Kael"Weather forecast for the day. Heavy downpour is expected in the following areas today: Carrer de la Llum, Plaça del Sol Blau, and Carrer del Sol. Citizens are advised to take their umbrellas, suit up, and..."I picked up the remote on the table to turn off the TV, then turned to face the floor-to-ceiling mirror that was in my room, quite shaken up.I tried to think of various things.The success of the exhibition.The artwork we had successfully purchased.The rain...No, I shouldn't think about that.I rubbed my hands together and stuffed them into my pocket once I was done knotting my tie."Mr. Clarke."Right.I stepped out of the room and into the hallway where Sebastian stood."We're going to be late.""Let's hurry up then.""How are things at the gallery?" I asked when we got into my car outside, and he handed me a tab right before starting the car."The artworks have been placed as we agreed, and the gallery is ready to be opened.""Great," I said as I took a look at the p
GregI can't believe we had had sex after a few minutes of meeting.Not once, but twice.It hadn't even been part of my plan, but I should lose interest in him anytime soon, right?I mean, we already had sex, so...I sighed.Don't use interest.Um... Whatever it is I'm feeling.I should get over it, right?I sighed again and tried to get off him after a few seconds, but he placed his hand on my waist."Stay."What?His dick was still inside me."Are you serious? How are we going to leave here then?""Do you have a place to stay?""Not yet, but...""Come with me then.""Huh?"Not a good idea, but..."We have to..." I pointed between us to indicate him pulling out, and he nodded after a few seconds."Yeah."He finally let go of my waist, and I collapsed on the seat beside him.I pulled up my pants and sighed.Gosh.I've gotten what I came here for, but...He told me to stay.I shouldn't, right?But it's not like I have a place to go. It had just been sudden.Right, is he okay? I thought
Kael The sun was already up when I opened my eyes the next day. No rain. No fear. Just a leg wrapped around mine and an arm around my upper arm when I glanced down at his pretty face. God, he looked so good even with his hair ruffled. No, especially with his hair ruffled. It made him look so different from the guy that was always glaring at me and angry, even though I loved that version of him too. Wait, love? No, I just like looking at him all riled up and angry; that is all. Besides, it made him look sexy, which in turn makes me hard, so... I stood up from the bed to go freshen up and change in the bathroom, and I picked up Greg's phone when it started to ring in his discarded pants downstairs. Jeremiah. The caller ID said. The guy. His boss. They're still in contact? Of course they're in contact; he's his boss. I picked up the call without thinking. "Greg. Hello. Are you there?" "Who is this?" The guy paused for a second. "Who are you?" Grea
GregI was thankfully able to get a quick flight from Barcelona back home once I got to the airport later that afternoon, and the ride took about two hours total, my feelings making it feel like it was a whole day.So I do like him.I had realized that while arguing with him this morning.The way he had chuckled, called me a good fuck, and made jokes of the situation, it had made me want to bury myself into the ground from the heartbreak.That was what it felt like, and we hadn't even been dating.Ugh!I hailed a taxi once I got outside the airport and told the driver my address."Okay."Another thirty minutes and I was back home."Greg." My sister said, happy to see me."You're back.""Yup."I walked past her and straight to my bedroom, where I collapsed on the bed."What is wrong? Are you okay?"I nodded my head against the bed and sighed deeply."What happened? Didn't the job work out?"Right, I had told her I was going for a work trip.""I just want to be alone, Gia."She stared a
KaelI watched as the guy, Jeremiah, made his way back to the hospital room to sit beside Greg.He trailed his fingers down his cheeks, then placed a kiss on his forehead.Exactly what I had done and in the same place.I felt like strangling him there and then.Who does he think he is to touch him?I pulled the hoodie properly over my head and made my way back to my car, which was parked in an alley.I don't even know why I'm here.I had just gotten on a plane after realizing that the feeling I felt the other day, the weird one, was in fact related to Greg.The way he had said he could never like me, the way he had looked hurt and disgusted, it just didn't seem to sit right with me.Why?I wouldn't know.Actually, I do. I think I might like him just a little bit.These jealous feelings, thoughts of him that made me smile, and this pull in my heart, I couldn't seem to get it out of my head too.I sighed and took out my phone to check the time, and I saw it to be 3 am.Might as well ge
GregI got discharged the following day, only Jeremiah by my side because my sister had to go to work and Bella was busy, and he closed the passenger door behind me after I got into his car."Are you feeling better?"I nodded, smiling.He has asked me that question about a million times already."I am.""Your apartment, right?""Yes."I nodded and waited for him to start the engine before speaking, "So I couldn't properly apologize because of everything that happened. Sorry for missing your sister's housewarming party.""Oh." He glanced at me and back at the road."No. It's fine. I called and heard you were exhausted from some work.""Work?""He didn't tell you?""Huh?" I pursed my lips and shook my head."Some guy picked up the phone when I called and went on about how exhausted you were from doing a lot of work the previous night, therefore your inability to come to the phone.""Some guy?"Wait, what?There's no way.There's no way Kael picked up my call and spoke to Jeremiah."Oh,
KaelGod, my limbs feel heavy, so also my eyes that I tried to open after a moment of just feeling and hearing sounds.Fuck, my chest hurts.I could feel the pain just from breathing.Then there was the nausea I could feel rising.I finally managed to open my eyes, which had stayed glued together, before glancing around.Blurry, blurry, clear.Okay, there's a ceiling, then wires.A beeping machine, and is that a hospital gown?I winced and groaned when I tried to move on the bed."Kael!"Gosh, that was loud."Kael?"The owner of the voice popped into my point of view, blocking the light, and I sighed when I saw who it was."Lyra."She smiled and started sobbing for some reason."I'm so glad you're alive."Yeah, I'm glad too.Was I meant to die?I raised my head and tried to move on the bed again until another head popped into my face."Don't move too much. The doctor advised so."Greg.He glanced up and tried to move away after helping me sit up slightly.I drew him back to me and yel
GregMy routine went back to normal after Kael got discharged from the hospital, my schoolwork, up to date, my work life, back in balance even though the HR complained for a while about my sudden absence, and Kael went back to Barcelona, where he was based after a full month.I wondered what was next in our relationship now.Should I call it that?A relationship.Well, we had both accepted that it was just more than sex for us, and he definitely had made it clear that he didn't want me around my boss anymore.It had been cute and adorable to see.Kael, jealous.Never would I have imagined that.Everyone in the office glanced up and stared when a guy in all black stepped into the general office with a large bouquet in his hands."Mr. Greg Fisher."I stood up and walked over to him, puzzled."I am he.""This is for you then." He handed the flowers over after asking me to sign on a paper, and I all but turned crimson when I turned around to see everyone looking at me, including Jeremiah,
Quinn Three months later,The plane came to a stop in New York exactly twelve hours after I boarded it from our private airstrip in Sicily, and I got out of the plane with one of our agents when we got the go-ahead from the pilot to stand up.I headed straight for the car that was waiting for us a few feet away from the plane with the doors open.He started the engine once we both got in and drove away."Is everyone in position?""Yes ma'am." I took out my tab to view some critical information."And the location?""Secure. Target hasn't arrived yet."It was another agent from the parameter that replied through the devices in our ears.I pulled back my sleeve to check the time only to realize that both of us were actually late.I had said 7 pm, but it was already five minutes past.At least I had a reason; I wondered what his would be."Target has arrived." I heard an agent say a few minutes before we arrived at our location, and the guy with me, Lucas, came over to my side to help me
BellaThe guilt for the next few days kept killing me as Matteo and Quinn arranged the ceremony week for his burial, and I tried to get past it to function in some way.The visitors kept pouring in after that.The associates and intimate clients of the business. The family and friends that I didn't quite know about and my grandparents, who had made it known that they had a grudge against him, even though they denied that. Then there were my friends and Adrian.I collapsed into Lyra's arms when she pulled me in for a hug."I'm so sorry, dear."Greg did the same, patting my back like he did sometimes and I did my best not to start crying again.Yes, I had known him for such a short time, but that time had impacted me so much; it felt like I had known him forever.I pulled away from their hugs and sniffed when they had squeezed me long and hard enough.They led me to my room upstairs."It just happened, you know." I still couldn't believe it.There hadn't been any warning. No sign that h
BellaThe first place we stopped at was Teatro Massimo, an opera house in Palermo that holds performances every once in a while.It had this huge historical structure that stretched over a space of land with pillars and statues that accentuated its history.I handed over the ticket Elisabetta had given me after that awkward silence to the officer that checked it.He checked Giovanni and Elisabetta's tickets too and let us through after that.She beamed for the first time after that conversation, "I'm so happy that we get to view a performance today. Your mom used to love these things."I pondered that statement.According to what Jose had told me about my mom, this felt very different from what she might have liked.We sat down at the front row seats, settling in just in time before the first performance started, and clapped with everyone when the lady finished.I wouldn't say it was bad or uninteresting; I actually felt myself getting interested as more performers came on stage to pr
BellaIt wasn't until the sun shone brightly on my face the next morning that I woke up, and I first got startled at how close Quinn was on the bed to me before remembering everything that had happened last night.Her story of how she had met Jose, then the kiss.I raised my hand to my lips slowly as if in remembrance of how hot the kiss had been and closed my eyes without thinking when she tossed slightly on the bed.Fuck.Why did I close my eyes?It's not like I had done anything wrong or was checking her out. I had just been...Totally checking her out.I paused the thoughts in my head when I heard nothing a second later. The bed was perfectly still too, and there was no sound from Quinn at all.Is she still asleep?I popped open to check that out and saw her staring at me, wide eyes open with a smile on her face."Did you really think I wouldn't notice you checking me out?"I stuttered, trying to get a hold of a sentence that wouldn't totally give me away.She pulled me back onto
Quinn I made my way to Jose's room straight when I got back to the house to find him still in the vegetative state I left him in while Riley took a nap beside him.Her body was bent at an abnormal angle as she must have tried to rest her head on the bed while still holding his hand, but at least she was fast asleep.I took a step further into the room and stared at both of them for a while.Well, Riley, to be honest.She just looked so... Stunning and peaceful, she looked right now with the moon shining across her features through the window outside.She moved her head slightly when I bent down beside her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.She didn't wake up, though, thankfully, or I would have had to explain why I was so close to her face, staring into her eyes.I sighed and moved back, going to Jose's side to kiss his forehead, and I came back to his daughter's side to carry her up, bridal style, to her room.She immediately turned and gasped when she woke up in my arms."Ril
Quinn We got out of the car when we got to the entrance of Adrian's beautiful home, Gary handing the car key over to one of the valets that was outside the house, and they led us inside to a similar ballroom to that where Jose had held the handover for the function.It was slightly bigger, though, and had this large hanging tool—I'm guessing they use it to dangle traitors from the ceiling—but Juan wasn't there, so I had my doubts.I collected the glass of champagne that Gary passed to me from a waitress when we were fully in and took a sip of the place."Everyone is here. Even the fucking prime minister." I glanced around in the direction Gary signaled me in after a moment."Quinn..."We both turned surprised when a lady came to meet us.She shook my hand, "Flora Moretti. I saw you at the handover party."Right.I nodded, bending my head slightly to place a kiss on her palm.Gary was nowhere to be seen by the time I looked up."Nice to meet you properly.""Yeah. Word on the street sa
Quinn The doctor called me to the side the next day after checking Jose and made sure he was out of harm's way for now, and he sat opposite me in one of the private living rooms once we were alone."The treatments aren't doing much anymore. It's likely he might deteriorate badly once he wakes up.""How badly are we speaking of?""Memory loss. Leg and hand function. It's a miracle that all these haven't happened before."I felt my heart sink.He had said that before and anticipated this, but I still wasn't ready."Now, you can only stay by his side till the last day he takes his breath. I'm sorry."I shook my head, staring at nothing as he left, and I went back to his room, where he was in with Riley, after a few more minutes."What did the doctor say?"I didn't answer for a minute, pondering if I should break it all to her, but she already knew he was on his deathbed; I might as well tell her about the memory loss to prepare her for when it actually happens."He has deteriorated badl
Bella"So you were in the foster system, right?"I nodded at Elisabetta's question, grabbing a drink from the variety on the table to pour, and I shook my head at the maid that moved forward to help me pour it."It's okay. I can manage that myself."She nodded and moved back."How was it?"I pondered if I should tell them the truth or just let it all out, "Okay, but..."I felt Lyra and Greg's stares on me.They in fact knew how not-okay the system was to me."...abusive." I later completed my sentence, ignoring their stares."They abused you?"I glanced up startled when Elisabetta raised her voice."I mean, it happens to almost every child, except you're lucky. I've been known to not have such great luck, but it all turned out well. I took control of my life once I was eighteen and ended up going to college, where I met these two."They relaxed in their seats.Phew!You would think they were about to go murder every foster parent that ever raised their hands at me as a kid with the wa
BellaI popped my head into Jose's study two days later after the handover to see him huddled over his desk with Quinn.She averted her gaze when I stepped in properly."Riley..."I put on a smile that hid my awkwardness and nervousness around Quinn."I'm headed to Giovanni and Elisabetta's house now. Just wanted to inform you in case you would like to join us.""Nah..." He smiled, "...they wouldn't want to have me there anyway."Right, he had mentioned their beef with him because they blamed him for their daughter's death.I nodded and headed towards the door again, "Okay then. I'll be on my way.""Sure. Send my greetings to them.""Bye."I couldn't get out of there fast enough after that and sighed in my seat beside Lyra and Greg when we got into our car.It was a limo my parents had sent us."What is it?""Nothing." I replied immediately, grabbing a bottle of champagne from the minibar there, and I poured each of us a glass.Might as well get the dinner started before we got there.