KATHERINE'S POV"What's this call I just got, Katherine?" Hazel asked as she walked into my office.It's been hours of arranging and rearranging my mother's former office and trying to make it look exactly as I remembered it looked like.It wasn't easy ..no, everything since this morning hasn't been easy.Ever since I found out about Alex's involvement in the company, and then that visit of his..? Something just didn't stick to me, it just didn't seem right. I sighed and dropped the pile of files I was carrying and turned to stare at Hazel.The look on her face told me that she was angry and I could already tell that this was going to add to my already piled-up list of worries."What call?" I asked as I stared expectantly at her."What else??"The rolling of her eyes And the frown was enough for me to know who it was about.I sighed again and slumped on the seat.Great...just great."What did he do this time, Hazel?""He went to Franklin's school, Katherine, that's what he did."I sa
KATHERINE'S POV"No... Hazel, definitely not!"I was staring at the dress Hazel showcased in front of me and shook my head. There's no way she expected me to wear something like that to the club, no, anywhere.It was a sheer seductive black gown that looked short as hell.Definitely not something a CEO should be caught wearing."Oh come on, Katherine, be open-minded. This is really good, especially for our mission for tonight and what's that mission?"I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head refusing to give in."Come on, say it."I shrugged."Katherine...?""Fine.. to get fucked.""Louder, I can't hear you. What's the mission for tonight?""To get fucked.""To what??!""Get fucked!!" I yelled, finally bursting into laughter."That's the spirit. You need to get fucked and this dress screams everything about your availability to get fucked, not that...," she pointed at the clothes I was wearing with a frown on her face."But this is okay, I mean, it's uhmm, modest?""Right and who fuc
KATHERINE'S POV "Katherine?" Yeah Right. It was Charles alright.What the heck was he doing here? In a place like this?"Katherine?? Is ...is that you?" The sound of his voice sent shivers all over my body as I stared into those eyes of his.His full brows curved in surprise and recognition as he stared at me. He looked the same as he did three years ago, the only thing that changed was how tanned he looked, how long his buzz cut was now, and the pain in his eyes...the only thing I left him with."Charles," I managed to say but it only came out in a whisper as I stared at him, still surprised to see him here."It's really you??! Katherine? Wha... what are you doing here? I mean, no, wow, I'm...You look beautiful."A thousand words ran through my head as I stared at his surprised face. I wanted to tell him that he looked the same... but in a drop-dead gorgeous kind of way.I wanted to ask him if he was over me, if he ever forgot me...like I did the minute I stepped my foot into Texas
KATHERINE'S POV He turned to look at me And that sad look in his eyes was back as he gave me a little smile."You know who... Him. You came here because of him, right? To show Franklin his father?" I scoffed and shook my head."No, you're getting it all wrong. I will never let my son get close to him. I only came here for one thing and he is not the reason I'm back!"I didn't realize it but I was clutching my fist so tight at the thought of Alexander and Franklin. It wasn't until Charles reached for my hands and patted it lightly that I realized what I was doing."Relax, you're about to break your fingers just thinking about him."I shook my head and turned to stare at the door, observing the people in the bar."Katherine...""Charles, please... I just... I don't want to talk about anything right now. Please, I came here just..to forget about everything. Please, okay?"He stared at me for a while before finally nodding his head."Okay.. fine. Let's not talk about the past. How are y
ALEXANDER'S POV I shouldn't have stepped out of the house, I shouldn't have come here. That was what ran through my mind as I slowly walked toward the two figures standing in front of Katherine's house.At first I thought it was Hazel, because of the way she was dressed, Katherine would never dress like that, but as I got closer, it didn't take me long to realize who it was... Katherine, with a man!I felt my blood boil as I moved closer to them, my entire thoughts screaming wild as I saw the man holding her hand and the way he pulled her behind him in a protective way.What the hell was he protecting her from?I saw Katherine's lips move and also noticed how she pushed his hands away just as I got in front of them but none of that mattered to me. Not while he was still staring at me like I was a threat of sorts to Katherine."I'll call you later tonight," he said and with one last look at me, he walked away.The night air was thick with tension, the kind that made your skin prickl
KATHERINE'S POV As soon as I walked inside the door, I slammed it shut and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My back pressed against the cool wood, my fingers trembling slightly as I replayed the confrontation with Alexander in my head. Why was he here? Why did he have to see me with Charles? And most importantly, why did I feel like I just got caught cheating on him?Which was ridiculous because I never belonged to Alexander and I never will.I let out a sigh and slid off the door to the ground as the image of Alexander's face as he stared at me with Charles danced around my head."Oh well, look who's here," Hazel's Sharp voice interrupted my thoughts and I opened my eyes to see her at the foot of the stairs, staring at me like she was expecting me to be here."Hazel.." I called softly, and as if she could feel my frustration, she walked towards me hurriedly, with a frown on her face."What's wrong, Katherine? What happened? Did someone drug you? Force you to dri
ALEXANDER'S POV "What???" I asked as I turned to stare at Henry, my cup of coffee hanging Mid-air.He nodded as he sat down across me and poured himself a cup of coffee so casually as if he hadn't just dropped a bomb on me."I don't understand... what do you mean?" I asked, still holding my cup mid-air.He casually took a slice of toast and slowly buttered it while I watched him in growing impatience."Katherine has taken over her mother's company."He said it again, so casually that I felt like my ears were deceiving me."When was this?""About three days ago or something. I was doing my investigation as you asked me to and I found out about this, also when I went to her mother's company the other day, I saw her driving out."I shook my head to release the shock from overtaking me as I took a long sip of my coffee and dropped the cup."Wow... this is... it's good news.. isn't it? She was finally able to take the company. How was she able to do that? Wasn't the company given to her f
KATHERINE'S POV Sleep didn’t come. My eyelids were heavy, and my legs were exhausted, yet still, sleep refused to take me.No matter how many times I toss and turn, no matter how tightly I squeeze my eyes shut, my mind refuses to quiet. It was loud, really loud but that wasn't the only issue. If it were just loud with other random thoughts then I would have been able to endure the tossing and turning.But it was not.Alexander’s face keeps flashing behind my eyelids, the way his jaw tightened when he saw Charles, the dark flicker in his eyes, like a storm rolling in. And then there’s Charles, his easy smile, the warmth of his hand on my back. Two men. Two completely different but somewhat similar worlds, both linked to me in their different ways.And yet, my stupid heart won’t stop racing for the wrong one. The one who shattered it into pieces years ago, the one who burned my love until it turned to ashes.I groan and sit up, rubbing my temples. The clock on my nightstand reads
AUTHOR'S POV The knock on the door startled Hazel as she looked up from the computer and stared at the door, trying to see if she was actually hearing things."Who could that be?" She muttered as she stared at the door, the knock sounding again.She knew it wasn't Katherine because it was just some minutes ago that she left the house and Franklin was at school so who could possibly be at the door.Her brows connected in confusion as she walked closer to the door. Her gut warned her just before she opened the door and..."Oh, great.""A wonderful morning to you too, Hazel," Henry said as he smiled at her.He could already tell that this was going to be really difficult more than how he assumed it would be from her countenance."No, it isn't. What should have been a pleasant morning disappeared the minute you knocked on this door.""Well, too bad. May I come in?" He asked, already placing his feet inside the door.She frowned and eyed him suspiciously."What now? Did Alexander send you
ALEXANDER'S POVMaybe it was because I felt threatened by the fact that someone else wanted her, or maybe because she looked so damn good in her tailored pants and red silk top.I don't know...All I could think of at that moment, as I saw her turning to leave, was the fact that she might go to Charles. That I would lose her again, like I did years ago, and this time around, it would be my fault—not because I was manipulated by Astra.I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me, ignoring the widened look of surprise and fear in her eyes as I leaned in closer for a kiss.I could almost taste her... My lips were just mere inches from hers, and I was just about to..."Maybe we should..." I heard a voice interrupt, and almost as quickly as lightning, Katherine pulled herself away from my arms and stared at me, her face flushed and red.I was still out of it—distracted and annoyed as hell—as I turned my attention to the door to see who it was that dared to interrupt that precious moment.O
KATHERINE'S POVThe worst punishment ever was my current situation as I stood and watched Charles and Alexander talking in front of me.It was almost impossible to guess what they were talking about as I stood outside the office, watching them.How cruel is fate?What kind of plot twist was this? Having my ex-boyfriend and my ex-husband work together was definitely not how I imagined my day starting.I felt relieved last night when Charles left without any arguments when Alexander showed up, but having him meet with Alexander now and hearing that they both have a project together was literally the last thing I expected.I didn't know what to feel. I felt numb—the same way I did when I walked into the building, only for Charles to call me from behind.At first, I had assumed that he was following me, and I had gotten offended, but when he said he was here for a job, I almost died.Now it all makes sense.When he said he's looking into collaborating with a tech company last night, I sho
ALEXANDER'S POVI glanced at the telephone as soon as I dropped it and sighed heavily. The battle was about to begin. The dangerous game of making sure that Katherine doesn't find out about the link between me and her mother's company.It was all for the best anyways. It was the only way I wouldn't make Katherine hate me more.Well, she might hate me even more after she comes here, but that kind of hate would be different from her hating me for being involved in her mother's death.I’d rather she hate me for ruining her work than for messing with her mother’s company. Gosh! I wasn’t the one. I really need to stop making it sound like I was."Is it done?" Henry asked as he walked in carrying a pack of files.I nodded, sighing heavily."Well, it's not easy, I understand. You'll have to bear with the thought of being her enemy from now on. You'll have to mess with her work, mess with the contract, with her head... anything. Just make sure that she doesn't have enough time to find out abo
KATHERINE'S POV Sleep didn’t come. My eyelids were heavy, and my legs were exhausted, yet still, sleep refused to take me.No matter how many times I toss and turn, no matter how tightly I squeeze my eyes shut, my mind refuses to quiet. It was loud, really loud but that wasn't the only issue. If it were just loud with other random thoughts then I would have been able to endure the tossing and turning.But it was not.Alexander’s face keeps flashing behind my eyelids, the way his jaw tightened when he saw Charles, the dark flicker in his eyes, like a storm rolling in. And then there’s Charles, his easy smile, the warmth of his hand on my back. Two men. Two completely different but somewhat similar worlds, both linked to me in their different ways.And yet, my stupid heart won’t stop racing for the wrong one. The one who shattered it into pieces years ago, the one who burned my love until it turned to ashes.I groan and sit up, rubbing my temples. The clock on my nightstand reads
ALEXANDER'S POV "What???" I asked as I turned to stare at Henry, my cup of coffee hanging Mid-air.He nodded as he sat down across me and poured himself a cup of coffee so casually as if he hadn't just dropped a bomb on me."I don't understand... what do you mean?" I asked, still holding my cup mid-air.He casually took a slice of toast and slowly buttered it while I watched him in growing impatience."Katherine has taken over her mother's company."He said it again, so casually that I felt like my ears were deceiving me."When was this?""About three days ago or something. I was doing my investigation as you asked me to and I found out about this, also when I went to her mother's company the other day, I saw her driving out."I shook my head to release the shock from overtaking me as I took a long sip of my coffee and dropped the cup."Wow... this is... it's good news.. isn't it? She was finally able to take the company. How was she able to do that? Wasn't the company given to her f
KATHERINE'S POV As soon as I walked inside the door, I slammed it shut and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My back pressed against the cool wood, my fingers trembling slightly as I replayed the confrontation with Alexander in my head. Why was he here? Why did he have to see me with Charles? And most importantly, why did I feel like I just got caught cheating on him?Which was ridiculous because I never belonged to Alexander and I never will.I let out a sigh and slid off the door to the ground as the image of Alexander's face as he stared at me with Charles danced around my head."Oh well, look who's here," Hazel's Sharp voice interrupted my thoughts and I opened my eyes to see her at the foot of the stairs, staring at me like she was expecting me to be here."Hazel.." I called softly, and as if she could feel my frustration, she walked towards me hurriedly, with a frown on her face."What's wrong, Katherine? What happened? Did someone drug you? Force you to dri
ALEXANDER'S POV I shouldn't have stepped out of the house, I shouldn't have come here. That was what ran through my mind as I slowly walked toward the two figures standing in front of Katherine's house.At first I thought it was Hazel, because of the way she was dressed, Katherine would never dress like that, but as I got closer, it didn't take me long to realize who it was... Katherine, with a man!I felt my blood boil as I moved closer to them, my entire thoughts screaming wild as I saw the man holding her hand and the way he pulled her behind him in a protective way.What the hell was he protecting her from?I saw Katherine's lips move and also noticed how she pushed his hands away just as I got in front of them but none of that mattered to me. Not while he was still staring at me like I was a threat of sorts to Katherine."I'll call you later tonight," he said and with one last look at me, he walked away.The night air was thick with tension, the kind that made your skin prickl
KATHERINE'S POV He turned to look at me And that sad look in his eyes was back as he gave me a little smile."You know who... Him. You came here because of him, right? To show Franklin his father?" I scoffed and shook my head."No, you're getting it all wrong. I will never let my son get close to him. I only came here for one thing and he is not the reason I'm back!"I didn't realize it but I was clutching my fist so tight at the thought of Alexander and Franklin. It wasn't until Charles reached for my hands and patted it lightly that I realized what I was doing."Relax, you're about to break your fingers just thinking about him."I shook my head and turned to stare at the door, observing the people in the bar."Katherine...""Charles, please... I just... I don't want to talk about anything right now. Please, I came here just..to forget about everything. Please, okay?"He stared at me for a while before finally nodding his head."Okay.. fine. Let's not talk about the past. How are y