Aryana changed into a dress that Sarah lent her. Sarah apologized because it was old-fashioned and was hanging loosely on her. But Aryana still looked good in the dress.
When Erik saw her, he frowned and give instructions to Sarah to buy her clothes.
"Let me do it. I have better taste than Sarah. Just let me have breakfast first." Marlon interjected. Of course, he will never pass the opportunity of spending time with Aryana.
Erik stood and opened the blinds covering the glass sliding door and then he opened the door to let the sea breeze in.
Aryana gasped at the breathtaking sight before her. On the side, she saw the long stretch of the white sand bar and on her front the deep blue of the sea. They were on the northern side of the island. She fumbled for her cell phone to take a quick snap but her battery was dead. She sighed in disappointment.
"This was fully charged last night" she murmured to herself.
"Let me charge it for you." Marlon took the cell phone from her.
"No wonder, this is a cheap model." He said casually and left to charge the phone.
"Are you still studying Aryana?" Erik asked her while munching on his breakfast.
"I will graduate in a few months, Sir Erik. I just need to complete my internship and my project. The reason, why I am here, is to do my project." She said and there was sadness in her eyes.
Erik frowned as he sipped his coffee.
Aryana looked down at her plate as memories of her father came back to her.
"I will not be always there for you my darling daughter but I'll never miss your high school graduation and then your college graduation." That was what his father told her the last time he spent Christmas with her 6 years ago.
'Why did you lie to me, Daddy?'
Well, no one can predict the future.
She felt a heaviness in her chest and the hatred she felt for Erik was rearing its ugly head once again.
She looked at him and their eyes met for a brief second.
Erik was taken aback to see the coldness in her eyes.
'Is she angry with me?'
Aryana shifted her gaze to the table so he could not see the hate in her eyes. She should behave. He saved her last night.
"Just call me Erik and not sir Erik I am not a knight," Erik said in a gentle tone.
She just nodded without saying anything.
"Eat Aryana. The food is getting cold. You looked very pale." He commanded her, his voice domineering.
"You are scaring her with your so serious look," Marlon said.
Erik ignored him.
"What is your course and what project are you working on?" Erik asked in a relaxed tone.
"Im a teacher Sir … I mean Erik and I need to work on a video of my dream vacation." She answered briefly still not looking at Erik.
Erik looked at her with surprise in his eyes.
"I thought you want to be a doctor… I mean that's what Robert always told me…" He paused when he saw Aryana's expression.
"That was already a long time ago," she said trying to sound normal but Erik could sense the coldness in her voice.
'If father was still alive maybe I can be a doctor.' She sighed silently.
"That was a childhood dream but we cannot afford it. I don't want to burden Aunt Elena. So I took up education instead. Anyway, I found out that I enjoy teaching." She said nonchalantly.
"Yes, teaching is way better. I hate doctors especially when they use their injection." Marlon voiced his opinion.
Aryana can't help herself and smile at Marlon. She looked at him for the first time and noticed that he has a good physique and good facial features though not as handsome as the man sitting opposite her.
Erik looked at Marlon sharply and then looked back at Aryana with an unhappy look. She can look at Marlon but how come she was looking elsewhere when talking to him?
"What! Did you say you cannot afford it?" Erik said in a loud voice.
Aryana looked at him like she asked the most stupid question.
"We only have a farm that Aunt Elena bought with the money you gave when father died. But the income is really small as she can only utilize a small portion of it. I took a scholarship so I can go to college but the scholarship has limited course offerings. I decided to become a teacher. But as I said I love it now." She was not hesitant to tell him. She wanted him to feel guilty because of the miserable life she had when her father died.
Erik was angry. His brows were knitted together.
"Can you tell me more? Who provided for your living allowance?"
"I…" Aryana hesitated…. She did not understand why Erik was angry. Was he angry with her? She wanted him to feel guilty and not angry.
"You are scaring him, dude." Marlon glanced at Erik. "It's okay Aryana. Go on."
"Aunt Beatrice, she is my uncle's wife. She gave me allowance in exchange for me taking good care of Denise's needs in the boarding house. We stayed in the same room for two years. I slept on the couch. I moved out in my third year as I cannot concentrate on my studies because of Denise. Aunt Beatrice got angry and stopped my allowance."
She paused and looked at Erik. She hesitated again not sure why she was sharing her difficulties with people she barely knew.
Erik's forehead furrowed.
"Continue."
"I tutored during my free time and found it much better than washing and ironing Denise's clothes and doing her homework. The pay was higher than the 5k Aunt Beatrice was giving me."
Erik was so angry his fist smashed the table causing the utensils to rattle.
Three pairs of surprised eyes looked in his direction.
"Dude, what's wrong." Marlon sounded scared.
Erik did not pay attention to Marlon. He looked at Aryana, pity and regret can be seen in his dark brown eyes.
"Now I understand why Robert haunted me in my dreams these past few days."
Aryana was stunned. She was not sure if she will feel happy because Erik looked guilty.
Erik looked at Marlon.
"Go get her decent clothes and tell Camille to get us on the next available flight to Green Heights. Also, give her the phone I gave you last night. You can get a new one if you like."
After saying those, he left and go to his room fuming with anger.
Marlon and Sarah looked at each other with questioning looks on their faces.
"What's wrong with him?" Marlon asked looking at her seeking answers.
Sarah shrugged.
Aryana looked confused as well. But she felt that a tiny bit of bitterness and hatred for him left her heart.