I couldn't tell what I was to do. I knew I was a strong woman, but he was obviously physically stronger. I had tried to pull him from me, but nothing seemed to be working. He held me so tight, clinging my body to his, like he wanted to get something from me.
No man, absolutely no man, had kissed me this hard, and even this long.
I shook. To probably taste more of my lips, he stood up from the table, jerked my body to his torso, held me even tighter. All I could do was to struggle to leave his hold, literally infuriated to the extreme.
Holding my arms, he turned me around, made me sit on his table. After a little longer, he stopped pulling my lips, and kind of gave me a sly smile.
"Sh…" He pulled a finger over my mouth. "Don't speak. I'll get back to you. Be right back."
And then, he just turned to the lady who was behind him, leaving me to gape in s
I continued to weep on his chest, sweating profusely, although the air conditioner was turned on. I created a fist of his shirt, squeezed it in my palm, ensuring I was expressing my pain to the fullest. In years, I hadn't wept this much. That one kiss was what created this."Calm down." I was surprised to notice him patting my back. I didn't ever want anyone to see me cry, but I couldn't hold back the memory in my head. "I didn't know a kiss would hurt you this much. I think… I'm sorry. Well, hard to say, but, um, sorry. I'm sorry."After a while of weeping, I pulled away, sniffed, wiped my tears, not being able to look him in the eye. I was so embarrassed."You've soaked my shirt." He held his shirt up, stared down at the thing. Ah, shit, this man was maybe one person I wouldn't have ever wanted to see me cry.I rubbed my palm against my eyes, resumed wearing a stern look, a
She exhaled hard. I was pretty sure she wouldn't have behaved this way, if she was observant enough to know Jerome was here with me. She was upset, and probably wasn't aware of anything going on around her. She was hardly this way, but would only act like this when she couldn't control her emotions for too long.I caressed her arms, a bit worried. "Calm down, okay? Tell me what happened. Who kissed you?""It's that irritating man, Seth!" She blurted out, glaring hard, her teeth clasped too."Aha!" I turned to Jerome, walked to him. Standing in front of him, he was kind of smiling. "See? I told you your friend is an asshole. Believe me now?""Wh-What?" Louella bulged her eyes open, sauntered to us. "I-Is he… Seth's friend?""Best friend," I replied sharply.She obviously swallowed. For some reason, she cleared her throat, flared her no
Louella••••••••••I was seated on the three seater leather couch in Seth's office. He had said there was no need to go to the meeting room, since it was only two clients that would be coming around. I hadn't wanted to listen to him, but just accepted that, although I didn't find it so professional to do a meeting in his office.He and I were the only ones in here. Jerome and Erin had gone to Jerome's office, probably being a lovey-dovey. And, to be honest, I was so uncomfortable staying alone with him. The room was silent, only the sizzling sound of the air conditioner making a slight sound. He was on his laptop, glued to it like I wasn't in here.Wait, I didn't need his attention, did I? Also, why was I feeling uncomfortable? It wasn't even like—"They'll be here in a few minutes," he inform
I became even more terrified as they stepped closer. The moment they sat on the couch opposite me, something burst out in my tummy. In my life, these people were the last people I wanted to see. They were the root of every calamity I had in life. They were the evil spirits that clinged me to the trauma I frequently experienced.I gulped. After a while, Becca's eyes caught mine. In about two seconds only, she smirked. Yes, that was the demon. They had come to haunt me.I stood up from my seat, stared at Seth in fear. "Why are they here? I thought we would be having Chinese clients around?" I enquired.He kind of clasped his jaw, and walked to me. Standing in front of me, he glared. "Just sit back," he whispered. "They're representatives from the Chinese company. First, they'll examine whether or not we're to work with them, then the work begins after. Don't ruin this for us."I glare
I tried to remain steady. Not again would I let them do something crazy to me. If she thought she would ruin me, then maybe she had to know that that wouldn't be possible."You don't have the right to cancel the offer," I said. Though I was quite fearful and hurt, I managed to put on a bold look."Why? I'm a representative of the company, which means I can decide on whether or not this continues," Becca clarified."Please, you can't just end this offer." Seth sighed hard. "I understand you're angry cause she's being rude, but that shouldn't stop us from working together. We can sort things out.""I'm not gonna let you cancel this offer," I stated, taking a step closer to her. She still scowled so, so hard. "Cause, your job isn't to do that. You're only supposed to represent the company. Nothing else.""How about we talk things out?" Seth suggested to her, yet fa
Louella••••••••••"Oh my gosh!" Erin exclaimed, sprang from her seat, threw her arms up, doing some sort of crayfish dance. "Can't believe this! She'll be here in only a few minutes."My elbow was on the table, my chin in my palm. I shook my head at her, not knowing what to say to her. Rather, I would say she was being dramatic. Seeing Lina didn't feel so much like a big deal, so why was she this excited?Lina was one of our close friends. In particular, she was Erin's friend. I would admit, I didn't see anything so great about being friends with her, so I was truly never so close with her. Yes, we were close, but not as close as Erin and me."When you're done, we'll continue our work." I sat straight, concentrated on the laptop in front of me. "I'll be off to GSF soon. So, don't let your weirdness take so long to come to an end."
I was overwhelmed.A week had passed, yet all I had been planning wasn't reflecting. In only one week, I had lost two offers. I didn't know what was happening, but it kind of seemed like someone was plotting against me. Who else could that be, other than Becca and Jan?I wasn't sure if they were the ones that were really behind this problem, but all I knew was, I would never give up. Giving up was never a solution, but a pain."Ms. Warren, do you think we should try working with another Asian company? I heard Singapore is a very good place for doing businesses," Rachel suggested.I slammed my laptop shut, hunched out a shaky breath. "I'm so confused. Why is this happening? And, if we aren't careful, in a few months from now, our company will run at loss.""What about your offer with GSF? Any help from that?" She asked, evidently worried.
Seth••••••I was so shocked to see Louella bleeding. I had been waiting in my car, waiting for Mom, feeling upset about the fact my lost mom had been coming to see me stealthily. When I had seen this car moving roughly, I had fretted a bit, knowing fully well that the car would have an accident. To my surprise, it was Louella who was in the car.She had passed out already. I didn't even know how to react, cause I was quite shaken. Because I knew I had to do something as soon as possible, I held her arm, shoved her into my arms. Was I to call the police or what?She gasped, still awake a little. "Mom, are you fine?" For some reason, she squeezed her face like she wanted to cry. "Don't worry, the cold won't kill us. We'll be fine. The sun will rise in the morning."I wrinkled my face, so confused. Had she gotten a menta
The entire hall was silent. There was no doubt that everyone present in the great crowd in front of me, was in awe, feeling the intensity of the words I was speaking. I smiled a little, pacing around the stage. I stood behind the podium, and cleared my throat. "Now, this goes to the younger women in here." My hands settled on the podium, my shoulders raised proudly. "You see, people still tend to underestimate the power you have. But, I have good news for you. You're capable. What a man can do, you can also do. It's only about the mindset. Anyone can become successful. Don’t let anyone intimidate you." "Yeah," someone from the crowd agreed. I just smiled. They concentrated so much, as if their lives depended on my words. I continued, "Many ladies have lost
Seth laughed at me as I groaned and acted like a child. That was pretty annoying, but well, how could an adult be so scared to take an injection? I hated that thing so, so much.The doctor finally got rid of the syringe, and took care of the injected part of my skin. As soon as he was done with that, he arranged his box, and stood up. I kept squeezing my face like a crying child.He cleared his throat, and started, "Mrs. Lee, you're good to go for your trip. After all the tests we've done, I can confidently tell you that your body system is back to normal. The effects of the poison are completely diminished."I finally smiled. "That's good news. Thanks."Seth held my hand as he sat beside me. "Thanks, do
I sobbed. The pain I was feeling obviously wasn't as crazy as hers, but it felt like mine was worse. She gaped, groans leaving her mouth. Her lips quivered, quite obvious that she wanted to say something. Blood kept gushing out from the left side of her chest, as well as her mouth. Tears left her eyes, the gun dropping from her hand. Her body shook, seeming as if she'd lose her stability soon.I was shocked. Being shocked was an understatement.She was battling to live; battling to save herself.Alarmed, I cried, "Celina!" The moment I attempted to grip her arm, her body impelled backwards. Her legs tripped over each other, and like a weak mango tree, she fell off the cliff.Seeing that, my heart s
The beam of the rising sun shone against my eyes, making me blink slowly. I yawned, the sore pain in my head becoming quite worse. Trying to sit up, I noticed how uncomfortable I was, my hands and legs feeling stuck to something. It took a while for me to open my eyes, and to even notice all that was going on around me. The moment I realized where I was and what was happening, I gasped. I tried sitting straight on this old, dusty floor, and also tried moving away from the ray of the sun which was attacking my eyes. I looked down at my legs which were tied, struggling to help myself out of this bandage. This was already a new day, yet I was still not seen by the police. Were Becca and Celina stronger than them or what? But, I could not remain here, right? If they weren't going to come and get me, it seemed like I would have
I knew I was supposed to run over to him, and cuddled him crazily. Instead, all I was doing was to stare at him. I was really happy. To be honest, in the past few days, I had missed him a lot. There was really no point in denying that."Seth." Gently, I walked over to him, giving him a small smile. He was also smiling, but wasn't saying anything.He cupped my jaw when I reached him. "Sweetie, where have you been?" And pecked my cheek."Gosh, I've missed you." A tear left my eye. What was making me emotional? In such a terrifying situation?He leaned close, hugged me, pecked my forehead. "Oh yes, I've missed you too.""This is really hard for us." I returned his hug, weeping on his chest. "Becca and Celina are doing all this. They really want to have me killed. They're taking it too far.""I know it all. And, most of all, I'm glad you have no
Louella••••••••••I packed the last set of files into my backpack, ready to head out. Spotting a red file on my table, I narrowed my eyes at it, and grabbed it. The moment I skimmed through it, I couldn't help but gape. How in the world had I almost forgotten such an important file? This was the most needed file of all the files I had taken from here.I kept the file in my backpack, slung the backpack over my shoulder. I took a glance at my wrist watch, feeling a bit disturbed and puzzled. I had to leave here soon, before anyone would see me. If Seth had to come now, there was no doubt that he wouldn't want me to leave.First, I had to ensure that I was set to leave here. Once I got back to the beach house, since my phone was already turned on, I would book a flight online, and leave the country for a few months. In the meantime, I would ensure that I
Celina••••••••Becca's complaint was getting too annoying. Why was it so hard for her to understand that we only needed to be as patient as possible? It wasn't as if I wasn't trying my best. Here she was, complaining about her father's betrayal, while I was here, thinking of how to get Seth attracted to me.Days had passed, yet Seth wasn't willing to be close to me. I had gone to his office, and had apologized to me. Yes, he had said he forgave me, but how was I supposed to believe that if he hadn't even called or texted me? It just seemed like my effort to get him was nothing but a waste."Where the heck is Rita?!" Becca barked, smashed her phone against the floor, breathing hard like an insane dog.I rolled my eyes. "Girl, chill. She'll be back soon. I only asked her to grab some files from Louella's office. If we find Louella before
Seth••••••I wasn't feeling so well. Before Louella had come into my life, all I had been doing was to work. But, now that she had gone, it was really hard to work without her. This was so upsetting.Indeed, you only missed your lover when you let her go. To worsen all this, no one knew where she was. I had called her, had texted her, hard searched for her, but it was all to no avail. Maybe I had to file a missing report at the police station. This was too frustrating for me.Dayla walked into my office, a couple of files tugged to her chest. When she dropped the files on my table, she stood in front of the table like a mango tree, looking down.I wiggled a brow at her. "Hey, you need something? Why stand there?""Oh, sorry. I was a bit lost." She laughed weirdly. "Um, someone's here to see you. She says her name is Rita."
Louella••••••••••Staring up at the hazy sky of the evening, seated on the small stool on the porch of this old beach house, I sighed hard. I felt a heavy pain in my chest, feeling the need to cough hard. I knew I was supposed to begin my treatments, but how would I do that when I wasn't willing to go back home?It had been days since I saw anyone. After I had left Seth, I had decided to come to this beach house. This was a place Dad, mom and I used to have a vacation, just before Jan and Becca had come into our lives. Though the place gave me bad memories, I really still liked coming here. It was always filled with serenity.I stared down at my shaky fingers, felt really bad for myself. I didn't know the decision to make. Was I really going to let myself die?In a few days, I would run out of food. I had had some money in my