Five

Maeluthe didn’t even close her eyes all night—not even once—because of that thought. She also easily regrets it, especially since she knows that it will be with the baby in her womb who’ll be affected. She also tried to remove it from her mind, but she failed.

There’s something wrong with her — she just doesn’t know what.

“Celine. . . she was just drunk last night. I deeply apologize.”

She stared straight at Isaiah for a long time but said nothing else on that matter. Even she, too, doesn’t know how to feel. Nor can she explain what is going on in her own feelings.

She ignored those words and continued preparing breakfast. She has nothing to do now but work.

Tomorrow, she’ll be back at the university, so she needs to move more precisely.

“Also, I will take you to the restaurant later. I have to run some errands, so I’ll let you be there first. Erik already knows what to do,” Isiaah said bluntly, but the woman still didn’t respond. Even if she just turned his gaze away, she didn’t do it either.

She just stared at him expressionlessly.

Is she okay? Isiaah’s still asking in himself as if someone else could answer it.

When he took Celine to the parking lot last night, he immediately made his way home. It was a stupid decision. He was also unable to explain why he felt he needed to explain to the woman.

He wants to disturb her in the living room just to explain and apologize for what Celine did. He didn’t lose the weight of his feelings until he woke up, so he decided to talk to the woman.

But he can’t be more disappointed with this.

Why isn’t she talking to me? Is he okay? Did something happen? Is she hurt? What did Celine really do to him?

He shook his head violently. He knew nothing would happen, and he couldn’t stop thinking if he didn’t bring it out. “Miss Legson,” he said.

The woman confronted him in confusion. This is very awkward, especially since he can no longer understand himself. What does he really want? She should be really grateful for the guy, for letting her stay here as well as for hiring him at its restaurant. But why do I feel this way? Why am I looking for someone else?

“Sir,” he said softly after a few seconds.

“Are you okay?” He asked. He immediately helped the woman when he saw the food being prepared. His tummy’s crumbling. He thinks maybe so much of what he thinks is because of hunger. He must be really crazy!

“Yes, I am. Eat up, Sir.”

Sir. Why does he hate that word now? He did nothing but follow what she said. Actually, Mae just kept smiling. She needs to imprint on her mind that there is no space for personal feelings at work. Before anything else, that should be the thing to learn and avoid.

They just become together because of work, nothing else. They will also return to their respective lives at the end of all these.

After what Maeluthe saw last night, she never thought about telling Isiaah the truth. That’s exactly what it should be.

It was a mistake to meet them then. A mistake happened so she wouldn’t ruin the man’s life with another mistake. She is happy that the man is helping her. She will look at it with great gratitude.

When the two were able to have breakfast even though there was no meeting, Maeluthe went straight to arranging her things for school. She can’t lose her job. This is all she can expect from now on.

In the man’s car, she was still unable to speak. She wanted to ask many questions at work but kept her mouth shut. The scene from last night keeps on bothering her.

What if you saw him with a different woman, Maeluthe? That was normal for people like him who were famous, rich, and handsome. It was just like when her mother used to watch the telenovela back then. He looks like a magnet to different women with all the means he has.

She really shouldn’t be thinking about that now, but she seems to be losing himself. Whenever she closes her eyes, she sees Celine and Isiaah. When it is dilated, it plays directly in her mind.

She just shook her head. It was only now that she had to get that scene out of her mind. That will take a long time, but she does not want to get into trouble at work. Isiaah has been very kind to her, so she will give the same service as much as possible.

The only problem is, even if she knows what is right and should be done, even if she has a plan for it, what she sees still bothers her.

“Does your head hurt, Maeluthe?”

Maeluthe. She used to hate that name. Her ear tingles every time she hears or says the name.

Since her parents passed away, it seems that her name has disappeared at the same time. She never heard it again, and she hated the thing.

Without her parents, she has completely lost her identity.

“Miss Legson?”

I hate being into the abyss when I am with him, she just whispered to herself.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bit of a headache,” she said. In fact, her head was really hurting from all that thought.

She prefers to go in so that she’ll have fun with a lot of other things to do.

When the car stopped in the workplace’s parking lot, it was as if a thorn had been pulled out of her throat. She has enough time to distract herself from whatever is on her mind now, so she shouldn’t hesitate to wait any longer.

“Maeluthe, about—”

“I’m coming down, Sir,” she led. She was about to open the car door when it locked.

She immediately felt a thump on her chest before she anxiously looked back at Isiaah.

His forehead was furrowed now. He could no longer understand. He knew there was someone else with the woman today. He shouldn’t have thought of that either, but it didn’t calm him down even more as time went on.

He is the boss, and Maeluthe is his employee. it was clear to him that he could not explain why he still had to interfere in the woman’s personal life and ask, “Are you avoiding me?”

He sucks at these things. Surely if only his friends were here, they would have made it a joke.

“What?” Maeluthe asked, confused. “Of course not.”

Nice, Isaiah. What kind of question is that?

The man squeezed his eyes tightly, causing his forehead to furrow even more. Maeluthe couldn’t help but stare at him, smiling.

“Look. . . .”

Maeluthe blinked and strained to prepare her for listening.

“I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me. I don’t know what this urge means to explain what really happened.”

Maeluthe shook her head violently in response. For what else? And why does my boss have to explain to me?

“Celine is a friend. She’s also a businesswoman. What she did to you yesterday is not new to me because you are not the first woman she met, especially when she’s drunk,” Isiaah continued—ignoring the woman. “She’s a good person, though. She looks like a younger sister to me. Both of us with Baste, the man you saw yesterday at the resto. But other than that. . . there were no other. I also explained that to Celine ages ago—”

This girl is really something, Isiaah thought. This was the first time he had almost shivered with nervousness right in front of the woman. He is not the type of man who’ll be like that. He’s very confident. He calculated and planned everything before he acts, but he seemed lost with this girl.

Her stares are startling and dizzying.

In that short time, it seems that the control that he has been going through his mind for a long time has also been lost. Maeluthe was just about to open her mouth when he kissed her directly. . . affectionately, without hesitation.

Maeluthe’s eyes immediately widened when she felt the man’s soft lips. She must be really dreaming. In what aspect of her life would the boss in front of her want to kiss her?

She sighed when she felt Isiaah’s gentle bite on her lip as if they were telling them to welcome and join them.

Drenched in kisses, she slowly reciprocated. She followed the intensity of the man’s kiss, thirsty and deeply.

When the lips of the two parted as if someone had poured very cold water on Maeluthe. Her tremor and confusion only increased even more. What do you think you’re doing, Maeluthe Legson? Are you really crazy?

She wanted to ask. . . she wanted to apologize, but then she just ran away with it, so neither of them did anything.

Meanwhile, Isiaah typed on his cellphone and called Erik, the manager of the main branch of his restaurant.

He had not yet been able to turn to Maeluthe when Erik answered. “Good morning, Sir.”

He cleared his throat. It even took one to five minutes before finally calming down. “Erik, Miss Legson won’t go to work today. You should take care of the restaurant first. I’ll be back after lunch.”

The woman didn’t expect her eyes to grow even bigger. Am I not going to work? Did I get him mad?

“Sir Isaiah?”

The boss turned to her seriously. When he started the car again, Maeluthe was very confused. “W-Where. . . are we going?”

She waited for a few minutes for an answer from the young man, but instead of turning to her, he just continued driving, trembling and just like the woman. . . he was confused.

His feelings are clear at times like this, and he can’t control them.