Calvin opened the backdoor of his car for his sister to enter. The driver was already behind the wheel. Camilla flipped her hair proper diva style, letting some strands brush his cheek and slipped into the car. He laughed. Given the valuable information she had brought to him today, he couldn’t bring himself to be bothered by her antics.
Her iPad was still with him, and he had no plans of returning it anytime soon. But as soon as he joined her in the backseat, she stretched her hand to him. “Give it back.”
“Come on. Let me hold onto it for tonight.”
Calvin wanted to read the story. Live in the world his angel created. Maybe she would explain why she left him. Perhaps he could understand how her mind worked. He also had to tell her about Diane. She meant nothing to him. They were just sex buddies.
“Nope,” his sister replied.
“I’ll get you another one.”
Tapping a finger to her pouted lips, Camilla told him, “You’ll retu
Hana burst into her sister’s room with a yell. Her phone almost fell from her hand, but she caught it before it hit the ground. Cara, who was taking a nap, roused and rubbed the back of her palm over her eyes. Hana jumped to the bed, yanking the comforter from Cara’s body. Since her sister started attending rehearsals, they hadn’t been spending as much time together. When Cara didn’t look at what Hana was showing her, she held her head steady, forcing her to look at her screen.It was Cara’s idea to put the book on pre-order so they had a chance to send ARCs and promote it before release. Hana hadn’t expected anything. The last few days since the pre-order went live, she had refreshed her page so often to see zero preorders. But today, there was one order. One person freaking paid for her book. She was one book closer to being a bestselling author.Cara had also taken charge of creating social media pages and handling it for her.
Rock, the private investigator Calvin hired, didn’t find anything useful on Angel Kent. She was a new indie author with only one book, which was set to release in June, in her name. Without a picture or her first name, it was a dead end. When Rock asked for more information, probably someone Calvin knew who was in touch with Angel, he had given out his best friend’s details.Calvin had almost disagreed with the PI’s idea of stalking Charles, but it was their only lead. Now, he had Charles’ schedule and had gotten a call from Rock alongside a picture of his best friend with a pretty lady.His lady. No one told Calvin to rush to the venue after getting that picture. He left everything he was doing to be here.Angel wasn’t the only person shocked at his presence. Destinee had tried to stop him from leaving the office, but he ignored her. Angel opened and closed her mouth.Calvin couldn’t help himself from
Words blurred on Calvin’s screen. He had no idea why he was wasting his time here when he had been unproductive for most part of the day. He peeked at his wristwatch and sighed. 1:45 pm. He had never wished for Camilla’s disturbance like he did now. He needed a distraction. Someone to pull him out of this slump he was about to slip into.His phone rang, but once he saw the name on it, he placed it face down. Charles. There was no point holding on or waiting for a girl who blatantly said she couldn’t marry him. He was doing himself no favours. So why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?The door opened, and his assistant offered him a tight smile without entering.“I was knocking, sir.”He didn’t hear. Sitting up, he grabbed the armrests and released a breath. “Come in.”Destinee walked in and dropped her tablet on his desk. He flipped it around to see the images on the screen better. Pictures of
A groan escaped Hana. She fluffed the hem of her dress and smoothened it again. Why did Charles want to see her? She already told him everything she knew about Kyle, which was so little. He had warned her to be careful around him without saying more. Now, he wanted to see her. Why? To cancel the wedding? He couldn’t. He was her only hope out of this place. If she got out, she could get Cara out and Mama too, eventually.Cars drove past theirs. People continued in different directions. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry of some sort. The tinted window shielded her from the glares and curious glances as the car curved into a busy street. It was a narrow street with cafes and shops on either side. Some people were at the tables outside, eating and talking. She saw no signs of Charles. This wasn’t his typical scene. He always preferred private spots.“Where are we going?” she asked the driver.“Almost there, miss,” the man replied.
A day had passed since Hana’s encounter with Charles. She stared at Kyle’s card, her fingertips dancing across his number. Her phone was on the table beside the card. She had typed only the first digit and panicked.“Hana?” someone called from behind. Hana looked over her shoulder as her sister charged towards her. Cara opened her mouth but stopped. Grabbing the card from the table, she screamed, “Oh my God.”Hana plugged her fingers into her ears. “What?”“You know Calvin Kyle McKenna?”Words sat in Hana’s throat, but she wasn’t sure how to voice them. She had kept her last interaction with Kyle to herself. But how did her sister know him? He was hers alone. Well, not hers, but not Cara’s, either.“You know him?” Hana asked instead.Cara laughed and settled down on the floor. Crossing her legs under her, she flipped the card upside down. “No. But
Cara sat on the bed, and Hana turned the chair so the sisters were facing each other.“That you can’t be with your soulmate.”A throb started in Hana’s chest and spread through her body. She waved her sister’s concern off with a forced smile. Love was never in the cards for her, anyway. And Kyle had given her something to remember.“It’s nothing. How was your date?”Cara blushed. She burst into a chat about her boyfriend, mentioning the little things he did that made her smile. Baba thought Cara went for rehearsals, but she was with Gavin. Only Hana knew she skipped it today. She should be happy for her sister, but she was just jealous. What if she took up Charles’ offer? He said she could sleep around, do whatever, as long as it wasn’t a scandal. The marriage was a sham, anyway.“Hana?” Her sister snapped her fingers in front of her face, and she slowly shook out of her reveri
Calvin’s phone pinged. He glared at his screen, reading and rereading the words as if expecting them to change. Charles wanted to know if he would be available to join the wedding rehearsals since he was acting as the best man. But all he could think was: how did the days go by so fast?Angel hadn’t called him, and he hadn’t bothered to ask Charles for her first name. He chose friendship over love. He shouldn’t be feeling this horrible, but his chest and heart hurt each time he thought about it.Calvin replied in the positive and shoved his phone into his pocket. Stepping away from his desk, he stopped by the window and stared at the expanse of buildings in front of him.His thoughts raged hard, and he closed his eyes. Charles wasn’t just his friend. They were also related. Their parents might have a bad history, but the kids had decided they wouldn’t let that affect their relationship. He could only hope their friendshi
Yesterday’s meeting had gone fine, perfect even. Calvin was in a good mood as he took the elevator to his office. It was 6:45 a.m., and he didn’t expect anyone to be there. But when the elevator coughed him out on his floor, the first person he saw was Destinee. She was trying to drag a table. Calvin scoffed, dropping his briefcase on the floor as he moved to help her. Destinee looked up when he pulled the other end of the heavy desk. “Sir? You don’t have to.” “I wouldn’t if you weren’t struggling,” he replied. He pushed the desk towards the wall with little to no effort. “Is that all?” “Yes, sir,” she told him. “It’s for Ivana.” Calvin thought as much. Destinee’s table was by the window, and Ivana’s closer to the wall. There was enough space between each desk to give both of them privacy. Destinee removed a coffee from the pack of four on her table and offered him one. “Thanks,” he replied. “All black?” “Yes, s