Spine

MALIA's P.O.V.

Cheska was the name of the lady who helped me last night. As I walked out of the room, she was waiting outside the door, telling me that she'll help me to get accustomed to the house for the time being. 

She led me to the dining room but I chose to eat in the kitchen instead. 

"Do you need anything else?" 

"Nope, I'm good. Thank you." 

She excuses herself after giving me the bowl of cereal that I requested. 

I sat down at the kitchen table comfortably with my bowl of cereal and started to eat. Thankfully, no one is here at this hour. I just know that it would be awkward if someone were here while I'm eating. 

Now that I'm seated here and my surroundings are quiet, my mind becomes somehow clear.

I'm still wondering about this uneasiness I've been feeling ever since Mr.Marcus told me that Callisto is his real name. It's bugging me why I have this familiar feeling toward him that I've been feeling in that powder room. 

I feel like I've met him before. I just can't point out where. 

To be honest,  Mr.Marcus' way of treating me while on the way to his mansion is somewhat familiar with that guy in the club. I'm just not paying too much attention to it. But even the way they smell? They're the same. 

Even their voice- 

As I took a bite, a sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Callisto and the guy I met at the bar the other night might be the same people. 

"They might be!" Shit. 

I couldn't believe it, how could I not have recognized him? I must have been so caught up in the moment that I didn't even think to connect the dots.

Their hands…oh damn, that must be the reason why I had this familiar feeling as we did it in that powder room! 

But, I couldn't help but feel curious about the real identity of Callisto. He was once so hard on me at the club, but then he was so flirty the other day at the bar. It was like he was two different people. 

"Don't tell me, he has a personality disorder?" Woah, that's a serious problem. 

I was thinking about what I just thought the whole time I'm eating. After I finished my breakfast, I decided to roam around the place. 

I'm kinda excited because this is the biggest mansion I've been to. Everything around here just keeps on pulling my attention. Especially the gold deco, maybe some part of it is because I'm a sucker for gold? Hehe. But Gold is a nice color. Like money. I like money. 

But as I walk through the hallway, I can't see anyone. Where are the servants and such from last time? 

The other thing that I noticed is the walls, it's clean and all, but there's no picture of Callisto at all. 

"Isn't that how it usually is? A picture of you on the hallway's walls so that your guest would know who the owner of this grand mansion is?" Hmm…

Right, I needed to know more about Callisto. All I know about him is that he is a business tycoon, nothing more, nothing less. But if he's that person at the club, his aura and personality aren't someone a normal businessman would emit. 

Now that I think about it, he even has enemies who just attacked an event, and completely ruined it. 

I am not a business woman so I can't tell if it's normal for the likes of them to be prone to those dangerous events. 

Well, whatever, as long as I'm safe. Besides, all I have to ask is if it's him that night. Although I don't know how I would react if he admitted it. 

Should I be scared of him? I don't get him at all. 

As I wandered around Callisto's mansion, I couldn't help but feel in awe of its grandeur. Everywhere I turned, there was something beautiful to behold, but nothing compared to the stunning garden that lay before me.

"Dang," I said aloud to myself, "this garden is incredible."

I feel like I'm a fairy wandering and blessing every flower in this amazing garden. Those you'll usually see in children's fairy tale books. 

I stepped closer to the flowers, admiring their beauty when suddenly, I was jumped out by something heavy. 

"Ouch!" What was that?! 

I was ready to push it but I froze when I saw what it was. 

A Rottweiler. My heart raced as I braced for the worst, but much to my surprise, the dog seemed to like me.

When it didn't attack me, I bravely extended my arms.

"W-Well, hello there," I said, scratching his ears. "You scared me there for a second."

I almost had a heart attack dude. I'm still a bit scared because he's so big, and he looks scary. But as I look at him, wagging his tail, the tension in me's slowly disappearing. 

I reached out my hand to pet the dog's head, and it nuzzled into my palm, enjoying the attention. He wagged his tail and licked my hand. 

"Haha!" It tickles! 

The dog continued to nuzzle me, and I couldn't resist his charm. I spent the next few minutes playing with him, tossing a ball that he brought back after suddenly going somewhere for a second. 

We ran through the garden, although I would have a mini heart attack when he would jump on the beautiful flowers as if by a miracle, he didn't harm any. It was a moment of pure joy, that I didn't realize that we were already being watched by the man that welcomed Callisto at the entrance last time.

I turned around to see him standing behind me, watching me with a quizzical expression.

"Hello, Ms.Malia." He said. "I didn't expect to see you here, playing with Spine." oh, so his name's Spine.

I blushed, feeling a little embarrassed for being caught off guard. Is he a ninja? I didn't even hear his steps…

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," I said, trying to explain myself. "I was just wandering around and came across this beautiful garden. This dog was so friendly, I couldn't resist playing with him."

He nodded his head. 

"That's quite unusual," he said. "Spine is usually quite aloof with strangers, but he seems to have taken a liking to you."

He bent down and stroked the dog's head, who wagged his tail in response.

"Ah, is that so…" 

Dead air consumed the place. Okay, this is awkward. 

I was taken aback when he stood up and placed his right hand on his chest.

"I apologize for the late introduction, I am Spencer, Mr.Callisto's butler." Woah. I'm right! He's a butler. 

I shook my hand, "Oh! No! It's okay, I'm not some important person anyway, you don't have to do that." 

But he shook his head. Giving me a stubborn expression. 

"You are my master's guest, so you are entitled to receive such treatment." 

Wait, does this mean Callisto didn't tell him anything about our deal? That's weird. 

I thought he would say it to the people in this house. 

"Er…Well, if you say so." 

Spencer chatted with me more, we talked about how Spine is aloof with other people and how he usually behaves. 

I also learned that Spine is Callisto's most precious dog. And other than him, Spine would behave dangerously to other people, even to Spenser. 

As we continued our stroll, Spencer suddenly checked his watch.

"Sorry Ms.Malia, I have to excuse myself. I still have work to do," he said apologetically.

I nodded, not wanting to keep him from his duties.

"It's no problem at all. Thanks for showing me around," I said, before continuing on my own.

"Whoo." I survived. I let out a breath of relief. 

Spencer seems strict, but as I'm talking to him, he's giving out a caring vibe, especially when he's talking about Spine. 

"Lemme just continue roaming around this place."  

But since the sun was quite high already, I decided to just walk inside the house. 

But as I reached the end of the hallway, I heard a few voices coming from a hut on a corner of spacious land.  

"This one looks like a barracks." Or those you'll see in a fantasy movie where the dwarves create their swords.

Curiosity ate me, I walked towards the barracks and peeked at the slightly open door. I was shocked to see that there were a lot of people having fun inside. 

Maybe there's a party? 

I glance at the exterior of the hut. It doesn't look spacious inside at all. 

As I peek inside again, I jump out of fear when a pair of eyes are also in the door, staring at me. 

"What-!" 

But before I knew it, I was pulled inside by that man.