Bedmates Soulmates

Home Alpre

Home Alone

Kira was swamped with work today.

She woke up in the morning with a pounding pain in her forehead.

Last night, she was caught up in an endless loop of dreams-Gideon, her father, middle school, high school, Austyn...

Staring at a computer screen for hours on end made her eyes water, but took her mind off things.

She begged off when Lexi invited her to an outing after work.

Kira called Giana on the bus ride home.

The two had a long chat and made a date to go shopping when both would be free.

It was half past seven when she returned to the villa.

The house was just as empty as last night.

Elsie was at the hospital.

Austyn was nowhere to be seen.

Kira cooked dinner for herself.

She gave the housekeeper a call.

Elsie's nephew had caught a severe case of stomach flu and she probably had to stay with him for the next two days.

"Don't worry about me," Kira said. 'Just take care of yourself."

Elsie thanked her, then asked, 'Where is Young Master? He must not be very happy when I went on leave without prior notice." Austyn could be a very picky eater.

He distrusted food handled by strangers...

When he had to eat out, he chose from a list of pre-approved restaurants and asked for the chefs by

name.

Kira didn't want Elsie to worry about Austyn..

The housekeeper had her hands full.

Besides, she wouldn't know what to tell Elsie even if she wanted to-she had no idea where Austyn was.

"He's a grown man. He can take care of himself, Kira said, as much to convince Elsie as herself. 'Anyway, enough about him. What did you have for dinner?

She chased her food on the plate with a fork and chit-chatted with Elsie about this and that.

Kira stabbed at a carrot, picked it up, and chewed it viciously, imagining it was Austyn's head.

She reached for a second piece of carrot when, all of a sudden, she couldn't see the plate anymore.

A crackling noise came from somewhere.

The house was plunged into total darkness.

"Ah!' Kira couldn't help letting out a yelp.

713

"Young Madam? What's wrong? Elsie's anxious voice brought her back to the present.

Kira swallowed. I...I don't know. I think the power has gone out."novelbin

'Oh.' Elsie breathed out. "Don't worry. It happens. Probably a faulty wire. The power will come back on eventually. Meanwhile, there're candles and flashlights in the utility closet. Do you know where that is?' "Yes." Kira used her phone as a flashlight and found her way to the closet.

She grabbed as many candles and flashlights as her arms could carry.

The living room downstairs felt cavernous.

Kira washed the dishes, jumping at every sound.

Shadows seemed to lurk in every dark corner.

Kira suddenly realised she'd forgotten to ask Elsie for the location of the breaker box, but she didn't think she had the guts to venture into pitch-blackness if Elsie told her it was in the basement. Hugging her hoard of candles and flashlights, she scurried upstairs and locked herself in the bedroom.

The water heater was out, so she had to take a cold shower.

Kira switched on all six flashlights and placed them on the sink, the toilet water tank, and the shower caddy.

The bathroom looked like the scene of a midnight séance.

When she brushed her teeth, she kept her eyes down on the sink and tried not to look at her own eerie reflection in the mirror, with her face lit from below.

She finished her nightly ablutions with record speed, gathered up all the flashlights, raced back into the bedroom, jumped into bed, and burrowed under the covers.

She didn't realise how big and quiet the bedroom was until a frog started croaking in the garden

downstairs.

Kira arranged all the flashlights around her.

But the brighter the cone of light on the bed, the darker the rest of the room appeared.

Her mind told her the hulking silhouettes were the sofa, the vanity table, and the double door closet, but

she just couldn't help casting nervous glances at them, half expecting the shadows to start moving.

She wanted to call Elsie, but the housekeeper must be busy with taking care of her nephew. As for Austyn....

He started the silent treatment, and seemed determined to stick to his guns.

Kira told herself she didn't know where he was, but deep down, she had an inkling.

What was he doing now?

a

Enjoying a

hot bath

at Kayleig

Or, if there was a blackout there,

having a candlelit dinner with the actress?

Kira picked up her phone and stared at Austyn's number on the screen.

Why couldn't he be the bigger man?

Why must she always be the one to yield first?

She didn't start the fight.

To this day, she still didn't know what got him so worked up in the first place.

But Kira bet the man was expecting her to crawl to him with an apology.

If this were a true marriage, she would not back down so easily.

He started the fight; he should be the one to end it.

'Stop kidding yourself," Kira mumbled.

This was not a true marriage.

It was an employment contract.

How could she, as the employee, rebel against her boss?

There was only 32% battery left on her phone.

Kira kept going back and forth.

Should she give him a call?

Ask him about his day, show concern for his wellbeing and wave the white flag.

She'd done it before.

It was not that much of a deal to do it again.

Boom!

Kira almost jumped out of her skin, dropping her phone.

The thunderclap sounded like it was right outside her window.

Crack!

She pulled the quilt over her head, trembling.

The thunder was rumbling closer, as if headed straight for her. "Aaaahhh!"