LUCASWhen I got home from Clara's apartment that night, I was too furious and just needed to calm my head. Which was why when the door opened and I met Raymond in my path, my nose twitched in annoyance and I spat,"What the hell is it?"He revealed a box from behind him and pushed it to me. I watched for him for a few seconds in confusion, then slowly pried the box out of his hands, opening it up.On seeing the content of the box, my head tilted back up to his face, my brows narrowed as I questioned, "What is this?"Raymond looked like he was fighting for his life, opening and closing his mouth like he was scared of something. I laughed emotionlessly, moving closer to him."Raymond? Will you speak?"He swallowed. "Your… they asked me not to tell you."I tilted my head to the side. Maybe they did. But he was showing this to me, which means he was ready to talk about whatever this was, anyways. "Why is there so much money in this box, Raymond? I would not want to ask you one more tim
LUCASI sat down, and she started,"Your nephew has been bad. Not just this once, but more than a couple of times, and we have always had to handle it without blowing things out of proportion. Unfortunately, that cannot keep happening; he injured the other kid today. We had to rush him to a clinic. Honestly, you should try to keep the boy in check, or we might take more serious measures to keep him in check ourselves." Clara informed me. Connie was sitting beside me by now, and I was struggling to pay full attention to the situation at hand and not Clara's presence. I turned to him, "What happened today, Connie?"He started speaking at once, glaring at Clara, "Uncle Lucas, she's just making a big deal out of nothing. I am not being bad at school… I respect everyone! She’s just a substitute teacher but she keeps doing the most. I mean, why call you out of work when she could just call your butler, Ray?""Connie? Watch your mouth."He pouted, turning away from me, back to Clara. "I di
CLARAThe moment we got to the parking lot just before Andy's car, I gently detached my arm from his and put some space between us, looking around for Lucas.I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he had just entered his car and was already driving away. Damn, I would have sworn this man had no effect on me anymore some time ago, but today showed I still had to work on my emotions some more.Andy tipped my chin towards him, "Hey baby girl, you look lost. What are you thinking about?"I opened my mouth to say something but he was taking out a cigar stick at the same time. My face scrunched up in a frown and I slapped the cancer stick away, glaring up at him."This is a school, Andy. You cannot smoke here—off limits." I pointed to the direction of a signboard that even spelt it out. He exhaled a breath, his gaze slipping to the cigar stick on the ground—and longingly, too.Why had I even finally agreed to go out with this guy? Oh okay, yeah—dad. Andy was having his birthday party to
CLARAWas I that drunk or my ex-fiancé really had his tongue in my throat right now? But the thing was… I wasn’t drunk at all. I was advised against drinking after my heart surgery. This was really happening.For a split second, I didn't move. My body just didn't cooperate. Lucas's mouth was still the same—familiar, demanding, like it remembered every part of me… every corner of my lips. My body was traitorous, leaning into him for one breathless moment, recognizing something my heart had spent three years trying to forget.The little whimper that escaped me finally rung the alarm that had my fingers clutching his shirt as I shoved him off me. Hard.His chest heaved, lips parted, eyes stormy. "Clara—"But I just moved back quietly, eyeballing him one last time before turning around and rushing out of the restroom.I bumped into Andy just as I turned into the hallway. He held my shoulders, looking drunk but worried,"Where were you? You were gone for a while, I was looking for you."
LUCAS"… the marketing team could up their antics a bit. Maybe the head of the team could look into expanding targets to be met. The records are looking a bit different from what we are used to.—I mean, a couple dollar stacks down, but I can see the effort.If we are going to launch a new project, we should first ensure that the older ones are yielding good profit. Right, Lucas?"The thing was I could hear the words, but I was not really paying attention to them. My eyes were currently transfixed on my phone which was rare for me to do during meetings. Today was an exception, though. I had just found Clara's new social media account and she had posted pictures from that night at the party. The one where she wore the shortest fucking gown known to mankind.A big exaggerated, but I could not get my mind off the image of her walking away and flashing her ass cheeks at me—and that loser, Andy—as she went. Not to mention the way her boobs sat nicely against the fabrics of the clothes, squ
CLARAThe school was hosting a special event for Independence Day.I happily watched the kids do last minute practice back stage so they could present for their parents and guardians. I even walked around to help them adjust their costumes and give them some moral support altogether.Laila looked up at me with beaming eyes, "My mommy and grandma promised to be here! They will cheer for me while I perform."She said that so proudly and surely that it hurt to even think about the instance that her mom and grandma did not come and how much it would affect her. I had just started to rebuke the thought when Connie, always the crass little man, said it out loud,"Do not be so sure they'll come. I'm very sure this event was emailed to my uncle but I know he'll not be here. He looks like he's merely trying to keep up with me these days. I mean, it's funny because he used to be around so much too, guess he got tired of pretending to care about me." Connie shrugged, trying to laugh it off and
CLARA"Ah, you should not have bothered to come at all, then. I would have actually preferred the original guardian of the child. Lucas. I wonder why he's not here, maybe I could call him up, since you aren't so comfortable." I spoke sweetly. My words had its desired effect. She was quick to conceal the reaction, but her eyes had flashed with anger after I had said that. She responded with a smile of hers—sickenly sweet and fucking fake, "Oh no need to bother with that. My soon to be husband, Lucas, already informed me that he would be very busy today."It was like an alarm had just blown up in my head. The words left my mouth before I could control myself,"Husband?"She smirked proudly, "I didn’t stutter."I caught myself, straightening and taking a deep breath at the same time, "Hmm, good for you." Then moving closer to her, I looked straight ahead as I whispered close to her ear, "Hope he knows you cannot bear children though? That you walk around without a womb? Well, I am sur
LUCASTwo things.Two things had me almost breaking things at this event and they were both in relation to her.My beautiful goddamn ex-fiancée that had just strutted in here, owning the place with how exquisitely beautiful she looked. Now, over to the two things that had messed with my mood tonight. Clara was sitting on the table which was originally reserved for the man who had just been announced as a running candidate for the senate elections—Raphael Evergreen.There were three candidates now, and it turned out that the third was her father. Like, her biological fucking father and I had just found that out today. He was definitely behind her heart surgery and the way she looked now. The second thing that had riled me up was how she greeted everyone else with a warm smile and just walked past me like I was not even there to start with.She looked ethereal. Her body filled the dress she wore, and that bloody neckline… The black dress against her skin was a sight I never thought I
LUCASRaphael had set up a meeting with me in his house. It was on a school day, so I knew Clara was not going to be there. I had questions and allegations, and I hoped Raphael was ready for them."Lucas. What a pleasure." He smiled widely at me when I stepped into his waiting room, gesturing me further into the house. "Come, come. I have been expecting you."I said nothing, just walked behind him as we headed to the living room.He walked with the assistance of a fancy cane, his steps slow and shaky. His hair had all turned white in color, his beards too… but I noticed how fit his body was even with how old he seemed to be. He looked good too, I could imagine how much women liked the idea of being with him when he was younger… only for him to end up single until old age. Sad.I could not help seeing myself in him, though. It felt like there was no other woman for me besides Clara, and if she had truly given up on me forever, there was every possibility that this could be my life to
CLARAHe left me alone after a few more minutes of poking for answers and and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.Across the room where he sat, Ella leaned into him, her fingers tracing slow circles on his chest. He barely regarded her, clearly too busy with his phone. I caught her eyes on me a couple of times and instead of the reaction I was sure she wanted to get from me, I was just plain irritated by her desperation."Yeah, I don't like her either." Someone whispered behind me.I didn’t answer, just turned to her carefully. She smirked.I was slightly taken aback by the way her skin radiated and how perfect she looked, but I gathered myself fast, "Hello, I'm Clara. I'm here for my father—""Dr. Raphael Evergreen. Yeah, I have heard of him and his countless degrees." She smiled, handing me her card. "I'm Kate. We should talk sometime.""Absolutely," I responded, slipping the card into my clutch.I met a couple other influential people whom my father knew, and I saved so
LUCASTwo things.Two things had me almost breaking things at this event and they were both in relation to her.My beautiful goddamn ex-fiancée that had just strutted in here, owning the place with how exquisitely beautiful she looked. Now, over to the two things that had messed with my mood tonight. Clara was sitting on the table which was originally reserved for the man who had just been announced as a running candidate for the senate elections—Raphael Evergreen.There were three candidates now, and it turned out that the third was her father. Like, her biological fucking father and I had just found that out today. He was definitely behind her heart surgery and the way she looked now. The second thing that had riled me up was how she greeted everyone else with a warm smile and just walked past me like I was not even there to start with.She looked ethereal. Her body filled the dress she wore, and that bloody neckline… The black dress against her skin was a sight I never thought I
CLARA"Ah, you should not have bothered to come at all, then. I would have actually preferred the original guardian of the child. Lucas. I wonder why he's not here, maybe I could call him up, since you aren't so comfortable." I spoke sweetly. My words had its desired effect. She was quick to conceal the reaction, but her eyes had flashed with anger after I had said that. She responded with a smile of hers—sickenly sweet and fucking fake, "Oh no need to bother with that. My soon to be husband, Lucas, already informed me that he would be very busy today."It was like an alarm had just blown up in my head. The words left my mouth before I could control myself,"Husband?"She smirked proudly, "I didn’t stutter."I caught myself, straightening and taking a deep breath at the same time, "Hmm, good for you." Then moving closer to her, I looked straight ahead as I whispered close to her ear, "Hope he knows you cannot bear children though? That you walk around without a womb? Well, I am sur
CLARAThe school was hosting a special event for Independence Day.I happily watched the kids do last minute practice back stage so they could present for their parents and guardians. I even walked around to help them adjust their costumes and give them some moral support altogether.Laila looked up at me with beaming eyes, "My mommy and grandma promised to be here! They will cheer for me while I perform."She said that so proudly and surely that it hurt to even think about the instance that her mom and grandma did not come and how much it would affect her. I had just started to rebuke the thought when Connie, always the crass little man, said it out loud,"Do not be so sure they'll come. I'm very sure this event was emailed to my uncle but I know he'll not be here. He looks like he's merely trying to keep up with me these days. I mean, it's funny because he used to be around so much too, guess he got tired of pretending to care about me." Connie shrugged, trying to laugh it off and
LUCAS"… the marketing team could up their antics a bit. Maybe the head of the team could look into expanding targets to be met. The records are looking a bit different from what we are used to.—I mean, a couple dollar stacks down, but I can see the effort.If we are going to launch a new project, we should first ensure that the older ones are yielding good profit. Right, Lucas?"The thing was I could hear the words, but I was not really paying attention to them. My eyes were currently transfixed on my phone which was rare for me to do during meetings. Today was an exception, though. I had just found Clara's new social media account and she had posted pictures from that night at the party. The one where she wore the shortest fucking gown known to mankind.A big exaggerated, but I could not get my mind off the image of her walking away and flashing her ass cheeks at me—and that loser, Andy—as she went. Not to mention the way her boobs sat nicely against the fabrics of the clothes, squ
CLARAWas I that drunk or my ex-fiancé really had his tongue in my throat right now? But the thing was… I wasn’t drunk at all. I was advised against drinking after my heart surgery. This was really happening.For a split second, I didn't move. My body just didn't cooperate. Lucas's mouth was still the same—familiar, demanding, like it remembered every part of me… every corner of my lips. My body was traitorous, leaning into him for one breathless moment, recognizing something my heart had spent three years trying to forget.The little whimper that escaped me finally rung the alarm that had my fingers clutching his shirt as I shoved him off me. Hard.His chest heaved, lips parted, eyes stormy. "Clara—"But I just moved back quietly, eyeballing him one last time before turning around and rushing out of the restroom.I bumped into Andy just as I turned into the hallway. He held my shoulders, looking drunk but worried,"Where were you? You were gone for a while, I was looking for you."
CLARAThe moment we got to the parking lot just before Andy's car, I gently detached my arm from his and put some space between us, looking around for Lucas.I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he had just entered his car and was already driving away. Damn, I would have sworn this man had no effect on me anymore some time ago, but today showed I still had to work on my emotions some more.Andy tipped my chin towards him, "Hey baby girl, you look lost. What are you thinking about?"I opened my mouth to say something but he was taking out a cigar stick at the same time. My face scrunched up in a frown and I slapped the cancer stick away, glaring up at him."This is a school, Andy. You cannot smoke here—off limits." I pointed to the direction of a signboard that even spelt it out. He exhaled a breath, his gaze slipping to the cigar stick on the ground—and longingly, too.Why had I even finally agreed to go out with this guy? Oh okay, yeah—dad. Andy was having his birthday party to
LUCASI sat down, and she started,"Your nephew has been bad. Not just this once, but more than a couple of times, and we have always had to handle it without blowing things out of proportion. Unfortunately, that cannot keep happening; he injured the other kid today. We had to rush him to a clinic. Honestly, you should try to keep the boy in check, or we might take more serious measures to keep him in check ourselves." Clara informed me. Connie was sitting beside me by now, and I was struggling to pay full attention to the situation at hand and not Clara's presence. I turned to him, "What happened today, Connie?"He started speaking at once, glaring at Clara, "Uncle Lucas, she's just making a big deal out of nothing. I am not being bad at school… I respect everyone! She’s just a substitute teacher but she keeps doing the most. I mean, why call you out of work when she could just call your butler, Ray?""Connie? Watch your mouth."He pouted, turning away from me, back to Clara. "I di