CHAPTER 6: NEW PURPOSES

              XANDER’S P.O.V

‘The pain that Eva has caused is slowly starting to fade. I’m finally starting to heal. Cara is slowly starting to fill that void’ a knock on my door, broke me away from my thoughts. “Sir, should I bring your dinner?” one of my housekeepers, poked her head through the small open space in between my study doors and asked. “Yes sure and please do me a favor,” I said. “Yes Sir, sure Sir, anything Sir,” she said, walking into the room to listen to my instructions. “The spare room that is next to the master bedroom…make sure that it is clean and well enough for someone to start staying in” I ordered. “Sir, the empty room that is next to your bedroom. The ba-bab” she tried to confirm but didn’t want to say the words. “Yes, that one! I will be inspecting so make sure that the job is perfectly done. If I find a spec of dust, you will be packing your bags and your employment contract will be terminated” I warned. “Yes Sir, when will your guest be arriving? …just so that I know how much of time I have to get the room ready” she asked. “The guest is already here but will move into the room tomorrow. So you have some time” I explained, as the girl’s face filled with confusion. She knew that I did not have any guest, but she was too afraid to ask who will be moving into the room or who is so special to me that I will allow them to sleep in the room which was designed with love for my baby. Mine and Eva’s baby…. Once again my heart winched in pain, thinking about who that room was meant to be for…

“Hi,” I said, walking up to Cara. As she turned, she gave me her breath-taking smile which left me with no choice but to smile too. “Mr.La’Vardo…Hi” she said as she tucked a strand of her long beautiful hair behind her ear and I swear I saw her blush as she looked towards the floor, not daring to look at me as I walked closer to her. The distance between us grew small “I told you to call me Xander, didn’t I?” I asked, she finally made eye contact with me but as she lifted her head for her eyes to meet mine, the strand of hair that she tucked behind her ear fell loose once again. “Xander” my name sounded so beautifully different, leaving her lips. “Would you like me to cook you dinner again?” she asked, searching for the reason that I came down to the servant quarters to meet her. “No” I said, tucking the lose strand of hair behind her ear. “I came to tell you to pack your things” I said. “Wh-What? Why?” she asked, the romance between us vanished as I was filled with amusement and she with shock. “Are you firing me?” she asked again, I could no longer contain my laugher. “What’s funny? Why are you laughing?” she whined. “I’m not firing you, silly. Well… you no longer work for me so we will be living in new terms now and if you no longer work for me then that means that you can no longer live in the servant quarters” I said, her face filled with confusion. “Then where will I live? How will I get paid if I am not working for you?” she asked. “Don’t worry Cara, you will still get paid every month like normal. And as for where you will be staying…well… why don’t you follow me and find out” I said, her eyes sparkled with curiosity as I led her up the staircase.

“Ta-da, ” I said, opening the door to her new bedroom. She stood at the door way, next to me in complete awe, as she looked around the room. Her eyes wondered from corner to corner of the room, but my eyes were fixed on her. Her face was lit with admiration and gratefulness of this new space, yet she didn’t notice me admiring her for her innocence and beauty. “It is really for me? Will I really be sleeping in here from now on?” she asked. “Yes of course you will” I replied. “It’s beautiful” she said. “Like you” I couldn’t stop the words from coming out. “Xander” she laughed, not taking my compliment seriously. She dragged her suitcase inside the room, leaving it in the middle she made her way to the doors that led to the balcony. “What are the new terms?” her question caught me off guard. “Sorry?” I asked in confusion. “You said that I will no longer be working for you and we will be living, under new terms” she repeated my words from earlier on. “Oh yes! I think that is something that we should discuss that over dinner” I explained. “But I’ve already had dinner” she said. “And so did I” I laughed. “I guess that we would just have to wait till dinner time tomorrow then.” I said. “That is so long from now, I’m so anxious to know. Can’t you tell me now?” she asked. “No, be patient Cara. Nothing bad ever comes from patience. I need to just think a bit before I make my final decision and tell you about what I want” I explained.  “Okay, I’ll wait,” she said, opening the balcony doors as she walked outside. “It’s…it’s…it’s magical,” she said, losing herself in the starry night view of my manor. A view where the stars twinkled above and the city lights twinkled below us. “Yes it is...Oh and guess what” I said with a smirk. “Looks like you are going to have a balcony friend to keep you company,” I said, gesturing to the balcony which was next to hears. “Oh, how lovely. Is he tall, dashing, and my supposedly ex-boss?” she asked sarcastically, knowing already that next to hers was the master bedroom, which was mine. “No, not at all… he is a short and ugly troll,” I said and we broke into laughter.

“Can I help you unpack?” I offered. “No, it’s okay. I don’t have a lot of belongings besides, you must be exhausted, you went to the office today” she reasoned. “Actually my day was quite empty today. I didn’t have any meetings so I just did some paperwork, hence I’m still full of energy” I explained. “Okay but really, I’ve got it. You don’t have to worry about helping me to unpack. It should only take me a few minutes” she said. “Okay then, I guess I’ll go and find something else to do” I said, making a sad face. “Xander, you don’t have to leave” She said.Those were the words that I wanted to hear. “Okay” I said in excitement and took a seat on the couch which was in the room while she unpacked.  “You weren’t joking about not having a lot of belongings hey” I said as she was almost done unpacking. “Yes” she laughed. “We need to make a shopping trip” I said and she started blabbering about how much she loves shopping but my attention was focused on something that caught my eye as it sat inside her opened suitcase. “Is that a medical book?” I asked out of curiosity. “Yes” she replied, pre-occupied with setting the little clothes that she has in the closet. “Why do you have a medical book with you?” I asked. “It was required for my final year of studies” she said. “You were studying medicine?” I asked, my voice filled with shock. “Yes, I’m not as dumb as I look” she laughed. “No! no! Please don’t misinterpret me. That’s not what I meant as all. I always knew that you were smart. What I can’t figure out is how a medical student can settle for a job of being a servant” I explained. “Well Xander, when there is nothing in someone’s pocket besides desperation then that person will go to the ends of the Earth to ensure the survival of his or her loved ones,” she said and my heart clenched at her situation but my admiration for her grew. “What happened?” I asked, the book in my hands as I watched her multitask between conversing with me and setting her new room. “I’ll tell you during dinner tomorrow night” she said with a smirk using my words against me. “Okay, I can’t argue with that although I love to know now, I guess I just have to  be patient and wait” I sighed. “Yes, Mr. La’Vardo” she teased. “My sleep is calling me” I yawned. “Okay then I guess it’s goodnight” she stopped and turned to look at me. “Yeah…Goodnight Cara. See you in the morning” I said, reflecting her smile, I left the room.

I’m falling for you, Cara! How can I not? You are beautiful, smart and your heart is made of gold. You sacrificed your future for others…never have ever met someone as pure as you and I can no longer control my feelings for you, Cara!