What Dreams Are Made Of – Episode 13
Episode_13
She was at a complete loss why he would invite, in fact insist that he attends the party and then not even spend a decent minute with her. On the other hand, the moment he saw her, he was hell bent on insulting her presence. And then that kiss. That kiss that made her forget everything and want to give herself up to him! But
he had to make it worse by regretting those sweet moments in his arms. She was dazed with the events of the night. Why did he say he was sorry but not sorry?
As she entered her home, Alice was really excited to hear all about the party and she loaded her with multiple questions. Chrissy didn’t want to disappoint her with her puzzling experiences and so she focussed on the things that Alice would be interested in. She answered all her questions, skipping anything unpleasant.
It was only when Alice had almost exhausted her list of questions and their mother intervened that it was too late and they should sleep, Chrissy was able get to her bed. But once on bed, she couldn’t sleep.
The entire evening events kept playing in front of her eyes, keeping her wide awake. She had never dreamed that he would kiss her ever again in her life but he did. And she almost did the unimaginable thing of kissing him back.
She had never experienced that kind of urge that she was almost afraid of the crazy sensations coursing through her body when she was his arms. She couldn’t act so stupidly , she scolded herself nth time since it happened.
He had insulted her in every way possible and then kissed her as if to prove that he was above her. And she had been foolish enough to almost kiss him back! The man had no tender feelings for her. He was immediately sorry for kissing her. And while he did remember their first kiss, it appeared that was more because she might have her hurt his manly pride by her nasty comment.
Chrissy knew that whatever happened between them tonight was a reflection of what it can never be. He seemed to be kissing her for all the wrong reasons. And he definitely didn’t experience what she was going through. In fact his each kiss was a reminder of his position above her. To prove a point to her. And if she had any brains, she would stop herself right away before it became too late to save her innocent heart.
The man was not worth the pains he caused or could cause if she was not careful. And she would not let him bull doze her into any kind of submission, no matter how much it affected her.
He had doubted her character, insulted her intentions and then forced himself on her as if she was a piece of furniture. She decided she had to keep herself away
from him. She wouldn’t give him another chance to put her down. If apart from her pride, her heart was also hurt because of his insensitive comments, she ignored those emotions. With this promise to self, she felt better to face another day.
When she no longer could keep her eyes open, she fell asleep. But before sleep could finally engulf her completely, a question occurred to her on how they reached her home. She didn’t remember giving her address to him. So how did he know where to drop her?
With that additional mystery playing in her mind apart from all the happenings of the eventful day, she didn’t know when she was finally asleep.
As days drew by, Chrissy got busier and busier with her work. She ensured she had enough to keep her always occupied. If her mother complained that she was working too hard, she just replied saying she enjoyed her work. Her shop was doing well but she still kept herself going. Linda still used to spend her lunch time with her but she could also feel Chrissy being living in a different state of mind. When she tried to ask Chrissy about it, she laughingly ignored her.
Things went on but Chrissy ensured that in no way she came in contact with the infuriating Nikloi Swaroski. She made extra efforts to avoid being in his way. Most of the times, he anyways left her to her own devices, not interfering in her work or her shop. But the fe
w times, when he wanted her to attend some meetings either at the hotel or Nikloi House, she avoided, giving some excuse or the other.
Initially it appeared she was really busy but within few weeks Nikloi was sure, she was avoiding him intentionally. It was not uncommon to land in front of each other every now and then but Chrissy was certain to maintain distance from him as much as possible. If that hurt his ego, he didn’t show it.
In fact, he went the other way. He ensured that even if she happened to be around, he never met her. This continued till one day Ms White, mentioned to her that he had dropped her name from the team meeting that was planned few weeks from
then. Chrissy knew her plan of staying away from him had worked. But deep within her heart, she was disappointed with him giving up on her so easily. But she decided it was for the best.
Chrissy was not allowed to spend too much time in convincing her heart. She was pulled in the plethora of work all around her in the shop, demanding her each and every second. There was some new guests in her shop every day and she needed to spend time with each one.
One of these guests was Mrs. Clark. A woman of domineering personality and a particular taste in antiques. She was a collector and had grown a fascination for Chrissy’s work.
Mrs Clark was looking for a particular piece of brass vase that Chrissy knew was extremely precious. She had read about it during her reports while working with Mrs. Janet but she had never seen it herself. Mrs. Clark was peculiarly after this antique and wanted Chrissy to help her find it. Chrissy knew it would not be easy to locate the current whereabouts of this piece but she decided to take it up as a challenge. She anyways needed time to keep her mind wandering to the whereabouts of a certain tall dark gentleman.
So the Mission Finding Brassy began. She meticulously planned covering each and every possible museum, art gallery, curators who might have the antique or information regarding it. Sometime Mrs. Clark would accompany her, sometimes Chrissy would venture on her own. Past few months’ success had given her a lot of confidence.
One such day when she was going to meet a curator, Mrs. Clark told her she wanted to join the meeting. Chrissy agreed and Mrs. Clark said she will pick her up from the hotel in her car. But while on the way, Mrs. Clark suddenly started feeling unwell. In spite of the air conditioning in the car, she started sweating profusely. Chrissy was extremely worried and didn’t know what to do.
Mrs. Clark was breathing heavily and in between her breaths told her that she had forgotten to take her medicines for the day and this may be because of that. She asked if they can go to her home before going for the meeting. Chrissy immediately agreed. She could see Mrs. Clark was extremely uncomfortable and she wanted to help in whichever way possible. Mrs. Clark instructed the driver to take them home.
Home happened to be a palatial mansion. Before the car stopped in the portico, an aged gentleman stepped out of the main door and came to assist Mrs. Clark. Inside the house, they moved to a large living area which had all the things of comfort one could think of. In Chrissy case, even the things that she could not think of since she had never seen luxury at such close quarters. Mrs Clark sat down at the sofa and asked for her medicines. Mr. Butler, immediately complied with her request. He was back in few minutes with an elaborate tray having medicines and a jar of water along with glass. Mrs. Clark took the medicines and relaxed on the sofa. But even after some time, there was no visible relief in her state. She continued to complain of body ache and difficulty in breathing
All this while, Chrissy didn’t know what was expected of her. She could see Mrs. Clark was with her people who would attend to all her needs and there wasn’t much she could do. But basic courtesy didn’t let her leave like this when Mrs Clark was obviously not well.
When things still didn’t improve, she told Mrs. Clark that she should rest in her
room and in spite of her refusal, she insisted her to be taken to her room. Mr. Butler called for another lady to take Mrs. Clark. Aside Chrissy, requested him to call for the doctor as Mrs Clark needed medical attention. He gave her an understanding look and went to call the doctor.
It didn’t take long for the doctor to reach the house. He appeared to be their family doctor as he seemed to know Mr. Jones, the butler as well his way around the house. After checking Mrs. Clark, he prescribed some other medicines and said she would start feeling better in few hours but she needed to take it slow for a day or two. It was most probably a case of heat and over exertion that had caused the stress.
When Chrissy told her that Mrs. Clark had missed her medicines in the morning, he said, “That’s probably why it got aggravated. Mrs. Clark has a weak heart and she has been advised to take things easy. But the lady hardly listens to me” though he said it as a reprimand, he was smiling and Chrissy could see that the doctor had affections for his patient. He said she will fine in some time after taking the medicines. With that he left.
Chrissy went inside the room and gave the other medicine to Mrs Clark along with a glass of water. She was still looking pale but was composed after the doctor’s visit. Chrissy decided it was time for her to leave now that Mrs Clark was better and settled. As she placed the glass of water on the small table beside the bed, there was a movement at the entrance of the room. Thinking probably Mr. Butler was back, she saw it was time for her to leave but the voice that she heard made her freeze in her shoes.
“Aunt Martha, how are you feeling now?”
She had her back was towards them but knew that voice without doubt. As she turned to face them, her eyes confirmed what her heart had already known but feared. Standing there was Nikloi Swaroski, in another of his dashing business suit, looking devastatingly handsome as ever.
His surprise was evident as his eyes enlarged the moment they landed on her but he was quicker to cover up his reaction while she was still gaping at him with an open mouth. Mrs Clark is Nikloi Swaroski’s aunt? How is that possible?
He straightened up after helping Mrs Clark in a sitting position with the help of her pillows. Facing her, he snapped, “What are you doing here?” angrily. Chrissy couldn’t miss the difference in his tone when he was addressing his aunt as compared to while speaking to her. She was not expecting to find herself face to face with him and was still in a state of shock. His harsh tone raised her hackles even further.
Before she could respond to his question, Mrs. Clark intervened quickly. “Chrissy was with me, Nikloi. We were going to meet a curator but on the way I fell sick. She kindly agreed to bring me home. Thank God your home was close to where we were and we could reach here quickly.”
“Your home????”
The words were out of her mouth before she could control her reaction and she repented it immediately but her astonishment was visible. She was standing under Nikloi Swaroski’s roof!
His look at her reaction was openly disagreeable. He narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips tightly together. His dark eyes were getting darker every second. He pressed his lips tightly together and said, “Yes, it is my home you are standing in right now and your reaction, though not surprising, is definitely not well placed, considering this visit doesn’t seem to be invited by me. The tone expressed his extreme unhappiness on seeing her there.
In spite of knowing she shouldn’t expect any pleasantries from him, such condemnation hurt her badly. She wanted to speak out but couldn’t bring herself to respond to the hatred in his voice. In voluntary, she took a step back as if trying to save her from his attack.
She answered defensively, “I came with Mrs. Clark because I didn’t want to leave her sick all alone but I had no clue about you both being related”. He raised an eyebrow looking at her even more questioningly as if he didn’t trust her. “And why were you with my Aunt?”
he continued accusingly.
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