Chapter 4

~•10 Year's later•~

She placed her hands on her knees panting and gasping for air with her tongue darted out. Her feet felt as if it was being pricked by billions of tiny needles and she sweats profusely. She peeked up at the small building which was a distance from where she stood. She could hardly distinguish its distinct features. The building seemed like the size of a dollhouse but as she got closer the bigger the building appeared. 

"Come on Aurora you can do this." She said to herself. She inhaled a fresh breath of air before she resumed her walking. She knew her employer would have her head for arriving at work late. Besides she couldn't argue with the man he was her employer after all. She had to keep her smart mouth shut and take all the insults he would hurl at her.

By the time she burst through the front door, she was greeted by a grumpy old man. He resembled that of a pig with his red face and chubby body. Aurora was disgusted by the sight of the man but he gave her a job despite her gender. She had to be grateful for that. 

The man looked at his old antique watch and said. "Do you know what time it is?" 

She worked her brain to the max trying to figure out the time she arrived at work. She didn't have a watch to show her the current time. But she followed a strict routine to ensure she was early. And this morning she followed the same routine. Except for this morning, she had some distractions. "Uhh, about seven."

He knocked his fist against the oak wood table. "No Aurora it's not seven. You arrived at seven o two and now it's seven o five. You just wasted five minutes of my time."

"I'm sorry sir."

"Why are you still standing there. Get to work didn't your parents ever tell you that time is money."

"Yes sir." She scurried off towards the back of the building but she was pulled back harshly by her boss. 

"What are you doing?" She asked. His hands-on skin made her feel filthy. His protruding dark brown eyes bored tiny holes in her body. She felt uncomfortable in his touch.

"What I should have done a long time." He pulled her closer to him and pressed her to the counter. She scrunched her nose in disgust but the man failed to notice and lifted her chin to stare in her blue depths.

"Has anyone ever told you how mesmerizing those eyes of yours are?" He trailed his hands down her jaw.

Her mood became swollen. She tried relentlessly to get out of his grasp but to no avail, she failed. The man grabbed her other free hand in mid-air and pressed it against the counter. "This is an assault!" 

He reached for a kiss but missed kissing her cheeks. The girl felt angry with her employer for even wrapping his dirty fingers around her wrist. She tried hard to subdue her anger but her mind was fogged with void thoughts. She bumped her head with his causing the man to stagger backward allowing her to knee him in his private part with her feet. She wasn't able to do much damage with her hoop skirt in the way. He clutched his private part and fell onto the ground. It was the first Aurora ever heard a man scream like a little girl. She covered her ears from the blood hurling screams that left the man's mouth. He began to sweat profusely and after some time his screams died down to small whimpers.

He wasn't the first man who tried taking advantage of her and he wouldn't be the last. But she would teach every one of them a valuable lesson. She didn't feel sorry for the man she thought he deserved it. She always fantasized about kicking the opposite gender in their most sensitive area to see their reaction. Her fantasies came through. Men always pretended as if they were formed from iron and steel but here her boss was wailing like a child.

She resumed working but she feared the man would sack her. She didn't have any other source of income. She was her family's source of survival. It was her responsibility to put food on their table and provide the necessary medication her mother needed. 

Aurora didn't hear or see any sign of her employer for most of that day. The place was as quiet as a mouse.  She was able to enjoy a moment of peace until the bell above the wooden door went off. She adjusted her posture and looked up at the person who entered the tiny shop with a gracious smile. 

 The man seemed to be in his early twenties. His piercing blue orbs made four with Aurora and a cocky grin formed on his cherry lips. 

Aurora narrowed her eyes at the man. "Are you following me?" 

"Do I look like a stalker to you miss..." He paused to think but he didn't carry on further.

"Clause." The girl finished his sentence a smile still embedded across her plump lips. "Then what are you doing here Fredrigo?" 

"I-I I'm buying flowers for a lady that I think is extraordinarily beautiful." He ran his hands through his curly blonde hair and stumbled over his words. "Besides, I'm into beautiful and delicate things like flowers."

"Really?" Aurora pretended to be stunned. "Tell me the name of a flower that you know."

"Umm, purple skunk." He blurted out.

"What the hell is a purple skunk?" Aurora lifted her brows and laughed loudly which was unladylike. She would do anything to get rid of the boy standing in front of her. "You don t know any flowers do you?"

"Actually yes I do know flowers. I was just kind of nervous." He smoothes out the front of his shirt. "I know roses."

"Seriously, everybody knows roses." She snorted.

"Wait here." She said before scurrying off to retrieve a flower. Moments later she came back with a wide grin spread across her lips. "What are these called?" 

She retrieved flowers from behind her. It had yellow disk florets at the middle surrounded by white delicate petals and a contrasting glossy like a green leaf hanging from the tiny stem.

"That's a Lilly." He replied enthusiastically. 

Aurora shook her head and said. "Tell me Fredrigo, why are you here? And don't lie about it."

"I'm here to buy flowers for a gorgeous young miss." He smiled showing his pearly white teeth. 

She narrowed her eyes and crushed the flowers in her hand while staring into his blue orbs. 

He gasped. "How can you destroy such beautiful creation."

She placed the crumpled flower on the oak wood countertop. " I'm just giving a brief example of what's going to happen if I see even one single flower on my doorstep." 

"Is that a threat?" He leaned against the counter with a smug grin. "I would like a big bouquet of red Roses."

"Roses coming up." She willingly carried out the boy's order. She couldn't stand to be in the same room with him any longer.