Chapter Four.

Bloom turned around to face them with a shy demeanor. “I know what you must be thinking…and I’m sorry I failed you. But the pay is pretty good, it’s much better than all the jobs I’ve worked ever paid-

She was forced to shut up when a hand dived into her hair and ruffled it. Stefano was beaming at her while Benjamin was laid back with a smile. Bloom’s eyes were saucers at his action and she teared up instantly. It was the first time she fought for herself and not runaway like she was accustomed to.

“I’m…sorry…”

Her lips trembled and Benjamin rolled his eyes, guiding her into his arms. She pressed her face into his shoulder where she cried into until she was exhausted. Mario could only look on at the adults around him as he clung onto Stefano’s arm. The kid couldn’t understand why his mother was crying yet, expelling so much happiness. So he spoke.

“Why is mummy crying?” His large blue-green eyes observed the three adults closely. Bloom retracted from Benjamin’s embrace to look over at her son who looked patient as he waited for a reply. She cleaned her face dry of tears and stepped aside to meet him.

“It’s nothing serious darling, mummy is just so happy she finally landed a good paying job. With the salary I’ll be paid, I can take you to your favorite theme park and we’ll try all the rides and games!” She beamed in excitement and Mario was quick to get infected with it as he smiled like the sun.

“Really mummy?!” He screamed in excitement, jumping into her arms and she laughed heartily. “Come on now, let’s get going. After that cold battle that nearly claimed my life…I’m so famished” She expressed sheepishly, making the men chuckle lightly.

“We have to celebrate this Bloom. We’re having lunch and dinner out” Stefano draped his arm around her shoulder and steered her towards the van while Benjamin was busy playing with Mario who was walking behind Bloom.

Bloom could only help a smile, in the end she had to be grateful. It was disappointing she couldn’t get the job she aimed for but, all the same, she had secured a job anyway.

***

The tires of the car screeched to a stop and he straightened, reaching for the door and climbing out. All the domestic workers around, bowed slightly in greetings and were replied with a light wave of his hand. His brows creased the more, indenting the folded lines across his forehead as he walked forward. Hayes was mad, he was so furious. He needed to expel this anger funneling through his bulging veins.

“Oh darling you’re back early”.

At the sound of that voice, the rigid man came to a pause, lifting his head stiffly to see who the sudden feminine voice belonged to. Upon realization, he cursed under his breath, taking into motion as he continued his journey through the spacious foyer and down the marble stairs. Arriving at the same level as the woman, which was the living room, he frowned at her.

“Why are you still here?

Those words, cold and reprehensible, made the beaming woman shiver involuntarily. She could no longer manage her failing smile and shifted her eyes from his scorching ones. He was being cold again and as usual, she couldn’t come around with him.

“W-what do you mean? Of course I-I’m here to see you” She stuttered, all shaken up and trying her damnedest not to appear intimidated by his cold attitude but she knew she had failed.

She was scared, wholly. He had barked at her that morning to leave his mansion but, just like the previous women before her, she was too stubborn and ignorant to leave.

Hayes's gaze grew darker than the storm clouds as he threw his head back and started towards her. Those swirling orbs, like the calling of an incoming hurricane, zeroed on her and she was struck immobile into paralysis. His gaze seemed deadlier than the sharpest dagger.

“Anastasia…”

He rolled out, like a deadly villain from a horror movie as he gained up on her. His hulking frame stood completely over her and she couldn’t help it. She broke down, shattering like a glass against concrete. Before he could even make a move, she took to her heels and fled from the demon king.

Her scared cat act made him chuckle humorlessly and run a hand through his hair. He laughed, loud and reverberating but despite that, no matter how much he tried to sound real…to act real, it was always a far cry from his eyes.

“Stupid” He huffed, shrugged his shoulders and turned on his heels.

Hayes walked away, towards a large hallway to the left and arriving at a wide long staircase at the end of it. That wing of the mansion was where he inhabited alone. The very walls of the building mocked his every step, closing in on him and compressing his form in melancholy.

No one was home. His step-mother was too busy going on trips to bother about him. And dad was the only one who came back as regularly as he could. But it was gone, lost in the raging storms of his past. The place no longer felt like a home. No warmth, no love, no laughter…it was desolate, cold and suffocating.

The disconsolate CEO twisted the knob of his bedroom door and pushed it open. After every tiring day at work, it was the only abode of comfort and acceptance he had left. The cavernous room was always in a dark haze and it suited the tone of his lugubrious life.

He poured himself a glass of alcohol, trudging towards his dark curtains and pulling it to the side a little so he could peer out to see the glistening black car moving into the compound. His step-mother had returned. His face hardened and his knuckles turned white from his rigid grip on the fabric.

Moving away, something caught his sight and he moved swiftly to pick up the brown folder on his bed. Staring at it from all sides with a curious edge, a smirk lifted the corner of his lip.

It belonged to the hilarious woman who had come for a job interview just earlier that day. That clumsy auburn-haired little woman who dared to tick his anger off right at first encounter. He chuckled bitterly, opening the folder and pulling the documents out. He recalled he hadn’t even taken a glimpse of her credentials before that annoying accident happened.

Downing the rest of the burning intoxicant, he dropped the empty glass onto the floor and sat down on the edge of his bed to go through her credentials. “That silly woman”.

**

Bloom was running late for dinner. She had forgotten her purse behind and ran back to get it. She hailed a cab, got in and hastily placed a call to Benjamin to inform him that she was now on her way. She was in a frenzy, she was so restless as she kept stealing glances at the digital wristwatch around her wrist. It was literally past dinner time and she wanted to pull her hairs out.

Her phone rang and she quickly answered, only to be devastated by the men telling her Mario had almost caused a scene so they had dinner without her. She was close to tears at the information but told them it was fine and ended the call.

“My baby broke my poor heart….”

She wiped an invisible tear off her eye and paid the cab driver. After he drove away with another customer, she turned to begin her walk but noticed a familiar face next to her.

“Juliano?”

The young man offered her a soft smile and flicked her on the forehead, “You don’t have to look so surprised to see me. Heard you got yourself a new job”.

That transformed the shocked expression on her face and she smiled with a pout, slapping his arm softly. “You’re supposed to be out on a dinner, it got cancelled?”

His question stabbed through her heart and her gloomy face returned, “My baby went ahead with it before me. I couldn’t make it there on time!” She started to complain like a whining child while he blinked at her with surprise.

‘She’s never gonna change’ He shook his head and held her hand in a tugging action. “Come with me, we’ll also grab dinner without them”. That seemed fair enough for her and she nodded, following his lead. But it never crossed her mind where he was taking her to.