"Good morning, sir. May I help you with something?" She asked, quite humbly and with a smile. Enrico pushed his glasses back to rest properly on the bridge of his nose.

"I'd like to get something for a cold. No, actually something for cough, cold and high fever." He narrated the best he could.

"I'll be back in a minute." She stated before walking a little away from the counter to search for the specific drugs. Enrico tapped his right hand's nails on the counter quite simultaneously and impatiently. He lightly bit his lower lip as part of his impatience.

The lady that stood beside him felt irritated by his nails constantly tapping on the counter, so she slightly turned her head to him. She looked him down and up. Her eyes felt stuck on his face, before she slightly furrowed her brows.

"Enrico?" She called causing him to immediately turn his head to her. His eyes slightly widened for a second upon realisation of who it was.

"Enrico Vos." Cecile repeated, a little amused by their coincidental meeting.

"Here you go, sir." The pharmacist told him, causing him to shift his eyes back to her. He collected the white paper bag containing the drugs from him.

"Thank you." He stated, before reaching into his pocket to get out his wallet. He handed her his ATM card for her to make the needed withdrawal for payment.

"Don't you think it's a little strange we meet here after..."

"I'm sorry, I really can't talk right now." He suddenly interrupted her sentence just as he collected his card back from the pharmacist. Without sparing her another look, Enrico turned and hastened his pace out of the pharmacy.

Cecile blinked a few times, quite unable to believe how rudely she had just been shut off. She scoffed before looking away from the direction Enrico had walked through. She sighed as she focused back on the pharmacist in front of her.

A ding sound emitted before Enrico pushed the door open then walked in. He took off his coat and left it on the sofa before heading to the kitchen. He poured some water into a glass cup, in order to have her take the medication with it. On his way out, he noticed the pot left on the gas cooker. Earlier, he hadn't given much thought as to what was inside. Perhaps, some food. Thinking about food made him realise it would be much healthier for her to eat something before taking in any sort of medication. He took off the lid of the pot. There was perfectly cooked pasta. It made him think of the fact that she must have made dinner last night and possibly fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for him.

One question bothered him as he walked to her room with a bowl of porridge resting on the tray in his hands. Did she have dinner at all last night?

"Kiana." He called right after he left the tray on the side table and had his seat by her side on the bed. Her breathing was still the same, through her slightly opened mouth. He got no reply from her, not even a movement. He took the towel off her forehead, and placed a hand to check for her temperature once more. Unfortunately, nothing had changed.

"Kiana." He called once more, hoping to see some positive movement. Eventually, she slightly moved her head. Slowly, her eyes opened. Not quite, but enough to know she was a little conscious of her surroundings. Her gaze fell upon him once more. For a minute there, he expected her to say something, especially with the way she stared at him, but nothing came through her lips. Suddenly, she sneezed, then coughed real hard. He hands itched with the desire to place a hand on her and comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but for a minute there, he felt frozen.

"I... I got you some medication and... you can't take them without having something in your stomach, so I made you some porridge." He finally stated just as she was done with coughing and sneezing for the meantime.

With her eyes slightly opened and her lips quivering a bit from the cold she felt from within, she managed to speak up.

"Thought... you s-said... you can't c-cook." She stated more of a whisper, barely able to catch her breath with each word that came out from her mouth.

His eyes remained on her as her words sank in. He did say such a thing but right now, Enrico couldn't tell anymore which was the truth. Right then, he was staring at a woman who was a total opposite of her former self. She looked nothing like yesterday. She seemed weak and vulnerable. He couldn't deny the fact that a part of this reality bothered him a great deal, but the reason why the reality bothered him was what he couldn't explain. Almost a month ago, all he felt towards his memory of her was anger but, he couldn't even state what emotion he was in presently.

A little smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Well, I say a lot of things. Most might not be the truth." He stated a reply to her earlier comment and without wasting a second more, he drew closer with an intention to help her sit up a bit.

"You'll have to sit up in order to have the porridge." He told her as he put his arms around her, taking her a little by surprise. Kiana couldn't argue. She barely had the strength to say a word and right now, she was ready to do anything in order to get out of this state. She hated feeling so helpless. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be sick and to awkwardly have to lean on Enrico for help. Yes, her mind was in a frenzy as of the moment, but she could still tell a little about what was going on.

Suddenly, Kiana sneezed right on Enrico's face. He froze for a minute, his eyes tight shut as that act alone had taken him a little unaware. He could feel her saliva almost every inch on his face. Kiana stared at him, clearly aware of the horrendous act she just did. If only her day could go any worse than this. She was sure this embarrassment was going to stick with her for a while.

Slowly, Enrico opened his eyes. Luckily for him, his glasses had protected his eyes for that very moment. He could quite see her clearly through the now blurry glasses.

"Sorry." She managed to apologise. Her voice was still as faint as earlier. He shook his head at her as he finally withdrew a little farther away from her face. At least, he had completed his mission of having her sit up. He picked up a few tissue papers on the side table and wiped his face with them. He took off his glasses as well to properly clean the lenses.

"It's okay. You really can't control them." He told her, trying to make her feel better and not blame herself. He understood the fact that the normal Kiana always seemed to have everything under control and wouldn't have probably let this happen.

He put his glasses back on before picking up the bowl of porridge from the tray. Thankfully, it was still steaming hot. He scooped a little with the spoon, then drew it closer to her lips.

Her eyes shifted from the porridge and onto him. A few questions detailed in them. Enrico understood, so he decided to put on an act. He let out a little sigh.

"I know, I know. It's quite below my status to be serving my assistant and maid, but what can I do? You can't even walk properly, so for now... I pretty much have no choice. I am human after all, so if I were you... I'll enjoy this while I can." He stated before putting on a smirk, a part of him hoping this might subside the whole awkward situation. He wasn't a fan of doing this, but he had to help her.

She stared at him without a word or reaction for what seemed like a while and Enrico could feel his arm starting to hurt a little from hanging. Just as he thought of withdrawing it, suddenly, she opened her mouth as she managed to draw herself forward and took in the porridge on the spoon.

A simple smile grew on his face just watching her, but he quickly took it down as she raised her eyes back to him. Afterwards, Enrico helped by making sure she took her drugs before finally, helping her lay back properly on the bed.

Kiana sighed, feeling a little better than when she had woken up this morning. Perhaps, her nostrils still seemed a little clogged and she still felt a bit cold, but she strongly believed she was going to feel much better right after resting for some time and letting the drugs have its effect on her. She slightly shifted her eyes to the door out of the room. Enrico had walked past there not too long ago with the tray in his hands returning to the kitchen. A barely seen smile drew on her face, as she recalled how he had convinced her to give into the idea of him feeding her. He cared for her. That thought alone brought a certain kind of solace she had no idea about. Eventually, she shut her eyes and gave in to sleep.

Enrico sighed right after he left the tray on the counter in the kitchen. He looked up and stared straight forward away from the tray. He stared nowhere in particular, as his mind immediately wondered off. He recalled how she had given in to the idea of him feeding her and ate without any complication. He recalled having smiled at that very moment. Enrico slightly furrowed his brows. Now, thinking back, he wondered why he did that. Nothing seems to be going as he had pictured it. Yes, he had given her a job. Perhaps, she was qualified for the job, but he also couldn't deny the fact that he gave into the idea of having her run his errands and be at his mercy. A little payback from the embarrassment she gave him in the past but lately, he was losing track of his mission. He offered her a place to stay, cancelled all his appointments for the day, got her medications and made her porridge. It would seem she had him by the throat and not him by her throat.

He walked back into her room and stopped when he was only in front of the bed. He also hadn't failed to notice that she had fallen asleep quite quickly. Perhaps, that was one of the effects of the drugs she had taken. Enrico took in a deep breath before letting it all out. An action that made it feel like it was going to clear all his worries away.

Gently, he had his seat on the other side of her bed, while his eyes remained on her face while she slept. No matter what, Enrico couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. This act alone felt a little strange, yet satisfying. It didn't make sense to him. He couldn't make sense of what was going on. Does he still care a lot about her? Over the years, whenever she popped up in his thoughts, he always concluded it was all due to the rage he felt at the last memory he had of her but now, he couldn't tell anymore.

Enrico gently rested his head on the pillow, his eyes staring at the ceiling for a second before he turned his head to his left. His eyes fell on her sleeping face once more. That time, he could see quite clearly, as their faces weren't much farther from each other's. He took in every feature of her face starting from her forehead, to her brows, her eyelids, lashes, nose, cheek, the cubicle beneath her nose, her lips and then her chin. Everything seemed so perfect and well-structured. The features that hadn't seemed so in the past. He blinked a few times and quite lightly. He knew he should look away and stop this madness but for some reason, he just couldn't.

What are you doing, Enrico? You promised yourself not to do this ever again.

His subconscious told him which caused him to immediately turn away from her. He stared at the ceiling for what seemed like a while. His brows furrowed as he developed contempt for letting things go this far.

This is madness.

He stated in his mind and without any more thought on the matter, he immediately tried to get off the bed, but was stopped by a little pull. He took a look at his left hand and could see the hand that held him back. He traced it back to its owner being Kiana. Her eyes were barely open, her lashes fluttered quite lazily, making it obvious that she was a little drowsy. Suddenly, a simple and beautiful smile played on her face.

"Stay with me."

Enrico's eyes slowly widened in surprise at the very words of her request. He felt frozen for what seemed like forever.

Walk away. His mind told him continuously and Enrico believed that was what he really needed to do.

Gently, he laid his head back on the pillow. At the end of it all, something superior had won over the decision of his mind. He couldn't explain what it was, but all he knew was the fact that it was superior to any other sense of reasoning.

Suddenly, he felt something warm slide around his waist, while the other rested on his shoulder. One look at the hand on his waist, his breathing stopped. Everything seemed to come to a halt including time itself. All he could hear was the loud beating of his heart. It beat so fast and loud that Enrico was scared that it might just jump out of his body.

Unexpectedly, everything about him seemed abnormal. He raised his hand a little off the bed, so he could view it properly. He could see just how visibly it was trembling. He brought it down to rest back on his side. Enrico gulped down as he shut his eyes for a moment to claim back his control. He couldn't understand how this little gesture of hers could affect him so much. Several other women had done it, but none made him this crazy. None affected him this much.

What was this feeling? What madness was this?