Chapter 7: Masogamist

Ben walked out of the lakehouse again and then after a while, he came in again bringing all those shopping bags that containing Haylee's clothes from the luxurious clothes boutique before.

"Master, where should I put these?" Ben asked Niel.

"Just put them in my room," Niel replied.

"Your room?" Haylee and Ben asked in unison.

"Yeah! I'm giving her my room. It's the biggest," Niel responded to Ben, but he's ignoring Haylee.

Ben went straight to the master bedroom to put down the shopping bags.

"Why should I sleep in your room?" Haylee asked with dissatisfaction, although her voice was still soft.

She was always like that, she never raised her voice whenever she was angry or upset. She just showed them on her face. That's one of her nature.

"Why do you think?" Niel's giving her a naughty look.

Haylee's eyes got widened. She was mortified with the thoughts that came into her mind. 'Did he want to sleep with me?' She wondered. Although it was undeniable that Niel was a hot guy, the hottest at school, and unquestionable could even be considered a perfect creature, Haylee couldn't possibly just agree to sleep with him.

"No! Absolutely not!" She refused something that she wasn't even certain about.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I don't live here. I lived at the penthouse. Remember?" Niel mocked her.

Haylee bit her lower lip unconsciously. She immediately felt embarrassed.

"But... If you want company, I don't mind coming here every day," Niel teased her again with his mischievous voice.

"No," Haylee rejected him simply. Niel laughed at her again.

As a matter of fact, Haylee never saw Niel act like that at school. He was always reserved, stayed cool and only flirted a little with girls. He never laughed out loud or sarcastically like he did today. It was weird. It felt like he was having an extremely great day today. 'What happens to him? Did he get possessed?' She wondered.

Out of a sudden, another person came into the lakehouse. It was a woman almost at the same age as Ben. She came forward to Niel and greeted him respectfully.

"Good evening, Mr Anderson. I will start cooking now. Dinner will be ready in a moment," she said.

"Good evening, mommy," Niel replied playfully.

The woman just smiled at him and went directly to the kitchen.

"Is that your mom? Wait, I need to greet her too," Haylee tried to run after the woman who just entered the kitchen but Niel grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"That's not my mom. That's just Martha," Niel explained.

"But you call her mommy," Haylee was confused.

"And do you really think my mom will call me Mr Anderson?"

"Owh... right!"

Haylee suddenly felt stupid. Her mind must be not functioning well since a lot of things happened today that she needed to process. She still couldn't believe that she just got chased out from home and now she's inside Niel's house. It happened too fast that she couldn't completely fathom the whole thing.

"Let's sit at the dining table," Niel grabbed her hand so casually and dragged her again. He had been dragging her the whole day since after school.

There was a big rectangular marble dining table in front of the kitchen counter. Niel and Haylee sat beside each other, facing the kitchen counter and looking at Martha who was cooking behind the counter. They were waiting for dinner to be ready.

"How old are you when you stop living with your parents?" Haylee intended to have a small talk with Niel while waiting for dinner.

Niel turned his gaze to the left and looked at her with a broad smile. Then he chuckled.

"Two months," he replied shortly.

Haylee was taken aback by his answer. 'Two months? Really? That means he never lived with his parents since he was a baby,' she was surprised.

"Then who took care of you?" Haylee was curious.

"My grandparents on my father's side."

Haylee suddenly felt sorry for him. She must have that kind of sympathetic look on her face that when Niel saw it, he couldn't help but laugh again.

"You don't have to feel sorry for me. My grandparents were rich. I was raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had nothing to complain," he said merrily as if it wasn't a big deal growing up without the love of his own parents.

Although Niel looked fine, Haylee actually could sense his agony. It's different when you were being raised by your grandparents, instead of your own parents.

Just then, Martha approached them while bringing a tray full of food. She served them on the table in front of Niel and Haylee.

"Please enjoy your meal, Mr Anderson and Miss Johnson," Martha said. Ben must have told her before about Haylee's name.

"Thank you, mommy," Niel said casually.

Martha just smiled and left the two of them for some privacy.

"Why do you call her mommy? Who is Martha?" Haylee asked while eating some food.

"Because she made home-cooked meals for me. You know, like what a mother would do to her child. So I just called her mommy sometimes."

Niel's words struck Haylee's heart with anguish. 'Are you yearning for a mother's love, Niel?' She wondered internally.

"Martha was my maid and also a chef here in this house. I came here every weekend. Ben and Martha lived at the guest house you saw outside," Niel added his explanation.

"Are Ben and Martha together?"

Niel laughed hard at her question. He looked at her and cupped her cheeks with his hands to locked her face on him.

"No. They're both misogamists. They didn't believe in marriage and they don't want to get married."

"Owh... Are you a misogamist too?"

Niel released his hands from her face, still laughing at her. Then he looked back on his food and eat a little. Haylee thought he didn't want to answer her.

"Almost," he did answer after a while.

They finished their meal after about half an hour. Then Martha came to clear up the table and washed the dishes. Martha and Ben gave Haylee their phone numbers, in case she needed them at night or when they were not around inside the house. Then both the maid and the butler went back to the guest house leaving Niel and Haylee alone at the lakehouse.

"See you tomorrow at school."

Niel was about to leave the lakehouse as well when Haylee suddenly grabbed his arm.

"I'm afraid to live alone. This house is too big. What if there are ghosts?" She said with a frightened face. Niel laughed at her again.

"Are you making an excuse to make me stay?" He asked her mischievously.

"No! Of course not. What if there are ghosts for real?"

"There's no ghost. I lived here before too. I never saw a single ghost in this house. Besides, you can just call Ben or Martha if something happens. They're just outside. It won't take them long to reach you," Niel reassured her.

After thinking for a while, Haylee finally released his hands. 'He was right,' she thought.

"Ben will drive you to school tomorrow. Go pack up your school bag. Get ready for tomorrow. And put your stuff inside the wardrobe. Take a shower or something. Clean yourself up, and don't forget to sleep well tonight. You have a home now. You don't have to worry about a single thing. Just live your life to the fullest."

Haylee didn't know why the words that Niel said was the most calming thing she ever heard. He was like a saviour. She thought that tonight she would end up sleeping on the street like a beggar, but Niel did actually give her a new home. Not just a home, but more like heaven. She suddenly had the feeling that she's falling in love with him.

She stared at his deep blue eyes for a while as if she was withdrawn by them. Niel was also looking at her. Her heart was thumping hard and she suddenly felt shortness of breath as if his gaze just took her breath away.

He suddenly put his hands around her waist and pushed her body closer to him. He leaned his face closer to hers as well. Their nose was an inch apart and he stared deeply into her eyes.

"I need to go home," he whispered slowly.

Haylee got flustered. Niel was obviously teasing her because he laughed again. She quickly pushed away his body in annoyance.

"Don't be mad, Baby Girl. We have school tomorrow. Anyway, I want you to come to my penthouse every Friday after school," he said with some laughter in between his words.

"But tomorrow's Friday."

"Exactly. Come tomorrow, okay? And bring some clothes. You might need to spend the nights there."

'Spend the nights?' She was confused. Before she could ask him, he left the lakehouse in a hurry and got into his red Porsche. The car drove away into the night leaving the house behind. Haylee locked the main door and she went straight to the master bedroom which was now her new bedroom.