(Karis's pov) "I never want to see the likes of her in this store, or you can kiss your job goodbye." The Manager was shaken by Skyler's threats. From the way he spoke, it was obvious he was not joking. " I will make sure of that." The manager said with all earnestness. He had to make sure to secure his job. Skyler's cold blue eyes averted from the manager then turned towards me. Immediately, his eyes sparkled as a smile graced his lips. It was as if the cold look in his eyes earlier was just an illusion. "I am sorry you had to witness all that Mrs De Marco." He chimed at me. Why was everyone calling me Mrs De Marco as if they were rubbing it on my face? I had a name that was Karis, for crying out loud. "You can just call me Karis." I insisted, pursing my lips to a thin line. That surname reminded me of someone I wanted to forget, which was my husband Xander. "In that case, you and Bertha, can you call me Skyler since we already consider ourselves friends." He
(Karis's pov) Skyler was a daring person, "if you want to snatch me from my husband, you have to work harder because Xander is a very handsome and rich guy, not to forget he is a passionate lover." I played along with Skyler and said brazenly. Everything I said was true even though I had yet to consummate my marriage with Xander in this lifetime. In my past life we had several wild nights, and I remembered how passionate he was in bed. It was hard to believe what Xander said about being disgusted by me because if he was, there was no way he would have passionately made love with me over and over again until my legs went weak at his prowess. "Then I guess I will have to work harder, and I can promise you one thing: if you get into the same bed with me, you will never regret it." Skyler went again to shamelessly talk about having sex with a married woman. If he went along with this, my reputation might be ruined, and I would be known as a cheating wife. "I guess you
(Karis's pov) Xander continued to walk towards me with his eyes darkened, I could not understand that also made me excited at the same time. ' When the hell did I start liking such thrills? ' my thoughts screamed. I felt my back hit the wall, but Xander didn't stop until he was standing directly in front of me with both his hands, caging me at both sides, blocking any chance of escape. I nervously gulped and raised my head with every ounce of confidence in me to look back at him. My hazel eyes locked with his sharp grey eyes, and for a weird reason, my knees felt weak. "What do you think you are doing Xander?" I asked him with my voice trembling. ‘ Fuck it, why was I still shaking before him where did all my confidence go to?’ I thought pissed at myself. I bit my cheeks, trying to hide my nervousness. Xander had a smile on his face that seemed like he got mad at something. What did I do wrong? All I did was go out with my friend Bertha to have a fun day while getti
(Karis's pov) There was a little devil on my shoulders telling me to push him as badly as I could. I wanted him to suffer. Xander was very competitive. He didn't care about my feelings but just did not want me to care about anyone else. He was just fucking selfish. The dimly lit room was filled with tension. Xander was about to explode at any moment. Although I knew Xander was not the type to hit me or punish me physically, there were ways he had to make me regret whatever silly things I was bravely saying. "Did he touch you? You let someone other than me touch you." He said with a deadly calm voice. My heart beat spiked at his unnatural tone. The calmer he was, the more nuts that were missing from his head. I tried to pry his hand from my waist but they were like firm claws holding me in place on his chest. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears while the devil-cold aura at my back was going amok. Xander spun me to look at him, his eyes keenly observing mine. There were no emot
(Karis's pov). Things were getting heated up as the sexy man who I got married to, was sinfully giving me a bath to wash away my lover's touch. If I knew he was this crazy maybe I would not have let Skyler hug me. He took his time to wash me clean until I felt his hands touch the thin fabric protecting my innermost part. My heart was already beating erratically in my chest, spiked up. He deliberately played with the linen of my lacy panties just to tease me before his hands went down my lap. Forget it he was just using this as an excuse to touch me. This horny bastard was very smart. My eyes could catch sight of the apparent bulge being restrained on his trousers. He turned his attention to my hair, pouring shampoo on my hair, which he started to massage. His actions made me wonder if my imaginary lover could leave his mark on my thick chestnut hair. Xander suddenly stopped with his eyes zeroed at a spot in my body. "You let him touch you with his lips," Xander sai
(Karis's pov) I didn't know what else to do but cry at my pathetic self. Xander stopped, and the funniest thing was that a part of me didn't want him to stop the part of me that was drawn to him so badly; no matter how I sang it like an anthem, he was my biggest enemy and poison, a part of me never agreed. He was truly the only man I loved in my entire life. That was why I completely lost it when he betrayed me. His eyes suddenly softened and he took a step back. "You can't bear me touching you, but you let him make you feel good, and yet you mention Emma every single time." He sounded hurt and it tore me. Why was I feeling hurt because of his hurt gaze? I gritted my teeth and clenched my fingers into a fist. "I hate you with every fibre in my body." I spat at him and he looked stunned but not agitated. He was not angry when I said I hated him. Instead, this heartless bastard smiled. He gave me a dazzling smile. Xander had truly lost his marbles. "Go ahead and say
(Karis's PoV)After leaving the bathroom I had to instruct the servants to arrange bath products for me to use in another bathroom. Everything was arranged and brought to me to use in the bathroom of a nearby vacant room. Then the idea struck me, ' what if I ask about sleeping in another room?' I thought, because sharing a room with Xander was going to be a serious issue.Not only could I not stand him, but there was a strong chance that if we slept on the same bed, my rebellious body that subconsciously craved his touch would betray me. The problem was not just my body but Xander, he was something else when it came to seduction. Every fibre of his body was made in a way that it drew any sane straight woman to him. That's just how gorgeous my husband was, and I was not an exception to his charms."The bathroom has been prepared." I heard Deborah inform me breaking my line of thoughts. She was the same maid that woke me up in the morning."That's perfect." I chimed at her, g
(Karis's pov)My throat went dry hearing Xander's words that set something in me a blaze. Weirdly, why was I excited by the thought of him punishing me? 'Get your thoughts together!' I snapped at myself to straighten up my crazy thoughts because why the hell was I feeling excited at the thought of getting punished?It seemed like I was discovering a part of me that I had no idea about because of this strange Xander in front of me. Was he behaving this way because I changed and was pushing him to the edge? He probably could not handle the fact that things were not going according to his wishes."Don't tell me you want to hit me." I sneered at him then to my greatest shock Xander smiled at me. It was a dark smile that sent chills down my spine. He bent down to the bed to crawl towards me, stopping just an inch away from me. I could feel his warm, fresh, minty breath on my face; he had just brushed his teeth."I had something else in mind, but now I think about it, hitting you doesn't so
(Karis's pov) Someone was crying but I didn't know who it was. The halls were dark and eerie; I knew immediately this was not the mansion in Germany I was residing in but the Reynolds family House. How did I get here? I wondered as my legs walked down the silent hallway towards the source of the cries. My eyes darted around, and I could spot some old pictures of Mum and me, exactly how I remembered it to be before Miranda moved in with Emma. My legs stopped at the door the cries were coming from. It was my parent's room; I slowly pushed the door and let out a loud creaking sound that made the person crying to stop. My head peeked in and I caught sight of the Auburn head woman. "Mummy," I called out, my voice sounding like a little girl's own.Mum's auburn hair was very beautiful, and when I was little, I wished that my hair was her colour instead of Dad's chestnut hair. Her hair was reddish brown with a gold undertone. She had fragile beautiful features with a
(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