Chapter 4

His eyes flew open and he pushed himself away from the wall. 

He knew from looking in the mirror in the hotel room how the light above his head must be delineating.

He had dark circles around his eyes, summoning all the energy he could muster to quickly rejected any sympathy or pity she might begin to have for him. 

"I'm okay." He said.

"You look awful!" Way to state the obvious.

He looked at her warily. She sounded rather detached, not as sympathetic as he had expected her to be. 

"Are you employed?"

"I'm on sick leave, in three months I have decided to go back to the oil company I first worked in." He said. 

"Y—"

"Look I'll sign a lease for three months but I give you the payment for six, if I leave midsummer, you shouldn't have any trouble getting new tenants, college freshmen would be arriving by then and you would definitely find many females looking for a place to rent."

Observing him subtly she responded, "You are a very stubborn man, that's admirable. Do you want to see the apartment?"

"You'll rent it to me?!" He asked her, looking hopeful.

"Yes. But I'm pretty sure you would hate it."

"You're aggravating!" He whined, making her laugh for the first time since he came here.

"You wouldn't be the first man to say that. Which reminds me, we better hurry, I have a date today."

The apartment had a living room with a brick fireplace, and a bedroom that overlooked the entire city. It was on a hilly ground, so they were surrounded by beautiful flowers and grass. 

The painting was mold, and while none of the furnishings were expensive, they were really chosen with care and were lovingly painted.

Everything was spotlessly clean.

"This isn't the whole wing of the house is it?" He asked, frowning.

"No." She replied to him. "When you frown like that you remind me of someone." She commented softly.

They were standing by the fireplace, in the warm glow of a little lamp set in the wall.

"Well, I've only been here for two days, so I'm pretty sure I've never met you before. If I have, I'd definitely remember. I never forget any beautiful woman I meet."

"Yeah sure." She answered absentmindedly.

Of course he couldn't recognize her, she wasn't the same girl he knew years ago. Even if he didn't remember her for anything, he would have remembered her for her singing if at all she was the same Cynthia  he knew. 

But this Cynthia , for some reason, seemed so similar to the Cynthia  he knew, yet so different. The thoughts wandered around his mind in confusion. 

The warm light cast a soft glow on her face, bouncing off her diamond blue eyes softly and making her skin look so soft and bronze. Her cheeks looked soft and round, like dumplings in a Chinese noodle kitchen, with her nose standing erect in between them. 

Her lips, oh her lips. They were full and heart shaped, with the light reflecting off the gloss she had applied on them earlier on. 

She was uniquely captivating. So mesmerizing that he zoned out just staring at her. 

"That was a very comprehensive survey. Could you be any less subtle?" She asked him, slightly amused than annoyed. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare." He gave her an apologetic smile. 

"Yeah. So the rent is six hundred a month, light and heat inclusive. And you can also forget about the idea of paying me double."

"Seriously? Are you sure you don't need the extra money I offered?" He raised a brow. 

"Six hundred a month." She repeated firmly and proudly. 

"Everything I mentioned—references, checks and the sorts—will be ready by noon tomorrow," he started. " I could drop them where you work, you could take a look at them and I could come back here by six to hear what you've decided."

"And what if I say no?" She asked out of the blue, taking casual steps around the apartment.

"If you say no, I promise I'll leave without making a fuss and I won't come back."

"Fine." 

She outstretched a hand for him to take. He shook it, enjoying the smoothness of her palm and the strength of her grip.

"Where do you work?" He asked after he ended the handshake, so as not to be too weird. 

"I work at the daycare center on Marco Polo East."

"I'll be there by noon."

She glanced at her watch and her face morphed into a fake dismay.

"I've got to make breakfast and leave for work all in forty five minutes."

Kylas led the way out of the apartment and managed not to trip over the furry white cat, who had sprawled itself across the lintel and ran down the stairs.

"There's a downtown bus at the end of the street, it leaves in about three minutes, if you hurry you can catch it."

"I have my ride, but I'll still leave anyways." 

"Ms. Cynthia  Robert ."

"Kylas jubsin." He gave her a small smile. 

Cynthia  stood there, staring at his retreating figure with only one question in her mind.

Was she making the wrong decision?

Would she regret it?