GRACE‘Grace.’ I stirred when a voice reached me in my sleepy state. ‘Grace.’I felt a tap on my shoulder but I shrugged it off.“Go away,” I grudgingly replied to the small voice that was distracting my sleep from God knows where.“Grace. It’s me, Dominic.” My shoulders felt another tap and my eyes snapped open without delay. Indeed, Dominic was by my side, his worried gaze piercing my worried, slumber-filled eyes.I sat up, let out a loud yawn, and asked, “You are back already? Uhm... I thought your trip was for a week.”He reached for my hair and swept a strand away from my face. My heavy eyes followed his every movement as he stood straight.“I hurried my plans and came back as soon as possible.”“Oh, you shouldn’t have bothered. Ruby is fine now.” I carefully got off the little bed and reached for the covered plate on the table that was not so far from Ruby’s bed.As my mouth began to munch on the cake that was earlier hidden from plain sight, my gaze fell on Dominic who kept his

GRACE“Grace. Get up. There’s something you need to see.” That whispering stirred me out of my barely-adequate sleep. And when I opened my eyes, the gorgeous blues of Dominic’s orbs stared back at me in a way that made me aware that he was very close to me.His eyelids failed to blink for a couple of seconds and I found that somewhat creepy. If he were someone else, I would have probably kicked his ass off the bed.“Hey there.” I threw him a lazy smile.“What were you thinking about?” His hand grazed my cheek.“How I could have kicked you out of my bed.”He frowned as he helped me sit up. “What?”“Dude, you were staring right into my eyes. It was creepy.”“It is nice to know that I can be good-looking yet creepy.”I playfully stuck my tongue out.“Why did you wake me up? I have not exactly gotten much sleep.”“I know. And I am sorry I haven’t been around to help with Ruby.”My eyes followed him as he reached for a strand of my hair and began to play with it.“Well, you are a busy man.

GRACE“Alright. Good day sir.” I ended the call I just had with my former boss, Mr. Cumming, and a huge sigh escaped me. I was about to replay the details of our discussion when I stopped myself. I decided it would be better to pretend the conversation never happened and proceeded to head for the living room where Ruby and Jeremy were having a serious class as usual.It has been a week since Ruby’s health breakdown and even though I insisted that she rested some more, she refused and said that she would prefer to resume her classes.“Mr. Powers just came in. He asked about you,” Jeremy informed me as soon as I sat down. The man flashed me a knowing smile and I rolled my eyes at him. But his smile soon turned into a small frown. “Hey, are you fine?”I guess the effect the earlier conversation had on me was still written all over me. Immediately, I added extra perkiness to make sure I was pretending very well.Then, I replied, “Yeah, I am. Why?”“I don’t know. You suddenly don’t seem ve

GRACEStepping out of a helicopter into a beautiful field filled with different species of flowers is certainly something Grace from two, three months ago would have not pictured at all. When Dominic mentioned moving to a safe place, I pictured another penthouse with a nice pool to swim in.But... The scene in front of me is more than that. It’s as though someone breathed reality onto a very detailed painting of nature. The plants that surrounded us danced with the wind, so did the length of my gown.As I reached for Ruby’s hand and pulled her closer to my side to block her ears from the loudness of the ascending helicopter, I took many seconds to enjoy the scene laid out in front of me. And as I did that, my soul felt relaxed, the same way I feel whenever I’m with Dominic.Soon, we were walking out of the bare field we were standing on and our feet approached the straight path that welcomed us to the lushness of the land. As we walked, admirable scents tickled my sense of smell and a

GRACE“Dominic, I am still eating.”“Let’s go, Grace.”I frowned at him and I began to debate ditching the delicious meal.But the truth is, I didn't want to.So, looking up at him with a pout on my lips, I said, “But I am very hungry and I need to eat. And are we going to leave Ruby here?”“I will take care of Ruby.” Janet volunteered and I was awed by the relief I felt on hearing her sentence. “This is the first time I’m meeting my niece and I am sure every other person wishes to spend some time with her. I am sure Pops also wants to spend some time with Ruby. So, you guys can leave.”“Hmm…”“You can leave. I will pack the rest of your meal.” I appreciated the motherly tone in Janet’s voice. I was about to reach for her hand and show her my thanks when Dominic’s gruff voice reached my ears.“Meet me outside,” he said.Our eyes briefly met and when he saw that I wasn’t going to give him a reply, he walked himself out.Minutes after, Janet had readied a meal pack. As she handed the hu