Chapter 8: Meeting him
Writer’s POV
Upon reaching the mini-mansion, Emi left, reminding Serena that she owed her one.
Serena felt that Emi was weird for liking her. It wasn’t that liking her was wrong. But when you’ve been hated by almost everyone you’ve come across, you start to find it weird if someone likes you.
Emi also made her uncomfortable with the stares she gave her. She couldn’t quite put a finger on the emotions; the look dissipated, and she didn’t want to ask and make it more awkward than it was supposed to.
As Serena made her way through the mini-mansion, she saw Grandma Felicia, who was talking to two servants. As she finished, she turned them away tiredly before smiling when Serena came into view.
“How was your first day working for the king, dear?” She asked, flashing a toothy grin.
“It was okay, ma’am,” Serena said, not wanting to go into details of what had happened with the king in his bedroom.
“Okay, dear, you must be hungry. Whenever you are hungry, you can either tell me or Isaac. You can even go into the kitchen and make something for yourself if you please. Now go to the dining room and join the others to eat breakfast.” Grandma Felicia said, and her stomach grumbled at the mention of food.
She just realized she had been in a hurry to leave and hadn’t waited for breakfast.
“Thanks, ma’am,” Serena responded, walking off to the dining room. There were only four guys, and Isaac was one of them. She was a little glad that there weren’t any girls around; they gave off a different vibe, and Serena felt uncomfortable in their presence.
“Hey darling, you must be done with your duties for now. Come sit beside me.” Isaac called, waving his hand at her.
Shyly, she went to him and took the empty seat to his left. The other guys spared her a glance but said nothing as they returned to their phones and meals.
As Serena glanced around the kitchen, her stomach rumbled in hunger. Isaac laughed. “Someone will come through with your breakfast. Don’t worry much, so how was your first day with the king? Or literally in the king’s bedroom?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Serena blushed in embarrassment; the way Isaac had said it made it look like she had done something other than bathe him. And even the other guys chuckled.
“I. Ugh. Nothing.” Serena blinked, stumbling over her words and fixing her hazel eyes on her lap. She could feel them grinning in amusement.
“Come on, I hope you didn’t piss him off. Did you hurt your nose? Why is that tissue stuck in there?” Isaac inquired, lifting her chin upward as worry clouded his features.
She pulled out the tissue, earning horrified looks from the guys who were eating. She mumbled sorry before wrapping it in her hand to throw away later. She was glad the bleeding had stopped; no wonder Grandma Felicia hadn’t noticed.
“I can see that you’re shy. No need to be shy around me, love.” Isaac grinned, letting go of her chin.
“Oh… And yeah, Serena. On a serious note, you and I are heading out of the castle today for grocery shopping. I’ll be taking you with me, so prepare yourself after breakfast.” Isaac announced, making Serena lift her eyes to stare at him in shock.
Before she could express her gratitude, a female servant walked in, keeping a tray of food in front of Serena. She mouthed a thank you at her, but the girl walked over to Isaac, and he kissed her on the lips.
As she giggled and left, Serena raised her brows at Isaac. Was he also dating her as well as Betty? She was confused. But Isaac laughed and said nothing to clear up her confusion.
Digging into her meal, her mind traveled to the events that had happened today. And she quickly downed her food, enjoying the discussion Isaac had with the guys.
She finally retired to her room minutes later to bathe and get dressed for shopping with Isaac later in the day.
She found the note with the rules and sat on her bed to read it.
Everything she was supposed to do daily was written here.
“Wow!” She breathed out after going through the rules.
Was she supposed to bathe the king every time he needed a bath? She wondered. Getting her emotions in place would have to be the first step in pleasing the king. She couldn’t allow a repeat of what happened today. Also, she needs to keep her thoughts away from him.
“Serena, baby, I think you should take a bath now. I’ll be coming back to pick you up.” Isaac called from outside her room, and she grinned before hopping into the bathroom soon after.
After scrubbing down her body and cleaning her nose, she went through her dresses and found a blue summer dress with white petals as a design. She pulled her hair up in a ponytail, checking herself in the mirror before walking out of the room.
Isaac wasn’t waiting outside, and she wondered where his room was. How was he going to know she was ready? She wondered before deciding to wait in the dining room for him.
On getting there, she met a guy sitting alone. He had sandy brown hair that fell past his shoulders.
She took a seat far away from him and concentrated her attention on one of the vases that were painted in silver.
“Are you waiting for Isaac?” The guy spoke for the first time, and Serena turned to him, nodding vigorously.
“Okay, I’ll tell him.” He said this before leaving the dining room.
A few moments later, she felt a presence behind her, and she turned to see Isaac walking hand in hand with another female servant. A flirty smile was on his face as he glanced at his phone, ignoring what the woman was saying.
She didn’t take her eyes off him, boring holes into his head as they drew closer. He finally looked up, smiling at her and tucking his phone away before turning to the girl with him.
“Ok, Bella. I’ll have to go now, sweetie.” Isaac planted a kiss on her forehead and turned to leave but she pulled him back and engulfed him in a deep kiss before pulling apart and walking away.
But not before she glared at Serena, swaying her hips as she left. Serena wondered why she would react that way. Was it because she would be leaving with Isaac to the store? She wasn’t sure.
Isaac, sensing her worry, came over to her, extending his right hand to Serena.
“Don’t mind her; let’s go,” Isaac said, but Serena didn’t take his hand; instead, she stood up, and they both started walking to the entrance of the house.
“Okay. Okay, I understand.” Isaac mumbled. But Serena paid him no mind as she started to grow nervous when he pulled open the door.
Was she really allowed to leave the castle? She decided to ask as they walked to a black Jeep waiting outside for them.
Isaac held the door open for her, and she started to chew on her fingernails as she got in. He slammed the door shut, walked to the driver’s seat, and stepped in.
He glanced at Serena worriedly but said nothing. Bringing the car to life, he turned the wheels and they started to drive out of the castle.
She noticed the guards and the lavishness of the estate once more. They drove out into the street. She sighed, finally seeing civilization again.
She didn’t realize how much she had missed the wind in her face, the sun burning down against her, or watching people go about their business.
They finally pulled to a stop in one of the city’s largest malls. She blushed, realizing that she had been there before, but not for shopping reasons or hanging out either.
Isaac shuffled his hand in his pocket before taking out a small piece of paper that looked like it had a list written on it.
“So, the two of us are going to do this real quick.” He mumbled while opening the door and getting out. Serena didn’t wait for him to open her door, she got out and stood beside him. He pressed a button on the keys, and the car made a beeping noise.
As they walked into the mall, the memories of why she had come here in the first place resonated in her head. She had come to apply for any vacant positions. She was so desperate that she was willing to take any post, even as a cleaner. But they had turned her away.
She didn’t know why either, but she had guessed it was because she was so ugly.
She followed Isaac down the aisle, took out a hand cart, and headed to the food aisle. He read items off the list, and Serena had to pick them out, shuffling them into the cart.
Despite shopping for groceries being a chore, she couldn’t help but feel happy as they talked about random things and laughed all the way.
She started to feel very comfortable around Isaac; there was something about him that made her feel like she could trust him.
And finally taking a break from the estate felt like the best gift she could ever ask for. Throughout today, she has been practicing holding down her emotions. So that when she stood beside him, he couldn’t feel the fear inside of her.
They kept shopping for groceries, going around the shopping mall. Laughing and talking about random things.
Serena couldn’t ask for more. Part of her was happy that she finally got to leave her house and the people she called her family and find a friend at the king’s castle, but part of her kept reminding her about the king’s temper.
Her smile suddenly dropped from her face at the recollection; she wasn’t sure she could do it. For years, she had always doubted herself about everything. But right now, she felt worse-scared for her life, scared of displeasing the King.
But right now, right here, she was grateful; the least she could do was enjoy shopping, however long it lasted.
“Hey, Serena, right?” She turned to the familiar voice behind her.
It was the blonde guy from the company, one of the interns, who had helped her up when she had fallen after spilling coffee in the Alpha King.
“Yes. Hi,” Serena replied shyly, tucking a bang of her black hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. She felt Isaac turn to watch them.
“You know him?” Isaac asked suspiciously, raising a brow at her.
“Yes.” She replied, and the blonde guy nodded also, and Isaac sighed.
“Okay, I’ll leave you two. We are done with the list anyway. Meet me at the counter.” He said before walking out in the opposite direction.
Serena watches him go before turning to face the blonde guy.
“I’m Martins. I never really told you my name.” He said, scratching the back of his head.
“Yeah. It’s cool.” Serena replied, not knowing what to say. She was never one for conversations or small talk.
“Okay. Uh. Is that your boyfriend?” Martins pointed at Isaac, who had just turned the corner, disappearing.
“No.” Serena blushed, answering too quickly. “He’s a friend.” She answered truthfully.
“Woah.” He sounded surprised. “Here, I was thinking you had no friends. I didn’t know you had such good-looking friends. So you got fired from the king’s company?” He asked.
“No, no, not like that. I never really got in anyway, but you won’t be seeing me there,” Serena replied, feeling a little sad that she never really got a chance to work at such a hugely recognized company.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about that. I was thinking about us being friends, but it turns out I won’t be seeing you there anymore.” Martin said, his gaze lowering with sadness.
“Yeah, you can give me your number, right?” Martin suddenly asked.
“Yes, yes,” Serena quickly agreed. Receiving his phone and typing her number in it.
“Alright, I’ll call you later then.” Martin smiled and left, but she didn’t see the evil glint in his eyes or the smirk on his face.
She blushed in excitement. She couldn’t believe that Martin had asked for her number; he was so handsome and he wanted to be her friend.
*
Finally meeting up with Isaac, they finished up and drove back to the estate.
“So, who is he? You look happy seeing him,” Isaac asked, emptying the foodstuffs on the table.
“Um.. who?” Serena tried playing dumb with a huge smile still on her face.
“That guy at the mall. Is he your crush?”
“He is; he is your crush. Don’t even try to hide it.” Isaac said, not even giving her a chance to reply.
She buried her face in her palm, and he laughed.
“Well, he is handsome, but not as handsome as I am.”
This time, she lifted her head to stare at him. “You bet.” She rolled her eyes.
“Oh, I see you defending him. That means you like him. How did you meet him? He doesn’t seem to know about your current situation.”
She told him how she met Martins and felt super proud that she had a new friend.
Isaac smiled. “Then he must be a great guy. You can see him when we go grocery shopping. I want you to see outside more.” Isaac stated.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything. For making me your friend, for allowing me to speak with him, for promising to take me with you every time.” Serena said.
“It’s nothing, love.” He smiled at her.
The memory of what had happened on their return suddenly flashed back at her and she groaned at it. The guards had searched them at the security post. Their actions puzzled Serena.
“But why do they keep searching us even though they know we work here?” She blurted out.
“Yeah. You can’t be too sure. This is the king’s castle. Security has to be extremely tight here.” Isaac answered, and she shrugged her shoulders. Is someone coming to murder the king?