Mara was busy putting finishing touches to her work in the kitchen. She had done all the washing and cleaning and was now rounding up the stock taking. When it was only Leo and her along with the baby, she never worried about running out of food. She only restocked once a month, on the 15th. But since Mel joined them, food had been running down faster than usual. She now had to take inventory regularly to avoid the distasteful experience of running out of essential food items.She was in a squatting position, counting the number of potatoes left when all of a sudden she felt a shadow darken the doorway. Instantly, she jumped up to her feet and turned to the door. She did not feel any more relaxed when she found that it was Mel. She just stood there staring at him and wondering what he wanted. She could ask him, but she wouldn't. She wanted him to speak first. But to her surprise, he said nothing. Instead, he stood leaning on the door staring back at her.Minutes passed and they remain
Marks and Dalia's visit to the house was the push that Mel so badly needed. His successful claim of being Mara's boyfriend got to his head and gave him the confidence and courage to become a direct adversary to Leo. Of course, he always waited till Mara was out of the house before commencing such actions, and so far, he had met with unprecedented success.He had begun with smaller acts like walking into the living room and changing the channel whenever Leo was watching the news on TV, but getting no response or resistance whatsoever from Leo, he soon became bold enough to graduate to the level of turning off the lights whenever he walked into the living room at night and found Leo there.Leo, as usual, said nothing. He simply responded to such moves by reading the news on his phone and always carrying a torch whenever he went to the living room at night. He knew that the harassment would continue and would certainly get worse, but he did nothing to curb Mel's madness. He had vowed to
"You look... sexy," Mel praised as he saw her approaching the living room, but Mara didn't bother to acknowledge the compliment. Instead she took her stand beside a sofa directly opposite him. She stared at his smiling face for a few seconds before sitting down on the arm of the sofa, so she would have the advantage of looking down at him from a higher point."I want to talk to you about something I've noticed," she said and paused, still staring directly at him."What, babe?" He asked with a wide grin."You seem to be getting very comfortable here. You promised me you would leave when you find your feet. From what I've seen so far, you don't seem very interested in finding them. So, I'd like to know, when do you intend to find your feet and leave?"Suddenly, Mel's face changed. All the smiles vanished and he tightened his jaw in anger. "What the fuck do you mean? Are you chasing me away?""Don't swear at me," Mara shot back, maintaining eye contact without blinking."Is this what tha
"So, I should call it off, right?" Marks asked tentatively."Call off what?", Dalia asked without looking at him. She was in the 'spa room', sitting on a recliner and having her nails done while she read a magazine. "I said, call off what?", she repeated in a harsher tone.Marks suddenly regretted speaking. When would he learn never to talk business in the presence of domestic staff?? Months of insults should have taught him how to control his mouth by now. But it was too late to go back now; he had to keep talking, especially now that she was interested in listening."The assignment, you know. The one we gave that secretary girl to watch… ahem."He was silenced by a powerful glare her and he quickly looked down to avoid getting roasted any further by her eyes. There was complete silence in the room except the occasional 'swish' sound of Dalia turning the pages of the magazine. Marks sat in his position, only daring to shift once or twice, each time attracting a glare from her.When a
When Mara returned from work later in the evening, she saw the men in the living room. Looking at both of them, and judging from their sitting positions and the looks on their faces, it didn't take much for her to guess that there might have been a recent renewal of hostilities between them. As a result, she decided to keep quiet and do nothing to increase the tension already existing in the room. But as she went past the dining room on her way to her room, she caught sight of the mess on the dining table. Mara came to a halt.This time, there was only one plate on the table and she knew instantly that it must have been used by Mel and no one else. She looked at the food-stained spoon and knife thrown haphazardly on the table and the grains of rice strewn all over one side of the table and even on the floor and the chair. Absolutely disgusting! This was not the first time she had seen such a mess and each of those times, the perpetrator had been one and the same person: Mel. She was s
The day after the brutal but well-deserved expulsion of Mel, Leo strongly refused to let Mara go to work. He made her call in sick and then confined her to her bed, only coming to check on her every half hour or so."I told you I'm fine, but you just won't believe me," Mara pouted as he came in on his third such visit. Even though she was acting like she didn't want it, she secretly wished he could continue with such treatment forever. There was nothing she wanted more in her life than being spoiled and pampered heavily by him."I can't say I don't believe you, but the question is will you tell me if you were not fine?" Leo asked, sitting on the bed beside her. Mara had nothing to say in response. The only answer she could give was to turn her face away. "Guessed as much," he chuckled. "Just stay in bed, okay? I'll allow you go to work when that swelling is completely gone.""Oh. But you know it will take forever. Mr. Marks will complain, you know," she whined."He can hang himself if
A few days after Mel's expulsion, Mara's face had almost gone back to normal, courtesy of Leo's caring treatment and painstaking attention. From the beginning, he had tried to make sure that there would be no marks or scars after the swelling and the cut on her lip would heal completely. She never knew he had so much knowledge about such things. After a few days of consistent application of a few herbal products, she could look at the mirror and see that her face was exactly as it was before Mel had slapped her, except for some strange colour on her cheek which would surely go off in time."How are you feeling now?", Leo asked as they sat down for breakfast in the dining room."I'm feeling great. Thank you," Mara replied with a smile. "I'm ready to go back to work.""Why are you so eager to get back to work?", he asked with a smile playing at the corner of his lips."Well, I don't want to risk losing my job. I have pushed my luck far enough as it is. I don't want to push it any furthe
When Mara arrived at the police station – the only one in the area – she went straight to the officer at the front desk."Excuse me. I think my boyfriend has been arrested and brought here.""You think?", the officer asked with raised eyebrows, and Mara began to feel even more uncomfortable. She was not sure about anything. She did not know for sure whether or not Leo was really arrested and neither did she know where they had taken him to. But she summoned up some courage and looked directly into the officer's eyes."I'm sure, ma'am.""What's his name and when did this happen?", the officer asked, turning to her computer."Um... today. Not so long ago. His name is Leo. Leo Stanson."The officer typed some things into her computer and then stopped to stare at the screen. "Okay. He's in custody. Aggravated assault. Attempted homicide. Resisting arrest...""What! That's not possible," Mara cut her off, shaking her head vigorously. "Leo is the most peaceful person ever. He would never do