THE next morning, Karma woke up early. When she looked at the digital clock on the bedside table, it was already 5:30 in the morning. Brenna was still fast asleep beside her, so she didn’t wake her up. She carefully got out of bed and stepped out of the room. She smiled because the whole house was still quiet. If anyone was awake at that hour besides her, it was probably just the maids.
She went straight to the kitchen to make coffee. She planned to drink it upstairs, just in case Leo happened to be in the kitchen. When she arrived, no one was there. Perfect! Making coffee would be much easier. She immediately got to work. The only problem was she didn’t know exactly where the utensils were. It took her a few seconds to finally find the coffee cup. It had been in the cabinet at the far end all along.
She began brewing the coffee with careful movements. What if someone heard her? And worse, what if it was Leo? In the middle of her preparations, a maid came in. She greeted her and smiled. The maid smiled back. What surprised her was when the maid looked toward the door and smiled again at whoever was there. Nervously, she froze mid-step while making her coffee.
“Good morning, sir,” the house help said.
A small gasp escaped her lips as she froze in place, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, as if something sinister lurked behind her. She knew Leo was there even without turning around. Her body reacted instinctively to his presence, and her heart pounded rapidly, vibrating in her chest.
“Good morning,” he greeted. His greeting wasn’t really directed at her, yet the hair on her neck and arms bristled. It was as if he had whispered those words just for her. She didn’t know whether she should leave her coffee or not. She wanted to run while she still could. She looked back. At that moment, she saw that the maid had already left the two of them alone. Panic surged even more. Without thinking, she placed her coffee on the kitchen counter and hurried toward the door.
“Karma, wait.” He grabbed her arm. She felt like she’d been electrocuted at the touch of his palm on her skin. It felt like a million tiny fires igniting all at once. She wanted the sensation to disappear, so she brushed his hand away. She did it forcefully, causing herself to stumble backward. Leo did let go of her arm, but he stepped closer to her. Karma felt trapped. She looked at the door, silently praying that Brenna—or anyone—would suddenly appear. Unfortunately, no one came.
“Karma, please. Don’t leave.”
“Stay away from me, Leo.” They said it at the same time. She placed her hands against his chest and pushed him back.
“I just want—”
“If you want to be friends, forget it.” She cut him off mid-sentence. “I’m here for Nicole. Please, Leo. Let’s just pretend we don’t know each other.” That was it, and she turned away. Whatever else he wanted to say, she had no intention of listening. Above all, she couldn’t accept her body and heart’s reaction to seeing Leo. She should hate him—she shouldn’t feel any longing. She should shove into her mind what he had done to her before. He broke her heart, and she didn’t want to feel that kind of pain ever again.
She sighed. She never got to drink her coffee. Brenna had just woken up when Karma entered their room. She was still yawning.
“Good morning,” she said. “Where have you been?”
“Um, the kitchen,” Karma answered.
“Indulging your addiction again?” Brenna teased, knowing Karma loved her coffee. She smiled sheepishly and nodded. Just then, someone knocked on the door. Her smile slowly froze. Had Leo followed her to the room? She wanted to hide under the bed, but she stopped herself. She didn’t want Brenna to find out what happened in the kitchen.
“I wonder who that is? Please open it, Karm,” Brenna said, now standing up from the bed.
Karma swallowed hard. What if it was Leo, waiting outside for her to open the door? The person outside didn’t say a word. Maybe it really was him. Oh, God.
“Karm? Are you okay?”
“Huh? Y-Yeah.” Karma laughed nervously.
Brenna rolled her eyes. “If you don’t want to open it, then I will.”
“No! Wait, I’ll do it.” She said it louder than intended. Brenna stared at her as if a second nose had grown on her face. Before she could ask anything, Karma hurried to the door.
Please, God. Not Leo, she prayed weakly. She turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. She sighed in relief when no one was there. But she was surprised to see, on the floor right in front of the bedroom door, a cup of coffee—the same coffee she had made earlier in the kitchen.
She bit her lower lip. Leo knew her loved for coffee. It was definitely him who had put it there.