Chapter 4

When Sia finally woke up from her slumber, it was almost noon the next day.

But she was in no hurry. She had created her best wedding dress to date and at the cheapest rate possible. She was happy that she was able to meet the demands of the underprivileged couple who will be starting their life together shortly. She sat up slowly and stretched, relieving the tension in her arm muscles. She hadn’t trusted anyone else with her designs this time, considering how the wedding season was in full swing. Employees are often tempted to sell designs to more prestigious companies who would charge a far higher rate for the gown she’d created, satisfying their own greed over bringing a smile on a woman’s face.

Sia had learned that the hard way when the company she had been working for as an intern had stolen her design, and the man she considered her guru had taken full credit for the work. So through gritted teeth, she waited until her internship was over.After that, she gave a big “fuck you”in reply to the offer of working as the man’s assistant and started her own company. Helaughed at her then, believing that she wouldn’t be able to make it far in the industry. But eight years later, she was steadily climbing the ladder of success while her so-called guru was facing his downfall because of poor, declining quality products sold at higher rates.

Sia got out of bed and went to take a warm shower. She then dressed herself in one of her favorite sundresses, a blue knee-length dress that had a white belt and three-quarter sleeves, pairing it with white slippers and pearl earrings. She liked to keep her style minimal.

When she was done, she went downstairs for breakfast.

“Good noon, Sia!” Mrs. Stackhouse welcomed her into the kitchen and placed some bread, ham, and cheese for her on a plate along with some freshly made lemon tea. Sia loved the aroma of lemon tea in the morning.

She ate her meal and drank her tea in comfortable silence. She wasn’t surprised when her mind went back to her encounter with Julian Turner. She was glad she had chosen him. He might be a womanizer,but he had brains. In an instant, he had figured out a strong lead behind the attempts on taking her life as well as her son’s: the attacks were a part of a revenge plot and not a usurpation scheme. Although the news he delivered was unnerving.

There was only one person she could think of who would do such a thing, but surely, he wouldn’t, would he? She had her doubts, but she knew she must speak to Julian about her past no matter how hard it might be. She thought she was finally free of it; after all, it’s been ten years. But psychopaths rarely forget their obsessions, no matter how much time has passed.

The sound of shoes padding on the marble stairs brought her attention back to the present. She looked toward the source of the noise just in time to see him jump off the last few stairs and land gracefully on his feet.

He was wearing blue basketball shorts and a white-and-orange striped sleeveless hoodie. His light blond, almost white hair was still damp from his shower,andhis amethyst eyes looked directly at her, the excitement in them barely contained. With his straight nose, full lips, and boyish but strikingly handsome face, her son would make any woman go crazy over him in the future. Leonard Stone was the spitting image of her, except for the eyes and hair. He was still a bit on the leaner side but boys his age usually were. She knew his body would fill out when he got a bit older, once he hit puberty.

“Good morning, Mom!” he exclaimed happily as he reached the kitchen counter and bent down to kiss his mother’s cheeks.

“Morning, Leo. Ready for practice?” she asked him, happy to get her mind off of serious things.

“Yup. But I won’t have that much time since finals are coming up,” Leonard or Leo as his mother called him answered. “By the way, what are we having for lunch?”

“Now, that’s cheating, Leo!” Mrs. Stackhouse scolded him. “You know Sunday lunches are always special, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to reveal the items before lunchtime.”

“Martha!” Leo whined, making both Sia and Martha grin. “That’s not fair!”

“Life’s not fair, my boy!” Martha sighed dramatically.

“You know I have a nose, right?” was Leo’s comeback.

Leo was in his final year of middle school,and soon, he’d be in high school. Apart from his studies, Leo was also a great basketball player, and despite his young age, he could take on boys older than him. Sia had loved basketball ever since she was a kid, and she was happy to see her son share the same passion. In fact, she was the one who taught him how to play basketball. She made sure that even while she was struggling to make her mark in the fashion industry, her son would never feel neglected as she had once felt while growing up.

She was about to cut off Martha and Leo’s bickering when she heard a car pull up her driveway. She looked at the clock in the kitchen and saw that it was exactly noon. Right on time, she thought as she finished her tea and stood up from the stool.

“Are we expecting someone, Mom?” Leo asked, peeking out the kitchen window.

Sia looked at Martha, who nodded, indicating that the guest room was ready.

“Yes, hon. We are having a visitor,” Sia replied. “You remember I told you about our new bodyguard?”

“Julian Turner?” Leo raised an eyebrow at his mother. He felt a surge of relief when his mother nodded yes. In truth, he was extremely worried after hearing about the incidents that had happened at his mother’s office and the burglary attempt.

He wasn’t at home that night. He was at his friend’s house for a sleepover, but he felt extremely helpless when he saw the stab wound on his mother’s arm. He could feel her pain. And then came those people who chased him around town in a van that had tinted black windows, trying to catch him while he rode his bicycle home. He had been extremely lucky that day and had managed to make a narrow escape when he took a detour through an alleyway. It was a good thing that no one had followed him on foot after that. He hadn’t been allowed to go to school after,and although he hadn’t admitted it to his mother, he had been shaken up badly by the incident.

But today, hearing that there was someone finally here to help protect them, he felt extremely relieved. And knowing that the task at hand was dangerous, he also felt a great deal of admiration for the man who was willing to risk his own life to save theirs.

*           *           *

Julian sat in his car for a few more seconds, taking in the house in front of him.

The property wasn’t huge. It was what he would like to call decent or small compared to his previous clients’ houses, but there was something about the house that intrigued him.

It was a two-story white house with specks of green and lavender on its walls. On the ground floor was a room with walls made entirely of glass. The drapes were drawn so he couldn’t see inside, but he was sure the view from those rooms would be wonderful. There was a fountain in front of the house,and the road twisted around it and led back out the front gate. It was simple but very . . . welcoming.

He finally got out of the car and took out the bags he had brought from the passenger seat. He then locked his SUV and headed to the front door.

The door opened before he could even reach it, and standing in front of him in a blue sundress was none other than Sia Milton. He took in her long, lean legs for the first time and a scorching desire slammed into him so hard and fast that he felt like taking her in his arms and having her right there and then on the front porch. The image of her naked and under him, those sexy, long legs wrapped around his butt, was too enticing to bear. But he brought his desire under control before he could do anything stupid.

“Mr. Turner, you came right on time.” Sia managed a smile. Was it possible that the man looked even more handsome than he had yesterday?

“Julian, please, Ms. Milton, and I’m always on time,” he replied back politely with a small bow.

“Well, please do come in, Julian. And it’s Sia.” She managed a friendly tone. To be honest, Sia felt extremely nervous. Someone wanted her harm,and on top of that, she had to tell Julian about her past, one she had managed to escape from—and never go back to even in the form of a narrative—with severe difficulty.

He smiled at that and followed her into the house as Sia began giving him a tour of the house.

The living room was spacious with plush couches huddled around a small glass table in front of them, and small vases of freshly plucked flowers adding a fresh accent to the cream walls. There was a long dining room for special occasions which had a bit of a Victorian theme with the long table in the middle and twelve chairs around it. The room had huge windows draped with deep violet silk fabric and light violet walls.

The kitchen was right next to it, small but spacious. He was introduced to the caretaker of the house, Martha Stackhouse, who was a plump, old lady with a kind heart. She had coffee ready for them as soon as they entered the kitchen. Then there was the guest room. It had blue-and-white walls, an ensuite bathroom, closet,and a king-sized bed. The windows were draped with blue silk embroidered with silver floral designs. There was also a room for Martha at the back of the house, before the exit to the backyard. And finally, there was Sia’s office which was where she worked on her designs.

He was told that the rooms upstairs consisted of Sia’s and her son’s bedrooms and another guestroom. The security guards had a room right at the front, outside the main house, next to the front gate. There were two guards in total who had failed to stop the burglar from hurting their employee.

Julian was given the guestroom downstairs where he was left to unpack, while Sia returned to the living room. He did his unpacking quickly since he didn’t have that many clothes with him and moved to the living room, eager to be close to Sia. But there was also something else he was interested in.

It was time to meet Sia’s son, Leonard Stone.