TOUCH OF FLAME (2)

*BOOM*

"AHHHHH!" 

The crazily jarring blow jolted awake the frail woman on the sofa. She rubbed her eyes feeling all sleepy, hungry and confused. The thick fumes electrified from the kitchen made her cough out throatily. The burning smoke also made her eyes burn, and she couldn't help but whimper.

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" A deep and husky cry came from behind. Then, not long following were the excruciating gasps of the maids and others. Nanny Janet thoughtfully moved forward to safeguard her young madam. When she got there, she heard the heartbroken cry "It hurts"

"Why are there smokes from the kitchen? And what are you doing sleeping down here?" Alex roared out. He ignored her and called out for his men "Extinguish the fire and find the cause of such an outbreak" He ordered. The fumes affected his eyes and it stung a little bit. For a moment there, darkness was all he could see. He shrugged off, closed his eyes and then opened them again. His sight luckily went back to normal.

The fire got turned off by the guards and the room no longer smelled suffocating as Butler Feng had filled the place with a home air freshener. Alex watched the entire scene from the stairs. He could not help but get angry. In no time, he was standing before May. Harshly, he grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him.

With gritted teeth, he queried "I will ask again....why were you sleeping here and not in our room?" He unintentionally stuck his nails into her flesh. May gazed up at his wild austere eyes with a pained expression. She wanted to speak but her throat was stuck. All she could do was let the tears stream down her eyes. Getting no response but the silence made Alex more enraged. Suddenly, the sickening smell of blood lingered in the air. Nanny Janet's attention visioned the red liquid streaming out of May's arms. Her wrinkled eyes narrowed.

"ALEX!!" She called. 

"WHAT?" 

"Blood, she is bleeding" Alex looked at the blood stain in between his fingers and stepped backwards. The clouded anger in his eyes dissipated at once. He fixed his gaze at May, coincidentally, she was looking at him too. Her expression was full of injustice. He parted his lips to speak but the men in the kitchen called for his attention. They showed him the burnt microwave and the melted stainless steel inside it. Once again, rage overwhelmed him.

"SPEAK!!"

One of the men stepped forward "Boss, it seems like stainless steel was put into the microwave. Due to the overheating, the temperature, it blew up"

Nanny Janet looked at the maids "Did any of you make.....?" Before she could complete her words, they went on their knees and shook their heads "We swear"

Alex's eccentric countenance caused them to flinch.

"If you didn't, who did? Who is foolish enough to microwave stainless steel? I remembered not employing illiterates...WILL ANY ONE OF YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH OR NOT!!!"

The maids shivered at his outburst "We didn't...we swear"

Alex ran a hand through his hair "Y...."

"I did" May bit on her lower lips as she confessed. She was ashamed of herself. Nanny Janet pulled her to her side in case Alex did something stupid.

"I was...I was feeling hungry, so I came down here and i....i...tried to warm the milk but i...I didn't" She pursed her lips and fidgeted with her fingers "The cooker wouldn't turn on, so i ... I used the microwave"

"ARE YOU DUMB?"

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A FEW MINUTES AGO.

After their huge misconception and the harsh words spoken amongst themselves. May bitterly refused to have dinner, so she left for the room and slept off. But she assumed that was the biggest mistake she ever made because she was deadly hungry.

She opened her eyes and sat on the bed with an awkward expression. Her eyes went mist.

'Baby, stay there till tomorrow, please...I promise to eat a lot for you'

As if the baby disagreed with her, her stomach rumbled loudly. She shifted to her side with pouted lips. Here she was craving cookies and warm milk and being restless, while this man was having a peaceful sleep. She thought of waking him up but was scared of his reaction and cold attitude.

With a saddened heart, she bit her inner cheeks as a habit and took her hand to his body to wake him. But they stopped mid-air when she remembered those aloof words.

'Don't make a ridiculous request...you are not worthy of any'

He thinks the baby is dead and no longer inside her womb, so she saw no point in telling him about her cravings. It was useless when all he would do was yell at her. She shook her head and sighed.

It was half past two in the early morning.

Slowly, she came off the bed and left the room quietly. She tiptoed in case someone was out there. Relaxed, she strode towards the kitchen with her bare feet. She forgot to wear the stocky socks. With a dull expression, her hands were clutching the hems of her nightgown.

She deliriously opened the fridge with a smile but looked at the weird veggies in there. She felt like crying.

'At least they should have left her meal'

She desperately wanted cookies and milk. Her lips pouted roughly. No choice. She took the sachet of milk and poured it into a small boiling bowl. She added a small content of water and tried to turn the cooker on. That's when it came to her mind "How do I turn it on?"

In terms of kitchen chores, May was defiant in that. She would have been a little useless if she had been allowed in the kitchen. But that never happened. Her father was an overprotective man. He didn't let her bathe by herself or wear her dresses. He wanted the best for her. Now that protectiveness was affecting her. She was unaware of how to turn a cooker on. Soon, her mind was in a mess and her belly wasn't making it better.

An idea popped up in her head when she caught a look at the microwave. She poured the milk into a stainless steel bowl and put it inside the microwave. At least her late mother thought her how to use it. She fixed the measuring time to three minutes and left for the sitting room. She felt drowsy and tired. Before she could understand, sleep kicked him the minute she lay on the large couch.

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"I had no idea this would happen" May voiced out but Alex had a huge deal about this. If it was then, he might have overlooked it but after all her outrageous behaviours, he raised his voice at her.

"I married a woman, not a fool...if you feel hungry, you could have told me or nanny Janet but you didn't....your stupid self just destroyed my kitchen"

Nanny Janet comforted May in her embrace" Alex, that is enough"

"Shouting at me won't solve anything or return the outlook of the kitchen to normal" May mocked bitterly.

"You woman!!!" One day, she was going to become the death of him. He instructed the men to make sure the kitchen looked normal before tomorrow. He didn't even take a look at May when he left. The maids and Butler Feng already left, leaving behind May with Nanny Janet.

"Shhhhh it's ok" Nanny Janet was patting her back. 

"But he keeps shouting at me...I feel like he hates me so much now...I haven't done anything wrong. Aunty Janet, I am hungry, is there anything to eat? I want to eat cookies and warm milk...and my waist hurts so much too" May spoke. Nanny Janet felt something amiss with the sudden want of food. 

"Tell me the truth...you didn't do abortion, did you?"

May froze and looked away. She didn't want anyone to know, because the day she finally found a reason to leave this place, she wouldn't miss anyone. 

"You are still pregnant, aren't you? Why don't you let him get rid of this stress? His child...."

May cut her short to say "You are wrong...I went through with the abortion. I am not hungry anymore" She restlessly left. Nanny Janet sighed poorly "I have no idea how children nowadays think"

Back in their room.

While Alex had a whiff of smoke from the cigarette, May entered the room and fell on the bed.

"I hate this, all of this....it is suffocating. Father pampers me so much but he torments me...I wonder how Xavier is doing. Did he miss me? Is he searching around for me? You are my only hope here...stay well ok...just for tonight" She touched her belly and found her souvenir of peace.

The hardness in his eyes disappeared.

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The next day

Under the humid weather, a Bugatti La Voiture Noire, without the awareness of the road or heavy wind, moved speedily over the highway along the outskirt. In no doubt, the car pushed through down the hills and moved vertically, until it halted right inside a villa.

"Wheeeee, that was fun...what do you think?" Zach chuckled foolishly when those set of blue eyes were swaggering in flames "You are no fun"

Adrain slapped his (Zach) head and left the car. 

"You didn't have to hit hard" Zach came out after "If you keep frowning your face, your woman might start cheating on you for becoming older" Zach didn't wait for any second before he entered the house. Alex called for them.

Adrain pictured the entire scenery with his poised expression. His two hands tucked inside his trouser pocket.

"Look who is here....beautiful aunty" Zach shamelessly kissed Nanny's Janet face. The older woman flustered "You brat...sit there while Alex gets ready"

Adrain blankly stared at the two. Feeling bored, he sat on the couch "Older women are quite benefitting too"

Zach frowned "You are no fun"

Adrain was disinterested. He scrutinised the place, licking the tip of his teeth with his tongue. Nanny Janet left the house as she had to visit the market.

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Alex's room.

May had just woken up when the door of the room was knocked at.

"Who's there?" She cried in a hoarse voice

"Master, the visitors are still waiting" A maid announced. May yawned and told "He'll be there"

That must be his family....probably that Old Man or Gloria. Why did they come now? She knew Alex wasn't in the room but in the gym. For two hours, his whole time was always spent there. She tiredly draped a shawl from the closet and covered her neck. Hurriedly, she rummaged for a dress to wear but found none that could cover her baby bump properly. Her legs were falling apart from too much standing. Luckily, she saw the perfect cloth. Unfortunately, the shirt belonged to Alex. They were married, so he shouldn't mind.

She had the shirt worn.

"I don't need to wear makeup...I still have to bath anyway"

Another knock came through.

"Master, they are threatening to come over here" The maid spoke. May chided "I am coming already"

Back downstairs.

"Alex is doing this intentionally....he knows we hate being stood upon" Zach was becoming irritated while Adrain shut his eyes but not his sense of hearing.

"Ah, you must be.....?"

Zach first saw two slender smooth legs, his mind was puzzled. He then raised his face to the person. Out of fright, he jumped out of his seat and fell to the ground. 

May was stunned.

"I...i...I must have frightened you. Are you all right?" She bent down to help him up. Adrain opened his eyes lazily and saw something he shouldn't have seen but he acted indifferent about it. Zach also saw the two white oranges under the shirt, but his reaction was the craziest. He wanted to bite off his tongue.

'Alex has such women...I thought he loved his wife?'

May tried everything to help the unfamiliar man up, and that's when she saw two sets of blue eyes looking deep into her eyes. A sense of familiarity touched her all of a sudden. 

"W...who are you...? Are you Alex's workmates?"

Zach looked at her bare face and watched her innocent-looking eyes.

The pair of unique eyes gazed back at him with curiosity. The more he stared at her crescent eyes, the more he was sinking deeper and deeper until he felt his back sting badly. Adrain had kicked him.

"Man!!!" He wanted to curse but stopped himself and stood straight up while facing the young woman. He had to admit, of all the women he had met, she was the purest, her bare-looking face without makeup stood out. What upsetter his mind was the fact that she was putting on a man's dress. Her thigh wasn't even covered properly.

'Who was she?' He wondered. She wasn't Alex's wife because the man had told him that he locked her up in one of his mansions.

"Hello, I am Zach and you are?"

May was bewildered. She asked a question but he replied with another question. Zach was saddened by the rejection, he chuckled lightly "You don't have to be scared...we are not Alex"

Adrain watched the whole transpiration with a bland look 'Eyeing someone else's property is a huge crime'

Zach didn't give up and still asked "You are?"

"MY WIFE...SHE...IS...MY...WIFE, SO STAY FAR AWAY OR I'LL CHOP OFF YOUR DIRTY D**K"

"..."

"..."