Meanwhile, Bash's mood worsened by the kind of way she apologized to Catherina. He was about to go after her, but his aunt stopped him. "Please, son, let her be." Catherine intervened. The young couple was close to her heart. "She didn't mean to be rude. You know how things are getting there in her home." "That still doesn't explain the way she talked to you." Bash exhaled harshly, looking into the hallway where his girlfriend had disappeared. Catherine held Bash's arm and made him face her. "You have to understand her side that it isn't easy for her either. She lost but didn't want the same to happen to you in your business and acting career. When you had to stay in Sao Paulo, she went places where you couldn't go to your factories, fundraising events, family gatherings, dealing with your clients, and everything. Please, don't judge her about how she talked to me just now. You should be ashamed of keeping her waiting so long to make her your girlfriend. You met her at sixteen, bu
(Present) "I love you." Emily whimpered, holding the hands of her best friend Helenite, who had an oversized coat on with a cap on her head. Helenite gritted out in a manly tone and shrugged Emily's hand away from her shoulder. "You don't say that." "Please, don't turn your back on me." Emily bit her inner cheeks while sobbing, but she flinched when suddenly her friend turned toward her. "Then what do you want me to do, Rose?" Holding Emily's shoulders, Helen jerked her with a force that poor Emily saw stars in her vision and tried not to bring that look of horror into her eyes, "Tell me. What should I do to make this pain go away from my heart?" In the backyard of Emily's house on a winter's eve in Seattle, the duo arranged a badminton night to surprise their little sister, but it all went wrong, much to their dismay. From the corner of her eyes, Emily glanced at Cheryl sitting on a chair with popcorn in her lap and instantly looked away, noticing how her sister narrowed her ga
Bash sat in his car, staring out the window at an exclusive clubhouse where he could see people queuing in front of that evening. He has owned this place since he moved to this city and brought his business here three years ago, but the headquarters was still in Texas, close to his aunt's home, who goes for his factory visit to check on the workers. Something someone close to his heart used to do for him when he was away on business trips or for his shoots, but now, it was only him and his emptiness. Emptiness? Bash snorted coldly in his mind. He didn't have time for that anymore. He worked like a freak. Even the records he made in his acting career now no one could break them, and his business. . .he would soon buy the entire swimming board in the US. "Where are you heading?" Turning his gaze from his club, Bash asked when Julian returned after answering his call. "Just have some private matter to deal with nearby," Julian said coolly. "Do you want something me to bring for you, s
Bash couldn't just believe his eyes. His mouth fell open, and he blinked twice, wanting to confirm if it was. . .her. The girl he had forever seen in a hoodie or man's clothes was now standing in her knee-length brown dress with an overcoat. Her hair, which Bash thought was short, he could tell if she untied her messy bun, it would reach to her waist. She looked a few inches shorter, which was obvious, as she was serving as a male bartender in Sao Paulo, faking it all, but she looked. . .fuller. With her vegetable bag in his hand, Bash took a few steps toward her while thinking about how that teen girl looked more like a woman now with her noticeable changes. It would be wrong to call her a teen girl back when they met. She looked somewhere between a tomboy and a schoolboy then. His eyes accessed her from head to toe, and when he again looked at her face, he found a cut on her forehead and red liquid trickling down from the left side of her face, but she looked oblivious to that! U
"Adam?" Bash received a call from his friend/business partner, who had been handling the part of the swimming in his club. "Can you tell me if all your associates will be available now? I can wait till their shift is over, but I want them in my office before seven." Standing at the side of the road, Bash talked on his phone and gestured to Julian about how it went at the drugstore, at which Julian shrugged only. Shaking his head, he leaned on the pillar at his side and faced the street where the heiress had fled with her bike. "You are in the city, Sebastian?" Adam sounded surprised. "Julian and I talked last morning, but he didn't tell me about your arrival. Anyway, I can send the six instructors on their shifts now. The session will end in a while, so. . . are you on your way here?" "I arrived last evening." Bash said, "Send your instructors into my office at the end of their shifts. I have some paperwork to finish and checked on the manager and servers about the complaints I am g
Emily lay on her face, taking the whole bed for herself. Even her jaw was killing her to support her face on the pillow for the cut on her forehead. Even a fool knows what is good for him, but Emily. . .she was beyond that. Who rides a bike at that speed after falling from it? Those four paint buckets had weight, but still, she carried them on her back. Could she go to work on Wednesday even? Birds were chirping outside like usual for biscuits. She could hear that, even though the windows were closed and the doors too, she could still smell the burnt bacon, toast, and beans in her kitchen. "Lord, Helen! The pancake batter was in the freezer!" "It's done!" Helen's scream sounded from the other side. "Hold your horses." "Yes! It's done." Her sister hollered. "Don't mind the smell. It's a glitch!" "You heard her." Helen gushed, which made Emily shake her head, snorting. It would be a hell of a job to fix her kitchen, but she could do nothing but accept this silently. At least the gi
"Yes, I am on my way to the post office. The package will be delivered in five days or so. Would that be okay?" Stopping at the side of a busy street in São Paulo, Emily turned to the side of an alley and picked up the call from her lawyer right the moment her phone vibrated in her bag. "Good job! You made our work a lot easier. Do you know that? Oh, by the way, the next hearing is next week. Your presence here is very much needed, Ms. James, even if it is your friend's parents taking her custody. Do you want me to book a ticket for you?" "I still need Grandpa's signature, ma'am." She started walking and tried hard to keep her voice even. "He knows that I am here, but he didn't allow me in his home or even let his butler tell me where they admitted Dad this time." Emily's father raised her since she was little. He was always there for her whenever she needed him. For Emily's happiness, Mr. James could give her the whole world, and he even married a woman at his daughter's wishes.
"So bothersome!" Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Emily fixed the messy pony she tied in between the crown and the nape before coming to the club. The dark shade of makeup and her dark lens hid the softness of her square face. Her strong jaw, above-average height, and tanned skin that caused the humid temperature in Brazil were a plus, and the muscle she gained from my ritual exercise, and having her apartment close to the beach, her swimming regularly helped to bring out the look of a young countryside man she wanted. If the manager of the club she works didn't promise to pay her double, she wouldn't have agreed to come to work early in the morning for the decoration for a birthday event she did in the pool bar with the help of a few of her colleagues. Months ago, seeing the praise she received from their foreign clients for the food, wine, and decor, the boss and the manager never left a chance to take advantage of her using her weakness with extra money. Then again, she ne
Emily lay on her face, taking the whole bed for herself. Even her jaw was killing her to support her face on the pillow for the cut on her forehead. Even a fool knows what is good for him, but Emily. . .she was beyond that. Who rides a bike at that speed after falling from it? Those four paint buckets had weight, but still, she carried them on her back. Could she go to work on Wednesday even? Birds were chirping outside like usual for biscuits. She could hear that, even though the windows were closed and the doors too, she could still smell the burnt bacon, toast, and beans in her kitchen. "Lord, Helen! The pancake batter was in the freezer!" "It's done!" Helen's scream sounded from the other side. "Hold your horses." "Yes! It's done." Her sister hollered. "Don't mind the smell. It's a glitch!" "You heard her." Helen gushed, which made Emily shake her head, snorting. It would be a hell of a job to fix her kitchen, but she could do nothing but accept this silently. At least the gi
"Adam?" Bash received a call from his friend/business partner, who had been handling the part of the swimming in his club. "Can you tell me if all your associates will be available now? I can wait till their shift is over, but I want them in my office before seven." Standing at the side of the road, Bash talked on his phone and gestured to Julian about how it went at the drugstore, at which Julian shrugged only. Shaking his head, he leaned on the pillar at his side and faced the street where the heiress had fled with her bike. "You are in the city, Sebastian?" Adam sounded surprised. "Julian and I talked last morning, but he didn't tell me about your arrival. Anyway, I can send the six instructors on their shifts now. The session will end in a while, so. . . are you on your way here?" "I arrived last evening." Bash said, "Send your instructors into my office at the end of their shifts. I have some paperwork to finish and checked on the manager and servers about the complaints I am g
Bash couldn't just believe his eyes. His mouth fell open, and he blinked twice, wanting to confirm if it was. . .her. The girl he had forever seen in a hoodie or man's clothes was now standing in her knee-length brown dress with an overcoat. Her hair, which Bash thought was short, he could tell if she untied her messy bun, it would reach to her waist. She looked a few inches shorter, which was obvious, as she was serving as a male bartender in Sao Paulo, faking it all, but she looked. . .fuller. With her vegetable bag in his hand, Bash took a few steps toward her while thinking about how that teen girl looked more like a woman now with her noticeable changes. It would be wrong to call her a teen girl back when they met. She looked somewhere between a tomboy and a schoolboy then. His eyes accessed her from head to toe, and when he again looked at her face, he found a cut on her forehead and red liquid trickling down from the left side of her face, but she looked oblivious to that! U
Bash sat in his car, staring out the window at an exclusive clubhouse where he could see people queuing in front of that evening. He has owned this place since he moved to this city and brought his business here three years ago, but the headquarters was still in Texas, close to his aunt's home, who goes for his factory visit to check on the workers. Something someone close to his heart used to do for him when he was away on business trips or for his shoots, but now, it was only him and his emptiness. Emptiness? Bash snorted coldly in his mind. He didn't have time for that anymore. He worked like a freak. Even the records he made in his acting career now no one could break them, and his business. . .he would soon buy the entire swimming board in the US. "Where are you heading?" Turning his gaze from his club, Bash asked when Julian returned after answering his call. "Just have some private matter to deal with nearby," Julian said coolly. "Do you want something me to bring for you, s
(Present) "I love you." Emily whimpered, holding the hands of her best friend Helenite, who had an oversized coat on with a cap on her head. Helenite gritted out in a manly tone and shrugged Emily's hand away from her shoulder. "You don't say that." "Please, don't turn your back on me." Emily bit her inner cheeks while sobbing, but she flinched when suddenly her friend turned toward her. "Then what do you want me to do, Rose?" Holding Emily's shoulders, Helen jerked her with a force that poor Emily saw stars in her vision and tried not to bring that look of horror into her eyes, "Tell me. What should I do to make this pain go away from my heart?" In the backyard of Emily's house on a winter's eve in Seattle, the duo arranged a badminton night to surprise their little sister, but it all went wrong, much to their dismay. From the corner of her eyes, Emily glanced at Cheryl sitting on a chair with popcorn in her lap and instantly looked away, noticing how her sister narrowed her ga
Meanwhile, Bash's mood worsened by the kind of way she apologized to Catherina. He was about to go after her, but his aunt stopped him. "Please, son, let her be." Catherine intervened. The young couple was close to her heart. "She didn't mean to be rude. You know how things are getting there in her home." "That still doesn't explain the way she talked to you." Bash exhaled harshly, looking into the hallway where his girlfriend had disappeared. Catherine held Bash's arm and made him face her. "You have to understand her side that it isn't easy for her either. She lost but didn't want the same to happen to you in your business and acting career. When you had to stay in Sao Paulo, she went places where you couldn't go to your factories, fundraising events, family gatherings, dealing with your clients, and everything. Please, don't judge her about how she talked to me just now. You should be ashamed of keeping her waiting so long to make her your girlfriend. You met her at sixteen, bu
"Did your dad call?" Bash heard his aunt Catherina when he stepped into the backyard garden where all her colony's children played like they usually do after school. The mansion garden had become more like a playground where their parents also came for strolling to keep their eyes on their children. Nobody is allowed to step inside the mansion unless they are family members. "No, but he will be okay." Madeline said, and Bash halted on his steps and hid behind the pillar. But Catherina's gaze didn't waver from a particular boy who couldn't be nine now sitting on a swing away from the rest and ignoring the girls who wanted to sit on his swing like usual. As if he owned that. The kind of cousin Bash got, whom his aunt adopted, reminded Bash so much of him when he was that boy's age. And the kid didn't like his would-be sister-in-law at all. "He better be," Catherina said. "Sebastian has got to clear his name himself. Those pictures were fake that he showed to your family. His direct
It was a hectic week for Bash. He didn't get much rest before meeting the cast of his films for the promotion now in Dallas. So many reporters and their questions couldn't be avoided either, the same way he tried not to be rude to answer the hosts when they brought up the stuff from his personal life that had nothing to do with his profession. The cast members were thrown in a tight spot and tormented, but they managed it like Bash did, changing the matter. "They won't let us catch a break, will they, guys?" Bash questioned absentmindedly, "Is it your fiance again absentmindedly?" "Hell, no." She laughed. "He's okay with it, despite him being a teacher. All problems come from my side. They keep the same thoughts about me as they had when I was in school. People change with time, but dad won't believe that until I get hitched." The girl at her side interjected. "Then do that. What are you waiting for, Amelia?" Amelia scoffed at her co-star, Crystal. "If he tells me, I will fly to Sy
"You are taking Julian, and this is the end of the discussion." Bash looked sternly at his mother, who was adamant about going alone to the Iglesias manor where his father and older brother would be. They had just arrived and directly drove to Emmanuel's place, and Bash didn't know why. He wasn't that interested or had the time to spare when his flight was in an hour. "We have talked about it, Sebastian. After what happened here with you, I am not leaving you with- " "You know very well this isn't the first time I have been attacked like that." He said calmly. "It was nothing new, and it happened to all of us and even to you. Don't forget why you divorced my dad. You thought it would work, but it didn't. You have enemies, and I am making mine too. You are aware of how things work in a highly profitable business. You know the risk, but you are still doing this. Please leave it here, mom. I insist. The only thing I want to do is break off the deal. But if you can't, then I will have