VARYA’S POVI was standing in front of the mirror, taking a one-hundredth look at the way my dress was falling. The gorgeous midnight-blue gown fit my body flawlessly, its understated yet exquisite style radiating the confidence I wished to have this evening.It was a historic night—my first public acknowledgment since I joined the Cassian Group. Finally, my efforts in the marketing department had paid off, and I was going to be recognized with an award. My pulse raced from the excitement that rose up inside of me; it felt unreal."Are you ready?" I snapped out of my reverie as I heard Jasmin's voice resound from the doorway. As she entered the room, her gaze followed every inch of me."You look stunning, Varya."I smiled, feeling a wave of gratitude for her constant support. "Thank you, Jasmin. I just hope everything goes smoothly.""It will," she assured me, her smile radiating warmth. "You deserve this recognition."Don't let it be taken from you." I felt a bit uneasy in my stomach
I woke up the next morning with a knot of anxiety in my stomach. My thoughts kept going back to the award presentation like it was a bad dream. I was hollowed out by Tia's smug countenance, the murmur of the throng, and the uncertainty she had sowed. The team will be confirming Tia's statements today. I hated the process, but I had to go through it.Jasmin scooped me up, a determined expression on her face. “We’ll get through this, Varya. Don’t let Tia’s lies shake you.”I nodded, trying to muster the strength to believe her. “I know, but what if—”“No what-ifs,” she interrupted firmly. “You’ve worked too hard to let someone like Tia destroy your reputation.”There was tension in the air as we got to the workplace. Previously kind and encouraging co-workers now cast me indifferent looks. Even though I could hear the muttering as I passed, I refused to display any weakness by keeping my head up.The crew had convened in the conference room to deliberate on the verification procedure, s
One of the longest days of my life was the day Kylo and Dora went to the well-attended event as an official couple. I got back to my office, acting as if I was working but my mind kept on wandering about them being together.Of course, it wasn’t my first time seeing them being so familiar with each other within the public eye but somehow today it felt otherwise.Dora had ensured that they rubbed this in my face, over the past few days, showing me how close she is with him. It made me want to pull her down from the heavens and snap Kylo’s calming, superior look away from her.The worst thing was jealousy, which gnawed me from the inside as if I were a piece of meat with the best tenders taken away. I was confused. Why did I get worked up over it? If seeing them together caused physical pain, what exactly did it signify?This haunted me all day, as day was turning into evening, and I could not get the image out of my mind. My level of annoyance rose and reached a point that I could not
KYLO’S POVOn that day of the event, Dora was mostly full of smiles and touches by holding onto my arm as we entered the venue. The epitome of the loyal spouse but I was distracted.My thoughts kept drifting to Varya and the look on her face when she knew Dora and I were going out together. There was something in her eyes I couldn't quite place—hurt, maybe? Or was it jealousy?I dismissed the thought and tried to concentrate on what lay ahead of me that evening. As darkness deepened into itself, my body moved automatically from one emotionless effort to another; some nods were given and polite smiles offered yet the recollection of Varya persisted in haunting my mental meanderings.When we finally got home, I was relieved. The event had been long, and Dora's constant presence was starting to grate on my nerves. As we stepped out of the car, I noticed another vehicle pulling up…Varya.But she wasn’t alone. There was a strange guy who was assisting her out of the vehicle, his hand holdi
VARYA’S POVI was still panting when I came out of the kitchen after that aggressive conversation with Kylo. His jealousy was quite unexpected and gave me some trouble getting past the feelings that were running through me; the burning look in his eyes and the manner in which they observed me was too much.I wanted a place where I could be alone with myself and my thoughts.Thankfully I walked down the hall with the intention of getting some rest in my room but the quiet wasn’t lasting for long. But when I turned the corner, Dora and Cassandra were standing right in front of me, and they did not look happy to see me at all They looked at me with scorn and anger in their eyes – I knew it was going to be bad.“Well, well, well,” Dora muttered as she placed her hands on her bust and fixed them into a system of folding it across."See who made the decision." to show up."Cassandra mirrored her stance, her eyes narrowing. "I can't believe you had the nerve to bring another man into this ho
In the bar there was not much light; the only sound that could be heard was the faint music which was rather encouraging but at the same time unsettling.The light flickered on the walls as I moved from one table to the other; the floor had a thick carpet that absorbed the sound of steps. To say the least, it was not a venue I would have preferred for the meeting, particularly with Dora.But when she called and insisted we meet, her tone uncharacteristically civil, I couldn't refuse. Curiosity and caution warred within me as I made my way to the secluded corner where she sat, a drink already in hand.“Varya,” she greeted with a thin smile as I approached.There was nothing friendly about her smile; rather, the curve of her lips betrays a smirk, icy and unkind.I nodded getting into the seat opposite her. “You wanted to talk?”She slowly sipped on the liquid that was in her glass and she never once looked away from me.With narrowing eyes and lips parted, they were like twin pools of i
KYLO’S POVI allowed my mind to wander towards Varya as the documents on the table before me began to merge and get hazy. Since our rather aggressive encounter in the kitchen, I found myself not able to get her out of my head.Her rebellion and her weakness, her body language, and her eyes when she was scared but there was a hint of something else that I cannot describe. Something awoke in me – I could not fathom what that was, for that moment I refused to acknowledge its presence.It was so quiet that the knock at the door suddenly brought me out of my daydreaming. I was about to give my answer when Dora threw the door open and entered the room with a most fierce look on her face.”Kylo,” she said immediately, “we have to talk.”I breathed in deeply, and let out a tired breath as I leaned back in the chair. "What is it, Dora?"She walked up to my desk and threw a piece of paper before me The piece of paper gave all the details.“Why the hell didn’t you inform me about this?” she stor
VARYA’S POVIn the days that followed Dora's threat, there was constant tension. I saw that I was staring over my shoulder all the time, wondering when the other shoe might come out. I decided to get lunch with Jasmin to take my mind off things.I reasoned that some normalcy could be helpful. We decided to meet at a mall near the office, somewhere I could get lost in the crowd and temporarily forget about my problems.The familiar sights and noises of the mall provided a little escape from my troubling thoughts as I strolled through it. At our normal location, a quaint café tucked away in a secluded nook, Jasmin was already waiting. She gave me a hug and gave me a worried expression."Hey, Varya. How are you holding up?" she asked as we sat down.I sighed, feeling the weight of my anxiety. "I'm managing, but barely. The thought of Mr. Cassian finding out about the contract is eating me alive."Jasmin grabbed my hand from across the table. "We'll work things out. In this, you're not by