Broken

NINE

Leila's POV

I shouldn't have asked that question. What was I thinking? He'd obviously avoided the topic, and there I was, asking about her anyway. I ought to be ashamed of myself.

And, now, here I stood, early in the morning in the kitchen, waiting for him to come from his morning run. The weather seemed a little friendly that morning, but I could tell that it was definitely going to rain again today.

The front door opened, and the sound made me stand abruptly, making me almost knock my head on the upper cupboard door that was open. Maybe the universe wanted to play a wicked trick on me by letting me have a big huge lump on my head.

I took hold of the pot and put it on the stove. Just as he got into the kitchen, I turned to look at him. Wearing a black sleeveless hoodie and grey joggers, he stood where he was, looking at me.

"Mr Carter..........good morning."

He nodded and replied gruffly, then went to get his water. Just as he was about to leave, I spoke.

"Look, about last night-"

He suddenly turned, and looked at me again, his piercing gaze pinning me to the spot, making me mute. His voice was deep and, dare I say, mesmerising.

"Don't worry yourself. It's okay."

I looked down, trying to keep my focus on apologizing to him.

"But, I know that-"

Two large hands suddenly held onto my shoulders, making me look up, to see that he was now in front of me. That was the closest he'd ever been, and I felt his presence. His grey eyes were soft, kind of, and I couldn't help but look.

"No, you don't know anything. As I said before, don't worry yourself over things you don't understand."

I nodded, not knowing what to say due to his close proximity. He smiled then, that smile that made his dimple come out. He squeezed my shoulders. My eyes scanned his face, looking for any signs that he was lying, and found non. I smiled at that, and his gaze went to my lips. No one said anything, but I could feel that something was going on between us. Like, a hot current sizzled around us. When I cleared my throat, he let go of my shoulders. After clearing his own throat, he excused himself, and walked out of the room.

He really was handsome.

Shaking my head, I hit my head lightly with my fists.

What's wrong with you? Just.......focus, okay?

As I made breakfast, I couldn't help but think about him. Why was it that he was becoming more and more handsome as the days went by? I began to notice some features about him that I usually didn't.
His eyes seemed to be more attractive and mysterious than when I'd saw them the first time. They were a dull grey for me at that time. His face was kinda above average at first, now I saw him as a very beautiful specimen.

Laughing to myself, I just realized that it was my employer I was talking about. Knowing how wrong and crazy that was, I told myself to stop with these thoughts. They wouldn't help me with anything.

I went to Emilia's room and bathed her. After wearing her uniform, I took her with me to the dining room. Mr Carter was already there making his coffee.

I silently walked inside and served breakfast. As we were eating, I looked up to see him looking at me, his gaze unreadable. Averting my gaze, I looked at Emilia who wasn't even paying attention. I looked at him again, but his gaze was still on me. Feeling a little uncomfortable, I just wanted to disappear from the table. Why was he looking at me?