Chapter 5 5

6 years ago...

Daisy stared at the man blankly, the fire of rage in her eyes had been dowsed with ice water. She felt calm suddenly as she uttered the name after him. "Alex!"

"Newly graduated, twenty-two years old." Alex paused and let out a chuckle that had an old, rusty sound as if it hadn't been used in a long time. "Now you know me, Ms eye candy."

Flustered, Daisy tried to steady her pulse throbbing against the ribs as a pinkish glow spread across her face. Letting her know about him, giving her a nickname, smiling at her, little by little everything had sent butterflies to her stomach. "Well, I..."

"Come here." He patted the space beside him on the couch.

In absence of any resistance, Daisy walked over, but unnoticed stepped on a broken glass piece of the bottle. "Ah!" She winced and her face crooked with pain as the glass intruded into her soft skin and her feet started bleeding.

Alex's eyes widened, his heart almost stopped. Not wasting a second, he stood up and carried her up in his arms before he shuffled to the bed and made her sit on the sheet. "Why must you leave the shoes outside? You should wear them always." He muttered as he squatted down and placed her foot on his knee.

She winced in pain again when he pulled the glass piece out and gently rubbed his fingers across the wound. The pain slowly started lessening with his gentle touches.

He sighed. "I should not have broken the bottle." He seemed more like talking to himself than talking to her.

Daisy watched him blankly while he opened the drawer beside the bed, took out a piece of gauze, antiseptic cream and a cleanser. Was he worried?

"I am okay." She finally let out. He was done washing the wound with the cleanser and had started applying the cream with the gauze.

"No, you are not." He replied in his soothing voice, quick and clear. He was so busy wiping the wound, cleanly and carefully.

She had calmed down, realizing this crazy man won't really bite. "Why are you so worried?" No one had ever been worried about her before, not even a single person.

Placing her feet on the floor, Alex looked up at her, his face was a pool of blankness. "I just... I just felt guilty." He wasn't lying, he did feel guilty for breaking the bottle and causing such trouble for her. But it wasn't a lie either that he was so damn worried about her.

A corner of her mouth quirked up. "I am announcing you not guilty."

Alex let out a soft chuckle as he looked up at her. "Thank you, my Lord."

His smile had infatuated her. He looked breathtaking whenever he smiles. Who was he? The first time they met, he called her Rhia. She wondered who she was and what she had done to him that he was destroying himself here like this.

"When are you going to stop staring at me, My lord?" He cleared his throat.

When his soothing, husky voice stroked her ears, she fell back to her perceptions and averted her gaze immediately. "I need to go. I have work."

He shook his head. "You can't. You are injured. I will tell them I am on your service."

She didn't protest, realizing it would be useless. "Can I ask you a question?" She let out after an awkward silence.

He pursed his lips, thoughtful. "You can. But it has to be a fair deal. What about give and take?"

"Give and take?" She tilted her head.

He nodded. "You ask, I answer and in return, I get what I want."

"What do you want?" She squinted. She had nothing to give him except her services.

A playful smile curved his lips. "I will let you know after I will answer."

She sighed. This man was so smart. Talking about a fair deal, he had put her on an unfair deal. But she really wanted to know the answer. "Why do always call me for extra services but all you do is stare at me?" She finally garnered her courage.

He stared at her for a long moment that she had to shift in her position. She gulped, afraid he didn't want to answer. She parted her lips and when she was going to the topic, he spoke. "Because whenever you are close and I look at you, I feel alive again. I feel very calm and you warm up to my soul."

Her heart skipped a beat. She felt as if their surroundings had faded away until nothing was left but the two of them.

Inhaling a soft breath, he continued. "I like the feeling, I like the world when you are around."

"Because I look like her? But who was she? Was she your girlfriend?" The questions spat out of her delicate lips.

Though the amusement in his eyes was unchanged, his face darkened. "You are cheating. You were supposed to ask one, but you are asking four now."

"Can't you just answer?"

"I answered the first question. And you owe me something already." His voice had a husky rasp as he glanced at her lips.

Flares of heat shot through her. She had held her breath inside. "Owe what? What do you want from... Ummm..." Before she could finish her sentence, he slid his hand around her nape and pulled her close as he pressed his lips against hers.

She could feel the alcoholic smell from his mouth. Her pulse jumped. His tender lips parted and brushed over hers. At the same time, he pulled himself close. As his mouth settled, she experienced a moment of wonder. His lips were warm and gentle, such a contrast to the rest of him.

A gasp escaped from her lips when he drew at her bottom lip and touched the tip of her tongue with his own. The sensation sent her spiralling, and she dug her nails into the bedsheet.

She could hardly resist herself from kissing him back when a soft groan echoed in the warm cave of her mouth. She felt his hands fumbling at the back of her neck. But she had to push him away. It was not right.

However, he was the one to pull away first and whisper against her lips. "Breathe..."

She was brought back to her senses by his sudden voice. She quickly lengthened their distances as she panted for air and tried to steady her pulse rate. "Y-you..."

"That was what I wanted." He chuckled, resisting all of his enthusiasm that could lead him to a dangerous situation.

"It wasn't a part of my service." She stuttered.

He looked into her eyes. "Asking me a question wasn't a part of your service as well. It was a deal. A fair deal."

She should be angry. It was her first kiss. She should have scolded him. But instead, all she did was sighing the frustration away. "Are you a businessman?" He'd been always talking about deals.

He sneered. "What about calling me a good kisser?"

He was a good kisser. She bit her lower lip as rolled her eyes. "What about cutting down on alcohol?"

"Only if you come to me every day." He stated.

"You are too hard to talk with." She sighed and stood up, didn't want to argue with him. "I will go to the restroom and take a rest. Call me if you need my service. I don't want any more deals." Without giving him any chance to talk, she left the room.

In the restroom, Shua was sitting on the bench, looked so worried. When she saw Daisy stepped into the room, she ran to her. "Daisy, where did you go? Your phone was ringing here. The doctor called. Your grandmother is in serious condition. You should rush to the hospital now."

Daisy's heart almost dropped, her eyes filled with warm tears. Grabbing her phone, she ran out of the hotel.