Chapter 114: 114: Eiri Laisrenn
Nothing could have prepared Anna for what lay beyond the massive gates.
"Ohh my broke ass," the gasp of surprise slipped out of her mouth on pure autopilot. Her eyes widened, turning into dinner plates.
It was like she’d stepped into an alternate realm.
In the far distance was a massive mansion. Even from a distance, Anna could tell that it was a beast of a building. But that wasn’t what shocked her the most. It wasn’t even the perfectly kept mutated plants lawn, or the elegant water fountains, or the fact that everything here felt so bright and so cheerful.
It was the people.
Lining both sides of the massive driveway were servants. They stood in a perfect straight line, white smiles on their faces, their attires of blues and soft greens shining in the afternoon sun. It was like someone had taken one person, copy and pasted into a hundred different places.
"What the..." Anna muttered, looking around her with wide, astonished eyes. "Are they real?"
"Yes," Kai replied.
Anna turned to him to ask another question when something else caught her eye. Another sports car racing down the driveway. It pulled to an impressive halt in front of them. Then a driver jumped out and held the door open, his head bowing the entire time.
Another one?! Omg I feel like a rich girl! And it’s not even my money!
"Shall we?" kai stepped up to the car, his eyes twinkling as a smile curled on his lip.
Anna turned to glance at Ray, but to her surprise, he wasn’t as shocked as she was. Almost like he’d seen things like this every day. A tiny suspicion gnawed in Anna’s heart but she quickly shoved it aside. There was no way.
They all got into the car.
The line of servants continued on and on and on, making Anna wonder just how long they would go on. As the car drove by, she wondered just how they were all abel to stand perfectly still and maintain cheerful smiles. Everything felt so unreal.
There must be hundreds of them...just who are my new employers?!
"Wow, wow, wowwwww!" Anna gushed and awed at every single thing in sight till the car came to a halt.
"Finally!" Kai announced as he stepped out of the car and helped Anna out. "We have arrived."
"Oh my goodness! All the way from the gate to the front doors?! Is this real? Am I in a movie or something?!" Anna looked around her with childlike wonder and curiosity. Truly, the servant line had extended all the way to the freaking front doors!
Kai extended his hand to Anna and she hooked her arm with his absent mindedly, her thought buggled by the sheer size of the mansion. It looked even bigger than the palace, and the palace was truly a monster of a building! Anna even felt dizzy.
Then the front doors burst open. They were massive, more like mini gates instead of doors. All heads turned towards the sound.
A tall woman dressed in a long, flowing gown made out of pearls stepped out from the mansion front doors.
Anna’s jaw dropped. Never had she seen such a stunning beauty in her entire life, both past and present.
She looked like a supermodel. Her hair was long, a pale pink that tapered into softer purple, braided and formed with shell clips and even more pearls. Anna had never seen such colorful pearls before. The woman’s skin was fair, almost translucent. Anna felt like if she touched her, she would bruise that fair skin. And her face was angelic. No. Angelic wasn’t even the right word. Otherworldly. Her lashes were long and pink, her eyes a pale almost watery blue.
Anna’s heart skipped a beat. "My goodness...." She muttered under her breath.
The woman carried herself with a grace and nobility that came from old wealth. She looked around the small party, and when her eyes landed on Anna, Anna forgot how to function. The woman smiled, then turned and looked at Kai.
Tears filled her eyes and she stretched out long slender arms, her pearl dress clinking and reflecting light.
"My darling," she spoke, her voice like that of the famed sirens. If Anna was stuck at sea and she heard that sweet voice, she would jump into the sea herself and—
Wait. My darling?! Ehhhhhh
The woman embraced Kai, hugging him tightly, her face radiant with smiles and tears staining her lashes.
"You’re back," she whispered.
Kai hugged her back, Just as passionately. "I’m home."
Anna’s brain flatlined.
My darling. Such passionate hugs. Could she be....
Her cheeks turned red and she turned to Ray, as if to ask "yo, you seeing this too?"
Is she Kai’s secret girlfriend?!
Anna felt a bolt of jealousy take root in her heart. By all standards of beauty, the pearl bedecked woman was gorgeous. And she looked...suited to Kai.
Ah, it finally made sense to Anna. When he said he found a job, he meant it would be at his mistress’s house.
Anna told herself that she was not at all worried about that. Or jealous. Meanwhile her left eye twitched the longer they hugged, and her hands balled into fists. The woman pulled back and Anna thought it was over, but then the woman pressed her forehead to Kai’s, whispering something only the both of them could hear.
After what felt like an eternity, the two separated. And Kai turned to Anna with a dazzling smile, so bright it almost made her forget her anger.
Almost.
"This is—" Kai started to say, probably to introduce them. But Anna didn’t care.
She stepped forward and stretched out her hand. "Good day Miss. my name is Anna and I’m grateful for the opportunity you’ve given me. Your house is so lovely and...I promise to do whatever work given to me with nothing but diligence."
The woman blinked. Shock filling her angelic features.
Her smile widened and she turned to Kai, and to Anna’s surprise, smacked him at the back of his head. "What did you tell her?"
Kai rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "I may or may not have withheld the truth."
Anna’s face burned and she lowered her hand to her side, subconsciously stepping closer to Ray. The truth. Here it comes. It was about to shatter everything Anna thought she knew about Kai.
"Sweetie please," the woman said, beckoning Anna closer. "Don’t allow this boy spin lies to you. Come closer, alright?"
Sweetie. She called me sweetie.
Anna blushed, glancing at Ray who gave her a small nod before she stepped closer to the woman. Before she could catch her breath or even form a sentence, the woman pulled her into a big hug.
Anna’s shoulders relaxed in instinct. There was something about this woman...something calming and sweet. Almost maternal. She smelled incredible too, like sunny days on a beach. Anna had never been to a beach, nor did she know what sunny days on said beach would smell like. Yet she was willing to bet her entire net worth that it was exactly how this woman smelled.
The woman pulled back, ethereal and glowing. "My name is Eiri Laisrenn, the matriarch of the Laisrenn house. It has come to my attention that you’re the lovely girl that stole the heart of my son."
Anna nodded, the words already at the tip of her tongue. Something along the lines of how she had no idea that Kai had a mistress and he never mentioned it, when the woman’s words actually registered.
"What?!" Anna gasped her eyes bulging with shock. "S-son? Kai he’s...he’s your son?!"
Lady Eiri pulled Kai to her side, forced him to bend and pressed her cheek against his. "Don’t you think we look alike?" She asked, smiling cutely.
Anna struggled to pick her jaw off the ground.
Now that it was clear she saw it!
They had the same eyes, and Kai definetely had his mother’s beautiful nose and the soft curvature of her mouth. Not to mention the blinding beauty. Beauty that could only belong to the sea!
Anna looked around her, at the massive mansion, the hundreds of servants, the lawn, the sheer amount of wealth staring at her.
If lady Eiri was Kai’s mother, and this was their house...
"Oh my goodness you really are a billionaire!" Anna gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "That’s why...that’s why you weren’t worried about anything! Oh my...oh my goodness! Why didn’t you tell me?!"
Ray moved closer to Anna and gently took her hand, as if grounding her. Anna was so grateful for his touch because she was damn near close to passing out.
Lady Eiri sighed softly and turned to look at her son. Her eyes were filled with love and admiration, and also relief. "It’s a miracle he’s home again. The story is not one that can be told out here." As she spoke she touched his face, cupping his cheeks gently.
Kai leaned into her. He looked the most emotional Anna had ever seen him. And she felt so stupid and guilty that she’d jumped into the wooden conclusions.
"Everything is fine now," Kai whispered. "I’m home. And I’m not leaving again."
Lady Eiri nodded. She suddenly sniffed and wiped her eyes, laughing softly as she turned to Ray. "I’m so sorry. You must be a friend of Mako,"
Mako. Kai’s real name. Anna swallowed as she thought for the origins of the name "Kai"
Meanwhile, Ray did a perfect bow. "My name is Ray, and It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Laisrenn. I have heard beautiful things about you."
"Oh my, my reputation surely precedes me."
Anna whirled around to Ray, shock plastered on her face. What the heck was going on?!
Then, all the servants spoke for the first time. Their voices in unison echoed out
"Welcome home, Lord Mako!"
And confetti filled the air.
That was the final straw. Everything piled on Anna, piling and piling till her eyes rolled back and she passed out.
