“Did you tell your mom about me?” he asked her again, his voice laced with curiosity and bewilderment. Skylar turned her face in his direction, her eyes sparkling with mischief, as her lips curled into a playful smile, “Why? Are you worried about what I said?” she teased him, as she mumbled on the sandwich she had with her. They had stopped by at a café since it was too late to eat something heavy, and Ivan had bought so much food without thinking too much, knowing that she would be hungry already. Still, he was so curious to know and had to ask her again, when she playfully ignored him the first time. He rolled his eyes almost unnoticeably because she seemed to be amused by how concerned he was, as he tried to lean back in the car seat and drive more comfortably, “I just wanted to know what you might have said to make her ask you something about him,” he cleared his throat again. A small, cute, and carefree laughter that always made his heart skip a beat escaped Skylar, whose
Ivan’s fingers tapped idly on the armrest of the sleek, modern massage chair in his private lounge, as he adjusted his position and pressed some buttons to relax his nerves as soon as he got back home. He had been contemplating if he should call Skylar and ask if she was still asleep, or busy with something, when a video call from another person went through and connected, as the familiar face of his friend appeared, albeit slightly pixelated due to the patchy signal.“Hey,” Leo greeted him with a tired smile as he leaned back in his chair with the signs of exhaustion evident in his eyes. “You look like hell, man. Rough week?” Ivan teased with a smirk, twisting his lips up, as he brought the camera closer to himself to look at his face properly. A weary sigh escaped Leo's lips, as he rubbed his left hand over his face, as if to brighten up the dullness of it, “You have no idea. I am so sorry I didn’t catch you before I left, and that I have not been back as I planned too. Schedul
The next day at work, during her break period when Ivan was busy with a meeting, Skylar in no time ran down to the café to meet Kali, who seemed to be so busy because of the rush hour from the employees break at that particular hour. She joined her in serving even if Kali insisted that she should not, and the two were able to get the work done faster, and finally take a break for a few minutes after the break ended. That was when Skylar was able to tell her the most annoying issue going through her mind with a frown on her face while stirring her coffee absentmindedly, her voice laced with frustration, confusion, and sadness.“I just don't understand it, Kali,” Skylar began with a heavy sigh, after pondering endlessly, “Ever since my friend, Amelia found out I like Mr. Hamilton, she has been different. Something like anger and bitterness. I get that she doesn't really like him, but it is like she is using every opportunity to throw subtle jabs at me. I can’t even talk about my work
The rain came down hard in the city shortly after Skylar left the bowling alley to the hospital, and on her way back, realized that she didn't even wish to go home because of the confusion that was deeply engraved in her mind about Amelia. She still felt so terrible for lashing out at Kali, who had given her advice not out of her own will, but because she asked for it, and calling her to apologize at that moment was not even an option, because she would be unable to pick up while working at the bar. It suddenly felt like she was lonely with no one to call and no one by her side. She stopped by the side of a street food stand at a busy night street that somewhat led to her house, and bought her favorite street food, before suddenly making up her mind to go and see Ivan that moment. However, it had begun to rain cats and dogs on her way to his house, and she was thoroughly drenched by the time she made her way into the gate and ran from the gate to where the main mansion was. For
Skylar’s feet felt so draggy and wobbly as she made her way towards the café, her heart heavy with so much guilt and fear about what Kali's reaction towards her would be if she appeared before her. She spent the late hours of the night drawing the perfect image of what she wanted her jewelry piece to look like, and barely slept even when Ivan tried to get her to. As soon as she was back from the on-site schedule for the day with Ivan, who was having a video conference with the head of teams at the Asia head office sector, she knew she had to see Kali. Her thoughts had been consumed with replaying the words she had said to Kali before leaving so angrily, and they echoed in her head, twisting her stomach with regret. ‘Why did I even say that? Why couldn't I just wait to listen to all she had to say even if it wasn't true or not?’ She winced sadly at the memory, feeling the weight of her harshness in her heart. The café came into view, and inside, through the large glass windows, sh
As the two stepped out of the sleek white Rolls-Royce sweptailand onto the grand driveway of the huge Hamilton mansion, where the yearly mandatory fundraising event usually took place, all eyes could not help but trail after them, especially since they recognized the man of the event. The fundraising event was a tradition that Ivan's father had always upheld and took very importantly, because the funds received were always donated to orphanage homes and centers where less privileged people often found refuge. It was also a lavish event where the wealthy and influential mingled. Though Ivan had been quite reluctant to attend because he didn't want to be reminded of the memories he had in the mansion he once lived in as a young boy, Skylar was able to convince him to attend because the invitees would be most honored by his presence. Skylar looked utterly stunning in the floor-length midnight black dress she wore that accentuated her perfect curves, and shimmered beautifully against
“What was she doing here?!” Skylar's head continued to spin endlessly, as she stared at the tall, elegant, and effortlessly stunning figure that stood in a place where she could easily be spotted, as if she were the spotlight of the event. Her eyes quickly darted away from Gwen and her heart sank, the more her haunting request from days ago echoed in her mind now, making her feel like an intruder in a world that wasn’t supposed to be hers.It had been so hard to stop herself from asking Ivan any questions after that day, and to pretend to forget her earnest request to help her back with him. ‘How could she even do that when she was not foolish?! Help her get back with him?! What a joke!’ Skylar could not help but chuckle maliciously anytime the thought occurred to her, but another thought that followed, ended up making her feel even worse. ‘They used to date? Gwen was Ivan's ex? She was a woman that once had Ivan to herself?!’ She was restless the entire night and barely slept, t
Heavily mortified, Skylar’s heels clicked silently hurriedly on the mown floor of the event, and she disappeared from everyone's sight, with the sound of their laughter and mockeries echoing behind her ears as if she were still in the scene where she had just been humiliated. Her chest tightened with pain at every step she took, and her breath became shallow and ragged, as she tried to stop the tears that had begun stinging the back of her eyes from falling. She was so broken and sad because of the fire of words that she had just been burned with, and it hurt to think that she didn't even know what she did to deserve such treatment from Adelaide, who had never liked her. Adelaide had reduced her to nothing in the eyes of the wealthy and powerful people where she already felt so out of place, to begin with, and the biting words about raising funds for ‘the only poor person in the room’ echoed despairingly in her mind.Skylar ran so fast away from the sight of people with tears str
“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