MIMI

Glancing up, Emilia felt something warm on her head. Touching it, she could recognize the familiar fabric of a washcloth.

Dropping her hand, Emilia began to recollect what happened before everything went dark.

Emilia"s mind back then was overpowered by a heavy sensation before she felt her vision darken. Expecting to fall into the hard ground, her body instead felt light – as if she was floating.

Feeling a sudden warmth, her vision blurred and before she knew it, she fainted.

Startled by what took place, Emilia abruptly sat up only to be pushed down lightly by a pair of hands. Surprised, Emilia looked up only to flush red with embarra.s.sment.

Due to her being in such a dazed state she hadn"t realized what she was laying on.

Layed out on a sofa, Emilia"s body was comfortably resting on the plump cushions. As for her head…it was relaxing right on Andras"s lap!

"Easy there doll face. You"ll get a headache if you get up too fast." The young boy"s gentle voice caressed Emilia"s ears.

Reddening even further, Emilia once again made an attempt to sit up but like before, was pushed down back onto his lap.

Andras chuckled above her, a trace of amus.e.m.e.nt laced in his voice. "Disobedient, are we? Just be a good girl and lay down. Otherwise, don"t blame me for using force."

Emilia stiffened and no longer tried sitting up.

Pleased, Mimi chuckled while lightly patting the girl"s head as if she were praising a pet. While Mimi considered it entertaining, Emilia found it mortifying.

She was laying on Andras"s lap, and he just pats her on the head!

She didn"t know how much her heart could take.

Upon taking in a deep breath, a sweet, calming scent filled her nose. This scent…it was so relaxing, so familiar. The same scent that was on the red jacket handed to her on that night. It was Andras"s scent.

"I"m sorry…"

"Hmm?"

Mimi glanced down at the red-faced girl resting on her lap, her silver eyes evading her stare.

"I wasn"t able to work hard enough and caused such a disturbance to you and everyone. I"m sorry."

For a few minutes, Mimi remained silent.

Her silent eyes studying Emilia"s expression. Her pouting pink lips, pale complexion, and slightly reddened eyes. But what stood out the most to Mimi was the dark circles underneath the girl"s eyes. Even with the makeup caking her face, up close it was more visible.

Unable to contain her sigh, Mimi looks out the large window in her office.

"Idiot."

"Huh?"

Startled by the sudden insult directed toward her, Emilia looks up at Mimi.

"What…"

"Do you think your health is considered a disturbance?"

As she spoke, Mimi continued to look out the window with an indifferent expression.

"Honestly, if you think working yourself until dead is how things work here then you won"t last a day in this industry." Mimi propped her arm on the couch while resting her chin on her palm. "We have needs and limits as well. We"re human, not unbreakable monsters."

Looking down, Mimi"s eyes lock with Emilia"s. "Listen, if you want to work hard for me and not be a disturbance to everyone, take care of yourself. Otherwise what use are you to me when you can hardly walk?"

From the beginning, Emilia was silent. Eyes wide and lips parted, Emilia stared at Mimi in silence.

This feeling, she never felt it before. Besides her father and butler, no one had ever scolded her before. They had always been too afraid to tell her anything.

Yet Andras"s words, filled with scolding were also traced with concern. Genuine concern. Something Emilia wasn"t too use to. Because of her wealth and status, everyone treated her like a princess.

Even when they appeared to show concern, it was all fake. But she didn"t care whether it was genuine or fake, she simply wanted the attention of others.

But hearing Andras speak, her previous thoughts changed. She hadn"t realized how comforting the feeling of someone caring for her was.

Before, when the female employee asked if she wanted to rest, Emilia hadn"t understood how to respond. She was unused to such kindness that wasn"t filled with hidden intentions.

Unable to respond to Mimi, Emilia simply nodded her head while turning her face to the side. Seeing Emilia"s silence, Mimi merely sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

Honestly, taking care of people was too troublesome.

"By the way, thank you for catching me when I fainted," Emilia muttered.

Tilting her head, Mimi glanced down at Emilia. "Hmm? That wasn"t me."

"Eh?"

Just as Emilia was about to ask what she meant, the sound of the office door opening could be heard. Stepping inside the office with plastic bags in hand was Tobias Itou.

Dressed in a dark suit that concealed but highlighted his tall strong figure, the man"s dark penetrating eyes glanced up only to halt upon staring at both Emilia and Mimi.

Emilia, faced toward Tobias was resting her head on Mimi"s lap who stared down at the girl in her lap.

Both looked up to look at Tobias entering the office, both with different reactions. Emilia was beyond terrified to see the menacing, cold man standing in front of the door, while Mimi"s eyes brightened upon seeing the plastic bags in his hands filled with containers

"That sure took you a while. I take it the place was packed?" Mimi chuckled.

Breaking from his daze, Tobias"s eyes remained emotionless and cold. "En."

Placing the bags on Mimi"s desk, Tobias"s eyes glance toward the two on the sofa – an attractive eyebrow arching.

Noticing the man"s expression, Emilia panicked and quickly scrambled off of Mimi"s lap, nearly falling off the couch.

"Careful," Mimi reached out to grab the girl before she fell off the couch.

Stunned in place, Emilia looked up into Mimi"s eyes as she held her up. Flushing red, Emilia averted her eyes.

"A…Andras, you can let me go now, I"m fine."

Not understanding the girl"s inner turmoil, Mimi followed her words and let her go.

Before Emilia could let out a breath of relief, Mimi"s face suddenly leaned in close and placed the back of her palm on her forehead. Resting her forehead on her palm, Mimi, with a serious expression, stared into Emilia"s eyes.

"As I thought, you"re burning up. I guess you do have a fever."

"Ah…"

Emilia was at a loss for words and could hardly look Mimi in the eyes. Her brain felt fuzzy, a slight feeling of dizziness taking over.

Suddenly, the sound of a deep cough broke Emilia from her thoughts. Remembering the other person in the room, Emilia backed away from Mimi.

"I…I"m fine! It"s just a little warm in here!"

Looking at Emilia with an innocent expression, Mimi pursed her lips.

"If you say so. But if you start to feel dizzy just tell me."

"Ah…sure."

He"d be the last person she"d tell! After all, he was the cause of her sudden light-headedness!