Mend My Heart

Chapter 5

Maya’s P.O.V

Lately, my life has just been full of surprises. Finding out that Theodore Duke was a father was the biggest one of all. And not to one child, but two little munchkins. Not waiting for the chauffeur, he opened up his door and got out just in time to grab the tiny individuals as they leapt into his arms. Not even a second later, a woman also rushed out of the house in a hasty manner.

“Aiden! Brianna! How many times have I told you two munchkins not to run? You could seriously hurt yourselves!” she yelled pertinently. Both children ignored her as they busied themselves with squeezing the life out of their father. 

“Hello my loves. Did you miss daddy?” he cooed at them, placing kisses on their cute faces. I chose that exact moment to get out of the car. 

“Yes daddy! But I missed you more than Brianna did!” Aiden bubbled excitedly; a look of pure adoration evident in his blue eyes as he stared up at his father.

Brianna stuck her tongue out at him before hiding her face in crook of her father’s neck. “H-he’s lying, daddy. I missed you just as much, if not more!” she pouted cutely, almost on the brink of tears.

Okay, if someone had told me earlier that I’d be witnessing this cute display, I would have laughed. No way would I have guessed that the Theodore Duke is a father of two adorable children, whom I was guessing were twins because they looked roughly the same age. My dumb self just had to audibly ‘aw’ at the scene, which caused an aggressive remark to erupt from someone.

“And who might you be?” the older woman fired at me, mercilessly scrutinising me with her inquisitive, accusatory and wise old eyes. She had features similar to those of Theodore, but not too evident. Judging by her physique, she had to be in her mid to late fifties. This was probably his mother.

In order to avoid her terrible glare, I looked over to Theodore but the imbecile was smirking at me once more. “Don’t tell me you’ve resorted to bringing your lady friends in the broad daylight? For shame, sonny. I taught you better than that!” she reprimanded him; her deadly glare now directed towards him. You know, I should be angry that this woman was basically calling me a hooker of some kind but it was also a perfect opportunity for him to clear the air on what exactly I was doing here in the first place. Now it was my turn to smirk at him.

He grunted in annoyance before placing the kids on the ground. “Must you embarrass me in front of my offspring, mother?” he stated in a whiny manner, avoiding my amused gaze. “If you must know, this is Maya Knight. She’s…someone who will be helping us around here for a couple of months.”

His mother’s eyes narrowed. “Assisting us with what exactly? We have two maids and a personal chef, not to mention gardeners, drivers and guards. Of what use will she be if we have virtually all the help we need?” she prodded further, briefly passing me a sideways glance. Ah, I heard about the British being nosy, shrewd and blunt. How refreshing.

Aiden and Brianna kept staring at me through curious eyes. I waved at them but they just simultaneously blinked at me. Did I also mention that the British are rude as well? Theodore ignored his mother and crouched down between the twins. “Brianna, Aiden, this is Maya. She’s a friend who will be staying with us for a while. Go over and say hello.”

At first, they looked at me with blank expressions but after Theodore gave them a gentle shove, they walked over to me slowly until they stood a few feet away from me. Brianna curtsied whilst Aiden did a little bow before they both said, “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Knight.” Damn, for a second there I literally thought they had shape-shifted into two tiny adults. The hell do the pompous Brits teach their kids these days?

Not knowing how to respond to this, I tried to mimic Brianna’s curtsy but failed miserably. It’s utterly embarrassing how the toddler were more sophisticated than I was. If my parents were here, they’d have definitely rubbed it in my face that I lacked etiquette and that other crap. “Mother, how many times have I told you to stop teaching my children these medieval mannerisms? We live in the 21st century for goodness’ sake!” Theodore breathed, exasperated by his mother’s antics.

She scoffed loudly. “Well, I wouldn’t have to teach them any of these things if you were around here more to raise them yourself or if Dana was still around-,” she had begun to trail off until Theodore cut her off abruptly.

“You will not speak of her in my presence, understood?” he hissed venomously, his blue eyes having gone shades darker that they seemed black. Okay, somebody hit a nerve. There was definitely a story there…whoever this Dana was, I could tell she had left a nasty scar in his life. Maybe she was the reason behind his masked sorrow and general aloofness?

He grabbed the twins’ hands and began to march towards the front door. “Maya, if you would follow me,” he said gruffly over his shoulder to me. I stumbled over my own feet to grab my luggage that the chauffer had left on the tarmac for me and obeyed. I would have been stupid not to listen to him. From what I’d gathered, this man was temperamental and I had not intention whatsoever to cross him in anyway. But knowing myself, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Upon entering the glass heaven, my jaw almost hit the floor. This place probably was fancier than most 5-star hotels, and that’s saying something. And to think that I was only in the foyer. Who knew what else this wonderland had in store? From the glass chandelier to the pristine white marble tiles that I could see my reflection in, I felt a pang of loathing and jealousy towards Theodore. How can somebody own all this, and more, plus be devastatingly handsome? His children were lovely too. He was basically living the dream life. Why had he brought me here? So that I could get a glimpse of the life I probably will never live?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice that he had appeared again in front of me, seeming to have pacified from his outburst a few minutes ago? “If you’re done daydreaming, I’ll show you to your room,” he told me in that aristocratic accent of his and motioned for me to follow him. Signalling to his right, I also got to see two middle-aged women wearing maid uniforms with their heads incline downwards, as a sign of respect.

“This is Meredith and Ann; they handle most of the household work. Meredith, Ann this is Maya Knight. She’ll be joining us for some time,” he introduced us in a monotonous voice, still not really hinting at what it is I’d be doing around here. They both did some sort of a bow, their heads still down but I caught them giving me a sideways glance. I could see that nosiness was a prominent feature in this house.

Theodore kept on walking along the hall, passing many doors until he opened one and walked into it. “This will be your room.” I stepped in and admired the beige walls, large windows overlooking the backyard which had an infinity pool, a soft carpeted floor and a queen-sized bed. He was about to walk out when my words made him halt in his tracks.

“You still haven’t described what I’ll be doing here,” I spoked lowly, looking at his suit clad back. 

Slowly he turned around and came to stand an inch away from me. He was so close that his breath was tickling my face. My heart rate spiked, for reasons unbeknownst to me. Dipping his head, he captured my chin gently and smirked. “Anything I ask of you, darling.” With that, he left the room along with the air from my body.

Holy hell, what did I get myself into?

__________________________
Hey guys. New Chapter for the new week. Sorry that this is a bit late. I had an exam today and had totally forgotten all about it! Thanks to @HafsaSiddiqui198  for reminding me. You're a darling!

So, what did we think of those chapter? Any thoughts on Ms. Duke, the twins and the mysterious Dana?

And just what is Theo going to make Maya do under his employ?

Keep tuned to find out!

Au revoir!

~Deetronite ♥️