Alpha’s Plus-Size Sweetheart

09:Coincidental meeting

He wasn’t Kane. As much as that brought some form of relief to me, I felt sad. For some reason, I wanted to see Kane. What was wrong with me, I had no idea.

The boy smiled. He was lovely with dark blond hair that fell across his eyes.

“You look like you might pass out from fright,” he commented, walking towards me. And I realized I hadn’t been breathing properly and was probably pale from lack of air.

I turned around sharply when I realized I might be red from embarrassment. I breathed in deeply, taking as much air into my lungs. But that action made me breathe in Kane. His smell was literally everywhere in his room.

Realizing it's rude to turn my back on someone, I turned back around toward the boy, “I’m sorry, I thought you were Kane.”

He laughed, “Kane is scary alright. But you don’t have to kill yourself from fright.”

I heard his footsteps move away from me while I watched my feet. I didn’t forget that the strange boy who was in Kane’s room was half-naked. And the only man I had even half naked was Derek.

The thought of Derek, makes my heart ache. I pushed him to the back of my mind.

“Since he’s not around, I’ll come in later,” I said, turning around to leave. But the boy spoke up again.

“You seem pretty young to be here. And I assume you’re a maid. Yes?”

I turned around and nodded at him. He hummed and looked at the window like he was thinking of something.

“That’s great,” he said, still looking out the window, “you know, we haven’t had someone your age in this house for some time now. And it’s really nice having someone our age here,” he said, and looked back at me.

My brows furrowed from confusion. He must have understood my confusion because he explained further.

“Kane and me, I mean,” he walked into the closet and brought out some of Kane’s clothes. I looked at my feet, wondering why he was trying to hold a conversation with me.

“Oh, forgive me. I’m Rapheal. And you are?” He was back at my front with an outstretched hand.

His hand was white and soft as I looked at him. My chest began to hurt with the memory that there are kids out there who haven’t done a day's job their entire lives while I worked like a slave in my father’s house.

“Summer,” my throat clogged from emotions as it squeaked. I took his hand and looked up at him.

He shook it, looked at me, and studied me.

“Did I say something wrong?” He asked and I shook my head. I hated that I could ruin even the most random moments.

He shrugged. He seemed unbothered that I was acting awkward around him. I guess he didn’t notice I was uncomfortable around him. Because the next second, he looped his arms around my shoulders and dragged me out of the room towards the dining area.

I was puzzled. I had learned from a young age not to talk back at people who are higher in rank than me. Because I could receive a beating from them. It was termed disrespect. So in the process of dragging me to the dining area, I kept mute and let him drag me. Although I had protested with my body a few times.

“I only eat at this large dining table when Kane is not around,” he sat on one of the chairs. “Join me.”

He looked everywhere but at me like he was waiting for a maid to bring the food. What he didn’t know was I was the maid who was supposed to serve him his food.

At that moment, Mrs Gertrude walked into the dining area carrying a tray of food. She looked at me with confusion in her eyes.

“Help me set these dishes,” she said while arranging the plates in front of Raphael.

“No Gertrude, she would be joining me today,” Raphael said without looking at me while he smiled at Mrs Gertrude.

Mrs Gertrude stopped as she looked at Raphael and me with wide eyes. I shrugged at her, my eyes pleading for her to say something on my behalf.

I liked that Raphael wasn’t trying to discriminate against me. But I was so uncomfortable in his presence as I wrung my fingers together. My armpits had gone wet from sweat which had to do with my frayed nerves.

People make me nervous. As much as I try to lie to myself each time about it. Especially people I know nothing about except that he's Kane’s friend or relative. I had no idea.

“I know she’s just a maid but she’s a person. And I’m bored to death here in this house,” Rapheal said when he understood the looks Gertrude and I exchanged.

At that moment, Kane walked into the dining area and sat at the head of the table. Raphael’s face split into a smile. And I tried to control the erratic beating of my heart. All I wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow me.

I felt Kane’s gaze on me before it moved to Rapheal's questioning. Kane’s presence brought in a tense atmosphere and I bounced on my feet.

“What’s going on?” Kane asked Rapheal. His face was gloomy. I reckon that whatever meeting he had with his father hadn’t gone well.

“I was just asking Summer here to join us for breakfast,” Rapheal said in his usual happy tone.

He was oblivious to Kane’s mood. Or he didn’t care about it. Either way, he looked happy to have Kane by his side while I looked like I might pass out from fright. The events of last night came crashing back and what I had said to Kane.

Kane’s eyes rested on me. His gaze traveled from my head down to my toes and back to my face again. I felt smaller in his presence.

“Don’t worry about it, sir. I’ll eat in my room,” I tried to excuse myself.

“Is this because of me? Because of last night?” Kane asked, clearly displeased as his tone dropped the atmosphere lower in temperature. And I shivered.