That feeling of ease vanished the moment I saw Damien again.Damien stood at the entrance of my place, witnessing Alex dropping me off.I saw him standing in the doorway. He seemed to hesitate, not going inside.As the sound of the car pulling up reached the door, Damien turned around, sensing something.What a terrible situation it was for Damien to see his mistress getting out of her ex-boyfriend's car.I felt foolish for accepting Alex's invitation earlier, even though I didn't regret the ease I felt being with Alex.Now, with a clear mind, I knew I had to leave that ease behind."Alex, thanks for driving me back. You can go home now," I said before getting out of the car.I hoped Damien didn't recognize who was driving me home.Alex noticed I had moved to a new address. This upscale neighborhood was not somewhere I could afford to live after going bankrupt.He looked quite downcast.I figured he had guessed Damien provided this new place for me."Please, Allison, let me
When I woke up, Damien hadn't come back all night, and the room was exactly as he left it.I felt exhausted, lying in bed with my face buried in my hands, feeling helpless.Damien's warning before he left left me unsure what to do next.His possessiveness was overwhelming, making me afraid. How could I possibly break things off with Alex?Maybe I should just forget it all, pretending Alex never existed in my life?That sounded like a fantasy.Today, I needed to focus on rehearsing with Mia, and nothing else could get in the way.I shook my head, trying to clear thoughts of Damien and Alex from my mind.To hide my awful complexion, I applied some makeup, making myself look a little better.When I got to school, Eleanor had been waiting in the rehearsal room for a while.Mia and I changed into our ballet clothes and shoes, did some warm-up exercises, and decided to run through our parts separately first.Eleanor set up a video camera to record us so we could review and see whe
That evening, after I returned home, I got a call from Mia. She told me she had contacted Eleanor.Mia thought our ballet skills were good enough and that instead of practicing repeatedly, it would be better for me to adjust my state before rehearsing again.Of course, she didn't say that to Eleanor. She told our coach that we had trained enough on the first day and needed a break, so we wouldn't be rehearsing tomorrow. Eleanor, as usual, complained that we hadn't restrained ourselves as she advised, but she granted us a day off."I'm really grateful, Mia." Mia had given me the chance to adjust myself."Save your useless gratitude. I hope next time I see you, your condition won't be so bad that I feel the urge to change partners." Mia's teasing now seemed endearing to me.Before hanging up, she asked if I wanted to go shopping with her, saying it was a good way to relieve stress.I declined."I think I'll visit my adorable little siblings tomorrow. That will help me.""Alrigh
I sent Olivia and Daniel to Susan's early.The day was still young, and I decided to call Damien.As the phone rang, I felt a surge of anxiety. I feared he might see my call and ignore it, but thankfully, he answered."Damien... I was hoping you might be willing to talk to me again," I said softly, trying to make my voice sound as fragile as possible.I hoped this would work on Damien.It seemed he was in a meeting. I heard him say a few words to someone nearby, likely his assistant, Stephen, and then he moved to a quieter place."I'm glad you reached out, but Allison, I hope you thought this through before contacting me," he said. Despite claiming to be glad, his tone was calm, revealing nothing of his true feelings.This made me even more nervous.Biting my lip, I quickly replied, "I think I have, Damien.""Then I'll come to see you. I hope you're sincere. I don't want to be angry with you anymore."With that, Damien hung up. I instantly understood his message. He would be
I only relaxed when Damien held me in his arms and kissed me.I thought it meant he was still willing to help pay for my mother's medical bills."Allison, I'm so happy." Damien kissed my forehead and the corners of my mouth. "Is there anything you want me to do?"Still in a post-orgasmic daze, I looked at Damien with dreamy eyes and told him, "I took Olivia and Daniel to see my mother. She hasn't woken up yet.""Allison, don't be sad. Maybe we just need to wait a bit longer? She'll wake up." Damien's chin rubbed against the top of my head, his voice gentle."But the medical report includes a recommendation from the doctor to give up on my mother's treatment. That day, I also met my aunt, who almost immediately chose to give up on my mother after seeing the doctor's suggestion..."I felt my eyes heat up and begin to sting but to get Damien's help, I had to keep talking."Damien, I don't want to give up on her. I want you to help me again."Saying such words might be a bit embarr
After Damien helped transfer my mother, besides rehearsing for my personal performance at school, I visited my mother more frequently, eagerly hoping her test results would come out soon.I pinned my hopes on this.It made me look much more energetic these past few days, and Mia noticed, saying I seemed full of life.I told her about my mother's transfer. I had no one else to share my joy with. I wanted to wait until my mother's test results were out before telling Olivia and Daniel the news.I was merely a kept woman to Damien, and the hug from last time was just out of my excitement. The only person left to share my joy with was Mia, who was the most aware of my emotional shifts. I couldn't hide anything from her."This is really good news! Maybe Mrs. Claire will be able to make it to your graduation performance.""From your lips to God's ears, Mia," I shrugged.After our rehearsal, Mia pulled out three tickets from her backpack in the locker room and handed them to me."Mayb
Damien POVWhen I received that photo, I was listening to Stephen's report on recent work arrangements.I felt somewhat bored. I was more interested in finding out where Allison was. Ever since we reconciled, I found myself wanting to spend more time with her.I thought maybe she was trying to transform the person she fell in love with into me. She learned to be proactive, to compromise, and to focus on my preferences to better please me.It was a wonderful thing. Her choices made our lovemaking session on the day we reconciled enjoyable for both of us.Then, as I was pondering where my little swan might be today, I received that photo from an unknown sender.As soon as I opened it, I instantly realized who the sender was. It was Alex, smiling like an idiot in the photo, attempting to provoke me.After I had persuaded his father to send him to Silicon Valley in California under the pretense of honing his skills, Alex, unable to see Allison, decided to retaliate in other ways. It
Damien punished me again, and I didn't resist.I tried to get used to what he was doing to me, even though I couldn't understand his thoughts.Meeting Alex was an accident, but I did meet him, and there was no explaining that to Damien. He'd be angry anyway.The next day, I dragged my injured body to school, covering the marks with a high-neck shirt.Luckily, the weather wasn't great, and my complexion didn't seem too bad.Convincing myself to accept Damien's rude behavior allowed me to maintain a pleasant facade in front of Mia. I told her I stayed up late playing with Olivia and Daniel, which made me tired.Mia bought my story, her expression shifting between happiness and annoyance."Alright, alright, Allison. Since you were with your siblings, I'll forgive your tiredness today."Eleanor couldn't join us today as she was helping other students, leaving Mia and me to rehearse on our own.After our practice, we watched the recorded video on my phone to identify problems. We h
Being with Tony was very natural and smooth, and our life together was plain but not dull, with a sense of happiness that belonged to ordinary people.Since we kissed, Tony had let me call him by a nickname. He finally made a bold move, feeling that our relationship was close enough, and made a request to me.Although Tony had no beautiful jewelry to give me, nor did he use his own injuries to make me feel heartache for him, he would still do his best to make me happy.He looked at me with loving eyes while I was teaching the children ballet, watching me surrounded by children. Even when we were together, he never disturbed me, respecting my life and work.He would only present me with a beautiful sunflower during my rest time, then wait for me to give him a smile.It was one he had planted in his own courtyard.Tony said that the sunflower was a flower that grew positively toward the sun, and he hoped that the sunflower he gave me could bring a positive effect to me.After hear
"Allison, perhaps you like Tuscan pine nut candy?" My student handed me a bag of candy, looking at it with some reluctance."I do like it, but if you want to eat it, I think neither Antonio nor I would have minded," I said with a smile, noticing her craving for the candy.I was used to Antonio giving candies to the students to pass on to me, but for these little sweet tooths, it might have been a kind of torment.Antonio's way of expressing his fondness was to give me what he thought would bring happiness, whether it was the candy itself or something on the candy wrapper."No, I can't eat it. There's even a message from Tony for you today!" My student forcefully handed the candy to me. "Allison, you haven't even read it yet. If I just take it away like this, it would be very impolite."Then she reluctantly returned to the group in rehearsal.I held up the bag of candy, and there was a small card attached to the packaging. When I opened the card, Antonio's handwriting was clearly
My first encounter with Antonio left a positive impression on me, but it seemed he was even more taken with me.Every time I visited the training class, I could see him warmly greeting me, his smile genuine and friendly, creating anticipation for a wonderful day.His warm and friendly demeanor was not just toward me but extended to the entire town, which made him quite popular.The children in the training class adored Antonio. They told me that after wrapping up their day's training and walking down the stairs, the most anticipated moment was seeing Antonio's smiling face. He often placed a candy jar on the table by the door during the time the children finished their training, with a sign that read "Free Tasting".The children said it was Antonio's reward for their hard work. When I inquired about it, he just scratched his head shyly and said, "Do they think so? I just thought they might want to replenish some sugar after training. If it motivates their training, that would be gr
"Hey, just trying to make conversation. Don't leave so quickly." The man was still reluctant, rushing over to grab my arm and speaking to the bartender on his own. "Another cocktail for this lady. She's not ready to leave yet.""Take your hands off. Your behavior is extremely rude." I struggled."Come on. Aren't you following the news about wealthy men? I'm a mutual friend of Damien and Alex, just as rich."A mutual friend of Damien and Alex? If Damien and Alex heard this man's lie, their expressions would be as terrifying as if they had swallowed a fly.They didn't have any mutual friends, and even if they did, they wouldn't be here, dressed in cheap clothes and harassing a lady who was about to leave.I saw the bartender's face was difficult but dared not to stop. Perhaps this man was a somewhat famous ruffian.When I was helpless, Antonio Gatti suddenly appeared, standing between me and the man."Please, this is harassment. If you continue to pester, I will call the police."
I accepted Elena's invitation.In Victoria, there were many children who liked ballet, and their eyes were filled with love for it during training.I loved teaching them to dance. As I looked at their smiling faces, I knew why some ballet dancers chose to become teachers.Becoming an excellent ballet dancer was indeed a joy, but discovering more people who loved ballet, teaching them, and watching them aspire to become excellent ballet dancers was also a very fulfilling thing. This was another way of loving ballet.I did my best to teach them the dance techniques I had learned, to adjust their movements for them, and to encourage them when they were tired and sad from training. It made me happy.Looking at the young girls, I thought of Olivia and Daniel every day.Susan would take care of them for me, but that didn't stop me from missing them every day.What were Olivia and Daniel doing now? Had my mother woken up? If she had, would she be disappointed and sad not to see me?Wo
Allison POVAfter Alex started accompanying me, I noticed that he would stealthily check his phone every day and then be lost in thought. Although he always quickly covered it up, I was very familiar with him.I thought he probably got a call or a text from his family.Alex didn't reply to them each time, so the texts and calls kept piling up, almost to the point where he had to turn his phone off when he was with me.He didn't want me to spot it, or to notice that he was troubled by the phone calls and texts.Our journey was full of joy, as we had expected it to be when we were young.But I knew I couldn't keep dwelling on the memories of my youth.I was no longer filled with the simple yearning for love like I was when I was young. When people grow up, they would always think more and have more things on their minds.Like how my younger self might have rejected Damien, holding Alex's hand firmly and standing by him, believing nothing could tear us apart, but now I would choos
Alex POVAs the dawn broke, the first person I laid eyes on was Allison.She awoke in my embrace, her beautiful brown eyes opening to gaze at me, and I couldn't help but kiss her.Allison chose me.This thought had been echoing in my mind ever since we eloped to Iceland, empowering me.Every night, as I closed my eyes, Allison was the only one in my dreams. I was certain that my soul and body were with her around the clock.Allison turned down Damien's shameless engagement threat and left behind the family she deeply cherished. I believed she took a leap of faith, to be with me.I told her to think about herself, and her decision was to leave everything behind and come to this place with me."Good morning, Allison," I said."Good morning, Alex..."Her voice was still drowsy from just waking up. She couldn't resist my kiss but would only let out a soft, confused moan until the kiss lasted too long, and she'd come to her senses, gently pushing me away with her hand on my chest,
In the accompanying photo, Damien's face was expressionless, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.He looked as if he hadn't recovered from my disappearance.Alex had already gotten the takeout. When the door slammed, I switched back to the TV channel we'd been watching.As I ate, I looked at Alex. He was munching on his pizza. It was as if just being with me, even this small thing could make him happy.I nibbled on another piece of pizza and asked Alex, "Alex, is there anything you want to do?"Alex looked up at me, puzzled."The only thing I want to do is be with you. That will satisfy me no matter what I do."After hearing Alex's words, I confirmed one thing. He was actually still the same person. Alex didn't have a more detailed plan for being with me. As he said, he thought that he would be satisfied as long as he was with me.Family, friends, our future, none of them were as important to him as the present.Alex had always been that naive kid.He reminded me of ou
Allison POVAlex had purchased several different tickets for me. Their destinations were arranged in an irregular pattern on the map.Alex proudly said that he had drawn it by lot, so no matter how Damien tried to figure out where we would go when he found those tickets, he would fail.Then he bought a couple of cruise tickets from different parts of the U.S. coastline. They also went to different destinations. Then he gave me the choice.From it, I drew a ticket to Iceland."Did you know that some people call Iceland the end of the world, Allison?" Alex smiled in surprise after I drew this ticket."It's almost as if it's hinting that we'll elope to the end of the world. I like the moral of going against the entire world."Alex said something so innocent that I didn't know how to respond.While Damien busied himself with preparations for our engagement banquet, I had already boarded a ship bound for Iceland with Alex, who had sneaked out. To evade Emily's hired bodyguards, Alex