KAYLAI stayed curled on the floor, my desperation and frustration growing with every minute. I was helpless and it was the one thing I despised more than anything.The rattling of the lock of my cell had me snapping up and sighing in relief when the person who stepped into the cell wasn’t Enzo but Luca Matteo.“Are you okay?” He asked with a gentle smile as he stood in front of me.“How can I be okay when I am locked up?” I snapped but my harsh tone did not cause the smile on his face to waver.“I understand but you also need to understand where we are coming from.” He explained sympathetically. “You need to come with me.”He wasn’t asking so I got up and followed him without another word. It was useless to fight against him or argue. I just had to follow along with whatever they wanted while trying to make sure I never prove their suspicions right.I didn’t take my eyes off the back of his head as we passed hallways that led to wherever he was taking me. The place was huge. Why was
AUTHOR’S POVMiro clenched his fists tightly in his palm from where he was seated on his desk as he listened to the other coworkers talk shit about Kayla. He knew how heartbroken she would be if she heard everything they were saying about her.Kayla had always been fragile even though she put up a confident front that she could never maintain in front of her father…not her father, the man who claimed to be her father.Miro hated how they talked about her as if she didn’t belong there when she was better than most of them. He hated how she had let every word from their nasty mouth make her feel lesser each day.“I bet she isn’t going to last. It’s been months and she hasn’t even managed to get a single lead. What the fuck are we supposed to do info about an arms deal? Will that get those vermin arrested?” Someone sneered, and Miro wouldn’t sit still again.“You better watch your mouth, or I’ll watch it for you” He snapped, glaring at the little group of people that huddled close to eac
KAYLAMy entire body felt heavy as I opened my eyes. I’ve been sore for a few days because of the hard floors I had been forced to sleep on and I could feel the impending sickness looming over my head.Wait…I sat up straight, looking around my environment. I was back home.I didn’t remember how I got home. The past week was so blurry, it felt like it never happened but the aching of my body and the pounding in my head said otherwise.The last thing I remembered was the interrogation room. I could still feel the anger in my blood when I thought of it.I also hated that I was getting knocked out more often than I liked, and I was getting to places without knowing how I got there.First thing I needed was some aspirin and a glass of water, so I climbed down the old bed in the bedroom and went in search of the bottle of aspirin in the bathroom cupboards.I took the drugs and took a good look at the apartment for the first time since I woke up. The apartment was a run down one, better tha
KAYLAI took a deep breath before pushing the door to the dressing room open. I had checked the time, and I had been gone for twelve days so I knew I would be getting a lot of questions.I had gone to see Leila who had become worse because of worry, and I hated myself for being the cause of a setback in her treatment. She claimed she would have come searching for me herself if she wasn’t so sick.“KayKay” Ivory exclaimed with wide eyes and ran towards me to pull me into a hug “Where have you been girl?”“We searched everywhere for you. We couldn’t reach you so we had to go to your mom in the hospital, but we shouldn’t have because she didn’t know you were missing” Diamond added.Leila hadn’t told me that they came looking for me. I was touched by the amount of worry I could see in their eyes. Except Miro and now, Leila, nobody had been worried about me.“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disappear on you guys. Something urgent came up” I lied. I couldn’t tell them the truth.“The errand you
RICARDO“Boss, you called for me?” Enzo asked, stepping into my bedroom. “Did something go wrong with the deal?”I scoffed “Do I only call you when something is off?” I asked him with surprise on my face as he took a seat.Enzo shrugged with a light chuckle “Not really. I was pulling your legs. What’s up?”“I need you to go and get Kayla from the club. She closes around 3 am so pick her up and bring her here” I instructed, ignoring the frown on his face and the way he clenched his fists immediately.“First, I am not a babysitter and second, why are you picking her up? I thought you were going to stay away?”“First I am your boss, and you would do whatever I tell you to do and second, we already decided that she isn’t a spy so I see no need why I have to stay away from her”“You are infatuated with her and I don’t know why. Sure, she has red hair but what else is special about her? There are other women you can have!” Enzo exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.“If you don’t get her
KAYLAI was done for the day but I couldn’t remember how I managed to go through the entire night because I was fucking worried and a little bit terrified.Ever since I got that message from Ricardo, my mind had been a mess, and I was sure my clients also felt it with how distracted I was the entire night.I rubbed my face, not caring if I would mess up my makeup since I was done for the night as I stumbled into the dancing room. I grabbed a glass from the table by the door and filled it with water.I took a sip of water, but it did nothing to help my dried throat. I wondered why he wanted to see me. Did he find something else that solidified their suspicions? I shook the thought out of my head. I didn’t think it was that.I also wasn’t ready to face him after the way I had lashed out the last time we had been in a room together. What if that was the reason he wanted to see me? I knew he was the type of man who didn’t tolerate disrespect from anyone no matter who they were.The dressi
KAYLAMy hand flew to my chest. His sudden appearance had startled me, almost forcing a scream from my lips.“You scared me” I whispered, eyeing him with annoyance.“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to but I called your name a few times, but you didn’t respond” he answered.I slowly nodded my head. I didn’t realize I had been so into my thoughts. “I was thinking about something”“Are you okay? You look a little pale” He reached out his hand to touch me but I took a step back, making him drop the hand.“I’m fine” I whispered. I wanted to tell him he was the reason I was so pale but I kept quiet. It would do no good.“Why did you call me here? Are you going to accuse me of something else this time or make me kill someone?” I asked sarcastically.I looked behind him hoping to see Enzo but there was no one else in the room. It was just the two of us.“Are you still bitter about that?”“Are you seriously asking me if I am still bitter about being kidnapped, locked up for days and almost forced to
KAYLAI stiffened against his lips. The action was sudden. Too fast that I couldn’t stop myself. My resistance, however, did not last as my body melted into the kiss. Ricardo’s lips were rough against mine and I could feel sparks as his hand tightened around my waist. He was my first kiss.Maybe that was why it felt right like this was meant to be, like I had been keeping it just for him. I closed my eyes and melted into the kiss. My hands reached out and I gripped the suit jacket tightly as I pulled him closer.I hated and loved the way my body hummed in delight as our tongues danced together while I moaned against his mouth. The warmth that radiated from him made me want to pull him closer.Ricardo pulled away and planted open-mouth kisses down the side of my neck and my fingers buried themselves into his hair.“You feel right, Red. Like you were met to be mine” he murmured against my skin and I jerked back, with my eyes wide in horror.My senses came back, and my heart was poundin
KAYLAFive years later Liliana barged in with Nico following her behind. She was always so extra. “ Slow down, you're going to fall at the rate you're going,” I said to her. “ Lio! I've missed you,” she hugged me dramatically. “ We met like a month ago, Lily,” I reminded her. “ Even though,” she was persistent. “ I don't think I can live without you. What if we live together?” She suggested. “ You're married, Lily,” I pursed my lips. “ We can still live in the same house,” she insisted. “ You keep forgetting that you're married and you have a child,” I have her a flick on the head. “ Nico, do you need a break perhaps?” Dealing with Liliana must be too much for him. “ Apparently, I signed up for this,” he sighed as he rocked Arianna, their four-year old daughter. She looked like Nico. “ Is she still asleep?” I lowered my tone. “ Yes. She'll be sad if she can't see you today, she was antici
KAYLATwo days later Contrary to how I thought I would feel, I didn't feel hollow or empty. I would be lying to say I wasn't sad but I also felt good that I had ended things with him. Our relationship never had a solid foundation. “ Can't believe it started out toxic and ended toxic,” I mumbled. “ What are you going on about, rambling to yourself?” Liliana said. I turned around to find her leaning against my door post. “ You startled me for a second,” I held on to my chest. “ You really should learn how to knock,” I frowned. She really had startled me. “ Yeah, yeah,” she rolled her eyes, not taking my words seriously. “ Did you want to tell me something?” I asked as she sat down on my bed. “ Yes and no,” she shrugged. “ Huh?” “ Don't think too much about your break-up with Ricardo. It was the right decision,” she said. “ Thanks,” I smiled warmly. “ I also wanted to let you in on a secret,” she leaned clos
KAYLAI tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The moment Gian had stepped out of the room, I was not able to stop myself from breaking down again.I was such a weakling. I curled into myself as I cried my heart out while being mad about myself that I couldn’t stop crying and my heart wouldn’t stop hurting.I sniffled quietly, hours or probably after minutes. It seemed my eyes had dried off and there were no longer tears for me to shed.“I hate you, Ricardo” I muttered to myself as I wiped the tears that were drying on my cheeks. My sobs had turned into whimpers without tears.“How did I get here? Was everything all for nothing?” I asked myself as I turned to my back and stared at the ceiling while my heart and head wondered where it had all gone wrong.How the hell did I fall this deep from my first mission? Love was such a bastard. I was so stupid for falling for Ricardo and thinking I had his heart after all this time.Ricardo was a hardened criminal who thought of only the fami
GIANI unlocked the door and we both went into my apartment. My legs carried me to the switch and I turned on the lights and walked in. “Do you want anything to drink?” I turned to Kayla who was still lingering by the door. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, hesitation present in her eyes but she finally made up her mind and gave a slight nod.“Come on, stop lingering like a stranger” I told her, attempting to lighten the mood but it didn’t work.She walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch while I walked into the kitchen to drink water.I may not be as drunk as I was as a result of having to go and pick her up but I was still tipsy and Kayla’s demeanor told me that I needed to be sober in case she needed me.I reached for the orange juice in the fridge because I didn’t think it is was right to give her alcohol even though she looked like she needed one.I poured the juice into a glass cup for the both of us before going back to her in the room where sh
GIANThe high-end club I loved to visit was known for its insane parties just like I love it. I knew I was drunk but I was still aware of my surroundings. Ladies swarmed me like bees and I wasn't one to complain about the attention as they took turns to grind their bodies against mine.The music was loud and I was certain I was going to have a headache tomorrow but who cares? all I wanted was to have fun right now.I leaned against the bar with a smirk on my face as the girls tried to get my solo attention. “Oh Gian, you're so hot” the blonde ladies dressed as provocative highschool girls kept fawning over me as they gave me more and more shots of alcohol. These girls were easy and worse still, some even came with their boyfriends! What a sad world. I had gotten into a few fights earlier tonight because of the boyfriends coming to talk smack at me for taking their girls. Like bro, how's that my fault? “Tell me something I don't know, ladies” I said with a smirk as I took another s
KAYLAIt was raining heavily as I drove my black car down the road. I was trying my best not to show any emotions but it was hard. I found myself unable to muster any emotions as I stared blankly at the windshield drenched in water with the wipers swinging from side to side as they attempted to clean it. Where was I even going? I asked myself but I couldn't come up with any answer. I could only drive while occasionally staring at the few cars that traveled alongside me on the dark and wet road.“F*ck you, Ricardo! F*ck you!” I cussed in mutters, trying not to let my rage get the best of me. I wanted my mind to be blank but I couldn't help myself.I was annoyed, pissed, enraged, angered….ahhhh! There wasn't any word in my freaking vocabulary to accurately describe how I felt. We were engaged for Christ’s sake. Yeah, maybe I wasn't the best partner but I did my best, didn't I? I turned my back on the government because of this man and he just casually trampled on my feelings and sa
KAYLA We talked about random things from my siblings to his siblings. He especially went on and on about his little sister, Lexi. I hadn't seen her but I knew she'd be adorable. The food showed up, a colorful spread of hot delicacies presented with style. Every dish was well seasoned and my previous distrust quickly faded. “ I really love the food,” I savored every moment of each bite. “ I'm glad you're enjoying it,” he was satisfied by my reaction. The atmosphere became more laid back as the minutes went by, as we laughed and enjoyed our dinner. By the time dessert arrived – dumplings or what they originally call Jiaozi – my initial apprehension had completely vanished. I found myself genuinely enjoying every bit of the restaurant. As we sat there, savoring the sweetness of the dessert, a comfortable silence fell on us. Axel leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on me. Looking up from my food, our eyes met and I couldn't bring myself to loo
KAYLA The motorcycle ride through the busy city streets was thrilling, giving me a brief escape from my worries. Axel parked the bike in front of a cozy restaurant on a quiet side street, bringing me a sense of relief. I had secretly been anxious about going to a fancy, high-end restaurant, fearing the expensive menu, unfamiliar rules, and possible social mistakes. “ Sometimes, I forget that I'm rich,” I sighed. Stepping off the motorcycle, I took a deep breath of the warm evening air scented with jasmine and a spicy aroma. It was a Chinese restaurant. " Ready for a surprise?" Axel asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.I couldn't help but smile back. "Always," I replied, my apprehension replaced by a sliver of curiosity.He took my hand and led me around the back of the restaurant. My jaw dropped open in surprise. A hidden fake oasis unfolded before me.The backyard of the restaurant had been transformed into a breathtaking scene. Lotus lights sparkled on
KAYLA I reappeared into the living room where we all were. I was all dressed up for the day. “ How do I look?” I asked, wanting to know their opinion. “ Great as expected but aren't you too concerned about your looks for ‘ just an outing ’ with a friend?” Renato bounced his brows. “ What would you know about girls?” I scoffed. “ We bother about things like this no matter who we're meeting,” I found a way to justify my actions. “ So why don't you want us to tell Ricardo or anyone else about your whereabouts?” Renzo probed. “ And why were you blushing and playing hard-to-get over the phone?” Now, they were just exaggerating. “ By the way, we're not against it. We're totally in support so there's no need to worry about such trivial things,” Renzo have me a thumbs up. A playful smile tugged at the corner of my lips despite my flustered state. "Don't tease," I mumbled, shoving a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "It's not a r