Back in Alex’s room.
Abi’s eyelids fluttered like the wings of a butterfly as she felt the warmth of the sun on her face. But it wasn’t just that, there was also a different warmth and she subconsciously drew her body closer to it, revelling in its familiarity.
‘Mmmm,’ she mumbled subconsciously as her eyes fully opened to see that she lay on the bed with her arm around a man’s waist!
She looked up, suddenly alert, to see who it was and she was met with her beloved’s face, smiling triumphantly at her. For a second, her heart fluttered with happiness only to be replaced again with grief the next second, because this man wasn’t really her beloved.
Abi pulled away instantly and stood up by the bed, with her hands on her head, in shock. Her heart hammered against her chest. She thought that she was dreaming when she felt his familiar warmth next to her. She thought it was her brain playing tricks on her again, as it had done for many nights after she woke up from her surgery.
But no, this was real! All of the things that happened last night suddenly replayed in her mind, as if it was a movie. She had really found him again, after months of trying. It took a bit for Abi’s mind to get over this fact, to believe that this was all real and this was really happening.
Alex sat up on the bed as he sexily surveyed her, biting his lips. She followed his line of sight and that was when she finally realized what she was wearing. His shirt, which carried his faint scent, and his boxer shorts. This man was already thinking naughty things this early in the morning!
Alex was just about to tease her when a knock at the door startled them both. Abi moved to go and open it but Alex was faster. He pulled her behind him and opened the door instead.
Abi felt a little confused. Why had he done that? Was he trying to protect her? From what? Or did he just not want other people to know she was in his room?
On the other side of the door, a timid maid stood there with her head bowed down, holding a set of folded clothes in her arms. “I came to bring these clothes over, master,” she said without raising her eyes to look at them.
Alex took them upon seeing that she had brought over another set of a maid’s uniform. Abi took a look from behind him and she immediately grabbed them from Alex and dashed inside the bathroom. Suddenly a thought entered her mind. Did he do that so no one would see her wearing his clothes? Somehow, knowing how shameless this man was, she thought that she was probably correct in thinking that.
Alex closed the door and watched as his maid nearly flew to the bathroom with her uniform. He smirked as he admired her derriere as they bounced slightly from her footsteps and only moved again when the door closed behind her.
When Abi finally stepped out, she was already fully dressed. There was a look of anger on her face again, a stern determination. As she showered, her mind drifted to whether he actually went to find another woman. Did Zeke manage to stop him? What if he wasn’t able to stop him? Should she confront him? Or was it better not knowing? All these questions plagued her but she didn’t know what the right thing to do was.
She felt that she couldn’t confront him about it because he might just leave again and that would not be good. But if she didn’t, she knew that not knowing would eat at her too. She could only think of one other way to relieve this angst and that was to ask Zeke.
Once she made that decision, she felt slightly better. Zeke would tell it to her straight. He wouldn’t lie to her and whatever his answer was, it was always better to know than to be kept in the dark. But until then, she would hold onto her anger because it was better than pain.
Alex had already changed into casual clothes – a white short sleeved shirt which hugged his muscles, and a pair of black pants which accentuated his thighs. If she wasn’t seeing red at that moment, she would have drooled.
Alex surveyed her in her conservative maid’s outfit and was only slightly shocked that his body still reacted. He thought that things would be different in the light of day, that maybe his obsession with her was only because of the events of the party, what happened with Zeke and the wine. But it seemed he was wrong.
It seemed he couldn’t use that as an excuse for his obsessive behaviour. If it wasn’t the party or the wine, then it really must be her. But why? Why had she crossed his path? Was she just here to torture me? Was that it?
He walked towards Abigail and when he was about a foot away, he reached out his hand to touch her face but she stepped back, giving him an angry glare. He froze, his hand hanging in mid-air, which gave Abi the chance to step around him and walk towards the bed so that she could do her maid duties and make the bed. The tension was so thick, they could cut it with a knife.
Luckily, they were saved by another knock on the door. This time, Abi got to it first and when she opened the door, two royal guards were standing outside.
“His highness wants you in the courtyard,” they said and Abi swallowed. She nodded obediently and was about to follow them knowing what this was all about when Alex jumped in.
“Where do you think you are taking my maid?” he asked, causing the soldiers to immediately bow down to him in fear.
“It’s time for her punishment, Alex,” Zeke’s voice rang and Alex looked at him in surprise.
