KAREN
It was Sunday, I woke up glad to be free from work at least. I decided to go over to Alice's house to spend a little time with her I had nothing to do anyway.
Stretching a bit till my sore joints popped, I headed off to the bathroom. If I stayed motivated, I could go throughy daily beauty routine. My thoughts on motivation didn't last long though, as Devon’s call came in, cutting my thought process, and as usual, sending my heart pounding in a mixture of fear and anticipation at what he would say next.
"Hello, my little Karen." His voice sounded cold. Why had I expected otherwise?
"Devon, how are you doing?" I asked sincerely.
"Don't act as if you care; I'm good anyway. Your betrayal didn't manage to get to my heart just as you have wished for," he replied.
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KAREN The call disconnected and I stared at the screen blankly. Did Devon set me up just now? He wanted me to sleep with his rival for information. I swore never to do such a thing. The door of the private dining room opened, and a potbellied middle-aged man walked in. His eyes lit up when he saw me. "Wow, today's catch is very good. It seems like the hotel manager is improving more and more," he said happily and walked up to me. "What is your name, fine lass?" He asked amiably. I stared at him cautiously. "Who are you?" I asked. He appeared surprised by my question. "Of course, I am Wilson Albert whom you are supposed to meet, of course," he answered. "Sorry, I didn't know who I was supposed to meet," I replied
DEVON Outside the hotel, inside a small coffee shop that was opposite it, I sat calmly by a window overlooking the hotel, waiting for my men to bring news for me. "Indeed, I had purposely set Karen up so she would sleep with Wilson and try to obtain any relevant information. Women have always been men's weakness, and he knows how to employ them well. And in the case of Keran, she is already with them anyway." My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Hello, what's the situation?" I answered coldly. "Boss, she ran out of the private dining room and didn't look violated. Mr. Wilson was lying on the ground in pain, holding his crotch area. I'm sure you can guess what happened," he said carefully. So she still chooses to pretend. She doesn't want to sleep with him, right? Perhaps I will find another
KARENI was awoken by the rays of sunlight that forced its way through the window. I felt a heavy headache. I had slept very late yesterday after crying all night long. Trying to get up, I was surprised to find out that my hands had been untied; I sighed. I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were all swollen from crying all night long. My hair was very disheveled; I was looking so haggard. Devon went too hard last night and even took me in with my hands tied. My lower body was still feeling the pains of last night's activity; it was really intense. The door opened, and Devon walked in. He looked at me coldly. "You look like crap right now, go and wash up so you can have breakfast. I have ordered some clothes for you." "So you are satisfied now, right?" I questioned him.&n
LAURAIt was raining heavily outside. There was a knock on the door. I went to open it. "Who is there?" "It's me," the person answered from outside. It was Stephan's voice, so I opened the door. "What are you doing here at this time, Stephan, and why did you come with the rain?" I scolded. "Sorry, but I didn't mean to. The rain caught me on the way," he replied nonchalantly. "What do you want?" I asked. "I want to inform you that the plan is working out perfectly," he replied leisurely. "Is that all? How can you be here at this time just to tell me this?" I mocked. "You are indeed smart," he said while pulling off his raincoat and carelessly placing i
KARENDevon sighed, and I could feel that he was relieved; so was I. If Grandpa Grey was aware of the whole matter, it might not be all that advantageous for me and might actually be disadvantageous, assuming they believed Devon over me. I would be in deep trouble more than I was in now if the Greys ever thought that I betrayed them. They could deal with anybody in America, so what do I count for to them? Devon coughed dryly. "It isn't exactly like you think, Grandpa Grey. Perhaps you should ask your daughter-in-law," he said while gesturing at me. Everyone turned to face me, including Grandma Grey.She had a vicious glare on her face, and it was as if she was saying, "See, I knew from the start that you are up to no good."Anger started welling up inside me. I didn't do anything wrong, so why would she hate me that much, and what does Devon mean by passing the blame to me? I didn't do anything wr
KARENTwo days later, we drove to California to the Grey family house. "We are here now; you better behave yourself," he warned. I replied sarcastically, "I should be telling that to a certain someone. I am even surprised he didn't bring a certain mistress with him." He frowned, his face dark. "What nonsense are you talking? Just behave yourself; you don't want to rile the old man up," he warned. We alighted from the car, walking hand in hand to the Grey family mansion. It was a very large building and was so magnificent. I was admiring the scenery when all of a sudden, my face blanked. I saw an unpleasant figure in the distance. He was wearing a black suit and spotted a smile on his face. His smile looked lewd and sinister to me. I glared at him with hate. I hated him deep to the bones and always wished that he would just topple down and
DEVONI was infuriated seeing how my grandfather was strongly supporting her and scolding me. I wished I could just expose her for who she is and let the whole family know what they did.Alas, I just can't. If Grandpa were to hear a thing of what she did, she would end up sooner than expected, which isn't according to my plan. She had to suffer more and would be crushed mentally until she feels she couldn't live anymore.Luckily, Grandma wasn't deceived and had seen her for who she is. The very proud Stacy seems to have taken a liking to her and had dragged her with him.A pot-bellied man with a bald head walked towards the main table."Mr. George, I didn't know you would come today," I said as I stood up to greet him. He had a very sly smile on his face, and one could tell that he was a very crafty businessman."Of course, I must come so I can wish a happy birthday to the Grey family head," he said as he brought out a well-
KARENI woke up in the morning feeling blissful. I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on a man's chest. My heart sped up, and I rose in panic, only to see that it was Devon. Then, I calmed down.He was already awake and staring at me with his cold abyss eyes."You were so drunk yesterday that you didn't even know when you were taken to a room," he said."That's not true," I denied. "It was your sister who said I could sleep in this room yesterday, and you weren't here then."He kept silent and didn't say anything else. We just stared at each other. The scene was slowly turning romantic. After some minutes, he said coldly, "Aren't you going to freshen up and stop gazing?" The almost romantic scene was destroyed just like that.I dragged myself off the bed and headed to the washroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Since I didn't have a change of clothes, I decided to go outside the room to see if I could find Stac
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