" Mira, please listen to me__ C..can we meet?"
" Zach, please leave me alone." she sighed and cut off the call.
Lucy watched her brother in astonishment as she had heard the exchange between them and when the call was finally cut, she stood up with a jerk." Y..you, brother, what did you do to big sis?!"
Zach dropped down the phone with a sighed and was instantly attacked by his sister. " Stop it, " he groaned and struggled to free her hands from his collar.
Lucy became agitated after seeing the guilty expression on his face. " Were you the one that made her leave!? tell me, tell me." she shook him harder and tears started rushing down her face. She remembered how she had excitedly gone to his house the next day, after the night that Mira told her she was going to confess to her brother. But he had told her angrily that he hadn't seen her, and after that day, no one saw her again.
" Argh, Lucy! " Zach groaned again while the girl held his collar tightly and he wondered where she got that strength from, looking at her fragile hands. He also felt guilty as she was very close to Mira at that time and he had remembered how she cried to him to go look for her after she left. He stared at the girl worriedly and softly muttered, " I'm sorry." Then his gaze darted to a corner and was met with a stunned-looking Gina who was staring wildly at him. " Argh, little rabbit, you're also here."?
" brother, did you really do that!?" Gina broke out of her shock and wailed then also joined Lucy.
" Argh, stop it, it was not really my fault... Stop it". After he noticed that explaining himself was futile, he struggled out of both girl's grips and flailed out of the room.
He looked down at his crumpled shirt wearily and regretted asking his crazy sister for help, not knowing that she would turn the speaker on. But he had no choice as Mira kept blocking the numbers he had used to call her.
" Tsk tsk tsk, Zach, I can't believe a little girl beat you off." Vivian scoffed as she saw him in the hallway while walking toward Lucy's room. She looked down at his crumpled shirt which was missing a button and shook her head with a smirk then walked past him.
Zach scoffed at her back and walked toward his room as he didn't have time to squabble with her. His thoughts were only occupied with finding another way to find Mira as his men had lost track of her again.
Vivian walked toward Lucy's room while wondering what she was doing as she had asked her to make juice for her while taking a nap. She suddenly stopped in front of the door as she heard two voices sobbing inside. ' what is wrong with her?' She frowned and was about to turn the doorknob when it suddenly flung open.
Both girls stared at her with wide eyes as they scrambled out of the room and Lucy darted her teary eyes to the floor then quickly grabbed Gina's hands and they fled off before Vivian could say anything.
She stared at both girls back and thought that Zach had bullied them again. She turned around and nonchalantly walked back to her room.
********
Clara sat quietly in front of the man who was working tirelessly on his laptop and sighed for the umpteenth time while still wondering if she had made a good decision by accepting to be his assistant. ' But the money, Argh!'.
She glanced up around the spacious living room which she couldn't get enough of since she came to his house after he had informed her that she also had to work on weekends and asked a driver to pick her up.
Her eyes darted to him again and sighed. ' control, control, control.' She chanted inside her head but couldn't stop gawking at him. She had realized that he looked even more handsome in the grey home clothes he was wearing. ' Urgh, don't look don't look' she tried so hard to avert her eyes then he suddenly looked up which made her quickly look away.
Carl frowned as he watched her fidget with the hem of her clothes. " Water, " he muttered and turned back to his work.
Clara took the jug which was on the table and quickly poured water into the glass cup that was beside it and held it up.
He looked up at her then stared at the glass of water she was extending to him with a raised brow and Clara groaned inside again and fed him the water which she had been doing for a while now.
He slowly sipped the water with a smirk while staring at the girl who was looking down.
' Urgh.' she grimaced as her hand had stayed up for some time and was aching badly. ' does he like to torture me that much'?
After he was done, she sighed in relief and rubbed her hand after putting down the empty glass. ' what time is it?' She wondered some minutes later and looked up at the wall clock then gasped.
" Ehm, Carl, I'm so sorry I didn't know it is lunchtime already. . . I'll quickly prepare the food now. where's the kitchen, please?".
Carl slowly looked up and also realized that lunchtime had passed by thirty minutes. He gazed at her helplessly with a sigh and nodded his head in the kitchen's direction.
" Huh? Okay, I got it." Clara nodded and quickly ran in that direction to look for the kitchen.
He turned back to his work nonchalantly then his eyes suddenly widened. ' did she said she wanted to cook?'.
_____
Clara soon found the kitchen and gawked at the expensive-looking pieces of furniture with wide eyes. She went forward and was about to open the fridge but jerked up with a gasp as she felt a shadow behind her.
" I'll do it." Carl slightly nudged her aside and put on an apron then started arranging the ingredients.