One Thing from You

Later, when he had dumped her again in the small room, Clara contemplated his motive by kidnapping her. Her dad was safe so that means he didn't hold a grudge over him. One thing for sure, he knew about her highschool life and circle of friends. She tried digging up her buried memories, recalling every bullies faces they had ashamed but the name 'Xander' didn't ring a bell.

Even though she wanted to know the reason behind all of this, there was more pressing matter at hand. How the hell she would escape this prison, which once she used to call home.

For the next few days, Xander always summoned Clara to dine with him. She still had limited access in the mansion. Once a day, Noah will led her to the master's bedroom to wash. New simple clothes were laid there, some cotton tops with denim pants or sometimes a summer dress with beautiful colors that was perfect for summer.

Obviously, her kidnapper wanted to play dress-up and seen Clara as a doll. A doll in a castle, what a psycho, she thought.

"Is he a psycho?" Clara voiced her toughts to Noah one day, when he led her to bath.

Noah reeled back from her question, said with a little voice, "Miss, lower your voice."

"Why? Is he gonna kill me? Then that's good, just end my suffering already." She said heatedly.

"Miss, you don't want him to hear you say that. As far as I know, he had treated you with much more patience and less cruel than the others. Take my word for it, you don't want to cross him."

"I'm sorry Noah. I'm just tired, bored and afraid of my fate." She said, suddenly realized she was only a prisoner.

After that outburst, Clara never voiced her thoughts on her kidnapper anymore. She played the meek girl once again, but she swear inside, she would ran from this bloody place.

Noah was glad Clara didn't continued that behavior, but sometimes Noah would find her on the CCTV monitor walking to and fro around the small room, seems to be thinking about something. She would stop and offer Noah a little smile when he placed the tray on the floor, asking him the weather outside.

They grew close each days because most of the time her kidnapper didn't showed his face. Noah was the one who tended her need and to guard her as well. Clara was a sweet girl so Noah wondered what did she do to cross his employer. But in the end, she made him talk about their first encounter.

"He arrived just in time to watch the bloody beatings happened, I was only ten years old, clutching my six years old sister. With only a glare of his eyes, they threw my stolen money on the floor and scuttled away. To this day, I still remember their terrorized looks." Noah said.

After Mr. X rescued them, he offered shelter and meal for the two orphans. The weak and helpless Noah was gone under Mr.X's steel hand, motivated him to be what he was now.

"So, that makes Mr. X my savior." He fisinished the story with proud feeling to his master.

"How cruel of them to stole what little money you had. It must be terrible for you and your sister." Clara said with horror.

Clara didn't want to believe that Xander could be that heroic. Is that because of kindness that made him safe Noah and his sister? Is he capable of that?

"Where is your sister now?"

"Oh she has grown up to be a beautiful girl, my sister. She is studying in female boarding school so we can't meet frequently." The young man smiled adoringly.

"You must miss your sister terribly." Clara said.

He nodded his head, "Hu uh, we only met during holidays. She would graduated from her school this year though so we could met easily in the future." Noah smiled, picturing her sister's mischievous yet darling face.

Clara wondered if she would still be here by that time and saw his sister with her own eyes or she would be ten feet underground for running away, if the monster managed to catch her.

It was in the middle of summer season, she said to him that she could just imagine how good it was to be outdoor and bask in the sunlight. When Noah told this piece of information to his boss, Xander just silently stare at him.

The next Tuesday afternoon, Noah found Clara walking in the garden with Xander.

Clara tilted her head to the blue sky, filling her lungs with fresh summer air with a little smile on her face. She tried to block the presence of a tall and well-built man walking beside her.

Dahlia, peony, marigold and Zinnia bloomed gracefully. She noticed there were new summer flowers that her mom never planted before. A new white gazebo was built beside the pond. Clara was glad that after so many years the garden still look luscious and taken care of.

"I wonder how my dad's doing these days.." She said while bending down to smell one of the flower, "I hope he doesn't bore Lucas with his old stories."

Ever since the accident that crippled him and the gambling that made him lost everything, Mr Davis had changed in so many ways. The hard and ruthlessness in him was gone. Replaced by a dad she always wished for, caring and prioritized her daughter's happiness above all else.

He liked to reminiscing about his youth life with his wife, starting with how he met her and finally fell in love with Clara's mother. Lucas might be using cotton balls in his ears by now.

"Don't fret, little mouse." He gazed at her sparkling hazel eyes when she finally faced him.

"Lucas is with him, remember?" Tenderly, he set aside a lock of hair that falling in front of her eye.

Clara's heart skips a beat. Suspicious by his sudden tenderness but too afraid to deny his gesture. Xander had a large hands with perfect long fingers, the same hand that prevented her to scream that night. She wouldn't forget his cruel treatment no matter how gentle he pretended to be.

"What if the debt collectors came knocking on our door.. Oh my! I forgot that the payment is due this end of month." Gasping with horror, she continued, "You must let me go Xander, just to pay them and I will come back here again as soon it was settled."

Xander, startled by the promise she'd made in desperation, chuckled in humor. "All of your debt had been paid by me."

"So that means I'm indebted to you now?" Clara stared at him with suspicious look, disbelief was transparent in her face.

"If you want to think so… Yes, you are." He said confidently.

Suddenly tired with all of this, she massaged her throbbing temple. So now her captor was also her debtor. Just great!

"I just want one thing from you."

He grabbed her hand, replacing hers and started to smooth her furrowed brow. Her heart was beating wildly under his gentle caress.

Afraid of the answer, she whispered while averting her gaze to the dancing flowers blown by the wind, "What is it do you want from me?"

*** End of Chapter 4 ***