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CXXI
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2024-03-17 19:00:03Kieran drove for a while before he came out to a busy road. Finally, Arabella saw some lights and places her mind was able to remember. She was happy that the result of her foolishness was not that she had to sleep outside the whole night.
He brought her to a restaurant that served hot soup and was still open at that time. From the signage, she was able to tell that it was a twenty-four-hour restaurant and that they were always open. They got their order and Arabella could barely wait for the order to come."I brought you here in case you caught a cold, the hot soup would help out" Kieran murmured as he set out the table placing the cutlery by her side and filling up her cup with water."Thank you, that is very thoughtful of you"Kieran had a rough time that night as well. As soon as he saw her dart out of the office he tried to follow her but by the time he was able to make it to the parking lot and drive out of his car to the main road she ha
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Of all the things that Arabella thought she could say that statement was not one of them. if he knew he was a handsome man she did not need to assure him of the validity of the said claim.She stamped her palms to the table and stood up abruptly. "We should go" her voice came out in a squeak and Kieran laughed."If you are embarrassed I will pretend that I did not hear that" he said gently as he continued with his meal."I am not embarrassed" Arabella muttered."Then should we talk about how you find me handsome and breathtaking?" he asked and she felt her heart beat faster. It was like her entire body was on a mission to embarrass her. Why did she respond when he was willing to pretend like nothing happened to make her comfortable?"I never said I find you breathtaking and handsome" she said and he shook his head."What did you say then?" "I only agreed that those who found you handsome were correct. I said I found you unfriendly" she said and he smirked. Why did he smirk? Why was s
Last Updated : 2024-03-18A Step Closer to Love CXXIII
"Not a date," Arabella said immediately. "I don't mean a date like a date but a date like I am going to repay you for buying me dinner tonight, I don't know why I said date when I did not mean it" she rambled on. Kieran could not help the smile on his face. "Why are you smiling?" she trailed off. Why was she acting as though a portion of her brain had suddenly been rewired and she could not think straight any longer?"Because you are cute, I did not know this before but seeing you ramble nervously makes you cute," he said and then abruptly turned around and started walking to the car.Arabella stood there unable to lift a foot, "He thinks I am cute?" she squealed to herself. "But what are you happy about that?" she said as if she was scolding a third party."Oh god" she said running her hands across her face in annoyance. "How do I explain this? Am I losing a few brain cells? Do I need to visit a doctor?" She was worried she might be sick because that was the only plausible explanatio
Last Updated : 2024-03-18A Step Closer to Love CXXIV
Arabella stood there as if she had just seen a ghost. She could not believe that Everly had just caught her and her son sneaking back into the house at such an hour."Mom, what are you doing there?" Kieran asked. Everly stood up and walked to them. "Oh I could not sleep so I came out" Everly spoke with a smile but the sadness in her eyes was unmistakable."Are you good?" Arabella asked. The words flowed from her mouth so easily which shocked her because she had not yet gotten over the shock from seeing Everly out there."Of course, it's just one of those days" Everly knew it was not just one of those days. She was afraid of staying in the same room with Ethan. She feared that he would jump on her suddenly. "I better go to bed then, it would be a long day tomorrow" Arabella rambled. She was sure that what she was saying was nonsense but she just needed to get out of that place as soon as she could."Okay Good night" Everly said as Arabella hurried out. "I better get to bed as well" Ev
Last Updated : 2024-03-18A Step Closer to Love CXXV
As much as Kieran wanted to know if his mom was fine he wanted to respect her decision. His father who was always domineering and had a word or two to put out there about every matter suddenly became so quiet about it.Kieran was confused and he decided to ask Arabella if maybe she noticed something about the whole situation."I will give you a ride to work, come on" Kieran said coldly walking by Arabella who was giving Everly travelling tips and what to expect in there."A ride?" Arabella asked in between her conversation with Everly."Oh my silly me, I must have kept you too long asking unnecessary questions when you are supposed to be getting to work" Everly clapped her hands in the air as she nudged Arabella's hands."They are not unnecessary questions, they are essential and might help your stay there" Arabella said as she continued to walk out. "I will tell you all you need to know as soon as I am back from work" she added.She stopped in her tracks and turned to Everly with a so
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Kieran did not know how to bring it up and Arabella sat there like a doll who was dressed to not say anything but look pretty. She had put in extra effort today and she did not know why. She had on a bit of mascara and eyeliner, she added powder as well.These were the kinds of things she usually did not have in her to do but she had done it anyway. She thought Kieran on the other hand could not tell the difference because he had not said anything about it."Hmm," he cleared his throat making her glance at him. "I want to seek your opinion on something" he finally let out while she drilled holes into his head from her eyes."Oh," she said shifting in the seat. "What do you want to know?" she would take any opportunity to stripe herself of the deafening silence in the car."It's about mom, don't you think she is too strange?" "Strange what do you mean by strange?" Arabella asked. Maybe she was not as attentive as she should have been but she did not notice anything out of the ordinary
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Kieran and Arabella were left in the office because Arabella had told him in the morning that they should not draw suspicion by going together even though everyone already knew about their living conditions.Arabella stood from her desk and glanced at Kieran's office door, for some reason she was nervous about the situation. "It's just a friendly dinner like between friends" she muttered to herself.She took gentle walks to the door trying to stabilize herself. "When did you become friends," she said with a sigh. No matter how much she wanted to deceive herself she knew it was not possible to do so. Kieran was the one to blame for everything going on. If he had just kept his feelings to himself then she would not be having this torn back and forth of emotions.She knocked on the door and then pushed it open. She stood at the door frame using her hand to support it open. "Everyone left already so we can go too," she said pointing to the door."Oh" he said shuffling the papers in his ha
Last Updated : 2024-03-21A Step Closer to Love CXXVIII
"Are you sure this is okay? I could have afforded something more expensive" Arabella said as they brought out their pizza."This is fine, I thought you were going to treat me to a meal I liked?" he asked and she nodded."Yeah but you know considering your status, I would have thought that you would like something maybe more fancy and expensive" "Considering my status?" Kieran blinked at her in confusion. "What is my status?" "Come on you can't tell me you don't know what is being said about you" Arabella said and his eyes widened."Well, you aren't as popular as one of those rich young masters but a lot of people praise you for your ability to invest in various kinds of works around the world" she explained."I know that but what has that got to do with my status?" he asked taking a pizza and biting from it."Well, you are not on the same level as me, I see you from a different scope, I am like this daily nine-to-five worker where I depend on a salary" she started.He gestured for he
Last Updated : 2024-03-21A Step Closer to Love CXXIX
"I said I was going to pay, why did you pay?" "Because I don't want you to pay me back with just pizza" Kieran said in a tone that said how was that not obvious to her. "I asked you countless times if you were okay with the meal of choice and you said yes and you were the one who even chose the meal," Arabella said with a facepalm. She could not believe he was making such a move on her. Now that he had paid she had to still repay him even though she thought she would do it in one go and get it over with."Now I have to do this again," she said in a groan."You say it like it's a bad thing," Kierans said with his head tilted as they walked out of the restaurant."Not like it's a bad thing, it's just that I thought I would do this and get it over with" she said and he nodded."Just treat me to something better next time" he said and she nodded."There is no way I am letting you be the one to pick the place. I will do proper research and let you know what I came up with" he sounded so
Last Updated : 2024-03-26
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"I am so happy for you," Ava said as she stood with Kieran and Arabella; they had just got married, and it was truly a joyous day. Kieran had been so quick with the preparations that it took them barely two months to put everything together. "I just couldn't believe that my little one had found love," she added, tears welling in here again."Mom, you need to stop crying; seeing you cry makes me cry as well," Arabella said, blinking back the tears. Her make-up artist had retouched her make-up multiple times because she knew she was getting annoying already, but she could not control the burst of emotions flowing from her body. "Mom," Seraphina said, coming from behind and putting her hand over the shoulders of her mother. "It is a happy day; why do you keep crying? Someone, I mistake you to be mourning." "I am just thinking of how proud your father would have been to witness today.""I am sure he is watching over us from above," Arabella said, holding her mom's hand tightly."Mom, let
A Step Closer to Love CXXXIII
1 YEAR LATER Arabella was meeting Kieran after work; she had moved out because she was not comfortable with being there while dating him and had found herself a new job where she seemed to function much better. She was even on her way to write a book of her own. Kieran, who started a book publishing house solely for the money, now began to learn about this thing so he could help her out with the publication.She was glad that she had given in and tried to date him, or else she would never understand what this kind of relationship meant. Kieran was so attentive and made her feel like his entire world revolved around her. She learnt to drive and even bought her car.Sometimes she believed that he was going to propose to her because he would bring up discussions that centered around their future home, but then after that, it would be like they were back to base one. She liked base one, but she hated living all by herself. She wanted to move back in with him, and she wanted to begin havi
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"A trip?" Arabella asked, taking up the blanket and covering herself. "Yes, a couple's trip," he said, dropping the phone back on the table and walking to her. "What about work? Aren't you going to work again?" she asked. "Are you afraid that you would live broke?" he asked in a teasing tone."Of course I am," Arabella said before tilting her head. "I am jobless now; at least one of us needs to work so we can live a happy life," she added."You know that I do not mind you still thinking with us," Kieran said. After the trial, Arabella decided to stop working there even though Aurora was no longer there. How could she work there after everything that happened? She would be able to face her co-workers if that were the case. "I am sure I will get an offer soon from one of those companies," she said, and he sat beside her. "And you know you do not need to work again; I can take care of you and as many children as you want to have," he said with a wink. "Children?" she said flustered
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Arabella rolled over, and she landed right into Kieran's hands. She looked at him like it was an offence for her to do so. She peered at him and then covered her eyes with her hand. She could not believe what she had done over the night. If her mom heard she was going to give her a long lecture and then have her head afterwards. She looked at him, and she was tempted to trace her finger across his face in frustration. "Sleep so much more," she was startled to hear him talk as his mouth moved without even opening his eyes. "How long have you been awake?" She muttered, feeling shy that he had caught her staring so much that she could drill a hole into his face. "A while now," he said, his eyes framing open like a princess that was cast under a spell but was now liberated all of a sudden. He pulled her closer as he wished they could somehow get closer and maybe even mesh together. "Should we go home? Everly must be worried searching for us," Arabella murmured into his chest. He opene
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"Somewhere, like where?" she asked shyly, dropping her head so their eyes would not meet. "You would see," he said, lifting her head gently. "But we have to make sure that the ride ends first," he said, looking around. He had thought that they were going to have a moment there, but seeing how things turned out, he could not wait to be out of there. Finally, the ride was over, and he drove out of the amusement park to a hotel. "You brought me to a hotel?" she asked in shock as they drove into the underground parking lot. "Why?" she asked now that her tone was in a hushed whisper. "I told you we should come somewhere, and you agreed," he said as he drove by the cars looking for a place to park. "That was because I thought you said that we should go someplace nice," she muttered, looking around like they were sneaking around. "Why are you looking around like we are committing a sin?" he asked, noticing how uncomfortable she got. "It is not that...""Am I being clueless? Am I jumpin
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Kieran paid the operator to let the ride go in a loop three times, and Arabella wondered why he did that."Why?" she whispered to him."To have some alone time," he replied with the same wink from earlier. She gulped down hard, wondering what he was thinking.As the ride got into the tunnel, Arabella held the hand of Kieran tightly with her eyes closed. She had no time to think of what he might have meant with the wink and statements because the ride was definitely scarier than she had expected it to be. She looked at him when she felt his firm hand hold her face and turn it to him. "Are you scared?" he asked, dropping a kiss on her lip. "Kieran," she said in a hushed whisper as she looked around. "There is no one here, and I have been waiting all day just to get that," he said before dropping his head for another kiss. She placed her hand over her mouth because he could kiss her and therefore kissed the back of her hand. He took her hand from her mouth and began to drop multiple k
A Step Closer to Love CCXXVIII
Arabella could feel Kieran's excitement for the date, and she wondered why they got so lucky. They went on every ride in the park like they had been waiting to do this. Arabella was more proud of the fact that a handsome hunk named Kieran was with her. In every line, they heard murmurs of people talking about how handsome he was. She was not letting any of that bother her because she could disagree with them; he was a beauty to behold. She did not let the nasty comments, such as those criticising his choice, get to her. He glued to her like gum on the sole of a shoe, and it must have infuriated the crowd the more because of the kinds of dirty glances she received from them. Kieran was always pushing back her hair and staring at her while holding her hand tightly and dropping random kisses on her forehead. She was shy, but she liked how he marked his terror so openly. She was on a date, and she was going to try her best not to be affected by any of that. "Should we go there?" Kieran
A Step Closer to Love CCXXVII
"Do you want to explain why you are here?" Kieran asked. Arabella had expected him to scream his lungs out, but he was wrong. Myabe's drive down has calmed him down. "It is a stupid reason; I don't want to tell you," Arabella murmured to herself. She had wanted to hear an apology so much that it felt like her self-worth depended on it. She turned her head to the side so she was looking out the window. "Look at me," Kieran said softly. "Look at me," he said again, this time turning her head with his hand gently. "I am so ashamed of myself; I don't know what I was thinking," Arabella said again. Seeing Kieran had somehow triggered something in her. It was like judging her actions without even saying anything. "Tell me, I want to know why you dressed up and left the house to come here when you should be resting.""Okay," she said as she heaved a sigh. "I wanted an apology so bad." "What?" "See, I knew you would judge me.""Ara, I am not judging you. I just want to understand what y
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"Why are you laughing?" Arabella was shocked. That was not the expression she was expecting from her. "Dearest Arabella, you must think the world revolves around you," she said, leaning in that she was seated at the edge of her seat. "Why do you think I would apologize to you? I did what I did, and I would do it again and again if need be.""You are not sorry for kidnapping and assaulting me even though you ended up here?" Arabella asked. "Of course, if I had the chance to, I would do it again. Can you imagine how hard I worked? I worked hard on Kieran, and you swooped in from nowhere and decided you wanted to take him from me. Oh, please, like you deserve him," Aurora said, leaning into the chair. "If you are here to ask me for an apology, I am afraid that you have to go back without one today and that you need not expect one from me," she said, looking at her nails like she had gotten a fresh set of nails. "Arabella, I think one of the problems you have is that you seem to overra
