SEVENTY

Yalda couldn't decide who was the better cook between Matilda and Linda, she hadn't been interested in eating but that had changed the very second she tasted the food. She had immediately approached the food with more excitement, she shoveled spoon after spoon until her plate was cleared, and it was only then that she realized Alexander had been watching her.

Of course, she knew well enough that she had just guzzled her food down like she hadn't eaten in days, but she wasn't about to let herself care about the fact that he had been watching her; he had seen to much of her to care about her ravenous eating.

Her gaze flickered from his face to his plate and she found he still had a significant amount of food left, she knew he wasn't a fast eater, but it seemed she had downed her food too quickly today.

"Good to see that you have your appetite back." He said as he reached for his glass of water, he took a small sip before setting it down. "You might just gain back some of the weight you lost over the last couple of weeks."

She cleared her throat quietly but said nothing. She hadn't particularly noticed that she had lost some weight, in every honesty, she hadn't eveb cared to observe at all. There had been more important things on her mind.

Now that she thought about it, she had neglected a lot of things; she hadn't been to the gym in a while, she hadn't had a massage in a long time, and she had missed her last appointment with her doctor to renew her control. Her eyes widened at the realization and her heart felt to the pit of her stomach on realizing how stupid she had been.

"What is it?" He asked her on seeing the look in her eyes.

She lowered her gaze from his immediately. The fact that she had absentmindedly ignored all of her doctor's reminders had her realizing just how distracted she had been lately. At the very least, she was glad she had remembered before foolishly getting pregnant.

"Yalda." Alexander said her name to get to answer him.

She cleared her throat once more as her gaze returned to his.

"I missed my last appointment with Dr. Young." She told him quietly.

His expression remained unchanged as he digested what she had said, and when he realized what the implications of her negligence could be, his temple creased in the slightest of frowns.

"When was your shot due?" He asked her.

She did a quick mental calculation before responding:

"Three weeks ago." She replied. And on seeing the reproachful look in his eyes, she quick added. "I'm not pregnant; I didn't miss my period."

He looked like he wanted to say more but decided to let the matter be. His gaze returned to his food and he seemed almost absentminded as he picked up his spoon and poked around the plate uninterestedly.

She couldn't help but wonder if her being pregnant would have been so bad, it seemed she had managed to ruin his mood and appetite by just hinting at the fact that she could have gotten pregnant.

"I'll...head back upstairs." She told him quietly. She wasn't sure he was still in the mood to show her around.

He shook his head.

"Let's take a walk instead." He said as he set his spoon down and pushed the plate back.

"But you barely ate." She pointed out.

"That's not a problem." He replied. He pushed his seat back and stood up, taking her hand, he helped up as well. "Come on."

She said nothing as he lead her out of the dinning hall determinedly. Her gaze flickered from painting to painting as they walked through a hallway, they were intriguing to look at, from oil paintings of tropical landscapes and seascapes, to abstracts and contemporary large-scale pieces.

"They're beautiful."

He nodded.

"They are." He agreed.

"I didn't know you collected paintings." She said.

There were just a few pieces in his penthouse, she didn't think much of them since she also had a few in her apartment.

"I don't." He replied. "My mom did."

She pried her gaze from the piece she had been gawking at to look at him. This was the first time he had spoken about his family without being prompted to.

"That's..... lovely."

She didn't know what else to say.

He merely nodded.

"This house represents most of her taste and interest." He told her.

Lana Monroe most definitely has great taste then. Yalda couldn't think of a single thing here that was likeable and almost awe-inspiring.

"She had great taste." She said quietly. "This place is amazing."

"It is." He said simply, his tone was almost dismissive, as though he didn't want to dwell on the topic.

"Did you come here as a child often?" She asked him.

"I did." He replied.

"Has it changed much?" She asked him.

He shook his head.

"Not much has changed." He replied dryly. "It's still as quiet and soulless as I remember."

She hadn't expected that. She hadn't thought her questions were irritating him.

"It seems quite alive to me." She said quietly.

His steps halted at once and he backed her against a wall like a blur.

"Don't try to pick my brain, Yalda." He warned though his tone remained mild.

He didn't seem upset, he was more of irritated.

"I...I wasn't trying to." She stuttered quietly.

"No?" He asked her.

She nodded immediately.

She hadn't meant to probe him in anyway, it seemed her questions had conjured troubled memories. The look in his eyes told her that he was in no mood to deal with his past at the moment.

"I won't ask any more questions if you don't want me to." She added.

"Good." He said before backing away from her.

It took a moment for her to make sense of what had just happened, it had been too fast, too unexpected to comprehend.

Nothing more was said, not until they were outside. The crisp and clean air blew against them the very second they stepped out, it filled with the sweet scent of saltwater, it had Yalda dragging in a deep breath.

"You'll find the spa and wellness center to your liking." He told her smoothly, as though he wasn't the reason her heart was pounding erratically against her chest.

Nonetheless, she nodded.

"I could do with a massage." She said quietly.

"We have a very skilled masseuse here." He told her. "She does wonders. Will you like to go there now?"

She nodded once more.

"Yes please." She replied.

And they lapsed into silence again. Not much was said except for the pleasantries Alexander exchanged with a few people who she assumed were part of the staff handling the island. It was only when a serene and breathtakingly beautiful structure came into view that she decided to speak.

"It obviously cost a lot to maintain the island." She pointed out. "Is is worth it though? You don't visit often."

The spa and wellness center alone looked super expensive, and she knew that wasn't all the island had.

"People pay to visit the island; use it as a retreat. Just that the villa is strictly off limits." He told her. "It actually generates a lot of income."

She was even more awed now.

"That's amazing." She breathed. "Who runs the spa?"

"Sasha." He replied easily.

With that, he ushered her into the building, and it wasn't long before a bubbly, beautiful blue-eyed blonde came to welcome them.

"Alex!" She chirped on seeing him. She hurried over to him and they hugged briefly while Yalda stood there feeling awkward. She waited for Sasha to notice she was standing right there, and after a moment, she did.

"Oh, you brought a guest." She said. She offered her a smile which Yalda couldn't quite pin. There was a vibe to her which she didn't quite like. "Welcome."

Her lips curved in the usual saccharine sweet smile she always gave Maya Blackwood.

"This is Sasha, she's been on the island since we were young." He told her. "She's a skilled masseuse."

"Hi." She said simply.

"Sasha, this is Yalda, my girlfriend." Alexander concluded the introduction.

Yalda tried to not seem flustered at the fact that Alexander had just called her his girlfriend. She was so used to being his secretary that him introducing her as anything else sounded out of this world. She watched Sasha's eyes darken slightly but her smile remained in place.

"Nice to meet you, Yalda." She said, and she didn't sound so cheery anymore.