8 Chapter 7

She ran down the flight of stairs and went straight to the kitchen when she saw that the man was not there. A note was on the table.

"Have an urgent meeting to attend. Heat the food and eat. -B"

She turned the stove on to heat the soup and opened the covered bowls on the table to reveal the savory sidedishes he had prepared for her. When the soup was ready, she took a bowl and scooped out some and took it to the dining table. Then she got another bowl and filled it with rice that was still sitting in the warm rice cooker. She ate while admiring the man who had allowed her to stay. "He isn't that bad after all," she thought. "His girlfriend is quite lucky to have him."

She enjoyed the feast that was prepared for her, quickly washed the dishes, and put them carefully to the cupboard once again. She was so familiar with the whole place and even the dishes were placed in the same way as when her grandfather was still alive. She cleaned everything and went back upstairs. She has nothing to do and no one to talk with so she went to the floor to ceiling window overlooking the sunflower garden. Seeing the garden gave her both comfort and sadness. Memories with her grandfather flashed in her memories as she gazed at the golden rows of sunflowers covering a large portion of the garden below. She can see everything from here. The road going to the property, entrance to the mansion, and even her favorite spot in the center of the garden. The lilac gazebo. This was the first time she saw the gazebo from this angle. The gazebo was covered with vines on the sides which hid it from everyone's sight. She often went there when she needs time alone because she knew it was not visible from the master's bedroom which was her grandfather's room. She stood there for long before she decided to climb to her bed. She remembered bringing Ronald's new issue of her lingerie brochure. She sat down and took it from her bag and browsed though it as she went back to bed. The lingeries were so provocative and appeared to hug her pefect body perfectly. Only she and Ronald knew that those photos were edited. She was photographed with her body covered with nude-colored clothing same as her skin color. Though she could pull off any garment she chooses, the idea of her posing almost nude in front of others was not something she wanted to do. She only agreed to be Ron's model when he told her she will wear the lingeries over a special clothing. And because they did not want to reveal their secret, Ronald also does all the editing to make the photos look real. She spent some time looking over the photos until she could no longer hold her eyelids. She tossed the magazine to the floor before she succumbed to sleep.

She was overcame with fatigue that she didn't know he came home after midnight. Noticing the lights still on, he went to knock on her door but puzzled that no one answered. He turned the knob and opened the door and saw her quietly sleeping. His eyes fell on the magazine sprawled next to the pair of slippers he had just bought today. Seeing a familiar face, he quickly went to pick the magazine his eyes burned with irritation as she saw this woman's photos. He tossed the magazine back to the floor where he pick it and left the room enraged!