The office was a cold place. Even more so now that Varya was gone. Every place reminds me of her, her joy, her smell, and how she lit up that room by just existing. I had tried staying focused; trying to work hard but it was all in vain.Every file that came to my hand every meeting wasted away without her being part of us. The vacuum inside me caused by her never really went away.When Jasmin showed up in the office that day I felt a tinge of hope flickering within me. She might know where Varya was or perhaps she could assist me locate her.I marched across the room and could feel my heart racing with trepidation. While Jasmin was chatting with a colleague, she halted when she saw me coming in her direction.“Kylo,” she responded hesitantly due to nervousness considering what I wanted to ask.“Jasmin,” I started after clearing my throat which had become an obstruction all through this time.“I require your attention for one moment.”With her consent, she followed suit inside my offi
Never before had the house felt this level of hush. It was early in the morning, yet the stillness was suffocating.The regular set of movements, as Varya moved down the corridor with whispering clothes and planks that croaked lightly—everything had vanished.In the kitchen; they were merely empty shells.I drifted unknowingly through corridors, while my footsteps echoed in silence. For some days I avoided Varya’s room, telling myself it would hurt too bad to step into it—but now I was standing in front of her door. Hesitatingly my hand hovered over the knob.I wasn’t sure if I could stand it—the memories that would hit me immediately after stepping inside. But I couldn’t avert my eyes for too long.A deep breath filled me as I turned the knob and pushed open the door.Her scent hit me instantly. The scent that used to be there is now gone. A pleasant haze filtered through the room and made me think of her as if she had just gone out for a moment, but would soon return. I knew she wou
Varya had disappeared for weeks and the silence in the house was unbearable. I couldn’t concentrate on work, or think properly.The place brought memories of her back to life – her laughter, her presence that was seldom noticed, those sneaky-hidden glances when we were not talking at all.She left my life so easily just like an air through a window that was left open; only emptiness remained.It had to stop. This was eating me up – feeling helpless without knowing where she was, what she was doing, or if she would ever be okay. It consumed me from within. Then I reminded myself that perhaps this was what she wanted.Maybe she went away because our contract expired? But even then my heart still longed for her because there was no heartache that could ever take its place… And all of this left unexplainable things on its own.No, I wouldn’t stay and wait for her return like this. I must search for her.I dialed Jasmin’s number and told him how close they had been at some point in time, b
"You..." Like a thunderbolt hitting an empty room, Grandpa’s voice boomed through the air, making people who were in the same room as him pay attention.He clutched his own shirt and seemed to be painfully holding onto it with both hands, causing his body to get twisted in a way that showed he was suffering.His fingers dug into its flimsy fabric as if he were tearing apart what belonged to him internally."Grandpa!" I called out, panic shooting through me like an electric shock. "Are you okay?"Eric and I rushed to his side, my heart pounding in my ears. We reached for him, but he batted our hands away with surprising force for a man his age."Don't touch me, you useless grandson!" he shouted, raising his walking stick and swatting at me like a fly.The sting of his words cut deeper than the blow of the cane. Normally, I'd have walked away. I'd have calmly excused myself, and let Grandpa's temper pass, but not this time.Not today. I needed him. I needed him to tell me something that
The house felt empty, hollow. The shrouded corners everywhere angrily kept still, making me suffocate. This was my refuge back in time, a place of pleasure and focus.Her absence made it feel like a prison to me. I was so accustomed to Varya being around; her powerful silence and her smell filled my nostrils like a drug. All that was left now was an unbearable sound of silence marking the moment she left once and for all.On our shared bed’s edge, I sat, looking down at that pillow supposedly belonging to Varya last night before she looked for bedbugs under the table behind this wall.There was also some scent other than hers mixed within these sheets but most importantly I could still sense even though it was fading slowly away every day passing by. It had been weeks since she disappeared. No notes, no calls.She hadn’t even said goodbye. At first, I thought it was because our contract had ended—that she had simply walked away as planned. After all, we had agreed on this from the beg
TIA’S POVBlood lingered in the air as I dried the blade using the wet dustcloth in my hand. I looked at the surface wound, which I had just made on Varya's arm. She grimaced, attempting to hold back her pain seemingly.But her face revealed all; it was pale and there were hints of colors like purple on it. Her eyes met mine contemptuously; however, fear was in there somewhere."You're not so special now, are you?"I muttered, leaning in close. The bitterness in my voice barely masked the jealousy bubbling beneath my skin."I don’t see what Theo saw in you. And Kylo? What could either of them possibly want with someone like you?"She stayed silent, her lips pressed into a thin line. That infuriated me even more. I wanted to see her break, to hear her scream, to understand what it was about this "peasant girl" that had both Theo and Kylo so captivated. What did she have that I didn’t?I straightened up and stared at her, my mind racing. Theo had been obsessed with Varya for years. Befo
VARYA’S POVDespite the sweat that adhered to my forehead, the cold bit into my skin. Every shallow breath I took caused the red, painful marks of the ropes on my wrists and ankles to pierce deeply into my body.With just one lightbulb dangling haphazardly from the ceiling to produce strange shadows on the unfinished concrete walls, the room was damp and dark. It seemed that time blurred into nothingness; an indistinct interval could not be told apart from another one.Ignoring the pain that radiated from a new cut on my arm which Tia had made out of her latest round of jealousy was something I tried hard to do.I do not understand her hatred, so fierce and violent it burns within her. Her hate consumes her and it threatens to consume me too.My mind drifted off to Kylo; his memories manifested in flashes within my consciousness just like glimmers in darkness. At certain moments when he thought I was oblivious he would look at me differently.Rarely would he smile but even then it cou
Kylo’s povSitting by my desk, I held tightly the glass of whiskey that stared blankly at me. The room was silent – it was a strange thing – and the solitude gnawed at me, no matter how hard I tried to overlook it.I had attempted to go back to doing what I knew best; pretending Varya’s sudden disappearance did not tear me apart inside but it was worthless. Without her, the house felt more barren, and each moment dragged her absence deeper into my heart's performance.But this wasn’t just about missing her. Something didn’t sit right with me—Varya wouldn’t have just disappeared. Not without saying goodbye to me, or at the very least, to my grandfather.He adored her like his own daughter, and she respected him deeply. She would have seen him one last time.I sat back in my chair and wiped my face with my palm. I started to think about the first time Varya had told me about her ex-fiance, Theo.I didn’t pay much attention to him at the time, figuring he was just a part of her past, not