Chapter 7 Foe

“Mr. Anderson is weird, wouldn’t you agree?” Catra mentioned as she stood close to Lucas, champagne glass in hand.

Lucas sighed as they both stared at Clark from the far end of the ball room who was mixing with the crowd, a decent business man smile on his face as he talked to people who also reciprocated the action

; Business people

As if on cue to prove her point, Clark looked towards them, a smile on his face and then he winked…

WHAT?’

Catra’s eyes widened

Lucas’ were like saucers

“He’s definitely weird” Catra said again, her cheeks dusted pink and Lucas turned to look at her animatedly

“Mr. Anderson was never like this before” he said “true he is kind, gentle, caring and overall humble despite his pedigree…” Lucas took a breath

He thought of how the man always had a sadistic look on his face every time he tried to make Catra’s day very chaotic by adding unreasonable amount of work to her workload and how just this evening not only had he smiled at her, complemented her, opened the door for her as if she was a princess and couldn’t stop looking at her in awe throughout the car ride to the party but he also winked at her, something he never thought the man was capable of

“He was never this… this…this inconsistent before”

“Yeah, like one minute he’s barking orders at us and another he’s winking and showering us with complements” Catra said swirling her drink

“Only at you”

“I mean who does that?” Catra said ignoring Lucas’ deadpanned answer

She eyed Clark who was smiling sincerely at the people that now surrounded him, consisting of an old couple and a young boy that could pass as their son.

Clark’s eyes shone, his smile was a wide gummy one and along with his pointed nose, they all sat well on his well chiseled jaw long face with his eyebrows and black slick back hair complimenting it.

“But then again he’s so adorable” Catra cooed quietly, her eyes traveling down his body

He wasn’t a very muscular man but he was fit and had the body of a runway model with his long legs, broad shoulder and thick chest, not to mention the way the suit seem to envelop his arms, his muscles showing through.

“He’s hot too like damn” she said as she unconsciously bites her lower lips, her cheeks turning redder

She took a shot of her drink and passed the glass on to a passing waiter before making a step to walk towards her boss but she’s stopped in her step when someone stepped in her view preventing her from walking any further.

“Hi there beautiful”

Chills ran down her spine

---

Clark’s POV

This party isn’t that bad after all’ was my thought as I met people I have met and worked with before and although I was dying to see who the host was that knew so many good people, I have my own fill of fun waiting for that moment.

Catra stood somewhere around the edge of the hall along with Lucas, I could feel their curious eyes trained on my back with every move I took

I don’t blame them, even I am curious of what was wrong with me

Yes she used to be my princess, I am the boss now but that magical hold she had always had on me doesn’t seem to want to leave me even in this present life of mine.

My eyes drift to her once again, I couldn’t help it, she shone among all the peasants gathered there

Her beauty was incomparable to any other in the hall and there was a lot of them

She was startled a bit but still held her daring eyes to mine

Of course, it wouldn’t be princess Catra if she cowered away shyly

I winked

Her face turned redder and she looked down

What?

Princess Catra did what?

She has been blushing an awful lot this night

She blushed when I told her she was pretty

And blushed again when I opened the door for her

Throughout the car ride she was blushing

And here we are again, and she’s still blushing

I smirked, this side of princess Catra is the most adorable I have ever seen

“Hello Clark” an elderly feminine voice broke me from my train of thought and I turned to see it was lady Martha, a palace maid from my past that doesn’t remember her past too just like Catra

Her husband Mr. Swift and their son stood beside her as she pulled me in for a hug, something she always did even in her past life

“How are you these days?” she asked as I nodded in greeting to her husband and their son

“Well thanks to all the love I’ve received from you, I’ve been doing great” I reply and she smiled

She was like a mother figure to me since I had none in my past life and even in this present life where I had a mom; she still loved me as much as mine does

In the past, Mrs. Martha had died early due to a sickness that she had so it was heartwarming to see that she was standing before me in her ripe old age as a married woman, a mother and even a grandmother, things she wasn’t able to achieve back in the past.

Is this the universe’s way of compensation to those of us that had suffered before?

If yes then I love this universe so much and I’m grateful

My eyes drift over to Catra again and this time Lucas was not by her side, he seemed to be flirting with some lady at the other side of the hall

Catra on the other side was downing her drinks like a little maniac

I smiled at how cute that was

She had always wanted to drink to her heart’s content as a princess but since she was a grand princess and was expected to be in her best behavior all the time, hence, she never had the chance.

“It was nice seeing you again Clark” Martha said as she smiled again “and I hope I get to see you some more times before I die”

“Of course Mrs. Martha, you’ll see me so much you’d get tired of it” I replied playfully but I meant every word

“Sure” she smiled as she moved to walk away but paused “and also bring that woman you can’t seem to get your eyes off along with you the next time we meet” she winked at him before walking away, I could hear her laugh softly as the tip of my ears felt hot.

Her husband followed, tapping my shoulder encouragingly with a smile

Their son also patted my shoulder as he passed just like his father did

“She’s a beautiful one” he smirked “don’t let her get away” he said playfully and walked away.

It’s not like she can get away that easily from me

I mean, she’s my secretary after all and I …

I …

I …

I get lost for thoughts as I turned to look at the direction she had been standing only to find it empty of her

My brows automatically furrow at that and I began slowly walking towards that direction

My frown increased with every step

“Where could she have run off to?” I muttered as I looked around the big hall

She was nowhere in sight

I walked towards the washrooms while dialing her phone, it rang and rang but was not answered

I sighed

After searching through more places and not finding her, I gave up and decided to walk back to the party

Suddenly I felt like retiring back to my home, the party too felt boring without Catra around

I passed by the party’s VIP section which I had ignored during my search, the host most important people were the only ones that got to seat there and from what I could see of most of the people there, I knew they were all not normal people

People with a lot of controversies and questions about how they had acquired their wealth

I shook my head and was about to pass when I caught sight of a laughing Catra sitting on a booth chair that faced away from me.

I sighed in relief

She hadn’t left

But that relief was short lived when I saw the side profile of the man she was talking to

Chills ran down my spine and my heart thumped widely

“it can’t be” I muttered as I felt my irises shake in horror

Sitting with Catra with an intent and amused look on his face as he looked at her talk and laugh was none other than Leonard Christopher Stone

The king; Catra’s father’s chief advisor and commander in chief of the army of the kingdom of Ontope

A nemesis from the past

Fuck this could only mean trouble