Chapter 39
Clara's POV
I panicked as I jumped out of bed, my eyes widening.
Derek groaned as he sat up straight next to me.
I couldn't recall exactly when I fell asleep last night. I remember we were talking, and then we decided to watch a little bit of a movie before going home, and that's all I remember.
"What's wrong?" Derek asked in his deep morning voice.
"I have to get home," I panicked.
He raked his hands through his hair, making it even messier. "Why don't you stay and have breakfast first?" He suggested.
I searched the room for my shoes. "I have to go now. I didn't tell my mom I wouldn't be coming home yesterday." I insisted. I showed him the notifications on my home screen to demonstrate the severity of this situation.
He sighed. "How about I take you home then?" He suggested. He climbed off the bed and started searching for his shoes.
Through his large window wall, I noticed the darkened clouds and a hint of what looked like drizzle.
I sighed. "It's okay. I'll take a cab instead," I answered. With my new salary, taking a cab wouldn't break my budget.
My eyes lightened as I finally found my shoes in the corner of the room.
Before Derek could oppose, the door flew open as Luke entered the room.
He paused, holding onto the doorknob, staring at Derek and me as several emotions ran across his face.
Derek shot him a threatening look, motioning with his eyes for Luke to get out.
"Oh," Luke muttered, his coffee-colored eyes widening.
With both our messy hair and some of the bed sheets spread on the floor, I could imagine what he was thinking.
My cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. Luke smiled before pointing at both of us as he happily made sense of the situation.
"What do you want?" Derek asked.
Luke threw his hands down as he still maintained his smile. "You have a meeting in less than one hour regarding the hotel's security. You have a press conference, too." Luke reminded him.
Derek sighed, once again raking his hands through his hair.
"I'll see you on Monday," I said nervously.
Without another word, I rushed out of the bedroom.
Once I was out of sight, I ran out of the suite and jumped into the elevator before anyone could stop me.
I was probably going to hear about this very soon from Layla. I wonder what her reaction would be.
I loosened my hair, racking through it to fall on both sides of my face in case someone recognized me.
If anyone saw me, this would surely be breaking news among all the gossipers in this place.
One of the guards seemed to recognize me before he shook his head, dismissing the possibility that it was me.
Using my jacket, I covered my head from the rain as I climbed into the cab.
I sighed, settling in. I gave the driver my address before returning to my phone.
Messages were pouring in like the rain, now from my sister. Most of them were long rolls of worried emojis.
I texted her back, informing her I would be home, which seemed to shut her up.
What was I going to tell my mom? Probably that I had an unexpected night shift to cover and that I couldn't answer my phone. If my mother ever gets to meet Derek, she will hate him.
The cab drove, and I looked out at the pouring rain.
In less than an hour, the cab was pulling into my neighborhood. I sighed again, preparing myself for my lies.
From a distance, our house came into view. I noticed a Range Rover parked in front of my gate.
I wonder who it was. We didn't know many people, including someone with a car like that.
The driver slowed down as we neared my house.
Our front door opened. Mom came into sight as she smiled.
A man left our house soon after as Mom waved him goodbye.
Tall, dark-haired, and wearing a black tux. He matched my mom's enthusiasm as he waved her goodbye.
I guess I wasn't the only one hiding secrets in my family.
"You can stop right here," I informed the driver. We were just two houses away from mine.
I just approached them now. Who knows what lies Mom might invent?
Hesitantly, I got out of the cab after paying the driver his fee, walking into the rain.
The cab drove off.
The man jumped off our porch, getting into the rain.
It was when he rushed to his car that I saw clearly who it was.
It was Leonardo. I thought after our awkward encounter, we would never see each other again. I planned on avoiding him as much as possible.
What was he doing here? Did he somehow find out about my family to tell my mother the truth? But no, if he wanted to expose me, he would have gone straight to Derek.
If He climbed into his car and then drove off.
I had been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't fully realized I was standing in the rain with my wet clothes.
I ran toward our gate as I tried covering my face from the rain, my hands doing nothing to clear my vision from the gusting winds and rain.
All it took to push our front gate open was a gentle nudge with my hip.
I ran to our porch to open the front door. It made its usual creaking sound. Mom popped up from the hallway with a smile. "What?" I asked, to return my hairbrush to my drawer.
Widening on her face, she saw me.
"Thank God you made it safely," Mom said with a smile.
I let out a small smile, the best I could master, as I shook from the cold.
I took my shoes off, leaving them at the door.
"I was so worried about you," Mom approached me. She spun me around, examining me for any possible injuries. She almost sounded like she was on the brink of tears. "Do you have any idea how many people get kidnapped in this country?" Mom exclaimed.
Staring at my soaked state, she was reluctant to hug me.
"Don't worry, they would just bring me back home because we don't have any money." I joked.
She sighed, ignoring my joke. "After eleven p.m., I was asking around for you everywhere. It isn't like you to leave home or come back late without saying anything. I nearly had a heart attack. It wasn't until Ivy informed me that you had to do a late shift that I finally felt assured. Next time, you should call me or at least text me first." Mom scolded.
It was nice to know that Ivy had my back even before I thought about it.
"I sure will," I answered, walking further into the house. "It's just that my boss can be a handful sometimes." I lied.
Mom sighed again, throwing her hands to the side to show her frustration. "I'm going to see your boss today," Mom announced.
I froze and spun around to face her. "What?" I whispered.
"He must understand that he can't keep throwing all these shifts at you. It's not okay for you to get home so late or not get home at all. You may be grown, but you are still my baby. It's still my job to protect you." Mom reasoned.
"There is no need for that. I already spoke to him about it, and he said he wouldn't give me any unexpected shifts further on." I lied.
She seemed to be reassured for a short time.
Mom sighed, trying to control her anger. "Okay, but I'm picking you up after work from now on in case he tries to get any ideas and give you any extra shifts. He will have to deal with me." Mom threatened.
I hope she was joking; besides, she had her own business to take care of. "It's okay, Mom. Besides, that means extra money that I'm making." I replied.
Katy walked downstairs to approach us. She looked warm and snuggled up in her thick fur jacket.
"It's nice to know that you are working hard for this family, breaking your back and taking extra shifts just for us," Katy said sarcastically. She crossed her arms, shooting me a glare.
Not even a 'good morning' or 'how was work?'"It would be best if you considered taking a different job. Things are going much better for me. Maybe you could work with me instead and help deliver the cakes." Mom suggested.
"I would be of no use to you in your business. I don't even have a license. We don't even have a car." I answered. "Besides, I'd like to know who that man was who just left our house." I changed the subject. The focus was now on Mom.
"He is no one. Why are you so suspicious? I'm sick of you and your sister thinking you can control my life." Mom answered dismissively.
She threw her hands in the air dismissively as she turned to walk to the kitchen.
Katy and I weren't having it. We wanted answers.
"Isn't that the same thing you do to us?" Katy asked as we followed behind her.
Mom let out a sarcastic laugh. "Why don't you try suffering through labor pains for sixteen hours and then control them," Mom answered.
I dismissed her sarcasm, getting the conversation back on track. I wanted to know if I needed to be worried about anything. "He happens to be one of the guests at the hotel I work at, so I would like to know," I said.
"He was just here for a consultation. He wanted to get some cake samples for a party he was hosting soon." Mom answered.
Mom stopped in her tracks, turning around to face us. "He left a thousand dollars. He didn't even taste any cakes. I wonder what exactly he was tasting." Katy joined in.
Mom shot Katy a glare. "That's because he has diabetes, and besides, I'd watch that tone if I were you. I'm still your mother," Mom warned.
Katy sighed. "I'm just saying, normal people don't visit other people's homes at six a.m.," she said.
"And normal people your age also have to wash all the plates in the sink," Mom answered.
Katy's eyes shot wide open. "You made such a mess, Mom. I hope you don't mean to say that I have to clean everything up," Katy whined.
"Come on," Mom spoke. She bobbed Katy on her head before walking her to the kitchen.
It seemed like I didn't have to worry about Leonardo, at least not yet. Whatever Katy had to deal with now, that was her problem.
Ignoring the craziness in my family, I walked upstairs and jumped straight into the shower.
After my shower, I went to my bedroom dressed in warmer clothes.
I was combing my hair when my door flew open.
My eyes moved to Katy as she stood at the door, balancing her weight on one foot. I stopped reminding her to knock when she was ten. It doesn't work.
"It's a miracle I didn't wash my hands off," Katy said, walking in. She threw herself onto my bed.
For a while, she stayed like that, just staring at the ceiling.
She sat up straight, a wide grin appearing on her face.
That look could only mean trouble.
"What?" I asked, returning my hairbrush to my drawer.
