(Karis's pov) I bit my lips, deliberating if I should accept the offer or not. It seemed very fun, but I didn't want to hang out much with Xander. The reason I am here is because Xander said it was important. I dropped the cutleries in my hands and took a sip of the smoothie; after tasting it, I couldn't bring myself to drink the orange juice anymore. "I am not sure I can make it. My legs are injured, and my doctor said I should reduce how frequently I walk until it heals." I came up with an excuse. "That won't be a problem. The party is this Friday. By then, your legs should already be better." Benjamin replied still pushing on the idea for me to attend the party. "Friday, I guess there is still time to decide. Xander will inform you if I change my mind." Benjamin nodded at my reply; after Benita left, he was a bit uncomfortable because she was taking forever. "Can you excuse me for a moment? I want to check up on Benita." Benjamin excited himself, unable t
(Karis's pov) My jaw dropped. I had never expected Xander to be such a narcissist. It was beyond my expectations. "I can't stand your level of narcissism anymore. " I shook my head, this was too much to handle. If not for his similar touch, I would have been more than convinced that my husband had a secret twin, who I had no idea of and had swapped places with. This was different from my rigid indifferent husband I adored like a good man. "But you can't deny the fact that I am good-looking," Xander said, grinning at me. I later found out from Xander that Benjamin's name was Benjamin Meadows; he was of both British nobility and old money. They both met at the university. Oxford University to be precise. After the Meadows siblings left I managed to finish my breakfast. I was not in the mood to talk but Xander was in a suspiciously good mood. After breakfast, I insisted on heading back to the villa, not in the mood for sightseeing anymore. Xander left lat
(Karis's pov)My head jerked behind me to see Xander behind me. His eyes were cold; it was hard to know if he was mad because I picked up his call or the fact Emma was calling him. Then it hit me he had already unblocked her number but what did I expect? Of course, he did; he can't be away from his lover for too long. He placed the call on loudspeaker, then handed over the bottle of water to me. "Karis, why are you with Xander's phone?" Emma asked over the phone. Her cheesy voice sounded surprised, "How many times do I have to warn you not to call me outside work hours unless it is important?" Xander cold voice cuts her. "Xander?" Emma gasped, surprised, "Why did you let Karis pick up your call?" She questioned him. My eyes narrowed at Xander, his lover was probably surprised I picked up his phone call. "What do you expect when you are calling a married man by this time of the day?!" Xander shot at her and she went silent. "I wanted.." she tried to defend herself,
(Karis's pov) His gaze could see right through my clothes despite the fact I wore an oversized T-shirt. " I don't want to learn how to kiss from you," I argued back, shooting a glare at him. "Are you sure about that little red? Your face is so red, I am sure your slutty mind has envisioned this a million times." Xander jeered at me, it was hard to look at his hungry eyes because it was also turning me on as I slowly craved for him. Little Red, of all the nicknames he has given me, this was the most annoying one ever. I averted my eyes, trying to look sideways, and then my eyes went wide like saucers. My face and ears were so red there was no way I could hide it from Xander. His eyes followed my line of sight, and a dirty smirk got on his face, seeing the reason why I was so embarrassed. The TV was still on, and there was a fierce make-out scene playing. Why did it have to get to this part of the movie now of all times? Xander nibbled on my neck, he had dev
(Karis's pov) I didn't want to go to the party Benjamin had mentioned earlier, but after some consideration, my curiosity won because I was curious about what kind of parties Xander was into. The sky was already dark by the time we wanted to set out; Xander was dressed in all-black attire, from his black sneakers to his black leather jacket combined with his raven black hair. I wore dark blue jeans with a red crop top I covered with a large bomber, jacket. I didn't want to match with Xander in any way. He left me in the bedroom to bring out our ride from the garage. The loud roaring sounds of the engine made me wonder what car he was taking out. After I was done with my outfit, and the final look was satisfactory, I took a picture and posted it on my IG story. Grabbing my purse, I made my way to the front entrance, and my jaw instantly dropped. Xander was sitting on a 2022 Honda Fireblade power bike, wearing a black helmet. I didn't know it was a biker party we
(Karis's pov) Benita gritted her teeth at Xander's degrading statement. I am sure she wanted to show off to Xander but she never expected he would not even glance at her. "Xander," she called out and his eyes darkened as he glanced in her direction. "Did you see my race?" She asked him immediately she got his attention. "It was nothing special after all these years your racing skills are passable." Xander deadpanned. He grabbed my hand, ignoring Benita, who was hurt by his harsh words. "Do you want to get closer to the water?" He asked me. My eyes glanced towards Benita and I felt sorry for her. All she wanted was to catch the attention of her crush; it reminded me of the time I used to chase after Xander. "Since you are a better racer, why don't you hit the tracks yourself." Benita challenged Xander, but he ignored him, dragging me towards the water until a familiar baritone voice stopped him. The sand sunk under my feet giving me a secret urge to run bare foot
(Karis's pov) The bikes speed off, racing down the road until they disappear from my sight. So far it was a strong tie. After Xander was gone, I was a bit lonely since I didn't know anyone there except Benita, who ignored my existence. My eyes darted around the crowd, seeing how everyone was having a good time until it fell on a bar arranged at the side of the beach. I made my way there to get a drink. I sat on the bar stool, and the bartender greeted me. "Hi darling what do you want me to get for you?" The bartender flashed me a smile. He was a looker, although not up to Xander's level, he was still a refreshing see with his ash-blonde hair and greenish-grey eyes. He was wearing a floral vintage shirt he left the buttons undone from what I could see from in front of the counter. "I don't know, surprise me," I replied, flashing him a smile. "Alright there I know something you will love." He chimed back at me. He went straight into mixing the drinks. My eyes went
(Xander's POV) I didn't want to race with Skyler or even be here in the same place; it all reminded me of a past I wanted to forget. Karis was as clueless as ever; she didn't even realize she was being used when she went along with Skyler. It increased my urge to take her far away and hide her from all these people who wanted to use her naivety. It had been a while since I raced, so it took sometime before I had a kick of it. By then, Skyler was already in the lead, second to Benjamin. Using all the skills I gathered over the years, I was able to make a last-minute break with a grand entrance. After getting to the finish line the first thing my eyes did was to search for Karis in this crowd. . My eyes were drawn to her chestnut hair, and a smile graced my lips, which I was sure she didn't see because of the helmet that was still on my head. Karis sluggishly made her way to the front, and then it came to my observation that her cheeks were flushed. It seeme
(Karis's pov) The baby store was a bit busier by the time Kyle suddenly showed up so it was easy for me to leave without him finding me. Fortunately, it was a large shop. By the time I made my way out of the store, it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. A scarf was wrapped around my head and my face was covered by deep dark shades. I was making my way towards the elevator when the doors to a nearby store opened, and a large entourage came out. It was a bunch of paparazzi flashing cameras at someone in the middle of the chaos. The floor was rowdy and I could get snippets of what they were talking about. Since the exit was blocked, I had no way of leaving thanks to the large crowd. "What is going on here?" I wondered, I glanced backwards at the baby store and the doors opened. My head whipped away immediately. I noticed it was Kyle. He was already out of the shop. What was going on? Since leaving had become a bit difficult, I opted to hide among
(Karis's pov) My mind was spaced as I glanced out the window; the car was driving the streets of Frankfurt, which was known as the financial hub of Germany. It was 8:45 am so traffic was a bit hectic since it was rush hour. Skyler also has some business here, and not so shockingly, Xander, but the chances of us running into each other were very low since this was a sizable city and the second most populous metropolitan German city. There were a lot of things going through my head. The fashion line I did with Skyler and Blue Secret was a hit, and the question was what next. I didn't want to rely on Skyler forever, and the money I transferred out of Xander's account would not sustain me forever. A baby was coming and I had to make sure she was well provided for. "We are here." I heard the driver say. My eyes were drawn from the window to Skyler who was busy on his phone. Recently, he has been super busy with business, which has been growing rapidly. He and Xander have been go
(Karis's pov) These past few months have been a breeze so fleeting that I couldn't believe that I would be meeting her soon. Rubbing my swollen belly a soft smile was etched on my face. My tummy was so big that Skyler and I thought they were twins or triplets but it was just a fat baby girl. I have been eating so much that my baby was already very chubby even in my stomach. I could not wait to hold her in my arms and kiss her cheeks. I wondered if she would look like me or a feminine version of the devil. It was early spring, the snow had melted, and green plants were showing up. I will be having my baby in March. My pregnancy has been a bit challenging but he was by my side all the way. At times, when I think of how supportive Skyler has been, I don't have any idea how to repay him. He was always travelling to and fro to be able to keep up with his business and assist me throughout my pregnancy. Skyler never missed a check-up where the father was meant to be.
(Xander's Pov) Life felt meaningless; Skyler was right; I killed her. After that day, I confronted him, I had investigated what happened the eve of Karis birthday between Emma and I. There were video footages from the hotel showing everything that happened in the hallway. Due to privacy issues there were no cameras in the room but from what I saw from the hallway my life was over. I had willingly followed Emma to the room, but I couldn't understand why I did something so stupid. I had ruined my marriage with my hands and my jealousy was to be blamed. If I hadn't been enraged by jealousy and stayed in the house waiting for Karis to return none of this would have happened. Karis had been at the hotel that morning with Bertha and most likely saw me in with Emma. That was what made her lose it completely. It turned out a friend of Bertha saw Emma and I leaving the club and secretly trailed behind us, that was why everything got revealed. But none of that matter
(Karis's pov)Loud alarm sounds started to ring in my ears. My whole body was in pain, and I kept hearing incoherent voices like they were panicking. "The patient's condition is not stable, her heartbeat is dropping.." someone seemed to have screamed. Is this another dream? They were speaking a strange language which I recognized but was still finding it a bit difficult to translate because my head was killing me My eyes fluttered open, and I could see faces; they had face masks on, and I was being pushed somewhere. My eyes were still blurry, but this sharp pain in my head made it hard to keep it open. A lady who was wearing a different colour of scrubs grabbed my hands, she spoke English to me because she wanted to communicate with me. She probably realized I was awake. "Relax, ma'am, you are going to be fine." She assured me. I wanted to stay awake, but it was hard to stay awake; I wanted to relax like my body was tired. The dream, yes, it was Mother. Maybe if I di
(Karis's pov) Summer, I always loved it not because of the warmth or its beauty but because of my birthday. "Karis, what are you waiting for? Your mother is waiting for you in the garden." I heard someone say and my eyes fluttered open. I was hiding behind the stairs, but what was I doing here? My eyes looked up to see a middle-aged woman dressed in former attire. I immediately recognized her “ Madam Deborah." I altered. "Yes, dear, we can't keep your mum waiting longer." Deborah stretched out her hand for me which I accepted. Deborah was my governess who retired after mum's death what was she doing here? No, rather, what was I doing here? My eyes darted around the room and immediately went wide as I recognized where this was. It was the Reynolds mansion when Mum was still alive; my eyes could spot an old picture of her hanging on the wall. "Dear child, what were you doing there?" I didn't know what I was doing there. My brain could not remember but my lips see
(Xander's Pov) She was dead; no, that was not possible. I watched her sleep last night and she snuggled up to me in her sleep. I could still remember the sheepish smile I had on my face seeing her subconscious actions. The A 587 flight had crashed a few hours after take-off near the coast of Europe. The authorities were still finding the crash site, but it was bleak. The chances of surviving a plane crash were very low, and my mind could not stop wondering what had happened that made Karis so desperate to leave me that she might be dead... That entire day, I didn't get any sleep as I exhausted every resource I had to investigate the plane crash. If not for the fact mum stopped me from travelling, I would have gone myself. She was traumatized by the news of Karis probably dying and had a breakdown worse than mine. Hours ticked by and all I could do was grip her wedding rings as I started to trace everything Karis did this past week.. Benji was already looking in
(Xander's Pov) Smile. That was what Father whispered into my ears when he shook my hand as camera lights flashed on us. I should be happy that the entire De Marco business empire was under my absolute control, but yet there was this hollow feeling in my heart I could not ignore. She left; I don't know why, but after my eyes caught sight of Karis sneaking off when her guards were distracted, it felt like a piece of my heart was taken away. I wanted to go after her or at least warn the guards she was gone, but the annoying paparazzi kept asking annoying questions about Karis's infidelity. Luckily, Ethan sensed my distress, and I was able to send a message to him, but since then, there has been no news from him. Dad and I were still standing in front of the crowd as the camera continued flashing lights at us. I tried my best to smile like my father said I should but my face just couldn't smile. My entire life, my mum taught me how to smile in front of the came
(Karis's pov) The clouds suddenly darkened, and a storm started, just like what happened in my past life; this flight had mistakenly gotten on a different route and ran into a storm that struck it from the skies. It made major headlines and I was crying the entire day in my room because Xander had travelled to Germany that day. I was scared that his jet had gotten involved in the same storm, but luckily, he didn't leave that day again. From outside the window, I could see thick clouds with lightning flashing in them. An ominous feeling was already hanging over my shoulders. The pilot's voice in the intercom tried to assure the passengers that everything was fine, but it was hard to fool people when we could see with our eyes that we were in trouble. "Please try to stay in your seat. Everything will be alright." The air hostess tried to get everyone to relax and stay in their seats. The plane shook again, and my hands clutched the bag as terror struck me. A scream rang from