"Why are you asking that? I can take care of myself, you know. You don’t need to start pairing me with guys now" I said, trying to keep the mood light.


    "I hope that that’s true. Hayden…he’s not a bad guy, you know," my grandma said.


    "Why do you think that?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.


    Looks can definitely be deceiving and I think she’s being deceived by his looks for sure. I mean, she’s probably met him like three times.


    "He didn’t want me to tell you this and he even told me to act like I don’t know him, but the truth is…he’s been here to visit me and keep mepany many times before," she said before she smiled at me.


    "Oh…I didn’t know that…" I mumbled. Honestly, that was very unexpected.


    "I think he’s a kind person," she said with conviction.


    "I…guess…" I mumbled, not entirely convinced.


    "Let me tell you a secret, Malissa," she whispered.


    My grandma beckoned me closer to her with a few waves of her hand. I got out of my seat and leaned down towards her so that my face was close to her. As if she was seriously telling me a secret, my grandmother began whispering close to my ear.


    "No man would visit a sick and old woman like me almost everyday if he doesn’t care for my granddaughter, dear," she whispered before grinning at me.


    "I think you’re reading too much into this…" I said before smiling a little at her.


    Hayden cares for me? That just sounds very unlikely or just too good to be true. I smiled down at my grandmother.


    "Don’t worry about anything. The contract that I’ve entered into with Hayden’s father will end in around two weeks. Then, everything will go back to how they were," I replied, reassuringly.


    My grandmother looked like she was about to say something but then decided against it. It was also at that moment that Hayden tapped on the door before stepping into the room with arge bouquet of pink flowers.


    "Thank you, Hayden," grandma said cheerfully.


    "Let me put it over there so you can see it with the view," Hayden said as he brought the bouquet over to the windowsill.


    "We should get going now, I need to get back and work on my painting of you so that I’ll have something cool to show you on my next visit," I said, trying to sound energetic.


    The truth was that what my grandmother had told me started to bother me. Now that I looked at how Hayden and my grandmother interreacted with each other, it made me think that perhaps it was true that he had visited her many times before.


    Perhaps, my grandmother wasn’t the type to fall for his angelic looks after all…


    …


    I decided to start working on my painting right away when we got back to the penthouse. Hayden seemed to be in a good mood now despite the encounter with his father earlier in the day. It felt weirding back to the penthouse together with Hayden like this. ncing down at his hand holding mine, I didn’t quite know what to make of it or what to make of my own feelings…


    "I…I’m going to my room…" I said nkly before I headed straight for my room.


    "Ok…" I heard Hayden say softly.


    I stared at the painting on the aisled and sighed loudly. It wasn’t like me to be so behind schedule with work. Now that I think of it, I haven’t gotten back to Jenny about the art exhibition yet either. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel excited and wasn’t looking forward to the exhibition at all.


    I stood in front of the panting and stared at it, but my mind was really elsewhere. The more I thought about it, the more I can understand why my grandmother was worried about my future. I mean, I honestly don’t even know what I’m going to do after I graduate. It wasn’t easy to make a living out of art and so far, I had no solid ns on how to make a living.


    At least, I would be debt free by then…


    Thinking of job hunting and how to put food on the table for myself in the future didn’t improve my mood at all. Perhaps, I should just focus on the work at hand, which was the painting that was in front of me. Just when I hade to that thought, the door burst open loudly.


    I turned towards the door so fast that I thought that I might have snapped my neck.


    Who else could it be besides Hayden…


    "Don’t just barge in here without knocking!" I snapped.


    "Well, the door wasn’t locked…" Hayden said innocently.


    "Why are you making this out to be my fault?" I asked, feeling a little irritated.


    "What are you doing?" Hayden asked curiously without answering my question.


    "I’m…painting…" I stated tly.


    Hayden came to stand very close to me as he peered over my shoulder to take a look at my painting. It was weird for him to show such interest in what I was doing. I nced over at his face and saw that he had an intense look of concentration as he stared at my painting. I wondered what he saw…


    "Don’t you think that her smile looks a little sad here?" Hayden asked, as he cocked his head to the side, his eyes focused on my painting of my grandmother.


    I turned my head back and stared at my grandmother’s lips in the painting.


    "You think?" I asked, feeling uncertain.


    Now I was also staring at the painting from various angles, trying to see if her smile looked a little sad just like Hayden had pointed out.


    "I don’t know…it just makes me feel that way…" Hayden replied, his eyes lingering on the painting.


    Well, I painted this painting with the facial details based on my grandmother when I visited her in the hospital and asked her to pose for me. If Hayden thought that her smile looked a little sad then perhaps, my grandmother is actually feeling a little sad?


    --To be continued…


    Thank you for reading my work!