It’s been 5 days since I have been in Bulgaria, 5 days since I have constantly dreamt of Stiliyan, I dream of him touching me, wanting me, plastering kisses all over my body, marking me with hickeys as a sign that I am his, he has been in my every thought and I see him whenever I close my eyes. It’s been five days of torture, deep down I wish he would call me.
The first day we met I knew I saw desire and want in his eyes, I knew he felt what I felt, but ever since that day he has been extremely cold and distant, is it because I am to be married? I feel so frustrated because I try, I really try not to think of him but I can’t help it but I am at least glad I am not shameless enough to call him.
I have not seen Stiliyan once, not that I tried, but I have been to his company every day, I have seen Nina from afar we are yet to meet still, she seems really nice, confident and open minded, everyone at the company is really focused at work and seem not to take their jobs lightly, even the cleaners and door men seem absolutely serious and seem to be working like their lives depended on the job, at first I thought it was all an act, since they knew I would be coming in, but I figured out the only person who knew I would be paying them a visit was Nina and John,
I guess he was just too confident and I don’t blame him. He was right, most of his employees do speak good English, but an accent evident, except for few employees like the cleaners, but they understood the basics, such as simple greetings, anything more complex than that was difficult.
I figured this out as I have been going undercover throughout my visit to ‘DIVO TECH’, I have visited so many of the departments in the company, I have scrutinized the marketing department, the development and planning department and so on and I can’t find a single problem with ‘DIVO TECH’, the most intriguing discovery is, they are not just doing this because they have to, it’s because they genuinely love their jobs and don’t want to disappoint the boss, it’s like they all have this unconditional love for him and I can’t figure out why ‘yet’.
It looks like I won’t need a month after all, this company seems to have a very strong foundation and was built on trust, with employees that look like they could lay down their lives for the company and their boss, their team work is exceptional and the employees are really smart and hard working.
This company would last for a very long time and would do exceptionally well becoming a multi-national company and might be one of the best tech companies in the world, with the right investments and partnership like ‘EMZA’.
I lay down on my bed, completely bored out of my mind, just got off the phone with Anna and she says she can’t make it this weekend, something about a delay in a contract and she needs to take care of that. I had the whole weekend mapped out, and Anna was meant to go on a tour of the city. I guess I have to go alone, but I don’t want to.
I speak with Christian at least once a day, our conversation in the usual pattern, him asking how my day went, me asking how his day was, and him telling me how he can’t wait to devour me. He says he would be here as soon as he can but he is really swamped with work.
My father has called me once in the past few days which was last night, he was curious as to how the project was coming along, I let him know that once I have figured things out he would be the first to know, sincerely I think i'm done, but I can’t bring myself to let him know that.
Hell, even Anna does not know, I can’t tell her because she might think it has something to do with Stiliyan and i’m in no mood to fight with Anna. I am not ready to return home yet either, and I am seriously in no mood for my mother or Christian’s mom or even Christian. I just need a break!! .
I still am laid down on my bed when I feel my phone vibrate, I pick it up from the bed and see it is a call from John, I slide to answer,
“Hello Miss Catalina, how are you doing? I am yet to see you at the company, is everything alright?
“Yeah, I am fine alright, I am handling my work in my own way, no worries”
“okay, no problem, our company is having our mid-year masquerade ball tonight and you are invited, the dress color code is ‘blue or white or red or black’, it is to be held at ‘ Deluxe hotel’, time is 8pm, will we be seeing you tonight?”
“ This is kind of short notice, why are you just asking me now, were you guys contemplating on inviting me, when I say you guys I mean you and Stiliyan,”
“sorry, you have the wrong idea, this is a traditional company ball, no one knows the day or time or location we hold our mid-year ball, it’s part of the fun, we just know it would happen mid-year, the time and date is sent to the employees few hours before the ball, oh and Stiliyan has no idea I am inviting you, I just thought it would be a fun experience for you, but if I am overstepping my boundaries, my sincere apologies,”
I feel so stupid, how could I have jumped into conclusions, I am sure Stiliyan would have objected to my invitation, the man loathes me,
“oh no it’s fine, I am the one who is sorry I jumped into conclusions, and yes I would love to be there, thanks for inviting me john,” I reply apologetically and a little embarrassed,
“not a problem, bye then,” “bye”I say to him before ending the call,
After my call with John I was feeling super excited, it's’ been so long since I have attended a ball, and I was secretly anticipating seeing Stiliyan in a tux, I know we would be masked up, but I am sure I would be able to recognize does deep green eyes from a mile away.
.........
I asked Philip to take me to the best boutique in the city, right now I am shopping for a dress, I can’t seem to find the perfect one, it has been two hours, I am really frustrated and the sales lady seems to be getting really impatient, then out of the corner of my eye I see some kind of wardrobe with a dress sticking out,
“Excuse me please, why are dresses in there and not out here, are they bought or something?” she looks at me slightly irritated and I just roll my eyes and ignore, I just need a fucking dress,
“They are last year’s collection” she replies, “Can I take a look?” “Sure”.
I quickly walk to the wardrobe and begin my search, when I come across an off shoulder, toe length long black gown which comes with a lace glove (optional) one can decide to wear the gloves or not, the gown has a slit at the right side, so high it might start mid-thigh, it looks breathtaking, I giggled in excitement as I held the dress,
“I would take this one I tell the sales girl” she looks relieved as she escorts me to the changing room.
I looked in the mirror and I couldn't believe my eyes, the wait was so worth it, the dress hugged my body in all the right places, and the slit starts mid-thigh, the dress was just perfect, I decided to settle for a lace mask to complete my look. I look at my wrist watch and I realize I have just two hours to get ready, I quickly pay and head off to my hotel room.
....
It’s 7:30 at the moment, and I know I might be a little late depending how far it is to get there from this hotel, but I decide to give myself one last look, I am matching my dress with a black heels, my hair is straightened out and my makeup is just the right amount but I choose the color red for my lipstick, I chose a black clutch purse with black diamond’s glistering all over its body, I quickly put in my phone and my credit card and stash in a little cash, then I smile to myself, completely satisfied with my look, finally heading out to the ball.
As we drive in, I see people all dressed up walking towards the ball, looking absolutely beautiful.We finally get to the entrance and I quickly thank Philip as I step out of the car, putting on my mask, I check my phone and see its 9pm, right on time I say to myself.I begin to walk towards the huge oak door, and I am stopped by the guard,“name please?” he asked “Catalina Brooks” I reply a little nervous, I’m nervous because I feel Stiliyan might have known by now that i am on the guest list and decided to take me out and if he has not figured it out, how would he react once he sees me, I am brought out of my thought when I hear,“welcome Miss Catalina have a lovely night,”he says something inaudibly to his earpiece and immediately the door opens.As I walked in, I was in total awe by the marveling sight bestowed upon my eyes, an elderly looking man interrupted my gawking asking if I would like my purse to be taken care of, I lo
His lips captures mine roughly, demanding access with his tongue ,devouring my lips like he could not get enough, I effortlessly matched the intensity of his kiss, as I felt I could not get enough of him either, he places his hands behind my thighs and lifts me swiftly, I wrap my legs around his waist ,he leads me into the living room, closing the door with his legs, kissing Stiliyan was a million times better than I had ever imagined, my whole body was on fire.He breaks the kiss, staring into my eyes, his eyes in a shade of deep green filled with desire,“lead me to your bedroom Catalina” he says to me, in a low whisper, our forehead against each other, I couldn’t help but blush at the way he says my name with that voice, he gently lets me down and I begin to walk slowly, with him trailing behind, It takes only a few seconds to get to the bedroom, I enter inside the bedroom, Stiliyan behind me, I was expecting him to continue the kiss but he takes a sit on the ch
Waking up to the rays of sunlight on my face, I squint my eyes raising up my palm in an attempt to block the rays from my face, the events of last night starts crashing down, I smile to myself, as I turn to my side to check on Stiliyan, I sit up in panic as I realize I am the only one on my bed,‘did he regret last night and leave me?’ I ask myself, as pain starts to swirl in my chest, standing up hurriedly wincing a little, as I am still sore from last night, I rush into the bathroom and it was empty, my panic increases, picking up my pace,I halt when I see a shirtless Stiliyan, his back to my face and his face directed towards the stove.Relief flushing through my entire body,I let out a loud sigh which unintentionally gains his attention, he turns around Cocking his brows as his eyes trail my body, staring at me from up to down, realizing quickly I am stack naked ,I forgot to throw on a robe due to my p
I listened never interrupting, the tears I was trying so hard to hold in came flowing down, my heart aches in so much pain, I never would have guessed he had it this bad, I felt so sad for him, all I wanted wasto love him with every bone in my body and make all his pain go away but I fear he would never be mine and I would never be his, he walks up to me, wiping off the tears from my face and hugs me, he is hugging me like he is saying goodbye, I pull away and stare at him,“No Stiliyan, I understand everything you just said and i am terribly sorry for been selfish and forcing you to do something that is clearly almost impossible, but don’t you dare tell me it’s goodbye or start avoiding me again” I say to him in between sobs,“Catalina, you...,” “three weeks Stiliyan, let us be with each other for just three weeks, if after three weeks you still feel like there is nothing that can be done I would leave and get married never looki
‘My best friend Anna is on her way here,” I say to him running my fingers through my hair, he looked worried, his forehead creased, he looked like he was about to speak when I heard a loud bang on the door, I become really nervous,Stiliyan still gorgeously shirtless, he gently places the clothes on the sofa,“should I hide or something, I can sneak out, take her to the bedroom,” he says, with a smirk, I guess he found this amusing,“Catalina!! Can you hear me?” I heard Anna say, banging the door,“Don’t you dare move,” I say to him, I open the door and see a very pissed Anna,“seriously!!! Cat, I called, I texted, what the hell, I was getting really worried” she said to me as she walked in,“What the actual fuck!”Anna says stopping dead in her tracks,“hold on let me explain” i say to her quickly closing the door and run over to stand in front of Stiliyan,“Are you crazy? Is this some kind of joke? Y
“Wow! mmhhmmm,” I mumbled inaudibly as I savagely ate my food, it was a traditional Bulgarian dish “Banitsa” a traditional pie made of white cheese and whisked eggs layered in Phyllo dough, Stiliyan decided I should try something new and I don’t regret it, it tasted beautiful, absolutely divine, I finally looked up with my mouth full and notice he was staring, looking amused,“Is the food that great?” he said to me with a smirk on his face, my face flushed, a little embarrassed,“yes it’s really good and besides I’m so hungry, cut me some slack, can you please eat your food so you won’t have to stare at me ,”“Staring at you is inevitable ‘moya iyubov’ so don’t ask me to,” I looked confused, “it means my love,”that made me red like a tomato as I blushed like a middle school child,“Cocky much Stiliyan, can you please allow me to finish my meal,” I said to him, pretending to be irritated, I covered my face with my hai
Darkness….All I see is darkness, it smells like a clinic, it smells of disinfectant or is it iodine,I can’t really tell,“Where is Stiliyan? What is happening? What is going on?” these questions twirling in my head, slowly I begin to lose consciousness welcoming the darkness that engulfed me,HOURS LATER…….I try to move, ‘Nothing!’ I can’t move, but this time I can feel my arms and my legs, I am tied to a chair, gagged in the mouth, I still see nothing but darkness, trying desperately to open my eyes, but they are forced shut, probably by a rag or something,“Where the hell is Stiliyan?” I say to myself, I hear a distant noise and thesound of unlocking of a door,Footsteps, I hear footsteps and it keeps getting louder and louder, I begin to quiver in fear, because whoever is approaching me is my abductor,“Catalina, I need you to answer a call,” the voice sounding all too familiar w
“John Provo!”Shock was an underrated adjective as to how I felt,“you betrayed Stiliyan? what is going on here john? What is this!! How could you do this to Stiliyan? How could you?”I say to him, screaming at the top of my lungs, what I got as response was a fucking chuckle, he just laughs at me,“you are really cute Catalina, you must be hungry, I’d send someone to get you something to eat and untie you, take a shower, relax, you would be having company real soon, see you around Miss Catalina,” he says to me as he starts to walk out the door,“John wait, please wait, I need answers tell me something, anything!!!!!!!” I yell, he doesn’t budge as he calmly walked away, and I was left alone,”I am alone, but only for a few seconds, two girls in their early twenties walk in, one carrying a tray of food and the other with some clothes and shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste and body wash,
In life, everything sadly comes to an end, my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer 4 years ago, I guess all that smoking finally caught up with him, we have spent so many beautiful years together, I don’t think I am willing to let him go, it’s a miracle he has lasted this long, but these days he seems worse, I know he is trying to look strong for me but I know my husband, and my husband is in pain. “a penny for your thought?”Stiliyan says in a low whisper, letting out a slight cough with blood stains on his handkerchief as he lay down, “Mum, dad, what is going on? You called, is everything okay? Dad, are you alright?” my two children, ‘Annabel and Christian’ say as they walk into the room with our grandkids, ‘Elena, Iglika and Naiden,’ Annabel is married with two children, “Elena who is 16years of age and Naiden who is 13 years of age,” Christian is happily married with a daughter ‘iglika, who is 15 years,’ I named my daughter afte
I look through the glass window, Everyone looks really busy, I see Anna talking to a few people, my mum is giving a young lady an earful, My Dad and Ryan are talking to a few people, children are running around, I can’t believe this is real, I feel like my heart is going to explode from this much happiness, I am so grateful beyond words. “it’s about to begin, cover your veil,” Anna says as she rushes into the room,“I can’t believe my baby is getting married,” she says giving me a hug, a drop of tear making its way out of my eyes, “oh come on, enough with water works, we are stuck with each other forever,” “Come on ladies, you can’t leave a man standing at the altar,” My dad says as he walked in looking really chirpy. I can hear the music as I slowly walk into the wedding grounds, my eyes are fixated on the ground, I am a little nervous, as I walk beside my father, our arms interlocked with each other, I am dressed in a really long white, lacey long slee
“Catalina!!!! My princess, how are you? Oh darling,” she says to me embracing me in a tight hug as she lets out a light sob, “mum I am okay, I am really okay” My dad and Ryan walk up to me as they embrace me in a tight hug too, this felt nice, I really missed my family, we finally break apart and my dad notices Stiliyan, “Thank you so much, thank you, we really appreciate and I am entirely grateful t..,” “You must be Stiliyan, you look so young? Thank you for saving my daughter, we are forever indebted to you,” “It was no big deal, you are welcome,” Stiliyan says with a smile on his face, but I could tell he is uneasy, I could see guilt in his eyes, My brother walks up to Stiliyan giving him a handshake thanking him too, “It was not all me, my best friend here played a very important role,” Stiliyan says gesturing towards john, “This is your lawyer; we’ve seen each other at the business meeting, 
“Why are you so lost in your thoughts?” Stiliyan says, as he sat next to me, legs crossed, ‘damn this man is sexy’, I mentally say to myself,“I have no idea how badly they are going to take all of this, the news regarding the death of the heir to the Montero Empire should be everywhere, the airport is probably swamped with reporters, awaiting my arrival, I wonder how much they know?All this is going to be really difficult.Stiliyan, what are you going to do about all this, you might get arrested?” I say to him, revealing my biggest fear,“Catalina, no one except your family knows we are on our way to Manhattan, I made sure of that,and Christian killed himself to save you, the only name the Montero’s can link to his death is Diego, and this is without prove, it will merely be an accusation without evidence, all the while you were locked up your dad, Sebastian, called me various times, plea
In a flash of an eye, Stiliyan pulls out two guns, one pointed at John, the other pointed at Christian,“Diego, do not do this, John! Put down the gun! Don’t make me do this,”“Cata, I am willing to let you go if you never look back at Stiliyan, the moment you come in contact with my son, I would kill you,”“Take the deal Catalina, go home” Stiliyan says calmly, his eyes filled with so much sadness,“I will taste death willingly if that’s what it takes to love you,”I say to Stiliyan with so much love and also sadness,“Wrong answer Cata,”“Diego, let her go I’d come with you,” “Not good enough for me son, I want her gone” “Diego!!!! Don’t make me do this please! You are the only father I have left! I will come with you, put down the gun, please I beg you, do not hurt her” Stiliyan says to DiegoI close my eyes, accepting what is to come, I would miss my Anna, my mum, Ryan, dad, and most of all, I would miss ‘him’ I look at Stiliy
“This was not the deal!” Pablo yells,I am feeling extremely scared my palms are sweaty, my heart is beating uncontrollably, Christian looks extremely scared, sweat dripping from his forehead as he mumbles incoherent words due to the duct tape over his lips, his vein popping out of his neck,“Please I beg of you, don’t do this, we are extremely sorry about thirteen years ago,” Juliana says tears flowing helplessly from her eyes,“What the fuck!Son, did you hear that? She says she is sorry? You are sorry? Are you crazy? You killed people! You killed my friends!!You destroyed families to get to where you are,I ran away from Manhattan to avoid been killed by you, you killed my best friend, you stole my life! While you were seated on my throne, you had the perfect family, you were living it good! I struggled!I had to do unspeakable things to survive!” Diego roars in anger, I have never seen Diego this angry, no smile present,
I am speechless, so many thoughts are going through my head, all this time I thought he was avoiding me solely because I am engaged, I had no idea it was so much bigger than that, the same guys from yesterday walk into the room with the same bags,“Good day Sir,” they say to John, “hurry the fuck up, Diego and Stiliyan would be here really soon,” they say nothing as they begin to unpack and set up, at that moment the door opens and in came a well-dressed Diego, followed by an extremely gorgeous Stiliyan, Diego is dressed in a red suit, his head shiny,Stiliyan is dressed in a pecan colored suit, his dirty blonde hair gelled back, he looks absolutely divine, ‘MINE’ I say in a low whisper,two hefty looking men walk in seconds later, they looked alike except one has a white colored hair and the other a black colored hair,“Hello my dear Cata, I trust you slept well, I want to thank you for all of this, you made this all possible, I am grateful, this is Do
“You’ve been so quiet, what are you thinking,” I say to Christian, it’s been a few hours since Stiliyan, John and Diego walked out of here, Christian has been so quiet, I did not bother saying anything as I am deep in my own thoughts too, I have a really bad feeling about all this,“What do you want me to say? You know, it’s funny how you are boldly throwing yourself at someone in front of my very eyes, you don’t give a fuck about me Catalina, but I can risk my life for you,” he says in a low whisper,“Christian I know this is fucked up, but right now, we need to think of a way out of this place, do you have anything up your sleeves?”“Are you joking with me right now, do you really think we are going to walk out of here on our own, two hefty men are right outside the door, how many more do you think would be surrounding this place? Or are you trying to make small talk to make me look less of a fool, the only person that can get us out of here, is your little
“Increase the intensity of the light; I need this to come out nice and perfect,”Diego is seated close to Christian, his legs crossed, the man looks so vile, always with that smug smile, sick bastard, Christian seems out of it at the moment, barely conscious.Stiliyan has made sure to stay clear of any eye contact, this is terribly wrong, I understand he lost his parents but I greatly thought we were bigger than this, I strongly believed we felt the same way, this man in front of me, with his face down, lost in his phone, acting completely oblivious to his surrounding is not someone I fell in love with, thinking of it,Who did I fall in love with?“You are awfully quiet Cata,” “Don’t call me that” I said in a low voice but loud enough for him to hear my words, I don’t really want to piss him off, he might hit me or take it out on Christian, but the name Cata reminds me of my mum, it’s just too much for me to bear,“Diego, the call is going t