“Dear me, your nails are so peng, girl!’ Kali's eyes lighted up in admiration as soon as she caught the sight of the gleaming luxury before her the moment Skylar was about to pass her credit card. “Thanks, Kali. I feel so good hearing that from you,” Skylar took one more glance at her wonderful nails once more, her heart swelling in exhilaration. “And how did I not notice? You look fire!” She complimented even more as her eyes studied Skylar, her lips curving into a tender smile that seemed more charismatic now, seeing her look so different from her usual self, “Girl. What is your secret?” “Oh goodness! You got me blushing so hard already,” Skylar's lips stretched into a very broad grin as she buried her face in her palms to hide her flush. “I am serious. You are glowing!” Kali went ahead to make her coffee, while Skylar stood patiently before the counter to get it, “Are you seeing someone these days?” her lips twisted into a mischievous smirk. “What?” Skylar's cheeks burned
“Have you seen the news this morning?!” Amelia almost blew Skylar's ear off the phone the next morning, just after she saw numerous news feeds with headlines about Ivan's new girlfriend. “Yes, I did,” Skylar's voice was calm and composed, as she got ready to take her bath. Her heart had been aching since she saw the headlines, and the tabloids that had splashed his picture across the front pages, arm in arm with a glamorous model, claiming she was his new girlfriend. It felt like a punch to the gut. “He had a girlfriend all along?!” Amelia yelled again, that Skylar had to keep the phone away from her ear instantly so that she would not go deaf. She just placed her phone on her bed and activated it on the loudspeaker as she began to step out of her clothes. “I have no idea,” she tied her hair into a bun, and walked to where she kept the new body wash she had just purchased. “Why are you not doing anything? Why are you so fine with it?! He took advantage of you even if he had a
“What?” Amelia's voice went off the grid as she murmured breathlessly, “You like your boss?” She gawked incredulously, her mind failing to comprehend what she had heard her friend say. “Yes, I think so,” Skylar hesitated her words, “I cannot keep him out of my mind these days, and I know it is more than just being concerned about the affairs of a boss,” She let out a weary sigh, her head hanging languidly on the edge of the chairs. “You are kidding, right?" A flippant smile curved Amelia's lips as if to compel Skylar to give up on her silly joke, “You are just playing around, right?” she teased. “I wish I was, Amy. I cannot even get out of my head these days, and I keep feeling intense emotions of wanting that I shouldn't feel for someone like him. It might be more intense than you think,” she pinched her lips with her teeth, her eyes brimming with unspoken frustration. “Wait, are you serious?” Amelia gawked in disbelief, as she stared at Skylar as if waiting for an explanat
As the video call connected, the screen flickered to life, revealing the grinning face of Leo as his eyes twinkled with mischief, “You seem to be in a great mood,” he peered at Ivan, who seemed to be enthusiastic about what he was doing in his kitchen. “I am just as happy as every other day,” his lips stiffened even if he had the urge to smile, as he carefully cut the apple placed on a chopping board into sizes, “Now spill it. You called because you saw something,” he flashed a knowing look at Leo, who chuckled instantly. “For a moment my heart dropped when I saw the news,” he leaned back in his chair, the casual setting of his sleek, modern office, contrasting sharply with the deluxe kitchen visible in the background of his friend’s screen. “Why?” Ivan began to cut the kiwis he had before him too, his eyes unfocused on the huge MacBook he had placed on the countertop of the kitchen. “I thought you were dating that sexy chick for real. You two looked so into one another the way
The moment Ivan hung up the call, his heart began to race through thoughts of what to do, the more he thought of the agitation in her voice which struck him deeply, her voice echoing in his mind.He quickly made his way up to his room, grabbed his coat and keys, and made his way to his parking lot instantly. Within a few minutes, he was in his sleek, black car, speeding through the bustling city streets, his thoughts racing faster than the traffic around him.When he arrived at the hospital and made his way into the huge, gigantic building, he spotted her instantly at the reception desk, sitting down on one of the chairs there as she held a paper in her hands, with tears rolling down her cheeks. The sight of her like that caused a sharp pain to pierce through his chest, a pain he couldn’t fully understand but felt deeply nonetheless.He approached her quietly, his footsteps soft against the linoleum floor, but the whiff of his sweet scent, which could not be missed with any other per
“Skylar, what are my schedules for tomo….” Ivan paused on his words, his brain jolting him back to the realization again, for the nth time, that he had forgotten just within a few hours that she was not there with him. He had gone on his business trip alone. He sat in his plush leather seat in his private plane, his thoughts far from the upcoming business trip as his gaze constantly drifted to the empty seat opposite him where she usually sat, meticulously organizing his schedule and handling every detail before they even landed. He would usually be busy reviewing every document that needed to be acknowledged and corrected from spreadsheets, to presentations and emails as well before every meeting, on the next day. However, he decided to grant her wish not to accompany him on the trip, giving her the chance to be with her mother, and to pull her mind together from all of her pain. Still, he couldn't get used to her not being around. Upon landing at the bustling Chicago airport,
Ivan made his way towards the conference room the next morning, as he rubbed his right hand into his palm and adjusted his tie, which suddenly seemed as if it was starting to tighten around his neck. He didn't have a good night's sleep as usual, and spent the entire night working till dawn. The first meeting, which was a board meeting with the directors and executives of HAVAN construction, seemed to drag on as he began to get increasingly grouchy before the endless presentations ended, and he found himself fumbling with notes that Skylar would have seamlessly provided and marked out. The site visits he made around the city to HAVAN subsidiaries were extremely tiring, and he was so stressed out having to do every single thing himself. He struggled to find important statistical figures for each company because he had personally not done it in a long time, which Skylar would have effortlessly supplied as a report if she had been there, while informing him of the next thing to do. Fin
Early the next morning, Ivan sat behind his office desk, his eyes heavy, and his mood subduedly wistful, barely rested from his long trip after arriving hours ago. The meetings and negotiations he had gone for had all resulted in success, but he was left with piles of paperwork on his desk and emails which he had begun to check out and review endlessly since he arrived. Knowing Skylar would not have had the idea that he had arrived already because he arrived a day earlier than planned, he picked up the phone on his desk, and dialed the table phone of his substitute secretary, Taylor. ‘He had better start getting other people's help,’ he reminded himself.As soon as the call went through, he spoke authoritatively, “This is Mr. Hamilton. I need you to resume working for me immediately this morning,” Upon hearing what she had been told on the phone by Ivan, Taylor freaked out in shock, her jaws dropping in shock. As soon as she dropped the call, she stood on her feet instantly still
“The surgery had just ended and was successful,” the surgeon, who had just come out of the theatre room still dressed in her blue scrub, and had a nose mask hanging below her chin, told Skylar with a reassuring smile that didn't brighten her face.Instantly, the world around her paused for a millisecond as the tension that had been hanging in her body crumbled instantly, and dissipated into the air. Her legs gave way below her body, and before she knew it, she had fallen on her knees, as she felt the hard, cold floor press against her palms that rested against the floor, the weight of the news sinking into her mind. Her right hand which was trembling covered her mouth, as a stifling gasp that felt like it had been locked in her chest for hours escaped her, alongside the tears that trickled down her cheeks. ‘She was alive. Her mother was alive,’ she heaved a sigh of relief, unable to handle the excitement. “Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much,” were the few words her voice could u
“I am sorry, we cannot be together,” those heavy words hung heavily between the two standing across from one another, and the receiver, Leo, blinked hard as he stared at Kali, who had broken the news to him.“What.. What is wrong, Kali?” His lips barely found the right words to utter because his brain was barely functioning coherently. That was the last news he expected her to bring to him, just when he was planning that they would go hiking together since she liked doing that. ‘Things had been going fine between them for the past few days. What went wrong?’ His eyes took a haunted look as if awaiting an explanation from her. “Nothing is,” she looked away from him while resting her back on the railings of the rooftop recreation spot they were standing, because she said she wanted to go there when he asked what she wanted to do. “Kali, meet my eyes,” Leo stared at her, his heart wanting to reach out to her in the most intentional way, as his right hand stretched and caught hers in
Skylar made her way into the five-star restaurant, her eyes glancing briefly through the few people that were seated in the room, until they landed on Grayson, who was seated by the window, his face brightening with a warm, sweet smile the moment he raised his head. She instantly flashed a warm smile at him from where she was standing, and he rose to his feet, as a gesture to welcome her which almost melted away her initial nervousness instantly. It made Skylar's eyes almost roll in shock because she never thought she could see him smile considering their first and second encounter. “Hi, Sky,” he greeted her with a sweet smile, and politely offered her a seat across from him, “You look absolutely gorgeous,” his eyes lingered as he took in her dress, and her smile.“Hi, Gray,” she responded with a nervous smile, “You don't look bad yourself,” she finally settled into her seat. “How have you been these days?” He initiated the conversation, his eyes peering at her. “Been great,” Skyl
The evening breeze brushed gently over the terrace of Ivan's home, and the beautiful scents of marigolds and lavender from the garden which was situated not far from where the two friends sat, permeated the cool evening breeze with a nice fragrance that was soothing. Sitting across from Ivan, was Leo, who was dressed in a finely pressed summer shirt and slacks, as he slouched comfortably against the chair he was sitting on, with a light grin sitting on his lips. Gently, he swirled the glass of whiskey that was nestled between his fingers, as he stared at Ivan, who had been gazing hard at him for the past few seconds, as if thinking of what to say first. And then, he finally spoke. “So, you are telling me it has taken you two days since you landed to get a drink with me all because of a lady?” Ivan cocked a brow at him. “You know I have not seen or spoken to her since that …….” “Says the man who shows up on my doorstep after disappearing for half a year, and felt like he had to
It was late at night already, but the skies were still as bright as evening, which gave a physical misrepresentation of what time truly was, and had tricked Amelia into believing that the night was still young. She had quickly dressed up for work and sat in front of the dresser for a quick makeup touch, as she used the curling iron to press her hair while trying to gloss a shining red lipstick across her lips at the same time. However, while in haste to leave for her shift that night, her eyes caught sight of Skylar's restlessness through the mirror, whose body was sprawled lazily on the bed, with one hand tucked under her head, the other holding her phone close as she stared at the screen with an unreadable expression. “You never told me what happened last night,” Amelia began, trying to sound casual as she fluffed her hair over one shoulder, “You came home so gloomy and sad,” she glanced at the mirror again, while observing her closely.Meanwhile, Skylar was so engrossed in wha
Ivan stepped into his office after the meeting had ended, and was so surprised to see Skylar sitting at her desk, as calm and composed as ever. It was as if she had not refused to pick up his call all day, or failed to inform him as usual that she would not be around in the morning. She had him so worried. Regardless, a sense of relief washed over him in the most exhilarating manner, before he walked across to the front of her table, a little worried that she seemed bothered by his palpable presence, “Where were you, Sky? Your phone has been off since yesterday,” he gazed at her so intently when he questioned, as if beckoning her to look up at him. Without meeting his eyes, Skylar continued to type fast on her computer as if she had a deadline to meet, and murmured a sincere apology, “I am so sorry for missing the meeting, Mr. Hamilton. It won’t happen again,” she spoke calmly and eloquently. Ivan was taken aback by her very professional tone, as if to shut him out and install
With a weary and bothered heart, Ivan made his way to the office the next day, bothered that Skylar's phone had been off since the previous night. He was a little later to work than usual because a minor collision occurred with his car that morning on his way to work from a rough driver, and it distorted his plans to come early by a few minutes because he had the car towed and another brought to him.Quickly, he stalked out of his elevator as soon as it chimed open on the last floor with large strides in the most elegant way, and instantly made his way to the front of his office, as he opened the door to the office instantly, hoping to see her. However, disappointment clouded his face as soon his eyes fell on the empty desk where Skylar was supposed to be sitting behind. The chair was pushed in, and her papers were still untouched from the previous day. ‘Where was she?’ He wondered, his eyes raising in concern as he hesitated for a few seconds before entering inside, and made his w
The morning sun which Skylar had always loved suddenly felt unkind as it cast its harsh light on her weary face as she trudged into the main doors of the huge company, because it seemed as if it amplified the ache in her heart and the anger she felt from deep within. She made her way into the CEO's VIP elevator with its access card because she gracefully wanted to avoid bumping into any of the company workers, not minding the talks they might make again as to reasons why she got to ride the elevator when Ivan was not even with her. She could barely look at herself in the elevator mirror that she was surrounded by when she got in, and each glance she took at her reflection revealed her tired, hollow eyes and puffy cheeks, which she had spent half an hour trying to conceal. Despite the makeup, traces of last night’s turmoil clung to her like an embarrassment that she couldn’t wash away. It was obvious that she had cried so much. Skylar just wished that she was so open and cared less
Skylar stepped into her apartment with deep weariness engraved deep into her bones, as the weight of what she had just witnessed sat heavily on her chest, crushed her with each breath she took, and blurred her eyes with suffocating tears. The image of Ivan and Gwen kissing replayed in her head like a broken record over and over again, and it was as if a knife had been thrust into her gut. It was almost too hard to bear in mere sight, and the thoughts it brought to her mind severed her heart mercilessly. It suddenly felt as if all the moments that existed between her and Ivan meant nothing. Like she didn't even exist, enough for him to respect what happened between them. Like she didn't matter. Nothing hurt her more than the fact that the sight confirmed her fears and made her feel smaller than ever. It was even more terrifying because she didn't have the right to get angry at him. After all, they were just flings anyway. They didn't even have a name for what they were doing, so she