Maria woke up with a yawn, stretching her arms above her head and letting her hair slide over her face as she rolled to the other side of the bed. It felt like she had just gone to sleep, but when she looked at the clock beside the bed, it showed that it was already the beginning of another day. She had been tossing and turning restlessly for what seemed like an eternity, the incident of the previous night playing vividly in her mind and keeping her up half the night.
The whole night she was trying hard to not replay the kiss in her mind. Even when she did close her eyes for some brief periods, she would always find herself staring at Jayden's face before knocking him into the pool. That stupid, random kiss that should never have happened. She still had a lot of questions for him concerning why he did that, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't out of affection.
She wished a fairy could appear from the blues and wipe that memory from existence because she wasn't sure she could bring herself to face him and question him about his actions. Or maybe she should really pretend some mystic creature had actually tinkered with her memory switch.
"Ugh," she groaned silently.
Her head felt too heavy from lack of sleep, and the sun's rays weren't helping as they shone right onto her closed eyelids. When she finally decided to drag herself out of the warm bed, her eyes immediately found the full-length grand mirror revealing her messiness.
She looked like a total wreck right now, a combination of bedhead and sleep-deprived eyes as the bags under her eyes made them look even more swollen. Someone like her didn't fit in such a luxurious place. Speaking of luxury, that adjective was popularly associated with the Stanleys, and she had currently passed the night in one of the guest rooms at Stanleys' residence.
After the accident last night, she was driven to the estate on Delia's insistence after they met at the hospital when the mother had rushed over because of her son's condition. She had been offered the doctor to come along the manor and allowed her to stay there until the following morning, insisting it was rather too late and dangerous to return home, not with all the rumors and reporters swarming around the facility, in search of the lady that had been involved in Jayden's drowning incident.
So that was the story behind how Maria found herself waking on a king-sized bed in the middle of a room that looked like it was prepared for royalties, but she didn't feel particularly special being here. In fact, she felt very out of place.
She didn't even deserve the amount of kindness the madame had shown to her, considering the trouble she caused them by getting their precious heir apparent harm. Her actions were enough to bring a lawsuit against her if the family wished it.
Her cell phone lit up from the nightstand, indicating another message or missed call pilling up with the countless ones she was sure had been coming in from last night, sent by Ted, Grandma, and reporters looking for exclusive interviews.
She remembered forcing her phone into silence mode once she had assured her loved ones she was doing fine, wanting to avoid the persistent notifications that came flooding in. But now, she has woken back to reality and the sight of her phone had never been this daunting before.
Nonetheless, she found her hand stretching to take hold of the gadget in a bid to check whatever notifications had accumulated during the wee hours of the morning.
Scrolling down the phone's screen, she wasn't really surprised to see all the messages from Ted and her grandma, both asking them wanting to know if she was okay, and she couldn't help but feel guilty for causing them to worry.
Her moving thumb froze on the message that appeared next, making her lifeless blue eyes widen, followed by a soundless gasp that vibrated through her chest.
Maria immediately flinched from the bed, kneeling upright, and staring down at the four thousand dollars transfer alert from Jayden freaking Stanley with so much disbelief that even the air surrounding her felt thick and dense.
"Oh my God," she breathed helplessly, pressing a palm against her lips to suppress a scream. He really wasn't joking about paying her a thousand bucks per hour. Even if he actually wasn't because he obviously had that kind of money for a ridiculous deal, she was surprised he kept by his words despite ruining their both nights.
Repeated knocks on the door broke her chain of thoughts, making her drive her still very much dazed eyes towards the direction of the doorway, wondering who it was.
Normally, she could have guessed it was Grandma if she was at her apartment, but in a place that housed a lot of people including its owners and workers, it was rather difficult to guess who could come knocking at the door at any given moment.
"Miss Patterson, are you awake?" A soft voice called from behind the shut door and Maria immediately recognized it as Delia's.
She instantly pushed back the sheets that fell onto her body before climbing down from the bed. "Yes, yes, Mrs. Stanley," she gave in an attempt to not keep the woman waiting, adjusting the scattered strands of hair behind her ear with the help of the hand that still held her phone.
Maria moved towards the door with great steps, pausing only to look down at her attire to acknowledge her filthiness before opening it, revealing herself to the older woman standing on the threshold with a tray full of coffee, toast, and eggs.
She found her lashes fluttering at the sight of the breakfast, her eyes widening to the size of a saucer at the realization that the madame had humbly came all the way from her room just for her to serve her breakfast. She didn't even know what to say at the moment, not even realizing how her cheeks felt so hot with the kind gesture.
The woman seemed to have sensed her grateful thoughts, as her expression softened to one of a gentle smile. "I hope I didn't wake you up, doctor. I only felt you would be hungry by now," she commented, and Maria immediately waved her hands to dissipate the idea of waking her from sleep.
"Not all, ma'am..." her voice trailed off when her gaze found the scrambled eggs once more, her round face dissolving into a smile another smile to express her gratitude for such unexpected kindness. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Stanley," she managed to say through a tight throat, looking at the woman once again with an almost worshipful expression. Why were the Stanleys so nice? Definitely, all the negative rumors about them were certainly not true.
"May I come in?" Delia requested after acknowledging the appreciation with a smiling nod.
"Of course, please, yes, please." Maria ushered, opening the door wider for easy access and taking the tray of food in her hands. "Thank you. Please excuse the messy bed, I apologize you have to see it this way," she mentioned before closing the door, making the woman chuckle and they both stepped deeper into the room.
"Why worry about the bed? When you, young lady, are in a such hot mess." The woman teased playfully, before moving further to sit on the edge of the bed.
The younger lady bit her lower lip slightly while rubbing a straight elbow against the opposite wrist. She puffed, embarrassed, and the madame breaking into another light-hearted laugh made her cheeks burn even redder.
"Nothing to be shy about. It's Saturday after all. Why don't you take a bath and change into these once you are done eating?" The last part of Delia's words pulled Maria's face towards her, presenting to her sight the bag the woman held out towards her.
Squeezing her brows slightly, Maria moved closer to the woman and stopped right in front of the bed with a face plastered with a confused frown. Her guts were telling her that she was about to be showered with another unexpected kindness.
"Here, doctor." The older woman handed out the bag, anticipating her response as Maria hesitated for some seconds being dumb.
Maria opened the zipper of the bag slowly to find it contained some clothes; a flowery dress, a pair of flats, and underwear. All in elegant designs and great quality. It left her speechless once more, completely at a loss for what to say next. The breakfast was already enough to leave her overwhelmed.
"You really didn't have to do this. Thank you so much..." She uttered breathlessly, before closing the bag. "I can't thank you enough for your kindness," she continued in a whisper. Now she was getting really emotional. It was so thoughtful of the woman to do something like that.
Delia flapped a palm in the air, cutting her words off. "Oh, please, don't mention, doctor."
"No, it means a lot."
"Well thank me by changing into them as soon as you freshen up."
Maria smiled again with grateful eyes whilst nodding her head. The positive shaking of her head slowed down as a thought came across her. A thought about Jayden. She wondered what happened to him after she left the hospital, and hoped he was okay. "What about Mr. Stanley?"
"He is all better now. His men recently informed me that he just got discharged and would be home soon."
"Thank God, that's a relief." Maria breathed a sigh of relief, and Delia nodded in agreement with her face brightening with the same expression.
However, the corner of the older woman's lips was quick to sag, thoughts of her own forming in her mind. "Miss Patterson?" she slowly called, her face turning blank.
Maria stiffened slightly, for uncertain reasons, but the way Delia's voice suddenly lost color had her flushing her throat with dry saliva. The manner she had called her name sounded different from the tone she had been using; more serious like the tone of someone who was concerned and not happy about something.
"Yes ma'am?" Maria answered dryly.
"I wanted to discuss this with you last night but I decided to do that this morning."
"Yes ma'am."
"Are you and my son involved? Is there anything going on between you two?" Delia asked carefully, eyeing the young doctor in front of her with keen interest.
The question was definitely something Maria didn't expect from the madame. It surprised her, making her heart skip a beat before it was pounding inside her chest. A nervous tickle moved down her spine, making her gulp thickly. Involved? It certainly sounded really bad if the woman put it that way.
"Involved...," She began hesitantly, before clearing her throat to finish her statement. "That's impossible."
"Really?" The woman raised a brow, not looking entirely convinced. "I was surprised to find you at the hospital last night, but the matter on the ground made me not bother too much about it, or ask you concerning that. Well, I got to learn that you came as Jayden's date and that you two...kissed." Delia spoke slowly, watching Maria with an expression of intrigue.
The words brought Maria's heart a jolt of shock, abruptly and without warning. She gasped, staring back in disbelief, and wondering how in the world was the woman able to deduce all those information so accurately. She mentally gave Jayden a thumbs up for creating mess only for her to clean them up. How was she going to explain to his mother a situation she was even yet to understand?
"...No, we are not involved in any way," She found herself defending those particular words the moment she regained her voice and composure. "The thing is, ma'am, I was pretending to be Jayden's girlfriend yesterday night." And letting the cat out of the bag was the only logical cleaning method she could think of.
Delia's brows immediately pulled lower. "Really? Why?"
"Because..." Damn, Maria really didn't know either. "Because...he needed company to the party, and wanted his doctor to be present in case falls sick..." And damn, she was a pretty bad liar. At least, that would save her ass at the moment.
It seemed Delia easily bought that, the creases between her brows erasing significantly, but there was still some hint of suspicion on the woman's face. "But how does that explain the kiss?"
Maria bit her lower lip again, chewing it painfully as the woman's question troubled her state of mind. That question of Delia, she seriously had no answers to and would be nothing but a liar if she pretended to. "I think he was out of his mind," she finally replied, with the only reason she could think of.
Delia went silent for a while, her gaze moving sideways in the air and seeming to be pounding on something. "There is nothing between you two, you said?"
" Nothing, Mrs. Stanley," Maria stated firmly, more sure about that fact than her own name.
"He must have been drunk then," Delia said. "Jayden tends to get more intimate when drunk."
"Really?" Her brows pulled lower at the information, her tone holding a bit of doubt. Not at the information on how Jayden could be when intoxicated, but at the fact this same guy didn't taste anything edible at the party. Well, at least for the period she was with him, she could count on that. Unless he had something during the time she got ditched by him for another lady. And now the thought of the latter just entirely worsen her mood.
"I guess it is all settled now," Delia mentioned, her words pulling Maria out of her inner thoughts, and making her straighten her face back in place. "I will take my leave now to give you personal space, doctor." She added, rising to her feet and beginning to walk towards the door with Maria respectfully following her.
The woman stopped at the doorway, turning around to face the younger one once more. "And please, keep it that way, Miss Patterson."
Maria blinked. "Keep what way, Ma'am?"
"The relationship with my son. It would be best if you do not have anything more than necessary. I am sure you know what I mean." Delia raised an eyebrow at the blonde lady who was still pretty much processing her words and nodded her head in understanding when she finally did.
"I promise you, ma'am, there is nothing between your son and me, and there can never be."
"Good to know." The woman brightened with a smile. " Then I shall leave you now."
"Alright, Mrs. Stanley. Thank you for everything."
"Don't mention, you are like a family already, Maria." Her words made Maria's heart melt into the pit of her stomach, forming a watery smile on her face. They exchanged a couple of smiles, with Maria refraining from embracing the kind woman before Delia finally departed the room, leaving Maria back alone in her thoughts.
***