Relentless Desire

Chapter 3

Aliana had a hard time drifting off to sleep last night in her new bed. She's not accustomed to what it feels like. She already misses the smell of her old room and particularly her bed. It was about two hours of shifting to her side, on her stomach, and her side again before her eyes felt heavy in their eyelids.

When she wakes up, she heads straight to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She's a bit nervous about working as a waitress, and there are tons of thoughts circulating in her mind as she thinks about being a waitress. She admits that she's clumsy to a fault.

What if she breaks a glass or plate on her first day? What if she trips over and spills a glass of wine on a customer?

What she's apprehensive about the most is that the restaurant is well-known across the city. That means most of its customers probably scream wealth. Their presence alone is expensive, so she thinks if she messes up, especially on her first day, she will certainly be fired immediately.

When she enters the kitchen, her eyes widen a bit when she sees her mom already cooking breakfast. When she saw her mom cry yesterday, it was as though someone had ripped her chest open, but she acted like she saw nothing.

“Good morning, Mom. Did you get enough sleep yesterday?” Valeria smiles at the sudden voice. Unlike Aliana, Valeria is more comfortable sleeping in their new house as it was their house before. She moved into her ex-husband's place (the place that she found comfort and happiness temporarily), when she found out she was pregnant with Aliana.

“Yes. But did you?”

“Hmm. . . My body still needs a bit of adjustment,” Aliana says as she gets a pitcher of water out of the old fridge and places it on the wooden table.

“But I like the ambience of the house.” She heads over to a cabinet and reaches for a glass before she heads back again to the table and fills the glass with water from the pitcher.

Valeria just smiles and says, “When will your shift end? I'll be visiting your grandparents in the afternoon. It's been a while since I've visited them.” The last time she visited her deceased parents was already a decade ago. She's glad that they already live here so that she can make up for the years that passed without visiting them.

She turns off the stove after she transfers the meat and scrambled eggs to the plate from the frying pan and brings it to the table.

Aliana pulls out a seat, slides in and says, “I'll probably be here before six.”

After they eat, Aliana washes the plate and heads back to her room. She'll head off to work at eight a.m since her shift starts at nine and ends at five. It's written on the paper along with the requirements. She sits on the edge of the bed, crosses her legs, while she scrolls through her social media. She arches an eyebrow when her eyes catch a profile picture of a topless man. She clicks it and reads the comments.

“As usual. Men can't be men with only one woman.” she mutters under her breath before she turns her phone off and shoves it to her side, regretting that she clicked the picture.

*

“All you have to do is take and deliver the diner's orders and don't forget to greet them nicely.”

“That's it?” Klaus asks Evelyn, the manager of the restaurant, as he ties a brown apron around his broad waist. He didn't intend to sound cocky, but he sounded like he was being one.

Evelyn raises an eyebrow. “Yes. That's it. Make sure you deliver their orders correctly. ” Klaus looks at the apron and waiter's suit in Evelyn's hand. He wonders for whom they are.

“Don't hesitate to ask questions to your co-waiters if you have things that you don't understand.”

“Okay.”

“You can start—”

“Good morning, Miss.” The sudden soft and gentle voice of a woman disturbs them. It's Aliana. They turn around. Klaus can't help but swallow saliva at the sight of Aliana making her way towards their direction. Her smile is the most beautiful Klaus has ever seen, and he can't wait to make her one of his possessions.

Aliana was only supposed to be napping, but she fell deeply into slumber. When she opened her eyes, it took her a second to realise that she had fallen asleep. She immediately climbed out of the bed while she cursed under her breath and headed straight into the bathroom when she saw it was already eight thirty.

Evelyn smiles and says, "Oh, there you are. You are five minutes late. Anyways, change into these clothes first in the locker room.” Evelyn hands her the clothes.

Aliana bashfully says sorry about being late before she heads to the locker room. She doesn't cast a glance at Klaus at least once, but Klaus interprets it as something else.

“She's Aliana. She was hired yesterday,” Evelyn says as Aliana disappears into the room.

“I see,” Klaus says while his eyes are trained on the room where Aliana is changing.

“Remember why you are here, Klaus. You don't want to go to Spain, right?” Evelyn reminds her because she noticed the way he looked at Aliana. It's as though he was slowly undressing her in his head. Actually, she is Klaus' aunt, the younger sister of his dad. She's not married yet because, unbeknownst to everyone, she's a lesbian.

Klaus just rolls his eyes before he heads towards a customer who raises his hand. Never in his life did he imagine himself serving other people.

Hours pass by, but Aliana still never utters a word to Klaus nor casts him a glance. In the afternoon, an hour before their shift ends, Klaus can't contain the silence she's giving him any longer, so when she's heading for the kitchen, he stands in her way.

Aliana frowns and looks up at him. A smile graces his lips when their eyes collide.

Wow. Those eyes. He's enthralled by the intensity of her green eyes. He feels like he's being warmly cuddled by them. His gaze moves down her lips and down to her chest.

He clears his throat, brings his gaze back to her eyes, and says, “You never say at least Hi to me.”

“Oh? Our manager didn't tell me that rule. She only told me not to accept tips from diners,” she says without restraint.

What if he tells her that his dad is the owner of this restaurant?!

*

A black bugatti chiron pulls up to Aliana. Their shift just ended, and she's on the side road while she waits for a bus. The window of the car rolls down before Klaus reveals himself and smiles.

What does he want this time?

“Hey, hot-headed woman. Do you want to hop in? It's getting dark already.” Hot-headed woman? She sneers inwardly and doesn't pay him a heed.

“It's totally free. If it's what you're worrying about, again. Klaus only gets silence, which he expected. When a bus arrives, Aliana immediately climbs up the aisle. Klaus just shakes his head in disbelief. He looks at his face in the rearview mirror before he says under his breath, “This face has never been treated like this by a woman before.”

He turns on the engine of the car. His eyes are looking ahead. “You will beg to sit on my lap eventually.” A knowing smirk creeps onto his lips before he drives off.

On the bus, Aliana texts her mom that she's already on her way.

*

“You mean your charm didn't work on this woman you're talking about? Woah! Finally, there's one soul out there who doesn't fall head over heels for you,” Mason exclaims. His voice laced with amusement. He finds the information rather exciting.

Klaus' lip curls up. “She was just playing hard to get. I'm certain by tomorrow, she will show me what she really is—How attracted she is to me.”

“Perhaps you aren't just her type,” Ethan jokes and laughs.

“That's impossible.” He's not her type? What a joke.