Chapter 3: Overnight

Aiden enjoyed watching the woman. She looked like she would jump and rip him off at any minute as she looked at him as if she could peel him alive through her murderous gaze. He didn't even notice if she had blinked since he brought her home. 

He didn’t expect to see her again. And if he didn’t pull off in a gas station, he wasn't sure what would happen to her after a thief took away all her things and met a dog as she said. At first, he wasn’t convinced with her not until he saw her worn-out dress and the bruises on her knee.

Raising the corner of his lips, he simply glanced at her sitting at the rattan chair outside. He could see her because the wall facing the porch of his house was made of glass.

The woman insisted on staying at the porch in fear of him taking advantage of her. And that made him stare at her unbelievably when she said that right after he let her in at his house.

“She's pretty.” He whispered, bothered in himself for having an interest in her.

He got a chance to observe her features when she fell asleep in his car while driving back home. She had a small but pointed nose, her lips seem inviting him to feel it, her reddened cheek matches her complexion.

He abruptly dismissed his thoughts.

He couldn’t let another woman enter his damn life. He was supposed to focus on his work and fly back to Australia not possessing an interest in someone he barely knew. 

But his eyes focused again on the outside when the woman moved. He swallowed up when she stood up and raised her eyebrow at him. What shocked him the most was when she moved her hand on her neck and gestured to kill him. He silently cursed and bit his lips to stop himself from smiling. Of course, she earned his attention.

She looked weird yet interesting. He mistook her for a call girl because of her dress as he did not immediately notice that she was the woman who answered back at him at the hospital.

He lifted the coffee mug he was holding, offering it to her. He nearly saw smoke coming from her nose. She looked more annoyed and stomped her feet as she sat down again. He chuckled at her action and winked at her, sipping his coffee.

“Fuck!” He silently cursed as something unidentified clutched on his chest. As he remembered that she was close to Dr. Tim and heard their conversation. The doctor wanted to date her. 

He sighed with that thought. He didn’t know what aroused him that he wanted to stop whatever thing they had.

***

Aiden came out of his room to drink. The house was filled with darkness but he didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He was used to his house.

He was about to return to his room when unexpectedly heard a sound behind him. He almost jumped when he saw someone crawling on the floor with a white blanket covering the body. It looked like a ghost because of the long hair hiding the face.

“H–Help!”

Then he remembered the woman. He forgot that he let her sleep in his house because there was no taxi in the middle of the night and he could not drive her home because he was also tired. He looked at her again. She looked hurt so he rapidly approached her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked in his worried tone. He even shook her. But she kept on murmuring something. He tried to understand her but her voice was too low.

“Are you sick? Are you hurt or what?” He asked continuous questions. When the woman still murmured incoherent words, he did not hesitate and picked her up. He placed her on his bed.

He took his stethoscope and checked her up. "Your heartbeat is normal, so what’s wrong?” He was about to put the stethoscope again when he noticed her gesturing to him to lean closer.

“Stomach ache. I—I need a . . . Bring me to the bathroom.”

He stood in his place, stunned. He thought she was suffering from a serious disease but it was only a stomach ache. He smacked his forehead and took a deep sigh. “You’re something. Jesus Christ, woman! I almost panicked.” 

The woman just hummed and whirled her body again. It was his reminder to pick her up and bring her to the bathroom. “Call me if you need anything, okay?” 

She just nodded.

When he waited outside the door, he couldn't help but question himself. “Really, Aiden? What about her that made you curious and concerned?”

***

"You can't go anywhere until I say so. I want you to be here until I come home, is that clear?" 

It was early morning when he heard a shuffling sound outside his room. He saw the woman that until now he didn’t know the name—roaming around the living room. He shook his head when he imagined his every day seeing the woman in his house, cooking for him, doing the household, and welcoming him back after work.

Then he visualized himself again having the woman in his house–giving him a headache because of her stubbornness, talking back on him or threatening his life again like she did last night and that made him shivered on that thought.

He went back to his room to fix himself to get ready to work. When he made it to the living room after, the woman was sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee while the T.V in front was turned on. 

'Really?'

“Why should I do that? You are insane, Mister. I barely know you, what if you just want to murder me or something? No, thanks.” She shook her head then snapped her fingers in front of him. ”I’ll go right now. You can’t stop me.”

He smirked. Of course, he could stop her. “Where did you get money to go home?”

He saw her stiffened and stood up abruptly after, pointing a finger at him. “What? I didn’t steal any money from you!”

He let out a chuckle. “I mean, you have nothing with you. How will you go home?” He flashed her his wide grin, crossing his arms on his chest.

He saw her frozen and let an exaggerated sigh. “Jeez! Right, I forgot. But still, you can’t make me stay here! I really need to go,” she insisted.

“I couldn’t stay in someone’s house I barely knew–especially in a man’s house. I couldn’t sleep last night due to fear that someone might do something to me. Even if you're sex on legs and helped me, I still felt unsafe.”

A burst of loud laughter echoed in the house. He held his stomach as his laugh continued. It wasn't what she said first but the last words slipped in her tongue. He fixed his eyeglass before saying, “So, I was sex on legs huh?” He asked with cockiness. 

He saw her blushed all over then glared. “You misheard me, jerk! Stop changing the topic. I'm.Going.Home!”

He chuckled once more before waving his right hand. “After I came back to work. And that’s final.”

She narrowed her eyes, walking closer to him. Although it wasn't obvious enough he saw how she secretly inhaled him and gulped. 

She cursed and pushed his chest a little. “Please, send me home!”

"You don't have many choices. There are a lot of stocks in the refrigerator. I'll just send someone here for your clothes.”

He stood up but did not expect her action. She grabbed his hand that made him out of balance and fell on the couch with her on top of him. And what even shocked him more was that after a second, she hit his chest continuously. He tried to avoid them as he moaned in pain. His eyeglass almost fell on the floor, thanks to his chiseled nose.

Because she was on top of him, he could not move. She might fall to the floor as he tried to stop her and when she didn’t, the only way he could think of was to embrace her waist and change their position. He was now on top of her.

"Try to hit me again, I’ll really kiss you!" he snarled. She stopped her beating and just stared at him. They were both panting as they stopped moving.

He adjusted his eyeglass. Until he broke the silence first. “You're beautiful…” She looked away as her cheeks reddened.

He cursed himself after realizing what he had said. To hide his sudden outburst, he snapped at her. “In the distance, I hope you're always far away."

He earned her a glare as if he had grown two heads. “You jerk!" 

He felt dizzy when she hit his forehead with hers. 'Damn! His head is shaking.'

He pulled away, massaging his forehead as he sat on the couch. And the woman was still glaring at him.

He was about to punch, no–he was about to mess her hair when his alarm started to beep. He stood up when he realized he was late at work. 

Although it wasn't the reason why he was worried, it was about the woman beside him. He felt negative vibes beside him. He looked at her and she was looking also—with her sharp, murderous eyes.