Chapter 28: Tell Me About Him

"Oh yes, I’ve been with Master Hayden since before he was born. I used to be his mother’s nanny you see and when she married the Master, I was graciously allowed to follow her here to continue serving her," Auntie explained, her hands still busy with arranging the flowers.

"I see…umm, where is Hayden’s mother now? I’ve never met her although I’ve met the Boss many times. She…wasn’t at the wedding, was she?" I asked.

"The dear Madame, Master Hayden’s mother, passed away a very long time ago. She passed away when Master Hayden was still a very small child," Auntie replied. There was a sad look on her face as if she hasn’t gotten over the death of Hayden’s mother.

"I’m so sorry…" I whispered.

"Oh no…it’s an old story now. Since my dear Madame passed away, I’ve been raising Master Hayden as best as I can. Although, sometimes, I’m not so sure if I’ve done a decent job or not…" she said with a small laugh.

"I’m sure you’ve given your all. There’s nothing for you to feel regretful over," I said, comfortingly.

"Miss Malissa…" Auntie called my name softly.

"…Yes?" I said.

"Master Hayden is a wonderfully kind-heart person. I am sure that you will have a happy life with him," the Auntie said with so much sincerity in her voice that I found myself speechless.

It was hard for me to imaging Hayden as a ’wonderfully kind-hearted person’ with everything that I’ve witnessed and experienced. That man was aggressive, rude, violent, a drunkard, disrespectful, selfish, arrogant, perverted and the list just goes on and on with not-so-positive descriptive words.

I guess I was experiencing firsthand a love of a mother. You know, the phenomenon where you dote on the child that you raised so much that you can’t see any of his faults. No matter what happens, you only see the positive in the person and you trust the others to feel the same way.

I had my own full-blown doubts about the Auntie’s claim, but I decided to keep my disagreement to myself.

"Thank you…I’ll…keep that in mind," I answered, as I pasted my most friendly smile on my face.

After I continued to watch Auntie arrange the flowers, I remembered why I was here in the first place. I didn’t come here to enjoy watching her arrange flowers, I came here to ask about Hayden.

"Auntie. You know that according to the Boss’s request, I’m supposed to do something for Hayden everyday as part of…the agreement, right? So…I was wondering, what you think I should do for Hayden?" I asked, seeking for information.

"Oh, that. There are many things that Hayden likes…body massages, taking a stroll around at night, going to karaoke, going to car races, horse races…you could read him a book…take him to a late-night movie. There’s so many things that you two can do together just like other young couples," she replied enthusiastically.

"Umm…I think I was looking for something…that can be done without us having to meet?" I asked, rephrasing my question.

"Without having to meet?" Auntie said, in confusion.

"Yes. Like how yesterday I made breakfast and left it on the table for him, you know?" I said.

"Hmm…but wouldn’t it be better for you two to spend time together to get to know each other?" she asked. I could see why she was confused. I guess that spending time together would be the correct thing to do in normal cases. Except, our case wasn’t exactly normal.

"Haha…I guess…" I replied vaguely.

Except, we didn’t want to get to know each other. We wanted to avoid each other like the plague.

…

Since talking to Auntie didn’t give me any good ideas on what to do for Hayden without meeting him face-to-face, I decided to put something together for him in the kitchen. Surveying the ingredients, I decided to make a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toasted bread.

After looked down at the neatly arranged food on the large, white, and round plate when I was finished. The food looked yummy and smelled appetizing. Well, not that it mattered. I knew that this dish would go untouched until the time I returned to this penthouse later in the day because Hayden wouldn’t touch it and Auntie would feel too guilty to throw it away herself.

Plus, today Hayden had already left before me.

Doesn’t matter. I already fulfilled my part of the bargain.

I pulled off the apron that I had been wearing and waltzed out of the kitchen, the large plate in hand. I headed straight for the dining table where I quickly placed the plate on the table. That’s it. Done…for today.

It was a little later than I thought when I arrived at the hospital where my grandmother was staying. The morning traffic was worse than normal today and that delayed my plans. My grandmother seemed a little weaker than normal today as well and after spending a few hours together, she dozed off.

The nurses reassured me that it was normal and just a side effect of the medication that she had been given.

Since my grandmother fell asleep and I wanted her to rest, there was nothing I could do but pause my sketching and painting for the time being. It wasn’t so late when I got in the car to head back to the penthouse. However, the traffic caused by some road maintenance wasted almost an hour of my time. By the time I got back to the penthouse it was almost sunset and I was in restless mood.

I took the elevator up to the top floor immediately, looking forward to a warm shower followed by a peaceful dinner. Then perhaps I could watch a movie or listen to some music to wind down. I had many pleasant plans in my mind on how to spend the rest of my evening.

"Why are you back so late today?"

A low and stern voice greeted me the moment that I stepped into the suite.

Hayden…why is he back so early?! He’s usually never back before midnight…

--To be continued…