Cara The Strongest Witch

Today, unlike Cara's usual routine, she woke up not by the sound of her alarm clock but by the sunlight that shone directly on her face.

Today is her twenty-first birthday and like before, she would wake up with a terrible headache. Although unlike the years before it was because of drinking too much on the eve of her birthday; this time it is different. Totally different.

Cara's head was throbbing in pain. She opened her eyes and instinctively her hand searched for her thick glasses. To her dismay, it is broken and beyond repair.

"The heck, I can't afford to get a fresh pair of glasses." She blurted out as she messed her hair in frustration. Luckily, the incident last night was just a bad dream... or is it?

She rubbed her eyes with her hands; she suddenly realized her vision turned high definition even without her thick glasses on. She looked around and saw the time on a wall clock it stunned her not only that her shift is almost over but the clock was a few meters away from her. Her vision actually zoomed in!

"Oh my gosh, what is happening to me?" She murmured, still in disbelief. The staff room was in shambles. The incident last night knocked heavy metal lockers over and the full-length mirror is shattered beyond repair.

"How on Earth will I fix everything in time?" There is a tone of panic in her voice. She touched the lockers, giving it her all to push it back to place, but surprisingly; it was too light, as if they made it of lightweight materials.

"What the fudge! Is it really too light or am I just too strong?" She is starting to question her abilities, and she is sure that super strength definitely is not one of them.

"Sinli sibil, Sinli sibil, Sinli sibil." She heard this chanting in her mind repeatedly, as if wanting her to say it out loud.

"What the hell is Sinli sibil?" She finally said it loud and clear. A beam of purple, glittery light flashed across the entire changing room. And Voila, everything was clean and in order, as if nothing happened.

Cara quickly picked up her things and felt like her sanity is slowly leaving her. She ran as fast as she could; she needs to get out of this place as swift as the changing room got cleaned. She lowered the cap she was wearing and ran so fast she felt like she was almost floating.

"Blag,"

Cara fell off balanced. Slightly feeling dizzy, she realized she bumped into someone; it is a man. And everyone around her looked mortified; she stood up to check on the man.

"Is he dead? Why are these people over reacting?" She spoke to herself as she went over to see the fragile man.

"Ahhh!" He screamed like he is in so much pain. Cara got scared that she started moving away. And as she said that... The man screamed louder.

Cara heard a sizzling sound, just like putting fresh meat on a searing hot pan. And the scent was unpleasant, like veal being torched. She looked around; and it seems like she is the only one bothered by it.

She chose to ignore it and stepped backwards little by little, as if no one would notice her leaving the scene.

"Don't let that woman get away!" He shouted, giving instructions to his guards while pointing at Cara.

Cara instantly realized the man she bumped with is none other than Ashton Crafter; the billionaire who is allergic to women. She walked back, not wanting to be dragged by his guards.

"Oh God, am I killing him right now?" Cara can't help but feel sorry at the sight of Ashton in excruciating pain.

"Help me to my office and bring that woman too!" Ashton said while obviously still in pain. His staff helped him and brought Cara with them.

Cara was dazed and confused, as the song would say, but it is literally what she is feeling right now. One moment she thought she had superpowers, and the next she almost killed her weird boss.

Ashton signaled for his men to leave the two of them. Cara did not know what to expect, but she sure has a lot of explaining to do, especially now that Ashton is looking at her name tag.

"So I suppose you are not Theo." He said in a low voice.

"I'm Cara. I'm really sorry, boss; I did not mean to bump into you. Is your allergy really that bad?" Cara asked Ashton with a tone of innocence.

"Yes, it is bad." He started unbuttoning his shirt. His rock hard abs and broad chest were a sight to behold.

"Boss, works out for sure." Cara's silly mind was again blabbing unimportant things at this critical time.

He moved towards the mirror behind his desk to check on his back. It surprised Cara to see a fresh brand on his back. It is identical to her new tattoo.

"How the hell?" She exclaimed loudly this time.

"Witch, look at what you did to me!" Ashton replied with conviction.

"I really did not mean to cause you harm. What should I do to fix your allergy? Should I not move away from you right now? Well, as far as I know, you should stay away from allergens, right?" Cara thought of a lame excuse even though she still does not understand why Ashton's allergy looked like a cow branding, but what's more strange is that it looked exactly like her fresh ink.

Ashton fixed his clothes and took pain reliever from his drawer. With a serious look on his face, he walked towards Cara.

"Witch! We have no choice but to get married now. Come with me!" Ashton exclaimed to the confused Cara.

"What? Why? I just met you! I don't even love you!" Cara was distraught, asking Ashton while he almost dragged her out of his office.

"Don't flatter yourself, witch. What I feel for you is the opposite of love." Ashton sneered angrily at her.

He instructed Cara to come with her in his car. Cara knows her boss's reputation, so she behaved and kept quiet until he cools down and is willing to listen to her explanation.

The silence between them in the car was bearable. She prefers it this way. She looked out the window and realized that he was taking her to an exclusive estate. There are no houses nearby, and all the people they passed by bowed before Ashton's car.

When they arrived at a mansion, a butler opened the door for her. They were all taken aback to see a woman with Ashton, an unsightly woman at that.

She just quietly stood there and felt judged by everyone around her. Perhaps she's not just used to being the center of attention, or maybe she is just guilty of causing harm to that arrogant boss. Cara was half explaining in her mind as she cannot do it in actual life; she's such a coward to do it. She clenched her fist nervously, waiting for an instruction.

"I did not mean to bump into the weird boss and definitely not planning on marrying him." The thought of marriage made her cringe. She could not even admit her feelings to her crush. How could she face marriage?

Ashton interrupted her daydreaming when he held her arm and pulled her inside the mansion. "What is he planning now? I'm not ready for this!" She wanted to protest, but Cara was afraid of what could happen while she's in his mansion. "They would bury my corpse here and no one would even know. What a sad life." That's how far she had thought of her situation already, she's ready to give her last will and testament.

Ashton opened a beautifully carved, humongous door. "Is this my dungeon?" Cara could feel that her end is absolutely near; she closed her eyes; refusing to see how her life would end.

"Thud."

She heard the door closed shut. Cara slowly opened her eyes. She was in an elegant room; it is a library. A library that is bigger than her best friend Theo's house. She could not get a hold of the thought of why people would choose to house too many books when most people barely have a roof to above their heads to keep them warm at night.

She looked around and smelled a pleasant aroma of essential oils; she sniffed it like a bomb-sniffing dog. "Lavender with a bark of a century old Acacia and three drops of fresh water spring from up north." She said out loud. Cara covered her mouth with her hand immediately; it baffled her.

"What the fudge did I just say? It was too accurate for a guess." She thought to herself.

Ashton leaned over the table in front of Cara. He cupped his chin and pinned his gaze to Cara. She ultimately felt uncomfortable being raked from head to foot. She looked down to avoid Ashton's deep-set eyes, which were made more gorgeous by his thick eyelashes.

"Hmm, so, you have a heightened sense of smell, incredible hearing, and impeccable eyesight, right?" Ashton bluntly asked Cara.

Her eyes widened at his statement. "How could you possibly know? Are you some kind of Shaman?" Cara blurted out with a tone of mockery.

"Not me, dummy. It's you. You are a witch." Ashton laid it out in the open like it was normal for him to call her a witch, since he pretty much said it a couple of times already.

"You know, you are too petty for a CEO. I've told you already, I did not mean to cause you harm. Why do you have to repeatedly call me a witch? Let's be grownups here and settle this now." Cara begged Ashton to take her seriously.

He moved closer to her and lowered his head to meet her eyes. Ashton was serious. There is not a thread of a doubt in his aura that he means business. In his low voice, he said it straight to Cara;

"You really are a witch; in fact you are the 'Sakalam'."

"This is it, this is the day. I can do this." Cara took a deep breath while looking at the signage as she stood in front of a worn out building.

She blew out her cheeks as she gathered her courage to open the wooden door in front of her. There were a lot of people there; most of them were minding their own business. Exactly how she likes it. She is the observant one; she despises being the one observed.

Cara is a simple woman and prefers to be unseen. She's more comfortable being one with the crowd than standing out. Most of the time she would be mistaken as a boy, since her hooded jacket conveniently hid her long brown wavy locks. Her thick glasses do not help in showcasing her gorgeous blue-gray eyes and long lashes, either.

She looked around, hoping to find that one person who can help her with the best birthday gift she thought of having.

"This place stinks" Cara muttered underneath her breath. She hates the smell of cigarette smoke in a confined space like this. She hates going in this place, as she feels that the men in here are scrutinizing her appearance. But she does not really have a choice, she does not want to do it with Theo at home, Uncle Thomas would kill them.

She tapped a tall bearded guy with a man bun who was busy chatting with other men in the shop.

"Hey, Theo! This is the day I am so ready for it." she said in a serious tone.

"Right now? Are you serious? I thought, we're going to do it on your twenty-first birthday? That's tomorrow, right?" Theo asked Cara in one go.

"Yes, but I will be on duty tonight. I want to do it now, Theo." Cara used her expressive eyes to persuade Theo.

He let out a deep sigh. Theo has no power over this woman. "Okay, but promise me that this would be the first and last, Cara."

Cara pouted her lips and mumbled. "I'm not so sure about that, I heard that the feeling can get quite addicting."

Theo nodded as he led Cara to the chairs near them. The whole shop went dead silent. Their eyes follow the two around as they listen intently; after all, it is not every day that they hear that type of conversation in the shop.

"Well, I can attest to that, I've done it so many times already." Theo answered confidently.

Theo took off the hood of Cara's jacket from her head. Her soft, wavy hair instantly fell to the side of her cheeks. He then removed her thick glasses. Cara smiled sweetly at Theo, and he awkwardly smiled back at her.

She crossed her arms and grabbed the bottom part of her jacket and took it off. She was wearing a black tank top with a low back, so that Theo could easily access it.

"You know it's my first time, Theo. I don't know if I can take the pain that well." Cara reminded Theo.

"I know, and I promise you Cara that I'll be gentle." Theo said as he sat on the black stool in front of Cara.

She tied her hair in a messy bun and sat, turning her back to Theo.

Cara bit her lower lip, not wanting to make a sound as Theo was busy with her back. She glanced at him; and saw Theo wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead.

Their eyes met. Theo cleared his throat before he spoke. "Are you okay?" He asked Cara with a genuine tone of concern.

"Yeah, it stings a bit, but nothing I can't handle." Cara replied with a smile.

"Bzzzt, bzzzt" the sound of needles vibrating as it pierces Cara's skin was music to Theo's ears.

"What the f**k bruh, is she Theo's little sis?" Brenan asked Chuck, who was standing beside him.

Brenan and Chuck are Theo's new friends. He met them in the tattoo shop and they instantly clicked together. It made Cara happy to see Theo with other friends since it has always been just the two of them since she moved in with the Willis.

Bren walked towards Theo and Cara. "Hey Cara, how are you?" His tone was casual, but Theo knew better. He stopped what he was doing and directly looked at Bren.

"Hey, hands off my little sis." He sneered at Bren with his nostrils flaring.

Bren raised both his hands and chuckled. "Chill, bro; I was just asking."

"I know you Bren, don't even think about it." Theo was stern in his voice.

"Jeez, bruh. You sound like a strict father. Uhmp no, I take it back. You sound more like a jealous boyfriend." Bren confronted Theo as he walked away while laughing at him.

Theo gagged after hearing Bren's words. Cara saw how Theo reacted. She felt like they have trampled her ego.

"Am I that repulsive?" Cara seriously asked Theo.

"We're practically like siblings, how do you want me to react?" Theo asked Cara as he snickered.

"Can you stop saying that? We are not siblings; you are too ugly to be my brother." Cara tried her best to boost her ego.

Cara's lifelong crush on Theo has been kept for the longest time because of their situation. She lives with him and his father Thomas since she was twelve when her grandma died. Although she's not legally adopted, Theo treats her like his own little sister. Something she can't reciprocate.

"It's done, Cara." Theo assertively said, disturbing Cara of her daydreaming.

Cara instantly stood up to check her back. She smiled from ear to ear; it filled her heart with genuine satisfaction. Her homage for her grandma is finally complete. At the moment's spur, she embraced Theo and kissed him on his cheek.

"Thanks, Theo." She said while her arms are still around his neck. It was a pretty awkward position for them, as their faces were only a few inches apart. Cara finally realized what she did and let go of Theo.

"Silly girl, turn around. I'll cover it." He said while chuckling. He covered Cara's new tattoo with a thin layer of petroleum Jelly and a bandage.

Cara quickly put on her jacket and picked up her bag. She's running late for her shift, hailing the first cab that she saw, and luckily it was empty. She arrived at her work just in time to clock in.

Cara changed into her work clothes in stealth mode. Technically, she does not work here, at Crafter Co. Theo does. Women are not allowed in this side of the company, the owner and CEO Ashton Crafter is apparently allergic to women and he often visits this part.

His allergy is known to the public since they also considered Ashton as one of the most eligible bachelor not in the country alone but in the entire world. However; in reality, most people consider his allergy as an excuse for his closeted homosexuality.

Cara has never seen Ashton personally; she wanted to take extra precautions just in case his allergy is true. She does not plan on causing the death for that poor dude. An ironic name to call a man that is one of the richest in the world.

Cara even pretended to like Ashton just to trigger any reaction from Theo. Sadly, Theo believed it and even let her take his place in the company so she can "stalk" him. Cara still can't believe how dense Theo can be that he can't see how she feels for him.

The first part of her shift was pretty much uneventful. She is part of the CCTV monitoring team. She practically sits four hours straight and stares at different monitors to see anything out of the ordinary. She then spends her one hour break eating and stretching her legs and then goes back to finish her shift to stare on monitors some more.

On her way out for her break, a few minutes before twelve; she wanted to check her phone to see if Theo remembered to greet her at exactly twelve in the evening, just like the past thirteen years of her life.

"Theo, I can't believe you slept on my birthday this time." Cara hissed as she saw her phone had no notifications. She proceeded on making a hot cup of coffee for the much needed stimulant for this gloomy and rainy night.

"Hmmm... Just what I needed." Cara savored the aroma of the free black brewed coffee in their staff room. She was about to take her first sip when suddenly...

"Ah, fudge! It hurt!" She felt a burning pain in her new tattoo. Cara hurriedly ran to the changing room to check on her back.

"I'd kill you, Theo, if this one gets infected!" She exclaimed as she turned her back on the mirror.

Her tattoo wound was glowing around its edges, a bright light was emitting from it. Cara remembered the antique hairpin her grandmother gave her before she died. This is the reference for her tattoo, something she thought of commemorating her beloved nana.

She scoured her bag and under her pile of useless receipts is her small black draw string pouch. Cara opened it and in an instant the pulsating light coming from the pin blinded her.

A sizzling sound made her scream, her tattoo turned red hot like an iron dipped in burning hot lava.

"Ah, Help me! Someone Help me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, but no one came to her aid. Her antique hair pin dissolved in thin air while she was holding it. She looked down on her feet and realized she was slowly levitating.

A loud thud of thunder echoed, followed by a sharp lightning as it hit her. She cannot be wrong, it hit her while she was floating in midair; she felt a surge of electricity flowing through her. Cara could no longer scream for help, she was near her limit she was about to faint.

She wanted to fight it, but her eyes turned too heavy for her. Cara's vision turned pitch black and silence followed.

Cara's heart still beating hard after realizing that she did not have a bad dream last night. She is, in fact, living in a nightmare.

"Sakalam? What are you talking about?" Cara furrowed her perfect eyebrows as she asked Ashton.

He leaned back and opened his office table drawer. Ashton took a small mirror and positioned it in front of Cara's face.

She gasps for air as she could not believe her eyes, literally could not believe her eyes. How her dark brown eyes turned bluish grey.

"The powers I told you about earlier are typical of any witch, but only you; the Sakalam would bear super strength and your spells ten folds more powerful than a normal one. And your eye color change is the mark; the mark of the Sakalam." Ashton said with a straight face.

"hahaha" Cara started laughing so hard her tummy started to ache. "You are such a talented actor, boss. Is this a prank? Where is the camera?" Cara finally stopped laughing when she saw Ashton's serious face.

"You are not joking?" Cara wanted to make sure.

He firmly shook his head. "No. I am not the type of person who wastes my time on jokes." Ashton stood up and sat beside Cara. He gaped at her. "What is your name?" Ashton asked her.

"Cara. Cara de Luna." She briefly answered.

"Cara, if I was joking; do you have a better explanation about what happened to you?" Ashton was slowly making Cara realize how her life is changed forever, starting last night.

She took a deep sigh and started crying. "What the hell is happening to me? I don't want this." Cara said as she wiped her tears.

"Calm down. I know it is hard for you to understand everything now and I assure you it will not get better so get a hold of yourself because I don't want this too." Ashton said, like he means business.

Cara nodded and bluntly asked Ashton. "Can I trust you?"

He sneered at her as if she offended him. "Do you have a choice?" He stood up and went behind his desk. He pressed a button and suddenly the shelf behind him opened; exactly like those cool movies with hidden rooms.

It stunned Cara that she had to pinch her arm just to make sure she isn't dreaming. There is too much going on since last night, and this one is the coolest by far. Ashton motioned to her to follow him, and she did without a second thought.

"Interesting. I thought you have cool gadgets here that you have to get this cool room." Cara mocked Ashton as she looked around. "Oh look, what do we have here? Yeah, just as I thought; more books! Yippee!" Cara made light of the situation, as there is nothing much to do at this point.

"All the books here are for you and about you." Ashton replied to Cara.

Her jaw dropped to the floor after hearing what Ashton just said. "Do you mean I have to read all of these?" She asked Ashton while still in disbelief.

"Well, if you want to understand your being. It is totally up to you." He said, while pointing at her from head to toe. Cara felt naked the way Ashton pointed at her; as if he knows her better than she knows herself.

"I... I suppose you know all of these already. Why don't you just explain everything to me?" Cara stuttered, thinking her lazy ass excuse won't cut it to the arrogant and strict boss.

Ashton flinched a bit and took a deep sigh. "Okay." His short answer was unprecedented. Never did Cara expect him to be this easy to convince.

"Oh, Boss. I did not know you were so easy to convince. You might as well get me a hot cup of tea while we discuss these books." Cara made fun of Ashton.

"Ahh..."Ashton exclaimed as he clenched his fists and slammed the table hard. "Okay." He said as he left Cara in the room to get a hot cup of tea.

It flabbergasted Cara how she was able to convince Ashton with a few hints of hesitation. Nevertheless, he still did it. Ashton left the room with heavy feet. Cara can't help but chuckle looking at this grown man, pout his luscious lips like a kid who was told to go to his room and sleep.

Cara walked around the library since there is nothing much left to do here but to accept the situation as it. She literally feels like she's going insane. Crying, giggling, confused, and hungry, although surprisingly not tired all at the same time.

"What the fudge am I doing here?" She lightly mumbled as she looked around the vast library. Everything that has happened is too much to digest right now, however it does not leave her with much choice but to accept the changes coming her way.

While walking around, one book caught her eye. It is as if her instinct is pushing her to get that book. She pulled it out of the shelf. The book was thick but unusually light; it was old but well preserved. She gently opened it and saw the intricate hand writing. Author; it was Amadeus Crafter.

"He is my great grandfather." Ashton said as he walked closer to Cara and handed her the cup of tea she asked for.

"Thanks for this." Cara smiled at him, feeling guilty for pressuring him to get her a cup of tea. She handed the book to Ashton, and she noticed his effort in holding the enormous book.

"tsk, such a weakling." She muttered under her breath as she felt like his broad shoulders and ripped muscles do not translate to his strength.

"ring, ring,"

Cara almost dropped the cup she was holding when her phone rang. She took out her phone from her pocket and looked at the broken screen of her phone. She tried swiping the answer button, but the shattered screen was a challenge to do such a simple task.

"Finally, you answered!"

It was Theo. His furious tone sent shivers down Cara's spine. Theo is such a big brother to her that she will surely hear an earful from him for not going home on time.

"I'm sorry. I broke my phone last night. I'm really sorry, I can explain everything later." Cara's flimsy excuse was something she immediately regretted when she heard the older Willis.

"You better have a good explanation." Uncle Thomas grabbed the phone from Theo and warned Cara of her behavior.

"I... I,"

Cara was not yet done talking when Ashton took her phone from her.

"I can explain everything, Sir. Also, starting today, Cara and I will live together." Ashton was firm in his words, as if he really meant what he said.

Cara's eyes widened, listening to Ashton. She is as good as dead when she gets home. Uncle Thomas and Theo will not let her go of her unscuffed.

"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?" Uncle Thomas's voice was so loud it could burst your eardrum.

Ashton moved the phone away from his ears, with obvious pain from his ringing eardrums.

"I am Ashton Crafter and I am marrying Cara tomorrow."

He said it like it was the most natural thing for him to say; it amazes Cara on how he can easily talk about marriage when they literally just met.

"This is not a joke, young man. Do not use the name of my boss just so you can get away with what you did to Cara!" Ashton's voice did not convince Uncle Thomas that he was indeed the one and only heir of the Crafter Empire.

"I understand your concern, sir; I guess we will head to your home now so we could talk. Please expect us in about an hour." Ashton was courteous to the old man, something Cara did not see coming. He gave back Cara's phone and walked towards the exit.

"Wait, Ash! Stop!" Cara shouted, and in an instant Ashton stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and raised his thick brows and asked Cara. "What?"

"You have not explained that to me yet. Why do we have to get married or live together?" Cara got rid of all the formalities for a boss she used earlier. This is marriage and it is not something she would take lightly.

"You know my reputation, right? Do you think the people will not notice you being around me?" Ashton tried explaining, but Cara had other things in mind.

"Then let's just hide this relationship with everyone else. No need to go around being together." Cara insisted.

Instead of answering, Ashton grabbed her arm and led her outside. She resisted and stopped walking. She was like a little kid who is afraid to go to the dentist.

Ashton took a deep sigh and wiped his palm over his frustrated face.

"Tell me the truth," Cara said in a calm voice, wanting Ashton to come clean to her.

"I can't live without you, Cara." He answered with his eyes filled with sincerity.