Kalia. As soon as I got back to the house I started packing. I still could not believe he had found me, I had just started finally settling into my new life. But something about the whole encounter bugged me. He could have confronted me, he could have done so many things, but he didn't, he did not say anything. He seemed surprised to see me, and more surprised to see my son. "What's going on?" I was so deep in my thoughts, I didn't even hear my friend Ella come in. She is one of the few people I had come to trust since I moved here. We were about the same age, and just like me she had, had her own share of life experiences. We lived together, she was like a sister to me now. "I saw him today Ella, I have to get out of here." I said, pacing around the room, my hands all shaky. "Saw who?" "I saw Jake, I saw him at the mall and he Saw me too Ella, he also saw Ethan." She looked at me surprise and shock written all over her face. "What?" "Yes, he was just sitting there and Et
Kalia. "Nothing really. It was just that while we were in the Park today Ethan started asking about his father. He is very intelligent, you know, Kalia. He sees that the other kids have a mummy and daddy and constantly he asks me what has happened to his daddy." anguish and pain cut through me. This broke my heart, that I was not able to give him a fully functional family. " Can it really be that his father does not want him? Surely." Ella asked, still holding my hand, caressing it gently. " His father doesn't even know he exists," I told told her harshly, taking a deep breath. "Oh, Ella, please don't ask me about him. Not tonight of all nights. I just couldn't bear it. . . ." "For Ethan's sake you must," Ella said gently. "You cannot fob him off forever. Soon he will be old enough for play school, and children can be so unkind. . . ." "One-parent families are nothing unusual these days," I said defensively, "and surely Ethan is better off with me than with two parents who fight
Jake.. No matter what happens, we will always be infinite. I looked up from my phone, and for a moment the whole world came to a standstill. I knew her. She was a brunette with all her hair held up in a bun, she was wearing a yellow sundress, and some sunglasses. She looked beautiful, but that was not what caught my attention, it was whose hand she was holding. A boy that seemed to be around two years was tugging on her dress. I didn't even realize I was staring until our eyes met, she almost gasped, one hand on her mouth, she looked horrified to see me, scared even. She quickly took the child's hand and seemed like she was about to run away when a man approached them with candy. He handed it over to the enthusiastic little boy who beamed with excitement. "Excuse me, do I know you from somewhere." I said touching the lady's arm and they all turned to look at me, including the little boy. "Are you my daddy?" the little boy said, looking up at me, with ice cream smeared all ov
The small town ice cream parlour buzzed with the sweet chatter of families enjoying their afternoon treats. Lively music played softly in the background, mixing with the hum of the old-fashioned soda fountain and the occasional scrape of spoons against cold, creamy bowls. Emma sat across from her son, Ryan, both savoring their chocolate and vanilla ice cream cones. She smiled at her six-year-old, his face covered in a delicious mess of chocolate smears. The sun streamed in through the big front windows, casting a warm glow on the tiled floor and the colorful, vintage décor of the shop.Ryan, as always, was full of energy. He hopped out of his seat to peer at the ice cream flavors on display, his eyes wide with excitement. He was a curious child, often getting distracted by the smallest of details. Emma watched him, content, her own cone forgotten for a moment as she admired her son’s wonder at the world.Then, a loud clink interrupted the peaceful moment. A man, tall and slightly dish
Pregnancy. "Oh my God, I don't feel so good." i said standing up, my hand on my lower abdomen. A few minutes I was kneeling by the bathroom vomiting my guts out. Maybe it was something I ate, it had to be something I ate. I said to myself going in for another round of vomiting. Now that I was thinking about it, I had been feeling nauseated and tired for almost a week now. I just thought I was coming down with something, but this was getting too serious. Maybe I needed to take a test. I slowly got up from the ground, washing my hands and mouth, before I looked at myself in the mirror touching my stomach. I tried to portrude my stomach a little bit, to get a glimpse of what I would look like pregnant. ' I can't be pregnant, not right now atleast.'I fished my phone out from my pocket and went straight to my period tracker. I was definitely a few days late. All I had to do now, was get a few pregnancy tests from the hospital. I slowly picked up my phone and walked out of my ro
Jake. I stood at the end of the cracked asphalt driveway, staring up at the old, two-story house that had loomed large in my childhood. The faded blue paint peeled in the corners, and the once vibrant garden lay choked with weeds. It felt both alien and achingly familiar. I had driven here straight from the hospital, I needed the drive, it was therapeutic and helped my mind no to focus on Kalia kissing that man. I stepped onto the porch, the wood creaking beneath me like the groan of old bones. The door, a relic of better days, swung open with a reluctant push, revealing a dim interior that smelled faintly of mildew. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light that filtered through the grimy windows. I hesitated on the threshold, recalling a thousand small moments the laughter, the fights, the palpable fear.I was a rich man who lived lavish, but so was my father. He used to be among the richest self made men, but after my mother left, he started getting reckless, gambling, drinking an
Kalia. I had been working overtime for the money and the hours were starting to get to me. I was exhausted, but I needed the money. I turned away from the cashier’s counter closing it and slammed into a hardwall.. well, it felt like it was a hard wall, but in fact, it was a man’s solid chest. Large,powerful hands came around and gripped my upper arms to steady me.For a second it was all right. I had the apologetic, slightly flirtatious smile and appropriate words that passed for polite regret ready, I’m so sorry. But when my eyes flew past the broad shoulders up to his face my whole world tilted crazily. I felt the blooddrain away from my head and my face whiten. A part of my brain screamed, No. No. No.No fucking way. Not halfway across the world. Not after all this time.I had done a pretty good job of starting afresh, far away from my previous life, far from anyone that knew me. And for a while it had worked, or atleast I had thought so. I opened my mouth and… Closed it like som
Kalia. After dinner, I went out by the pool. It was a beautiful night, the full moon out along with a sky full of stars. It was so beautiful and calming out here tonight and generally in the country. I had always wanted to raise my family in the country, away from the buzz of the city.I dipped my bare feet into the cold water, getting a certain satisfaction. I was still reeling from dinner, from that made up how we met. I had watched Jake all night, he seemed happy, he was so committed to the fake story that I wondered if he really did remember how we met. He could be a good actor because even I bought it. Which is why it was going to be difficult to read him, to trust him. My phone buzzed, and I looked at the watch on my wrist, it was past eleven almost midnight. Who would be texting me at this hour? Maybe something was wrong with my dad, that was the only reason I could think of why someone would be texting me this late. I quickly got out of the water, rushing to the table
Kalia.I had been working for him for a couple of months now as his pr, and still I was not used to it. The fact that the very first thing I felt when Jake’s deep, masculine voice pulled me out of the deep sleep I had been in was a shiver of excitement, and not a pang of annoyance, was disturbing on a lot of levels, all of which I was too tired to analyze in that particular moment.“It’s one in the morning, Jake .” I said, as I blinked against the blinding light radiating from the screen of my smartphone. After four months in working for him, I should know better than to be surprised by a midnight phone call, but somehow every time it happened it caught me unprepared. “It’s nine a.m. in England.” He said, “And we have a crisis on our hands?” I immediately rolled over and brushed myhair out of my face, the cool sheets from the side of the bed that had been unoccupied chilling me slightly.“The sky isn’t falling, if that’s what you mean, but we have protesters lining the streets at
Kalia.And I had vowed i wouldn’t become like that. I wasn’t letting anyone have control over my life again.Although, obviously Jake had some modicum of control over my life since he was my boss and my child's father, but that was different. “If you expect me to buy new clothes you have to give me time to shop.” I said facing him with a straight face, after all this was his event he was inviting me to, it only made sense. “You can have the afternoon off.” I shook my head, my tight bun staying firmly in place. “Morning and afternoon. I need some sleep too.”“Morning to lunch hour,” he countered.“Deal.”“No black. No beige.” He added“It’s an art gala, most of the women will be in black.” I said defensively “I know, and that’s exactly why I want you to wear something else.”I frowned. “I’m not in the habit of allowing men to dictate what I wear. I can choose for myself.”He stood from his desk, and I was distracted, as I always was when he surprised me like that, by the superb sha
Jake was from a fairly affluent family, that was general knowledge. It surprised me that he’d had to take out loans to start up his company.When we were married he never talked to me about this type of stuff, or anything business related at all. Which is why I loved our new arrangement, I felt needed and smart. I was not just a pretty girl. “But now you have to play the diplomacy game,” I said.“I would anyway. I develop resort and hotel properties, the public has to have a favorable view of me.”“That’s true.”For the most part, the public did have a favorable view of him. He was charismatic and charming and dated the most eligible women in Hollywood, which put him on the front cover of a lot of magazines andmade him very high profile for a businessman. He was also a slave driving taskmaster, but only his employees knew that. And in fairness, he never expected anything from her that he didn’t expect from himself. In fact, he seemed to expect more from himself.Which was why, even
Kalia. In theory, I liked sexy men, at least from a distance. When said sexy man was both my baby daddy and boss, it made life a bit more complicated. It didn’t really matter, though. Business was business and I had no intention of crossing any lines with him. I wasn’t his type anyway. He liked party girls. The shallower, and the shorter the skirt, the better. Of course, I wasn’t entirely certain what my type was as far as practical application went. Judging by my recent string of failed dates I didn’t really have a type.“How many shots?” he asked, lowering the cup.“four,” I answered, trying to bring my mind back into the present and away, far, far away, from his lips.“Good. It’s going to be a long day.” i sat down in the chair by his desk, pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and sat poised with a pen in my hand.“Why do you do that?” he asked.“Do what?”“Take physical notes on paper. You have a million little gadgets for that kind of thing. I know because most of them were pu
Kalia. In theory, I liked sexy men, at least from a distance. When said sexy man was both my baby daddy and boss, it made life a bit more complicated. It didn’t really matter, though. Business was business and I had no intention of crossing any lines with him. I wasn’t his type anyway. He liked party girls. The shallower, and the shorter the skirt, the better. Of course, I wasn’t entirely certain what my type was as far as practical application went. Judging by my recent string of failed dates I didn’t really have a type.“How many shots?” he asked, lowering the cup.“four,” I answered, trying to bring my mind back into the present and away, far, far away, from his lips.“Good. It’s going to be a long day.” i sat down in the chair by his desk, pulled my notebook out of my briefcase and sat poised with a pen in my hand.“Why do you do that?” he asked.“Do what?”“Take physical notes on paper. You have a million little gadgets for that kind of thing. I know because most of them were pu
Jake was from a fairly affluent family, that was general knowledge. It surprised me that he’d had to take out loans to start up his company.When we were married he never talked to me about this type of stuff, or anything business related at all. Which is why I loved our new arrangement, I felt needed and smart. I was not just a pretty girl. “But now you have to play the diplomacy game,” I said.“I would anyway. I develop resort and hotel properties, the public has to have a favorable view of me.”“That’s true.”For the most part, the public did have a favorable view of him. He was charismatic and charming and dated the most eligible women in Hollywood, which put him on the front cover of a lot of magazines andmade him very high profile for a businessman. He was also a slave driving taskmaster, but only his employees knew that. And in fairness, he never expected anything from her that he didn’t expect from himself. In fact, he seemed to expect more from himself.Which was why, even
75.Jake.I had never seen Kalia look less than perfect. She always looked beautiful, even when she rushed into the office at two in the morning to handle some sort of media crisis. But in a dark navy blue gown with ruffled sleeves, a demure neckline and a back that dipped so low it ought to be illegal, she was stunning.Her hair was pinned to the side so that her curls cascaded over one shoulder, and didn’t cover any of the skin that was on display in the back of the gown. Her makeup was more dramatic than she usually wore to the office and her legs were bare, and on glorious show, the dress barely skimming her knees. And they were amazing legs.My libido kicked into gear, a reminder that I hadn’t had sex in a very long time. But business had been intense and when I hadn’t been focused on my various building projects I had been handling Maya’s big move into her new, off campus apartment. An apartment she hadn’t wanted, because she couldn’t afford it herself. But there was no way I wa
JakeI put my hand on the small of her back, on her bare skin, and I felt a small shiver go through her whole body. She was feeling every bit of the attraction I was. Strange, because I had only ever seen her in herbuttoned up professional mode for a while now, now suddenly she was unbuttoned and very, very hot. Although, she had always been hot. I had thought more thanonce about uncoiling her tightly wound hair and watching the dark curls tumble down.She shifted against me, her hip brushing my body intimately. My muscles tensed and desire roared through me, my body hardening at the accidental contact.I drew her closer, letting her feel. Letting her know exactly what she was doing to me. I didn’t hit on employees as a rule, ever. But she tempted me. And that was a new experience. Women appealed to me, and I desired them. But I had never considered them a serious temptation. If itwasn’t the right time, it was easy for me to leave my date standing on the doorstep and go home withou
KaliaI bit my lip. This side of Jake always confused me . In some ways he seemed more uncomfortable having people know anything good about him.He didn’t seem to mind the negative press that came when he dated one supermodel, then switched to an actress the next night. But he didn’t seem to want to let anyone know about his good behavior. And there was something about that that made me almost like him sometimes, and that made all the other physical things he made me feel intensify.“It’s … okay, events like this are definitely a little bit fake. It’s see and be seen. Most people are flashing their bids all over the place.” I jerked my head toward the glittering celebrities and debutantes gathered around different pieces of art, waving their bids around while they talked.“I don’t play the game,” he said. “It doesn’t appeal to me.”“You have to play the game a little bit, Jake It’s good for business.”“What’s it like for you, doing a job that’s so at odds with who you are?”The questi