I'm Guilty, My Beauty[COMPLETED]

It was already noon time. Clarence was facing his laptop, reading emails when he received a call from his mother.

"Son, where are you now? How is Beauty?"

"We're still in Leonard's house. Beauty is doing fine. She's still sleeping right now."

"Still sleeping? It's already lunchtime."

"Actually, we were so busy ever since we arrived here. Leonard asked us to be the party planner and cooks for Grandpa George's birthday last night. A short storm came the night before, and we had to salvage a lot of things until daybreak came. In short, we're dead tired."

Claire hummed from her end of the line. "But you seem energetic?"

"I'm still sleepy, Mom. Leonard woke me up an hour ago for the key to the house where we'll be staying."

"Where is the house located?"

"Adjacent to the villa."

"I thought it was in a different location."

"Actually ... Grandma Julianne was the one who insisted we take this house. She likes Beauty so much. She also offered to provide all the ingredients Beauty needed to practice for the regional trials. I can't say no. You know her. She's a lover of arts. After she saw Beauty's work, she can't get over her. The oldies even requested that they'll be the first to try her practice dishes."

"Haha, that girl really works wonders. How about you? Is she your girlfriend now?"

"I already confessed to her, Mom. She hasn't given me an answer yet. It won't be that long. I can feel it." Talking about his lady love and his passionate feelings made him confident until his mother almost grumbled.

"You must try harder. I'm afraid that old hag Julianne will try to match her with one of her single grandsons. So you better hurry up."

"I know, Mom. I'm doing my best. No pressure, please."

"When it happens, I must be the first one to know. Remember that."

"Yes, Mom. Bye."

Hearing his mother's words made him worried. 'Beauty, when are you going to say 'yes' to me? I hope Mom's fear won't come true. Even if it happens, I won't allow anyone to take you away from me.'

. . . . .

Clarence and Ronald just finished moving into the new house when they tried to wake her.

"Beauty, time to get up. Are you planning to sleep the whole day?" Clarence was knocking at her bedroom door.

"OK, I need to freshen up first." She was still yawning as she tried to get up from the bed. Her body felt so warm while her head felt so light. She thought it was just from waking up so she paid no mind to it. As she almost reached the bathroom door, she just fainted.

Thud!

"Beauty, what happened?"

After hearing no replies or more sounds from behind the door, Clarence was terrified. He opened the door and saw Beauty lying on the floor.

The boss acted fast despite the horror of seeing her unconscious. Clarence carried her and placed her on the bed. He then cupped his hand on her forehead.

"She has a fever. Ronald! Ronald!"

Hearing his boss' panicking tone made Ronald rush in the room. "What happened?"

"Ask Lorraine to call a doctor. Beauty is having a fever."

"Okay, got it."

. . . . .

"She only needs to take this medicine, and she will be fine. This is only due to fatigue. She needs to rest until her fever is gone." A young male doctor, with a stethoscope around his neck, assured Clarence of the girl's health.

He's good-looking with his high-bridged nose and deep-set eyes. He was wearing a yellow polo shirt that showed his well-built body which was not bulky at all. His wavy hair was brownish when the sunlight brushed past it. He was a half-inch taller than Clarence.

The doctor took some strips of anti-fever capsules from his bag and placed it on the table nearby.

"John, how is she?" Grandma Julianne and Lorraine came in.

"Grandma, she's doing fine. No need to be troubled. She was just extremely tired. It must have been from all the work for the big party last night. Remind her not to overwork herself."

Grandma sat at the bedside and held Beauty's hand. "What can I do? The two main cooks were not available. She also wanted to do it herself."

Grandma faced the patient, "Beauty, you must rest. John is here to stay for a week before he goes back to the hospital. So while he's here, he can take care of you. By the way, John is Leonard's youngest brother."

"I'm okay, Grandma. I only need rest. Clarence and Ronald are also here. I'll be fine."

"No, no, these boys are rough unlike a professional doctor like John."

Clarence cleared his throat twice. "Hi, John, you're back. I thought you were very busy working with that pretty doctor, and I think there was a nurse as well? I think you better stick with them."

"Haha, yes, I'm back, but I don't know who you're referring to. There are a lot of pretty doctors and nurses there. Maybe they're the hospital staff who took care of you when you were hospitalized."

"I'm always 100% healthy. I can't remember being hospitalized for my entire 18 years of life."

Clarence started to feel intimidated by the presence of these two: the grandmother and the grandson. Maybe his mother had the power of foresight for this to befall after she made the call. He wouldn't allow this to continue.

"Grandma, I can take care of Beauty. I am her Boss so I'll take good care of her. I won't allow anyone to disturb her while she's sick. Since I'm a good chef, I promise I'll cook the best dishes to nurse her back to health until her cheeks become rosy red again. Doc John can have his vacation peacefully. Right, John?"

As a doctor, John knew Beauty needed rest. For now, he would just play a little with Clarence.

"Grandma, let's leave Beauty to get some good sleep. I'll return when it's time for her to drink her medicine."

"Alright, just make sure she can drink on time." By now, the grandmother totally disregarded Clarence's presence.

He just shrugged off their indifference. He could care less about it.

While they were headed out, John looked back at Clarence with a playful smile on his face.

Clarence had seen that smile before. That was the time a girl he thought of courting was taken from him by this person even before he could confess. At this moment, this same guy was telling him that he'll do the same: taking Beauty away from him.