Day Forty-Two…
~~*****~~
Nathan woke up and got off the bed quietly. He didn't want to disturb Abigail's sleep. He took a quick shower and asked his assistant to bring him a new set of clothes.
A few minutes later, he heard a knock from the outside. Nathan was only wearing his bathrobe when he opened the door.
Axel was back and came to work today. From the front door, he was surprised when he saw a glimpse of someone lying on Nathan's bed. The most surprising things he saw were the pieces of clothes on the floor.
'Huh? Master Nathan is not alone in his room… and some clothes are scattered on the floor. Did they…' Axel's imagination went wild. He didn't see Abigail entering Nathan's office a while ago. He just arrived at the office after leaving the Syphiruz Mafia Headquarters.
Upon noticing Axel's line of view, Nathan moved in front of him to block his view. Abigail was still naked underneath that blanket. He didn't intend to hide her identity, it's just that he was more concerned that Axel might see her nakedness.
Nathan accepted the paper bag containing his clothes. And he dismissed Axel's right away.
"Just wait for me in my office. Don't let other people enter… including my Dad." Nathan gave his command.
Axel could only bob his head in obedience. Deep inside, he was curious about the person lying in their CEO's bed. But he could sense that Nathan didn't want him there.
Bam!
Nathan shut the door even though Axel was still standing outside. Axel could only scratch his head as he left. Upon reaching Nathan's table, he saw the pending documents he needed to sign.
It was very unusual for Nathan to neglect those important documents. 'Ahem. The figure I saw there is definitely a woman. Who is she? Don't tell me… our Boss had sex with her? How do I explain the clothes on the floor?'
Axel was still trying to figure out the woman's identity when someone showed up. Chantha entered the office without even knocking.
"Axel–"
Axel quickly covered her mouth using his hand. Nathan ordered Axel not to let people in. But here she was barging into the office as if it was hers.
"What are you doing here? Don't you know how to knock? Our Boss forbids anyone from entering his office." Axel reprimanded Chantha in a low voice.
Chantha just blinked her eyes as she removed Axel's hand. "Why? What happened? I came here for work."
Axel shook his head. Then he grabbed Chantha's hand, dragging her out of the office.
"Hey! What's wrong? Is our Boss not in a good mood?" Chantha asked him curiously, following Axel.
Axel brought her to his cubicle and made her sit. He looked around to check if there were other employees around them. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw no one.
"Our Boss… brought a woman into his private room." Axel shared the information with Chantha.
Chantha gasped, her eyes open wide. "What?!" She blinked her eyes in disbelief. "Who?" she grabbed his shoulders, pulling Axel closer. Their faces were now a few centimeters away from each other.
Axel held his breath. Their closeness made his heart race. Chantha's face was too close. He could even kiss her if his head would move forward. His gaze fell on her red lips. He was tempted to kiss her.
"Hey! Tell me!" Chantha cupped his face, urging him to say a word.
Axel parted his lips but no words came out. He was distracted by her. His mind didn't absorb her question. Instead, he ended up giving her a smack kiss on her lips.
Chantha was utterly astounded when Axel's lips touched hers. When he drew back, Chantha reflexively covered her lips while eyeing Axel with disbelief.
'What the hell did he just do?'
Axel also realized his mistake. He was not supposed to kiss her. But he failed to control himself.
"Why did you kiss me?" Chantha hit him, pounding her fists on his chest.
Axel just smiled sheepishly while shrugging her shoulders.
"Let's find out who the woman is inside our Boss's private room." Axel immediately changed the topic.
Axel already left but Chantha remained seated on his chair. She was still baffled. She ran her fingers on the surface of her lower lip, tracing it.
'Oh Gosh! Axel kissed me… He kissed me!' Her mind wanted to scream. It was unexpected.
On the other hand, Axel hit his head, scolding himself inwardly. 'Damn it. I should have restrained myself. It is so embarrassing. Why did I do that?'
*****
Meanwhile, back to Nathan's private room, he was done putting his clothes on. He turned to the bed only to see Abigail waking up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She tugged the blanket to cover her chest.
Her cheeks reddened upon meeting Nathan's penetrating gaze. She felt embarrassed after remembering what they did in that room. Furthermore, she was still naked underneath that blanket while Nathan was now fully dressed.
"You can use the bathroom on the lift side if you want to take a shower. I will go out to buy you a new set of lingerie and clothes." Nathan didn't ask Axel to bring women's clothes as he preferred to buy clothes for Abigail personally. Furthermore, he didn't want Axel to find Abigail's lingerie size.
Abigail could only bob her head. She tried hard to conceal her blushing face. However, Nathan already saw her embarrassed expression. He just suppressed himself from smiling.
Abigail thought Nathan would leave immediately. But he stayed rooted in his spot, still staring at her.
"Aren't you going to leave?" Abigail asked him, biting her lower lip.
Nathan traced his steps toward her bed. Abigail frowned when she saw Nathan slowly approaching her.
'What is he planning to do?' Abigail tightened her grip on the blanket as she watched Nathan inching closer and closer to her.
A few seconds later, he stopped in front of her. Then he leaned over while lifting her chin. Nathan captured her lips once again, kissing her tenderly.
Abigail's heart skipped a beat and her body froze. Nathan was very gentle toward her. His behavior was too good to be true. 'Am I still dreaming?'
When Nathan broke the kiss, he even wiped the corners of her lips before saying, "I'm leaving now. I'll be back in a while. Be good. Don't go anywhere else."
Abigail: "..."
Abigail didn't understand him. But Nathan only meant for her not to leave without saying goodbye to him. He knew that Dave was already looking for Abigail. She might leave once Dave called her.
'How could I go anywhere? He ripped my clothes.' Abigail thought to herself, shifting her gaze to her clothes scattered on the floor.
Bam!
Nathan closed the door. When he disappeared from her sight, Abigail quickly got off the bed, proceeding to the bathroom.
She placed her hand on her chest. She could feel her heartbeat pounding so hard against her chest. Then she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Her mood became sullen as the realization came to her.
'This is Abigail's face. This is Abigail's body. Not mine. Nathan is falling in love with me… but the face he can see is not mine. The body he was touching is not mine. The lips he was kissing were not mine. I'm Phantomflake. Not Abigail.'
'If I return to my body… will he recognize me? I doubt…'
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