Chapter 4

Tasha ate fast, she hurriedly walked out because she was concerned about Malachi, and she met him washing clothes.

"Why are you washing clothes? You should have left them for me. I will take care of it."

He veered around to look at her. "If you can take care of it, why haven’t you done so before now? Go inside and rest. I will wash everything." He declined.

"No," she shook her head in opposition. "You should go inside and eat. I have put a pain reliever tablet on the dining table, take it and rest."

He smiled lightly. "Are you worried about the hit that bitch hit me?"

"Don’t worry about that. I am a man, so I am fine."

"Okay, let me join you." 

She walked to the other side and drew the clothes he had washed to the tap. She fetched water on them and rinsed them. 

She spread them on the laundry drying rope and walked back to him. 

"Thank you." She beamed.

The sun set on her while she was smiling, and her teeth glittered. Her smile was brighter and he couldn’t take his eyes off her till she noticed.

She raised the left side of her lower lip and looked at him. "What’s it?"

He quickly took his eyes off her and continued washing clothes.

He cleared his throat and lifted his head to see her looking at him. 

"What?" He asked.

"Why are you looking at me?" She queried.

"Why would I look at you?"

"Do you like my smile?" She grinned.

"What’s special about it?"

"Nothing is special about my smile?" She flung a question in a surprised way.

"Yes. I am not joking. I am stating the fact. I will gain nothing from lying to you." He poured out.

She stopped washing and withered her face and sighed down, weakly. "That means Talon has been lying to me since."

He ceased washing and looked up at her with interest. "What did he tell you?"

"He said I have the best smile in the world." She made a reply, and he burst into a peal of mocking laughter that lasted for seconds.

"What call for that? What's nothing?"

He suddenly stopped and gave her a serious gaze.

"Talon lied to you because he loves you. If you love someone, whatever they do is right. If they are wrong, you accept it with flaws."

She bit her lower lip and nodded, making a comprehending sound. "Hmmm."

"Talon must have truly loved you deeply." He pointed out.

She looked down and embarked on a silent journey.  

"Let’s continue washing." He tried to get her out of thought.

She exhaled tiredly and bent her neck to wash, and a question suddenly paved the way into her mind.

She disinclined to ask, but it was eating her heart, and she freed it.

"Have you ever loved someone and her smile always makes you happy and you love her with flaws?"

He looked straight into her eyes and smiled. "I have only loved one person in my whole life but I only saw her cry," 

He nodded in a sad manner and scoffed.

"I don't know her flaw, but I am ready to accept it no matter what it is. I saw her smile earlier, but I was not happy. Instead, I am sad and worried about her."

"Why?!" She dug deeper.

He sighed. "I am not sure, but I feel something bad is around the corner."

"Okay. Can't you stop it?" She questioned.

"I am worried I can't stop it once it starts, but I will try my best to prevent it before it happens," he explained. His voice was low, and she pitied him.

"Things will work out great if she heeds to my call." He declared.

"Where is she? Who is she?" She grew interest.

He looked at her, and she patiently waited for his response. He said nothing, and she cleared her throat.

"Nevermind, if it’s a secret, don’t tell me. But if she doesn’t know yet, let her know," she advised.

"If you burden love in your heart for a long time, it will hurt you later."

"Thank you." He smiled at her and continued washing.

"You are a nurse. Are you not going to work or are you on vacation?" He asked.

"Yes, I am supposed to be on a one-month vacation, but I will resume work on Monday." She answered in a low voice.

"Why? Did the hospital cancel it?"

"No, Talon gave it to me and I am worried he may refuse to pay my salary because of what happened and I need money." She said.

"What do you need money for?" He asked.

"To take care of my mum and sisters." She briefed her answer.

"Is that all?" He asked in a belittling manner.

"Yes, and no." she answered.

He frowned at her in confusion. "Yes, and no?"

"I also want to go because I am worried about someone." She clarified.

"Who? Talon?" He asked.

She shook her head in negativity. "No."

"How much is the total sum of money you need?" He asked.

She scanned her up and down. "If I tell you, what will you do? Do you have money to pay?"

"In my whole life, Talon is the only one that is near me and he have what I need; money." She announced.

"Are you considering going back to him?" He asked in a loud-emotional-concerned tone.

"I am not sure, but it may later turn that way." She answered.

"Tasha, what can I do to make you happy?" He asked.

"Only one thing can make me happy and, unfortunately, you don't have one. So, there is nothing you can do to make me happy." She disgraced him.

He looked down and yelled at her in pain. "Is money all it takes?!"

She was shocked, and she looked at his eyes that screamed anger.

"What happened?" She asked in a squirm of fear.

He closed his eyes and calmed down. "I am sorry, I remembered something…"

"Okay." She shook her head.

"I will go inside and rest. I feel a slight headache."

"Okay." She said.

He walked inside and she eyed him till he entered.

"What’s wrong with him?"

<<SUNDAY’S EVENING>>

"Come out, Tasha. Food is ready!"

Malachi’s voice reached Tasha in her room. 

She was pressing her phone, and she put it down. She wore her slippers and walked out to the kitchen.

She opened her mouth wide in shock. Seeing the way he set the table, and merely looking, she calculated how expensive everything would be.

"Where did you see the money to prepare this?" 

He smiled at her and helped her to draw the chair a little backward. 

She sat down.

"I told you I still have a little cash with me. Besides, my card is credited and there is enough to spend till I get a job." He explained.

"Okay."

He served her plate and moved it closer in front of her.

"Eat and let me know how it tastes."

She picked up the spoon and ate it. She spoiled her mouth like the food was awkward.

"What’s wrong? Is the food that bad?" He asked in a worried tone.

She looked at him and said nothing. Rather, she started eating as fast as she could. She quickly finished the first plate and served herself another one.

"How is it?" He asked, looking at her.

She looked up at him and noticed he wasn't eating. "Why are you not eating?"

"I prepared it for you. So, enjoy it. Tell me my score and why it is low." He smiled, welcoming.

"I haven’t rated it yet. How did you know your score was low?" She asked.

"Because I am not good at cooking." He downgraded himself.

"If you are the one that cooks this, your cooking is fantastic. I will give you one thousand of hundred. You score more than the rate." She smiled.

"That’s good," he shook his head. 

"Will you employ me as your chef?" He pushed a question at her.

"I wish I can, but…" she said and paused.

He looked at her in curiosity. "But what?"

"I don’t have money to pay you." She stated.

"Yes. That's true. And I need money. So, I can't work for free," he reasoned along with her.

She wanted to continue eating, and he offered an alternative.

"If I become your chef, will you pay me with something else?"

"What’s it?" She queried.

"I don't need it now, but I will need it anytime in the future. Will you give it to me?" He asked.

"What's that thing?" She questioned.

He pointed his middle finger into her eyes. "I will let you know when I need it. Deal or no deal?"

"Deal."

He curtsied his head and placed his hand on the left side of his chest. "From now on, I, Malachi, is your personal chef," 

"No matter where I am or how busy I am, I will run to you once you ask for food."

She looked at her and smiled. "You are weird. How can you make that promise?"

"Why can't I make such a promise?" He queried.

"Are you sure you can always fulfill it?" She asked.

"Yes. I promised and I know I will always fulfill it," he confirmed.

"It’s just left to you to keep yours, too. Will you?"

She nodded. "Yes. I promise."

"Where is my official dress?" She asked.

"I have thrown them away."

"Why?"

"I noticed Talon customized it for you and I thought it is not good to wear it to work. He will…"

He tried to give an excuse, but she cut in.

Her eyes turned outrageously red, and she brushed her upper teeth on her lower teeth. She hit the spoon on the table and stood up on her feet. 

"Did I send you to throw them away?!"

"When did I tell you I didn’t want to have anything with him again?!"

She yelled at him. "Where did you throw it?"

"In your wardrobe." He answered.

She looked at him, and a confused tone left her mouth. "Hun?!"

He drew the food plate closer and ate a spoon before he answered her. 

"I see the dress is precious to you, you just don’t have time to iron it. I have ironed all your clothes and hung them in the wardrobe."

She walked into her room with her footsteps screaming anger. She opened the wardrobe and instantly fell in love with the wardrobe she used to think was full of rags.

She couldn't believe what she saw. She looked at it densely for minutes and smiled at it. 

She couldn’t remember the last time she arranged her clothes in the wardrobe and there she was standing; looking at everything neat.

She gently touched every part of the wardrobe like her hand was dirty and she didn't want to stain the wardrobe.

She closed the wardrobe and ran outside to the dining room. 

She stood guiltily for minutes and summoned all her confidence to move closer.

She stood in his front like a criminal in front of the judge and pleaded. "I am sorry,"

"I didn't mean to raise my voice at you, I just…"

He didn't allow her to complete her statement and indirectly shut her up.

"It’s okay. Eat the remaining food, so I can clean everything at once."

"Thank you." She beamed and sat down.

"Malachi." She called and ceased.

He looked at her, asking, "what?"

She looked down in embarrassment and sighed.

"I shouldn't say this, but I can't keep it anymore." 

"I have known Talon for years, but I don’t feel connected with him as much as I do with you," she confessed.

"You transform me within two days and this is the first Saturday my landlady didn’t shout at me for environmental sanitation…"

"Talon spent lots of money on me, but you protect me from him when he turns himself into a stranger,"

"You showed up when I needed you and you acted like we had been together for a long time. You take proper care of me. I think I love you."

Her words were emotional, and he coughed at the last line. 

She ran to her side and gave him water to drink. 

She put her hand on his back and rubbed it down. 

"Are you okay?" She asked. Her voice was high in worry.

He looked at her because he didn't expect her to act so concerned.

"I am fine." He answered in a low voice.

He freed his body from her arms and stood up.

"I am coming." He excused and walked into the kitchen.

She elevated her shoulder to her neck and wore a confused facial expression. She stretched her hands forward in a questioning manner.

 "What’s wrong with him?"

"Is he hiding something?"

<<MONDAY MORNING>>

"Grrrrrr! Grrrrrr! Grrrrrr!"

Tasha’s phone alarm rang. 

She groaned and rolled to the other side. She picked up her phone and muted the alarm and turned to the other side to continue sleeping.

"Tasha, come out!"

Malachi’s voice came from upstairs.

"Oh, shit!"

She stood up and sat on the bed with her eyes half opened. She put her hand on the bed and crawled to the bed edge with her bottom.

She stood on her feet and walked into the bathroom.

She brushed her teeth and took a bath and went out to the bedroom. She wore a short skirt and a long top. She picked up her phone and checked the time.

"It’s late already. I should make coffee and eat breakfast in the hospital."

She put her phone down and walked outside to meet Malchi, setting the table.

"What’s this?"

Her question came to him from behind, and he turned to her, smiling. 

"Good morning. How was your night?" He asked.

She nodded. "Great,"

"When did you wake up to make this kind of dish?"

"You know I am your chef and since I know you will go to work tomorrow, I woke earlier because I didn’t want you to be late," he explained.

"Come closer and eat."

She walked to the table and sat down. He served her, and she ate.

After eating, he packed the plates and dishes for the kitchen, and she went into the room and dressed.

She came out ten minutes later, and he also came out of the kitchen.

He gazed at her and asked, "are you not going to work again?"

She bent her mouth to the left and looked at him. "Don’t you see I am already dressed up for work?"

He looked at her again and cracked up. "Why will you go to work like this?"

She looked at herself and lifted her eyes up to his gaze. "What is wrong with my dressing?"

"Nothing." He said and burst to a peal of mocking laughter that lasted for minutes.

"Why are you laughing?" She queried.

He stopped laughing and answered, "nothing."

She hissed and turned to her room. She wore another dress and went out.

"How is this?" She asked. 

She stood in front of him and wrinkled in seduction.

He tried not to smile, but her dress called for more. He covered his mouth with his left hand and pointed the right at her.

"This is even worse!"

She looked at her with irritation and wished to punch her in the face. She closed her eyes to control her anger and hissed.

She walked past him, and he held her back. 

She flung his hand away in anger. "Leave me alone!"

"You are not vague. Let me help you choose a perfect dress." He offered.

"No!" she yelled.

"Please…" He pleaded in a childish tone, rubbing his hand.

"Okay. But I am very sure you can’t choose anything better than this." She assured him.

"Why?" He asked.

"Talon has a high taste, and he always appreciates my dress." She explained.

"High taste my foot,"

He smiled and grabbed her hand, and he dragged her into the room.

He opened the wardrobe and stared at it for a minute. He scanned everywhere with his eyes and traced them with his hand.

He picked a light blue skirt from the left side, and a white top from the upper right.

"This should be perfect, right?" 

He smiled at the clothes in his hand and walked to her.

"Put it on and let me see how it will look on you."

She scoffed and clapped her hands twice. "Why should I put them on because you ordered me?"

"You don't need to put them on because I ordered you. I won't force you to do things," he said.

"But you should wear it because it will glitter your beauty."

She raised the left part of her nose and snatched the dress from him. She waited for him for a minute to go out, but he was still standing.

"Will I dress in front of you?"

He cracked up and walked out.

She took off her clothes and flung them away.

She picked the skirt to wear first, but it was too tiny for her. She tried to force it and she fell on the bed.

"This is painful…"

She walked to the bed and sat down and she forced the clothes to enter her body. She sighed in relief and rested four minutes before she picked up the baggy clothes and wore them.

She wandered to the mirror and stood in front of it. She raised her upper lip to her nose and looked at herself unevenly.

"Is this a dress?" 

"I will never wear this out!" She screamed.

He heard her voice and ran inside in concern. "What happened?"

She gave him a deadly look and hissed. She walked to bed with anger and she almost fell down. He ran to hold her back, but she took his hand off him.

She gazed at him and walked to pick up her bag and she veered around to the door in anger.

He clapped his hand excellently and opened his mouth wide.

"Wow!" He let out.

She stopped walking and turned to him. "What’s it?"

He walked closer to her and kissed her on the forehead.

She looked at him densely and swallowed her saliva. She looked around and roughly cleaned her forehead.

"You are exquisite!" he announced.

"Why have you been hiding your gems' body shapes?"

"Hun?!" 

She blinked her eyes twice and pushed him back.

He grabbed her hand so he wouldn't fall and she fell on top of him on the bed.

Their lips stared at each other and their eyes locked up.

Her hands were on his chest and he held her bottom in his hands.

Her eyes widened in shock and she couldn’t move her body or open her mouth to talk for a minute. 

She shook her head and stood on her feet.

She felt embarrassed and stood in front of him like a criminal caught in stealing.

"I need to get going," she said.

He understood how she felt; he stood up and snickered.

"What?" she asked in a childish tone.

He crossed his hands on her chest and took a step closer to her.

"What?" she asked and took a step backward.

He didn't reply, and he took three steps closer.

"What are you doing?" She asked and took five steps backwards in fear.

He didn't answer her and continued to move closer.

She continued to move backwards till her back touched the door and she couldn't move anymore.

He moved closer to her and separated his arms.

"There is a wool on your eyebrows…"

"Hun?!" She looked at him in surprise. She didn't believe him and she tried to remove the wool, but she couldn't.

He helped her to take it and showed it to her.

"Did you think I was lying?" 

"What do you think I want to do when you are running from me?" He queried.

She cleared her throat. "Nothing. I want to get going."

She turned to leave, but his question stopped her.

"When last did you comb your hair?"

She turned back to him and touched her hair. Her hair was rough and tangled.

She looked down, embarrassed. "Hmm."

"I understand, don't worry," he smiled in a mocking manner. 

"You can't ruin the look I created for you because of this rough hair, so I will help you comb it."

He grabbed her hand and took her to a chair in front of the mirror.

"Sir down."

She sat down and he covered her neck with a towel. 

He poured a hair cream and mixed it with a relaxer. He rubbed it together and applied it to her hair.

He picked up and combed and combed it very well till it straightened, and he packed them with a hair rubber.

He removed the towel from her neck and turned her neck around so she would look at herself in the mirror.

"How is this?"

She looked at her hair and adored it. A memory of how her father used to comb and pack her hair when he was alive zoomed into her head, and she smiled.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

She stood up and hugged him. "Yes, I love it. Thank you so much."

"You are the first person who made me feel the aura of my father for fifteen years ago."

A saddened drop of tears fell from her eyes. 

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her body.

"It’s fine. From now on, you can call me anytime you need help. I will run to you." He vowed.

She put her head on his shoulder and cracked up. "This is your second promise to me. Are you sure you can keep it?"

"It’s human nature to make promises and break them, but may I never see what will make me not fulfill my promise to you?" He uttered.

She looked at his face and hugged him more tightly. "Thank you."

"It's fine." He patted her head.

Three minutes later, he separated their bodies and walked to the bag shelf. He picked a white bag with a blue flower design.

"Red doesn’t match blue and white. Take this."

She smiled happily and collected the bag, but stood on a spot and fixed her eyes on his gaze.

"What’s it?" He inquired.

"Talon bought everything I have for me, but he has never cared about how I use them," she said. 

"But you care about how I do things, just like my father did when my mum bought things for me. My dad dressed for me and he wouldn’t eat till I eat." 

She smiled happily saying those words, because she could visualize everything.

"I have an interest in your father. He must be a lovely father." He made a joke.

She shook her head up and down, smiling. "Yes, he is the best man. He loves me. He didn’t care about what I wanted, he focused on what he wanted for me,"

"But believe me, everything he wanted for me is the best. But too bad I later found out after his death and I regret leaving him angrily that day."

Tears rose in her eyes, and her body shivered in sadness. She closed her eyes, and the sad tears rushed out.

He walked closer to her and hugged her. "I guess as long as I am with you, I will keep adding to my promises," 

"Now, I have to vow that I will protect you, and you will have no reason to cry or be sad as long as I am near you."

She slowly freed her body from his arms and held his hands. 

She looked straight into his pitiful eyes. "The only thing that will continue to make me happy is money,"

"I need money to keep my mother alive and healthy, and to take care of my sister, because that’s what will make my father happy if he is alive."

He went quiet for a minute and took his eyes off her. "Time has gone. Get going."

"Yes."

She left his hands and packed her stuff from the red bag to the blue bag. 

She hung it on her shoulder. "I am ready to go."

He opened the door for her, and she walked out.

"Bye." She waved at him, walking downstairs.

"Bye." He answered in a low, unusual voice.

She looked back and beamed at him. "Are you missing me already?"

He cracked up, but didn’t say a word. 

"Don’t worry, I will soon be back." She grinned.

They smiled at each other and she walked down stairs. 

She looked back and saw he was still following her.

"Are you going to the hospital with me?"

"No, I want to see you off to the bus station." He answered.

"Okay." She smiled and waited for him to reach her.

They walked out of the compound, and Malachi saw three men in suits. 

The men were standing beside a luxurious car and they were looking around like they had lost something.

He ran back inside, and she walked back to him.

"What’s it?" She asked.

"I am sorry. I won’t be able to go with you. Bye."

He waved at her and ran inside before she could say anything.

"What’s wrong with him?" She wondered.

She stood for seconds and walked toward the main road.

Malachi ran into the house, he picked up his phone and dialed a number saved with 'Mr. Brook'

The number didn't ring twice before the fellow picked up.

"Hey Malachi, long time no see. Are you wondering how I have a clue about the area you are?"

An old man said with a transparent smile in his voice.

Malachi sighed deeply in frustration. He held his waist with his left hand and bent to the left a little.

"Old man, what the fuck do you think you are doing?" He asked in a low voice.

"Can’t I live my life the way I want?!" He yelled.

"Must I live my life the way you want?!"