I love you!

"Noo!" Yoori screamed, jumping off her bed. The warm quilt covering her body slipped and a cold breeze hit her. Massaging her temples gently, she walked towards the mini-refrigerator at the left corner of her room and took a half-litre of water bottle. She gulped down its contents in a go and slumped on the cold tiled floor.

It had been a year since that bad dream haunted her again. All throughout her day, she only had one wish. To forget that incident as soon as possible. She woke up from the floor to avoid sinking into it. She walked to the bathroom for a cold shower. Cold showers have been like medicine to her.

She remained rooted in place as the cold water poured down on her. The burning effect on her heart started to fade away as warm tears streamed down her flushed chubby cheeks. "Paley!" She whisphred and covered her mouth almost immediately.

Why would she think of him yet again when she had promised herself to get over him? "Perhaps you still love him." Her sub-conscious mind said, and she blurted, "No way! I forgot him long ago. The day he refused to stand by me. "

The fresh events of that day were displayed in her mind vividly. It happened a week after her humiliation on the alter. That day, she woke up from her bed after seven days and took a long, comfortable shower. She took a blow-drier and a jelly comb and straightened her hair. When she was done, she applied some light make-up to her face and put on a pretty fur dress.

It was so cold; winter was about to arrive. She walked downstairs, had a delicious breakfast to her heart's content, and relaxed a bit. She felt like taking a walk since it had been a long time since she did that. She walked out of her father's mansion, jumped on her red Ferrarri, and drove away. She found herself driving to the city's park; it was her favourite place.

When she was young, her parents used to take her there whenever she felt sad. And because she used to meet other children there as well, she would go back to her bubbly, sweet nature in a short while. But that day was different from all others. She didn't get the happiness she went looking for. The cold ice-cream she licked and the hot coffee she sipped never raised her mood. She had an idea, and she acted on it right away.

She called Paley and asked him to meet her at the park since there was something urgent she needed to discuss with him. He was angry with her, but she was sure he would come because there had never been even a single day he dared to refuse her no matter what she had done. And just like she had expected, Paley drove through the pack a few minutes later.

She waved at him the moment he walked out of the car, since she was sitting on the last table, and majestically, Paley strode towards her with a cold face. His piercing blue eyes seemed to be more cold that day. They shone with hatred and anger, making her flich on her seat. She suddenly thought she had made the wrong choice by having him over, but she had to deal with him since he was already there.

"Look, I bought your favorite coffee." She tried to start a conversation by pushing a cup of cappuccino into his presence.

"Mmh!" He mumbled, evidently because he was interested. Clearing her throat, she said in a low voice, "I called you here so that we could talk about us." She stressed us. Paley stared at her angrily for a moment before asking, "Us? Oh heavens, spare my ribs. " He chuckled.

"Look, Yeshen. You may see this as a joke, but I am not. I know what transpired on our wedding day was not healthy at all, so I called you to say the truth and clear the misunderstanding. " She said

Well, what do you have to say, lass? Feed me your lies. " He barked, his jaws tightening. Veins stood up in his face, and she knew she had crossed the line. He was boiling in anger. In fact, his anger was beyond calm. She was sure it was because he had addressed her as a lass. He did that whenever he was angry.

"The video...of me with that mysterious young man." He raped me. I never enjoyed all that. It was edited. " She said she would explain everything to him. How she had gone to rescue her sister and best-friend but she ended up being the victim.

He failed to listen to her because the moment she mentioned the video, he slammed the cup he was holding down so hard that it slipped into the cemented floor, breaking into pieces. She grabbed her handkerchief and damped it in his suit, trying to dry the coffee spills that had stained it, but he yanked his hand away, twisting it in the process. "How dare you?" "How dare you remind me of that nightmare, lassie?" He asked. His voice was loud enough to attract every passer-by. He swung his right leg off the left one and stood up, his blue eyes sparkling with fire. His nose flared.

She gasped when she saw his knuckles had turned white. "The video is not only a nightmare for you, but for me too. "Please, forgive me, and let's start afresh." She begged, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Forgive you? Start afresh? Get out of your fantasies. It will never come true. " He blurted out, not minding the crowd of people who had stood nearby to witness what was going on. He knew the next day that all magazines would be written in his name, but he cared less. His aim was to disgrace the lass begging in front of him, because, after all, he never loved her, he was after her body.

"Listen and listen to me carefully, Yoori," He started his voice low, after asking his men to shoo the crowd away. "I never loved you, Yoori." He said this with his blue eyes locked on hers.

"No Yeshen, you are saying this to hurt me, right?" She laughed with tears in her eyes.

"Why would I? That's the truth, no matter how painful it is. My only aim was to gain your virginity and..something else. " He said, smirking.

"What?" Yoori asked, failing to believe it.

"Yes, but it seems like I was not lucky and some stupid man beat me into it. You know what? " He asked, pacing around, playing with his watch.

Everyone used to say how hard it was to get a beautiful girl like you into their arms. One day, me and my boys, as we gathered in my house for a drink, the deal was brought up.

"What deal?" "What are you talking about, Yeshen?" She asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"Shut the fuck up and let me finish." "What am I talking about? Urgh! "What are you talking about? "What are you talking about?" He mimicked her. "How in hell am I supposed to finish talking if you keep interrupting me? "Only God knows how stupid you were as a student," he yelled, and she nodded absently.

"Good." He complemented her and continued, "There is one of my cousins you don't know about, but that doesn't matter. You may as well learn his name. His name is Ocean, and he resides in Bradley City. When we told her about you, he promised that whoever could spend a night with you would be rewarded handsomely. I bet a billion dollars or something. Who would say no to such a deal? Of course I got you, but you were unfair. Who knew you would refuse to sleep with me? You promised to do so after we got married, right? I arranged the wedding just for that. After a year, I was going to divorce you. Can you imagine that? I only married you for money! " He grinned evilly.

Yoori stumbled, slumping back in her seat, unable to believe what she had just heard. She couldn't believe it. He wanted to marry her just for a billion dollars? "But you are rich, Yeshen Paley. Why? " She asked, and his response was as senseless as she was at the time: "Am I rich?" "Yes, but I am not satisfied." He said. "Now, get out of my life and never look back. I don't, and I will never love you—neither now nor in the next life. He yelled.

Yorri kneeled down despite the curious stares of the passersby and begged him, "Don't leave me, Yeshen. I love you. She sat down, not minding the fact that her dress was stained by the coffee, which had earlier slipped on the floor. She grabbed his legs and pleaded with him, but with a cold stare, Yeshen yanked her hands away, whirled, and walked away.

"Your breakfast is ready, ma'am." Her cook's voice jerked her out of her thoughts. She tied a towel around her and walked out, saying, "Start setting the table; I'll be down in a jiffy." She shouted back, walking towards her walk-in closet.

Settling on a short, creamy summer dress, she walked downstairs to have her breakfast, her mind reminiscing on what had happened the night before with her buddy, Jas.

Her phone bleeped, and a tired sigh escaped her lips. She had totally forgotten that she was supposed to fly to City X to finalize a deal. Rushing into her study room, she started packing her important files, which were carelessly arranged, not leaving even a single space to keep a pen.

"Helper!" She called her maid, and she came running immediately.

"You called me, Miss Yoori?" She asked, and she nodded. "Arrange my clothes for me; also call my personal driver and ask him to prepare my car. Remind my pilot to prepare the private jet too, because we will be flying down to City X in a few hours. "And one more thing, pack clothes that define me." After speaking, she paused, waiting for her last words to sink deep into her maid's mind and rest, her chocolate brown eyes scanning her.

"Everything is noted, Miss Yoori." She said with a smile across her face.

"Don't just note them; make them happen." And I should remind you again, just in case. "Pack clothes that define me, and oh!" "Call my assistant and ask him to bring his ass over right now," she demanded, arranging files in her bag.

"What?" She asked her maid when she stood rooted to her place, staring at her.

"I was just wondering how you managed to achieve all this at such a young age." Her maid responded.

"Well, remind me of your name, though I am bad at recalling them." She said.

"Jasmine, Miss Yoori, but you can call me Jas." She said, and Yoori gasped. “I mean, not your Jas; I am a different Jas; does it make sense?" She giggled, and Yoori blushed.

"Of course, you can't be my Jas, and to answer your question, I managed all this at such a young age because I never had a choice. "Now off you go and pack my bags."