As we were talking, Joshua received a call and by the expression on his face, it seemed like it was something he had forgotten."Listen...Alice, unfortunately we'll have to continue our conversation later. I forgot that I have an event today," he replied, putting his phone back in his suit pocket."Oh, no problem!""I'll drive you home," he said, getting up from the table."If you want me to take a taxi so that you won't be late..." I stood up after him."It's okay, I'll take you. The event venue isn't far from my apartment. I just need to stop somewhere first."I nodded and followed him out of the café.***Joshua took us to a small shop in the city center. He said he needed to buy a few things before we went to the event. As we entered the shop, I was amazed at the variety of objects for sale. Joshua seemed to know exactly what he was looking for and went straight to a shelf at the back of the store. He picked up a few items and examined them carefully.Meanwhile, I took the opportu
Still staring at the door through which Joshua had left, I feel a shiver run through my body, as if someone was right behind me. I turn around and see Mrs. Taylor with a cold gaze. She was too close, her dark brown eyes staring at me like two knives ready to make a victim."What did you do?" she growled."W-What?" I instinctively backed away from her. Mrs. Taylor's look was making me completely creeped out."What did you do? Mr. Scott left your room like that.""I didn't do anything!" I say immediately."Listen, girl..." She approaches me again. "Madelyn and Joshua make a perfect couple. And they need to be together.""And why do you think I have anything to do with it? Mr. Scott can be in a relationship with whoever he wants.""I see how he looks at you. He might not be in love, but I know he has some interest in you.""D-Don't be ridiculous, Mrs. Taylor. That's not true. Mr. Scott is just my boss.""You really don't know him, do you? But of course, a modest girl who came from the ot
The next day, after spending the rest of the night unable to stop thinking about Joshua and his kiss, the alarm clock rang promptly at six in the morning, announcing the beginning of a new day. Slowly, I opened my eyes and stretched, still half asleep, but knowing that I needed to get up soon so as not to be late for work.As soon as I got up, I headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower. While getting dressed, I carefully chose my clothes for the day, making sure they were appropriate for the company environment.And every time I closed my eyes, the image of Joshua kissing me appeared in my mind, and no matter what I did, my mind seemed to be stuck on him.That's when I realized that maybe I was falling in love. I didn't want to admit it, but that's what was happening. I was attracted to his intelligence, his beauty, and his strong personality.But at the same time, I felt afraid. Afraid of giving too much, afraid of getting hurt, afraid of being used. I was afraid that it was al
Throughout the entire way back home, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. Madelyn had threatened me over something so trivial. How could someone threaten another person just because of their obsessive passion? That person must be sick.When the taxi stops in front of Joshua's apartment, I get out of the car. Apparently, my boss wouldn't be coming home tonight, as I haven't seen him since the call he received.As I reach the upper floor of the building and enter Joshua's apartment, I see that Mrs. Taylor is not around. So, I decide to make a herbal tea to help me relax a little, as my mind is in turmoil.I leave my things on the kitchen counter and approach the stove to heat the little water I had just taken from the tap."Alice," I hear Mrs. Taylor calling me. I turn to look at her in the living room. "I'm leaving. Mr. Scott said he won't be coming home tonight. Something unexpected came up, and he asked me to let you know."I nod and watch her adjust her purse on her sho
"What do you think you're doing?" Samantha questions my actions ironically. I was on my knees behind her desk."Has he left?" I ask back."Alice," she takes a deep breath and puts her hands on her hips. "You can't hide from him forever!""I'm not hiding," I stand up and dust off my knees. "I'm just avoiding him.""It's the same thing. And if you haven't noticed, you work for his company. How long do you think you can avoid him?""I'm not going to avoid him forever," I lean against the desk and cross my arms. "I just don't want to see him. Not today, at least not until I move out of his house.""And when will that be?" She sits in her chair and takes a sip of her coffee."I don't know..." I sigh defeated. "I'm still looking for a place.""So, you plan on avoiding Mr. Scott for all this time?" she raises her eyebrows. "Look, friend... Not to discourage you, but... It's impossible! You can't avoid Mr. Scott living in the same house as him! Besides, you're his second assistant, it's defin
"I-I'm not avoiding you.""No?" He expresses a mocking smile on his lips. "That's not what Samantha said."I mentally grumble for having trusted her. How could she have told Joshua about the conversation we had earlier?"So, it's true?" He adds.I cross my arms indignantly and focus my gaze on the wall behind him, trying not to stare at him."Samantha had no right to tell you.""You also had no right to talk about my personal life," he retorts. "But here I am, wanting to talk."I roll my eyes and let out a sigh. It seems that this time, I really couldn't escape from that conversation."Look, if it's about what happened yesterday, it's better to let it go. It's not that important...""It may not be important to you, but it is to me," he interrupts. "Alice, do you really think I would waste my time chasing after a girl if it wasn't really important?" He furrows his brow.I moisten my lips and shake my head. Maybe it was time to be honest. Especially with myself."Joshua, I know what you
The next day...I take a deep breath of the evening air, lost in thought as I look at the medium-sized building."Be careful not to get lost in your daydreams, Alice," Gregory comments with a smile, holding one of my suitcases.I chuckle and shift my gaze to him."You didn't have to take time out of your day for me.""Why not? There's nothing better than helping a friend," he says with a smile, and walks past me, entering the building.I was about to meet my new home. A temporary home, but mine nonetheless. The day had passed quickly. I was so focused on moving into my new apartment that I didn't even notice what had been happening around me in the past few hours. I just wanted to feel the comfort of being in my own place again.I entered the building and took the stairs to the floor of my apartment.Excitedly, I pushed the slightly ajar door, revealing a place that looked very different from what I had seen the day before. The entire apartment was furnished."What happened here?" I s
We were silent and still. Joshua's gaze alternated between Gregory and me, still wearing an intrigued expression on his face."Huh, I better go then," Gregory comments, breaking the tense atmosphere, and walks past Joshua, who remained in the middle of the door.And suddenly, I become the center of his attention. I watch Joshua, waiting for him to speak up about why he's here. But he says nothing, forcing me to be the first one to say something."So... What brings you here?" I ask. Joshua shakes his head, indifferent."I guess it was a terrible idea to come here," he comments, turning to leave."Joshua, wait!" I stop him and walk towards the door. Even with his back turned, I can still deduce that he just let out a sarcastic nasal laugh. Joshua turns around again."Alice, I just wish I had been informed about your apartment by you, not by Samantha," he says, disappointment evident in his tone."And I don't even need to mention that you decided to leave without saying goodbye. And now,
Some years before...Emeraude was still in love with Joshua, still nurturing the obsession she had felt since the first time she saw him, where she promised herself he would be hers, even though Joshua had gotten involved with another woman after some time. But that was no obstacle for Emeraude. The girl began to create plans to separate them. She set up situations for them to fight, created lies and rumors, and even tried to kill his girlfriend. She was determined to get what she wanted.However, the girl was arrested, where she would pay the price for her obsession. However, thanks to her sister, she only spent a few months in jail, as Madelyn believed there could be a better option for her to heal from her obsession. However, this did not happen, as Emeraude, even in prison, planned how to resume her mission to separate them as soon as she got out.And that was exactly what she did when she got out of prison. She began working on an even more elaborate plan than before. She did her
[...] Years later..."You are the most important thing to me."I smiled automatically as I remembered his words. I could keep them in my memory as if they had been spoken the day before. But it had been so long ago...“Grandma. Tell us more about you and Grandpa Scott. We love hearing your story!”“What's interesting about it?” The little boy, standing a little apart from us, interjected. He kept his arms crossed and leaned against the entrance of the room. His expression showed little interest in the subject. “It's just another cliché romance.” He said, shrugging his shoulders and snickering.“Joshua!” The youngest protested. “Grandma Ali and Grandpa Scott's story is not boring!” The short-haired little girl exclaimed. “But you are! Please, Grandma. Continue.” She smiled sweetly.The three little girls snuggled up a little closer in the three armchairs next to me.“The little Joshua is right.” I smiled. “It's a long story of... A cliché romance.” I chuckled softly. “But when it's hea
Some months later, after the wedding...After an eternity of hours, we finally arrived at the Seychelles Islands, where we would spend our honeymoon. We decided not to have a religious wedding and to have a simple celebration, just for our closest family and friends. Joshua and I agreed to make the most of our honeymoon, so we went straight to a house a few kilometers from the beach. And honestly, I couldn't feel my legs. It took Joshua's help for me to get off the jet and into the car. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to move.When we arrived at the house, I collapsed onto the enormous wooden sofa on the balcony. I was completely out of it. The trip hadn't lasted long, but for me, it had been an eternity. Joshua had given me some lectures during the car ride, telling me that I should have eaten something before flying, but I wasn't hungry.I unlocked my phone and saw the unread messages I had received during the morning while I still had internet, because the region we were in di
"Oh. My. God!" I couldn't hide the expression of surprise and excitement on my face. Opening the doors to that studio was like stumbling upon paradise. A huge grin was plastered on my face as I surveyed everything around me. That place was amazing!My paintings were harmoniously displayed on every wall of that room under a covering. The panels, the easels, the original paints, the various types of brushes that I never imagined I could touch one day... Everything! Exactly everything that an artist needed was there.If the human ability to feel pleasure fit not only in the sexual sense, but in any scenario of excitement, I would say I was having an orgasm of happiness right there."This is simply incredible, Joshua!" Leaning against the door, with his arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his face, Joshua watched me."Every artist needs their space."I froze as soon as I saw Joshua's smile expand."What?" I asked, dumbfounded."It's yours.""What?!" My eyes automatically widened. "You'r
"Someone might be awake," Joshua whispered between short muffled laughs amidst our lips."Of course not," I assure him, pulling him against my body and into my house. His hands explored my hips even more. "They have a heavy sleep," I smiled mischievously.Joshua nodded in agreement and opened a sly smile, intensifying our kiss. I pushed the living room door open with my foot and wrapped my arms around his neck while his hands continued to slide lost between my waist and hip.Filled with excitement and fervor, I pull Joshua towards the couch, not caring about what was around us. "We're going to fall this way," I said as he almost lost his balance while being led to the three-seater sofa. "Are you in a hurry?" he asked teasingly."I want you," I replied without hesitation. "We have nothing to lose, do we?" I exhaled a playful smile."Is that so?" he bit his lower lip slowly. "If that's the case." He pulled me even closer to his body, where I could feel the bulge in his pants brush again
Slowly, I pulled my lips a few inches away from Joshua's. A silly smile emerged on his face, prompting me to share the same. I leaned our foreheads together and couldn't contain the happiness that flowed through me. That moment had been magical."Um..." My mother clears her throat. "We're going ahead, okay? And... Just don't come home too late, okay? Let's go.""That's the Joshua guy, right? He's so hot!" I hear my aunt say, and I end up chuckling."Let's go, let's go."I hear my mother dragging our family out of the ballroom.Joshua steals a kiss from me and presses his waist, spinning our bodies, reversing our positions. His eyes fix on mine. Slowly, his body moves to the rhythm of the romantic and calm music playing in the background, leading me to also move my body, starting a slow dance."I still can't believe you're really here.""I said I would come, didn't I?""But I didn't imagine it would be today. And... here." I glance around, seeing the ballroom slowly emptying out."I fo
One year later…I took a deep breath, trying to control my anxiety. I was one step away from achieving a successful career."You got this!" My mother said, holding my hand as we looked at my paintings displayed in the huge exhibition hall.It was the last day of college. An artistic exhibition event was taking place, where the biggest investors would attend. They would analyze all the works, and the best ones would be chosen to boost the author's career worldwide. This was my biggest chance to pave my long-awaited path.My entire family was present, including some friends too. I confess that I felt a little pressured by the number of people rooting for me, but at the same time, seeing the number of people who believed in me was very rewarding.Through the crowd, I saw Benjamin approaching, which surprised me."Benjamin?" I smiled.It had been a long time since I had seen or talked to him. Since I decided to focus exclusively on myself, I didn't have much time to keep in touch with him
I stretched in bed. For the first time in a long time, I woke up incredibly refreshed. The sun that invaded my room through the glass window barely covered by the curtain didn't bother me; on the contrary, feeling the warmth of the sun spread over my body was exceptionally pleasant.I got out of bed and lazily crossed the room. My sisters' beds were already empty. I headed to the bathroom in the next room. The smell of coffee was intoxicatingly circulating through the upstairs, contributing to my extraordinary morning good mood.I undressed, ready to take a shower.***I entered the kitchen. All the women in the house were already having breakfast, seated around the round table."Good morning!" I smiled. The tone of my voice sounded harmoniously cheerful."Looks like someone woke up in a good mood," my aunt commented, impressed. "What happened?"I shrugged. "I don't necessarily need a reason to wake up in a good mood." For some reason, the smile on my lips remained plastered on my fac
Benjamin's room was amazing, if I doubted, it would take three of mine. The blue color with white details around allowed the environment to become very harmonious. I sit on his bed."Sorry for what happened," Benjamin's voice sounds low and then he sits next to me. "My father drives me crazy.""It's okay. What would a 'family' dinner be without friction?" I try to make the moment more relaxed.Benjamin lets out a short nasal laugh."Thank you." He looks at me. I stare into his fascinating and friendly blue eyes. "Really. If it weren't for you... I think I would have been kicked out of the house today." He opens a small weak smile.Benjamin and I had spent a good time holding hands. He always made me feel better, so this time, I tried to reciprocate, even though it was a simple gesture.I look away from him."I still can't believe we're going to be siblings." I chuckle and rest my hands on the bed."Yeah... What bad luck." He says in an ambiguous tone, but then lets out a small laugh.