Markus
We head to the movie theatre and she watches the movie with so much awe in her eyes, it is contagious, making it seem as if these characters are all real. “I took her to the movies” I say on the phone, I know I’m going to be in trouble for doing it again but I can’t help it and I don’t care. “Markus! What the hell dude, I told you not to give her everything that she asks, it’s for her own good” Lucas yells at me through the phone, “you know I can’t resist, she was smiling so wide at me I couldn’t say no and besides its already too late now” I say. He is quite for a moment and then he says “my little girl has you wrapped around her tiny fingers with just a smile? Who are you? What’ve you done to my all ‘business’ and ‘no play’ brother?” he asks and laughs to himself. I’m annoyed now, what does he mean ‘no play’? I get my fair share of pussy and I’m content with the life I’m living. Falling in love and settling down was never my plan and it never would be, I am not the type and besides, why settle for one when you can have it all?
“You know what? The next time you send me to pick her up I’m going to take her for a vacation out of country, goodbye big bro” with that, I hang up on him and give my undivided attention to ‘Em bear’. The movie ends in two hours and we go to her favorite restaurant for some Italian food. She does all the talking, telling me about her best friend Sarah and a guy named Smith who helped her draw, I feel a little pang of anger surge through my body for the boy. I know he helped her, but if she ever gets hurt because of him, ugh! ‘He’s just 5 Markus, get it together’. After we’ve eaten, she insists we go to the shop with pink and brown strips to have chocolates. I’ve seen the place but I have no clue if their chocolate is worth a while. Yet, I find myself in front of the shop named ‘Golosi’ hmmm…. interesting choice, because I love my niece too much to not give her exactly what she wants.
I open the door for Emily to walk in first, she is looking at the place with the same awe and smile she had while watching the movie and I immediately appreciate my choice to bring her here. The place is elegant and modest not too flashy, I like it already. There are no customers in site considering how late it is but the shopkeeper isn’t there either, strange. Emily is looking at the place, mesmerized so I walk towards the counter “excuse me? Is anyone here?” I ask and immediately a blonde-haired girl pops her head up and stands. I breath hitches when I look at her delicate feature and I go very still, I stare at her emerald green eyes and into the depths of her soul. She is a specimen of pure beauty and grace, I’ve never in my entire life seen a women without artificial beauty products but this lady right in front of me is so natural and open, I wonder if she has a boyfriend? Wait what?
***
Lizzy
I was packing last of the leftover chocolates when a deep masculine voice called out, “excuse me? Is anyone here?” and I was shocked, his voice was smooth as honey and commanding as hell, as if he is the ‘king’ of the world. Other part of me was startled because it is too late for a customer to be here so I jump, and my eyes meet his steel grey one’s. He is in an impeccable three-piece suit looking every inch the king he is, he is so handsome I know every women within fifty-meter radius would salivate over him. That tan skin is so perfect with chiseled jaw that cuts like a knife I feel so ugly in front of his put together demeanor that I blush at the thought, out of embarrassment.
We stay like that, silently looking deep within each other’s soul when a soft voice breaks our little bubble, “hi, pretty lady” she says and I look down at her. The small angle is so beautiful, I reach down and pull her plum cheeks and say “hey there princess” her smile widens “you think I’m a princess? Which one do I look like?” she asks with so much enthusiasm my heart swells at her innocence.
“Judging by the color of your hair and eyes, you definitely look like Elsa” I say with a wide and genuine smile plastered on my face, I hazard a glance at the handsome stranger, he is looking at the little girl with so much love in his eyes just like a father would look at his daughter. Father. My heart shatters at that thought, if his daughter looks so beautiful, I wonder how gorgeous his wife must be, a light frown replaces my smiling face and I don’t know why? ‘He is a stranger, Elizabeth! Get your feelings under control!’
“Uncle Mark, she called me Elsa! She called me Elsa!” the little girl squealed excitedly “she did, didn’t she?” uncle Mark says in his deep masculine voice, wait Uncle Mark? I visibly release a sigh of relief. He is her uncle, yes!
My mood immediately lifts up, “now princess why don’t you tell me which chocolate you would like to have and I can pack them for you?” I ask, excitement over the stranger getting the best out of me. “I want 12 filled with caramel, 12 with strawberry essence and 12 with nuts” she says with a very serious tone. My eyes widen, no one asks for so many chocolates, they are expense so I look towards the hot stranger for permission, “just give her what she wants” he says with a cool tone as if buying expensive chocolates doesn’t puncture his bank account.
More money to me I guess, “okay” I say and get to packing the order, after 5 minutes I give her the packet and she ‘thanks me’ for it, after that she is gorging on the chocolates as if they were heaven for her, and I feel proud for being the reason for that smile.
I go to the cash counter and start making the bill, I look up at Mark and ask “don’t you want something for yourself?” he replies almost immediately “I’m not a chocolate person” I scrunch my nose a little in disgust and a lot in surprise, and say “that is not possible, every person has a favorite chocolate flavor even if it is just dark chocolate” he looks at me with an amused expression, then he shrugged and said “maybe, but I don’t” with that he pays the bill and starts to leave.
Perhaps I won’t be able to meet him again, so why not take my chances? I call out to him “sir?” he looks back at me with curiosity dancing in his eyes, I wrap one of my favorite chocolate and walk towards him, “complementary, try them I know you’ll love it”. He looks at the packet and takes it, “thank you” he mumbles under in breath and leaves abruptly. I look at his retreating back and wish, only if I could meet him one more time.
LizzyI walk back to my apartment, my thoughts wandering in the direction of the handsome stranger, his striking features and his piercing gaze I wonder how it would feel like to have his soft lips pressed against mine, or at least I think they were soft. Get a grip Lizzy! He isn’t going to come back anytime soon. I reach at my apartment building and sigh, my apartment isn’t anything big but it serves the purpose, living room, kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom, and that’s it, nothing more nothing less. I love my place it’s cozy and comfortable and the best part is, I don’t have to share it with anyone.I heave a sigh of relief and flop on the couch, I think about Mark and his physique and it instantly gets me hot. I walk towards my bedroom and bring out the big guns (I mean the vibrator) don’t judge me, I haven’t had real sex for around 12 months and this is the first time a guy has brought me to the brink of an
LizzyWhen I first realized someone was watching me, I did not expect it to be him, he was sweaty and it only made him look a hundred times more gorgeous. Even at this time of the morning he looks like a Greek God and his body screams ‘to be fucked’. Yesterday he had a suit on so I couldn’t see his forearms but now that they are on display, I can’t help but lick my lips. The bulge of his arms is so big, I wonder how they would feel under my fingers when we fuck? His lips are so full and kissable, I have to resist the urge to go over to him, throw my arms around his neck and kiss him to oblivion.My thoughts are interrupted when he asks me a question and I look like I’ve completely zoned out “huh, what did you say again?” I ask distractedly.“Oh I was just asking, how do you manage to get up so early in the morning because I thought only I could achieve such a feat” he asks with a grin o
LizzyFor a brief moment I thought I was hallucinating but when I blinked and he was still there standing in front of me with a teasing smile on his beautiful face, my heart squeezed. This is definitely a pleasant surprise, and is he teasing me? “Mr. Espinoza? To what do I owe this pleasure?” I say this with a sly smile and he rewards me with that charming grin which usually makes my knees weak. All the sadness I had when he said he had to leave and I thought he wouldn’t come back has been momentarily erased from my memory, the only thing or rather person I see right now is ‘Markus’.“What can I say, I’ll always be there for a damsel in distress, and do you need help with that?” he said, pointing at the heavy trays I was lifting. Honestly, I’m too tired to refuse any help from him so I take it, “I really wouldn’t mind an extra pair of hands” I give him an apologetic smile, I know h
LizzyI am such a bad person, I should’ve just gone for a date and then implied I wasn’t interested in him, but that would be wrong too. I think I did the right thing, ‘Markus is a nice guys he’ll find someone better than me in no time’ I think to myself but still a part of me wants him. I want to do everything I would’ve done if only I wasn’t scared of the heartache, I wasn’t always like this I lived in the moment until that moment became the most terrible one of my life and I couldn’t take it anymore.That night after I very politely refused Markus on his date proposal I went straight home and drowned myself in wine. How many genuine guys have I rejected in the past one year? And how many were as hot as Mark? I don’t know but what I do know is that it’s high time. I need to move on because Mark may not want me now but I need masculine support in my lonely life.I saw my laptop l
LizzyHe bought me flowers, he bought me fucking flowers! And I lashed out at him, on what basis? I’m an awful person. I’m focusing so much on protecting myself all the while people are hurting because of me. But the words are out of my mouth now and I regret them already. He has been nothing but polite to me since the very beginning, the anger and hurt in his eyes is evident but he is doing a better job than me to hide it.I need to make this right, I’m not this person “I’m not this person” that is the only thing that comes out of my mouth. I lower my eyes and look down; I am ashamed and embarrassed with my behavior this is not me I’m judging him on the basis of my past when Mark is nothing like him.“I know” Mark says softly and I look up at him in surprise, I’ve been nothing but rude to him and now he’s acting all cute and sweet and making me feel more guilt
LizzyI couldn’t hold myself back anymore, I had to kiss him for being so sweet and adorable (if guys can even be called that) the surprising part was that I believed him, I believed ever single word he told me. Because despite all the rumors that have been going in the media, I know he isn’t lying to me, it’s all in his eyes, all the emotions he cannot convey to me in words are swirling in his eyes as clear as daylight. We reach at Jimmy’s faster than we could have if we walked, Mark gets out first and walks around to open my door, ‘ever the gentle’ I thank him and he just smiles back at me.“So, Mr. Billionaire, are you street food allergic?” I asked in a mocking tone and he just crinkled his nose in the most delicious way, I laughed at his reaction. “I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not but I didn’t always have so much money, I basically lived on street food all through my c
LizzyThat was pretty easy, “didn’t you say you hate chocolates?” I ask utterly confused by his sudden change of heart. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I’d do anything for you” oh god! He is giving me that cheeky smile again, this will never get old. ‘Anything for me?’ that is too big of a promise to keep, anyway it is good to hear so I don’t mind, “alright then, why don’t you try this one for me?” I say handing him one of my newest combinations.He takes it and I look at him expectantly, it’s taken almost a month to master this one and if it fails…well…if it fails, I’ll have to try harder. I know Mark is the best choice for this because he isn’t biased, and I can always count on him for honest answers. He took a slow bite and my eyes immediately snapped to his lips, dark from the chocolate and so luscious I had the sudden urge to bite on them but
Lizzy“Where are you going to meet me?” I asked Mia on the phone, “your apartment, I’ll hire a cab” hmm…alright then, ‘we are actually doing this’. The last time I went to a club it was a complete disaster, after that I made sure to avoid them as much as I could. Some things are better left behind but when Mia used her ‘not so happy tone’ I couldn’t say ‘no’. Besides, things are actually looking good for me for the last couple of days and I could use some celebrating.“Also, I left out an itsy-bitsy detail” Mia says in a slow measured voice, “uh-huh doesn’t sound good, what are you hiding?” I ask a little worried about who she might’ve invited this time. “Just my brother Noah and his boyfriend Jax” oh no! This is not looking good for me, Noah practically hates me and we can’t stand each other even for a second. I wanted a
Markus Two years later “Come on Lizzy, listen to me for ones and sit your ass down” I all but yell at her, she has become an even bigger pain in the ass since we got the news of her pregnancy. She huffs and sits down on the couch in our penthouse “fine! But if it doesn’t taste exactly like nana’s, I will drag you to Hamptons with me right at this moment” she says from her place at the couch. She doesn’t know I already asked nana to send me the recipe months ago, “okay my sweet wife” I smile at her from behind the kitchen counter and start preparing her favorite egg and beacon sandwich. We got married a year ago, when I proposed I wasn’t sure how to go about it, Lizzy doesn’t value money as much as she values emotion and hence it was difficult to come up with something she’d appreciate. That’s when I first spoke to her ‘nana’, she helped me plan an intimate proposal on my private yacht, just the two of sun and
LizzyI have never been this happy for as long as I can remember, the four-letter word “LOVE” doesn’t scare me anymore, in fact it brings a sense of freedom now because I know that the man who captured my heart will never let anything or anyone break it. I know I’ll always be safe as long as I’m in his arms, I know I’ll always trust him more than I trust myself and I know I’ll always love him even if things might not work out in the future, which I think is highly doubtful.The night of the award ceremony, he drags me to his penthouse and makes love to me all night long until I have no energy to even lift my limbs. I groan when Markus lifts my limp body and mumble “where are you taking me?” I press my lips on his neck and kiss him lightly, he sucks in a breath before saying “you are making me hard baby” I giggle at that and rest my head on his chest. How could I ever live without this? T
MarkusI’ve been nominated from the most prestigious award ceremony of the year and I feel no thrill about it, I feel like an empty vessel just going on with life. I dress up like a mechanical doll, I pose for the reporters like a mechanical doll, I even clap like a mechanical doll! The host of the event notifies that it’s time to announce the winner in my category and for the first time in days, I feel something like excitement bubbling up in my veins, I brought my brother to sit with me as family and one of the chairs allotted to me is empty because I gave the invitation to Lizzy but obviously, she’s not here. I have tried to not think too much about her in the past few days but at this moment, one of the most important moments of my life, it pains me to think she isn’t here to share this with me.I compose myself as best as I can and straighten my posture even though from the inside I’m bursting like a fir
LizzyThat night, Mia called me asking if I was the one who gave Markus her number, I frown at that, of course I told Markus about Mia being my best friend but I never gave him Mia’s number. “He asked if you were with me” she says “why didn’t you tell him that you were at the Hamptons?” I tell her that I will explain all of it to her when I return, she also mentioned that Markus sounded worried on the call and that he was asking about my safety. My heart warms at the amount of concern he showed even though our fight on Saturday had left a lot of things unsaid. I don’t want him to go through more heartache than he’s already suffered so I send him a quick text.Lizzy: Mia informed me about your call, I need some time. Hope you understand.That is obviously a lie, I don’t need time, I have never been surer about anything in my life, but what I do need is a way to m
MarkusMiserable, that’s how I’ve been since the day I left Lizzy’s house, she hasn’t replied to my text messages and calls for the last two days, she’s not at her place nor is she at Golosi. I assigned a few men at both the places and there’s still no sign of her, this is all my fault I pushed her too far and now she’s gone, she left me. The only person I know from Lizzy’s former life is her best friend Mia, I contact my private investigator and ask him to get me the number of a certain ‘Mia James’ living in Las Vegas, by the end of the day I have three women fitting the description and their numbers.Since I don’t trust anyone with Lizzy, I call Mia myself she picks up on the second ring and says “Rick, this is last time I’m telling you, stop harassing me or I’ll have to contact the authorities and file a complaint” then she hangs up, my eyes widen and I scoff.
LizzyThe next morning, nana comes up to my room and opens the blinds, letting the scorching heat fall directly on my face, I groan “nana, I need sleep” I pull the sheets all the way over my head and try to sleep again. Nana pulls the sheets off me with superhuman power and says “what you need is homemade breakfast and fresh air” she starts to walk towards the door but stops abruptly and say “oh! And I am making egg and beacon” wait, did she say egg and beacon? “I am coming nana!” I squeal and go to brush my teeth.As soon as I step outside my room, I moan at the heavenly smell of the egg and beacon sandwich, I was five when nana first made that for me, my mother had just died and I was visiting nana. I didn’t speak to her at first but when she gave me her special egg and beacon sandwich, I couldn’t help but admire it. She hands me the sandwich and I take a big bite “this is so good&rdqu
LizzyI never understood why she loved Hamptons so much, sure the beach and the warm weather were nice but there were other places more developed, like take California for instance, for me Hamptons was a vacation destination but for her, it was her whole world. I rented a car for three days because I didn’t own one and started my journey to The Hamptons, after one bathroom break and a small lunch break, I made it to Hamptons around two and a half hour later. It was 3PM in the afternoon and I was worried to find her asleep, I’ll have to wait until she wakes up from her afternoon slumber.I parked my car in her driveway and made my way to the front door, the house wasn’t anything extravagant, it was a one-story bungalow in a L shaped layout, Christmas was the last time I visited her but I know she’d be happy to see me. I rang the bell ones and waited, after five minutes of waiting I lost hope and was about to get into the car when
LizzyI couldn’t sleep last night, I twisted and turned and thought, him leaving me wasn’t his fault but mine, it was all on me. It happened because I was too scared to face my own demons. I was a coward and that thought made me tired. To be honest I was tired of pretending to be okay, tired of showing people that I was strong enough when from the inside I was eroding. I needed to act on it before I became completely hollow, before everything that made me ‘ME’ vanished and all that was left behind was a shell of a person you couldn’t recognize. I needed to confide my fears in someone, someone who would understand why I did the things I did in my past, someone who wouldn’t judge me or look at me with pity in their eyes, someone like…. I jerked from my thoughts; I know who it is.Next morning, I was too tired to even open my eyes, so I did what I thought wasn’t possible in a million years, I took a day off
Lizzy“NEW YORK’S HOTEST TECH COUPLE SPOTTED TOGETHER” “ARE VERONICA AND MARKUS BACK INTO THE DATING GAME?” “BILLIONAIRE HEAD OVER HEELS FOR HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND”I read everything the reporters had to say but with each word, all I felt was numbness, I didn’t cry or curse myself for making poor life choices again, what’s the point when all is said and done? Empty, that’s how I felt as I stared out of my window at a distance, all my emotions had been sucked out of me with a single glance at those pictures. In one of them, Markus was whispering something in her ears, ‘probably telling her how much he loved her’ that thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, the next picture was of Veronica smiling sweetly at Markus and the last one was of him wrapping his arm a