KAREN' POV "Ladies, I won't stoop to your level. My personal life is none of your concern, and I won't entertain baseless rumors. Have a good day," I said and grabbed Alice's hand, leaving the hotel. Alice was fuming. "You should have allowed me to give her a piece of my mind, Karen," she said. "You can't stoop to their level, Alice. It will only make you look stupid. You can only ignore such people," I tried to talk sense into her, and it worked. "Ok, fine. Let's go home. Come, I brought my car with me. You don't have to take a cab," she said. "Ok, that will be good too," I said and followed her to her car, a Mini Cooper. "She is a fine girl," I commented. "Thank you," she beamed cheerfully. Inside the car, Alice ignited the engine, and we drove off. "So, Karen, are you still going to live in his house, especially after what happened? I think it will be better if you stay in your own house and only visit him from time to time," she suggested.
DEVON'S POV I laughed coldly. "You amuse me with your pretense, Karen. Fine then, I'll leave you since you are not in the mood. So now tell me, 'What do they need this time around?'" I was very sure that she is planning something, which was why she prepared those dishes. The first betrayal is not enough; now she wants another. I looked at her petite figure that was shaking visibly as she tried to say something. "Devon... I... I didn't do anything. I don't know what you are saying. Why did you believe that I ever betrayed you?" She said between sobs. "I don't even want to look at you now. Just get lost, get out of here." I shouted at her. I made for my room to get my car keys and headed downstairs. "Where are you going?" she asked when she saw me going downstairs. "To go and see one of my women, of course," I replied nonchalantly. "You can't do this, Devon. We are engaged now. You aren't supposed to see other women. That's what you promised me be
KAREN I woke up to my phone ringing. It's morning already, and rays of sunlight have already made their way into my room. It was beautiful. I looked at my phone screen and saw that it was my friend Alice. "Hi Karen, my brother is throwing a party this evening. Are you coming?" she asked. "Sure, I will come if you can come pick me," I replied. "Come on, Karen, you know I will be busy," she complained bitterly. I yawned. "That will be your punishment for waking me up this early," I joked. "Fine, the party is at six, and I need to buy something by three. So, I will come and pick you up by three or four this evening. What do you say?" she asked. "Fine by me," I replied. She hung up while I continued lying on my bed. I had decided that I can't continue staying in Devon's house; after all, we are not yet married. Besides, I don't want to meet his lecherous brother for now. I still couldn't forget what he did to me. It haunts me every single day in my dreams.
DEVON "It's not what you think, Devon," she continued desperately trying to explain. "What does it seem like?" I asked in an angry tone. "You called out the man from the party so you two could have fun. And when you saw me from afar, you started acting like a saint. Don't think I can be deceived by such parlor tricks." I yelled at her. "I am not playing any tricks, Devon. Why is it that you never believe anything I say? Why do you always accuse me of being a whore? You're the one who has been whoring around, picking up different girls every day," she accused, yelling at the top of her voice. "What did you just say? How dare you talk to me like that? It seems like I've been soft on you." Without any further warning, I hadn't intended to hit her, but I did, my hand landing firmly on her cheek. She was the first woman I had ever hit, the first to make me angry enough to do so. Many people inside the house were already attracted and started heading to the poolside.
KARENIt had now been two days since the last incident. After experiencing all this, I had decided to investigate and find out the reason Devon hated me. I was determined to find out no matter what. I had also decided to start with his room, then his study. I began with his room, searching his drawers and every corner, yet I didn't find anything sensitive. To cover up my tracks, I did a small cleanup of the whole room. After that, I carefully went to his study room. There are lots of books here, and whatever documents he was looking for are more likely to be found here. "Hmm, not this, neither this," I kept on flipping through many documents. "Why couldn't I find anything useful to prove my innocence? Perhaps, I should search more thoroughly." I started arranging it carefully while rechecking each file. When I was about to keep the last file, the door opened, and Devon came in. "My little traitor, it's a pity that you are caught red-handed this time around," he sai
DEVONI was driving a black SUV, a low profile compared to my other cars. Deep inside, I was seething with rage. I had caught her red-handed yet she refused to admit it and had the nerve to continue pretending she is innocent. This time, I can confirm for sure that she really betrayed me, causing my conviction to be stronger. My SUV pulled up in a parking lot on the edge of the city. I parked it carefully before walking to a house, not a closed restaurant, not far away. Two figures appeared. "Boss, you are here; we have been waiting for you," one of them said. "Has Mr. Lin Song arrived?" I asked while studying the street carefully. "Yes, boss, we had been watching the street carefully; he arrived with three other men that also look Asian. They are inside the restaurant waiting for you," the man replied. "Good, let's go and meet with those Asians and find out what they want," I said coldly. Two men were seated at a round table inside the empty resta
KAREN Today was Monday, and I had finally left Devon's house. Today, I will be opening my own beauty salon after graduating from two years of learning and training at Andrews Beauty Academy, where I trained as a makeup artist. I graduated at the same time as Alice, but she had started earlier than me while I was still focused on my engagement with Devon at that time. Now that I have nothing else going on, I guess it's a good time to continue pursuing my career. I named my salon "Karen Beauty Home," and besides me, there are two artists. I had managed to save a good amount of money from the funds Devon used to give me before we were engaged, so I used it to hire two more artists to help in my salon. I dream of my beauty salon being the most sought after in New York very soon. "Girls, listen, I hired you because I heard you guys are quite good. I don't want to be disappointed, so I hope you do good work. Today we will be doing a promo since this is our first time
KAREN "Are you trying to say I'm an alien?" she pouted. She looked so cute, and I felt like pinching her cheeks. "No, no, that's not what I meant. It's just that I didn't know how to explain it," he tried to explain. "Forget it, I won't be angry with you this time," she said cheerfully. Arnold looked at me, "You are so good, Karen. Why are you not famous?" he asked. I smiled, "Well, it's because I'm new to the makeup artist scene. It hasn't been long since I finished my training," I answered. He nodded in understanding, "I see. I will promote you to my female friends. You're so good." Anna glared at him. "That's a nice way of saying your girlfriend's." "Hey! what are you trying to say? Don't ruin my chance of picking up pretty girls." He joked. We all laughed out. "How much is everything?" he said, ready to pay. "Sorry, but not today. The first three people to come to my beauty salon will not be charged for anything," I replied. "That's
KAREN“Yeah, my mom told me that during her time, she craved chocolate so much that she ate so much chocolate. Really,” I said to Alice.“Really?” she asked. I nodded.“Well, I’m glad to hear he is good with you. I hope everything would be best for you,” Alice said with a smile.“Alice, thank you for always being there,” I thanked Alice.“Ma’am, your order,” when our order came, we started having our lunch together.After lunch, we went to Alice’s car.“I am dropping you home. Get rest, don’t worry for the salon. I would check again there in the evening,” Alice said, and she drove me home while she went to her salon.After walking into home, I went directly to the room. After taking a shower, I decided to take a nap.I lay on the bed. After some time, I drifted into deep sleep.
KARENRelief washed over me as Alice confirmed what we had thought. The lady who had complained about her facial treatment looked shocked.“I… I had no idea. I’m sorry for causing a scene earlier,” she said in a low tone.“It’s okay. We’re just glad that now you know about this, so you should not use this cream again,” I replied to her.“Now that everything’s fine, can we go back to the salon?” Alice asked from behind.“Yeah, let’s go,” I said to Alice with a smile.The lab technician handed us the test results, and we thanked him before leaving the lab. While Alice and I went in her car, the lady said she would go by cab and left from the lab.As we reached the salon, Linda and Diana were walking in, waiting for the results. Seeing Alice and me coming into the salon, they came towards us.“You’re back! What were th
KARENBut she wasn’t having it. “I don’t care about your investigations!” she said, her face filled with frustration. “If you don’t fix this right now, I’ll make sure everyone knows about the terrible service at this salon. I’ll leave the worst review of your salon!” she said angrily.“Ma’am, please have a seat. Please, calm yourself,” Diana said to her, trying to soothe her anger.However, she was too agitated to listen, her anger boiling over as she threatened to leave a bad review of the salon.Listening to her words, I felt anxiety. Negative reviews could be damaging to our reputation, and I knew I had to find a way to make things in our favor and also make her calm down.As I attempted to understand her complaint, the door swung open again.I looked at the direction of the door and saw Alice there.“Hello, everyone!&
KAREN“Devon, thank you for taking me out for ice cream,” I said, my voice filled with happiness.He glanced at me briefly, then nodded.“It doesn’t mean you can have ice cream instead of a meal every time,” he said in a rude voice.“Yeah, I know,” I replied.I was so into enjoying my ice cream that I didn’t even notice a bit of it had dripped onto the side of my mouth. When I looked at Devon, I could see he was smiling a bit.“There’s a little ice cream on your lip,” he said, pointing to his own mouth.I got confused and tried to wipe it off myself, but Devon shook his head, still smiling. “No, not there,” he said, leaning closer.Before I could say anything, Devon’s hand gently wiped the ice cream off the corner of my mouth. It felt nice when he did that, and I blushed a little, feeling shy.He sat on his
DEVON“That’s why she became unconscious?" I asked the doctor.“Yeah, she will be back to her senses after some minutes. Don’t worry,” the doctor reassured me before leaving the room.When I entered the room, I saw Karen was already awake. She looked at me, confused, and asked, “What am I doing home? I was at the salon. What happened?” She seemed disoriented and weak.“I brought you home. You fainted at the salon,” I explained gently, feeling bad for causing her trouble.“I’m sorry, Devon. I suddenly felt dizzy,” Karen said, embarrassed.As I looked at her feet, I noticed they were red and burned from the spilled coffee. I knew I had to do something. I sat up and went to the cupboard, taking the first aid kit. I sat beside her and took out the ointment from the box.“Let me apply some ointment on your feet,” I suggested g
KARENThe next day, I woke up when the sun’s rays hit my face, causing me to struggle in the pillows. I decided to wake up, and upon opening my eyes, I was greeted with the best view in front of me: my husband’s face.I gazed at him for a while, his words from the previous night still echoing in my mind. His apology had meant so much to me, bringing happiness to my heart.I got up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. After taking a refreshing shower, I headed downstairs to make breakfast for us.As I descended the stairs, I noticed the maids already at work in the kitchen, preparing for the day ahead. Their presence reminded me of the privilege and comfort that surrounded us, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful for all that we had.I went to the kitchen.“Ma’am, do you need anything?” the maid asked.“Yes, please. Could you get me some fresh eggs from
DEVONAfter arriving at the office, I tried to focus on my work, but thoughts of Karen lingered in my mind, disturbing me. Her teary eyes kept haunting me, making me feel like I was in the wrong. I decided to investigate further and made a call.After a few rings, he picked up the call. “Yes, sir?” he replied from the other end.“I need CCTV footage of Karen’s salon and her street from today,” I said to the person on the phone.“Okay, sir. You will have it by evening,” he replied.After the call, I opened my laptop and started reading my emails. Once my work was done, I decided to visit Laura.I went to her home and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, she opened it.“Well, well, well, look who decided to show up,” Laura teased me, leaning against the doorframe.I chuckled, stepping inside. “Couldn’t stay away, could I?” I replied.
KARENHe looked at me, and I went to him and sat beside his chair.“Get him here,” the police commissioner said to the policeman who was standing beside him. He went inside and came back with a man, his face covered with a black mask.“Here he is,” the policeman said to Devon.“And here are your things,” the commissioner said to Devon, while placing my handbag and mobile phone on the table from his drawer.I looked at my things with shocked eyes.“This can’t be true,” I thought to myself.“Check if anything is missing,” the police commissioner said, while pointing at my things.I looked at Devon, seeing him already smirking at me.I took my purse from the table and started looking into it. There was everything inside my bag that the thief took tomorrow.“What should we do with him?” the commissioner asked Devon.&
KAREN“By the way, I’m Jack,” he said, extending his hand in greeting.I shook his hand, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Jack. I’m Karen,” I replied.“And what’s your name?” he asked, directing his attention to her.“Linda,” she replied with a smile.“So, Karen,” he began, turning to me, “when did you start this salon? I don’t remember seeing it here before.”“I started working here a few months ago,” I replied.He nodded and looked at Linda again; she was already looking at him.“So, Linda,” he began, “how long have you been working here?” he asked, directing his attention to her.Linda looked surprised by the sudden attention, but she smiled and answered his questions, starting a conversation with him. As they talked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there