The Unlikely Fiance

Chapter 4

THERE ARE several muscles in the body that were meant to stay dormant for the rest of your life but Pam managed to get her personal trainer to discover them on Clarissa and make them active again. Clarissa could barely get out of her car without groaning. Every joint ached and every muscle quaked with the after-shocks of the intense workout session. To make matters worse, Pam made sure that she signed up for the monthly subscription of the gym where she was expected to attend at least three times a week.

Clarissa never saw the need to work out. She didn't have any extra body fat to burn no did she need to run after a bus or a taxi. When Sidney woke up early in the morning for a run down to the park, Clarissa turned to the other side of her bed and cozily snuggled deeper into the soft and opulent mattress. Oh how she loved her bed.

When she entered the apartment, her sister was out and it was dark. Sidney must have gone to work and Mick, the five star Master Chef, was gone too. A pout appeared on her face as she practically crawled  her way to the bathroom and jumped into the bathtub for a nice hot bath to sooth her aching body. After that, she pulled her pale hair into a high pony and wore her pajama pants with a white vest before she went hunting for food.

Please let Mick remember to leave some food. Please! She sent a silent prayer and opened the microwave to find a yummy piece of lasagna and veggies.

"Thank you, Mick!" she jumped up and down then as she was about to sit and eat, she noticed the note stuck on their fridge.

Hey Clarie, food in the microwave. Sidney's sleeping over at my place today so don't wait up.

P.S. I made some chocolate pudding and it's in the fridge. Enjoy! See you on Saturday!

"I love you, Mick." she kissed the note and went on to eat.

It didn't disturb her so much that her sister was going to sleep over at a man's house. She was twenty four, she was old enough to take care of herself. Clarissa was only envious that Sidney would be well fed while she downed frozen dinners.

Does Nicholas know how to cook? She had no idea where that thought came from but it had her choking out broccoli and minced meat. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? He was forbidden, bad news and all the red lights were on and the warning bells were ringing but Clarissa found herself more and more intrigued by him. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she poured herself a nice tall glass of water. What did he mean by that French verse he used on her? She remembered the exact words and that gave her an idea.

She quickly cleaned up her plate and loaded it into the dishwasher before she made her way to her room. She sat down for a moment then opened up her laptop and Google translated the sentence.

"A la proche enfoer." she typed and frowned when the Google Translate suggested a different sentence. Did you mean A la prochaine fois?

Clarissa clicked on the suggested sentence and waited. Her eyes bulged out as the meaning appeared; until next time. All this time she feared retaliation but all the bloody sentence meant was until next time? Clarissa smacked her forehead. "Stupid, stupid, art teacher. The fact that you even know Pierre Renoir and his works is a wonder! Ooh!" she collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes.

FRIDAY MORNING came with rain clouds and a cold breeze. Madeline was back since Wednesday and so Clarissa didn't have the opportunity to see Nicholas again after that. Sigh! It was good news for her because she wanted to forget ever meeting him. She was still very much heartbroken and wasn't looking for anything complicated...not that she ever thought of dating Nicholas.

Cough! Cough!

She wasn't looking for anything at that moment other than her career as both an art teacher and an artist. Her phone buzzed loudly from her handbag as she made her way from the parking lot towards the school entrance.