Chapter 02

THE MAN eyed Zara up and down. “So you’re the one Elise recommended?” he spoke, breaking her from her trance.

She swallowed as if her mouth had run dry. “I’m Zara. Zara Ruiz,” she introduced herself.

“Come in.”

She followed him inside his unit obligingly. Her gaze wandered around the house, gaping in awe. No matter how many jobs she took or how long she would work, it’d still be impossible for her to have this kind of house.

“I’m Kestrel by the way.”

She stared at him, wondering. “Do you entertain your guests wearing only nothing but that?”

He looked at her. His forehead knotted in a frown. “No, I don’t,” he answered. “I just came out of the shower when you arrived.”

She shrugged her shoulders. Not sure if she’d believe him or not.

He pointed to the sofa. “Take a seat. I’ll get dressed first.”

Zara watched him quietly as he went into his room. Good, she thought. It was making her uncomfortable seeing him wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. But of course, with a perfectly sculpted body like that, anyone would want to show it off, right?

She sat down on the sofa with hands in her lap. She was tapping her foot on the floor as she waited. But unable to keep still, she stood up and started taking a look around the house. She was expecting that the whole house would be a mess but to her surprise, everything around was well-organized. Was there still a need for her to clean the house?

A vase on a side table caught her eyes. It has a dragon and lotus design on it. She held the vase with both hands. She’d bet that this cost a lot of money. Well, everything around here looked expensive anyway.

“Be careful.”

She almost jumped out of her skin when Kestrel spoke from her behind. She turned around to look at him. She almost dropped the vase from surprise. “Expensive, right?”

“Even your annual salary won’t be enough to compensate if you break that vase.”

Her brows shot up. What he said sounded like an insult to her. She carefully put down the vase. “And I don’t have a plan to break your things,” she retorted.

Kestrel stared at her, his face remained impassive that it was hard for her to know what was running inside his head.

“I’ll make this quick and short,” he began, glancing at his watch. “You must come here twice a week to clean, do the laundry and cook for me. Don’t rearrange the furniture and displays without me telling you so. I hate getting my things in disorder and I can easily spot them if they are not in the right place.”

She nodded her head. Watching him right now as he stood in there, Kestrel exuded an aura of wealth and power. He bore an air of authority. It clearly showed how different their worlds were. Not that she cared though. She was only here to do her job.

“Are we clear?”

She blinked twice. It took her a few seconds before she answered. “Yes.”

“Good. Then you can start now. I’ll leave the house in your care.”

Kestrel had already long been gone but Zara remained staring at the door. Once again, her gaze roamed around the house. She tied her long, black hair in a ponytail. “Now, where should we start?”

“HELLO, my dear little brother.”

Kestrel stopped in his tracks upon seeing her sister, Lianne in his office. He wasn’t expecting her today. His brows drew together when he saw her luggage beside the couch. He sighed, closing the door behind him.

“Why the long face? Aren’t you happy to see your sister?”

He scoffed. “Nope, not even an ounce. You being here means you left your house again.”

Lianne grinned. “Well, you could say so,” she said as she rubbed the back of her head.

He sat down in his swivel chair. “Not this time, Lianne.” He already knew the reason why his sister showed up all of a sudden. She got into a fight with her husband and decided to run away again.

Lianne shot him a reproachful pout. “Come on, Kes. Are you really going to turn me down? Where am I supposed to stay right now?”

A smirk flickered at the corner of his mouth as he watched her sister struggle. “Maybe you should try sleeping on the street tonight. It’s gonna be a new experience. What do you think?”

He heard his sister give a little groan of exasperation. “How cruel. Where’s my old sweet little brother? I miss him already.”

“Yeah, I wonder where he is right now,” he teased. He opened his laptop and logged on to his email.

Lianne was two year older than him. She had been married for a year now with her husband, James but the two had no children yet. But conflicts in a relationship were inevitable so when those two would get into a fight, her sister would run off from their house. Probably to cool her head off.

He leaned back in his chair with a loud sigh. “I don’t know what’s the problem this time. But don’t you think rather than running away, wouldn’t it be better if you two fix it already? James is probably worried about you right now.”

Her sister was quiet for a few minutes, staring blankly into space. Then she turned and looked at him. Though she was smiling, it didn’t even reach her eyes. “I guess I’ll be staying at a hotel tonight.”

Kestrel shook his head in disbelief. “Fine, do whatever you want,” he said defeatedly. He doubted he could convince her sister to go home. Well, as long as she won’t be staying at his home, then he’d be fine with it.

“But of course, I’d still rather prefer staying at your house. It’s more cozy there.”

“I already said no, Lianne.”

“Oh, and why is that? This is actually the first time you said no.” Lianne was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Are you perhaps… hiding someone there? A lover? Is it Iris? Are you two already—”

“No,” he coldly answered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He still had work to do and also had to prepare for his 1 o’clock meeting and yet her sister kept on pestering him.

“Why were you late anyway? I was expecting to see you here already when I came.”

Kestrel cleared his throat. There’s no way he’s gonna tell Lianne that he was late because he stayed up late having sex. He was surprised when Iris came to his unit last night. She was sober. He had no intention of having sex with Iris and was planning to send her home instead. But a man had to be a saint not to be tempted.

“The new maid came today.” It wasn’t a lie though. He did wait for that maid to come before leaving for work.

“Oh, Elise quit?”

“She’s going back to their province. Her father is sick and she has to take care of him.”

Lianne nodded. “By the way, it’s gonna be next week, right? Her death anniversary.”

He fell silent. He was drowning himself in work so he could just forget about it but then his sister just had to remind him.

“If she’s still alive, I bet you will be the first to get married before I do. And you two probably have a child now.”

He shut his eyes as pain spiraled through him. Thalia’s death left him broken. And even after all these years, he was still stuck in the past, unable to move forward.

“I’m planning to visit her grave this weekend. Are you coming with me?”

All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy. In a somber tone, he spoke, “You’re too cruel, Lianne.”