“Where has your phone been all day?!” Leo half-yelled at the other side of the phone as soon as Ivan picked up his call.“I didn't see any missed calls,” he had a surprise on his face as he tilted the phone away from his ear as if to check if he had truly missed his call. “You never see them,” A sigh escaped him. “Are you okay?” Ivan was more concerned about that, noticing that his ever-bubbly and energetic friend seemed to sound so languid from the other side, “You don't sound too good.” “Yeah, I am not,” Leo replied lazily. “You finally got kicked out for giving bad therapy?” He teased, a taunting smile dancing on his lips. “Worse!” “What?” Ivan gave a startled gasp, upon realizing that Leo seemed to be in a more bad situation than he thought, “What is up with you?” He couldn't help but ask. “Yeah, so I am in Manchester right now, and I have been shot in the heart,” he revealed plainly, unable to hide his feelings. “You are in Manchester?” Ivan's forehead wrinkled in surpr
“Let me see,” Ivan said, his voice low but firm, as he gently took her hand in his, looking intently at the cut skin with so much concern scribbled on his face, his thumb brushed over the wound with a feather-light touch, his expression darkening with worry. “You should have been careful,” he murmured, his voice a hushed whisper as he chided her as if speaking to himself. The air between them grew thick with a palpable tension that made her pulse quicken, as Skylar watched him intently, feeling the warmth of his hand against hers. The room seemed to shrink, the noise of the world fading away, leaving only the sound of their breathing, as his fingers moved, so tenderly, as if afraid of causing her more pain. Quickly, Ivan sauntered to where the drawers were and grabbed the small first-aid kit that was inside, before he quickly pulled out an antiseptic wipe and began to clean the bloody cut. “Sorry,” he whispered when she inhaled sharply in reaction to the sting, his breath warm a
“We found a donor!”Were the words that continued to ring in Skylar's mind as soon as she received a call from the hospital, and till she got back to Manchester on the plane together with Ivan, she could barely breathe or speak. It felt like a miracle she hadn’t dared to believe could happen. Her knees had weakened, as she struggled with her tears, which radiated the happiness in her heart, that her woman who had always been her pillar, was finally getting a chance at life again. Right after she and Ivan arrived at the HAVAN empire hangar, she was driven to the hospital by one of the company's chauffeurs, and it took a lot of convincing for her to stop him from accompanying her. It was to keep their boundaries and the media straight. They could not have another problem upon their arrival. Skylar scurried toward the ICU after she met with the doctor, her feet moving faster with each step until she was practically running until she got to the front of her mother's ward, where she cou
Skylar sat behind her desk at the office, her fingers resting idly on the keyboard of the desktop before her, her mind drifting to the thoughts of how she had convinced Ivan to come back to work, because he insisted that she stayed with her mother. Truth be told, she wished she could. But the kind offer was too much for her to even accept, knowing that he was the reason why her life had not completely fallen apart with the pressure of standing in line for a donor, and paying piles of endless bills. He was the reason why her life had been receiving the beautiful rays of sunlight, when, before him, her life had always been cloudy, wet, and filled with darkness. He had given her many reasons to be happy with life. The launching event of the new virtual assistant technology automation system had been completed a day before, which had kept him extremely busy with endless hologram meetings and limited their seeing one another. However, even with how things seemed to be going well, her h
As Skylar made her way home after dropping by the hospital where she was told the results of her mother's test would be out in two days, she could not help but worry about the shocking encounter she had witnessed in the office earlier. She had not expected Ivan to come out of his office right at the moment when she wanted to call him, and she was about to tell him of the person who had asked to see him when his voice startled her so terrifyingly in ways she had not seen before. It was the first time she had seen him in such a vicious and extremely furious demeanor. It scared her a bit. “What the hell are you doing here?!” he demanded again, his voice cutting through the air as the smile that initially curved his lips vanished, and was replaced by a hard line, his eyes narrowing into a deadly glare as he felt anger surging through his veins, every nerve alert and burning with irritation. Grayson, of course, didn’t flinch, and as if amused, the grin he had on his lips widened,
“You're home?” Amelia raised her eyes to look at her as soon as she entered the bedroom, only to see more mess on the floor, which were piles of clothes flying everywhere in the room which she had made sure was perfect before she left that morning. “Yes,” Skylar answered lazily, unimpressed by her presence because of the weariness that settled into her heart the moment she recollected the brawl that almost occurred between them a few days ago. She found out that the dress from the party months ago was missing, and that Amelia sold it on a website because she urgently needed money for some lame-ass reason she gave. She even almost got mad at her for lying that the dress was a fake one, when it was in fact the real deal. It was still an ache that made her crazy because the dress still held her first memory of Ivan so dear, and the last thing she would have wanted to see happen to the dress was finding it hanging in a secondhand store, or someone else wearing it. “I bought you the
It was after the final meeting for the day that Ivan leaned back in his chair in the office with a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips as he replayed the moment in his mind, and could still picture the way Skylar's eyes had widened when he said those words to her when she called him, Mr. Hamilton again, when they were painting together. “Call me by my name,” he had said, his tone gentle but firm while watching her with a curiosity he could barely contain.“What?!” At first, Skylar had blinked, almost as if she hadn’t heard him correctly, and then she gave him an adorable, bewildered look that made her brows knit together in confusion and her lips part slightly as if she was about to protest. And she did protest. “I can't,” she struggled to find the right words, wondering why he would suddenly ask that of her, when she had been calling him Mr. Hamilton her whole life. She wondered how weird that would even sound on a normal day if she read the daily reports to him and
Steam curled up from the coffee machine on the counter at Hafe café, as Kali stood behind the counter, while brewing cups of coffee for customers, and sending their orders for other snacks to the new employee, Imogen. Yet as she moved with focus, making sure the long line of people standing before her due to rush hour decreased rapidly, her mind wasn't focused on the coffee she made so effortlessly. It was at the door of the café, in which every creak of its hinges and little chime of the bell above it, made her heart jump in her chest as her eyes compulsively darted in false expectations. It had been happening to her for days now, and she admitted that she hated it so much. The way her pulse quickened every time the door swung open made her angry, and how she would glance up, expecting and hoping, which would be followed by a sense of relief or maybe disappointment, when it wasn’t him. Leo Coleman. His name had stuck stubbornly in her mind. He was the one who had been disturbing
“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