Horrified was a small word to describe her state. She blushed crimson seeing the man’s eyes trail down her body. A muscle clenched in his jaws and he looked furious. Cara came to her senses and quickly stooped to pick up her towel. She wrapped it securely around her while he watched her angrily. Was this a nightmare? She just wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. She was unable to comprehend where the devilishly handsome creature who had been haunting her dreams appeared from! Surely she was hallucinating! 

“Is this some kind of a bl*ody joke? What the f*ck are you up to? Put on something, right now,” yelled the furious object of her dreams. His foul mouth jolted her back to reality. He was very much real and his face was just a few inches away from hers. She saw his gaze sweep over her and he seemed to seethe with fury! Cara blushed to the roots of her hair realizing her semi-naked state. This was the most embarrassing moment in all her eighteen years of life and she just couldn’t look him in the eye. Why did such things happen to her only? 

“I-I'm s-sorry, s-sir. I h-had n-no idea that y-you would b-be arriving t-today,” she somehow stammered out but the man completely blocked her way, his eyes burning a hole upon her with its intensity. He laughed, a shallow, devilish laugh that taunted her to the core of her heart. It was obvious that he didn’t believe a word she said. 

“Nice try! Only I don’t get turned on by such cheap stunts,” he gritted out. Cara’s mouth hung open with surprise at his cruel words. Was he really that mean? Did he really think of her that way?

“It’s not...,” she started but he cut her short with a grunt. 

“How dare you use my washroom? The servant facilities are outside, in case you’ve not noticed. Now get out before I have you thrown out,” he gritted out, giving her a look of pure resentment, as if she was some dirt on the streets. Cara felt tears prick at her eyes. She went around him towards the bed and picked up her tattered bag with trembling hands. With him still standing there and watching her furiously, her mind went blank. She was really cross with herself for forgetting her position. How could she not think of using the servant’s toilet instead? Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment and keeping her eyes down, she walked back into the washroom to wear her clothes. The angry man stood there like a statue without budging an inch! 

Was he the new owner of this place? Cara sighed and all her romantic visions of the man flew out of her mind. She quickly changed into the glitzy dress that she always wore for her performance and opened the door to peer out. Was he still there? 

“What the f*ck are you wearing? The towel was more decent than this shit. I have to talk to Freddie now. I thought I wanted the premises cleared before my arrival. I never asked for wh*res to entertain me. Are you that needy that you have to forcefully seduce me?” he gritted out at her in his booming voice that made Cara tremble more with fear. 

“You’re mistaken, I ..,” started Cara, as tears pricked at her eyes. He was really a jerk. His words pierced her heart and the tears threatened to fall freely. However, he interrupted her before she could say a word further. 

“Get out, now, before I lose my mind and give you what you came here for. You wanted money and I could use your services,” growled the man. Cara lost all her initial wish to fight him and correct him. His last threat made her eyes widen with fear. The man looked lethal and his eyes sparkled with a raw look of lust that he didn’t make any attempt to hide from her. It made Cara fear him. Yes, he looked powerful and heartless. He would definitely do what he threatened. 

“I’m not what you are thinking of me to be. I’ve cleaned your place just as Mr. Davenport had asked me to. I had no idea you were arriving today. Sorry for the inconvenience. Goodbye!” said Cara. The man looked a little taken aback at her honest reply. He hadn’t expected her to be able to say anything in her defense. With tears of humiliation streaming down her face, she ran out of the place as fast as her legs could carry her. At the gates, she saw old Ben Duncan, all ready to leave his job at this house. 

“Sorry, Cara, Mr. Donnelly came all of a sudden and I couldn’t warn you,” he apologized, seeing her tear-stricken face. 

“It’s okay, uncle Ben. As if I’ll ever see him again! I’ve wasted my energy and time cleaning the place for three hours and haven’t even received a single cent,” she sighed. Ben Duncan led her to his old truck. 

“I’m sorry about that. Hop in, I’ll drop you off to the station,” he offered. Cara smiled and wiped her tears away. She was grateful to be able to get away from the place as quickly as possible. She climbed into the passenger seat and Ben drove away. 

“You shouldn’t take the train wearing that, Cara. That dress is too glitzy and you’ll be harassed by the local goons. Here, wear this jacket over your clothes,” said Ben Duncan, opening his denim jacket and handing it out to her.

“I sing at Kingston Club at 6 every evening, uncle Ben. They have given me this dress for the performance,” said Cara with a sigh. She put on the jacket thankfully. It was too big for her but she didn’t mind. 

“Wow, that’s very good indeed! Kingston Club doesn’t give everyone a chance. They’re very picky about their artists. You really must be very good at it,” appreciated Ben Duncan with a smile. Cara cheered up and the rest of the way, she just talked about her music and singing. Her eyes lit up and she was transported into a different world altogether. 

Her mom, Sera Sullivan was a music teacher and had taught her to sing and play several musical instruments since the age of two. However, things started going downhill when her dad, Henry Sullivan was accused of theft and thrown out of job. He was an accountant at a prestigious and renowned company and the scandal was enough to devastate their future. They had to flee from the media and live an anonymous life here on Long Island ever since, doing small jobs. 

“We’ve reached Cara,” said Ben. Cara sighed and turned towards the old man.

“Thank you, uncle Ben. How will I return this jacket to you? I don’t know where you live,” she said with worry.

“Keep it, dear. If I want it I’ll visit you at Kingston Club someday,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. Cara smiled at him.

“Sure, I’ll wait for you,” she said, climbing down with a smile on her lips. 

“Smile more. It suits you better,” said uncle Ben, driving off with a wave. Cara took the train and fell asleep on the way out of sheer exhaustion. She woke up with a start and found that she was about to reach Hempstead Village. 

Walking towards the club, Cara’s eyes lit up seeing the huge queue for tickets to her show. The more the tickets got sold, the higher would be her pay. Rudolph Sterling always paid her every night after her performance depending upon the sale of tickets to her show. She walked inside and went to join the musicians, getting ready backstage.  

“Hey, Cara, you’re five minutes late. Rudy already has inquired after you,” informed Cole who handled the drums. 

“Oh, was he angry?” asked Cara with wide eyes. 

“Sort of but chill, I’m sure he has forgotten already. DJ Remi is here in his cabin,” winked Carlton, who handled the lead guitar. 

Garry, who handled the bass guitar, chuckled knowingly. “Let’s take our positions, guys. Remi won’t hold his attention for long. He’s paying extra attention to Cara these days,” he pointed out.

“Isn’t he too old for Cara?” asked Cole with an eye roll. Cara just ignored their mindless banter as it was an everyday thing and she was sort of used to it.

“Can I please concentrate on my performance  guys?” she scolded them. Although she was the only girl in the group, they didn’t ever try to over power her in any way. All the boys were at least six to eight years older to her and went out of their way to help her. Cara was glad to perform with them!

The show started and she poured her heart out into the numbers she performed, strumming the rhythm guitar expertly. The crowd went crazy when she started Selena Gomez’s Feel Me, followed by Celina Dion's My Heart Will Go On. Then she sat down on a high stool in front of the microphone like a true diva, strumming her guitar, singing the song Forever And For Always by Shania Twain. The crowd swayed in their seats, humming along with her. With her eyes closed, and an enchanting smile on her face, she herself had no idea how mesmerizing and innocent she looked. At last, Cara opened her eyes and stood up to end her performance with one of her own compositions, Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow. It was a song she composed six months back! The crowd cheered and gave her a standing ovation. Cara’s eyes filled up with tears of happiness, being overwhelmed at the response. The curtains started to close and she bowed to the audience for the last time tonight. 

Rudolph Sterling walked in and ushered all of them out for the DJ hour to start soon. 

As Cara walked over to Rudolph Sterling’s office room, Cole rushed towards her. “Hey, Cara! Someone sent this for you,” he said breathlessly handing her a parcel.

“Me? What is this?” she asked excitedly. Cole shrugged and walked away while Cara excitedly tried to open the parcel. Was it a gift from some music fan? Maybe someone liked her performance tonight and sent her something nice. But when she opened the parcel, her eyes went wide with shock.