143.Cole barged into the living room, a frown settled on his face. Axel, noticing his presence, stood to his feet and faced Cole. "What do you think you're doing?" Cole asked, his voice calm at first as he tried to control his anger. "What the heck do you think you're doing, Axel? Why would you break Amber's heart like that?" he yelled this time around. If Cole hadn't come out and seen Axel walking out while Amber was slumped on the floor, crying her eyes out, he wouldn't have believed this. He would have thought this was a terrible prank. At first he had wanted to wait until the next day and confront Axel, but when Amber passed out and they had to rush her to the hospital, Cole couldn't sit still. He couldn't watch his sister in pains.Axel stood with an unreadable expression on his face. "Why are you acting like this is such a big deal? I only broke up with her, I didn't kill her," he replied nonchalantly and Cole couldn't believe his ears. Cole balled his fists, trying his best
144.Next day..."I can't believe it, Melissa! I really can't!" Amber sobbed in Melissa's arms while Melissa patted her back, trying to console her."I know, I know, Amber," Melissa said, her voice empathetic. "I can't believe it either. Something is definitely wrong somewhere. Axel wouldn't just break up with you out of the blue." she said, trying to convince herself as well. It was so strange. She recalled how excited Axel had been for Amber's birthday. The whole surprise and gift stuff were his idea. Everything that happened yesterday was because of him. She wondered why he would just return from his father's place and break up with Amber. Melissa was sure that wasn't the whole story. Axel wouldn't just tell Amber he was using her and stuff. The few months they've been together hadn't really hinted at him using her. Their love was genuine."I have to call him," Amber pulled away from the hug and began searching for her phone. "I need him to give me more explanation, Mel. There is
145.Amber barged into the house, her steps heavy with dread but fast with determination. Cole and Melissa rushed after her, trying to stop her but she was bent on finding out whether what Kevin said was true or not. Back at the company, she had tried getting the old man to talk; to at least tell her where Axel had gone, but he turned her down, which made her assume he was only lying to get her off Axel's back. It wasn't easy convincing Cole to bring her back to this house, but she needed to know.Amber threw Axel's room door open, her eyes widening in both shock, disappointment and pain at the discovery that it was indeed true. She rushed into his wardrobe, throwing it open. It was empty. She looked around the room for any sign of him, or his things, but there was nothing. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she plopped to the floor, her hand clutching her chest. Her heart felt so heavy that it threatened to fall out of her chest. "He's really gone," she whispered, looking up at the c
146.A MONTH LATERLife without Axel was like a fish out of water. It's been a month and Amber was still waiting for him to come back and explain things for her. Her grades dropped drastically and Melissa was hell worried about her GPA. Amber used to be top of the class, but now even school didn't look like something she wanted to do anymore. The professors are complaining, and most of her course mates have tried to cheer her up many times, but their efforts were futile. Everyone knew the reason she had lost her spark was because Axel transfered from the school. Desperate as she was, she had tried getting the VC to tell her the name of the new school Axel transfered to, but she told Amber it was confidential information, and except the student was willing to share it, she couldn't disclose it.Amber's world seemed to have lost all colours. Every weekends, she would go to the house to see if anything has changed or if Axel had come back but she got nothing. Apart from how she had los
147.SOMEWHERE IN LAS VEGAS, 7:30PMAxel walked into the dormitory, his body drenched from the rain. Maverick, his room mate, and cousin, stood from the chair and rushed to him. "Oh my gosh, Axel," He exclaimed, his face twisted in worry as he quickly grabbed a towel and handed it to Axel. Axel removed his slippers and walked further into the room, casually drying himself while Maverick stared at him with a bemused and sympathetic expression on his face."Why didn't you use the umbrella I sent to you?" he asked, but Axel didn't respond. "How long are you going to keep punishing yourself, huh? You and I know how intolerant you are to cold. But you keep going under the rain and getting drenched to punish yourself for doing the right thing."Axel sneered, throwing the wet towel at Maverick, who caught it. "I was a coward, Maverick, and I hurt her.""No, you saved her," Maverick took a step closer to him. "She might not know it but everything you did was for her safety. I know you're h
148. ------------------------ THREE YEARS LATER.... Graduation.… "Congratulations!!!!" Everyone screamed in happiness as they all took group photos. When they were done, Amber took a seat under one of the canopies set there with Melissa and Jack. "Oh, I can't believe we graduated!" Melissa screamed, taking a selfie while Amber laughed, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Oh my gosh! And have you seen my GPA?" "Have you seen Amber's?" Jack asked and Melissa laughed. "Oh, I knew you'd take her side. Perks of being the overall best student, duh!" Melissa winked at Amber. Melissa's giddy enthusiasm was contagious, and Amber couldn’t help but laugh along with her. “It’s been a long road, but we made it,” Amber said with a smile, reminiscing on all the ups and downs they’d been through together. Her expression turned sad for a minute as she remembered Axel. She wondered what was going on with him. Today would have been complete if he were by her side. “Speaking of lon
Chapter 001 ~ Hello, Little Kitten —————— LAS VEGAS, 8:00pm ‘Haruki Murakami once said, “Pain is inevitable, Suffering is optional”, so I have decided not to let the pain make me suffer or lose sight of what I have. I might have lost love, but I have life, and I am going to rewrite my story.’ Amber smiled as she snapped her diary closed, feeling a sense of satisfaction and peace. She had written this two years ago, and whenever she felt hurt, she would go back to read it and remind herself of the promise she made to herself. Life hadn’t been as good as she had thought, at least she was living now. She had completed her internship and was now one of the renowned journalists at her workplace. She was loved by all, and she brought sunshine wherever she went. Not to mention how much Politicians feared her pen. The public believed whatever they saw in her article or reports, and celebrities knew their fates were in the power of her pen — she was a force to be reckoned with. With
002. Amber’s heartbeat accelerated. Little Kitten… she hadn’t heard that name for years and hearing it brought a lot of memories. Could it be that Axel had finally come back? She slowly turned back, bracing herself for what was to come but her face fell when she realized that it wasn’t really anything — just a girl, letting her brother pat her kitten. Amber shut her eyes tight as she felt a wave of embarrassment. She couldn’t believe that she had mistaken the man for Axel. With a shake of her head, she quickly walked away. She couldn’t believe it. All these years, she has made herself believe that she didn’t want to see Axel ever again. But tonight, she had no idea why she had anticipated seeing him after hearing those words. It made her feel ashamed of herself. “Amber!” She looked up and sighted Melissa waving at her. With an eye roll, she approached Melissa, who gave her an apologetic expression. “I’m so sorry, girlie,” Melissa linked their arms, trying to act cute
117.After the dinner, Amber, Larissa and Melissa stayed back to help Loris clean. Kevin talked over wine with Mr. Smith while Axel felt like his world had been tilted. Cole walked to him and held his hand, leading him upstairs to his room.Maverick, who had also noticed the distressful look on Axel's face had to follow them as well. They got to Cole's room and he locked the door then turned to face Axel.“Spill it. What happened back at the dinner? Your phone beeped, you checked it and all of a sudden, your mood changed. You haven't been yourself since then,” he said and Axel let out a sigh. “You might not married to Amber yet, but you and I have been friends long enough to be called family, and I won't appreciate it if you decide to hide this from me.”“I don't intend to hide this from you, Cole,” Axel said, his tone low. “I'm just worried. I might not be as scared as I was years ago, but I'm worried. Don is back.”“What!” Maverick and Cole exclaimed at the same time.“How is that p
116.A week later…THE SMITHS…When Amber and Axel arrived, Amber turned to face Axel. “Do you think your father will be able to make it? He's busy and all. He might not want to bother himself with our humble dinner.”Axel raised an eyebrow at her, wondering where that idea was coming from. He took Amber's hand in his. “This isn't just any dinner, Amber. This is family, and I'm very certain my father will make it. He might like wealth and influence, but he doesn't take family for granted. You don't need to be extravagant to please him. Besides, this dinner is all about us.”Amber smiled and nodded, feeling at ease. “Welcome, my sweet couple,” Loris stepped out of the house with a smile.Amber facepalmed. “Mum, don't make this awkward.” she muttered.Loris chuckled. “Oh please! Today is a happy day,” she turned to Axel, her face beaming with smiles. “Welcome home, my son-in-law. I told you that was going to be the best proposal, and you did wonderfully well.”Axel walked forward and L
115.Next Day...GLAM MAGAZINE “Of course, mum, I'll definitely bring him and his family over,” Amber said as she stepped out of her car. “I was shocked too. Believe me, I didn't expect all of that.”“Oh my baby! I can't believe you've grown so much. You even got proposed to...on television!” Loris kept going on and on, her voice breaking.Amber sighed and shook her head. “Mum, are you crying?” she asked, but there were only sniffles from the other end. Amber facepalmed. “Mum, I thought we talked about this.”Loris sighed from the other end. “I know. I know, I'm just so happy, you know? Just yesterday, you were this tiny little baby. And now... you...” she trailed off.Amber smiled and shook her head. “It's fine, Mum.”Loris sighed. “Yeah, I know. Don't forget to bring Axel home for dinner, alright? We can all have a family dinner.”Amber smiled. “Sure, mum. I gotta go now. I have a lot of work to do today.”“Okay, baby. Enjoy your day.”Amber hung up and took a deep breath. Her moth
114.“No!” Jack yelled, throwing the glass of wine he was holding to the ground. The glass shattered to pieces, its contents spilling all over the floor. “This is outrageous! No!” he yelled.Trent, who was seated opposite him stood to his feet. “Come on, you have to give it up already. There's nothing to be done anymore.” he clapped his hands and the maids quickly rushed to come clean the mess Jack had made.Jack felt like a volcano threatening to explode. He couldn't believe Axel had the guts to propose to Amber for the whole world to see. Amber was supposed to be his. She was supposed to get married to him. Axel can't ruin her life and come back to get married to her.Jack let out a shout of pain of frustration, his hand clutching to his chest. He was so hurt that it felt like his heart was being tugged at, about to be ripped out of his chest. “No, I can't let this happen, Trent, I can't lose Amber like that!” he yelled, his eyes already glistening with tears.Trent sighed. “There'
113.“What is going on here?” Laura finally asked. Her focus was solely on Amber. “Are you related to Mr. King in any way?” she asked.Amber shrugged. “You could say that.” she faced Axel with a smile on her face.Laura blinked. She wasn't daft. Something was actually going on. It was either Amber was related to Mr. King, or she was dating… she shook her head. That was impossible. If Amber was dating Axel, everyone would know about it. Amber wouldn't have kept it hidden. If for anything, Amber would have intentionally announced it to rub it in her face.“I think they are dating, Laura.” Vera whispered.“No, I don't believe that!” Kevin smiled at Axel. “I thought you said you'd make a big announcement about your relationship after the face reveal. What changed?” Amber blinked, turning to look at Axel. Axel grinned. “Well, a certain lady said she wanted this night to be all about me. She doesn't want to take the attention away from me.” he answered with an eye roll.Kevin chuckled hea
112.Axel wore a sleek black suit fit him perfectly, with a white shirt underneath. His black bowtie was tied neatly around his neck, giving him a polished and professional look. His dark hair was styled perfectly, falling in soft waves around his face. And then there were his eyes. Amber could see the intensity of his gaze from her seat as he looked out over the audience, taking in the stunned silence that had fallen over the room.Laura couldn't help swooning while Vera felt like she was on cloud nine.“Oh my gosh! He is so good looking! Why would he hide his face when he's so hot?!” Vera asked.“Maybe he already has a girlfriend and doesn't want shameless ladies drooling all over him.” Gina replied with a smirk, causing Laura and Vera to gasp.“You-”“Shh, everyone! He's about to speak!” Amber cut their argument off, her gaze fixated on Axel. Maverick walked to him and hugged him, smiling widely. Axel returned the hug and then stepped forward, a microphone in his hand. “Good even
111.After Candice left in a fury of anger, Amber turned to face Axel, a smile playing on her lips. “You're really one in a million. I don't even think there's anyone like you in this world,” she said, her voice filled with emotion. “I love you so so much.”Axel pulled her close and kissed her lips. “I love you more, Cat eyes,” he replied, his expression mirroring hers. “You are my woman, and I will never let anyone downplay that part.”Axel meant every word he said and Amber knew it. She couldn't ask for more. This was the kind of life she ordered and appreciated. Axel, on the other hand, had only let Candice go because today was a big day for him, and he didn't want any mishaps. He would have fired her if it weren't for her Father and his Father's relationship. But that didn't mean she was off the hook.Amber cupped his cheeks and chuckled. “You look s dreamy whenever you defend me like that. I want to kiss you so bad, but you're about to do a face reveal in front of the whole world
110.Amber folded her arms, her expression hardening. Just when her night was getting good, Candice had to show her annoying face here. “How may I help you, Candice?” she asked with an annoyed expression on her face.Candice's smile was all too cheery for Amber's liking. “What are you doing in here?”Amber raised an eyebrow at her. “What sort of question is that? Do I need to have a reason to come to the studio?”Candice scoffed. “Look around?” She pointed at everything. “Does any of these belong to you? Whether you work here or not is none of my business, but you can't just walk in here like you own the place.”Amber couldn't believe this lady. What the heck was wrong with her? “For your information, my boyfriend owns this company so I have the right to enter wherever I want to. But of course, you won't understand that because you're too busy being jealous and bitter towards other people's relationship,” she said and Candice gasped. “I have been silent, but I don't think I can keep i
108. FRIDAY… DAY OF THE FASHION SHOW. “Is everything ready?” Ms. June asked Amber, and her team. Amber looked at everyone; the cameramen, Laura, Vera, and Gina before nodding her head. “Yes. Everything and everyone is ready.” Ms. June smiled. “Tonight is the night everyone has been waiting for, team. You got to try your best to get it all on camera. Laura will handle the oral interviews, while Amber will handle the written ones. Gina and Vera are there to assist. In the end, we will merge everything together and make sure it makes headlines.” Everyone nodded, a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. They all knew what was at stake: a scoop that could make or break their careers. They’d spent weeks preparing, and now it was time for the main event. “Let’s go,” Ms. June declared, leading the team out of the office and into the waiting car. When they had entered, she bade them farewell and whispered in Amber's ears. “Make us proud.” Amber smiled and nodded with a