Kira's P.O.V
We exchange no words between us. He is sitting with his body squashed up to the corner, and I can barely glance at him. But through the front mirror, I notice his miserable face approaching the crossing buildings.
It abruptly is raining today, blurring the surrounding lights. "Do you want me to stop there?" Rahul asks, ignoring the boy who is sitting beside me.
"No, drive straight home." He nods, informing the driver. If I go there, there will be so many questions, which I don't fancy.
It took us thirty minutes to arrive, yet it felt like years in the car.
I walk inside, watching his struggles to walk. My bodyguards are helping him again, as Rahul whispers, "Where is he going to sleep?" Rahul is upset with my decision, and his tone shows it pretty clearly.
"Take him to my room and ask aunty to prepare a room for him." I confide, entering the big hall of my house and throwing my bag on the table. "Which one?" he asks, even more frustrated now.
"It's a big fucking house, Rahul, and it's not like I have people living here. Choose any room as you please." Aware of my frustration, he walks away with thumping sounds on the floor, aggressively.
Such a diva he is.
In my two-story house, the stairs are troublesome for the boy, even with the guards supporting him. But slow and steady, we reach my room and he settles on the bed, hiding his eyes from me.
As the guards leave the room, I sit in the chair right in front of him. He is suddenly more frightened than before. I see him rubbing his shoulder.
I deliberately walk up to him and lean down to his eye level, checking if he has another wound there as well. As soon as I get close to his face, he flinches back against the headboard.
His head remains tilted down when I slowly stroke his shoulder. He is trying to brush me off, and I take the hint. "It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."
My words do not affect him, and he pulls himself further away from me. "O-okay." I pull myself away from him, standing a few feet apart. "I won't touch you if you don't want me to. Just relax."
Earlier, I couldn't notice, but now that I see him up close, his eyes are shining brown. He has a sharp jaw and a square face. His hair is brown and his skin is pale. "I'll... I'll call someone to help you."
He utters no words of approval, but when he sees me leaving the room, he stutters, "W-why?"
"What?" I turn back, standing still near the door. "W-what are you g-going to do t-to me?" His head remains still, resting on his trembling thumbs.
I'm caught speechless, yet I still try, "Rest assured, you're not here for that."
"T-then why am I here?" He pleads in a low tone. "Rest assured, you'll not be harmed in any way."
I was struggling to light my cigarette when Rahul appears, lighting it for me. We're standing by the big balcony. My garden and the property that I own are on a big display from here.
"Why?" He wastes no second on his inquiry. I chuckle at his audacity to do something no one dares to.
"Do you see this, Rahul? Everything you see here is mine. This enormous house, this huge garden, this high-profile security, and so much more. It's all mine." The moon gleams as I feel the cool air on my skin. "Yet, I'm all alone. And that boy I bought, he's alone as well."
"Kira?" His tone is gentle now, his eyes sparkling with the pain I feel. "When I saw him, I felt like I can do something for him—I can give him freedom, just by spending a drop from my ocean. So why not?"
"You know it wasn't your fault."
"Was it not?"
"It was an accident."
The night ended with our repeating conversation. It rings in my head as I rub my eyes open. "Good morning, ma'am." Aunty smiles, handing me a cup of tea. "Is the boy comfortable?" I ask, stretching to stand up. I again slept on the sofa.
"Yes, ma'am. He's currently sleeping." I nod in acknowledgment.
The curtains are trying to shield the outer view as I'm shortly joined by him. "Finally, you're free for me." His quiet steps greet me as he speaks with a calm face. His blue eyes always look intoxicated, and his perfectly combed hair gives glamour to his face.
"I'm sorry, something urgent came up last night." His arms gently cover my body, wrapping me in for a hug. "Yes, I heard. You bought a boy." He speaks as he sits on the couch presented in the middle of the room, defining it as a fine waiting room.
"Not that I wanted to. The turns in the event made me." I keep my posture as I sit next to him. "Is there any other reason to buy him?" He questions.
I strongly deny it. "No. It means nothing. We'll let him go as soon as he's healthy again."
"Let him go?" His face presents me with a confused look, adding, "Why not make him work for you instead? I mean, you bought him, he'll do whatever you want."
"Yes, I know. But this is not why I purchased him. I have enough people working for me." His disturbed face suddenly turns soft as his hand reaches for mine.
"I get it. Why don't we enjoy our date, then?" He smiles as he pulls close to me.
"How was your date?" Rahul demands as my secretary brings the files to be signed. He's resting on the couch placed a little farther from my table and hooked up to the wall.
I turn my head to the left. "It was fine. Why are you suddenly interested in my love life?" He is enjoying a glass of wine. It's eight o'clock, so it's fine to drink. "I'm just curious about his reaction to what you did last night."
"Why is everyone so interested in that boy?" I turn back to sign the documents on my table. "You know why," Rahul speaks back, rising from the couch and approaching my standing secretary.
"Tell her, Ankush. The other reason, tell her." Rahul tenderly speaks in his ear and runs his fingers through his brown strands, catching my attention.
Ankush's black eyes are hesitant to look anywhere as he struggles to remain comfortable and still without minding Rahul, which is always so hard for him.
"Stop harassing him." I hand the documents to Ankush as I tell him to leave, to which he bows down and leaves immediately without giving Rahul any look.
"What were you talking about? What other reason?"
He leans down, propping his palms on my glass table to support his heavy body, and looks me in the eye as he speaks. "Your employees are talking about it, gossiping. That you are now buying whores to soothe your anger and your lonesomeness."
"Whores?" I scoff as I pour myself my favorite wine. "Do you not care about your reputation at all?" His anger slightly surfaces on his white skin.
"They all hate me, Rahul. Do you think my caring about trivial matters would affect their thoughts of me?"
"You know, sometimes I hate this. I hate you. I hate the change in you." He adds, leaving me speechless.
"Welcome home, ma'am." The old maid of my house, who has been taking care of me since I was a kid, always reminds me of home.
Her soft wrinkles, brown skin, and black hair are as welcoming as her dark eyes are. That's another reason I come back home.
"I've told you not to call me ma'am." I smile as I sit on the couch, taking a glass of water she was holding for me.
"Where is Rahul?" She asks. "He's out playing." She laughs in awareness, but she also looks worried.
"Is anything wrong, Auntie?" I ask after seeing her frowning face.
"The boy you brought last night. He's neglecting to eat. It's becoming hard to feed him."
"Did he speak?"
"Yes, he wants to talk to you. We've told him that you're busy, but he just won't listen." Here comes another problem. I sigh as I ask her to bring my food to his room.
Now I have to take care of this. I don't want another human to die on me.