⚔ The Right Way ⚔

Corin rolled her eyes affectionately as Lirat fussed from her chair over her. Stopping in front of Corin, Lirat placed her palm on her cheek, her bottom lip protruded slightly and Corin tried hard to stop the giggle from escaping her.

"I'm okay Aunty ji." She spoke, placing her own free hand on top of her aunty's.

Nodding, Lirat turned to the boy sitting in her shop with his head in his hands.

"And how did this happen young man?" Lirat attempted to put a stern expression on her face but she only ended up being as terrifying as a puppy with a limp. Even then, Kallm had the decency to look guilty and swallowed before standing up and kneeling in front of Lirat, an action that the old lady found endearing.

"It's nice to meet you Ma'am. I'm Kallm and I'm so sorry for everything." Kallm looked so nervous and anxious, different from the confident and cocky man Corin had seen before that she could barely stop herself from laughing.

Looking at her aunty's lap, Corin noticed that Kallm had placed his larger, more masculine hands over Lirat's more petite ones, causing a smile to break out on her face. Kallm really was a charmer.

"I'm absolutely fine. Thank you." Corin attempted to bring the conversation back and reassure everyone that she was, in fact, fine. But it was as if she was speaking to an empty room.

"Well Kallm, who will be helping me around the store now that Corin can't use her wrist?"

"It's only for two weeks aunty, I can,"

"I'm here to help anytime you need me to ma'am."

Lirat looked pleased with her skills and subtly winked at Corin, making her splutter with indignation. Who knew her aunty was so sneaky?

Attempting to get up, Corin grimaced as she accidentally put pressure on her injured arm. The small sound had Kallm next to her in a heartbeat, one of palms flat against her back and the other holding her wrist up.

Corin looked into the side of his face, his eyes on making sure she didn't cause more pain to herself. She admired his helpfulness and even she could admit, he was attractive. His closeness to her had set the butterflies in her stomach free and she could barely control her breathing. She knew the exact time he noticed his effect on her, as, even though his attention from her hand hadn't shifted, his lips had moved into a lazy smile.

Through all of this Corin could only think of one thing. He was tied to the part of her life she wanted to forget. He was a reminder of all she had done wrong.

Jerking herself way from his touch, his lips moved down to show his displeasure. He looked at her questioningly. It seemed the only way the two talked was through non-verbal communication. She looked away, preferring to look at her aunty, finally getting her attention.

"Aunty ji, I'm okay. I can still help you."

"Nonsense Corin. And I will not argue with you." Lira spoke with authority and Corin ducked her head.

She didn't want Kallm here any longer. She was afraid of the effect he had on her in such a short time. Corin didn't know what she would do if he ever found out what she had done. Would he think her a bad person?

Ofcourse he would. Her inner voice taunted her, and Corin felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. Was this how she would feel for the rest of her life? And what about Kayana? How was she feeling? Trapped in a marriage that she didn't want because of a immature girl with jealous tendencies.

"Very well aunty ji. I shall go get another apron from the back." Corin stood up, glad that the pain medication was taking effect and went into the back to retrieve another apron when she realised there was only the one. After her aunty, only Corin had been the one to work there.

Turning to look sheepishly at Kallm's tall frame, she was met with a confused smile. He lifted his eyebrows at her and Corin bit her lip, moving past him to get her apron from behind the cash register. Keeping it folded, she simply extended the cloth towards him.

Kallm took it from her, still confused and opened it. Without glancing at it, he pulled it over his head and attempted to put it around himself only to realise that the apron strings wouldn't fit around his waist. Finally looking at it, seeing Corin and Lirat both smiling behind their hands, Kallm saw that the apron, which normally fit Corin's small frame perfectly, barely fell past his own stomach

Corin waited to see Kallm's reaction and was pleasantly surprised when he simply threw back his head and laughed. The deep, rich sound seemed to echo in her head long after he was done and Corin saw Kallm's eyes sparkle with mirth.

As Kallm turned around, Corin saw that the strings were barely hanging on, sending her into a new set of giggles. Hearing this, Kallm turned around and watched his Lavender finally laugh without inhibition. He glanced at Lirat and found her also staring at Corin, her face a picture of awe. This made Kallm wonder how long it had been since Corin had laughed like that.

The other times he had seen Corin she had been pre-occupied and didn't seem to appreciate his company.

He was hoping to change that this time around.

⚔ The Right Way ⚔