8. Sick

"How is her condition?"

"Still beautiful beyond belief."

"Noe, I'm not joking!"

"Tsk! Cousin has no sense of humor."

"You just answer what I ask. No need to talk all the way!"

"Well, Mr. Mendez, I apologize for your cousin's impudence. She's fine, just a common fever. It looks like this cute, pretty girl is exhausted. You... have been torturing her, haven't you? You must have made her work endlessly."

"Don't talk nonsense! I haven't even given her a job once!" hissed Jerrald in disgust when his maternal cousin accused him of that.

Jerrald turned his gaze towards the beautiful girl who was currently lying weakly with her eyes perfectly closed on the bed of one of the guest rooms in this apartment. The room her new maid would have been in, had Jerrald not carried out his devious plan.

Jerrald's hands were crossed. He stared at his maid with the man's typical flat, cold expression. His mind drifted as he recalled the events of almost an hour ago.

Jerrald had found his new maid lying on the floor in the television room when he came downstairs to get a drink. The new maid who had been injured by her own carelessness a few hours ago.

"I have asked my assistant to bring the medicine this girl will need. My assistant will probably be here in about an hour."

Jerrald only replied with a mumble as his doctor cousin spoke to him again.

An annoyed sigh escaped his cousin's mouth.

Jerrald's gaze turned back to his cousin. He raised one eyebrow in question.

"You're still a man of few words. God gave us voices to use, not to keep—"

"Shut up, Noe, you're more talkative than La Abuela ( Grandmother )."

"Tsk! You're such an asshole! There's no need to liken me to La Abuela!" the cousin said angrily when Jerrald likened her to their famously chatty grandmother.

Jerrald only replied with a flat, innocent stare. That caused his cousin to snicker again.

"How can I have a cousin like you?"

"If I had to choose, I wouldn't want to have a cousin like you either," Jerrald replied lightly.

"Damn cousin!" hissed Noe. He snorted in annoyance. Noe realized that he could never win against Jerrald.

"By the way, where did you get a maid like that?" Noe pointed her chin at Feli. "I think I need one like that in my apartment."

Jerrald's gaze immediately pierced his cousin. "Need a maid?" questioned Jerrald. "Don't joke around. Instead of a maid, you need a 'bedmate', right?"

Noe laughed out loud at Jerrald's remark. His cousin knew him so well, he knew his habit of sleeping with a different woman almost every day. "Of course, Cousin. I'm a grown man, of course I need a 'bedmate'."

"She's not a woman like your bedmates, Noe! So stop your wild thoughts about her!"

"Woah! Relax, Cousin, I'm not asking her from you, but I am asking, where did you get such a maid. She's beautiful and so incredibly seductive. Her body seems to be beautiful. It's possible that I can find a maid like yours. But... if you want to give your maid to me, that's fine too. I certainly won't refuse—"

"Go! Look for it on the street!"

"So you found the maid on the street? Wow, this is interesting—"

"Mah-dreh brought her!" exclaimed Jerrald finally. Cutting off Noe's increasingly incoherent speech according to Jerrald.

"Wow, so Auntie brought that super pretty girl? Okay. Thanks for the info, Cousin. I'll contact Auntie after this. Maybe you can let that pretty girl be my bedmate—"

"You talk anymore, I'll throw you out of my bedroom window, Noe."

Noe immediately fell silent at the anger his cousin was displaying. Although Jerrald's voice seemed calm when he said that, but his hardened jaw could not lie.

His cousin... was jealous?

Well... this seems very interesting. The man who had never been interested in any woman in all this time after 'that incident', showing interest in women again?

Hmm... good news!

"You're... too serious, Cousin."

"And you're too disgusting with that perverted brain of yours!"

"Perversion at a mature age is natural, Cousin—"

"You're really chatty like La Abuela. Don't let me contact La Abuela now, so that you can be forced into marriage right now, Cousin."

Noe's face immediately paled. The man straightened up his medical tools to put them back into the bag he was carrying. "Damn you, Mendez!" hissed Noe irritably.

Jerrald smiled wryly. He knew his cousin's weakness was their grandmother. His grandmother was a religious person. If she knew Noe was good in bed before marriage, it was a safe bet that the grandmother who lived in Albarracin Village would drag Noe down the aisle to marry one of the good, innocent women their grandmother knew.

"Don't you dare contact La Abuela, or I'll take your maid!" threatened Noe.

"Take my maid? As if you could," Jerrald mocked absently.

"What can't I do, Mendez? Do not doubt my skill at seducing your maid."

"You—"

"You're in love with your maid?" cut in Noe as he looked back at Jerrald's anger.

Jerrald was instantly silent. He couldn't answer his cousin's sudden question. His voice seemed to vanish.

In love?

Noe's amused chuckle was heard. "I will not seduce your maid, as long as you do not contact La Abuela to influence our beloved La Abuela, Cousin. I didn't expect you to fall in love again," Noe said again. His tone of voice was seductive this time. The man simply walked out of the room. Leaving Jerrald who was now hardening his jaw again.

"I'm not in love!" Jerrald half shouted, only to be met by his cousin's crisp laughter that was still audible to him.

Jerrald turned his gaze towards the maid who looked pale at the moment. However, it didn't make her beautiful face fade.

"You gave me a hard time on your first day of work, Miss Floy! And damn it, you made that bastard misunderstand me!"

Fallen in love? With this sloppy maid?

Hey! They just met today. What the hell is that cousin of his!

"Damn you, Noe Hugo!" snarled Jerrald. His hands were clenched tightly into fists.

'I'm not in love! I'm not in love!' Jerrald cast a spell on himself. Convincing himself that what his cousin thought was a big mistake.

Jerrald was not in love with the girl who had not yet regained consciousness, but Jerrald was just afraid of his new maid becoming his playboy cousin's new toy.

Even though Jerrald had only just gotten to know his maid, for some reason Jerrald was convinced she was an adorable, innocent girl. The girl in front of him looked even more adorable when she cried earlier.

Jerrald still remembered how cute the maid's face was when she cried over her injured finger. Jerrald smiled so faintly, it was barely noticeable.

"Engh..."

Jerrald snapped out of his reverie, hearing the maid's whimper.

The maid's eyes opened slowly. Jerrald was alerted, and rushed over to the girl. He sat on the bed next to her.

"My head... is dizzy..." the maid whispered while holding her head with both hands. Her eyes closed again, as if they were too heavy to open.

"You'd better rest, Miss Floy. Don't force yourself to get up."

The maid only replied with a helpless mumble.

Jerrald watched in silence for a while.

"Would you like a drink?" asked Jerrald.

Silence. There was no reply from the maid's mouth. The maid's breathing was regular, indicating the girl had fallen back asleep.

"Miss Floy, are you... sleeping?" asked Jerrald like a fool.

Still no answer from the maid, which made Jerrald laugh stiffly. "Your brain seems to have been left in the room, Jerrald. Look at her regular breathing, this girl is definitely asleep, you fool!" monologued Jerrald, cursing himself.

He straightened the blanket that had been buried under the maid's body. Then lingered to stare at his maid's face.

Jerrald's heartbeat, which was calm, slowly became faster. The more he stared, the more alluring his maid looked.

Alluring?

Damn it! Don't tell that he's enamored of the girl who had an argument with him in the kitchen of his own apartment?

No! She's not Alluring!

What's so alluring about that girl?!

The girl is rebellious and careless. There was nothing good about the new maid since their first meeting.

The only good thing was that her face looked extremely pretty and adorable—

M****a!

What was he thinking?!

Jerrald quickly turned his gaze in another direction before his common sense disappeared. He got up from his seat. One hand rests on the waist, while the other was massaging the bridge of his own nose in frustration. "What's wrong with me, am I crazy?!"

"Mommy~"

Jerrald heard the voice from the maid's mouth again. He refocused his gaze on his maid who was still closing her eyes.

"Mommy~ hiks... Daddy~"

Jerrald sat down on the side of the bed and gently brushed the maid's beautiful hair. "Hey... calm down," Jerrald whispered soothingly.

"Mommy~, Daddy~... don't leave me. I... hiks... I'm scared alone~" whined the maid who was still faithfully closing her eyes. It looked like she was delirious. The new maid's face looked anxious and panicked.

"I'm... afraid..." whispered the maid again.

"Shhh... you don't have to be afraid, Dulce niña ( sweet girl ), you're not alone. Go to sleep... I'll take care of you," Jerrald whispered back. His hand still lingered on the maid's silky hair. It seemed like the maid took good care of her hair. Making Jerrald slowly feel comfortable rubbing this light brown hair.

"Daddy~"

"Shhh... go to sleep, Dulce niña..."

Before long, the maid regained her composure. "Don't go, Daddy~" the maid said one last time before her breathing started to regain its regularity.

"You seem to be very spoiled by your mommy and daddy, Miss Floy," Jerrald whispered very quietly, afraid that his voice would disturb the maid's sleep.

"Sleep easy... I'll make some soup," Jerrald whispered back as he moved his hand away from the maid's hair. In truth, there was a feeling of unwillingness as his hand left her silky mane.

But Jerrald quickly shook his head. Today he felt that he was strange.

The man got up from his seat, and began to walk out of the room. Before actually exiting, Jerrald looked back at his maid.

"You're... really troublesome, Miss Floy, and confusing me!" Jerrald hissed sharply.

Confused? Because of what? Ah... don't know! Even Jerrald didn't know why he was suddenly confused.

***