Noémie squeezed her eyes shut as tears leaked freely. The two sisters hugged in the middle of the café, with no care for the world around them.It was only when Claudia pulled away and allowed Noémie to sit at the table she’d reserved that Noémie could finally get words out."It’s so good to see you, Claudia. How have you been?""How have I been?" Claudia repeated, exhaling in frustration as she took a seat across from her. "Worried sick, that’s how. What kind of stupid question is that?""You know what I mean," Noémie muttered under her breath, feeling apologetic."Do I?" Claudia raised an eyebrow, giving her sister a look that made Noémie regret all her decisions. "Anyway," she ran a hand through her hair, looking tired. "You said you had something to talk about. What is it? Is everything alright?"Noémie knew she shouldn’t have disappeared the way she did. It was wrong. Unfair to her family. To Claudia. They were all her well-wishers, and she should have done more for them instead
The moment Noémie walked in through the main door, she was startled to find Mrs Halest pacing the hall.Her one hand was on her hip as she talked over the phone, appearing distraught.However, as soon as her gaze arrived at Noémie, the older woman paused, gawked at her with an open mouth, and exclaimed. “Jesus!”Almost jogging over to her, Sonia Halest pulled her in a desperate hug.“Noémie!” she hailed breathlessly, relief washing over her voice in gallons. “You came back! We thought…we thought you left. God, what a fright! You scared the bejesus out of me!”Pulling away, Sonia Halest took out her phone again. “I should call Vince to let him know you’re back. They both went out to look for you.”Well, that was unexpected. Why did they…ohOh, no. Did he…did he think she left, too? Why didn’t this cross her mind before? That he could think of something like that? Then again, he could have just called her. Why didn’t he?Wait. Where was her phone? She acutely remembered taking it with h
When she could do nothing but drop her gaze and open and close her mouth like a fish out of water, Ajax grabbed her hand and lifted it.From his pocket, he pulled out something and slapped it on her palm.Noémie only spared that thing a brief glance, and she knew what it was.The sight of her phone only made her feel worse.How did he even find it? She asked herself. As if to answer the questions she could not dare to ask aloud, he drew his hand back and dropped to his side, fingers clasped so tight that his knuckle appeared white.“Found it on a cab driver,” he said through a tightly clenched jaw. “At the airport.”Noémie expected to hear the anger in his voice. She expected to see the fury burning in those dark eyes. It would have been so much better to hear him screaming and making a fuss over her carelessness.But no.Surprising her for the thousandth time, Ajax sounded anything but angry. He sounded disappointed. He sounded sad. Maybe angry, too, but Noémie could see—could feel—t
Mentally, Noémie flinched. Her legs shook.Still, she refused to take back her words. Perhaps it was because of everything Claudia had said (she reminded her of the lively girl she used to be), or maybe because she was fed up with being cornered again and again and again.No matter what the reason was, she didn’t want to feel like this—like she did something wrong; like she was answerable for every little pleasure she sought for herself. She was not. This was her life, too. He didn’t own her. He had no right to make her feel small every time he saw fit.“All I’m saying,” she gulped, picking her gaze from her lap and meeting his. Doing her best to not cower away. “All I’m saying is that I only went to see my sister. I’m fine. I ate well. I took care of myself. I agree. Yes. I might not have kept you in the loop. But I don’t think I’m bound to do everything according to your liking. I’m not a prisoner. Just because I have agreed to your norms and I don’t fight back, doesn’t mean you cou
“Noémie!” she heard him say, felt him close the distance between them. “Calm down!”She shook her head, almost violently, and staggered backwards. Trying to get away from him, escape him, not wanting to be anywhere near him.But when he still didn’t take a hint and held her by the waist to steady her, she shoved him away and screamed as loudly as her aching lungs could bear out.“GO AWAY! Don’t come near me! No. Go! I don’t. I don’t need you. Just LEAVE!”To her dismay, no matter how much she pushed and thrashed her hands around—beat the hell out of his chest—he stood like a damn wall.Unmoving. Unblinking.Not even flinching when, in her futile attempt to shoo him away, her hand struck his cheek, and his face swung to the other side.The sound of her palm against his cheek had her pause for a slight moment, her chest heaving with how much worked up she was.Heavy tears swam in her deep brown eyes, smearing her sight.A small part of her expected him to grow hot under the collar, to l
Ajax laid her on the bed with so much care that not even her eyelashes fluttered while she slept like a baby.For a long minute, he stayed seated by her side.Just watching her with those quiet eyes and feeling his own heart shatter at the sight of her tear-stained face.He was aware that he shouldn’t have pushed her, that it was unfair to her after everything she had been through. All alone.But he also knew if he hadn’t done what he did—no matter how much it hurt him to do this to her—it was only a matter of time before she would have lost her real self completely and would have been stuck with this weak identity for the rest of her life.There was a dire need for her to take it all out. To address her pain and feel better—she deserved to feel better, no matter if he had to take a fall for it.She might probably hate him for it. But he was alright with it. He would do it all over again if it meant for her to feel better, that it would heal her wounded heart.Silently, Ajax sucked in
Ajax pulled up the car to the side of a deserted road.Beneath the dark sky and the fuzzy brilliance of twinkling stars, he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the surrounding area.He made sure no one followed him as he strode down the checkered footpath, wondering about millions of things in his head.It probably took a few more minutes, but when he reached the desired spot and sat down on the bench that overlooked the murky lake and the glistening city beyond, he peered down to check the time and sighed into his chest.Another minute passed in pure silence, with only crickets chirping and the distant honking of cars and ambulances. Just when he craned his neck to check the time again, a shadow of another man appeared behind him.Ajax did not even peek at his side when the stranger took a seat on the other end of the bench, his ankle boots creaking against the twigs of dried leaves and concrete.The cool breeze of midnight nuzzled the tips of their hair as they both sat in silence, wa
The next time when Noémie woke up after one hell of a night and clash with Ajax, she felt even more miserable.Her eyes felt heavy and weary and sleep-deprived, even though she had slept through the whole night till noon the next day.Despite Mrs Halest’s best efforts, Noémie refused to leave the bed. And if Sonia Halest and the maids did manage to coax her to shower and change into fresh clothes, she declined their pleas to step out of her room.She didn’t feel like going anywhere or doing literally anything.All she wanted was to stare into nothing and just cuddle a pillow and stay in bed.Seeing Noémie so pained, Mrs Halest rescheduled the doctor’s appointment and told Noémie, with all the love and care she had in her heart, that she should rest, as much as she wanted, and that she would be right outside if the young woman needed anything at all.Noémie could only nod and offer a small smile.Something Mrs Halest felt was forced, never reaching her eyes.———Later that day, when Aj
Claire hadn’t expected Vincent to prepare the contract so soon. It took her by surprise when the same delivery men appeared at her grandma’s place the next day and brought her back to the old Halest Villa.According to the giant clock hung in the drawing room, it was exactly 9 o’clock in the morning. The old Halest Villa was dreadfully quieter than the previous day. The maids and guards were the only people she noticed since the moment she walked in and took a seat on the couch, waiting for Vincent to make an appearance.Claire was nervous. Her legs were shaking with anxiousness after every passing second. The conversation she had with Marvin the previous day didn’t make her feel any better either. It made her feel even worse. She knew she shouldn’t be hiding something so important from Vincent—especi
[Nine Months Ago]A man in a white lab coat punched a six-digit code and waited calmly as the heavy metal door groaned and slowly slid open. Behind him, two tall and hefty men stood. One of them carried an unconscious woman in his arms.The door revealed a restless lab, with men in similar lab coats bustling here and there. The pungent scent of chemicals and something acidic hung heavy in the air.As the three men entered the lab, the man in the lab coat paused and lifted a hand to guide the two large men.“Take her to cube number five,” the man said, and without waiting for a response, headed in the opposite direction.The two hefty men followed the order and stationed the unconsci
Marvin pursed his lips, settling back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. “Fine. Let’s talk about something else, then.”Just by the shift in his tone, Claire could tell what was coming next.“Would you like to explain that video about your pregnancy?”“Not really.”“Claire!”Claire groaned and held her head in her hands. “Why do you even care?”“You’re doing that to get that Halest boy, aren’t you?”“So what?”“You need to let him go!”“I can’t. You know I…I can’t do that.” How could he even ask her such a thing?“It’s not fair to him, Claire. He doesn’t know—”“He doesn’t have to know.”“Claire!” He leaned forward, his gaze hopeful and brimmed with concern. “Don’t do this. You’re just hurting yourself. And him. It’s not fair…” He reached out and cupped the back of her hand with his. “…to you, too.”Claire yanked her hand away. “Drop the act, Marvin. We both know you don’t give a crap about me.”“I don’t know what I’ve done to make you feel like this.”“Are you serious?
The second the elevator doors of Grandma’s apartment building opened, Claire groaned at the sight of Marvin, her older brother. God, what was he doing here? she thought to herself.After the intense conversation with Vincent, the exact delivery guys dropped her back at the place they picked her up from.“What are you doing here?” she asked exasperatedly as she shuffled out of the elevator while rubbing her temple.At the sight of her, Marvin peeled his back off the wall and stood up straighter. “I’ve been out here for almost an hour,” he grumbled. “Where have you been?” Adjusting the collar of his shirt, he demanded with a deep frown.“First off, that’s not the answer to my question,” she paused in front of him to fix him with an annoyed look. “And second, why are you outside again?”In response to her question, Marvin only sighed deeply in his chest, scratching the back of his neck. “She won’t let me in,” he muttered with a shake of his head, clearly talking about Grandma. “I would h
“Not to me, but to yourself.” Stepping away, he yanked her hands away from his shirt. “You always tell yourself these sweet lies and find comfort in them, Claire. You think you’ve changed, but you’re still the same.” Turning on his heels, he ran a hand through his hair. Frustrated.“Vincent…”“This time you went too far, Claire. Too far. You dragged my family into this. I’m not sure if I can ever forgive you for misleading them with your fucked-up lies.”“Don’t say that, Vince. I did this for you. For us.”“Stop it, Claire!” He snapped, wanting nothing more than to yank his hair out. “Just stop it!”Rushing to him, she hugged him from behind. More tears flowed through her red-rimmed eyes. “I know what I did
Claire knew she had gone too far. She knew what came out of her mouth was bound to fuck everything up. Even more than her situation already was. Vince would hate her. He didn’t have to spell it out for her to know she was only worsening her impression in his eyes.What other choice did she have, though?She was running out of not only time, but also options. Patience was her least remarkable character trait, after all. And when it came to Vincent, her patience grew even thinner. So much time she had already wasted in coming to her senses that now every second she had to stay away from him felt like a stab of the knife straight to her heart.Perhaps that was the reason that when Ajax dismissed her and she was led out of the study by a maid, she wasn’t surprised—or let out even a squeak in protest—when Vincent grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the closest empty room.
[Six Months Ago]After seeing off her husband at the airport for a two-days business trip, when a woman named Susan Green returned to her apartment, she barely kicked off her shoes and filled herself with a glass of water when a knock on the door arrived.Unsure of who it might be at the lunch hour, she opened the door only to find no one outside.Susan frowned. She was pretty sure she had heard the knock. Not once. Not twice. But thrice. Someone had knocked at the door thrice. Wondering if the kids in the building had once again picked up the bad habit of annoying the random neighbours, she closed the door and locked it.However, just when she hoped to get back to the kitchen counter and grab herself a glass of water, her gaze fell on the yellow manila envelope on the floor. It looked like someone had slipped it inside from under the door
Claire did as she was told. Quietly, she pulled the back of the chair and sat down with her fingers tightly laced with each other.For a long minute, no one said anything. The only sound in the room seemed to be the ticking of the clock. The tension in the room felt tighter and thicker than she had ever experienced. When someone did speak, it came from her left where Sonia Halest sat.“Is it true?” The older woman asked with a frown.Before Claire could clarify what the question was regarding, Vincent beat her to it.“Of course, it’s not!” He snapped, pounding a fist on the desk and glaring at Ajax. “Did you even hear a word I said? It’s all a lie. There’s nothing between us.”“Vince…” Claire tried to say when he spun his head and glared at her.
Claire sighed into her chest and felt her back slump against the door. Her heart ached to see him this mad at her. She wondered what could she possibly do to make things back to normal between them.On second thought, things had never been normal between them. Perhaps that was the reason she felt so clueless and hopeless and helpless. She did not have a single clue what could she say or do to make him love her the way he did once. Had she taken too long to come to her senses? Was it possible that he liked someone else now?Claire hated the idea of Vince being with some other woman. No. That would not do. He only belonged to her. He only loved her. Sure, he was refusing to admit that right now, but she wasn’t planning on giving up on them soon. She would make him hers, no matter what price she had to pay.With that determination in her heart, she sucked in another deep breath