Billionaire's Cinderella

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 17

Chris was quick. Otherwise Sarah would have fallen down. He held her tightly.

He put her down on the couch gently. He was way out of his element. No girl had fainted like this, in front of him.

A sickening feeling kept on nagging at his conscious. He couldn't understand what she had meant before.

What did he send?

He needed answers, but those could wait. Right now, his priority was Sarah.

Although he didn't know what he should do, he had to figure something out. Soon.

He contemplated the idea to carry Sarah to her bedroom, but that wasn't feasible anymore. Just now, a text came, which Chris saw by accident. Avi had informed Sarah that he wouldn't be home tonight. So Chris couldn't leave her unattended.

There was only one option. He scooped her up in his arms and walked out of the apartment.

As he already had the key card in his hand, it was fairly simple to unlock his apartment door.

He placed Sarah on his bed and covered her with the blanket. He checked her forehead to be sure that she wasn't running fever.

Confused at the situation in hand, Chris paced the length of his bedroom floor for about five minutes, trying to figure out what he should do next. But he came up empty.

He glanced at Sarah. She was still in her office attire. A wicked part in his brain poked him to help her because she seemed uncomfortable. But Chris stopped himself. It seemed creepy and... unethical.

He didn't want his head chopped off when she woke up.

However, Chris changed his clothes. He wore a gray t-shirt with black sweat pants. He occupied chair near the windows. His eyes lingered on Sarah's face. His fingers itched to touch her cheeks, stroking them.

Her face was the last thing he remembered before sleep engulfed him.

++++++

Sarah woke up with a start. The room was dark. She was disoriented. She had an eerie feeling. Something was off. Her fuzzy brain did register that she was just dreaming about something. But she didn't remember what that was. A blanket was draped over her, and she didn't remember covering herself. Heck! She didn't remember when went to bed.

She tried to switch the nightstand on but couldn't find the button. This room seemed unfamiliar. She knocked something off the table and the sound disturbed the quiet of the room.

Suddenly, she ahead another sound. As if there was someone in the room. Involuntarily a scream escaped her mouth. At the same time, the room bathed in light. She closed her eyes in reflex, covering her face with her hands.

"Sarah? What's wrong?" a groggy voice penetrated her sleepy and paranoid brain. But the voice didn't cause an alarm. Her body didn't perceive it as a threat.

She felt someone sitting near her, and rough but strong hands grabbed her wrists. She should hyperventilate; she should scream; she should claw the skin of the person grabbing g her wrists, but she was frozen in place.

"Sarah, hey. You're safe here," soothing words had a slight effect on her. She knew this voice. She liked this voice.

Still breathing hard, she removed her hands, and opened her eyes slowly. Even with blurred vision, she knew who he was.

Chris was here. With her. In her room!

Wait.

The room seemed unfamiliar.

She blinked several times to clear the fogginess, and eventually her vision cleared. She looked around. It wasn't her room. The decor was different. This room had cream, beige and brown theme.

"What time it is?" she asked.

Chris checked the digital clock on the nightstand. "Half past midnight."

"Oh!" Sarah looked around. She was aware that Chris still held her wrists. "What am I doing here? Is this your room?"

"Yes, it is. And you're here because you fainted. Aviraj texted that he'd not be home. So I brought you here. I didn't want to leave you alone."

Sarah nodded as if she understood everything he had said. But she didn't hear what he said after he told her that she had fainted.

Oh god! This was embarrassing.

But Sarah couldn't dwell on her embarrassment for long because she remembered that why she had fainted.

The chocolates.

The flowers.

Her breath hitched. She had trouble breathing again. In her haste, she removed her suit jacket. It was uncomfortable.

"Ugh! Why am I still in these clothes? Why are office suits uncomfortable? How could I faint in these clothes?" she was ranting. She knew, she was ranting but she couldn't stop her mouth. The words just poured out.

"Well... I thought about helping you change, but I figured you would have my head on a spike."

Sarah was taken aback by his confession. She should feel offended but didn't. It rather put a smile on her face. She had never undressed in front of a man, so Chris's words should have put some fear in her. But deep down she knew he wasn't a bad guy and he would not hurt her. He was just a loudmouth.

"Uh... I should go now. I need to change," she said, putting aside the blanket. Chris grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Stay here, Sarah. I can offer you my clothes. I have plenty of them."

Her eyes traveled down on his body. He looked handsome in casual clothes.. Although it wasn't the first time when she saw him in a t-shirt and sweatpants, this side of him always took her breath away. It was so domesticated. And you don't see Chris Jones being domesticated very often.

Sarah kept her mouth shut. Her brain wasn't processing everything rationally. She wanted to take him up on his offer. But accepting it in her head and confessing in front of him were two different scenarios.

Sarah's silence was enough for Chris to get up and grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of trousers. He put the clothes on the bed. When Sarah saw them, she was taken a back. That was... she didn't know how to feel. However, she did acknowledge that her heart fluttered pleasantly.

A part of her wanted to take a leap and wear his clothes, but she was confused with everything that had been going on in her life. She needed to figure out if her past had come back. Involving Chris and opening her heart could cost her a lot. And she wasn't ready to lost everything again.

"Thank you for this sweet gesture. But you do remember that I live next door. I can grab my clothes from there, right? I think I should go. It's very late."

Sarah stood up. As she was about to go past Chris, he grabbed her wrist. Her heart rate spiked. Chris never touched her like this. This touch was different, and she knew that even Chris felt this.

"Sarah... I..." Chris shook his head. "Listen, I don't want to leave you alone when I know you are disturbed. How about we go to your apartment, and you grab your stuff and spend the night here. You can have this room. I'll manage on couch."

Sarah couldn't stop a small smile at his offer. "You have a guest room. You don't have to manage on couch."

"So you're accepting my offer?"

"No. That's not what I said. I was trying to... Oh God. You always do that. You always manipulate the situation for your benefit. And I always fall for that."

"Nah! Not always," he mumbled. But Sarah heard him.

"So, what have you decided? My clothes or should we grab yours?"

She sighed. "Let's go. We should grab them."