Katarina My heart skipped a beat the moment I heard Jerome say those words. Time seemed to have stopped, and for a full thirty seconds I completely forgot how to breathe. I didn't know how to react, I didn't know what to say or do. All I could do was stare at him with wide eyes while my cheeks slowly turned beet red. Certain that I was having a shock attack, Jerome leaned in and unfroze me with a kiss. "Are you alright?" He asked after the warmth of his lips had departed from mine. Sharply I nodded. "Yes, I..I'm fine." I added before turning my eyes away like a fan girling teenager. Jerome chuckled softly as his hand gently tilted my chin back so that I had no option than to look at him. "You don't have to be embarrassed, you know. I've wanted to say that for a long time." His words made my heart flutter even more, and my body became hot just by hearing him add more substance to those words. Had I been the one keeping him waiting all this while without even realizing it
Kylan Lisa was being distracted by someone or something, I could tell just by staring at her. Even though she was doing her best to focus her attention on me, her eyes betrayed her by casually darting between me and whatever was making her feel so uneasy and uncomfortable. I couldn't see anything from where I sat, and it was slowly beginning to get to my nerves. Someone was clearly making Lisa lose herself both physically and mentally, and I was not about to let it go without doing something. "What are you doing, Jerome?" Lisa interrupted just as I was about to stand from my seat. "I said it wasn't something serious, please don't bring any more attention to us." She pleaded. Reluctantly, I settled back on my seat, but my curiosity was still at its peak. Lisa on the other hand focused her attention on me solely this time. I could still tell that she was anxious, but she did her best to hide it. After a few minutes, she excused herself and headed towards the bathroom. I wanted to f
KatarinaMy relationship with Jerome had remained nothing short of breathtaking, and although he was out of town at the moment, the passion between us hadn't dwindled a bit. Everything was going smoothly, and I hadn't seen Christopher since the day at the cafe. Things were gradually returning to normal, and everything seemed to be going smoothly until it wasn't. I walked into the bar and immediately locked eyes with Christopher sitting at the corner. It had been three days now since I last saw him, and I was hoping he had moved out of the country or returned to wherever he had come from. However, those wishes of mine had not been granted because he was staring right back at me with a wry smile spread across his face.I ignored him and walked past without casting him another glance. I was hoping he'd sit put, but he didn't. He rose from his seat, and without care for my personal space he approached me. "Long time no see, Lisa." He greeted me with a smile, one that I managed to mirr
KylanI had only been gone for two days, but it felt like I had spent eternity apart from Lisa. I craved her company more than I had imagined, and it had become impossible for me to go to bed without thinking about her. I was doing my best to stop all of my recent obsession with her, but the harder I tried, the worse it became, and it was slowly beginning to drive me insane.These feelings weren't supposed to be real, they weren't real, and I refused to believe that any of it was real. There was no way I was actually in—"Are you okay, dude?" Cole's voice pulled me away from my thoughts and back to reality. "You've been distracted all day, is everything alright?" "I'm fine, don't worry about me. What were you saying again?" I assured, and although Cole didn't exactly believe my words, he went ahead to continue what he had been saying before I lost touch with reality."I'm suggesting that it's time you get married. You know getting a wife would solidify your claim to your family's wea
KylanAfter five full days of not being with Lisa, I finally gave in to my desperation. It felt like hell living without her, and the phone calls and text messages just weren't enough for me. "You're leaving already? We're yet to conclude the contract with Black industries, what should I do about it?" Cole inquired, alarmed by the sudden change in plans. I was supposed to stay for at least one week, but I didn't think I'd be able to survive another night without Lisa being in my arms. I couldn't sleep, not without thinking of her for at least an hour. And I couldn't concentrate fully at work either. All I could think of was Lisa, and it was driving me insane. "You're my best friend, Cole, I trust you can handle everything in my absence." I returned, but Cole was not satisfied with such a bland answer. "Why the sudden change in plans? Did something urgent come up?" He demanded with an arched brow, he clearly had questions, and he wanted answers. However, I was not about to let
KatarinaI could help but feel like Jerome was slowly beginning to pull away from me. He was always lost in his thoughts all the time, and barely gave me any attention since he came back. He was constantly busy, or occupied with something important, one that he would never tell me. I had no idea what had changed, nor did I know what I had done wrong. He seemed like a completely new person ever since he came back, and I was yet to get used to this part of him. I wanted to confront him about it, but felt that it might be too early. Perhaps he was just mad about something, and it was probably best to let him handle his internal conflicts first before jumping to conclusions. After all, it's only been two days since he came back."Should I make lunch for the both of us? You haven't eaten since morning." I asked in an attempt to start up a conversation with Jerome, but as expected he quickly shut me down with a simple wave of his head. "Don't bother yourself, I'll find something to eat
KatarinaI didn't feel like going back home, not after everything that had transpired between Jerome and I. I was still angry, and he had been calling me all day, but I didn't answer. However, staying out all night wasn't an option for me. If we had been staying at the hotel, I might have just left for my apartment. However, Jerome was at the apartment, and I was certain he wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. Tired and exhausted from hiding all day, I decided it was probably best to return home and talk things out with Jerome. Perhaps I had reacted a little too harshly, and should have tried to talk to him more before storming out of the house. With a deep breath, I finally came to the conclusion of going back home. This was our first fight, and it was probably best to keep it from escalating. Flagging down the next taxi, I gave the driver my address and settled into the back seat, my mind heavy with thoughts, while my whole body was exhausted from the day's work. The city
Kylan I stared in horror at the sight before me. The Christopher that I had brushed off as a regular one had turned out to be my brother, and now I was ridiculed with regret. However, now was not the moment to worry about regrets. I needed to take Lisa out of here more than anything, but I couldn't move even if I wanted to. Christopher had a gun with him, and it was aimed right at me. Makayla on the other hand stood aside, a wicked grin spread across her face. I couldn't say I was surprised to see her, but I was definitely shocked that she was working with Christopher. I thought she would be wiser to realize that Christopher was not going to help her. He only cared about himself, but Makayla had proven once again that I always gave her too much credit. She was not smart, and now I was convinced. "Christopher? What are you doing here? What's the meaning of all this?" It was Lisa who did the questioning. She was very obviously oblivious to Christopher's true identity, and she still
Katarina "I'm sorry about everything..." Kylan apologized the moment we got home. There were tears in his eyes, and he didn't fight them back. "I lost touch with reality, I was more focused on work than our relationship, I'm so sorry—" He hadn't finished when I threw my arms around him in a warm embrace, my own tears already flowing without end. I had no idea how to repay him at this point, and I genuinely couldn't think of being mad at him anymore. He had saved me for the thousandth time. "T..thank you so much.." I cried while sniffing back tears. I couldn't even be mad at him for everything, not now, not after what had just happened. If he hadn't shown up when he did, there was no telling what would have happened to me. My own parents had betrayed me, I had been a fool for thinking that they would change, and I had been greatly disappointed. All they wanted was money, and to them I was nothing but a means of getting that money. I didn't matter to them as long as money wasn'
Kylan While my men surrounded the building and handled Diana's henchmen, I went in to search for Katarina. It took a while, slinking through the chaos and searching from room to another. However, after ten long minutes, I finally found her and called out the second I recognized her petite figure. "Kylan!" She cried, jumping up from the couch to throw herself into my arms. Fresh sobs shook her slight frame as she clung tightly to me, but I could tell that these were tears of happiness. "Get away from him, you bitch," Diana snarled and made to take a step forward, only to find herself staring down the barrel of the gun I had taken from one of my guards earlier. "If you take a single step from that spot Diana, I swear to God I will paint this room red with your blood." She froze there, her body stiff as a board and her eyes wide with shock at the sheer vitriol in my voice. That was when I saw the terror slowly creeping into her expression. Her arms sagged helplessly at her sid
Kylan David paused in the middle of his words and stared at me with eyes full of reservations and curiosity. Even though it was dark in the room, I could practically see the gears turning in his mind behind those blue eyes of his. The amount I was offering was not something he was not used to receiving for a job, but the only jobs that involved that kind of money were the ones that carried a very substantial amount of risks. Eventually he sighed and waved for me to follow behind him. The eccentric man made his way through the dark house with the ease of someone who knew every inch of this place very well. I simply followed right behind him to avoid any accidents until we reached the basement where the hub of his activities was located. He sat down on his chair and leveled me with a dead serious glare. "You know, in all the time I've known you, I've always thought of you as some insanely dangerous individual, someone incapable of losing their cool, who is somehow able to kee
Kylan My first thought was to return back to the location I had just come from. In Katarina's letter, she had mentioned that she was going back to her parents, to wait for me until I would come for her. But I had met Ann just a while ago, and the woman basically swore to me that she had no idea where her daughter was. She did not even give any indication of having seen Katarina recently. As everything was simply not adding up, I decided to follow my thoughts and drove back all the way to the house. The moment I turned into the street, I realized that the blue car that had been parked in front of the house when I had been there previously, was now missing. I rushed out of my own car and raced up to the house. Yelling out their names, I banged my fist on the wooden door several times. As soon as I realized that I was not going to get an answer, I drew back a bit and slammed the bottom of my foot on the door, right near the handle. The lock mechanism shattered at the well placed
Kylan Even though I could understand the reason why Katarina would run away from me again, I failed to accept any of the things Diana had said. Katarina's love had been real, and so were my feelings for her. I just could not accept that it was all a lie. I knew I had lost her once before, back when I had been too short-sighted to see past my own needs and wants. But she helped me move past that, and I found myself finally able to truly love someone. That was why I knew with certainty that she would not abandon me so recklessly, even though I had failed to give her the attention she wanted. As I made up my mind and left my room to enter the hallway, I glanced down at the closed door to the guestroom that was just at the end of the passage. Diana was still inside, and I could hear the sound of the shower which meant she would not be out anytime soon. Besides, I was fairly certain that she would not be happy with me putting myself through so much for someone that left me on her
Katarina Mama immediately broke down in tears at the sight of me, and now I felt bad for not coming to visit or reaching out to them sooner. She seemed genuinely concerned for me, and it was clear that the mere sight of me had driven her to tears. Was I the bad one for not calling them, for running away without saying anything? It definitely felt like it, but I managed to push those thoughts away. "Is it really you? Is this you, Kat?" My mother questioned as she reached for my face, slowly caressing and feeling it with her feeble hands. "It's me, mother. There's no need to be afraid, I'm not a ghost." I replied, before gently pushing her hand away from my face. It definitely felt good to see her after all this while. We had our differences, but she was still my mother, and there was nothing I could do to change that. "Why did you leave? Why did you run away, I had been so worried." She cried as she gently allowed me into the house. Memories of my childhood and all the time
Kylan Diana answered the call on the second ring, and I gave her a short explanation of the situation. The more I tried to say, the more it seemed as if my heart was about to shatter within my chest. I ended up leaving the call halfway when my voice began to waver, my grief pushing me to tears that I had not shed in as long as I remember. I sat there, as lifeless as a stone statue, with a multitude of thoughts flashing through my mind. No matter how I looked at the situation, I could only see the many ways I had fallen short of the things I should have done. But there were all the things I had failed at. Everything had been going so well before now, so how could I have made such a terrible oversight? Had my determination to make everything right caused me to be blind to what had been right in front of me? I honestly had no idea how long it took Diana to arrive. I was so out of it that I barely even heard the front door open and close. She called out my name twice, but I had n
KylanAt some point, I was starting to wonder if these papers were somehow multiplying when I wasn't looking. I had already long lost count of the number of hours I had spent behind this desk, working my mind and body to their limits in an effort to get through the files on my desk. It was probably late by now, and I had lost track of time. But yet, as I looked at the stacks across the black wooden surface, it was as if I had yet to make a single dent. I looked down at the document right in front of me, a complex ledger that was detailing a pending transaction of a high enough level of importance that it required the signature of the highest power in the company. I quickly read through it, putting my advanced processing skills obtained through hundreds of hours of effort and experience. It did not take me long to go through the entire document, finding it suitable before I moved to sign at the right places. Just before I could pick up the next document, my phone lit up with
Katarina Once again I was left alone at home. I had listened and heard when Kylan left the house, and shortly after Diana's car drove out of the premises. I was left alone once more, and had completely lost appetite for the food before me. It was becoming exhausting sitting around all day and doing nothing. And thanks to Kylan always being out every time, I hadn't even had the opportunity to discuss my decision to start working. I got out of my room to return the food back to the kitchen. The smell had begun to make me feel nauseous, and I didn't want that anymore. Bored, I toured the house, moving from room to room and checking out anything that caught my attention. However, it was not enough. The clock was ticking especially slow today, and it was slowly driving me insane. Left with no other choice, I dressed up and left the house for the first time in a while. I needed it, being held up in one place was definitely not good for my physical and mental health. I was