That night I somehow managed to make it back to the mansion without running into anyone. When I arrived back in my bedroom, I took off my dress and just climbed into bed. I felt so cold, and I was certain that it wasn’t just from being in the rain. There was so much coldness inside of me, and I had never felt this empty inside before.
I didn’t remember much of what happened for the remainder of that night and it was probably because I didn’t want to remember. My eyes hurt from crying non-stop, but it was nothing compared to the pain that was tearing at my heart. I couldn’t recall when I fell asleep, but I remembered clearly how I fell asleep. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore and then I fell asleep.
…
Morning finally came and the sunlight that shone through the window onto my face was merciless. One glance at the time and I knew that I had gotten up late. It was already close to midday. I got up and the blanket
Breathing out another sigh, I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. There really isn’t anything left here. The empty room just acted as another proof that Reiner had truly disappeared from my life. I ran my fingertips along the table and imagined Reiner sitting on the chair as he spoke to me while I rested on his bed.I remembered the first time he let me through the door when I was literally running away from my own nightmare. How he comforted me and held me until I fell asleep in his arms. The warmth in his arms and the kindness and care that I felt were feelings that I would never be able to forget.I glanced at the floor in front of the door, remembering him sleeping there, sitting with his back against the door as he safeguarded me from any harm that may venture in from outside. He was definitely not a man of many words, but his actions spoke so much louder than words anyways.Before I knew it, tears were streaming down
It’s been exactly one month since Reiner moved out of Lucien’s mansion and stopped being my butler and bodyguard. Yes, unconsciously I had been counting.“Natalia…are you even listening? Natalia…” Edward said as he waved a hand in front of my face.“Oh, sorry. What?” I said as I snapped out of my thoughts.“Why are you so spaced out?” Edward asked, looking quite concerned.“Umm…sorry. What were you saying just now?” I asked as I blinked my eyes rapidly to regain focus.Edward sighed so loudly that I felt extremely guilty. I had decided to meet up with Edward today to discuss some career plans. Edward truly came prepared with a pre-selected list of potential job opportunities that he thought were aligned with what I was looking for. While he was going through the list of job openings and the pros and cons of each opportunity, I just zoned o
“I’m hanging up,” Reiner stated passively.“Don’t you want to know how she’s doing?” Edward asked.“I’m sure she’s doing well and if she isn’t, you’ll take care of her, won’t you?” Reiner replied.“I don’t know…she’s like a shadow of herself right now and she’s lost quite a bit of weight. Obviously, not healthy considering she was quite slim before…” Edward said, not hiding the concern in his voice.“You should take her to see a doctor…” Reiner stated matter-of-factly.“You’re leaving her to me now, are you?” Edward asked, not truly believing what he was hearing.“Yeah…” Reiner said before disconnecting the call. He didn’t want to hear anymore, and he didn’t have anything more to say either.Edward st
Zak was spot on. The news of him turning down his promotion made the news and was all over television. The worst part that both Zak and I had anticipated was that the press would draw implications from Zak’s recent decision to his mother, Madame Francesca.“Do you think that this will impact your mother’s influence on the company’s management?”“Is it true that you and Madame Francesca is in a disagreement about the future direction of the company?”“Will this have an impact on investors’ sentiments? How does management plan to deal with it?”“Does this mean that you no longer intend to support the company’s marketing and PR efforts? What about the international expansion plans?”“Is Madame Francesca’s branch of the family going to withdraw from active management of the company?”It was amazing how Zak could stand unfazed with a
“Excuse me! Zanita…” I yelled loudly.I didn’t hear a reply though.“Anybody out there? Is something burning?!” I tried again.Still, there was no reply. Suddenly, I felt that something was wrong. It’s too quiet and the smell of something burning was getting stronger. The dress I had on was slightly on the tight side and I started wriggling out of it so that I could change back to my original outfit. However, something caught my eye that changed my plans immediately.I gasped as I saw smoke coming in through the cracks in the dressing room door. There’s a fire?!This can’t be happening. Now that I can see smoke, the smell of something or everything burning got stronger than ever. Was the boutique really on fire? Where is everyone else?Truth be told, I had absolutely no idea what to do in an event of a fire. I’m supposed to get low and avoid breathing
“I bet you already know who’s behind this,” Edward said, his tone evidently darkened.“I do. Unfortunately, I don’t have any solid proof,” Zak said followed by an exasperated sigh.“This is precisely why I hate this family. Enemies are lurking all around us,” Edward hissed.“It’s my fault. All of this is my fault,” Zak said as if he was speaking to himself and his own demons.“Now now, don’t be too harsh on yourself. I’m sure Natalia will wake up in no time. That girl is stronger than you think,” Edward said as he tried to cheer up both Zak and himself.“Let’s send her away…” Zak whispered so softly that Edward had trouble hearing him.“…What?” Edward said in confusion and disbelief.“…nothing…” Zak mumbled his reply.Edwar
“Her injuries from the fire aren’t as bad as you think. The doctors also think that she will wake up soon. She’s just suffering from shock and there shouldn’t be anything really wrong with her brain,” Zak said as he approached Natalia’s bed and stood next to it. “I see…” Reiner murmured. He wasn’t exactly relieved. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. The fire wasn’t a mere accident. Edward and I have been investigating with our teams,” Zak said solemnly. “Arson…” Reiner whispered. “Yup. I’m convinced that it’s arson, but I don’t have solid proof right now,” Zak said before pressing his lips into a thin line. “I see…” Reiner said softly. Both men stood next to each other in silence for a while as they both looked down at Natalia’s partially bandaged face. Their minds filled with their own thoughts and emotions. However, it was Reiner who spoke up first. “Why did you send me the message?” Reiner asked. “To save you some time. You would have come to see her sooner or l
It’s so hot…My eyes are burning…I can’t breathe…Somebody please…help me!R! Reiner…“R!” What just happened? It’s so dark, I can’t see anything……Reiner got up from where he was seated close to her bed immediately when he heard his name being called. His eyes widened in shock as he stared down at Natalia who was stirring as if waking from a deep slumber. Not making a sound to announce his presence, Reiner reached for the button close to her bed and pressed it to call the nurse. Natalia continued to stir and mumble his name softly as if she was desperately calling for him. However, Reiner has decided against revealing his presence to her so that she could focus on her recovery. It had been almost two full days since he had been watching over Natalia in the hospital. He was overjoyed that she had finally regained consciousness. The door opened and a nurse quickly came into the room and gestured for him to quickly step aside. Reiner did as he was instructed. He stepped away from t