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
003.GLAM MAGAZINEAmber walked into her department, her presence alone drawing everybody’s attention as they all left whatever they were doing to stare at her. A smile tugged at the side of her lips as her heels clicked the floor, the rhythm sweet to the ears of her admirers. If someone told her years ago that she would get used to being the center of attention, she wouldn’t have believed it, but now she relished the feeling—it was the most beautiful thing in the world, but it came with a price.Not everyone staring really loved her. Some stared at her with envy, others with jealousy, and some didn’t even want to see her face. But did she care? Nah. She didn’t give a damn. This was her job, and she worked hard to get here. She deserved this.When she got to her desk, she dropped her bag and took a seat, turning her computer on immediately.“Amber! Amber! Amber!”Amber’s eyes widened as she swayed to the direction of the person calling her. It was Gina, her colleague and friend.Amber
004. Amber couldn’t believe what she was seeing right now. She blinked to be certain it wasn’t a hallucination, but it was real. She pinched herself to be sure she wasn’t dreaming, but the pain was as real as the man standing in front of her. Axel stared at her, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms. This was the first time he was seeing her up close after more than five years. It felt so surreal. She had grown so much. His little Kitten was a woman now. Amber’s eyes turned teary as she looked at the man in front of her. “Axel.” she whispered. “Cat eyes,” he called back, causing her heart to skip a beat as tears rolled down her cheeks. She hadn’t heard that name in years and it hurt that it still had that effect on her; that effect she hadn’t felt for a long time. Axel made to take a step forward, but she moved back, her face filled with a mixture of shock and horror. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined meeting him in such a way. Her head reeled with m
005.“What do you mean someone else have to do it?” Ms. June asked Amber who has returned to her office as soon as she left Axel’s company. She knew Amber to be very diligent in her work, and Amber hadn’t turned down any interview before. “What is the problem?” she asked another question, her gaze fixed on Amber who looked sad and downtrodden.Amber exhaled. “Please, Ms. June, I know I didn’t do the right thing by leaving and coming here, but I can’t do this interview. I just can’t. Let someone else do it. Laura, for example.”Ms. June shook her head as she massaged her forehead. “Mr. A rejected Laura’s outline. He personally chose you. Why would you leave? If he gets angry and decide to do something to this company, what are you going to say about that?” Ms. June had always loved Amber and always supported everything she did, but this time around, she had no idea what was going on, and she felt it would be better if Amber told her what was wrong, but Amber had withheld that informati
006.AMBER’S APARTMENT ————“Oh, Melissa, I still can’t believe it!” Amber threw her hands in the air, looking so down and frustrated while Melissa tried her best to pat her back and assure her that it was fine.“If you think about it, this is quite strange,” Melissa said and Amber looked up at her, her face filled with curiosity. “Axel left without giving you a valid reason—”“Don’t forget that he hurt me before leaving.” Amber placed her hand on her forehead.Melissa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that too. All these years, he’s been in Las Vegas, blocked all access that you could get to him and went fully anonymous. He built his company from the ground up, and it became successful immediately. For years, he rejected the proposals sent by Glam Magazine for interviews and didn’t even bother showing his face to the public. Now all of a sudden, he accepted, and it turned out to be your outline.”Amber scratched her head. She wasn’t getting what Melissa was saying. “Your point?”Melissa poked
086.Laura sat in a coffee shop, her feet tapping relentlessly on the floor. Vera had gone to get them drinks but that was the least of her problems right now. She knew Gina was the one responsible for the beating she received, but she had no idea how Amber was able to clear her name in just a small amount of time.This only confirmed her suspicion that there was someone helping her form the sidelines. But who could that be? And why did the girl who helped to get the man caught look so familiar?"Something is fishy!" "Laura, did you hear, Amber has gotten all her opportunities back. Lots of companies are calling to get interviewed by her. They were moved by now she took care of the case and gave the police the leverage to catch the abuser." Vera dropped the coffee on the table and sat down.Laura groaned. "I hate how this is turning out, Gina. We need to do something about it.""That's not all. Ms. June has given her the cover page for the Mainland Tech Conference Article. If she pu
085.Amber's face lit up when she saw Larissa walking out of the club. She got down from the car and rushed to hug her. "You're back!" she gave Larissa a peck on the cheek. "You did it! My reputations cleared. I watched everything."Larissa smirked. "Told you not to worry about anything. Did you think it wouldn't work out when the plane was Axel's?"Amber raised a brow. "I thought it was your idea."Larissa shook her head. "It was all Axel's. I only agreed to be the bait," she said and Amber smiled."I'm grateful to you both. Now I feel relieved that it's all been taken care of. I can sleep with a smile now." Larissa chuckled.~•~•~The next day...GLAM MAGAZINE Amber walked into her department and Gina rushed to her. "Oh you have no idea how happy I am that you're finally back to work. The man has been caught by the police. Turns out, he was brutally beaten by the ladies he harassed. He's currently being questioned and you my dear, have gotten your fans back."Amber scoffed as she
084."Hey, beautiful," the man drawled, his voice low and seductive.Larissa's grip on the glass tightened, her brows twitching as she fought the urge to punch him in the face and give him a good beating. She quickly forced a smile to her face and turned to face him. "Hi." she answered and looked away. All she had to do was play hard to get and he was going to try forcing himself on her for sure.The man took a seat beside her. "Can I buy you a drink? A beautiful lady like you shouldn't sit here all alone, you know." his eyes roamed her body as his tongue ran over his lips.Larissa rolled her eyes. "As you can see, I already have a drink. And it's not bad to be alone, is it?" she asked."So you're really alone," he smiled to himself and moved closer. Larissa noticed this and leaned back. "You know," he began, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I saw the way you danced a few minutes ago. Mind if we get a room and you can show me privately? I'd love to see it up close." he touched her la
083.KING'S MANSION The family was seated in the dining room, having a nice relaxing dinner. Kevin looked at Axel, who seemed to be in a good mood. It's been a while he saw Axel actually eat enough food like he did.His gaze darted to Larissa and Maverick. They were also in good moods. Were these kids hiding something from him? Besides, he saw the scandal with Amber. They couldn't be smiling at a time like this, right?Knowing Axel, he would have thrown a tantrum and dealt with whoever did it. But here the young man was, eating like he was celebrating.When he couldn't take it anymore, he dropped the fork and knife he was holding, making a clanging sound on the plate that drew the trio's attention. They all turned to look at him."You three, what's going on?" he asked, his gaze narrowed at them.The three of them exchanged confused glances, having no idea what Kevin was talking about. "Uncle, what are you talking about?" Larissa was the first to ask.Kevin scoffed. "Are you trying to
082.“No! There's no way I'm letting you do that. What if it backfires? Promiscuous men like him can do anything to women.” Amber declined after Larissa told her about the plan. “C'mon, Amber,”“No, Larissa,” she sighed. “You are an idol. You have fans all over the world. Do you have any idea what this would cost you if it backfires? No way am I letting you go to that club and be the bait.” Larissa chuckled and took a seat beside Amber. “I like the fact that you underestimate me, Amber,” she smirked. “Look, I know how the club works. And I know what makes stupid bastards like that idiot tick. Do you think I'd go there with no backup? Trust me. It will only be just to lure him into the trap.”Amber sighed. “I don't know, Larissa.”“Amber listen, I'm sick and tired of seeing mean comments against you. Many jealous reporters are using this opportunity to ruin you the more. They might have been quiet because they saw nothing to use against you, but now, they are trying to ruin your rep
081.Amber pulled away from the kiss and cupped Axel's cheeks, her eyes shining with love for him. Axel raised a brow at her. “What was that about?” he asked amidst chuckles.Amber batted her lashes at him. “Don't you like it?” she asked, her voice small.Axel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, then a grin spread across his face. “Well, now.” he drew Amber closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I do like it. But I can’t say I’m not a little bit surprised.” his voice was low and gravelly, making Amber’s heart flip-flop in her chest.Amber blushed, but she couldn’t look away from his intense gaze. “I had to do something to thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”Axel’s eyes softened as he stared at her. “Amber, you don’t have to thank me for anything. I’ll always be here for you. No matter what.” He pressed his forehead against hers, their lips inches apart. “And I want you to know, I love you too.”Amber’s heart skipped a beat. She wrapped her arms around him. They've been thro
080.“So, how long have you and Mr. A been together?” Larissa asked during their break.Amber was taken aback by the question. “What? He and I are not together.” she answered.Larissa chuckled. “Seriously? Are you telling me that you two feel nothing for each other, or he feels nothing for you?” she asked, handing a chocolate bar to Amber.“Aren't dancers supposed to eat healthy snacks?” Amber asked, her gaze on the chocolate as she tried to change the topic.Larissa raised an eyebrow. “First of all, this is dark chocolate, which is supposed to be good for you. Second of all, don't change the subject.” she pointed her finger at Amber. “Now, tell me. Are you and Axel just friends, or is there more to it?”Amber fidgeted with the wrapper of the chocolate, avoiding Larissa's gaze. “We…we're just friends,” she insisted, though her voice wasn't quite as convincing as she'd hoped.Larissa smirked. “Uh huh,” she leaned forward, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Okay, let me break this down f
079.Axel continued patting her on the back as she cried. Amber couldn't help the tears. She melted into his arms while he kissed her hair. “Hey, stop crying, okay?” he said and she nodded.Axel pulled away from the hug and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me,” he said and Amber looked up at him with a tear stained face. Axel used his thumb to wipe her tears and smiled at her. “You're a strong woman, Cat eyes. You don't need to let them know they've gotten you. I know you were set up, your friends know that as well, and your loyal fans too.”Amber nodded. “I'm just so hurt and annoyed.”“I understand,” Axel said. “And I won't let that motherfucker get away with hurting you. He's just dug his own grave for hurting my woman.”Amber smiled, a blush crawling up her cheeks. “You still call me your woman in such playful tone while I'm really annoyed here?”Axel leaned forward and rolled strands of hair into his index finger. “Why not? At least I got a smile from you.” he said, hi
078.GLAM MAGAZINE Amber walked into the company the next day, but something felt different. The employees were murmuring and talking in hush voices as she walked by. Her brows creased. What was going on? She was still in a sour mood from what happened yesterday, what was going on today?She walked into her department and Laura walked to her. “Oh, what a slut you are. I should have known that you got all your fame because you sleep with me that are old enough to birth you.”Amber frowned. “What the heck are you yammering on about?” she asked.Laura snickered. “You're a journalist. The news should be something you check every damn fucking day. I always knew you were pompous, now you've gone outside to show the world just how terrible you are.” Amber shook her head and walked to her desk. She knew bantering with Laura won't yield any results. The girl will only end up getting her to lose her temper, and she didn't want that.She brought her phone out and switched her data on. Her eyes