80 iv. The Other Mary

She grunted, good heavens! She closed her laptop as she sighed.

She is out of ideas on what to write next. This is supposed to be her webnovel’s season four, and now she has nothing to write.

She discarded her shorts and changed into her lengthier jogging pajamas, scrunching her nose as she took a ponytail and tied it to her hair.

She didn’t bother applying any makeup. Not like anyone will look, she justified. She is almost past her calendar days at twenty-nine years of age.

She took her wallet that held her loose cnge and checked herself in the mirror for the last time. Just making sure her hair was at least not sticking out funny.

She changed her glasses, she has two sets, apparently. One for inside her apartment, and the other for when she goes out.

Why, you ask? Well, because keeping spares is more logical and allows her to be more functional.

She has very poor eyesight, almost legally blind without her glasses on. She can’t risk not being able to turn in her chapter for the day just because of that.

She settled them between her nose and debated on whether to take her jacket or not. She chose not to bother, it doesn’t seem that cold outside anyway.

.....

It has not been snowing the past few days. She doesn’t really know how to feel about that, snow has always been comforting for her to watch.

But then if it really does snow, she might not be able to see him. So it is better this way, she concluded.

She locked the door of her apartment and stepped out, enjoying the cool breeze as she continued to walk lazily towards the park near her house.

Well, she knew it will be impossible for him to be there. Dominus. The one who inspired her to start a webnovel in the first place.

No, no! They are not lovers, friends, or exes. She just happened to have observed him from afar. She smiled a bit as she thought about him.

How can anyone not be curious about such a specimen? Racy thoughts will naturally appear just from staring at that guy.

She has never seen a man taller than he is, or more well-built. He is probably around seven feet, and with no ounce of fat in that body of his.

His eyes are intimidating, and she has never actually seen him smile. In fact, he usually wears a serious expression on his face. His eyebrows will meet as a menacing scowl rest on his handsome face.

He really is cute this way. She giggled but forced herself to stop as people began to look. She is weird, this she knows! Thank you very much!

She blushed just thinking about him. She was not an outdoorsy person herself, but seeing him frequent this park made her visit the place more often than she would have under any other circumstance.

Anyway, he only visits the park on Saturdays at around six in the morning, which coincidentally happens to be when she takes a walk.

She grinned, a woman has to have something to imagine during the nights. And she is a very lonely woman, she scrunched her nose as she tried to stop herself from being emotional.

So, she is very much justified in her interest in him. She blushed again as she recalled his almost god-like perfection.

She felt insane as she rubbed her cheeks. It is getting cold. So much for not bringing a jacket.

Because it is only Friday afternoon right now, she occupied his seat. It was quite far from the park’s main attraction.

He liked the silence, probably doesn’t like crowds, she mused. That is something they share indeed. She smiled.

He would sit there and look at the river, no one cares about rivers now. But he does, that itself made him more endearing to her. She likes nature too.

Ahhh, if only he even knew she existed, she sighed. There is nothing to be done. Even if they know each other, someone like her can never catch Dominus’s attention.

She is an introvert with no success in life except for writing webnovels that pay her bills. She looks plain and dresses even more simpler. In other words, nothing about her stands out.

As her conscience will point it out, she is a disgrace. She sighed again and looked at his favorite scene. It is calming, no wonder he spends a long time just staring at the river.

She was just about to leave when someone stood in front of her. She gulped in fear as she looked at the newcomer.

“Do you need someone to join you, miss?” it was a man obviously under the influence of either alcohol or drugs. His red eyes and stinky breath proved that for her, he also has a few missing front teeth.

“Ah, no! I was just about to go,” she wanted to run away but he won’t move.

Darn it! She knew she sounded lonely but she would rather be lonely than have this person’s company.

She felt her body stiffen when the man touched her shoulders. Fucking asshole, she has not kept her virginity all these years to be assaulted by someone pathetic.

“Is there a problem here? Are you harassing my girlfriend?” the deep baritone voice she only heard while he was talking to someone on his phone made the hair on her nape stand.

The man only had to look at her towering hero before realizing he stood no chance against him. Her assailant scampered as soon as he said the words.

She blinked, once, twice, thrice. He didn’t evaporate like a dream. It really is him. Dominus. She has been saved by the subject of her stalking.

I mean stalking in a good sense, like no bad intentions kind. You know that kind that was just done to admire.

Just a silly little crush from a girl standing in front of a boy who is every inch her dream man. She felt her palms begin to sweat, too much nerves!

The man looked at her again and asked, “Are you okay, miss?”

His voice had that certain baritone that made her swoon. She likes that very much. Not like everything about this man made her swoon.

“I- I am fine, you came right in time Do-,” she bit her lip. She nearly said his name. Which will freak him out, obviously!

She has been stalking him for about a year now. Not like she was dangerous or anything. Look at him, and look at her. Even if she wanted to, it is not like she can abduct him at any time.

She has just been so intrigued. This man, at least his face for that matter, has riddled her dreams even as a child. His face was the reason she came up with her stories.

She never wanted to meet him for real. She knew it will be awkward and that she will have absolutely nothing intelligible to say.

“Do?” he looked intently at her, waiting for her to complete her sentence as his golden eyes bored through hers.

“Do you want to grab coffee? At least I should do that, right? Buy you coffee after you saved me?” she blushed, damn the pale coloring of her skin. She couldn’t even lie properly without blushing. At least, he didn’t know that.

“I didn’t want to impose, but since you offered,” he smiled, his golden eyes lit up as if he found something humorous in what she said.

She gulped, her saliva wetting her dry throat. By gods, every dried-up part of her just got a bit damper, thank goodness to the way he looked at her

She is way out of line here, inviting a complete stranger for coffee. What if he is a murderer or a rapist? She blushed again, she wouldn’t mind the latter one.

He cleared his throat when she just sat there, staring at him. That brought her back to the present. Damned hormones! She cursed herself.

“There’s a coffee shop near here, it has a view of the other side of the river. Unless you have somewhere else in mind,” he offered.

“That sounds good to me,” she nodded and smiled at her hero. Damned luck! This is fucking awkward!

Well unlike the other Dominuses in the stories she has woven, he didn’t offer his hand to her. It will be crazy if he did so anyway seeing as they are complete strangers.

He lead the way and stopped in front of his black range rover. Yes, she got that part for her story as well. She stalked him good, she blushed at the thought.

He was her perfect male lead so she tried to be as close to his true persona as possible. That being said, she tried to watch him as closely as she can without getting his attention

She observed him, how authoritative he is when he talks with someone over the phone. How everyone looks at him when he walks in.

Yes, that domineering feeling he brings wherever he goes. She looked down at her feet, it is not the time to fangirl, she reigned in herself.

He opened the door for her, and assisted her in going inside. She gulped as he went inside to sit beside her. His big frame made the large SUV feel like a tiny winy space.

“Are you okay?” he checked her out in the rearview mirror, his smile still plastered on his handsome face.

“I- I am,” she stuttered, which is not something she does. Damn it! She doesn’t stutter, she has no speech defect or any anxiety issues. So what is this?

He leaned forward and she immediately closed her eyes, her palm pressing on his chest as he continued to advance. Well, it was far too soon for them to kiss!

She heard the clasping of the metal and realized he had just secured her seatbelt. She blushed as their eyes met. Thankfully he didn’t tease her.

He started the engine and drove at a slow pace. She wondered if he has always been that careful. In driving, of course.

She rather painted him to be a daredevil so this slow pace is quite disappointing. She tried not to check him out, but she couldn’t help it.

He is so close to her now. Not just a figment of her imagination. No one can blame her for looking!

“Do you often visit the park?” he asked her, his deep voice making her mouth dry from her wild imagination.

“Well, not so much,” she denied, her cheeks turning red. No way she will give him a clue about her being his stalker.

“And how about you, do you often visit the park?” she threw the question back, she is out of words basically.

Sitting next to him and sniffing his aftershave manly scent just drives her wild. She is way too tense for her mind to work properly.

“I do, every Friday,” he looked at her, as if expecting her to say something.

“Ahhhh, really?” she blushed. Why was he staring at her like that?!

“Yes, I quite liked the view,” he said so, his voice deeper than she imagined.

Fucking vibrato, she blushed, she couldn’t stop herself from turning red. This blessed child of gods has it all, it seems.

“I thought a man like you would have a better view in his mansion or villa, or somewhere else where the commoners don’t cross your way,” she pointed out.

“Commoners? From what century are you exactly, madame?” he raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile on his face.

Did she mention he never smiled before? She was mesmerized by how radiant that smile is. A smile better than a Colgate commercial.

It warms up even a cold lonely heart, she blushed again. A smile she somehow wished was meant only for her. She shouldn’t be thinking these.

“Well, wasn’t what I said true?” she continued, she wanted to learn so much about him. She might as well take this opportunity that might not come again.

She had always been curious why someone like him would frequent a public park. Even trivial matters like this one will mean a lot to her.

He stopped, his eyes focused on the road again. She looked at him, waiting for his answer.

.....

“What do you mean, a man like me?” his adam’s apple moved, his jaw clenched. She wondered what she said wrong.

“Well, you obviously wear pretty clothes, your watch is not something just anyone can just wear, and you have a brand new range rover! You are the first person I have met who happens to own a hundred thousand dollars car,” she pointed out.

“You sound like the one accustomed to these brands, miss,” he looked at her, forcing out a smile to ease the sudden tension.

“I am only familiar because of the internet and magazines, not like I can pay for any of these brands myself,” she looked outside too, suddenly embarrassed about the difference in their status.

She noticed that his car smelled of roses, does he really like the scent? What a coincidence. She yawned. She tried to stop it, but for some reason...

The car stopped in front of the cafe but the man did not move from his seat, he just stared at her. Longing swam under his eyes that were intently staring at her pretty face.

“You even forgot to introduce yourself to me, or to ask for my name, this time. I wonder if that is a side effect of waking up, being a bit duller than the last,” his voice was forlorn and filled with longing.

A fond smile adorned his lips as he whispered, “It is fine. What matters is, I found you at last, my queen.”