Chapter 8 Unexpected Visitors

Catherine woke up early as usual, on a cool Saturday morning, feeling refreshed and ready to start her day. She got out of bed and stretched, letting out a long yawn as she walked over to her balcony. The sun was just starting to rise, casting a beautiful orange glow over the city of New York. She couldn't help but feel a sense of peace and contentment as she gazed out and admired the amazing view. She quickly started her usual weekend cleanup and made sure her whole place was extremely neat and cozy. She then made sandwiches for a quick breakfast and fed her pet some canned sardines before heading to the bathroom for a soak in her bathtub. Afterward, she proceeded to her closet to select her outfit for the day. She was going to stay indoors and rest so she opted for simple house wear. Catherine loved white headbands so much that she had about thirteen of them. She put on a sexy sleeveless white top to match her white headband and white flip-flop slippers. And then a tight blue Jean skirt with a high waistline. Once she was dressed and ready, Catherine decided to make herself a cup of coffee before settling down on her comfortable couch with a book she had been meaning to read. She loved the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning, and the aroma filled her apartment, making her feel even more relaxed. ‘This was going to be a boring and regular Saturday as always’, she thought. She halfheartedly tossed and turned on her couch wondering what to do and how to spend the rest of her day effectively. Her loving pet, Zowie sat on her feet and started making loaves on them with her paws. Finally, she decided to pick up the remote on the center table and switched on her tv. She scanned the channels for anything interesting to watch until she got to E! Entertainment where one of her favorite shows “The Daily Pop” was going on. Catherine loved to stay up to date about what was happening in the pop culture and entertainment world and this was one of the talk-shows she could go to keep up. The hosts were currently talking about the news of Hollywood famous actors, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s years of an abusive relationship. She quickly became engrossed in the hot topic and discussions which heated on as she sat down glued to the large 72’ inches LD screen in front of her. Suddenly, there was this ringing of her doorbell which startled and surprised her as she wasn’t expecting any visitors at all. She had also told her few close friends who knew her home address to always give her a call whenever they wanted to come to hang out with her in her apartment. It also couldn’t possibly be any of the estate neighbors as well. She just moved into this particular estate community last September after purchasing the house for a whopping 1.6 million dollars which was half of her savings over the years. And more importantly, she hadn’t been friendly with anyone due to the large distance from one house to the other. She got up, carefully placing Zowie on the couch, and made her way to the door. When she looked through the peephole, she could only see the unclear silhouette of a very tall man in a black suit standing in front of her door. She couldn’t see his face at all, due to his tall frame and the fact that the peephole could only see little so she guessed it was only this one man and wondered what or who he was looking for. Catherine hesitated for a moment but then decided to open the door. When she looked up, her eyes met with the man’s sky blue hazy eyes. They locked eyes with each other for a moment before her eyes widened in shock after getting a clear view of his entire face. ‘What the actual fuck?’, she thought inwardly, she couldn’t possibly say anything due to her disbelief. She was pretty familiar with the face that appeared right in front of her. Probably everyone in Australia and beyond knew who this person was. And no, he wasn’t even alone. Her eyes quickly darted from left to right as she scanned the other five men standing behind him and saw that they were also popular figures she knew very well. They were also about ten huge men in black suits and dark shades scattered around her compound. Her forehead and palms became sweaty and her mind went blank as she tried to process what was happening. She blinked continuously wondering if she was seeing correctly or if it was just an illusion, but the scene in front of her remained unchanged. She is actually standing face to face with non-other than the reigning king of her country, Shawn Larson, accompanied by his trusted royal aides. No, this couldn’t possibly be her friends playing pranks on her by dressing up and making over as the king of Australia and his aides. It wasn’t even time for Halloween yet. Matter of fact, Catherine could very well recognize the real famous figures even among a sea of people and couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. How could this be real? She unconsciously placed her right hand on the side of her head and started scratching slowly due to her nervousness. “Ehmm”, she tried to say something but couldn’t form proper words as she had been rendered speechless by these unexpected visitors. She had never expected to meet the king, let alone in her apartment. Why won’t he even say anything? The king’s eyes don’t seem to have left her since they first made eye contact. And he had an unreadable expression on his ever-stoic face as he scanned her from head to toe more than once with a penetrating gaze. Catherine grew extremely nervous under his sharp stare as she didn’t know what to do or even say. Thankfully, she heard the sudden sound of throat clearing breaking the dead silence and she looked towards the person making it. Sir Bradley Durham, the king’s longtime trusted advisor, stepped forward from his initial place at the back of King Shawn after clearing his throat as if he was about to pass a new bill in the royal court. “Miss Jones, so sorry for taking you by surprise like this and coming unannounced but His Majesty here would like to have a word with you”, he said while wearing a warm smile with his thick and polished Australian accent. Catherine blinked, still unable to find her voice. She simply nodded, feeling a mixture of confusion, awe, and fear. She couldn't fathom why the king would be standing at her front door, accompanied by his royal aides and guards. Her heart kept racing as she tried to make sense of the surreal situation unfolding in front of her. What are they doing here exactly? Could it be..........