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Not Quite an Invitation
Not Quite an Invitation
I’m back although I wasn’t ever really gone from the mansion. Auntie looked from Hayden to me and
then back to Hayden again. I was sure that she had a million questions that she wanted to ask us, but
in the end, she just smiled and nodded.
“Welcome back, Malissa. I’m so happy to have you back,” Auntie said with a touching smile.
“Thank you, Auntie…” I replied vaguely before smiling at her.
Auntie knew better than to ask unnecessary questions. I could tell that she was genuinely happy that I
was back and the same could be said about how I felt.
“Little Hayden is with one of the maids in the garden. You don’t have to worry about that little guy,”
Auntie told me with a reassuring smile as if she could read my mind.
“Thank you for taking care of him,” I thanked her and made a mental note to myself to thank the other
maids as well.
“Let’s go,” Hayden said impatiently as he pulled on my hand.
I turned to wave at Auntie before Hayden dragged me away from the old woman. Although I knew
where my rooms were Hayden was insistent on dragging me by the hand until we arrived there. It
hadn’t been that long since I was last here, so I was surprised by how much I missed the place. It felt
like I have been away for years and couldn’t wait to move back in. Looking around the sitting room, I
could see that nothing had changed at all since the last time that I was here, and I guessed that the
same applied to the other rooms.
“My commissions…” I whispered when my eyes fell on the door leading to the art studio.
Being too over the moon happy about being let out of my solidary confinement, I had momentarily
forgotten the implications of me being set free. I could now roam around the mansion like before and
now that I was moving back to my rooms, I also had access to my art studio, art tools, paintings and
that meant that I could resume working on my commissions. A loud gasp escaped my lips at the
sudden realization. Why didn’t I think of this before?
“Finally, I can go back to work on my commissions. I need to get in touch with my clients right away…” I
mumbled to myself as I headed straight for the art studio.
“Not so fast…” Hayden said from right behind me and I could feel his tight grip around my wrist.
“What do you mean? I can go back to work on my art commissions now, right?” I asked, confused as I
turned around to face him.
“Don’t worry. The clients all know that you were sick and to expect some delays in their commission
works,” Hayden explained calmly.
Seriously, he has to come up with something else other than my fake sickness as an excuse for my
absence from everything in life. First it was the art class and now I was ‘sick’ and couldn’t work on my
commissions as well?
“Well, I’m not ‘sick’ anymore so I should contact them and let them know that I’ll be working on their
commissions now,” I replied as I tried to keep my emotions at bay.
One of these days, I’m going to figure out a way to make Hayden understand that he can’t just meddle
with my entire life like this. That day wouldn’t be today because I didn’t want to risk being thrown back
into that room underground again.
Hayden stared at me for a moment before he seemed to give in. His grip on my wrist relaxed before he
let go of me. I waited for a moment because I knew that he had something that he wanted to say to me.
“Don’t over work yourself. You should rest and sleep well…we need to fly to meet up with Ethan,”
Hayden informed me solemnly.
We need to fly? Are we going somewhere far away from here?
“Oh, thanks for letting me know. I promise not to work too much. I’ll just reach out to my clients and let
them know that their commissions are coming along. I just want to reassure them as a way to reassure
myself…” I said before smiling a little at him.
Hayden just nodded before he turned to leave. I breathed out a breath that I had been holding as I
watched his back while he walked away from me. When he reached the door, Hayden turned around to
look at me again.
“Have dinner with me in my room,” Hayden said, and it wasn’t an invitation. This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
“Of course…” I replied.
Without another word, Hayden turned around and strode out of the room. The door closed firmly behind
him, but it didn’t lock. I guess I have regained back some of my hard-earned freedom from before. Just
to make sure, after he was gone, I walked towards the door and opened it. The door opened without
any issues and there were no men in black standing guard outside. I almost laughed and cried in joy. I
have not lost everything that I worked so hard to gain.
I spent the entire day reconnecting with my life once again. Sorting and replying to emails from my
clients. Reviewing the progress of each commission work to remind myself where I have left off.
Checking my art tools to make sure that I had enough for everything. I never knew that it was this tiring
to settle back down into my old routine and it wasn’t like I was gone for that long either. Being an artist
is tough, grandma.
A sad smile touched my lips when I thought of what she would tell me whenever I complained, which
wasn’t very often. In my mind, I could hear her voice and her words. That’s right, it’s a lot better than
being unemployed. I closed my eyes and offered her a prayer with the hope that she is doing well
wherever she is now. Then, I prayed for her to lend me even just a fraction of her strength so that I
could get through the upcoming encounter with Ethan.
--To be continued…