DAMIEN KARLSON

"Let's go inside, Zia. Mom will be so happy to see you," Riley uttered, opening the passenger seat's door of Zia's car. After getting done with their classes, Zia dropped Riley to her home.

"Sorry, Rey but I am going to meet Dylan so I will meet aunty in the evening at the party," she flashed her an apologetic smile. Riley nodded in understanding.

"Fine, I will see you in the evening at your birthday party. See ya…" Riley said, earning a nod from Zia. 

Riley waved at her after getting out of the car and then Zia drove away.

She stopped her car in front of Karlson's Company because Zia decided to surprise Dylan with her presence in his workplace. She was habitual of doing it as she had surprised him like that before many times.

Opening her car's door, she stepped out of it. She was about to walk inside the building but stopped when she remembered something. She again twirled around and opened her car's door. 

She grabbed the red rose which she had bought for him on her way to his company. Dylan loved red roses so whenever she met him, she gave him a red rose which made him so happy.

She was smiling at that rose when that figure walked out of the building's main gate but she didn't not notice it. Zia got out of her car and shut the door. She turned around to enter the premises when her eyes unintentionally trailed at her left where she saw three men walking away. Their backs were facing her so she couldn't see their faces but the one who was walking ahead of the other two was looking really very tall. She assumed the tall one was the boss and the other two were his guards. They all were dressed up in formal clothes. What else she had expected to see in a working place… people in funky clothes? She scoffed at her own thoughts and then jogged inside the gate.

The guards bowed at her and greeted her because they all had gotten familiar with her by now. The receptionist told her that Dylan was in his cabin and he was free now, so Zia straight went to his cabin.

Zia was walking towards his cabin but her feet halted when she saw the last person she wanted to see on earth….Chloe Lockwood….his personal secretary. She was coming out of his cabin which made her fist tighten but she didn't let it show on her face and again started walking.

Both the girls stood in front of each other and somehow the displeasure they both felt for each other was evident in their presences but none of them let it overpower them.

"Is Dylan inside?" Zia asked her to which Chloe nodded and then attempted to leave but Zia's question stopped her in her tracks.

"Didn't you inform him about my call, Miss Lockwood?" 

Chloe tilted her head and simply answered.

"I apologise. I forgot to tell Mr Karlson about your call, Miss Alcazar," 

The corner of Zia's lips slightly tugged upward at her words.

"It's okay. He didn't forget to call me back even when you forgot to tell him about my call," Zia knew exactly where her words were hitting Chloe and that was what she exactly wanted. Chloe didn't utter a single word.

Zia stepped a bit closer to her.

"But don't make it a habit and next time, don't forget to tell him about his relevant things, especially those things which are related to me….okay, Miss Lockwood? Because that is what you're here for," she spat at her and then walked past her whereas Chloe just gazed at her disappearing figure vanishing inside his cabin.

"Hey handsome…" Zia said, enthusiastically by watching Dylan sitting on his chair. Her voice made him look up from the papers on the desk and a smile immediately replaced his scowl but Zia was quick enough to notice it.

She stepped inside the cabin whereas he stood up from his chair.

"Is everything alright, Dylan? You looked worried?" She asked him, concerned. Dylan sighed before walking closer to her. He pulled her into a gentle hug and kissed her head.

"You don't need to worry about it, Zia," he smiled at her but it didn't buy her.

"I know I don't but you also know that you can share any problem with me, so now tell me…what's bothering you?" She questioned him, strictly. Dylan chuckled and that was what made her more special for him. She never forgot to care for him like a true friend. She was just not only the love of his life but his caring well-wisher and best friend too.

He held her palm and dragged her towards the sofa inside that cabin. Dylan sat on that sofa and made her sit on his lap. He looked into her beautiful sapphire eyes which were waiting for his answer. Dylan suspired before opening his mouth.

"It's about my elder brother, Damien," 

"Your elder brother? But doesn't he live outside the country?" Her brows arched in untidiness. Dylan nodded.

"Yes he does but he has come here suddenly and I don't even know why?" 

Zia noticed the displeased emotion in his caramel brown eyes.

"But isn't it a good thing your brother has finally come back home after living in another country for almost 2 decades?" 

Dylan again exhaled heavily at her question.

"For normal siblings but not us?"

His answer filled her head with more confusion. Dylan chuckled at her adorable reaction and pecked her cheeks.

"It's a bit complicated. Me and Damien don't share a very good bond, in fact there is no bond between us at all from the start. He doesn't like me and somehow the feelings are mutual," he tried to clear her confusion.

"But ain't every sibling fight during their childhood days but it doesn't mean they continue to despise each other even after growing mature?" 

Dylan again sniggered but there was no humour behind his laugh.

"But I guess no sibling tries to kill each other even when they are just kids?" 

Her gaze bewildered processing the meaning behind his words.

"When I was just 3 and Damien was like 7 years old, he attempted to harm me many times like throwing me from the bed and stairs, hurling a knife at me, continuously fighting with me,"

Her eyes widened hearing him.

"Our parents tried to ignore his actions because Damien was a bit different from other children of his age. He didn't like going out or playing with other kids or getting associated with other people. He barely used to talk even with our mom and dad and because of his unusual behaviour, dad even took him to several doctors but his behaviour never changed, in fact he turned more aggressive and short tempered with the passing time, especially towards me and one day, he crossed his limits," Dylan paused whereas she waited for him to complete the story.

"Damien threw me in our penthouse's swimming pool when I was just 3 and let me drown there and it was just because of a house maid who saw him pushing me in the pool, I got saved and that day, our parents took a very big decision of sending Damien away from home to another country at one of my uncle's house because his growing disliking towards me was turning really very irrational and unendurable so mom and dad sent him away and he started living with my uncle in another country and grew up there. Dad called him back several times after he completed his studies there. He even told Damien that he wanted to make him the next CEO of Karlson's as he is the elder one among both of us but he never agreed to come back and lived there almost for 20 years until today and I don't even know why he has come back all of a sudden,"

She silently heard the entire story about his elder brother whose name only she had heard from Dylan's mouth a couple of times before but never felt the necessity to find more about him until today.

"Don't mind me, Dylan but your brother seems psycho," she blurted out, making Dylan laugh.

"He is not a psycho but yeah….he has really very bad temper issues more worse than yours," Dylan bumped his forehead against her. She scoffed.

"I am not like him because even in my anger, I can never even imagine killing someone," she defended herself. Dylan gave a peck on her nose bridge.

"You don't even need to be like him because I don't want a person like him to even be near your presence who can go to any extent to harm someone," Dylan said, earning a smile from her.

Hey...by the way, where is my rose today? Did you forget it?" He faked a saddened expression. She giggled before extending the rose to him.

"I am not like you, Mr Karlson who has even forgotten to wish me my birthday," she puckered up her lips, even after knowing Dylan was the first person to wish her on a call last night at sharp 12 a.m.. he always wished her first. 

Dylan grinned before pecking her tiny pout.

"I apologise with the depth of my heart, Miss Alcazar. Your any punishment is acceptable,"he muttered against her face while cupping her cheeks.

She tittered before straddling him and surrounding her arms around his neck. 

"Fine then give me a birthday kiss," 

Dylan chuckled before pressing his lips against hers. She immediately reciprocated his action, causing their tongues to collide. They both devoured their mouths softly and gently.

"Happy birthday, my favourite and I love you,"he whispered after pulling back. She smiled alluringly and pecked his lips.

"I love you too," 

They both grinned ear to ear and then she hugged him.

"You know I am so excited for my tonight's birthday party because finally we don't have to hide our relationship from anyone as my mum and dad accepted us," she uttered in his ear because Zia and Dylan were dating each other from the last 2 years but she never told about this to her parents because she wanted Dylan to settle down first and wanted to grow figure out everything herself and when she finally did, she talked to her parents about their relationship today in the morning and like she had expected, her parents accepted their relationship because Dylan's and hers family were really close to each other and her parents knew about Dylan very well too as they both had grown up together from their childhood.

Dylan planted a gentle kiss on her ear and hugged her tightly but the sound of her phone message notification made them pull apart.

"It's my mum's message. She is asking where I am as she knew my classes had already ended an hour ago," she told him, staring at her phone.

"Okay I have to leave now," she got down from his lap and stood up on her feet. Dylan followed her action of standing up too.

"Bye bye. I will see you and uncle aunty in the evening, okay?" She embraced him. Dylan pecked her hair and nodded.

"Take care and drive safely," he said, beaming.

She flashed him a smile before dashing out of his cabin and he just stared at her disappearing figure with a content smile on his face.