I glared at the heels and then at Nathan. The corners of his mouth were slightly lifted. Satan must look something similar to that while smiling. He knew he had control over me. My helplessness was amusing to him. Such narcissists were everywhere, but they were mostly present among the wealthiest. Too much money and power gave them a god complex.
If I had never met my ex-husband, John, I could have declared Nathan as the supervillain of my life.
As I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of breaking me with the very first obstacle he had put in my way, I moved forward and slipped my poor feet into those damn heels. “Although this is not part of my job description, I will gladly do as you say, sir.”
“Don’t worry. No service gets unpaid in this house. All you have to do is inform Frank about these minor tasks you do for me. Maybe you’ll get paid by the end of the day. I have had at least thirty caretakers who left the same day as their arrival.” Nathan snickered. “The number is much larger, but I am only counting the ones I fired because of their incompetence.”
I couldn’t blame those girls. Hell is a tough place to survive.
“Well, that’s unfortunate. I plan to stay longer,” I said, gracefully taking a step forward. “My goal is to spread kindness and help those who have lost their souls or never had one.”
“Are you trying to imply that I have no soul?” Nathan gave me a deadly look.
My big mouth always wanted more trouble. “No, sir. I am only referring to my previous employers, whom I nursed back to health. I find you interesting positively,” I said.
Nathan licked his slightly dry lips. “I wouldn’t have minded if you had just spoken the truth. Amelia, I am very self-aware. I have no soul, and I am okay with that. So, don’t expect any unnecessary kindness from me. A healthy functioning body is all I need to survive, so don’t try to use your soul-finding skills on me.”
I didn’t know how to react to that because no one else had openly admitted to being void of empathy. “Uh, okay,” I responded. “I’ll bring you your smoothie and breakfast now.”
Nathan nodded, and I carefully left the room. The heels were giving me painful anxiety. I didn’t want them to be the death of me. That black-hearted man must have so much else planned to agonize me.
Since I wasn’t entirely new to heels, I safely made it to the kitchen and informed the chef about Nathan’s breakfast choice for that day. Things still seemed easy when I was taking his smoothie back to him. My feet would undoubtedly hurt in less than an hour if I kept moving, but it was okay for now.
“Sir, can I come in?” I knocked at Nathan’s door.
“Yes,” he answered promptly.
I entered the room to find Nathan in his bed. His health seemed fine that day. Wasn’t he tired of resting all the time? As I was a nobody whose mouth only got her in trouble, I silently placed the smoothie on the nightstand closest to him. “Here is your smoothie, sir. I hope I got the right one.”
Without glancing my way, Nathan grabbed the glass and took a sip. “I am impressed…” he began, and I jumped excitedly. “I am impressed that you can read from a book. Aren’t I generous for not asking you to memorize everything in one night?”
“Yes, you are. Sir, you are very generous. I am shocked you claim to have no heart,” I said. Finally, my tongue was speaking the appropriate words.
“Seriously?” Nathan looked at me with disappointment. “You entirely dropped the truth and your attitude to please me, just like the others? I thought you were different.”
“Huh?” Nathan wasn’t making any sense. “Sir, you are confusing me about what you expect of me. I thought you didn’t like it when people talked back at you. What do you want from me?”
“That is your job to figure out.” Nathan wrinkled his forehead and stared into space. “I find it fascinating and slightly strange what people do to survive. If I ever completely recovered from my sickness, I might write a book about the people I met. You all have a few things in common. You all are desperate for money. Being my caretaker and preferably my wife is your biggest dream.”
I gaped at his narcissism. He truly believed that the world revolved around him. “I can’t say for others, but I am not hungry for money. Yes, I am watching my behavior because I am afraid of you. Everybody needs money to survive in this world. However, my heart and body are priceless. I would never put a price on that. Forget about me stooping to the level of seducing you. I would refuse to marry you even if you got down on one knee and proposed to me with the biggest diamond wrong.”
Nathan smirked. “Your eyes in my bathroom spoke differently. You want me like everybody else.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. Why do you even care? I thought you never wished to get married.”
“Be careful what you say. I only want what I can’t have,” Nathan replied.
“I am not something you can buy or control,” I argued.
He swiftly turned his neck toward me. His pride-filled eyes look at me with an obsessive desire. “I know. If you were a thing, you would already be mine.”
Was he flirting with me, or was he out of his mind? Whatever it was, I wanted it to stop immediately.
“Now, don’t just stand there and stare at me.” Nathan’s demeanor changed completely. “Go to the kitchen and don’t return without my breakfast,” he ordered.
I did as he said and walked out of the room as fast as possible in those feet-killing heels. Downstairs in the kitchen, I waited around an hour for the chef to make Nathan’s breakfast. I couldn’t tell what it was even after it was plated. The dish’s name was in another language. I couldn’t pronounce it, so I had to show the chef Frank’s book.
To my good luck, I safely made it to Nathan’s bedroom again. Habitually, I knocked, and he permitted me to come inside. I wanted to wipe off the sweat beads on my forehead that had formed from standing in the kitchen for too long. To avoid any accidents, I didn’t act on it and opened the door.
Triumphantly, I entered the room, and within a second, something came into my path, causing the tray to fall out of my hands and me to lose my balance. A painful landing was inevitable. Suddenly, something supported me and stopped me from falling. When I made sense of it, I was staring into Nathan’s deep eyes. He had saved me!