Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Chapter 44 Hello, Maia

MAIA'S POV

I woke up with a palpating chest and a sweaty body. Even though it was just a dream, it still felt so real. I have been having this nightmare for a couple of weeks now. It is the same dream every single time. My hands were trembling from an unknown fear.

'The same nightmare?' Avi asked when she felt my accelerated heartbeats.

'Yeah! That same nightmare and It always feels so real that it scares me to the core.' I replied to her.

'What if it is a secret message delivered through a dream? I mean, it could be possible..' She asked.

'Avi, it is no secret that Uriah wants us dead and it is no secret that he wants to use us to take revenge on Lucius.' I said.

'But...' She replied.

'Please not today, Avi.' I groaned, getting out of bed.

I dragged myself to the bathroom and stood under the shower. I allowed the water to soak me hoping that my nightmares would be washed away, too.

I stayed in the shower for an hour. When I finished taking a bath and got dressed, then I checked the time and saw that it was almost 8 in the morning. I quickly brushed my hair before heading out with my phone in my hand.

I grabbed one of the granola bars on my shelf before locking the door on my way out.

"Good morning, dear. Did you already have your breakfast?" I heard Nana ask from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Nana. I already have mine." I said, poking my head through the door and waving the granola bar that I was eating.

"That is not a proper breakfast, young one. Come and have a proper meal." She insisted.

"It's okay, Nana. Besides, I am almost late for work. I can't get fired for my tardiness, now can I go?" I replied with a hint of a joke.

"Well, your boss is telling you to sit your butt here in this chair." She said while pointing at one of the chairs in the dining room.

I shook my head and chuckled.

"This is one sole reason why one should never live with their boss," I replied in a tease.

Nana just laughed as she placed the food on the table. I helped her set the table while she was preparing her coffee.

I ended up eating breakfast with Nana before heading to the shop. After breakfast, I went straight to the store and opened it for the customers. There were a lot of customers during the morning shift. I got occupied with work and had no time to even take a short break. Customers were coming in and out. By the time I was able to take my lunch break, it was already two in the afternoon.

'If we were at the castle, we wouldn't be eating this late.' Avi complained to me.

I ignored what she said and focused on my meal.

'Admit it, Maia. You've thought about it and you know that you miss it too. Just accept the fact and give in. We're better off with our mate than being alone here.' She replied and I hated the fact that she was right indeed.

'Avi, can I have at least 15 minutes of silence to eat my food in peace? I mean seriously. When are you ever going to stop talking about going back to the castle? Don't you ever get tired?' I snapped at my wolf.

I was exhausted already and Avi's nagging made me snap at her which I truly regret because I knew that she was missing her mate as well. It's not like I don't miss Lucius. I miss him so much, but I just got better at hiding it.

After my quick argument with Avi, I have lost my appetite. I was about to stand up when the last person I wanted to see entered the kitchen.

"Do you mind if I join?" he asked with a side smirk.

"I won't." I simply said, getting up from my seat.

"Where are you going?" he asked when he noticed me leaving.

"I'm already done eating so there's no point in staying. Besides, I have a job to do." I replied coldly.

"But you still have food on your plate." He pointed it out.

"Can't you just drop it? Not today, please! I am already in a bad mood. You don't have to add to it." I snapped before storming off to my

room.

***

I sat on my bed with my head in my hands.

Things were starting to get frustrating and everything was getting on my nerves. I took a deep breath and checked my phone when it dawned on me. I was about to have my heat, again.

When I left the castle, it was hard, especially during my heat. Thankfully, Nana was there to help me. She made me lay down in the tub of chilled water, as she filled the whole tub with ice. She gave me some sort of pill that made me sleep for hours and I didn't have to go through the whole heat and the sufferings. One thing I appreciate about her is that she never asks me about my feelings. Not even once.

I let out a sigh as I covered my unfinished food on the table. After brushing my teeth and dressing up accordingly, I went back to the shop.

***

The rest of the afternoon was less busy than the morning. There were only a few customers who visited the shop.

While there were no customers, I sat behind the cashier's desk and finished some crochet cover-up orders. About half an hour later, Nana called and informed me about a delivery coming in a couple of hours.

One thing I do not like the most is when the delivery comes and I have to do inventory. I found it so boring whenever I had to do it. Unfortunately, most of the time, it was always me attending the inventory.

Just as I expected, the delivery came a couple of hours later.

"Hello, Maia. Nice seeing you again. We have the deliveries for Nana." Peter, the delivery guy greeted and informed me about the deliveries.

"Hi, Peter! How are you?" I asked him with a smile.

"I have been good. We were busy with a lot of deliveries," he replied casually.

"Well, that is good," I replied.

"Yes. Anyway, please sign here," he replied, handing me a board with a piece of paper where I need to sign at the bottom of the page.

I took it and signed it while observing the receipt.

"Thanks, Peter," I said and handed the board back to him.

"It is always a pleasure, Maia. See you on the next delivery," he replied.

Once he was gone, I started fixing all the deliveries and carried the boxes one by one to the stockroom. I will sort them out tomorrow morning once I finish the inventory for today.

Luckily, there weren't any more customers arriving in the shop. It was already 4:30 in the afternoon, so I started with the inventory. Before restocking and arranging the shelves, I needed to list down how many stocks we had on the shelves before adding more in the supply. This is the part where it gets boring. Accounting, managing, realizing and listing down the stock were so tiring.

"Finally! Time to close up and hit the bed before dinner." I jumped in excitement and stretched my arms after all the counting and crouching I did.

I just placed the inventory list on the table when the door opened.

"I'm sorry. We are already. -"

It was all I got to say. To say that I was surprised was an understatement. I was not sure if I was mortified or ecstatic.

"Hello, Maia."