I took my purse from the selling counter in front of me, ready to head home. Taking a glimpse at Kenneth, I smiled a little, admiring how cute he looked, though he seemed pretty upset.
"You're okay?" I asked him, fixing my gaze at him.
He let out a sigh, as he leaned his elbow over the counter, then looked at me. "Y-Yeah. I think I am."
"You think?" I quirked a brow at him.
He looked away, staring at the fez cap which lay on the counter. Being observant, I felt like he had been avoiding me all day. First, for some reason, he wasn't looking me in the eye. Second, he wasn't beaming as usual, and was only uttering little words, as if he was paying for every word he mentioned.
"You've been acting weird," I marked out.
He laughed weirdly. "Weird? What do you mean?"
I stepped close to him. "Kenneth, you've be
I froze like a Turkey, wondering what was going on. For a second time, he pecked me. And, I couldn't help but flinch. What was with this man?"Ryan!" I cried in a whisper."What? You don't like my lips?" He teased.I turned to Ralph. For some reason, he scrunched his face as if he was irritated. "Wait, you've got a boyfriend?" He inquired.I laughed weirdly. "N-No. He's just—""You're not gonna deny me, right?" Ryan cut me off. "Why are you pretending? Just tell him about us, okay?""Ryan, are you—""Hey there." He pulled away from me. He walked to Ralph, and faced him. "Hope you're good? Nice to see you with my girl. Well, it's good that you aren't up to something.""Excuse me?" Ralph cocked a brow at him.Ryan chortled. "Sorry if I seem rude. Anyway, it was ni
Kenneth really wasn't being himself recently. After the night he and Marsha had had an argument, he had been acting so weird. I needed to know what was going on in his mind, but that didn't seem to be possible. Anytime I wanted to speak with him, he'd ignore me. This was kind of upsetting."Serene, I think I'll be leaving now." He dropped a few papers on the counter. Taking his small, leather backpack from the stool beside the counter, he slung it over his shoulder, and sighed. "Will catch up with you tomorrow. Have a good night."As he was about to leave, I stopped him, "Kenneth, wait," I said."Hm?" He turned around, his eyebrows raised at me.I walked to him, and sighed when I stood in front of him. "Guess I'll have to ask the same question over again. What's going on with you?""It's fine." He glimpsed at the floor, giving me a small smile. "I'm fine. Really
I was so puzzled, and had no idea of where to run to. I didn't want to disturb the neighborhood, but what could I do? As I ran with so much intensity, that was when my legs decided to trip against each other. I gasped, and fell to the floor like a dead leaf.Panting, I managed to sit up. I turned around to face the dogs, shaking my head at them. "Please! Don't harm me!" I cried.Of course, they didn't listen to me. They just ran towards me, and jumped over my body."Ah!" I cried. Closing my eyes, I lay on the floor, praying for a miracle to happen.What were they gonna eat first? My hair? My hands? My legs? My boobs? Or my butt?I tightened my fist, tightened my eyes. About saying my last prayer, I felt something lick the skin of my face. Dazed, I opened my eyes widely. To my surprise, the dogs were caressing my skin with their tongues. Wait, what? Okay, first,
I felt a bit disturbed, knowing that something was going on with Kenneth, Mrs. Stanley, and Marsha. Earlier, Mrs. Stanley had called them into her office, crying at them for something I didn't know. It seemed like she was complaining about some spoiled groceries. They had all seemed tense.I took my time to arrange the freshly bought tomatoes into the stalls, then moved on to cleaning the selling counters. In a few hours, I would be done working for the day. Finally, I'd be able to rest.As I wiped off the dirt on the counters, a clear memory of how Ryan had kissed me, was crawling to my head. Being frank, if I hadn't pulled away from our kiss that night, we would have ended up getting so crazy in our desire. Wasn't that cute? Yep, it made me blush.Soon, a customer walked to the counter. Once I was done packaging her purchases, I handed them over to her, then resumed cleaning the counters.
Again, and again, and again, I gulped. Wait, how in the world had he fallen for me? What was wrong with these guys? What was going on in my life? First, it had been Raymond. Then Ralph. Then Ryan. And now, Kenneth? What was all this? A love… pentagon? Four men, all in love with me? Was I Bill Gates' secret daughter or something? What was happening?!Extremely confused, I threw my hand up, violently raked my fingers into my hair. "Oh, Jesus, help me. Please, help me."Kenneth sighed. "This is it, Serene. It hurts so much when you defend Marsha. How can you expect me to like her, though I'm in love with someone else?""But, see, I need to tell you something," I announced. I wasn't in for the shitty I-love-you talks.For Jeez' sake, I had a boyfriend! A very cute, adorable, and extremely loving boyfriend. It had been a few weeks since I had been dating Ryan, over a month since I had liked h
I smiled at myself, adoring how good I looked, as I stared at my reflection in the large, rectangular-shaped mirror which was placed on the wall in front of me, in Ryan's guest room. Ryan kind of had a nice sense of fashion. The dark, shiny evening gown he had bought was very beautiful, matching the silver slingback heels I had on. The hairstylist had given me a little hair cut, and had styled my hair in wavy curls. Overall, the slight makeup on my face was perfect.I cupped my hands around my jaw, flushing like an infatuated teenager. "You're pretty," I murmured to myself."You're done?" Hearing Ryan's voice, I turned to him.He leaned his shoulder over the door frame, his arms curled around his chest. I couldn't help but notice him. The dark blue shirt he wore, matched his black chino pants and brown lace up shoes. Also, he had style his hair in classic taper cut, which made him look so handsome. 
I felt a tingling and sharp pain at the back of my head, as my eyes slowly opened. My hands felt locked in something, my legs unable to make any movement. My butt felt so hot, something pinching my lower abdomen. As I blinked, the bright light on the ceiling shone against my eyes, making me feel partially blind.What was going on?Hearing a thick, masculine voice, my eyes snapped open. Wait, why were my hands and legs tied with a rope? Why was I tied to this old, wooden chair? Had I been… kidnapped?I gasped, my eyes broadening in fear. My eyeballs scrolled through the place, my heart working at its ultimate pace. Dreaded, I took a deep breath, praying for a miracle to happen. Who had done this to me? Why would anyone kidnap me? What did they want?"When all the guests leave the hall, we'll be able to leave the hotel without being questioned by anyone," a man said. He had his back on me,
Ryan°°°°°°I requested a glass of non-alcoholic wine from the bartender, drumming my fingers against the bar counter, as I sat on one of the high bar stools by the counter. To be honest, I was quite worried that Serene hadn't gotten back yet. I wanted to check on her, but I felt like I should wait a little longer. Earlier, while we had both been at my place, she had spent a long time in the bathroom. So, what if she had constipation or something? I didn't think it'd be nice to disturb her."So, how's everything going at your office?" Sherri asked.I turned to her, trying to act like I wasn't worried. She had been talking to me for a while, which kind of kept my company. I smiled at her. "It's been going well, I guess. It's just that I'm still seeking a way to get rid of Raymond."She sipped from her glass of wine, and giggled. "I think you should resign already.
Wow, wow, wow! This book is finally complete! Thanks to God, and thanks to everyone who supported me. Your comments, suggestions, and social media follows encouraged me in the best ways. I'm very happy about this. This is literally not my longest book, but I spent about three months writing it, which is something I normally don't do. 😔 Anyway, I'm happy that it's now complete!In case you haven't checked my other books out, feel free to. All you have to do is to reach me out on my social media.Facebook Author page: Author Praise OdulesiFB group: Praise FamIG: official_praise_ewa(The Facebook is my preference, please.)Also, if you spotted any error(s) while reading it, I'm sorry about that. I'll edit it as soon as I can.I really enjoyed writing Ryan and Serene's story. It was a nice journey! However, for some reasons, I feel like writing a second book for them. Also, I
Being my husband's secretary was something that wasn't close to being easy. First, we usually got distracted at work, being a lovey-dovey. And, second, I felt like I was being too focused on work, so I didn't have enough time to spend at home. However, it made us spend so much time with each other. That was a good part of it.I turned to the rectangular shaped mirror beside my desk, fixed my hair in a jiffy, and added some makeup to my face. Taking a glance at the black, evening gown I was wearing, I smiled. Ryan would be so excited and proud to see me looking this beautiful.I grabbed my purse, making my way to the main hall of the company. Stepping into the hallway, my personal assistant walked behind me."Mrs. Arthur, are you sure you won't need any other thing?" She asked."No, no." I walked into the elevator. I glimpsed at her, crouching a little so I'd adjust my shoe. It
There was something wrong with his voice. It sounded different. It wasn't just about its shakiness or hoarseness."Serene," he called again.Dreaded, I summoned some courage to take a glance at his face. I moved my neck slowly, pushing him a little. My eyes catching the green color in his, I gasped. I gawked as well, holding onto him as he almost fell. He shut his eyes, and maybe passed out."Kenneth!" I cried. "Ryan, come over here! Hold him for me!"As soon as I said that, Ryan hurried over to me. He held Kenneth, and let him lay on the floor, just close to Jessica. They were both bleeding, but Jessica was still conscious. "Call the ambulance," he ordered."Stop! Leave me, you idiots!" I turned to Sherri when I heard her scream. She was struggling with the police, wailing at the top of her voice, crying her eyes out. "I swear, this isn't the end! I'm gon
Ryan sister was as fun as him. It hadn't even been a day since I had met her, yet we had grown pretty close to each other. Between, she was very pretty, maybe not as pretty as Ryan, but definitely pretty. They had similar characteristics. Her hair was brown, her nose straight and shiny like olive oil on a metal surface. Anytime my eyes caught the beautiful, blue color of those eyes, it felt so much like I was staring into Ryan's eyes. Though she was a mother of two pretty girls, her slim and model-like shape was still intact."Tell me." She winked, the corner of her lips curling up in a small smirk. "Does Ryan ever buy you jewellery?"I glanced at Ryan, and chuckled weirdly. "Well, your brother is slowly learning how to be romantic. Don't blame him for not knowing these things.""Oh, really?" He held my arm, clinging me to him. "Wait, so, I'm supposed to buy her jewelries? I didn't think about that. She hardly ever
Life could be boring when one was alone and jobless. As expected, yeah, I had lost my job. Last two nights, James had called me over the phone, and had cursed me so badly. I was pretty sure he hadn't dared to call Ryan. Ryan, on the other hand, was missing. Goodness knew what was up with him. He didn't even care to call and ask about me or my parents. Well, he had probably left forever. Though I wasn't ready to, I guessed I would have no choice but to move on."Hey, aunty!" I flinched on hearing that voice. With a small smile hanging on my lips, I turned to my tiny nephew who ran towards me."David." I put him on my lap, pecked him on the forehead, and tweaked his cheek. "How're you, my love? Did you have fun at the park?""Yes, I did.""Happy Birthday in advance." I smiled widely at him. "My sweetie's gonna be four.""Yes! I'll be a big boy!" He rejoiced, throwing hi
The officer cleared her throat for a second time, and started, "From the footage we got, we weren't able to see the vehicle's number plate properly. But, we were able to scrutinize the picture of the vehicle, as much as we could. Only two days ago, one of our experts suggested that we took a survey. We went around the town, in search of a vehicle salesperson. The vehicle seemed pretty new, so we guessed that it was bought only a few days before the day of the incident."Serene sobbed from behind. She kept quivering, and though I didn't appreciate that, I wasn't ready to comfort her. Right now, she seemed disgusting. It hurt that I couldn't contain this ruckus. It was her fault."So, what happened?" She asked the officer, her voice low and scattered."With the help of an old salesman, we found out that his retired coworker still sold vehicles, though that is pretty illegal. We visited his friend, and gently as
Ryan°°°°°°I knew it. I just knew it. I knew I shouldn't have fallen in love.Love was stupid, annoying, gross, vile, filthy, and every other bad words it could be called. I fell in love at thirty, and almost at the age of thirty two, the love betrayed me. This had always been my fear. A fear that came to reality.This hurt. So much.Why would Serene do this to me? Our love felt so real. Day by day, I fell in love with her even more. In the best ways, I made her feel special. People said it wasn't only about buying gifts and spending money on one's lover, so I tried my best to always make her feel special.Why would she deceive me? Why would she ditch me? Couldn't she have given me a second chance? What else did she want? I had tried my best, hadn't I?Walking into my kitchen, feeling so frustrated
Finally, the day had come. I had been counting the hours until my marriage to him. Now was the time. The time for a turn around in my life. Only a few minutes left. This felt so unreal. Everytime I thought about it, the fear jerked in my chest. I just wanted it to happen already. I wanted to be convinced that I had accepted my fate.Sitting on the chair in front of this huge mirror in James' dressing room, I stared at my reflection via it. I looked so beautiful, as beautiful as an angel. But, the smile was missing. The great makeup on my face couldn't hide my weariness. I felt quite depressed. Yes, I deserved to feel this way."Hey, friend." Sherri walked to me. She stood behind me, put her hands on my shoulders, smiling at me via the mirror. "Hm… see who looks cute? It's good that Ryan wouldn't be coming around. If he was, he would definitely stare at you all through the wedding. That'd make James jealous."
He remained silent. He was obviously shocked.I looked away, slipped on my jacket, trying to act like I wasn't remorseful in any way. "I know you're surprised. But, please, accept this. I wanna move on."After a while of staying silent, he threw his head back, and burst out laughing. I let my tears go down my throat, curled up my hands in a fist, waiting for his next reaction. He was laughing, I understood that. He was only trying to be hopeful."Are you this crazy?" Done laughing, he put his hands in the pocket of his pants, smirking at me. "What's with this sudden joke? Alright, I get it. We've not been so good these days, so you're like, trying to pull my legs."I scoffed. "This is just the problem. How can you claim you love someone, and never know how to study the person's body language or emotions?""Don't start with this again." He rolled his eyes.