VINCENTI knew it was her. Everything in me screamed that she was the one, but I needed more than my intuition to prove what I already knew.She had dropped lilies for Grace too. How had she known Grace's favorite flowers if it was not her? She had never been good at lying to me. I was not surprised when she had embarrassingly started to stutter while we talked. Everything started to make sense. Well, almost everything. My plans had changed. I had started to accept how I felt about her more now that I knew who she was and why she was doing what she was doing.Well, I did not know why she was actuating it, but I had a clue. She had been hurt, and maybe she felt I was the one who had hurt her, because I had only walked in on her when she was getting up on her feet and blowing Grace's grave a kiss. Her eyes were red and swollen. She looked like she had been crying for a while.James and I were currently in my office as I told him about my suspicions. He looked confused. "You mean, you
THIRD PERSON POVThe restaurant was alive with chatter and the soft clinking of silverware against porcelain plates. Waiters glided between tables, balancing trays of delicately arranged dishes, while the warm, ambient lighting cast a golden glow over everything. At a corner table, near the window, Whitney sat with Vincent, her hand resting lightly on his arm as she laughed at something he had said. Her laughter was bright, her eyes sparkling with an affection that, to anyone else, might have seemed genuine. But Katerina knew better. She watched them from across the table, her smile fixed but her eyes sharp, taking in every detail. The way Whitney tilted her head, the way she leaned in just a bit too close to Vincent, her hand lingering on his arm a moment too long. What was she doing? More precisely, what was he doing? Da’ana told her that he hated Whitney, so what was this?Vincent smiled back at Whitney, his expression warm and easy, but there was a flicker of something in his eye
KATERINAI stood by the door, holding my phone in my hand as I swiped through the notifications. It was empty, and while I hadn’t expected them to text, I had at least hoped they would disappoint me a little.I pushed off the feeling that was digging a hole in the pit of my belly, and I released a deep breath as I shoved the phone in my pocket, ignoring the way it seemed to burn a hole there.Simon’s silence hurt more, and I tried to push away the look on his face when I saw him the last time. Vincent, I could handle and I was used to it a little, considering our past, but Simon had always loved me like a brother.Right from the start.I shook off the feeling and moved into the room, just as my phone buzzed. I knew it wasn’t going to be either of the boys, and Kevin hadn’t still texted since our last conversation, so I brought out the phone.Surprise flooded through me when I saw the name at the top of the notification bar. It was Whitney.She hadn’t exactly texted since the last time
KATERINA A yawn escaped my lips as I left Whitney’s apartment. God, I was so tired. I was too tired to do anything else right now, I just wanted to go home and rest. I sprinted towards the elevator and turned wrong multiple times hoping that the people that had chased after Whitney were not currently chasing after me. I walked to the elevator, my heels clicking on the floor and echoing in the empty hallway. She had gotten what she deserved, and it took me all my strength to not laugh at her while she cried. Took my all of my power to console her and act like I was truly sorry for her while she was wailing. I ran my hands through my hair just as I got to the front of the elevator, my head was turned to the back when the door to the elevator opened and I just ran inside before turning to see who I had entered with. I paused when I saw him. Vincent. I gritted my teeth, my eyes narrowing as I considered my options. There were two ways, either I take the stairs or let the door close.
WHITNEY (Surprise POV) "I don't want to go to a bloody seer, okay? That's a complete waste of time and very… just a complete waste of time, and I am absolutely not interested." I smiled up at the new acquaintance I had just made at the private beach house I was currently in, reapplying my lipgloss. The poor girl looked disappointed, and kept glancing back at the ugly hut which the seer stayed in. As if it was not traumatizing enough that I had been at a beach like this one just a few days ago, where I was embarrassed and called out like a criminal. The media still had things to say about me until today. With every passing day came a new narrative, and it was not long before I gave up on reading captions about me in blogs. I was not the perfect woman, far from it, but everything those blogs wrote were lies. Big, fucking lies, and they had just managed to ruin my reputation on the media and paint me to be the biggest faker ever. The difference with this beach was that I did n
VINCENT "Kurt's funeral is tomorrow. You asked me to represent you there, so I'll just temporarily hand over my duties to Miss Smith. Is that okay?" James asked me. I nodded absentmindedly. At the moment, I could not even fully remember who the hell 'Mrs Smith' actually was. Whoever she was, she would be working for me for three days, until James was back. I hoped she was a bit different from other women who would see this as a chance to leave their chest areas almost bare whenever they were around me. When I was a few years younger, I seized the opportunity and taught a handful of them serious lessons in bed. Now, I was not old and aging or anything.. I simply was rarely in the mood to play games anymore. Whitney kept trying to seduce me when we were together. I had to constantly remind her that this whole thing between us was not real, and I was big interested in her body.. not in the least. She would laugh it off and assure me in the end that I would 'come around'. Or
KATERINAI soaked myself in work.. because the only other option was locking myself up in my room and I decided that my situation was not pathetic enough for that. I had just placed my work phone down on the table after a call when another call came in on my personal phone. I frowned, looking into the phone to see who it was.Simon.This was the first time he was calling me after the incident on my way to the cemetery. I grabbed my phone off the table and just stared into the phone as it rang, heavily contemplating if I should pick up or just remain in my bubble until I decided that it was completely fine for me to get out of it.My finger slipped in between my thinking process, and I answered the call, placing my phone against my ear,"Hello?""He knows. He saw me outside a mall today, even he came to shop with Whitney Jackson. He stopped me and told me he had a chat with the new girl I am talking to. He apparently slipped some tracker in her but I have searched all over her body an
KATERINAI continued to check around for any sign of my staffs, at least one of them. Relief flooded my chest when I saw my head chef. We ran into each other's arms at the same time, the tears starting to roll down my cheeks now.This was the first time I had ever initiated physical contact with them but the emotions were too much in that moment, and again, I guess I had gotten enough time to be able to train myself to actually relate with my staff and get over whatever PTSD or trauma Vincent had left me with over domestic workers.When we pulled away, both crying now, I asked her about the others, "The drivers? Security? Cleaners? Is everyone fine? Please tell me everyone is fine…"She nodded, and I felt like going on my knees right there just to cry and scream with gratefulness. Two people had died from the fire incident at Vincent's company and it was my fault. I had not been able to get over that one yet.If anyone had died in this house tonight because of me too, I knew I would