MAE"And who might this be?" Her voice is smooth, laced with curiosity that doesn't quite reach her eyes. It's clear she's sizing me up, trying to figure out how I fit into the picture."This is Mae, my new personal assistant," Sin explains, his tone casual yet firm, as if establishing boundaries.Evelyn's smile doesn't waver, but there's a flash of something else in her eyes, surprise? Annoyance? It's hard to tell. "Personal assistant?" she echoes, her gaze lingering on me for a moment longer than necessary. "You employed her?" She asks Sin with a surprised look."Yes," Sin responds, maintaining his composure, his voice carrying a note of finality that seems to subtly mark the boundaries of this conversation. "She comes highly recommended. Her expertise and efficiency are exactly what Hayes Tech needs right now."Evelyn's eyes narrow slightly, but her smile remains intact, so intact that it feels fake, "Well, then, Mae," she says, turning her full attention towards me, "Welcome to H
SINIt has been five hours since Evelyn left my office and Mae hasn't said a word about Evelyn showing up here so early, instead, she has spent the past hours working on the files. I don't know why but I expected a reaction from her and not getting one has made me quite uncomfortable like I have been caught doing something wrong.I find myself adjusting the collar of my shirt and at some point rolling up my sleeves. Ain't women supposed to be bothered by situations like this? It is evident Mae could sense something was up with Evelyn and me, yet, she remained silent. Evelyn. Why is she back in town? I should have known her decision to not come back to town last night was all a lie. I run my finger through my hair leaning back on the seat as I glance over at Mae. She bites softly on the top of her pen, her eyes glued on the files in front of her. I clear my throat, breaking the silence that has settled between us. "You can take a break," I inform her, checking the time on my wristwat
~ THIRD PERSON'S POV ~After Evelyn left Hayes Tech, she made a phone call to her father and informed him she was back in town, then she got into her car and headed back home. On arriving home she found Jason waiting patiently outside in his car, a smile found its way on her lips as she highlighted from her car and walked up to him. "Don't you think it's risky having me come here?" Jason asked, checking the time on his wristwatch. He had been waiting for close to two hours and was at the point of calling Evelyn to ask her if they could meet in another location downtown."It's not risky, I am just coming into town, the only person aware of my arrival is Sin and for the record, he doesn't come around here," Evelyn replied walking into the house, Jason followed behind still on alert, he looked around the neighborhood hoping no one had caught sight of him, the last thing he wanted was Mae finding out of his meeting with Evelyn. With the door securely locked behind them, Evelyn led Jason
MAEWhat was I thinking asking him that silly question I thought to myself as I walked towards the elevator. Love? What was I expecting him to say about it? That he loves me? I shouldn't have, knowing how he has constantly reminded me that the only thing tying us together is the contract. I just felt upset by how close he seemed with Evelyn and that had gotten to me. Despite his reassuring words that he has not been with any other woman but me. I don't feel completely happy about the situation, to him it must just be a one-time thing. Someone he can easily toss away when he gets bored, his parents hate me, they would never approve of our relationship that's if there is even one in the first place. I sigh as the elevator door opens, stepping in, I remind myself to keep things professional from henceforth and not bring up such topics again in the future. As the elevator door closes, two ladies rush in giggling and laughing. I take a step back creating some space for them. "Did you h
MAE"I thought she wasn't anything like her sister but turns out I was wrong, I wonder how she got the job as Sin Hayes's assistant. I have been applying for months and they keep rejecting my application.""Are you new here? She is sleeping with him, and it won't be long before Sin will use her and throw her away like the useless thing that she is," Mia replies. Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and my heart sank to my stomach. Is that really what people thought of me, a woman who slept her way to the top?Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to spill over. I quickly turn to walk away unable to bring myself to go in and create a scene. It's my first day after all and creating a scene would only cause more rumors to spill about me.As I turn, I nearly fall to the ground but I am saved halfway by a firm grip to my waist. "Are you okay Ma'am?" Ryder asks, a surprised look on his face."What are you doing here? Did Mr. Hayes instruct you to bring anything to the media team?""Em
SIN"With the recent arrest of your father and the apology video, I believe it's fair to say that your company is still facing some backlash and this might affect my business if I choose to work with you," Mr. Saviano says leaning back into his seat. I was surprised when they told me Mr. Saviano had come with his assistant for the briefing. He was known to come only for the actual meeting and most times he didn't even bother coming for any of them."I understand your worries Mr. Saviano but I can reassure you that all issues related to that incident have been resolved," I say. "Right now we should concentrate on building our partnership for the progress of both companies.""I'm not saying I don't believe you, but actions speak louder than words. Your company's reputation has been tarnished and that's a fact," Mr. Saviano says. "I'm not sure if I can afford to risk my company's image by associating with yours.""I assure you that we are taking every step possible to repair our reputat
SIN"I suspect Mia, from the freelance team," Ryder replies immediately. "Mia, Mia who?" Being the CEO doesn't exactly come with the skill of remembering everyone's name, I always commend Ryder for his ability to remember their names and sometimes a bit about their background. "Mia Thompson," Ryder clarifies. "She's been with us for about six months now, mostly handling our social media content and campaigns.I nod, "Handle it, Ryder. I want a report on my desk by tomorrow morning. And make it clear to everyone that this is a lesson."Ryder nods, his expression serious. "Understood, I'll take care of it."I put my hand over my lips thinking about Mae working here, it won't be long before I will have to face more people like Mr. Saviano who won't accept Mae working here. I will have to figure out a way to keep her reputation intact and not associated with Lily. Ryder's phone suddenly rings, he reaches into his pocket and brings it out to check the caller ID. "It's Miss Evelyn Scott,
THIRD PERSON'S POV"Is he dead?" Jason panicked as he stared at Sin's lifeless body in the back of Evelyn's car. When Evelyn called him to meet up at a restaurant, he was not pleased by the idea because he assumed Evelyn was up to no good but this was far worse than he imagined. "Can't you see he is breathing?" Evelyn questioned, she rolled her eyes at Jason's behavior and closed the back door of the car. "What the hell were you thinking?" Jason asked running his finger through his hair. He knew that involving Evelyn was risky but this just proved how risky it was to have gotten her involved. "Could you stop overacting?" "Overacting? Did you just say overreacting? You have a half-dead Sin in the back of your car and I am the one overacting?" Jason yelled. "What if he dies? Do you know what that means for you?" "Us, you mean us because we are in this together," Evelyn reminded him. "My plan wasn't to kill him," Jason countered still in disbelief. "I only drugged him, okay? He is
NOAH"Noah, I know what happened. I remember everything. And I know you saved my life. But that doesn't give you the right to leave me without a word. To break our engagement and walk away. You need to understand, I thought we had something real. Something worth fighting for," she says, her voice cracking with emotion.I nod, feeling a pang of regret. Of course, what we had was real, I sent her 500 million without batting an eye, all I wanted at that moment was her and it still is, but I..."Aria, I know I made a mistake. I owe you an explanation. I just... I don't want you to get hurt because of me, I don't want your parents to..." Aria closes the distance between us placing her hand on my cheeks, I feel the warmth of her hand zapping away the frustration and anger building up inside of me from what had happened that day and how things could have turned out worse."So, what? You are going to be a coward by allowing Melissa to get into your head.""She killed two women I was involved
NOAHI thought falling in love was complicated, no, it's loving them from a distance that is quite complicated, seeing them and being unable to hold them, touch them, or even talk to them.I've been away for two weeks, trying to clear my head and make sense of everything. The investigation, Melissa's arrest, Aria's coma... it's all been too much. I know I shouldn't have left without talking to Aria, but I couldn't bear the thought of hurting her more than I already have. I've been watching her from afar, making sure she's safe and recovering well. But now, as I'm back in town, I know I will need to face her soon. As I step towards my car at the airport, I'm bombarded by reporters. "Noah, how does it feel to be back?" "Noah, what's your response to the allegations?" "Noah, are you dating anyone new?" I ignore them and rush to my car, but one of their questions strikes a nerve in me, "Do you think Melissa will have the new person in your life killed?"I turn to stare at the reporter
ARIA"Where is Noah? Is this a joke because I do not find it funny," it's been one month, one fucking month, and the first thing he decides to do instead of being right here with me, holding my hands and comforting me is to run away and give them some stupid rule over what? "What did I do? If anyone should be keeping any distance, it should be me, his psycho friend tried to kill me," I yell."A lot of Noah's flings have all suffered their fair share, Melissa has been secretly fucking up their life. The moment she finds out they are involved with Noah," Arthur explains. "The investigation found out that two of the girls died, they were able to trace it back to Melissa," he adds.I feel a chill run down my spine as I process this information. Noah's flings? How many girls has he been involved with? Two of them are dead? And all this happened while I was in a coma.My mind is racing with questions, but before I can ask any of them, Arthur drops another bombshell."Melissa had the inten
ARIAThey say a near-death experience is different for everyone, I have read that some people wake up not remembering anything leading to their accident. The last thing I remember is seeing Noah's face before blacking out, but the memories are still sharp in my head.I wake up to the beeping of machines and the antiseptic smell of a hospital, which I hate. I try to sit up, but a sharp pain in my stomach makes me wince. I look down to see my stomach is bandaged, I look around, disoriented, and see my mother sitting in a chair beside my bed, her eyes red and puffy from lack of sleep.She gasps as she sees me awake and trying to sit up, "Aria, my child, you are awake, you are awake" she yells standing on her feet, relief washing over her face.I try to speak, but my voice is hoarse and barely audible. My mother rushes out of the room and I can hear her screaming at the top of her lungs for the doctors to come, she soon comes back in with not only the doctor but my dad and Arthur. "Ari,
NOAH"Can you make a reservation at the Haute Cuisine?" I ask, making a turn into the road leading to the cabin."Is it a business meeting, Sir?" Brian questions. "I can have it set for -""It's a date Brian, not a business meeting," I interrupt him, parking the car right in front of the cabin. For a second the phone goes silent on the other end, Brian probably wondering why I am having a date in an expensive restaurant downtown and canceling my schedule for the day."A d-date?" Brian finally says stuttering. "I mean yes Sir," he says and I am sure he is already scribbling away on his note. He has always had a thing with jotting every single word I say, well it has always been useful for him especially since I love my things done almost to perfection. "A date at Haute Cuisine tonight, what menu are we looking at?" "Do not place an order?" I am not sure what Aria would like, it will be best if she makes the order instead. Anything she orders is fine by me as long as I get to look at h
ARIAMelissa stands in the doorway, a stern expression on her face. "Well, what do we have here?" she says, her voice firm but polite. What the hell is she doing here and how did she get in? Did Noah not close the door? I am sure he wouldn't have made that mistake, to keep the door open."What the hell are you doing here and how did you get in?" I ask, my voice getting loud with each word.Melissa chuckles and walks into the room, her eyes scanning the space as if searching for something. "I have a spare key, what? Did you think you are the only one Noah has brought to this cabin?"Rolling my eyes, I kiss my teeth not answering her question, it doesn't matter who has been here before. Although, I am jealous of the idea of him sharing this space with another woman, but he has made it clear that I am all he needs in his life and that is enough for me. "Anyways," she continues. "I wanted to see Noah, I have been trying to reach him since last night but he wasn't picking up my calls."O
ARIA"This should fit just fine," Noah says handing me one of his T-shirts from the wardrobe, I don't know how he convinced me to spend the night in the cabin, if anything I should be heading home to be alone, and think about the proposal but I want to be here with him. Whenever I am with him, every other thing seems meaningless. Noah had suggested spending the night at his house first, but I was against it, at least for now. His mother would just have us married at sight, if anyone wants us paired together other than Noah, it's her.I put the towel on the hanger and wear the T-shirt over my head, the T-shirt fits like a dress, big and just above my knee. I check my face in the mirror, packing my hair into a ponytail before leaving the bathroom. I am not surprised when I find Noah in his pajamas standing by the door waiting patiently for me to come out. His eyes light up the moment I step out, his eyes falling from my face to his T-shirt on my body. "Noah, you're staring," I say, t
NOAHDammit!I have placed her in a spot, look at her eyes, I can see the desire to say yes, but also the confusion at how soon this is all happening. I knew I should have waited a bit, but I don't think I can.The thought of someone else and not me being her life is going to completely wreck me. I always have this ring, it has been in the family for ages, all I had to do was ask my mother for it. She was stunned when I asked, "Are you sure Noah? I mean I am happy you are finally asking for the ring, but are you sure you want it?" She asked."Aria, you don't have to say anything right now," I say, not wanting to get rejected. Her rejection will hurt more than her silence. "How about you think about it? I don't want to pressure you into anything okay?" I say holding her hand and placing the ring in her hand. "Y-You want me to think about it, while I hold on to the ring?" She stutters. "That's a lot of pressure Noah, and... And this ring looks like a family heirloom."Of course, she d
ARIA"So, what's it with you and this cabin?" I ask as he offers me a glass of wine before joining me on the couch. "Do you bring all your girlfriends here?" "Girlfriend?" He chuckles taking a sip from his wine glass. "I don't do girlfriends Aria, you are the first."First? I don't know if I should believe that or not. "The cabin is just a safe space for me, away from everyone," he continues."Well, the reason I wanted us to meet was because of my parents," I begin, taking a sip from my drink. He raises an eyebrow, " Your parents? Are they fine?""Yeah, they are but my dad suspects foul play, he thinks someone might be on to him and my mum. He said the accident was caused by the brake failure," I explain. "He wants his recovery with that of my mother hidden for now, he hopes this will hopefully lure out whoever is behind it."Noah takes a sip of his drink, nodding his head, "You want me to hide seeing him and your mother?""Yeah, for now of course," I say."You know, you could have