Chapter 9 The Water Fountain

She Stumbled out of bed and checked the time next to her bed. 01:45 am. her knees felt weak but she got dressed and went in search of her coat, she put it on, collected her small belongings, then made her way to the front door. She opened it and she went out, trying to make as little noise as possible.

She sat down by the water fountain in front of the house. and played back all the episodes of that day, how could he blame her for everything? her heart was aching. And today she could hardly look at him, standing next to that woman like a terrified schoolboy. How could he act as if nothing happened between the two of them?

She remembered the night she saw Nicko for the first time. She was out to get fresh air when she stopped dead in her tracks. There he was on the top deck standing on the guardrail. He seemed to be deep in thought, gazing ahead into the blackness. the lights behind him were on but she could only see a part of him. She hid in the shadows where she could stare at him openly and shamelessly. from what she could see of him, he was tall with broad shoulders, with dark silky hair that shone from the lights behind him. his complexion dark, like a man who spent most of his days outdoors. she remembered reading in one of the gossip columns that he was of Peruvian ethnicity. he spent his childhood bouncing around in different children's homes. from where she was hiding she couldn’t see his eyes but imagined them to be deep, the type that you could get lost in if you looked long enough.

For a moment she thought she was looking at a god.

Suddenly the air that she had come up for was not so important after all. The only safe place she could think of at that moment was her cabin, quietly as a mouse she left her hiding place out of the shadows, aware of every sound she made, and headed for her haven.

The following morning she was in high spirits. The Handsome Nickolas Meyer forgotten t. She went about her duties as usual. When she had a sinking feeling that someone was behind her. she turned and came face to face with thee, Nickolas Meyer, from the night before. Staring back at her was the most handsome face she had ever seen. She had been right about his hair being silky, up close she thought he looked more striking. He had dark brown eyes and thick bushy eyebrows, his nose was not what you could call pointy but it wasn’t round either, it was his nose and it was perfect just where it was, on his handsome face. His teeth looked like he had a personal dentist at his home. She saw how perfect his teeth were because he had a stupid grin on his face. Suddenly she realized she hadn’t said a word to the man and she had no idea what he said. She had been caught staring.

Grace said nothing, she was experiencing the warmest feeling gazing into his eyes, and didn’t want to break the spell by running off again.

“It's good to see you not hiding in the shadows this morning, had a good show last night?”

he spoke with such casualness, but at that moment all Grace wanted to do was to drop dead and turn into a puddle of water on the floor. and that was how they hit it off.

In the days that followed she saw more of Nicko naked than with clothes on. by the end of the week, they were inseparable, she spent all her time in his suite when she was not working, and he spent most of his days stalking her when she was working. she did not want her relationship with the famous Nickolas Meyer to derail her from her duties, even though he had offered to pay her a year's wages plus more if she quit. But she loved her job and her employer was kind to her. She was very devoted to him. She thought she had found her soul mate, until that fateful night when circumstances forced her to turn her back on him. All she could think about as she got into that boat ‘What would happen to their love, would he come looking for her.’ he didn’t come looking for her instead he moved on and was going to marry someone else.

The midnight air was beating against her face, she pulled up her coat. Took one last look at the Meyer Mansion, and she disappeared into the blackness of the night again. This time knowing exactly what the future held.