Chapter 6

Sera thought about all that had happened while sitting in the rich car, distraught and hopeless. The plush leather seat seemed to blend into her frame, while the low purr of the car disappeared into a hum, forgotten.

The world belonged only to her thoughts. The view outside was going somewhere-places and people; one passing blur.

Enzo did not seem to be in the least bothered with Sera's distress.

He was a man who believed in punctuality and efficiency above everything else, and his stern demeanor allowed no nonsense. He got out of the car, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at Sera, his face masked with annoyance and disdain.

"I believe you haven't been in this kind of luxury car, that's why you are still here," said Enzo with a raised nose, as he stood outside the car, looking right at Sera.

The words brought Sera from her reverie to the rude shock of reality. She looked around her, and then, with a bewildered note in her voice, she turned to the driver.

"Have we reached?" she asked, her eyes scanning around for an answer.

The driver's face broke into a warm smile as he replied, "Yes, ma'am, we have. Welcome home," he said in a voice full of gentle courtesy, as he opened the door for Sera to alight.

Sera got out of the car, her movements very sluggish, her eyes down toward the ground, as if her thoughts were heavy for her to bear. As she entered the house to start packing her things, every echo of her footsteps was leading down the empty hallways to the room. The expression on her face was a perfect tell of the storm raging in her head, that of a sad picture whose art was etched in grief.

As she came out of the house, she saw a warm smile at the door. It was from an elegantly looking lady, also standing at the door.

"Welcome to Enzo mansion," she said in an affable voice as she advanced a hand. Sera answered in politeness but had traces of sadness in her voice-a gloominess attached to her like a mantle.

"Thank you, my dear," Sera said, her eyes meeting the lady's, but her gaze was in a way fleeting, not able to hold eye-to-eye contact for so long.

The lady smiled at her, never once her eyes leaving hers, sparkling with warmth as she motioned to Sera to follow her.

"Your welcome, ma. This is your room," the soft voice of the maid said, showing Sera to a nicely decorated room.

She followed behind the maid, taking in the golden opulence, the silk furnishings, and the dramatic works of art hanging along the walls. The room was perfection itself-a harmonious symphony of class and taste-and yet it utterly failed to move her poor weighted heart.

As the maid opened the door, Sera's eyebrow shot upwards, drinking in the view laid out before her, breathtakingly beautiful. It was a haven-a sanctuary of peace and quiet-but Sera's heart was in too much turmoil to appreciate its beauty.

Finally, the silence was broken by the soft voice of the maid, reminding her gently that she was not alone.

"Enjoy your stay, ma'am," the maid said, soft and soothing, placing Sera's bags in the room before finally turning to leave. And with that, she was gone, leaving Sera to her own private devices in this plushly decorated temple of wealth and privilege. Yet, as marble glittering with its veins of gold now sparked around her, little did it lift a heart heavy with secrets and sorrows.

As Sera settled into the richly appointed room, she felt the full weight of her emotions begin to bear down on her. Sinking onto the bed, her body contorted in the force of her sobs as she cried her eyes out, the river of her tears endless-seeming, like a sea of sorrow and pain with no visible shore. In her crying, time lost all sense of meaning. Sera's heart wept out its deep sorrows and fears.

When the storm of emotion had finally subsided, Sera slowly got up from her bed with eyes all swollen and red from all her crying. She then walked into the bathroom, standing under the warm and soothing waters of the shower as she allowed the soft streams of the shower to take her tears away and her disturbed thoughts to be cooled down.

As she emerged from the bathroom, Sera felt renewed, a fragile sense of peace hugging her like a lifeline. She had started dressing, her hands slow and deliberate, buttoning and smoothing the wrinkles out of her clothes.

Just as she reached the last button, there came a soft knock upon the door, breaking through the silence. Sera's heart missed a beat as she called out, "Who's there?” Her voice was tentative, unsure, while she awaited a response.

The reply came in the form of a soft, melodious voice:

"It's me, ma, Victoria the maid." Sera's hands flew fast as she finished dressing and hastily went to the door, her heart racing with mixed emotions.

She opened the door and saw Victoria standing in the hallway, a warm smile diffused across her face. "Master Enzo is calling you, ma," Victoria said in low, respectful tones as she passed on the message.

Her heart sank, a wave of trepidation washing over her as the realization came that she was being summoned into the presence of the one and only mysterious Master Enzo . A shiver ran down her spine, and in a whisper barely louder than a breath, she hushed out,

"I'm coming."

Sera followed Victoria to Enzo 's room, her mind a jumble of curiosity, apprehension, and even fear. She didn't know what to expect, but she was determined to face whatever lay ahead with courage and dignity.

When Victoria had left her out of Enzo 's room, Sera took a deep breath to stiffen herself for what would happen. She opened the door and stepped inside, her gaze scanning the room as she sought Enzo .

He sat on the bed, regarding her intensely. Firm-voiced and commanding, he spoke:.

"I need you on my bed. Take off your clothes now," he instructed, without giving room for any objection or refusal.