♥ CHAPTER 7♥

Anthony Cooper.

18:00 '' Hilary's house. '' New York '' USA

We entered her house carrying several bags.

'' You can put them on the sofa. '' She said, and so I did.

''I think you've overdone things, Hilary. ''I said it a little uncertainly.

'' I didn't overdo it; this is what you need. Shoes, clothes, accessories, and a cell phone-I don't see how I overdid it.

I let out a little sigh.

"It's just that this is a lot for me. I never had things to myself; I had to share everything with my ex-wife; in fact, all the money I had was given to her.

'' I don't want you to think about that whore; you're a free man now, and you're going to have a job, a job that people will respect you for.

Will they?

When we went to the mall, a lot of people looked at me; there were even posters of me in some stores as a rapist. Hilary got furious about it. I had to calm her down because I knew she was capable of doing something bad.

''Well, I'll help you with things. ''I quickly denied it.

'' No. '' She looked at me in surprise.

''No? ''I confess that her superior look makes me want to put my head down.

'' No, you're tired; leave it there, and I'll put it away. You can take a shower to relax. I'll make us something to eat. '' She looked at me in surprise.

'' You don't have to do that. '' I smiled.

'' I want to, I've always liked cooking, so it won't be a problem.

'' You're tired too.

'' Not like you. '' She sighed.

''All right, let's leave the things in your room and I'll go to mine.

'' Right,

We picked up the bags again and went to my new room. I managed to open the door and we carried the bags to my bed.

'' Okay, go take a shower. '' She smiled slightly.

'' You're the first person to give me an order. '' I laughed lightly at that.

'' I'm not giving you an order; I'm just asking you to take a shower and relax a bit. '' She stared at me for a few seconds and then nodded.

''All right, I'll take a shower.

We left the room and I was surprised to discover that her room was opposite mine; I hadn't noticed that much. I shrugged and went into the kitchen, seeing the coffee dishes in the sink, I didn't have time to wash them.

'' I think I'll make chicken stroganoff with rice and noodles. '' I said to myself.

I took the rice and put it on top of the sink, took a pan and filled it with water and added a little salt, poured the rice into the pan and stirred it with a spoon, put it on the fire, and took the opportunity to get another pan for the noodles. I did the same thing, but the difference was that I didn't add the noodles but just the water.

'' Okay, in the meantime, I'll wash these dishes.

I started washing the dishes, thinking about how my life had changed so suddenly.

Just yesterday, I was a beggar and lived on the streets, being practically beaten up by people. Now I'm living with the most famous businesswoman in the United States, a woman with a strong character, quite fearless, an incredible woman. '' I'm afraid I might end up feeling something for her, because, like it or not, she's the only person who's ever looked at me and held out her hand, she's kind, sometimes quite serious, but that only makes her more attractive.

I never really believed in love at first sight; for me, it was a fairy tale. But now I'm starting to believe that there really is such a thing as love at first sight. I feel really close to her; her kindness moves me a lot, because my ex was never kind or loving to me. Hilary is the woman I always wanted to have in my life.

'' What are you doing? '' He asked from behind me.

''Holy shit, what a fright! ''I put my hand on my chest, making her laugh.

''I've been in the kitchen for two minutes. ''I blinked a few times in surprise.

'' Sorry, I was stuck in my thoughts. '' She became serious.

''Thinking about your ex again? ''She asked seriously.

'' I could swear that's jealousy. '' I joke a little, but I can see that the look on your face is still serious.

'' What if I am? '' I widened my eyes in surprise.

'' How? '' He let out a sigh.

''What are you cooking? ''He changed the subject.

'' Ah... I... Stroganoff, I'm still going to cut up the chicken, but I've put the rice and noodles on the fire.

''Leave the chicken to me.

I nodded and went back to my plates, still surprised by his attitude just now.

What just happened here?

****

'' Oh, the food was great. '' He said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

'' Yes, it was excellent. '' I smiled and started removing the plates and putting them in the sink.

'' You know you don't have to do that. '' I looked at her uncomprehendingly. ''Don't think about wanting to be a domestic out of gratitude; this is your house now.

'' Exactly. '' Now it was her turn to stare at me uncomprehendingly. ''If you say this house is mine now, I'll help you with the housework, the cleaning, the cooking, everything.

'' I never thought I'd be lucky enough to find a man who didn't have the same thoughts as my father. '' Her father said with such disgust.

'' What do you mean? '' I sat back down in the chair facing her.

''My father is too macho a man; in his fucking mind, he thinks that women are only good for procreating and being housewives.

''What kind of nonsense is that? No woman should be treated like that, if they want to be a housewife, it's because they want to, but if they don't, what's the problem? "I said it indignantly.

'' Yes, but in his mind, we should stay at home while they work.

'' I'm sorry to say this, but your father is an idiot. '' She laughed.

'' Don't worry, I think the same or even worse than you. '' We laughed.

'' And your mother? '' I asked as soon as we stopped laughing. '' Does she agree with him?

She took a sip of her juice and nodded.

''All my mother does is lick the ground he walks on; that woman does everything for him. '' She sighed.

''Is that why you left home?

'' Yes. But also for other reasons, my family never supported my dream of being a fashion entrepreneur; they always put me down and spoke badly of me because I was a fat woman.

"I understand you. I'm also a bit fat. As you can see, my family always wanted me to lose weight; they said no one would love me because I was a fat man.

'' Here's to our shitty family! '' He raised his glass.

'' A toast. '' We toasted it and then laughed about it.

I've never felt so good in my life. This peace around us, I hope, lasts forever.

****

As soon as we'd finished talking, I went to wash the dishes, and she went to wipe them down. We played a bit with getting each other wet; it was a lot of fun.

''Now I've remembered something,'' I said as we left the kitchen.

'' And what was that?

'' How am I going to work for you without any documents? I don't have an ID anymore.

'' I'll sort it out; it might take a while, but don't worry about it; you're working for my company. '' He smiled at me.

'' All right then. '' I let out a yawn.

''Let's go to sleep; we have a long day tomorrow. I'll have to introduce you to the company and sort things out in HR for you.

'' Fine.

We walked to our rooms.

''Good night, Hilary. ''I smiled at her.

'' Good night, Anthony. '' He smiled at me too.

We went into our rooms and closed the doors. I let out a sigh when I saw the bags on the bed.

'' I'll organize them later.

I'm just going to sort out the clothes I need to wear now and tomorrow for my new job.

Hilary said I didn't need to wear a suit, just a dress suit, so I chose black dress pants, a white long-sleeved shirt, and black shoes to go with the pants.

''That's it.

To sleep now, I just put on some gray pajama pants and went to the bathroom.

****

I came out of the bathroom already dressed and went to my bed to start removing things from the bed and putting them near the closet.

I took out my new cell phone and set it to wake me up at six o'clock.

Furthermore, I turned off the lights and climbed into bed, letting out a big sigh, it's so nice to be on something soft, because before I slept on something very hard or sometimes not at all.

I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep.

'' You fucking rapist!!! '' I was punched in the face by Gustavo, a convict who frightens everyone.

"I didn't do anything! "I put my hand on my cheek.

"Everyone says that! "He kicked me in the stomach.

He kept kicking me non-stop; the air was already gone from my lungs.

'' P-P-Please.

He grabbed the back of my head and slammed it against the floor.

''What would it be like if you were raped? ''He asked hatefully.

'' S-S-Stop.

He punched me in the nose and the pain was too great.

''You're going to suffer a lot in prison, you fucking rapist! '' He spat on me and walked away, leaving me alone in this bathroom all bruised up.

I started to cry because everything was happening to me.

'' Anthony!

I opened my eyes, was startled, and sat up in bed.

''Hey, it's okay. ''I looked at Hilary, who was staring at me worriedly.

Without thinking twice, I hugged her tightly.

''It's okay; you're safe. '' She said, running her hands over my back in comfort.

Just smelling you makes me realize that it was just a bad dream, I'm not back in that hellhole.

"It's okay. "She held my face. '' Are you calmer?

I let out a sigh and nodded.

''What happened? I heard you screaming and I came running. '' I frowned in confusion.

'' Did I scream? '' She nodded.

''What happened? ''She asked again.

''Memories of when I was in prison. I was being beaten up by Gustavo; he was like the leader of the prison; everyone was afraid of him, and nobody stopped him from doing anything.

''It's over, you're safe now. '' He kissed my forehead.

"Stay with me. "I begged.

''Of course I will.

We both lay on the bed and she kept running her hand over my head.

"No one else is going to hurt you. "She said seriously.

I let out a sigh.

I closed my eyes and let my face rest on her neck, smelling her scent.

Just by smelling his delicious scent, I ended up falling asleep in his arms.