Chapter Three

Mariko entered Marcus' room without knocking on the door first. She knew that Marcus would get mad at her actions, but the hell she care. She wanted to do her job properly. And to do her job right, she should start to manage his time. But the lazy hog was still asleep on his bed. She looked at the man who was half naked lying on the bed. She shook her head in disappointment. It means, it has a lot of work to do with this guy. 'Damn! Why did I accept this kind of petty job? Aside from its boring… This guy will give me a lot of work to do,' she thought as she sighed.

Mariko looked around and noticed that the room was too dark, and the curtains were all closed. 'Is he a vampire? Why does he like a dark place? Will he get blind if I open this? Oh, right!' An idea popped into her mind. 'To make him awake, I need to open the curtains, and bring the light into this room.' Mariko grinned evilly.

Mariko opened the curtains widely and the rays of the sunlight touched Marcus' body. The guy groaned in frustration. "What the hell?! Who the hell-" Marcus stopped cursing, upon seeing a woman in her scrubs, back-facing him while her hands were raised, holding the curtains.

Mariko turned her head as she heard Marcus cussing. "Oh… You're awake!" she said sarcastically.

"Well, I am now! What are you doing here? Who gives you permission to enter my room?" Marcus asked. He was fuming mad because Mariko entered his room without permission. Second, she disturbed him while he was sleeping.

Mariko shrugged like she didn't care with all of Marcus' fury. Instead of feeling sorry, Mariko sneered at him. "Just so you know, boss… You are late for our therapy." She emphasized the word boss.

"Late for what? Therapy?" Marcus scoffed in disbelief. "This is my house… This is my life… And you have no right to change everything in my life…, especially my time." Marcus sternly said.

Mariko raised her brow as she pushed her inner cheek, using her tongue. She snorted, looking at Marcus ridiculously. "Well, then… my apologies, mister." She bowed down like a princess to irritate him more. "But I have now the power to get you straight. If you want me to be gone as soon as possible, you should behave yourself and follow my orders." She grinned. "You must know how to sit in your wheelchair, right? Get ready… and I will be back in 30 minutes. I will call Matilda to prepare some food for you. You should take a bath first and eat breakfast. Once I'm back, we will start the therapy." Mariko commanded him, which made him laugh like he just heard a ridiculous joke. He even saw the rolling of her eyes and made him feel annoyed.

Marcus throw a pillow in Mariko's direction after the young lady went out of his room. "How dare she order me? Huh!" He groaned his frustrations. 'You want to stay here, huh? Let's make your life difficult.' Marcus smirked evilly.

Mariko came back after 30 minutes. She brought some equipment that they will need for Marcus' therapy. "For today's exercises, we need to focus on your strength. That means we will be exercising. According to your records, it's been almost a year since you got surgery on your legs, and yet, you haven't sought help from the therapist… You're so petty." Mariko clicks her tongue.

"What did you just say?" Marcus' eyes were blazing with fire, his nose was blowing smoke like he was ready to punch the person in front of him.

"That look on your face won't work on me." Mariko glared back at him while she was busy preparing the balance board.

Mariko pushed his wheelchair near the starting point of the balance board. "Hold on to this iron bar and try to stand up," Mariko ordered him, which made Marcus hiss. But as soon as Mariko glared at him, Marcus couldn't help but follow her orders.

Usually, Marcus doesn't like to take orders from others, but with Mariko, he is like a puppy who easily follows her orders. He feels like he is being hypnotized and that he won't have a choice but to follow her.

'Maybe I shall follow her so I can walk as soon as possible.' He thought. Marcus held on to the iron bars as he stood up. The moment he stood up, his body was shaking from his arms down to his legs. Marcus winced as he felt the pain in his legs. Mariko moved in front of him and she was between the bars Marcus was holding. She was supporting him in the front so he won't fall easily.

"Try to walk… Can you step your feet?" Mariko asked worriedly.

Marcus looked at her hesitantly, "Do you think I can walk into this state?" Marcus asked. He felt irritated and in pain at the same time.

"Fine… You don't have to force yourself. As long as you can stand for long now, that's an outstanding achievement." Mariko informed him.

Can you get back to your wheelchair?" Mariko asked.

"Help me," he ordered.

Mariko held his arms and supports him to sit back in his wheelchair. Suddenly, Marcus lost his balance and his hand slipped from the bar, which made them fall off the floor. The wheelchair ran backward, so Marcus hit his elbow on the floor and Mariko fell on top of him. And their lips accidentally touched. Marcus and Mariko froze as their eyes widened in surprise.

Mariko immediately stood up and pretended to brush the dirt off her clothes. And she forgot Marcus, who was still lying on the floor. Mariko blinked her eyes trice, as she was thinking about what had just happened. 'Damn! This guy stole my first kiss!' She walked away and left the room without realizing that Marcus was still on the ground.

Marcus was taken aback. After all that happened, she left him on the ground. He looked at her disappearing silhouette in disbelief. 'Did she just leave me here?'

From the outside of the room, Mariko realized something. 'Shit! I left Marcus on the floor!'