Chapter 37

Author's P.O.V

Alexander walked into his room and shut the door behind him before loosening his tie and sitting on the bed. He took a wine glass from the nightstand and poured a drink for himself. As he brought the glass to his lips to take a sip, his eyes stared into a distance and his mind wandered off elsewhere. Wandering around. Going back to that place was a mistake, unintentionally or not. Never had he let his past take over him. He loathed it. He gripped the glass firmly. His jaw moved back and forth as he was boiling with anger. With one swift movement, he pulled his hand up in the air and threw the glass on the floor with all his strength. His eyes were locked on the shiny marble floor for a couple of minutes. The glass lay shattered on the floor, but his eyes did not move from their stable position. His breathing was not steady as he was filled with rage.

He stood up and walked towards his walk-in closet; he pushed the pile of his clothes aside, looking for something in the space. His eyes roamed around in there for a while until he spotted the wooden box. He looked at it for a few seconds before picking it up and placing it on a table. He opened the lid of the box, revealing a silver chain with a locket. His eyes peered at the chain as the memories came rushing towards him.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth; he did not want to lose himself, so he slowly closed the lid and placed the box where it was before. He walked out of the closet and saw Emma standing near the door, looking down at her feet. He arched his eyebrows. She knew he hated it when she did not look at him in his eyes, yet she always had the nerve to repeat this mistake. He cleared his throat, letting her know he noticed her. She looked up and her eyes immediately met his. Alexander tried hard to not pin her against the wall and kiss her luscious lips. He controlled himself but it was hard for him to maintain his resolve when he was near her.

Every time he looked into her green eyes, it was tough to not stare at them for as long as he could. It was as if Emma had hunted him down in cold blood and he was trying his best to hide that.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" he asked in his unusually calm voice. That shocked Emma, she looked at him mildly hiding the surprised look she had on her face. She did not want to come into his room, but when Ela and the other maids heard something break inside Alexander's room, she made Emma go and clean whatever mess Alexander had caused. She couldn't refuse her, although she wanted to. So there she was standing outside his room, hoping to not leave in shame.

"I-I...E-Ela sent m-me...We he-heard something break here." She stammered gazing at the shattered pieces of the glass. Alexander hummed and responded. "I broke the glass." He said it plainly. Emma waited a few seconds for him to explain further, but Alexander instead just stared at her without saying anything. She nodded her head and entered the room to clean up the mess. She picked up the shards carefully so she does not hurt herself but she also wanted to finish up quickly. She wanted to get out of his room as soon as she could. She felt him staring at her, swallowing her fear. She continued with what she was doing and put the pieces inside a small bucket. She then wiped the floor with a wet rag, clearing off the wine stain. She rubbed the rag against the floor 'til it was shiny as before. But that was not her motive; she wanted to distract herself from the intense gazing of Alexander.

She was feeling anxious. All of a sudden, she stopped rubbing the floor and took a deep breath. She pulled herself back and sat on the floor on her knees again; her eyes were closed. I need to calm down. I need to calm down. She chanted in her mind. Two minutes passed and she was still sitting on the floor. Alexander's eyes did not leave her once. He saw that she was struggling to control herself. As much as he wanted to go and hold her, he did not want to keep the joy he got from seeing her fear on hold. She was afraid of him. His mere presence scared her. It petrified her. He walked to her, bent down, and touched her shoulder.

She shuddered at his touch. It was gentle but it scared her. It scared her because she loathed his touch. His touch had hurt her more than she had ever been hurt. It scared her because she knew how every one of his touches ended. It scared her because of how gentle it felt at that time. She did not turn around, did not move a muscle, and did not make a sound. She just let out a small hiss when he gently squeezed her shoulders and helped her stand up.

She did not understand. Why could she not move? She tried to move her legs, but she did not have enough strength to do that. Her eyes darted to her hands which were pale and soaked in sweat. She let out a shaky breath along with a low whimper. She wanted to move her legs and run away from there!

What is happening to me?! Why can't I move? I want to go away from here.

Her breathing became rapid and heavy. Alexander had no experience with women in an affectionate manner. Without thinking, he pulled her small frame close to him and held her tight, holding the back of her head and pressing it onto his chest. His one hand was wrapped around her waist and another hand was on her head, caressing her. Her body felt warm against his, he could almost feel her breathing on his chest. And once again he felt it. He felt it deeply.

Peace.

Emma's P.O.V

My eyes were closed. I felt my breathing slowly going back to normal. I felt a pair of sturdy arms hugging my body, and my head pressed against something hard. I did not know where I was or who I was being held by, but it felt good. It felt like I was in my desired, reposeful utopia. I slowly opened my eyes which were to be met by black dots blocking my vision, although they disappeared after a few seconds, and I could see my surroundings.

I could feel someone's hands tightly wrapped around me, and their breath on my hair. My eyes widened when I realized what was going on and I immediately pulled myself off of him and crawled away as far as possible. I looked at him with my terrified eyes. He was touching me again!

How could I be so stupid and let him come close to me?

I was angry at myself. If I had not lost consciousness, I wouldn't have been in his arms. His eyes were glued with mine. He remained silent. Surprisingly he did not get mad; he just kept staring at me. His stare... his eyes... they were completely different than how I'd seen most of the time. His hands did not touch me this time. Instead, he fisted his hands like he was trying hard not to touch me. To say that I felt relieved would be such an understatement. It was more intense than that. But that doesn't mean that I wasn't scared. I wanted to get out of there, but I was too scared to move a muscle. I gripped the bedsheets with both my hands, not knowing they were beneath me. I had no clue I was on his bed and he did not get mad about it. He did not mind me sitting on his bed.

"Don't be scared," he said after what felt like ages. How could he expect me to not be scared when he was the one terrifying me like nobody else. His presence was enough to send shivers down my spine. I whimpered and crawled away from him again until my back hit the bedpost. I got even more scared. Scared of what may happen next.

"I said don't be scared, Emma," he said again, this time with a slightly colder tone. It did not help me at all; it terrified me even more. I was struggling again. I looked away from him and glanced outside the window. It was the perfect view, especially that of the sky. I stared outside, desperate to forget where I was, who I was with. But it was impossible. He sensed my fear and discomfort, but it was obvious that he did not care.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered to me.

His words shocked me. Since the first time I entered this house, he had done nothing but hurt me both physically and emotionally. How could he say that? How could I believe him?

"Pl-please I want to go," I said. My voice cracked. I held back the sobs that could find their way out at any moment.

"Why?" he asked. He was now touching my face. He moved his fingers on the side of my forehead, his fingers touched my dark blocks and he tucked a few strands of my hair behind my ear. He kept his hands on the back of my neck and his thumbs caressing my cheek. His soft touch stunned me. What did he want from me?

His body moved close to mine, invading the space between us; his hands were still on my neck. I jerked up and pushed him away, suddenly got the strength to stand up and walk away from him.

He did not protest. He did not stand up to stop me. I grabbed the opportunity to pick up the bucket and the rag, and to run out of there. I ran until I reached a small room where all the necessities are stored. I put the rag there and threw the shattered pieces of glass in the basket. Then I ran back to the kitchen and washed my hands. I rested my body on the kitchen counter, placing both of my hands on it. Millions of thoughts were going through my mind.

Master...

Why was he gentle with me? I did not understand. It did shock me, but I was glad he did not force me as he would typically do. It seemed like the more I tried to stay away from him, the more fate bound my path with his.

*****

I did not see him for three weeks. This was nothing new, he spent most of his time traveling and being in his office. I heard he was visiting his father's house for a few days. Well, I can not say it did not make me happy. But, something was bugging me these few weeks. My last encounter with him. The last time I saw him. Somehow that encounter had confused me. However, I tried my best to not think about that.

We were doing all our usual work. Thanksgiving was near so we needed to clean the entire house a week before the big day. Alexa informed me that maids here get a day off during the holidays. I talked to them and asked where they would be going. Most of them said they were going to see their families, but Yuna had planned to visit her boyfriend. I smiled like a fangirl when she was telling me about her long-lasting relationship with Jonathan. She told me a bunch of things about them; I found them cute. I mean, who doesn't want a wholesome relationship? Yuna and Jonathan were a cute couple.

It was my turn to clean the library. I walked towards the door and opened it. It was quiet as usual, the woman who was in charge of the library was not there. The library was empty. I let out a tiny grin.

Finally, I could explore that place just as much as I wanted to. With that in mind, I started cleaning. Within thirty minutes, I cleaned the shelves and arranged the books that were assigned to me. I couldn't clean the entire library by myself, so I did as much as I could. How I wish I could read one of the books there! But, I barely have any time. I looked to my right and my master's desk caught my attention. I was not allowed to clean that. I didn't know why. But I was pretty curious, as youngsters are. So, I walked to the desk and observed it. It had a mixed color of brown and yellow; it was made of wood. Almost half of the things in that house were made of wood. It had three drawers. I grabbed the handle of the top drawer and pulled it. It did not open.

It had a lock on it and the key was not there. I tried the second one. it opened but it was empty. Only the third drawer was left, I was having an inner battle with myself on whether I should open it or not.

My hand reached out to the handle and pulled it open. It was not locked either. The drawer was filled with files and documents and that book. The strange book that Alexa told me not to touch. But why? I knew that it was Master's, but what did it have in it that nobody could even touch? I picked up the book and placed it on the desk, carefully opening it. The pages were not scattered anymore. They were tied to the book cover. It meant that someone had handled this book before.

I opened the first page.

12th March 2008.

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Who wants to know what is written there?

Next chapter will be updated soon.