THE BILLIONAIRE'S GIRLFRIEND

ELEVEN

That night Malora dreamt of her sister.

In her dream they were in a shop. It was very similar to Madame Laura's boutique, but it was full of wedding dresses. Lorena pointed to a long dress that was ripped in half. 'That's perfect for you,' she said.

'But it’s torn,' Malora said.

'That's how Meredith Grey likes it,' she said sadly.

Malora woke up disturbed and unhappy. She had never spent a week, talkless of a year away from her family and she missed Lorena and Louis terribly.

It was four in the morning and it was dark outside. She got dressed in the jeans and T-shirt that she arrived in and left the apartment. Malora exited the lift and the night porter nodded at her. She returned the gesture and open the doors.

The air outside was crisp and fresh. She walked along the side of the block, crossed the road and entered the park. Then she began to run.

There was no one else around and she ran until she was breathless and so weary she could barely walk. Then she stumbled onto a park bench and watched the sun come up. Her thoughts were jumbled. She refused to put them in order. She was actually afraid of them. Afraid of the future.

A man and his Pitbull came into the park. It was off the lead and it ran at great speed up to her.

"Don't be afraid," he shouted. "She won't harm you. She's just a puppy. She wants to be friends."

She jumped up on Malora's knees and started licking her face. Her exuberance was such that Malora broke out in laughter. Oh, if only life were so simple. She looked into her gold-brown eyes and ran her fingers through her silky coat feeling the wild life that was coursing through her body.

In contrast, Malora felt drained and jaded. As if she was a husk left on the mill floor. After a while the man whistled and she bounded away, but the exchange had left her lifted as she walked back to the apartment. Just as she crossed the street, Malora felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck and goosebumps traveled down her arms.

Once she was on the sidewalk, she whirled around quickly to scan the quiet street and found that there was no one there. A car drove past, it's bright headlights light shinning through the slightly, a lady in jogging pants and tank top also emerged from the next building, and that was it. There was nothing out of the ordinary, yet that feeling still lingered.

It felt as though she was being watched.

Chalking it up to paranoia and lack of proper sleep, she walked into the building. The night porter was getting ready to go home. Soon the other porter whom she was a bit familiar with, Mr. Cole, shift will begin.

Malora stood in the shower for ages. When she came out her mobile was double blinking. An indicator for a message.  Janette had left a message that three racks of clothes, shoes, and accessories will be arriving at 11:00 am. She was to choose whatever she wanted and somebody will come and pick up anything she didn't want at 5:00 pm. She was to call her if she needed any help. Malora texted back to thank her. Then she texted Mika.

Are you up?

Mika called back. "Hey."

"Oh good, you're awake," Malora said, happy to hear her voice.

"Yeah, I had a date over last night and he got me up early."

"Is he all right?"

"Shouldn't you be asking me if I'm all right?"

"Because I know you, Mika." she laughed guiltily. "Hey, you want to do a Skype call with me, say, around eleven-ish? Janette is sending some clothes for me to try on. You can help me decide which to keep."