tint around the edges of my vision. He tilted his head as if unsure of what he was seeing, but then I blinked and then the glowing in my own eyes stopped. He smiled at me then, a gentle warm smile, but one that was unsure, doubtful and questioning. I don’t blame him though, I’m just a maid to him, what could possibly come out from this, I had better stop dreaming.

“Sir, uhm, I’m sso..rry” I said with a shaky voice, why I apologized I did not know, but I took his hands off my neck gently, I held it for a second longer than I should have then I left him and turned to leave.

“Layla” he said and he was holding my hand again, stopping me from leaving, “I am the one who should be sorry, I didn’t mean to suddenly impose on you as such, I mean, I didn’t do it because it was just a thing of the moment, I did it because I wanted to, I had wanted to for a while now, ever since I first saw you, I’d been attracted to you, it feels natural and at the same time unnatural, like there was something else involved, I keep it under wraps because of, you know, the situation of things and all, but then, right at that moment before the kiss, I lost all my will to be away from you and only wanted to be with you, that was how I broke free of the grip on me” he said, I couldn’t bring myself to face him, I’d lose all my will too, even though I don’t fully understand that ‘grip' he was referring to yet.

How do I tell him that I feel the same way though, how do I tell him that he is just like a well to me and all I wanna do is drown in the darkness and deepness of him, how do I tell him that I who is supposed to be a maid to him, has feelings for him.

“Please sir” I said still trembling a bit, “I have to go now, if you don’t need any other thing” I added, my voice was betraying me, it was breaking, showing that I’m emotional, I didn’t want him to know that, I don’t want him to know or even think that I might be feeling the same way as he is, what future is there for us in such a ‘situationship’. I am just a maid, a poor one at that, and he is the first son of the richest family in the whole of New Mexico. His sister hates my guts and I’m sure it wouldn’t take her long before she poisons the mind of their parents towards me, he’ll have to fight them just to keep me as his maid, what would he have to do if he now actually wants me as a girlfriend or anything more serious?

He stayed silent for a few seconds but I could hear his soft breathing, I really wanted to look him in the eyes once more, any of the forms he has, be it his beautiful honey brown eyes, or his piercing startling grey eyes, I’m sure I’d find a way to get lost in either of them. But then, I mustn’t, for the sake of so many things that are at stake, I must think of my family as well, if I lose this job, I might have as well lost our lives

“Sir... Please” I called again and this time the crying was obvious in my voice, I was in tears but I finally turned to look at him as the tears streamed down my face, I didn’t look at his eyes though, I focused on his forehead, he looked at me for a few seconds then he left my hand alone and backed away. I wondered if he was moved by my tears? Or if he actually understood my tears.

“You can go” he said then I wiped my face with my palms and made a few sniffles, gathering myself before heading out, I wanted to stay though, God knows I really wanted to stay, but I just couldn’t for both out sakes.

I met with Olivia and her lapdog friend on my way to my room. I bowed immediately as I passed alongside them, one, I didn’t want them to see my puffy eyes which will show I’d been crying and two, I really didn’t want to deal with their shit in the current state that I was.

“Where are you coming from?” Olivia squealed as she asked the question, I wasn’t obligated to answer her truthfully but I decided to.

“Ma’am, uhm, I went to check on Mr. Victor should in case he needed anything because I heard he got back” I said still with my head bowed.

“Liv, don’t you really think that she’s too beautiful to be a personal maid to Victor, I mean look at the stupid hag in maid clothes, she still managed to tidy up pretty well” her friend said, I was confused, was she trying to insult me or compliment me, because I was really feeling myself at the words she just uttered.

“Well, Bay, she is just a maid, no matter how cleaned up she looks, a maid is always a maid, and I would have even taken that from her, if not for the fact that Victor wouldn’t let her go. But I promise to make sure she leaves this house, one way or another” she said and started walking away but her friend walked up closer to me instead.

“Watch your back in this mansion” she said hissing like a snake, “And don’t even think for a second that Victor will fall for a cheap thing like you” she hissed in my ear, gave me a bad eye and walked away as well.

I ran to my room and held my chest after locking the door behind me. Gosh! If only those two knew, if only they knew or even heard what Victor had said about me, this is why I ran and didn’t give him an audience, with these two vultures around and the other one as well, the angry maid, Sally the harpy, how do I want to have peace of mind, they believed I was some kind of threat to them cos I could win Victor’s heart over, well, I guess now they were right, but it only spells even more trouble for me in this mansion.