Love is given, hatred is acquired.

by Doug Horton.

A ding sound emitted before the door was pushed open and Kiana walked into the dark penthouse late that evening. She sniffed continuously as she held a handkerchief close to her nose, while she gently shut the door with the other hand. She took off her shoes beside the door just like Enrico had ordered her to do last night. She sneezed just as she turned away from the door. Her head turned three-hundred and sixty degrees for a second, causing her to feel light headed and tremendously weak. She could barely breathe properly. At one point, her nostrils seem blocked and then at another moment, they're running nonstop, making her quite uncomfortable. Her breathing was quite abnormal; each breathe seemingly hot at its very intake. She coughed, her throat feeling a bit sore.

Standing still for a minute, she realised Enrico wasn't back yet. She had left him back at the office to attend to her other menial jobs. He hadn't said a word or given her a hard time, just so she goes nowhere. Enrico just gave a single nod without looking up to her. Kiana wouldn't deny the fact that she found that strange, especially for Enrico. She also hadn't failed to notice that throughout the day, he wasn't his normal self. He seemed a little reserved. a single nod without looking up to her.

Earlier, her boss at the pizza place she worked had told her to go home, as it seemed she was coming down with a cold or something of the sort. It just wasn't hygienic for her to handle people's food anymore; plus her now weak system was preventing her from working efficiently. She had tried her best to assure him that she was okay and capable of working, but he wouldn't listen. Then, she was back home and it seems Enrico was still back at the office. Kiana had no idea where the light switch might be in this enormous penthouse. She would have to roam in the dark, if she's to search for it.

She coughed once more and decided she needed to drink some water. She then searched for her mobile phone within her handbag and when she found it, she turned on the flashlight to enable her to find her way through the darkness. She left her handbag on the counter of the kitchen, before getting herself with some water to drink. Afterwards, she made her way to the room she slept in last night.

As soon as she got into the room, she slumped on the bed and laid flat on her back. She shut her eyes for a minute. She was so tired. Every part of her body ached and to top it all up, she had to fall sick at this point in her life. All Kiana wanted to do was sleep for quite a while, but that dream crushed as soon as she recollected she still had another job to do. She had forgotten for a while that she worked as a maid for Enrico, so she couldn't afford the luxury of falling asleep. She needed to make dinner, so she dragged herself to sit up. She rubbed the back of her ankle as that spot hurt a lot. Her entire feet felt sore and ached, so she tried her best to massage them for a minute before finding the strength to get up on her two feet. She figured out it would be best to freshen up first and that was exactly what she did.

By the time Kiana was walking out of her room all freshened up, she suddenly came to a halt as she felt woozy for a second and she sneezed covering her mouth in the process. Afterwards, she sighed hating the fact that she had caught a cold so unexpectedly. Kiana understood the fact that she couldn't work her way in the kitchen without the lights being turned on, so with the help of her flashlight, she felt her hand pass the wall especially corners and finally, she found it. She sighed in satisfaction as she turned it on before making her way to the kitchen.

Although she barely felt strong enough, Kiana managed herself to make dinner. She took a look at the door, a part of her expecting Enrico to walk past them anytime soon, but none of that happened. She wouldn't deny it made her a little worried, especially after she took a look at the time and saw that it was past eleven. Yet, there was no sign of him. Normally, she would go ahead and eat, but she felt it wouldn't be right for her to eat without her employer having a taste of it first. Perhaps, she would have to wait a little bit more.

Kiana sighed as she walked away from the kitchen and towards the living room. She carefully had her seat on a spot just by the armrest of the pure white sofa. She sneezed once more covering her mouth with her handkerchief in the process. Her stomach growled as well, but Kiana felt she could withstand the hunger. As she sat there staring at nothing in particular, the atmosphere was so quiet that she could hear her own rugged breathing. 

A strange feeling coaxed her. She wondered what was taking Enrico so long. She refused to believe he was in any sort of danger. If only she knew him better, she would have been able to determine what was going on in his head at the moment, but presently, she knew little about this new Tyler. He was different from the person she remembered. Most times, he seemed double-minded. Having stared into his eyes a few times, there wasn't much she could read about him. He seemed pretty much like every other playboy on this earth. Handsome, witty, cocky, jerks but above all that, she knew there had to be something more to him.

Kiana shook her head at all the crazy thoughts running through her head. It was the serenity of her environment that forced her to think. They did say, an idle mind is the devil's workshop. Okay, maybe she wasn't actually thinking of evil, but she was thinking about someone she really shouldn't. Kiana shook her head a bit violently, this time to turn off the entire thinking process, but it seemed to affect her nostrils and then she sneezed once more.

A few minutes later, Kiana yawned. She was starting to feel really sleepy, quite tired from the day's work. Her eyes barely stayed wide open. Heavy at her every attempt to keep them open. Eventually, they grew drowsy. She knew she shouldn't fall asleep. At least not until her boss gets home and she serves him his dinner. After all, the least she could do to thank him for giving her a place to stay is to actually do her work and do a very good one at that. Kiana sneezed once more. If only she had some kind of drug to help subside her cold, but unfortunately, she had none. She pushed that thought aside and focused on the positive thought that she was going to be better by morning. She pushed her head backwards to rest on the headrest of the sofa. Unknowing to her, sleep took her away.

***

A ding sound emitted and the door was pushed open before Enrico walked into his apartment early the next morning. He wore no specific expression on his face, as he took off his shoes and slid his feet into his open heel slippers. He let out a sigh as he headed directly for the staircase to his room, sparing no glance at either of his sides. Enrico ran a hand through his hair just as he stood in his bedroom, right in front of his bed, before unbuttoning his shirt. Within the bathroom, he took out his contacts before having a shower. As he stood right under the running warm water, he shut his eyes in an attempt to take in the serenity of his environment. Enrico could recall how he spent the rest of his evening. He wasn't proud of it, but it made him forget his reality. A reality that felt so messed up. A reality that gave him the feel of how much of a cage he was in.

Wearing something much comfortable and simple, Enrico made his way out of his room and down the staircase. He spared just a glance to the living room, as he nearly walked past it. Suddenly, he came to a halt. He killed a second or two before slightly shifting his eyes back to the room. His eyebrows slightly furrowed. He could hear a loud and unsteady breathing. It caught his attention because he hadn't noticed such sound when he walked in earlier. Suddenly, there's a sound. The breathing didn't seem normal one bit to Enrico. It sounded more like an unsteady inhale and exhale through the mouth. He redirected his steps towards the source of the sound which, apparently, seemed to be coming from his sofa.

He slowly released his brows upon realising who it was. Surprise filled his feature as he stared at her, a little confused about her present state. Kiana lay on the sofa. Her arms wrapped around her. Her legs together and pushed backwards, almost as if she was trying so hard to save them from something. Enrico could see just her visibly shivering. Her breathing quite rugged through her mouth, while her eyes remained shut. He had forgotten the fact that Kiana was now staying in his home.

"Kiana." He called, as he rushed closer to her, kneeling by the sofa in the process, but found it hard for a minute to place a hand on her. Eventually, he gave in.

"Kiana." He called once more, his voice filled with worry. He watched her slowly and slightly open her eyes, still barely able to keep them wide open. Her gaze fell on him. He stared back at her, quite confused about what to do next.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice still filled with worry. Unable to give him an immediate reply, she tried her best to seat up. Enrico noticed her move. Barely at first, but determined thereafter till she was slightly up, seated quite slant, her entire weight resting on her right hand, which she pressed down on the sofa. Her breathing routine remained the same. Her eyelids moved ever so lazily enough to tell a person that this person was definitely not okay.

Suddenly, she sneezed, covering her mouth once more with her hand. Enrico's brows slightly furrowed as he realised something was definitely wrong with her. Perhaps, she might have caught a cold. Without thinking about the possible consequences, he stretched out his hand and placed it on her forehead, quite to her surprise, as she startled a bit. He noticed her reaction, but he just couldn't withdraw his hand as he needed to know her temperature. Kiana was burning up. A definite yes that she was sick.

"You're burning up." He told her as he eventually withdrew his hand away from her forehead. She said nothing, but lowered her eyes away from him. He noticed her another attempt at moving. Her sluggish attempt at moving made it obvious that she was weak and incapable of being on her own. She dragged her legs down and off the sofa. Enrico knew she had decided to get up on her two feet.

"I... I'm fine... We'll... We'll be late for... work." Kiana managed to state almost in a whisper, her voice sounding rough and uneven, before gathering her strength and getting up at once. Immediately, she felt lightheaded. Everything seemed to spin in her eyes and she brought her hand to her head, as if to support it. Suddenly, her legs felt wobbly, unable to stand on its own. She lost balance and almost fell, if not for Enrico, who caught her in his arms.

"Work!? You can barely stand. You are sick and you need to rest." He told her and without prior notice, bent and swept her off her feet right into the comfort of his arms. Too weak and surprised to say anything against his recent action, Kiana just gave in as she rested her head on his chest. He walked directly to her room.

Enrico gently laid her on the bed. She was still shivering, as she slightly turned away from him to lay on her side. Enrico ran a hand through his hair as he stared at her. He immediately understood that she needed to be covered up, so he rushed out of his room, up the stairs and into his own room. He dragged his own duvet off his bed and quickly rushed out of the room with it. He carefully laid it on her, covering every part of her body in the process, except for her face.

Afterwards, he just stared at her quivering lips for a second, while her eyes remained shut. Suddenly, she coughed. The sound of it didn't seem healthy at all. Once more, he placed a hand on her forehead, as if not sure of the temperature he got earlier. She was still burning up. He realised he needed to do something to calm her down, so once more, he rushed out of the room and to the kitchen. He searched for some kind of bowl or, rather, basin. He filled it with some cold water from the running tap and rushed off to his room to get a small clean towel.

Sitting by her side on the bed, Enrico dipped the towel into the cold water, slightly squeezed it, before placing it lightly damping her forehead, as well as a few other sides of her face with it. He repeated the same thing a few more times before leaving the towel resting on her forehead. Staring at her, Enrico saw that nothing had changed. She still looked very much sick. He knew he needed to do something else. Something much more important, then he got the answer. He needed to get her some drugs. Something to actually make her feel better. Without wasting a second more, he got up to his feet and ventured out of the room. He rushed to his bedroom to get hold of his wallet, as well as coat, before rushing back out of it. Enrico put on his jacket while in the elevator on his way down to the parking lot. He needed to be quick with his errand. Kiana was sick and shouldn't be left alone. He also needed to make a call to the office and cancel all his appointments for the day.

"Edoardo Vineyards! How may I help you?" A woman's voice came through just as Enrico stuck the phone between his ear and his shoulder, while one hand held onto the steering wheel and the other stayed on the gear for reverse.

He was glad someone picked up the phone on Kiana's desk.

"Mr. Vos speaking." He identified, while he drove out of the parking lot.

"Oh, Mr. Vos." The woman repeated, as if confirmation.

"Listen, something important came up and I won't be able to make it to the office today. Cancel all my appointments and if anyone requests of me... well, tell them to wait till tomorrow. Do you understand?" He lashed out the orders quite quickly, while his eyes fixated on the road trying to find the nearest pharmacy.

"Um, okay. Got it, Mr. Vos. I'll let Kiana know once she gets here." The woman replied and for a moment there, Enrico almost told her the same order applied for Kiana, but then he recollected Kiana's words about everyone being suspicious and a bit snoopy about the situation. Therefore, he said nothing and just hung up the phone.

His eyes lurked from side to side in search of a pharmacy. Time was running out as well. Frustration piled up inside him.

"Damn it! Why can't I find the damn pharmacy!?" He exclaimed, a bit vexed with everything not going as smoothly as expected. After driving further away from the estate he resided in, finally, he caught sight of a pharmacy. He sighed in relief as he parked his car in the parking space right in front of the pharmacy, before turning off the engine and getting out of the car. He hastened his steps into the building and headed directly to the counter. Two women stood behind it. Enrico focused on one as the other was attending to a customer.