TWO YEARS LATER. She heavily inhaled a refreshing amount of air and slowly drew them out. Her palm reached for her chest once again to feel her heat beat, hoping the breathing exercise had calmed her down; however, it did not work at all. It seemed to have worsened her palpitations. Her heart was still drumming wildly beneath her ribcage, and it felt like each time she took in air, it only aggravated her condition further. There was no time to waste so she decided to try a different approach to treating her momentary anxiety.Like a wrestler warming up for an upcoming fight, she spread her arms above her head and started to lift her body in repeated jumping jacks. After all, exercise was one of the best ways to release tension from stress and anxiety.She kept moving, her ponytail bouncing in motion as her heels hit the ground again and again. Her mind drifted away from her pounding heartbeat as she focused on the movements that were keeping her alive; her body's need to mov
"Like a Nanny...?" Maria slowly pronounced, still not comprehending fully what her boss meant.He was amused by her interpretation, but concealed his emotions well, remaining professional. "Well, something similar, but much more advanced. You will be saving him from himself. Saving him from self-destruction." he explained, his tone becoming firm as he spoke."How does that work?" Maria ventured, trying to understand the idea."It's simple." The chairman nodded again and gestured for her to grab the next document he had been referring to. "You will be assigned to him full-time. You will be the closest person to him, in the sense that you will be with him every single day, monitoring his condition and keeping him company. In addition, you will be responsible for making sure he doesn't hurt himself or others by doing things that will eventually deteriorate his mental health and state of mind." He concluded, his fingers tracing the lines of the paper in front of him as he watched h
It was her favorite place in the world. A place that solved all her hunger issues, fatigue, and whatever term that fitted the category of negative emotions that could irritate someone's soul. It was a planet of food that welcomed her nostrils with the rich aroma of delicious delicacy.No matter the condition of her stomach, it always roared into her life each time she stepped into the restaurant. It was not any kind of restaurant. The place was special to her and her view of the word special was quite distinguished from that of a common man. It wasn't lavishly decorated and customers wouldn't find a group of bands possessing the atmosphere with tasteful music. No grand artwork and beautiful flowers were gracing the walls the way it was done in those fancy restaurants.It was a simple and cozy eatery that offered different varieties of rich meals that would leave a customer looking forward to his next visit. It was her place of comfort and was owned by her best friend. The bo
Stanley.It was a name she had heard before, seen severally on screens, and came across in books. The name loomed in the air like it was oxygen. It was a popular name and many people in the world went by it. But that wasn't the reason why the name was always alive on every lip. A mere combination of seven letters of the English alphabet wasn't sufficient enough to attract such fame.It was because of the influential and prosperous family recognized by the name. A well-to-do family of four who was recognized as the richest family in America and only someone living under a rock wouldn't have heard of them. There were only two categories of people who talked and debated about them. The first category was the majority group who held nothing but pure adoration and the opposite group was the minorities who were prejudiced about their wealthy lifestyles.Maria had never been in any of those categories. There were many other things in her life to handle than while away her tight schedule goss
The home of the Stanleys' was the exact paradise she had envisaged as a dream home. It grandly occupied two hundred acres of land and stood out like an oasis in the middle of the desert, because there were no other houses near it. The charm of the place gave her a royal-world vibe and she felt like she was in a period movie or novel. The manor's white walls contrasted with its dark green trim, making it look more like a castle than a building. It was a sprawling structure, with a long front lawn and manicured gardens stretching away from the house to either side. The main entrance was guarded by a pair of stone lions that sat at attention in front of an arched door flanked by several rows of columns. A large fountain dominated one corner of the grounds, surrounded by tall flowers and shrubbery. A few other fountains dotted the area around the house, adding splashing sounds to the atmosphere. The wrought-iron gates were shut by the security as they drove inside and it t
Mrs. Stanley started with a knock before pushing the double leaf doors and exposing Maria's vision to another regal part of the extraordinary home.Delia had made mentioned that her patient never left his room most of the time, to avoid people. However, upon their arrival, Maria discovered it wasn't a typical bedroom. The place looked like another home dwelling in the mansion. It basically had all the necessities of life, and there was no wonder her son was locking himself comfortably in the place. However, It bothered her to see what the Stanleys referred to as rooms. Her room back at home was not even as large as half of the place."Follow me, doctor," Delia stated, walking past her, and leading the way into the massive space.Maria's eyes searched the room, and that was the action she had been doing most ever since she encountered the estate. It was large as already mentioned with tall ceilings and there was another high-arched door leading to a balcony that overlooked th
Maria fixed her gaze on Jayden again, who seemed intent on ignoring her. His back was facing her, but his body language was enough to tell her he didn't want any interaction with her. How was she going to start a conversation with a guy that would not even talk to his mother?She decided to risk it anyway, and turned her attention back to the room, taking a brief scan of the area to regain her composure and prepare herself for whatever was coming before walking forward to stand before him."Good morning, Mr. Stanley," she began, stopping in his front so she could speak clearly and loudly to be heard. Her greeting sounded out clearly in the silent room, and there was no response. Not even a twitch. She cleared her throat, hoping to catch his attention, but the man remained quiet and unmoving like a stone statue. "I am sorry if I have disturbed your privacy, but am your new doctor assigned to handle your medical cases, Maria Pat---" Her words were silenced by a low growl that
Maria swallowed, her mind still reeling from the unexpected event, and tried to return focus to the conversation. She cleared her throat and spoke again, this time more confidently. "I can't leave yet," She asserted with a deep breath. "I promised myself, my boss, and your mother that I will do my best in making you feel better. You have to stop taking me as an enemy but as a friend. I am here to help you, Mr. Stan--""And who said I need any fucking help from white robe people like you?" He sliced in once again, anger creeping into every part of his voice and it was evident he was holding himself back from yelling at her.Her mouth hung open in surprise. Her eyes lowered to the table, and she could see his fists clenching tight and his knuckles turning white. His whole body was tensed and his lips were pursed together, forming a thin line as if he was fighting to keep his emotions in check. "You don't want to be helped?" She questioned, her voice trembling as she struggled
Maria slowly travelled her eyes upwards so as to meet with the said prick whose face held little touches of mischief around the corner of his eyes and then drove it towards her small hand tightly held captive in his bigger ones. "Mr Sta-Stanley, I am afraid you are overstepping your boundaries." Damn, where was her breath when she needed it? As expected, that frail admonition of hers wasn't enough to keep him away and it seemed it had the opposite effect when he began the wall-lean moment by completely blocking any form of escape with his taller figure, his other free hand resting against the wall, right beside her exasperated head. "Mr Stanley," her voice this time around sounded a bit on the intimidating side, determined to make him know that she wasn't willing to play such flirtatious games with him or whatever he was at. "What's the problem?" A shocked gasp escaped from her lips when he began to adjust the golden strands across her left cheek and was more bowled over with his re
"Mr. Stanley," she called for his attention again, the forth time and got predictably ignored. So much for being the kind persistent doctor. "Proud-ass." The amount of frustration pushing her buttons forced the wrong words right out of her mouth. It came out more like a murmur and she didn't expect it to get his hard-earned attention. He peeled his eyes from the laptop seated on his laps and directed his straight into hers. That moment, if there were actually more tectile senses connected with the way looks work, she probably would have been rushed to a hospital by now, diagnosed with chronic injuries from dagger eyes. Or the heartless man before her would have just let her die without bothering the emergency agency. "Wh-What?" She questioned the look on his face when she could no longer handle the tensity. "What did you just call me?""So, you were hearing me, just being your normal self a jer..." She almost called him names again and immediately cautioned her mouth by bitting
He smiled to himself, drumming his fingertips eagerly against the refined table the moment one of his men announced that the documents he requested had been prepared."Here it is, sir." His secretary bowed slightly, stretching out a brown envelope that Justin received hastily as if there was an itch on his palms and the paper was the only cure to it."Every detail we could get about Ms. Patterson is in it. Her home address, occupation, age, education level, phone number, marital status, social media accounts, and email address. All the basics are in there, sir." The lady added, gesturing for him to open the folder and have a look at what he had gathered about her.Justin breathed out deeply, satisfied with what his eyes were scanning. His attention was almost lost in the newly found information nearly forgetting his secretary was with him. His smile widened when he saw the phone number in digital black digits. 'Told you I was going to get your number one way or the other, dear pretty
"Are you ready to go now, Miss?" The chauffeur's voice interrupted the silence lingering in the estate, his brown eyes looking towards the blonde lady standing before several guards guarding the main entrance she had just walked out from.It seemed his request was successfully delivered to see the doctor nodding her head quickly in response, her lips curving in a smile as bright as her flowery dress. The lady began to move only to be stopped by the sound of a different car driving into the property, making both Maria and the chauffeur stop in place to turn their gazes towards it.The vehicle that entered the driveway was a flashy white limo, and it looked familiar to her narrowed blue eyes. Without a doubt, she identified it as the vehicle Jayden had used in playing his undercover kidnapping stunt from the previous night.It seemed the young master was back from the hospital, and she was curious to validate this suspicion. Her chin raised above the convertible, her eyes peep
The question was definitely something Maria didn't expect from the madame. It surprised her, making her heart skip a beat before it was pounding inside her chest. A nervous tickle moved down her spine, making her gulp thickly. Involved? It certainly sounded really bad if the woman put it that way. "Involved...," She began hesitantly, before clearing her throat to finish her statement. "That's impossible." "Really?" The woman raised a brow, not looking entirely convinced. "I was surprised to find you at the hospital last night, but the matter on the ground made me not bother too much about it, or ask you concerning that. Well, I got to learn that you came as Jayden's date and that you two...kissed." Delia spoke slowly, watching Maria with an expression of intrigue. The words brought Maria's heart a jolt of shock, abruptly and without warning. She gasped, staring back in disbelief, and wondering how in the world was the woman able to deduce all those information so accurate
Maria woke up with a yawn, stretching her arms above her head and letting her hair slide over her face as she rolled to the other side of the bed. It felt like she had just gone to sleep, but when she looked at the clock beside the bed, it showed that it was already the beginning of another day. She had been tossing and turning restlessly for what seemed like an eternity, the incident of the previous night playing vividly in her mind and keeping her up half the night.The whole night she was trying hard to not replay the kiss in her mind. Even when she did close her eyes for some brief periods, she would always find herself staring at Jayden's face before knocking him into the pool. That stupid, random kiss that should never have happened. She still had a lot of questions for him concerning why he did that, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't out of affection.She wished a fairy could appear from the blues and wipe that memory from existence because she wasn't sure she
The water was cold, chilling her entire body like an icy hand. It wasn't pleasant, but the fear of any more harm happening to Jayden than he already suffered was all she could focus on now. It had her drowning herself deeper in its merciless coldness, her body swimming with speed to reach the bottom, following Jayden down as her vision blurred with panic.He had been unconscious since the moment she had found him submerged, after several attempts to keep himself afloat. She reached nearer, grabbing under his arms from behind right before his body landed on the ceramic base, and began to swim them both towards the surface. During her strenuous swimming, her blurry vision found two new bodies jumping into the depths of the water, coming towards them with a determination to help, which made her gasp in relief; she had barely reached the surface yet her muscles were already crushed with fatigue. She knew it was her fault for jumping into the water impulsively to save him, but
"Hey," Jayden called as soon as his strides had caught up with Maria who was still moving with fury.Her steps turned into a shuffle once he reached for her wrist and held it firmly, pulling her to a halt, and blocking her path with his taller build."Let go of me," her command came through shaky breaths, her head slightly bent low."C'mon, we are not through with this acting thing that we have going on, right?""Let me go."Nothing came from him for a few more seconds until his sudden touch startled her into looking up, her teary blue eyes moving to the way his fingers adjusted the golden strands of her hair, a tender expression passing over his face, making her feel even weaker than before."How about we finish what we started and show everyone that not even one of them can stand a chance with Jayden Stanley's girlfriend," he suggested in a low tone that was filled with passion, and the words made her blink back at him as though she was just awakened from a daze.The movem
Maria freed herself from Jayden's grasp, refusing to let him drag her any further, making him halt his steps likewise and face her with a questioning gaze. "Are we leaving now?" She asked, apparently tired of the party, wishing she could return home as soon as possible.His gaze lingered before speaking as if he was memorizing her features. "After dinner."She blinked. Was his dinner offer still available? She hadn't expected him to extend the invitation again, not after rejecting it the first time. "...Dinner?""Yes. I have a business dinner soon, the most important reason why I had chosen to attend this time-wasting event." He explained, his eyes narrowing into slits as he watched her.Her eyes drifted from his face after his words, finding herself stupid for actually thinking he would invite her to dinner just because he wanted to be nice. Of course, he wasn't being kind or generous. It was all about business."And you want me to join you?" She finally answered and he nod