Joel carefully assisted the old woman on the swing before realizing her feet were dangling, and although eager to get on it, her body tense and hand shook as she struggled to maintain her balance on it.“Grandma, I don't think this is a good idea. You could fall.” Joel worriedly said, not daring to let go of each side of the seat to keep it balanced and not throw the woman off.The old woman, however, laughed in delight. “I did it. I told her I could do it.” She exclaimed in joy, not realizing Joel was the one keeping her stable. “Hum, how about you come down?” Joel's eyes darted from Nima, who was staring at them from where she sat and the old woman giggling in triumph. “No no, my dear. You can leave now. You have done an amazing job helping me.” She replied, but Joel didn't dare let go.Distressed by the stubbornness of the old woman, he began to regret helping her when she heard a frustrated tone from behind him calling out to the old woman.“Grandma!”A beautiful young woman cam
Nima and Joel walked to where he had parked his car, and they settled in.She smiled at how he had opened the door for her like a true gentleman and helped fasten her seat belt.Nima had noticed while they walked to the car that he constantly mumbled something under his breath, which she had asked to confirm if he was saying something to her, but Joel said he hadn't said anything. A little restless at how the rest of the night will proceed, Nima decided to say something to break the still mood.“Was the old woman alright?” She asked.Snapping out of his thoughts, Joel glanced at the temptation beside him and nodded.“She's cute, but too daring. I nearly had a heart attack when she was about to fall.” He replied before asking something that made Nima grow confused.“Where do you stay, Angel?” Turning to look at him, she met his gaze that was fixated on her. Her heart skipped a bit at the realization that he was planning to take her home.What about all the talk that he wants to spoil
To think a highly respected demon would be subjected to being controlled and choked with so much work.Gama's life since the few days he had inhabited the body of Chris, the A lister actor could be summarized in one sentence. Work, travel, work more, and travel more.A bad timing he had called it, as he came into Chris's body when he was at the peak of a movie shoot.An action hero movie at that.To make the matter worse, the director of the movie wasn't someone who likes taking unnecessary breaks in between shoots.He prefers they devote their time to complete the shooting and take the necessary rests afterwards. Gama finds himself working hard. He had contemplated snapping the neck of everyone and just searched for Nima, but a rational part of him took control.He wasn't sure what situation he would encounter Nimalaya in, and one thing was sure about how the universe operated.Everything happens for a reason.He hadn't chosen the body but was randomly thrown in it.His current fame
Nima's call connected to Emily's line, who looked annoyed before picking it up.“Hello?” She inquired to Nima, who sighed into the phone.“Emily, we need to talk. My brain feels like it's going to explode.” Nima said.“Nimalaya, I'm busy at the office. I will see if I can stop by tomorrow, as I plan to work through the night today.” Emily responded.Nima was silent for a few seconds before asking her to sleep early and to take care of herself. Nima dropped the call with a strange expression on her face.She was used to Emily appearing like a phantom upon her calls that having been rejected a meeting on the day had rubbed her in a weird way.She told herself it's normal. Emily has her own life too and shouldn't be available for her all the time.She had those thoughts, yet it stung at her heart that she wasn't a priority anymore.The Emily she knew would drop everything at hand and rush to meet her, especially when they were meant to gist about how her date with Joel went.……….Upon d
After they finished their masters and graduated from school, their relationship continued, as although they hadn't shared love, they did share their body for such a long time.Attachment was bound to be a thing between them, even if it's just for the benefit of the flesh.Joel had felt everything would continue the way they were until Anna had broken the news to him that she would be travelling out of the country for additional studies to be able to take over her family's corporation as she was an only child.Joel had been indifferent towards the news but realized how devastated Anna had been.She has let her emotion seep through her usually indifferent face and cried a lot. She claimed she didn't wish to part from him.Joel had asked why she would not want to.She had always known what her family had in store for her. “You're such a cruel man, Joel.” She had said to him, which confused him deeply. “Anna.” He had called, speechless by her word.“So, you won't miss me? You can't even
It was 5 pm in the evening when Nima heard her doorbell ring.Still deep in her thoughts, she glanced toward the direction of the door with a blank expression. She wasn't expecting any visitors and hadn't ordered anything. Her neighbors knew she hates interacting with them, hence making them take their conversation elsewhere, so who could it be?She wondered as she decided to ignore it, but the person turned the handle and found it locked, and the doorbell was pushed once again.Nima got up and walked towards the door. She peeped through the camera lense attached to her door and suddenly looked taken aback.She hurriedly opened the door to reveal Emily, who wore an impatient expression on her face.Before Nima could ask her how she was suddenly at her place after she had rejected a meeting with her a few hours ago, Emily held her hands and dragged her towards the chair, while saying “what took you so long to open the door.”As soon as they settled on Nimalaya's Couch, Emily probed,
Nima had finally calmed her mind and replayed the evening she spent with Joel, putting aside her intentions to get laid.She realized he was so sweet and attentive towards her. What if she let him in?A part of her felt that it is too early to be thinking about opening up, but she then wondered how long she want to keep doing that.How long does she plan to remain in her room and act irritated in the midst of strangers?She recalled how her heart sank when she called Emily that morning and hadn't met the usual reaction from her friend. She would have been all alone if Emily suddenly turned her back on her, which she hoped not.Emily had become the only family she had.It doesn't hurt to try to know more people and make a small circle of friends that would care for each other. Maybe she could start with Joel.Nima recalled the previous night she arrived at the dinner location, she had politely greeted the taxi driver and he hadn't bitten her in return.Perhaps she was the one letting
Upon reaching the spot, both of them quietly sat down.“How has your day been?” Joel broke the silence.“Normal. How about yours?” She inquired. “I was just returning from the office. It was a cool day with hectic emotions. You literally cloud my thoughts.” He replied, and Nima gave him a fake glare.“Stop this. You just say stuff out of nowhere.” She chided.Joel smiled and turned to face her, noticing her shyness.“I just suck at keeping my feelings hiding. And I love how you blush each time you hear them.” He said with a taunting smile.Nima turned to face him once again and shot him a playful glare, “Don't get ahead of yourself. I was just caught unaware each time, and it's quite embarrassing.” She said.“Ha! Yeah!” Joel exclaimed dramatically. “I get it now. Thank God I finally have someone to feel embarrassed on my behalf.” He added, and Nima let out a sigh before shaking her head and looking away from him.“You are something else.” She muttered in a disbelieving tone.“Am I no
As soon as Adam and Carey left Anna to her supposed work, she could be seen with a look of displease as she sat at the terrace of her hotel apartment. Anna has so many expectations. Although her debut as a capable director and then advancing to be the leader she had been trained for all of her life was important, Joel was equally important to Anna.Anna knew her only chance to get closer to Joel is to act like she didn't care. She needs to take some steps back to leap hundreds of meters to Joel.He's a disciplined man and wouldn't want to hurt her. Joel couldn't love her when he was in his teen and being controlled by hormone, so definitely he wouldn't change his mind now that he's surrounded by lovely women.Anna recalled how beautiful Carey looked and frowned. She wondered why such a fine woman was by his side.She wished he had a male assistant instead. Anna had an edge over every woman around Joel, though.That edge was the fact that she had been with Joel for almost 6 years and
Carey had been working with Joel a year after he established his company and could boldly attest that she had never seen him so confused about making up his mind.He had acted cold toward Anna and then got excited over the business deal, but then seemed to be undecided about agreeing to the opportunity and now she was meeting up with Adam to pick Anna at the airport. When they had contacted Anna about the arrangement, she said it is unnecessary and she wouldn't want to intrude, but Adam managed to tease the woman into agreeing. Anna had known Adam for as long as she had known Joel anyway, so in some sense, this is a reunion of some sort.Carey and Adam headed towards the airport upon meeting up, and it was quite awkward in the car.Anna barely interact with Adam but now they had to get a bit familiar to give Anna a good atmosphere to mingle in, but none of them knew which topic to treat, hence their pregnant silence that threatened to deliver but never did till they arrived at the a
Sitting in a lavish living room with a dazed expression, Gama mauled the situation of Nimalaya in his head. He thought of different ways to handle the situation once he found her.He couldn't use force unless he wanted to push her further away.He wondered if he could keep his composure when he met her so-called mate who wanted to take his woman.Gama found himself doing more thinking with his brain than he had ever done in his entire life.This, of course, took him down memory lane.Gama had, at one point, been an abandoned demon who had no one and was easily trampled on. His consumption was a phenomenon as it is once in a millennia that half-blooded demons give birth. They had once been dead human evil enough to be turned by the devil, hence everyone's shock when a female demon actually conceived. Sadly for Gama, the demoness had just given birth to him out of curiosity, as they felt it's a phenomenon. And when she realized it was just a normal child like that in her previous lif
“Gama, you don't understand.” Emily said with a resigned expression. Gama was still in pain. The pungent smell of his roasted flesh permeating every corner of the room. It was unlike any pain he had felt before. The only pain greater than Nimalaya’s flame is the hurt in his heart for her departure. He really loves her so much.He had been confident that he would go back with her once they met, but the reality that Nimalaya is now with her fated one was starting to sink in.He had just tasted what Nimalaya’s flame felt like and didn't want a battle of prowess with her. It won't do him any good to fight when he wants to have her heart.Using extreme force will only put him at the risk of losing her forever. Before he gets to the point where he would use all the ability he possessed to keep her to himself, Gama wanted to explore the gentle part first. Emily's reaction had made it clear that Nimalaya felt something for him, and he wanted to know how far that goes.He suddenly took in a
“Where is Nimalaya?” Gama demanded. Emily was silent for a while before recalling that Gama was in support of Nimalaya finding her mate.He had always known that was Nimalaya's greatest wish, and he was ready to let her search until she couldn't find him and settled with Gama.Perhaps Gama will understand her reasons best, as he was the one who tended to her heartbreak and helped her cope with the reality that perhaps she wasn't blessed with a mate.With this thought in mind, Emily smiled at Gama, who had always dotted on Nimalaya, just as his demon dotted on her.Before she could speak, however, Gama asked, “Why did you leave me?” Emily shook her head in shame for being a coward and not opening up to Gama before they left the Demon world.The thought had briefly crossed Nimalaya’s heart then but got amplified by the demon as different scenarios that could go wrong were implanted in Nimalaya’s head.“Why did you just leave me?” Gama asked once again, his voice deeper than before, an
Standing In front of an average looking office building, Gama was putting on a casual blue shirt and black pants, a baseball cap resting on his head to prevent people from recognising him.He had learned the hard way that being a celebrity restricted freedom and made it hard to maintain privacy. Gama had recklessly stepped onto the street of each town he visited to fish out the energy signature of Nimalaya’s demon, and before he knew what was happening, his name and photos taken from the towns he visited to search for Nimalaya were posted on the Internet.It was as if there were invisible cameras following him around.His manager had later instructed him to be more careful and always go out in disguise. With his eagerness to get to Nimalaya, Gama had just played along and went out in disguise, and finally, he was standing in front of a building that had the lingering aura of Nimalaya’s demon present.Gama waited until closing hours and finally located Emily, who was heading towards
“I felt a shiver run down my spine as I uttered that sentence.” Joel narrated. “I felt this strong urge to take back what I said as if it was taboo.” He added.Joel and Adam were sitting on Joel's apartment balcony with a small table that had a half filled bottle of wine placed on it, along with their almost empty glass. They conversed while taking small sips from their wine.They had both played soccer on Joel's PlayStation before deciding to have fresh air and unload their heads. Adam had gone first, discussing his issues with his parents. How they urged him to settle in the country and find a woman to marry.After treating Adam's subject, it was Joel's turn to narrate the shareable part of his progress with Nima.Although they are close friends, some things are meant to be between him and his soon to be woman.Adam had listened to how Anna had reached out to Joel and the cold response she got from Joel, then to the point he had appreciated the business collaboration and wanted to
A week later, Joel was in his office, sorting some files on his desk when his assistant Carey rushed up to him with eyes so lit they could ignite a candle.Joel knew that look. A good deal is definitely in for the company. One of the rare occasions Carey lost her composure was when she had her hands on proposals that could make them millions of dollars.“Sir, you need to see this!” She exclaimed, placing her laptop in front of Joel to take a look at the pdf documents she received from Anna.After Anna had gotten in touch with Carey upon Joel's insinuation, she had just asked Carey to introduce Joel's company to her. What they do, what they planned to do, and how far their visions for the company go.Carey had compiled files like she would when fighting to impress a client who wanted to know about their brand before signing a deal with them.Anna had just given Carey a reason why she would be dealing with their company, not revealing the deal immediately. The present day happened to b
“Sorry for spacing out.” He apologized and added. “It is not a tattoo.”Nima gave him a funny look, but it made her look cute, considering her face was still flushed and lips more plump from his hard work.God! She's so adorable. Deciding to focus and take his irrational emotions one step at a time, Joel proceeded to shed light on the mystery of his acclaimed tattoo. Joel was born with a strange creature drawing on his back.At first, it looks like the form of a fetus, which his parents assumed to be a birthmark of sorts, but as Joel grew older, the mysterious birthmark grew with him, slowly taking a sinister form that resembled a human yet far from it.Joel would have had a lonely childhood if not for the love his family showered him with, and it hadn't taken him too long to make a single friend who didn't have judgemental parents.When they have sports activities at school, his assumed tattoo becomes the topic of discussion, making the kids distracted. This earned him a reproachf