Chapter 83: He stole her first kiss!

After Neil left the kitchen, Mia still sat on the counter in a dazed state. What just happened? She pondered to herself, tracing her lips with her finger that still carried the lingering sensation of his kiss. Her cheeks flushed as the realization fully sank in.

Her Ice Cube professor had actually kissed and touched her! How did it happen? She hadn’t been able to fully comprehend everything in the moment with him standing before her, but now that he was gone, she felt even more foolish for allowing the kiss. How would she be able to face him again without feeling embarrassed about their kitchen encounter?

He had taken her first kiss without any explanation!

When she had resolved to remain single, she had made a vow to herself that she would never permit any man _apart from the one she loved and who loved her in return_ to touch or kiss her. Yet today, a man with whom she had no relationship with had audaciously kissed her, and she had savored it to the point where she didn’t want it to end. His lips, she mused with a dreamy expression, were so warm and insistent that she had secretly wished he would continue kissing her as if he truly meant it. For a brief moment, she had felt desired when he kissed her, as though she was attractive enough to evoke something within him.

She didn’t understand why he had kissed her, but she was certain it wasn’t because he harbored any feelings for her. Someone like him would never, in a million years, be interested in her. With those thoughts, Mia felt a pang in her heart as she reminded herself to forget he had kissed her and held her as though she were more than the plain Jane they labeled her, as though she were a woman and not some unappealing girl who would make a man puke at the sight of her exposed legs. She could still remember when a guy had said that to her on her friend’s nineteenth birthday where she had been invited to the beach with the few backstabbing friends she had made in highschool.

On that day she had been forced to wear a bikini swimsuit for the first time ever in her life, which she regretted wearing after the comment that was thrown at her by her friends and their boyfriends. It was a marble print bikini with a short beach skirt and a matching bandana. She had worn it and walked up to her so called friends but they all laughed at the sight of her while their boyfriends commented on how terrible she looked.

’She really shouldn’t be wearing that.’

’Look at her, thinking she can pull off a bikini look with those flat board curves of hers.’

’Is she serious? Cover up, please because the sight of her manly legs makes me wanna puke. What’s with that scar on her right thigh?’

’Someone needs to tell her that’s not for her body type. She’s too unattractive to pull of a bikini swimsuit.’

Despite the years that had passed, Mia could still remember all of those words that had not just broken her heart but her self-esteem as well. Since from then she had chosen to remain on her own with no friends until she’d met Rayne in Ivy Grove.

However, their comment had made her realize no matter how hard she tried, she would never fit into the beauty standards. Apart from being plain and unattractive, she had a hideous childhood scar on her right thigh that she made sure to hide despite the fact that it was just a faint scar that had started to fade with the years. When she was a child, it used to be more prominent. Nonetheless, she never even knew how she’d gotten the wound that turned to the scar, but when she asked her mother, she had told her that it was from the fire in their previous residence_which she also had no recollection of.

Even though she’d been complimented by Rayne and her mother, Mia still belived she wasn’t enough because her friend and mother were only saying that to make her feel better about herself.

Mia sighed heavily and climbed down the counter, where she had been placed by the man who had made her begin to feel self-conscious about herself again. She had stopped caring about her appearances for a very long time but after meeting him, she had suddenly started to feel self-conscious of her looks. Even though she knew he wouldn’t fancy her, somewhere in her heart she hoped he wouldn’t look down on her like the others.

She dismissed the thought of the kiss and everything else and decided to focus on finishing up in the kitchen. Bending down, she picked up all the things that had fallen down when he placed her on the kitchen island. Since he mentioned he would eat later, Mia packed the food into an insulated container to keep it warm.

Proceeding to wash the dishes, she remembered her silent plan to teach her employer on doing tasks like dishwashing instead of discarding them. Drying her hands on her apron, she retrieved a pen and paper from her school bag and wrote down brief notes, hanging one on the refrigerator and another on the trash can. Upon finishing, she smiled with satisfaction, hoping he would adhere to the notes in her absence. They had clearly agreed that she would work for him until he left Ivy Grove institute, but thinking about it now...

Mia felt disheartened at the thought that he would soon leave the university when the original professor returned. Realizing she wouldn’t see him again left her feeling desolate. Despite there being nothing romantic between them, the thought of his absence pained her deeply. For the first time, someone had made her feel desired; evident from the hunger in his eyes during their kiss. She understood the desire behind his gaze without needing to be told. And thinking about it, she felt a rush of warmth envelope her, causing her to squeal and cover her face with her palm like a giddy schoolgirl.

As Mia was in the kitchen scolding herself to forget about the kiss, she heard the robotic system voice in the apartment announce. "You have a visitor Mr. Bennett." The voice startled her for a moment but she quickly realised it was the house system computer. However, realising that Mr. Bennett wasn’t at home, Mia didn’t know whether to answer the door or pretend there was no one at home and the visitor would leave. But then recalling what he had told her about someone delivering something to the apartment, she decided to answer the door.

When Mia opened the door, she was greeted with three young women holding countless shopping bags in their hands, and when they saw her, the woman in front eyed her from her head down to her to toea.

The woman took in Mia’s apron and her simple plain attire and raised a brow, "You must be the maid, is Mr. Bennett at home?" She inquired impatiently while craning her neck to look beyond the entrance of the fancy apartment. She had been instructed by their fashion house manager to deliver the latest and most luxurious dresses and accessories to a woman named Miss Harrison on Mr. Bennett’s behalf. She was not in the mood to interact politely with a maid. She was a busy person and would only act polite to her client.

Noticing how the woman in front_who looked to be the leader of the two who stood behind_ was glaring at her impatiently, Mia didn’t let it get to her and polity said, "He is not at home, he just went out few minutes ago. You can drop the message with_"

"Then let us in so we can meet his girlfriend who he had ordered these attires for." The woman cut Mia off with a displeased frown on her beautiful face, she then added, "We called him before coming and he told us she is at his condo and we are to make sure she likes everything we brought. So if you would step aside and let us in to do our business." Said the fashionista while pushing her way inside the condo with her assistants following behind her without giving Mia the time to process anything or try to stop them from entering.

The fashionista had already spoken to Mr. Bennett and he had told them to impress the woman in his condo with their designs, and she was sure the woman in his condo could only be his girlfriend as he had referred to her as Miss Harrison not Ms. Bennett, but this maid was standing in their way wasting the time they had to impress the madame of the house!

Mia, who had been pushed aside by the three women, was taken aback by their rudeness. The woman had said she was here to meet Mr. Bennett’s girlfriend, who Mia wasn’t aware of until now. Did he really have a girlfriend? She suddenly felt a piercing pain in her heart at the thought that the man she was beginning to like had a girlfriend. She had thought of such possibility before but she had not let it bother her as he was just her professor but after what happened in the kitchen, it felt to her like in her heart, he was more than just her professor and her employer. However, now she had suddenly been told he had a girlfriend which meant she had gone ahead of herself yet again.

"Hey plain maid, where is Mr. Bennett’s girlfriend? Can you go and tell her we are here to deliver the dresses to her?" Said the rude woman who had pushed her way into the room, and was now sitting in the living room as if it were her father’s house.

Mia, who heard her words was suddenly annoyed at not just the rude woman but Mr. Bennett. Why would he kiss her when he had a girlfriend? And what gave this rude woman the right to talk down on her?

Mia turned around and walked back towards the woman who was sitting crossed legged on the couch like it was her house. "There is no one in the house apart from me, and if you have an appointment with Mr. Bennett’s girlfriend, then you should be meeting her in her own house not here. I want to go home and I cannot leave you sitting here when Mr. Bennett is not around. So please," she gestured towards the door with her chin indicating for them to leave so she could also go home and lock his house. She might not be the owner of the place but she wasn’t going to tolerate being insulted by some pretty face fashion assistant!

The rude woman stood up from her seat and chuckled in disbelief. Does this maid have any idea who she was talking to? She was the assistant of the most expensive and well-known fashion house in the country and even wealthy heiresses bowed at her feet because they wanted to get on her good side to have the opportunity to wear and buy their limited edition designs. But yet this plain maid in rags was sending her out when she had been given orders by her superior to come here and impress Miss Harrison with their designs as the owner of the fashion house was an acquaintance of Mr. Bennett.

"You have no respect for people superior than you, maid. You are wearing clothes I’d use to clean the floor of my house yet you have the guts to look at me and tell me to leave when I’m here on business with Miss Harrison. Do you know I can make you lose your job for being stupid?" She said arrogantly with her arms crossed against her chest while regarding Mia in plain disgust. However, Mia stood stunned in disbelief after hearing who the rude woman was here to meet. She was here to meet Miss Harrison?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read