Kalia.I returned to the office fractionally calmer, but filled with a restlessunnease. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing miles away fromhome at my local coffee shop.I put Natasha, our receptionist’s coffee, on her table."Have you been…crying?" she asked tactlessly."Got some dust in my contact lenses," I explained, and walked towards the lift. Stopping by Jen’s desk I put her cappuccino down and she gazed intently at me."What’s with you? You look like you have seen a ghost." That stopped me cold. She was right. I had. I had just seen a ghost from my past. One I thought never to see again.I smiled weakly. "Didn’t sleep very well last night." I turned away and began to walk towards my office."Hey, you know all those mysterious negotiations to buy out our firm?" I turned back. "Yeah?" "It’s done. I just got the email. We have been acquired. SomeAmerican firm. The big head cheese is in town, and we are all going toget a chance to meet him at two p.m. in the green room."
The deal. Kalia. The music was loud, just as expected for a Friday night. Dim lights reflected off polished surfaces casting shadows that danced across the dance floor. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, and that's exactly why I was here. I heard done my research on the best night clubs in downtown New York and I got the best reviews for club Ice. It was perfect for the type of night I was looking for, secluded away from the city life and I knew no one here would ever recognize me. I took in my surroundings, looking for the best spot to go, when I spotted what seemed like a booth just a few metres from the bar area. The area was surrounded by men in black and for a moment I thought it might be my father. But what would he be possibly doing here. My father loved the boujee expensive things. And he would never be caught in Brooklyn. I walked closer and stood by the bar as I tried to see who it was that had such kind of security. The closer I got to the booth, it became
The wedding.Kalia. Most girls dream of their wedding day, the gown they will wear, saying yes to the man of their dreams. Getting their fairytale endings. But I am not like most girls. I don't believe in fairy tales and I most certainly don't belive in till love do us part. But for my father I would do anything, he had sacrificed everything for me. I looked at my reflection in the mirror for the hundredth time, "You look so beautiful my princess." my dad said from the door. His health was taking a turn for the worse and it was starting to show in his face."Thank you dad. I wish mom was here." i said as he took me into his arms."She would have been so proud of you mia amors."We both stood there in silence for a while looking at how beautiful I looked in that dress. "You know you don't have to do this," my father started as tears freely fell down his face. "We could find another way.""There is no other way dad." i said turning around and taking his hands in mine. "I want to d
The truth. Jake. I leaned back in my leather armchair, a half empty glass of whiskey resting on the table beside me. I scanned the city skyline, reflecting on how I had risen to power over the years, through blood, through sweat and ironclad will. I was untouchable, or so I had thought. I laughed sarcastically at that. It had taken a woman to bring me to my knees, the one time I chose to trust a woman she fucked me over without a second thought. I took another sip of my whiskey, and looked at the ring on my finger. A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, it was Luca. He was my right hand man. The most trusted man I had on my team. He had warned me about her the moment she approached me in the club, but I was too fascinated by the woman that dared to preposition me that I thought, he was just being overly cautious. I should have listened to him. "Boss, their is something you need to see." he said calmly as he sat across from me, with a bunch of papers in his hands. I ju
Broken TrustKalia. I stood by the large window, staring out at the sprawling city scape that glittered beneath me. The city had always been a symbol of my ambition, the place where I fought my whole adult life for my father to finally accept me as a suitable heir for his empire. But he had never really accepted me, I was no match for a boy. And a boy was all my father ever wanted. But funny how life had a weird way of working out. Now I was incharge of the company he never even wanted me to work for. I heard footsteps from the hallway, heavy footsteps I could just tell it was a man of a certain weight coming my way. And I knew exactly who it was, I had been anticipating him for the past one hour. I knew he had his men all over the city looking for me, but I knew he would eventually know where to come. "Was it all a lie?" Jake's voice was low, edged with disbelief and simmering anger. He said closing shut the door behind him, as if signaling me that I had no escape. I took a
Kalia.Few days ago. "If I did not know any better, I would say you are stalking me." i say as I see Jake approaching me."Is that such a bad thing?" he asked as he kissed me on the cheek and pulled a bar chair next to me."Well that depends." i said, placing my hand on one of his thighs.He was in a pair of khaki shorts, and a polo tshirt, perfect fit for the weekend and the weather too. With him sitting the shorts had become a little too short, and my hand was touching his are flesh and it sent tingles all over my body.He looked down at the hand placement, then back up at me and licked his lips seductively. I immediately removed my hands and pretended to look for my phone in my bag."So why did you want to see me?" I finally asked."A man can't just want to see a beautiful lady and grab some food for no reason?" he asked teasing me."He can, but seriously what's wrong." i asked curious. I had studies Jake well to know eh never took any of his women on dates publicly, not that I
Kalia.Two weeks later. Waiting by the window. It had been a few weeks now since the wedding and he was still icing me out. I knew why but I refused to accept it. There was no way I was going to live like this for the next two years. I hated how he treated me, how he made me feel and everyday I promised myself that I would not care, I would not think about him, but how could I not. I was in love with him and I could not stop even if I wanted to. I found mused craving for his attention, his touch, I even missed his voice. I looked at the watch again for the millionth time, nothing. Maybe something was wrong with my phone. I thought to myself as I walked to the kitchen. "Hey Maria," I said to the housekeeper who was busy washing utensils in the kitchen. "Has Jake called yet?" I asked her hopeful, she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me, I could see the pity in her eyes. She felt sorry for me. "He said he will be late." she finally said, our eyes met, and I tried to hold
Kalia.Waking up with a headache. I heard some noises that woke me up, what was going on. I tried to open my eyes and I felt a sharp pain in my head. I looked around registering the surroundings as it all came to me. He never came home. That realisation hit me even deeper than I had anticipated.I slowly sat up in my bed, the voices still going, I could now hear them clearly. It was Jake and another voice, a female voice I had never heard before. They were arguing. I put on my robe and put on some slippers and headed to the door, but before I could open the door, I heard my name being mentioned.They were arguing about me, so instead of opening the door, I stood there listening. "I told you Naima, I don't want her, I am not in love with her. But if I divorce her I will lose everything I have worked so hard for." "Then why is she still staying in this house, sleeping in my bed?" the woman fired back. I knew who Naima was, everyone that lived in this town knew who Naima was. She w
Kalia.I returned to the office fractionally calmer, but filled with a restlessunnease. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing miles away fromhome at my local coffee shop.I put Natasha, our receptionist’s coffee, on her table."Have you been…crying?" she asked tactlessly."Got some dust in my contact lenses," I explained, and walked towards the lift. Stopping by Jen’s desk I put her cappuccino down and she gazed intently at me."What’s with you? You look like you have seen a ghost." That stopped me cold. She was right. I had. I had just seen a ghost from my past. One I thought never to see again.I smiled weakly. "Didn’t sleep very well last night." I turned away and began to walk towards my office."Hey, you know all those mysterious negotiations to buy out our firm?" I turned back. "Yeah?" "It’s done. I just got the email. We have been acquired. SomeAmerican firm. The big head cheese is in town, and we are all going toget a chance to meet him at two p.m. in the green room."
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.I looked at my reflection again in the mirror for the fourth time, my bed full of clothes I had tried on and none of them seemed to fit me. I needed to start shopping for maternity clothes and that required me to get out of my room, which I was not ready to do. Maya had offered to take me shopping, but with the morning sickness, it was hard. All my time was spent on my knees by the toilet throwing up and the remaining time in bed, sleeping. It didn’t help that the one person I wanted to be with was also the one person I was avoiding. But I couldn't hide in my room forever, at some point I had to get out, and that day was today. It had been exactly two days since our confrontation, since Jake claimed he was not the one responsible for my mother's death. It had also been exactly two days since I had been in the same room as him, or even seen him. I couldn't deal with that news, not now, not when I was still trying to come to terms with being pregnant. I dressed up in a pink
Jake.I hadn't really slept all night, and now as I lay awake, the morning sunlight filtered through the curtains of my bedroom windows, casting soft, golden rays on the hardwood floor. I stood at the window, staring out over the city skyline, my coffee growing cold in my hands. I wasn’t seeing the buildings, though; my mind was far away, caught in a tangled web of emotions that I could neither fully understand nor escape.All I could think about was Kalia, which was not fair to the woman sleeping soundly on my bed. I turned around and watched her, snoring softly. I had woken up so many times to her face, she was beautiful, and despite giving birth to a child she still looked spectacular. At one point in my life she meant everything to me, don't get me wrong I still loved Naima, but I was not in love with her. And last night was prove of that. Maybe it was time I started being honest with myself, and maybe tell Kalia I was in love with her, but that was a dumb thin to do. Kalia w
40.Jake.A few days ago. My private investigator had just gotten back to me on Kalia's background. "So boss, I have some news." he had said, even his voice seemed troubled. "What's going on?" "Kalia is not really who you think she is who we all think she is." "Whats that supposed to mean?" "Well I did a little digging like you asked, it took a lot for me to get her file." Leo started, but I was running out of patience, " She is not really Kiari's daughter.""What doea that mean?" "I got a hold of Kiari's file, he was never married, he could not be able to have biological children, he adopted Kalia." Leo paused for a minute, letting the words sink in. It was all starting to make sense, I knew something was off about her story, and how she talked about her mom. " Kalia's parents died when she was only six years old, her mother died in a car accident, hit and run, and her father died a few weeks later.""Woow,that must have done a number on her." i said feeling sorry for Kalia,
Jake. It had been over nine months since Kalia dissappeared with no trace at all. It was like she had never even existed. But I never gave up, I still had people out looking for her. I stood by my bedroom window, or atleast what used to be our bedroom window, overlooking out, looking at the sky. It was a beautiful morning, and I could not stop thinking about her today..She must have already had the baby by now. My baby. Now looking back, none of this things mattered anymore, I had fought for my company which was not hard given Kalia left me half the company she shares that she owned before she disappeared. I had everything I ever wanted except her, I was in love with her and she was all I could think about. Wondering if she was okay, if my child was okay. "Hey," my mom said rubbing my shoulders gently from behind me. I had been so absent minded that I never even heard her get into my room. She stood next to me and we stood there together in silence, we understood each other a
44.Eric. I sat in the hospital parking lot for what felt like eternity, part of me wanted to drive back and act like I had never gotten this information. I wished I had not pushed Naima to be honest with me. But Kalia was my best friend, she was like family, like my own sister. I had to warn her. I slowly got out of the car, suddenly feeling a slight headache. I walked to the reception, but before I could talk to anyone, I spotted her and she ran towards me excited, all smiles. "Hey, you didn't have to come." she said, as she hugged me as she led me to a bench and we sat down. "I know, but what kind of friend would I be if I was not there for you when you needed me most?" she said, taking my hands in hers. "Thank you for coming, it really means alot that you are here." she said in tears. "But no crying please, I don't want to see any tears on your beautiful face." She just looked up at me with her big brown eyes, and smiled. "I love you." she whispered"I actually wanted to
The night was heavy with stillness, the kind that made every sound feel amplified and every thought reverberate like an echo in a cavern. Anna sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed in the guest room of her parents' house, her hands absently toying with the delicate lace of her wedding veil draped over her lap. The moonlight streaming through the window painted silvery streaks across her face, illuminating the turmoil in her eyes. Tomorrow, she would be married. Tonight, she wasn’t sure if she was ready.The house was quiet, save for the occasional creak of the old wood floors and the muffled hum of her father’s television in the den downstairs. Her mother had gone to bed hours ago, reminding Anna in her usual efficient manner to get some rest for "the big day." But how could she? Her mind was a storm, a whirlwind of questions and doubts she had kept at bay for months but now seemed impossible to ignore.Anna stood up and walked to the window, pushing it open to let the crisp December
Jake. The different lights of the club flashed in circles on the dance floor, casting a sickly glow over the crowd. The bass of the music reverberated through the floor, vibrating the glass of whiskey in my hand as i slammed it down, beckoning the bartender for another.I didn’t care for the taste anymore, the burn in my throat that felt like a fire that never quite went out. It was a reminder of the way i felt inside raw, scorching, and too damn much to handle. The glass was empty before i could think about it, and the bartender didn’t even look at me as he slid another one over to me.I could feel his eyes on me a couple of times, maybe judging me. “Tomorrow,” i muttered, almost to myself, staring at the amber liquid as though it held all the answers to my agony and pain. Tomorrow, she was getting married. Kalia was getting married. It sounded like a bad dream only that it was infact happening. She was getting married. Not to me. Never to me.She had made that abundantly clear.