Chapter 13: .•7.1•.

Completely stunned, the girl watched as the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes upon now entered the dining room, his entire physique looking like cut out from a fashion magazine.

From his godly face and all the way down to his expensive shoes, this male looked like the epitome of perfection.

Tall, with a lean body that only enhanced the stylishness of that neatly pressed white shirt over his well-defined torso, light grey vest and matching dress pants, mixing so well though with that boyish vibe as a few of his jet black strands constantly fell over his forehead, making those dark brown piercing eyes of his appear even darker and his cleanly-shaved face all the more young.

"M-master Nicholas," The old maid shockingly sputtered, the girl immediately choking on a small piece of bread at the hearing of her words, violently coughing as she struggled to regain her breath.

"Good lord! Diana!" The maid quickly scurried from her seat and ran to help the poor girl, heartily patting her over the back for a few times before handing her the glass of orange juice.

"Quick! Drink this!"

"Good god! Girl! I told you not to sit like that around the table! Now look what happened!" The woman worriedly complained as she watched the girl still letting out small coughs here and there, completely unaware of the real reason behind her sudden choking.

"Everything okay?"

Diana's large green eyes quickly rose at the sound of that masculine voice, involuntarily taking yet another long look at the man standing at the other end of the table, those two tattoos peeking from underneath the collar of his slightly unbuttoned shirt and those over the back of his hands giving him such an unconventional look.

The girl slowly nodded, quick to avert her gaze right after as she couldn't bear the intensity of those dark eyes. They seemed to be somehow staring right into her soul, whenever he looked at her.

"Could you please bring me a plate as well?" He kindly asked the maid, the girl now feeling so flustered at the sound of that and even a little bit embarrased as she took a glance at the large pink hoodie, matching shorts and fuzzy white socks she had donned on, even remembering that she also had a messy bun that probably looked like a bird's nest right now.

Oh god, shoot me now...

She mentally whined, not even noticing when the maid had exited the dining room as she kept her gaze glued to her pink shorts, consciously avoiding to look again at the male that now sat directly across from her.

Hearing a small thud and a clink, she lightly sighed in relief as soon as she noticed that miss Nancy had returned, awkwardly standing by as the male made himself more comfortable in his seat.

"Nana, why aren't you eating?" She heard the man ask as she was still refusing to look at him, noticing how the woman's eyes quickly filled with unshed tears at the mere hearing of that nickname, a joy-filled smile spreading over her wrinkled lips before she silently took her seat again.

"Well, carry on then, don't mind me," He urged them both as he noticed them awkwardly sitting in their seats and staring at their plates, generally looking like they had seen a ghost.

.••.

Rapidly scribbling down the order, her gaze quickly returned to the customer.

"Would that be all, miss?" She smiled at the nice young lady, receiving only a nod before she turned to go and take another one's order.

"What can I get you..." The words died out within her throat, immediately freezing when her eyes meet those dark brown ones, so intensely gazing right back into her own.

What the...

"Miss? Miss? Are you okay miss?" The unfamiliar voice lastly reached her ears, blinking a few times before her gaze fell upon the unknown male sitting at the table and rather worriedly looking up at her.

Lightly shaking her head, she forced herself to come back to her senses and quickly gave the random customer a nice smile.

"Y-yes I am sorry, what can I get for you sir?"

"Just a cup of black coffee, please,"

She only nodded and then practically ran to the bar like a crazed person before shoving a capsule into the coffee machine and then pressing start, all the while Dan closely watched her with a worried frown.

"You okay hun?"

She quickly nodded, not even sparing him a single glance as she placed a cup into the designated space and waited for the machine to start pouring.

"You got the wrong capsule there honey," He informed her, right before she noticed that the milky white foam was starting to gather at the top, some of it even spilling over as the cup was too small to contain it all.

"Shit!" She cursed under her breath and quickly pressed the stop button, hurrying to take the overflowing cup away and place another clean one before putting in the correct capsule this time.

"You sure? You seem a little off today," The male told her as he pressed the start button since she had obviously forgotten even how to properly use that, the girl letting out a long and tired sigh.

"Yeah I'm just..." She lightly shook her head, lowering her gaze to the tiled floor. She could not even understand what was going on with her and why she couldn't even focus on the simplest tasks anymore.

What was happening? Why the sudden change?

Ever since that man had started gracing them with his presence and practically ruined her once peaceful breakfasts with miss Nancy, she wasn't even herself anymore. At first, she would wake up all cranky and frustrated, knowing that she would have to endure yet another quiet and awkward morning. Then, the little accidents followed. She would spill things, knock over stuff and even trip over her own feet.

And now I'm seeing his face over a random stranger's...

Good god.