She hadn’t seen him since yesterday and that had made her up the creek. What was wrong with him, when she called his lines, they weren't going. She even tried to be professional and asked Julia to check up on him but to no avail. She knew Charles can never go missing for a day without him having a tangible reason. Then she remembered, he had complained of having a headache yesterday before he left, right? Was he sick?
She was already back from work, but thinking of the possibility of Charles being sick prompted her until she stood up and she went to where her phone was. There were times that even if she was sad, just staring at her room and how it was beautifully decorated calmed her nerves. But not today, did he die without anyone knowing? Oh god, if that happened, she was certain she can never forgive herself. “Julia, can you please send me Charles address? He complained of being sick yesterday, so I wonder whether he’s seriously sick, I want to go and check up on him.” She was pacing through her room as she spoke, praying that whatever was going to happen to Charles shouldn’t be so hard.
“Ma’am, it’s going to be dark soon, you can’t drive there yourself...” She cut her off because she didn’t want to hear anything about her wellbeing just when she’s being worried over the man she loved.
“Can we please not talk about this, Julia? I'll drive there because I want some privacy...” Her lips broke, what now? She knew Julia was even tired of her being a cry-baby. Why would she cry now just because she hadn’t seen him for a day, and she thought that he was sick? She cleared her tears and spoke again, “I wasn’t meaning to cry. But forward me his address now.”
“I'll have to tell Ma’am first. You can’t drive there, and she has told all the drivers to leave because both of you aren’t going out for the rest of the day.” That angered Anna and she knew no matter how much she wanted to be a good person to Julia, she had to show her who the boss was at times like this.
“What are you trying to say, Julia? That you have to tell Mom before you can send me the address I demand for? Who the hell is your employer? Me or Daphne Brayden?! Send me the address now, but if you don’t even bother to come to work tomorrow morning!” And she ended the call, feeling as anger raked through every nook and cranny of her body. She knew she couldn’t fire Julia; she can only suspend her for a few days, that’s if Mom agreed to that as well.
In the next few seconds, a text came through her phone and it was the address she had demanded from Julia. She smiled, brushed her hands through her messy hair and got changed into a normal evening gown before she took one of the car keys and snuck out of the house because she was certain if Mom knew, she would definitely delay her by saying she had to call the driver first, she won’t allow her to go there herself. The drive to the said address was so prolonged that Anna wanted to scream her lungs out, because she was eager to go and meet Charles.
She stared at the number on the house then back to the address Julia had sent her to make sure she wasn’t in the wrong address. She softly knocked on the door and prayed he was inside and healthy. But when she had knocked twice and nothing came, Anna wanted to pull her heart out of her chest for the way it beat mercilessly in there. “Charles, can you please open the door?” She was at the verge of crying. What if he was slowly dying? What if the sickness had gotten to the point that he couldn’t even move an inch and he was just there, staring at the wall while he waited for his death?
She began to frantically dial his number while she knocked non-stop on the door. “Please Charles, turn on your phone at least!” She was crying now; all her thought were rounded where she could get a chance at bringing Charles out of this goddamn house so she can take him to the hospital. It was dark already outside and when Anna broke into even more tears as she knocked endlessly on the door, she felt hopeless.
But slowly, as though it were magic just when she had given up on knocking and her brain wasn’t stable enough to think of a way out, she watched the door open and a healthy Charles stood there staring back at her. She abruptly stood up and flung her arms around his neck as she cried even harder. “Charles! I was so scared!” Her lips trembled as she spoke, and Charles carried her into his arms before he closed the door while she cried softly.
“Shh, it’s fine, Anna. I'm okay, I didn’t go to work because I told you I had a headache, and my phone is faulty, sorry for making you distressed.” He placed her down and was staring at the way she was genuinely crying while she stared at his face, “Did you drive yourself here?” He asked with a soft smile and instead of an answer, Anna punched his chest as hard as she could, even though she was certain her punch couldn’t do anything to a man like Charles.
“You can even smile when my heart is still yet to beat as it should? Charles, you should’ve come by, even if it’s in the evening just for me to know that you’re safe. I was scared to my bones and when you didn’t open the door...” She let her words trailed off as she cried into her palms. Charles pulled her to his body and hugged her lovingly.
“I'm sorry, Anna. It didn’t occur to me that you’d be so worried about it, that’s why.”
She lifted her face from his chest and scowled at him, “What? How can’t I be worried, Charles? I love you!” She said with a whining voice and Charles smiled, kissed her forehead before he pulled her back to his chest.
“I know, and I love you more, Anna Brayden.” They stayed there for a while before she broke their hug, there weren’t more tears in her eyes and the orbs had a shade of aquamarine. Whoever looked into her eyes couldn’t point out there exact color, same happened to Charles whenever he tried to understand what color was her eyes.
“Have you eaten? Look at how messy your house is, let me get things cleaned for you, okay?” She tried to walk past him, but he pulled her back and she stared into his eyes with a daring look. He dared not stop her from doing what she should. “What? I'm going to clean your house for you, and I dare you to ask me not to. You can go out and get something for us to eat, because I'm not so good when it comes to cooking, especially when I've scared like I was a few minutes ago.”
“What would I have done without you, Anna Brayden?” He asked with the sweetest of smiles and Anna lifted her feet until she placed a kiss on his cheeks.
“You would’ve rather run miles to find me than stay where you are, right?” She grinned and he leaned to her face, taking her lips into a passionate kiss.
“I would’ve found you wherever you are, Anna Brayden.” She made sure she shooed him out of the house, and Charles kept on repeating that he had the key with him, she shouldn’t unlock the door for anyone, he had to make sure she was safe. She had to beg before he took her car keys and left, and then it came, the feeling as though she were a housewife to him. She smiled at herself before she began to clean the living room. He was a clean guy if not for the few shorts and pants thrown off here and there, which she was sure he would have taken them off if he were well.
She was so proud of herself by the time she was done with the living room and it looked sparkly clean. Wow, so her, Anna Brayden could clean a living room this perfectly? Maybe she should try cleaning her room someday. Arrange a few things herself and have this glorious feeling that filled one’s soul after cleaning a place. She walked to the kitchen and that was where she found his leftovers and cups that hadn’t been rinsed. She smiled and shook her head, the housewife part of Anna Brayden coming in full force and she got to work. She wondered why he wasn't back yet or was she so fast while she worked?
Nevertheless, she walked into his room even though she had this feeling that told her a room was one’s most private place and if Charles didn’t want her to clean his room, he would’ve said that to her already, right? It was so messy that she had to stand behind and stare at the way the room would've looked without all these clothes and the mess. He had lots of left-over junks and she wondered how he wasn’t going fat while he ate these bunch of junks. He exercised a lot; she concluded as she went to work.
She was about to be done with the room when she heard a sound in the living room and her face lit up to a beautiful smile, she rushed outside to meet him with a giggle on her lips. “How does it look, Charles? I tried, right? No, I should’ve been a maid somewhere if I wasn’t born to be Anna Brayden. I thought that that figurine should be—” she let her words off when she got a hold of the face that was standing before her, because what the hell was going on? She took a step back as she rubbed her palms on her eyes to make sure that it wasn’t her eyes, but then it wasn’t. This was real, it was what her eyes were really seeing, and he was the one.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, her voice shaking out of fear but then she remembered, Jack can never harm her. Or so she thought, because the way he was staring at her with a smirk on his face was enough to teller that he could kill her if he had the chance too.
“That should be something I should ask you about, what are you doing in my best friend’s apartment?” That made her chuckle. Best friend? If Jack were an actor, he would have been the worst of its types.
“How can Charles be your best friend?” She chuckled as she shook her head, this was one of his ways of taking revenge, she knew, but she was as strong as she had never been and as happy as he must’ve never imagined her to be. “This is ridiculous, Jack. I can assure you that if you’re an actor, you would’ve been so worse that no one will ever sign you up.” Then she brought back her poised expression, “Get out of this house before I call the police on you, or worse, call Charles so he can beat the living daylights out of your pathetic self.” His hatred was back in her heart, and she wondered what was wrong with her to think that Jack could change. Immediately, without wanting to, she found the new picture of him she had painted in her heart slowly vanishing as his old one resurfaced. Yes, that was who Jack Roberts should bend who he really was.
“I'm afraid to say that he’s telling you the truth, Anna Brayden.” She heard a voice that sounded like Charles and when she looked at Jack that had a triumphant smile and a smirk on his face, he wasn't the one that spoken. With her body secretly shaking, Anna turned to door and behold, what she was afraid of seeing was what she had seen, and she didn’t know when she took a step back.
“What do you mean?” Her lips trembled and she fought her tears and urged herself to stay strong.
“Jack Roberts is my best friend, has always been since we were kids. And my name isn’t Charles, my name is Henry Donald and I'm not the bodyguard you think I am.” An avalanche was rushing toward her, and she had never planned for this. Never saw it coming.