CHAPTER FIVE: A LADY IN ARMOUR

Rhea's POV

His sapphire blue eyes were glowing with passion as he beckoned me over. I walked over to him like a marionette puppet whose strings were being pulled. Without even pausing to think, I walked over to him. His crooked smile was doing things to my insides. It felt as if someone was doing acrobatics in my stomach. It was not just some butterflies fluttering over there for sure.

My breathing grew heavy as I reached him, and I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips. From the moment I met him, I wanted to taste those lips and see if they were as soft as they looked. Now that I was this close to him, I couldn’t help but lean towards him slowly while I drowned in those gorgeous blue eyes. 

Our lips were about to meet when I woke up with a start as I felt someone scratching my belly. I opened my eyes to see Morris standing on the bed and pawing at me to get my attention. 

Once he was sure that I was awake, he jumped from the bed and walked over to the door and turned back to me with a loud Meow which I recognised as his code for hunger. I could now differentiate his needs with his tone. If this went on for a while, I was going to learn cat language and become a cat whisperer.

I placed my fingers on my lips, which still had residual tingles from the impending kiss which was interrupted. I couldn’t believe it was just a dream. It had felt so real, and I could still remember all the details vividly.

I sighed as I thought of the blue-eyed stranger who refused to leave my thoughts. From the moment I met him a few days ago, the gorgeous stranger with the dangerous aura was a constant in my thoughts and now it seemed that he started following me to the dream world too.

I blushed, remembering how my dream self boldly went ahead to kiss a stranger just like that. Who knew if it would have stopped at just a kiss or more would have happened if I didn’t wake up when I did?

No, I was really not disappointed that I didn’t get to finish the dream, and I was really not annoyed at Morris for interrupting my dream kiss with the blue eyed Adonis. I shook my head as my conscience mocked me, calling me a liar. Self denial was not going to do me any good.

Well, it was not as if I was going to do anything like that in real life. If I could have such moments, at least in my dreams, was it wrong to enjoy it? 

I was not going to let men into my life anytime soon. I was still figuring out what life is, and I didn’t need men to complicate it. And this particular guy who starred as the leading actor in my dreams was too dangerous. I could feel it in my bones.

I sighed as I shook my head. My body and my inner self may want him, but I knew enough to realise that he was trouble with a capital T. 

I just hoped that I will never meet him again. Maybe then I would forget him in a few days and I could get back to my normal self who was immune to men.

But I had a feeling that I was going to meet him again soon, very soon. I really hated these freaky feelings!

I stood up from the bed with a yawn. After washing my face and brushing my teeth quickly, I followed Morris who was leading me to the kitchen with the demeanour of a proud king.

On reaching the kitchen, I started to make coffee for myself and filled his bowl with cat food. As I placed the bowl in front of him, he turned his back on me with an aggrieved yowl. Ok, that was his lingo for 'Give me some real food, lady!' I hoped that he used such civil words and was not swearing at me in cat language. Anyway, I got the gist; he was not in the mood for cat food.

I decided to entertain the demands of my pampered cat and started hunting my fridge. I sighed as I saw that my fridge was nearly empty. It was time to go shopping for groceries. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go to the club today, and it was a perfect day to go shopping.

I fixed a tuna sandwich for Morris. As I placed it in front of him, he sniffed it and jumped on it with satisfaction etched on his face. 

I smiled, seeing him munch happily. I poured coffee for myself and scooped sugar and cream. After having my coffee, I began making French toasts for me. 

After breakfast, I took Morris to Mrs. Blake’s house and then went shopping.

In the supermarket, I constantly felt someone’s eyes on me, but whenever I turned to check, there was no one else nearby.  

I scanned everywhere to see if there was anyone who looked suspicious, but there were only Moms with toddlers, and elderly people wherever I looked. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

I reached the counter and the pimply teenager who sat in the billing section stared at me with starry eyes while I waited to pay. Usually I wouldn’t have even batted an eye at his attempt to flirt as I was used to attention, but today, I was really wired up and even shadows seemed sinister to me. It took a lot of willpower to keep from snapping at the poor boy. I had to remind myself that he was just a boy and I shouldn’t take my frustration at him. The smile on my face probably looked unnatural, but he didn’t seem to care as he kept on ogling me.

After paying the bill, I left the supermarket. As I walked, I kept on throwing glances behind me to make sure that I was not being followed. Though I didn’t see anyone, that feeling one gets when they are being watched remained with me.

Once I reached my home, I heaved a sigh of relief. It may not make any sense as I live alone, but the reaching home left a feeling of safety in my mind. It was the only home I ever knew, and my mind perceived it as a safe haven. After keeping the bags away, I went to Mrs. Blake’s house to get Morris.

I thanked her for taking care of Morris. She was such a sweetheart, and I felt lucky to have such a sweet neighbour.

After reaching home, I left Morris to his devices and started putting away the groceries on the shelf and the fridge.

I decided that while I was at it, I should get some cleaning and laundry done too.

So, I began sweeping and mopping while singing and dancing merrily. Morris stared at me perplexed, then yawned and went back to sleep as if he couldn’t be bothered by my crazy antics anymore.

After cleaning and doing the laundry, I was tired and decided that I would relax and watch something in Netflix.

So, I prepared popcorn, then took Morris with me to the living room and switched on my TV. I began surfing Netflix and selected the latest season of Teen wolf. I loved watching supernaturals. I knew that supernaturals belonged just in our imaginations, but I loved the idea, anyway. Maybe it was an escape mechanism since I didn’t have any memories of my previous life. 

Occasionally, I have these dreams where it felt like I was literally in another world. I couldn’t tell the exact details once I wake up, but the otherworldly feel of the dream remained in my mind. And I remember the feeling of being powerful and throwing around magical powers too. My dream self was a superhero.

Maybe I loved supernaturals because I loved the idea of the power. I wondered how it would be if people really could wield super powers. Vampires, werewolves, witches.. I stopped my crazy thoughts and decided to concentrate on the show. I was crazy as it is, and I didn’t need any more craziness in my life. 

Being normal was a really good thing, and I felt grateful for the peaceful life I have; no boyfriend, no drama, a job which kept a roof over my head and my tummy filled and not to forget, an awesome feline companion. 

I hugged Morris to me, feeling content. Life was good.

I munched on popcorn while I watched TV. I had popcorn crumbs in my mouth. I was wearing a ratty old T-shirt and shorts and my hair resembled a bird's nest since I didn’t bother to comb it after all the cleaning I did. It was not as if I was expecting any guests anyway.

And that was the exact moment when a lady who wore an armour popped up in front of me in the middle of my living room. My mouth stayed open with popcorn falling from it and I blinked my eyes. She was still there!

She rolled her eyes. “You are a tough Goddess to find, Nemesis!” she said.

Say what?