"And?" Kathleen was tense having to wait for him to continue his words.
"You thought I was Rodney and..."
"Spit it out! Quick!" Kathleen shrieked and hit his shoulder as a reflex of her frustration.
"Ouch..." Aaron gave out a low cry but then chuckled when he saw her annoyed gaze.
"What did you say? Spit it out? Is that a way to talk to your boss?" Aaron teased her.
"Forget it," Kathleen mumbled slowly and turned her head away from him, looking out of the car window like a sullen person.
"Oh, come on. Don't be such a crybaby. I'll tell you what happened last night," Aaron said. The woman quickly turned to look at him again.
"Last night, you thought I was Rodney and you hugged my neck tightly and won't let me go," he glanced and grinned at her.
Once again, Kathleen felt highly mortified. 'What the hell is wrong with me? How could I act so indecent?' Her inside was filled with embarrassment.
"Did I do anything else apart f
"Is there anything that you need me to do, Mr Thompson?" Kathleen asked since that guy was staring at her nonstop as if he has something to say."Oh, no. Not in the moment. Well then..." he replied with a smile. Then he went into the Chairman's office to meet Aaron.Kathleen followed him from behind soon after while carrying the tray that contained the coffee she made for Aaron and slipped the company daily report file under her armpit.As soon as Aaron saw Kathleen enter his office, he gave her a meaningful smile. Kathleen noticed it, but she ignored him and swiftly went forward to his desk and served his coffee and the macaron snacks. Then she passed the report file to him.Aaron took the file while looking at her neck, checking if she was wearing his gift or not. Seeing the Swarovski crystal necklace hanging around her delicate fair skin, he felt satisfied inside.He got into trouble getting that necklace for her yesterday. The female shop assis
"I'm out," Ryan said, backing away, didn't have the intention to answer Aaron's question. He stood up immediately and headed to the door."Good great thank you, God... please leave," Aaron mocked him scornfully.Ryan sneered at him as a response before he exited Aaron's office and closed the door behind him. If people didn't know them, they would probably think that the two were nemeses. Yet the truth was, both Aaron and Ryan were childhood friends. They grew up together and went to the same school until college. It was kind of their habit to talk harshly with each other.As Ryan passed in front of Kathleen's desk, he heard the voice of Aaron coming out from the office intercom."Kathleen, my dear... can you come in for a while, honey?"Kathleen froze in embarrassment as Ryan was standing right in front of her, hearing that flirtatious voice of Aaron from the intercom. She chuckled instantly to avoid that awkward situation."I'm sorry, Mr Th
Kathleen gasped at the sight of the diamond ring. The ring was just that tiny probably suitable to be made as an engagement ring. It was a weird offer. Why would he even want to offer her a ring as a reward if she helps him with such a small matter? Yet, being a woman, she couldn't help but feel tempted by it.'Gosh... five thousand dollars ring? That was like a month's salary for me,' she mumbled internally with her eyes couldn't stop staring at the sparkling diamond ring."Let's see if it fits you," Aaron said and took out the ring and shoved it into the fourth finger of her left hand.Kathleen was bewildered and didn't get the chance to avoid his action. The ring entered her finger and strangely, it fitted perfectly."Oh, look! It fitted perfectly. It would be such a waste if you don't want this, don't you think? I might just give it to another employee later," he pressurized her a bit.He pulled off the ring from her finger and put it inside th
It felt like his heart got a pang by her words, but Aaron only scoffed at her."It's quite unfair. I gave you three gifts today. A flower bouquet, a necklace and you're going to get a diamond ring later. But you give me none," he said like a sulky person."But you said the gifts were not for Valentine's Day. The flower and the necklace were to thank me for helping you ruin your date with Sara Anderson before and also as an apology for making me drunk that night. As for the ring, you offer that to me in return for helping you get rid of Miss Donna Taylors," Kathleen reminded him again."I know... But don't you think it's too much for me to give you all that expensive stuff only for you to help me settle some small matters?"Kathleen was truly dumbfounded by his question. 'I never asked you to give me all that,' she grumbled her dissatisfaction internally. She scoffed and slowly exhaled as if trying to release the negative energy that filling up her heart r
"My company was not just born yesterday, Liam. I knew what the Campbell are going after. Let me get this clear to you, so you don't need to waste your time coming to my company again. I will never let Campbell Corporation own or even have the chance to get my microchip. I will make sure your company would never be able to use my microchip technology. Just stick with your company's current productions. Don't even think about expanding your market to the electronic industry," Aaron said rudely to him and simply walked away.Kathleen followed her boss and gazed down, avoiding looking at Liam. They exited the entrance door and crossed the road in front of the company building. There was a huge luxurious mall there called Euphoria Emporium.As they entered the mall, Kathleen gasped in disbelief. It was the first time she went there. She never dared to step foot inside that mall before, despite it being located just in front of the Aeroxx Corporation building. It was because
'This doesn't feel right,' Kathleen was uncomfortable. But she just followed his lead and opened her mouth. He carefully fed her the cake. He even took a napkin and wiped the cake cream that stained the corner of her lips. Kathleen felt like he was feeding her like a baby. "Now your turn. Try feeding me the cake," he instructed her. She quickly did the same as he did to her before. 'I swear to God, if he doesn't give me the diamond ring after this, I'm going to choke this guy using his necktie,' Kathleen mumbled some malicious thought inside her mind. "Kathleen..." he suddenly called her out softly. She focused her eyes on him as she already facing him right now. "I love you," he said with a charming voice. His eyes looked deeply into hers and Kathleen felt like she got bewitched by him. She could even feel her heart skip a beat when he said those three magical words to her. His head suddenly leaned closer to her. He tilted it a bit an
Donna simply coughed discreetly to get the couple's attention. Having felt breathless by the kiss, Aaron slowly straightened his body with Kathleen still in his embrace. Both of them sat straight again and pretended to be shy at Donna."Sorry. Excuse us, please. Sometimes, I just can't help it. Kathleen was too adorable," Aaron said to Donna.Kathleen felt like her cheeks were burning up right now. She suddenly felt like her body was getting hot. Aaron behaved too seductively, she couldn't help feeling aroused inside. Her cheeks suddenly gave out a pink radiance over her fair skin.Aaron glanced to the right to check on Kathleen as she was just silent. When he saw her pinky face, he chuckled a bit. 'Are you that shy that we kissed in front of Donna?' He mumbled internally, feeling amused.A waiter went into the room and started serving their course meals one by one. The three of them started eating immediately. Donna reluctantly took out a few files from
"As for Rodney, I did kiss him before. We almost get married so it was only normal that our relationship was that far," Kathleen told him honestly.Aaron simply turned his head to the left, hiding his face from her. His expression showed enormous anger mixed with jealousy. 'Damn it! I'm not her first kiss!' He grumbled inwardly and slowly took a deep breath. Then he put on a calm face and looked at her again."Are you angry, Mr Castell?" Kathleen could sense his dissatisfaction."No. Why would I? Of course, you used to kiss other men too. It's not like you never dated before. I used to kiss my ex too," he tried to act cool."You used to be in a relationship before?" Kathleen was surprised.She never expected that a man like Aaron who was cold and indifferent towards women could have a girlfriend before. After all, he had been using her to get rid of women who showed interest in him."Yeah. I used to be in a serious relationship about five ye
"You must be the less popular Castell, you didn't seem to be able to find anyone to mingle with at this party," Liam approached Adrian Castell from behind. The man turned around instantly at his words and scoffed when he realized it was Liam."So did you. The only Campbell who got invited," Adrian jested back."I talked with Aaron a bit just now," Liam went to stand beside him and offered to clink their drink glasses together, as a sign of affinity. Adrian just went along with it and then they sipped on their drinks while staring at the exact same spot, Sandra and her friends."She probably going to be my sister-in-law in the future. So I ought to come to her birthday party and make peace with her," Adrian remarked."Are you sure? Has Aaron introduced her to your family?""Not yet. Actually, he didn't really seem to give much thought to dating this woman... I mean, he had his entire focus on the company development, I don't think he had the time to date around.""So, why do you think
When Aaron left Sandra alone heartlessly, Seth Martin approached her. He took out a small velvet box from his suit and gave it to her. It looked like a ring box because it was small. Sandra thought it was a ring so she didn't dare to accept it."Just open it first," Seth said solemnly. He didn't put her birthday present on the gift table along with the other presents she got from her friends before. That was because he wanted to give it to her by himself.She took it carefully and glanced at Aaron that now stood so far away. The guy didn't seem to care about what she was doing. Sandra sighed heavily and opened the small box from Seth. There was a pair of pink crystal earrings inside."I thought it might match your personality. You always wore pink ballerina dress when you're teaching your students at the academy," Seth remarked."Thank you..." She replied slowly, showing almost no reaction after seeing the earrings. Her heart was still a bit disappointed that Aaron hadn't thought abou
Instantly, the word 'marriage' came up in Liam's mind. 'Did he mean having a truce through marriage?' He wondered. Aaron turned around and was about to leave him alone."Regardless, you won't be able to get back with Kathy. She didn't use our family name. So, she would be out of the picture for the truce arrangement," Liam said to die our Aaron's expectation of having a chance to be with Kathleen again."Really? Then, there's still Nora. Let's see what Kathy would think seeing her ex-husband marrying her half-sister. Let's just be one big happy family," Aaron emphasized his last sentence purposely, to piss off Liam."So, you're going to just agree to marry someone who steal from you before and ruined your company despite having a girlfriend right now? Look at Sandra right there. She's all happy thinking you love her wholeheartedly. But here you are plotting revenge on my family through a marriage arrangement. You're really a heartless guy, Aaron. Kathy would be so disappointed with yo
In the same week, Liam suddenly got an invitation to go to a birthday party at a local clubhouse owned by Castell Corporation, The Heritage. He felt odd about it because he didn't know who the person celebrating the birthday was. It was actually Sandra Wilson.A few months after Kathleen left, Aaron got back together with Sandra. He did it out of frustration, trying to find a way out of his feelings for Kathleen. The relationship went well but he never go intimate with Sandra. He still kept his boundary with her despite people starting to notice their relationship. In fact, he never made any special announcement or declaration saying that Sandra was his new partner. They were just together casually.On a Tuesday night, he held a surprise birthday party for Sandra. It was her thirtieth birthday party and Aaron invited all her friends and his friends too. Even Liam was included in the invitation. Certainly, Aaron deliberately did that to show Liam how well he moved on from his past marr
Rodney just shook his head as a response and all the policemen left his private room, giving him some privacy to rest. He was about to lie down on the bed again but his phone rang. He took it out from his suit that was placed on the bedside table, thinking that it might be a call from his family. But when he checked the caller ID, it was Nora Campbell."Fuck you! I'm not going to fucking answer that," he cursed alone while just throwing the phone back on his suit. He didn't dare to answer the call because it might be a test from Liam. Who knows what kind of trouble he might get into again if he answers the call from Nora? He had promised Liam last night that he won't bother Nora nor Kathleen again so from this moment forward, he had obstinately decided to never be in contact with any of the women at least for a few months.***"Are you sure about this?" Liam was on the phone with Kathleen. It had been two months since she left the country."Yeah... I think it would be better this way.
He saw Liam staring at him with some kind of menacing expression. Rodney got an instant reaction of trying to escape the room. He stood up and went after the door, but Liam was faster to block the exit."Not so fast..." Liam said with a sinister laugh."You just arrived..." he added and pushed Rodney's chest, making the man sit down again."I... I... I think I can't be too long here. I'm sure my parents won't let me stay out too late," Rodney stuttered in his words, trying to find some excuse to escape."Oh... come on Rodney. We're of the same age. I'm sure you could find some better excuse than that," Liam replied snickeringly."Why do you want to meet up with me anyway? We aren't that close. If this is about Kathy, I swear I never bother her anymore after she broke the engagement. I really never bother or pester her anymore. I swear," Rodney begged to be spare as Liam leaned his body closer to him and his collar was grabbed."You should have walked away silently after Kathy found y
"What did you say? What's his name again?" The man seemed in a state of disbelief. He wished that he just heard it wrongly."Aaron Castell," but Luffy repeated the same name.Liam was speechless. He glanced at his stepmother and the woman could see from his expression that something was wrong."Why?" She asked in anxiousness."Aaron came," Liam murmured to her in an almost inaudible voice."Sir?" Luffy was still in the line, waiting for the next order from Liam."Don't let him in. I'm coming there," Liam said and put down the phone.Victoria wanted to follow him out of the house but he told her to just stay inside. She was not in a stable condition right now and he feared she might lash out at Aaron for hurting Kathleen before. He didn't want the situation to get worse as their family were already enemies with the Castell.Aaron stood beside his car that stopped right in front of the main gate of Campbell's manor. He was waiting for the gate to be opened but the guard said he was not
"It's Aaron."The answer Liam gave made her sigh heavily. She felt like she wanted to berate Kathleen for making such a major decision without discussing it with her. Aaron Castell was the only legitimate heir of Castell Corporation. Even though that young man was not yet in charge of the company right now, everyone knew he would be the one who would replace Edward Castell to take control of Castell Corporation later. In short, Aaron was not someone that anyone would want to mess with. Now her daughter had been associated closely with that man, even to the extent of having married together. If Kenneth knew about this, Victoria was sure her husband would surely accuse Kathleen of trying to betray Campbell Corporation."This is bad. Don't tell your dad about this. I don't want the other Campbell to pick on Kathleen again. Are you sure they had really divorced? Why did they divorce? Wait... during the microchip launching event... we did introduce Kathy to Aaron. Did he not know that she
Later that evening when it was time to clock out from work, Aaron received a call from Detective Leon. He didn't hope to get much news about Kathleen that soon because he just hired the investigator this morning."Mr Castell, I'd check and saw your wife's car driving around the city about three days ago in the morning. And then later that day she parked in front of a hotel, I'm guessing she stayed there for a day. The next day, her car was seen driving into the Campbell's manor. And it never gets out from there until today. I think she's probably there inside that residential," Detective Leon explained through the phone.Aaron was silent to hear that information. But a smirk slowly appeared on his face. 'So, you're not that innocent after all. In the end, you returned to your vile family again,' he muttered internally, slightly having his mind assuming the bad about Kathleen again. He felt a bit disappointed that she left him before, thinking that maybe he was wrong. But after the det