Nicole Vargas

We arrived late at night in New York. The flight was very pleasant. Ethan didn't even bother to have a conversation with me, instead, he was busy on his laptop most likely doing his work.

A sleek black car stopped in front of the private jet. Ethan opened the door for me while he was on the phone and ushered me inside. I stepped in and he closed the door behind me.

The car then started to drive away and I looked confused at the driver. "Why isn't Ethan coming with us?" I asked, tapping him on his shoulders. "Mr. Gray needs to attend a meeting tomorrow morning in Arizona. I thought he had informed you." The driver said, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

I shook my head. "He didn't, where am I going now?" "He gave me instructions to bring you to his mansion where his maid will show you around." I nodded my head and leaned back in the soft leather seat. I looked outside and let out a contented sigh. New York is so beautiful at night. So many people, lights, cars, no wonder it's called the city that never sleeps.

Moments later we arrived at the mansion. The guard opened the huge black gate with the Gray name engraved on it in gold and the first thing I saw was the beautiful garden and fountain. My eyes almost fell out of my socket when I saw how big the mansion was. It was not even a mansion, it was a castle. I can't believe Ethan lives here alone.

The car stopped in front of a huge glass door and I could see an old lady approaching the car. The driver opened the door for me and I stepped out.

"Good evening, Miss Vargas." The old lady greeted and extended her hand at me. I smiled kindly at her and shook her hand. "I'm Lila and I take care of Mr. Gray's mansion. If you follow me, I'll show you your room."

She walked back inside the house and I followed her. When I entered the inside of the mansion the first thing I saw is the tallest ceiling ever, lovely crown molding, a table in the center, and two flights of spiral staircases going up to the second floor. There was a huge silver chandelier in the middle of the ceiling and there were colorful paintings on the wall.

"Does Mr. Gray live here alone?" I asked Lila. We walked up the stairs and from up here I could see part of the kitchen and living room. In the middle of the living room I saw a black piano.

"Yes, his family often come here in summer and during the holidays. They have a ranch in the backyard."

"A ranch?"

Lila nodded her head. "Yes, there is a ranch in the backyard with three horses. I will show you around tomorrow or any day you're free." We came into a space with huge doors on either side of the hallway. I guess that behind these doors is the bedrooms. The doors to the rooms are carved with an eight-panel design. She stopped in front of a huge door and opened it. "This is your room, Miss."

I stepped into the room a small gasp left my mouth. The room contained a queen-sized bed, a vanity table, a white feathery carpet that felt like it was made in heaven, a flat-screen tv, a fireplace, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom. It was a thousand times better than my room in Brazil. Now I wonder, how did Ethan become so rich? Yes, he took the business over of his uncle, but from what I heard the business wasn't really that stable.

I rubbed my fingers along the silken mattress. The comforter was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud.

"Miss, do you want me to bring your food to your room or are you going to come downstairs?" I heard Lila ask behind me. I turned around and saw that my stuff was already placed in my room.

"I'll come downstairs," I said.

She nodded her head. "Great, dinner will be ready in a half-hour." With that she quietly closed the door, leaving me alone behind in my new room. I sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. I was so overwhelmed by everything. I couldn't believe Ethan had a ranch. My heart made a happy dance when Lila said that.

Since I was a teenager, I rode and took care of horses. It was my hobby until my dad decided to sell Arrow, my chestnut Arabian horse. I was so heartbroken. I was only seventeen and I had that horse since I was twelve. I won competitions with her and it was so hard for me to sell her. My dad sold her to a Costa Rican man, who took interest in her when she won the last race in Rio. After that, I've never ride another horse anymore. It took me forever to get over Arrow.

I stood up from my bed and went into the bathroom. I took a quick shower, wore a white dress with flowers embroidery on it, and put my hair up in a messy bun. I applied my face mask and studied my face in the mirror. My whole face was covered in white cream and it smelled like honey and cucumbers.

I waited until it dried a little bit and then made my way downstairs to get some food. I like to have my facemask as long as possible on my face because my face is very sensitive if it comes to traveling and stress. If I travel, I often get dry skin or sometimes I even get pimples or wrinkles.

I passed the living room and saw the piano from close up. It was so pretty and I wondered if Ethan could play the piano. It would be nice though to wake up to some Beethoven every morning.

I entered the kitchen and Lila was standing with her back towards me, doing the dishes. "Hey Lila." I greeted and took a seat on the barstool.

She turned around and let out a shriek. "Goodness!" She yelled out, placing her hand over her chest. "What is that on your face?"

"Oh." I forgot that I had a facemask on. "It's a face mask."

"Goodness, you scared the crap out of me." She chuckled nervously. "You can choose whatever you want to eat, everything is still warm."

I looked at the table and there was indeed a variety of food choices. There was Ravioli, Salmon, shrimp pasta, lasagna, teriyaki, lime chicken, mushroom risotto, and mini meatloaves. For dessert, there were cupcakes and red velvet cake.

"That's a lot of food," I remarked as I took a plate and fill it with lasagna and ravioli. "Are there other people coming?"

Lila shook her head. "No, Mr. Gray likes to have... choices."

Choices? This doesn't sound like the Ethan Gray I knew from a couple of years ago. This was a whole different Ethan Gray. And although I'm not here to become close with him, there's a part of me that's dying to get to know him better.

"Does Mr. Gray has a girlfriend?" I asked as I took a seat on the dinner table.

"That, I don't know. He never brought one home, but if you listen to gossips it is rumored that he's dating Veronika Morozov."

"The Russian model?" I raised my eyebrows. He did have a good choice, Veronika Morozov is one hell of a pretty girl.

"Yes, she. But she's a golddigger. His family doesn't approve of her." Lila said. "She came here to New York for a Charity, so I only met her one time. She's very... vain. She thinks she's better than everyone else."

"Oh." was all I could say. "Well, if he loves her then uhm... I don't think his family can do anything about that right. Love is love. You're basically blind until you break up."

Lila chuckled. "I just think they use each other to get attention. Don't worry, you still got a chance with him."

"What?!" I choked out. "No, I'm not into him... at all."

"Umhu." Lila said giving me a smug smirk, but turned around and walked out of the kitchen leaving me all baffled behind.

I don't actually like him, do I?

Nicole Vargas

I woke up when sun rays kissed my face. I let out a yawn and stretched out. The bed felt like heaven and I had a really good sleep. I'm so excited about today because I got to see the rest of the mansion, including the ranch. I quickly went to take a shower and while I was still blow-drying my hair, I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Come in!" I yelled, assuming it was Lila with breakfast. I was starving and couldn't wait to eat some of Lila's delicious food.

"Good morning."

I froze instantly when I heard the voice. I turned around and my eyes turned wide like saucers. "Ethan? I thought you were in Arizona?"

Ethan was standing in front of my doorway dressed in a black Armani suit. His hair was neatly combed and his hazel-green eyes were scanning my room. He looked so handsome like he just stepped out of a photoshoot. "I just arrived. The meeting was this morning."

"It's still morning," I said rolling my eyes.

He raised his eyebrows up in amusement. "Are you sure about that? It's already in the afternoon, princess."

I put my blow dryer down and checked my phone. Damn, he was right. It was already passed twelve in the afternoon. "Oh."

"Yes, Oh. Anyways, I just want to let you know. Lila is not always here. She only cooks occasionally, most of the time I make my own food."

"Why?" I asked in disbelief. I still can't believe, he didn't have a cook. "She told me last night you like to have choices. She prepared so much food."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Her cooking is delicious, so that's why I ask her to do that. And it's part of her job, she gets paid for it. But that only happens like once or twice in a month."

"Why not every day? You are loaded!" I can't believe it. He can afford everything and he still chooses to cook on his own. I don't know where he gets the time to do that.

"Because I am capable of cooking for myself! Now, I already had breakfast and lunch. There are eggs, bread, vegetables, etcetera in the kitchen. Just go take a look and see what you can do."

"What?! What do you mean?" I asked wide-eyed. He isn't asking me to cook my own food right? "Ethan, I cannot cook!"

"You can't even prepare brunch?!" He yelled out in disbelief.

"Of course not!" I said, rolling my eyes. I never cooked. Ever. It was either Carolina or my mom. Mostly my mom. "That's not my job."

"Well, here it will be unless you want to starve to death." He said.

"But I cannot cook!" I huffed annoyed. Can't he understand?

"Then you will learn. There's youtube and google. Use it!" Ethan turned around and walked out of my room.

I let out an annoyed groan. This will definitely turn into a disaster. Youtube and google or not helpful if it comes to me and cooking. I combed my hair and applied moisturizer for my face and walked downstairs, to the kitchen.

The kitchen was clean except for the sink. There was an empty plate with bread crumbs in it, which I'm guessing is from Ethan.

I opened the fridge and saw eggs, juice, bacon, and vegetables. I stand in front of the fridge for a while and decided to make some scrambled eggs.

I saw my mom making it a couple of times so I hope I'll not mess it up. I looked around in the kitchen. I found the frying pan and the spatula in the dishwasher.

I placed the frying pan on the stove and it took me a good ten minutes to figure out how to turn it on. Then I poured some oil in the pan. It made a hissing sound.

Oops, I accidentally poured too much oil in the pan. Now it looks like I'm going to make soup. I hope it's not bad.

I broke the eggs and it immediately went into the pan. Suddenly the whole kitchen was filled with smoke. What the hell?!

How did that happen?!

I coughed and grabbed the towel to throw it over the pan to stop the smoke from coming.

The whole towel went up in flames. What the hell!

Shit! I forgot the stove was already on. Oh god! Oh god!

The fire alarm started to go off and that's when I started to panic!

"Oh god! Help! Help!" I yelled out trying to get out of the kitchen, but the only thing I could see was smoke, smoke, and more smoke. What if no one hears me?

I yelled louder. "Help! Oh god! Help!"

"What the fuck happened here?!" Ethan appeared out of nowhere with a fire extinguisher and immediately extinguished the fire.

He opened the windows in the kitchen so the smoke could go away. "What the hell were you trying to do?"

"Cook?" I replied in a small voice. I was still shaking and coughing. I grabbed the dining table for support because my knees were shaking badly.

"Cook?! You were trying to put my kitchen on fire!" He said raucous and climbed on the kitchen counter to turn off the fire alarm. When the kitchen was finally cleared, he looked at the pan on the stove. "Were you trying to make soup in a pan?"

"Of course not! I'm not that dumb! I accidentally poured too much oil in the pan. I wanted to make scrambled eggs."

"Scrambled eggs?! You almost burned my kitchen down because of scrambled eggs?! You seriously need some cooking classes!" He snapped while placing the pan in the sink.

"I told you I couldn't cook!" I yelled out angrily. Tears were brimming in my eyes. No one ever yelled at me. "Why are you so mean?!"

"Goddamit Nicole! I'm not mean! You can't even make scrambled eggs? That's a fucking shame!" Ethan turned the water on and looked back at me annoyed, angry, and pissed.

Now I felt so attacked. Who the hell does he think he is? He's only supposed to watch after me and here he is insulting me. "You have no right to insult me Ethan!" I screamed, tears falling down my cheeks. God, I hated that I cry when I'm angry.

I walked out of the kitchen and hurried back to my room. I was so angry that he yelled at me for something I couldn't do. I warned him already and he still didn't listen to me.

I sat on the bed and sobbed softly. I was starving, but I didn't want to go downstairs and face Ethan anymore. I was so angry with him.

Maybe I could go to the ranch. I slipped on my shoes and quietly sneaked out of the mansion. I could still hear that Ethan was in the kitchen doing god knows what.

The ranch smelled so fresh, I could hear the soft snorting from the horses. I felt so at peace here. I walked into the horse barn and I could see three beautiful Arabian horses.

My eyes widened as I saw the horse on the far left.

"Arrow."

How did she end up with Ethan as her owner?

Ethan Gray

I can't believe it!

I just can't believe it. Nicole cannot cook AT ALL. When she told me that she had no idea how to cook, I was positive that if she would watch some youtube videos she would be able to at least know how to do the basic stuff. Like scrambling an egg for example.

But no.

Instead, she almost burned the kitchen down. I was not worried about the kitchen at all, I was worried about her. What if I wouldn't be there to save her? Oh god, the thought of it only.

I felt so bad for yelling at her. I was so mad because she had to be more careful if it comes to cooking.

I placed the freshly baked blueberry scones on a plate and poured orange juice in a glass. I never prepared breakfast for anyone in my entire life except for myself and here I am doing it for Nicole. I couldn't stand her tears, I should have been more understanding. When I saw her tears something inside me snapped.

I felt so guilty and was about to apologize, but she ran out of the kitchen before I could do so.

She's not used to this life. She cannot cook even if her life depends on it. I took the tray with food to her room. I couldn't stand the thought of her not eating. Even though I'm angry at her for not being careful enough, that's not an excuse to let her starve.

The door to her room was ajar. I knocked twice, but when I didn't hear anything I opened it wide and there was no one inside. "Nicole?!" I called out, looking around in the room. Maybe she's in the bathroom, but the door to the bathroom was wide open. "Nicole, where are you?"

Where the hell could she be? I walked back downstairs to see if she's in the living room, but it was also empty. "Nicole!" I let out a deep sigh and walked to the backyard to see if she's at the pool. God forbid if something happens to her. She hasn't eaten yet, what the hell could she be possibly doing now? Isn't she starving?

The pool was empty. There was no one there. I was about to walk inside when I saw that the gate of the fence that lead to the ranch was open. What the hell? No one ever goes to the ranch except for the gardener if he has to feed the horses. And that happened early this morning. I placed the tray with food on the table next to me and wore my shoes.

I hurriedly walked over to the ranch. Maybe the gardener forgot to close the gate. When I came closer to the ranch I heard the soft snorting of the horses and another voice. A female one.

"Nicole?" I looked at the brown-haired Brazilian girl who was hugging Spencer, one of the Arabian horses. Her eyes were swollen and still teary. "What are you doing here?"

My uncle builds this ranch three years ago for his niece Florence, but now she's married and her husband had a ranch. The only time when she visit now is during summer and the holidays.

"I heard from Lila that there was a ranch and I really wanted to see it." Nicole croaked out as she caressed Spencer on her head. "I thought she was Arrow."

"Arrow?" I asked confused. Who the hell is Arrow and why did she think Spencer was Arrow?

"Yes, I had a horse named Arrow when I was younger. My dad sold her to a Costa Rican man and she looks a lot like Arrow, but..." Nicole paused and took a handful of Spencer's mane in her hand. "If you look closely this one has a blonde mane. Arrow didn't."

Her voice was soft, it sounded sad and heartbroken. "Did Arrow meant a lot to you?" I asked as I walked closer to her. "Her name is Spencer by the way."

"Spencer." She whispered. The horse immediately looked up to her. "She's very beautiful. And to answer your question. Yes, Arrow meant a lot to me. We won competitions together."

"Really? That's very impressive." I was blown away at what she told me. I couldn't believe that she, the drama queen, won horse riding competitions. You would think that someone like her would be into beauty contest and all that sort of stuff.

But I guess Nicole is full of surprises.

"Yeah, but when he sold Arrow I never did horse riding anymore. It took me very long to get over Arrow. Is Spencer yours?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Nope, It's my uncle's, but if you want you can ride her. She's very good. She won various competitions in Monte Carlo."

Her eyes lit up and she shifted her attention back to Spencer. "Really? Wow...Mmh, Spencer maybe we should go for a ride. What do you think?"

Spencer whinnied and Nicole chuckled. She looked back at me. "Where's the gear?"

"I will show you that later, will you come eat first?" I asked, remembering that she hasn't eat yet. She lowered her eyes and turned her back at me. "I cannot cook Ethan, get it into your thick skull. I will go out later to grab myself something. Don't you worry."

I heaved a long sigh. "I... I made blueberry scones for you."

She immediately turned around and her eyes turned wide. "You did what?"

I cleared my throat and repeated, "If I wasn't clear enough, I made breakfast for you. So you better go back to the mansion and eat before it turns cold."

"Seriously, you didn't had to do it.. I---,"

I placed my finger on her lips and she immediately stopped talking. Damn, those felt really soft. I quickly removed my finger from her lips, before any other thoughts would make its way to my mind. "Go eat, Nicole. It's not healthy to skip brunch."

She gulped. "Fine, where is it?"

She followed me back to the mansion. I had put the tray with food on the table next to the pool. Her eyes immediately fell on the scones and juice on the tray. "Wow, they look delicious."

"And they are too."

She smiled up at me. A cute small smile. She looked so cute and adorable when she smiled. "Thank you." She took a bite of the scone and let out a small moan. "It's so good!"

I chuckled and sat down next to her. I put my phone next to the tray and picked a scone and ate with her.

"Where did you learn how to cook?" She asked.

"My aunt back in England taught me. She majored in culinary and she also makes wedding cakes." I told her. "Uhm, I also want to apologize for what happened earlier. I should have listened to you when you told me you couldn't cook."

She shrugged. "It's fine. I mean it's embarrassing isn't it? But for me it's normal. I have been treated like a princess my entire life. I don't expect other people to treat me any less."

I rolled my eyes. Here's the Nicole, that I know.

Our conversation got interrupted when my phone started ringing. Since the brightness of my phone was on a hundred percent, the name of the caller, was flashing brightly for Nicole to see it.

Veronika.