Clinton stared at the empty room in the mansion. Johannes’s parents are staying there for a while. They are still hesitating to hold a funeral as they don’t even have Johannes’s body to mourn. “Clinton,” Johannes’s father called him. Clinton glanced at him; he had been a father figure for him since his father died when he was a teenager. Joaquin Alejandro the timid and shy child of the powerful chairman. He refused to accept any inheritance from his father and started his own business for arts and culture. Their mother supported him, which is one of the factors why he had succeeded in the field. Joaquin wanted to live a simple life, but his sons were geniuses in the field of business. Johannes even got the approval of their strict father. “I could still not believe that he’s gone,” Joaquin sat on his son’s bed. He does not even remember the last time he visited this mansion. He and Beatrice had been busy going around places since their retirement, and Johannes and Brian were both bu
“What? You don’t lie on a cheap mattress? You’re sleeping quite well earlier, though?" Nathalie stayed standing by the door. Cohen, who was fixing the bed, stood properly and faced her. Nathalie kept staring at the room, “What? You don’t want to sleep in this kind of room now? Maybe you were too tired to realize earlier, but we’re peasants. What do you expect, a castle?” Cohen sarcastically told her. Nathalie bit the insides of her mouth, trying to calm herself since he was doing her a favor. She stepped inside and went straight to the bed, “So you’re gonna sleep, after all. Jeez, why did you even stare there like an idiot?” Cohen started again. Nathalie sat up and looked at him, “I would appreciate it if you would be less sarcastic,” she calmly told him. “I swear I will be looking for a new inn tomorrow, so could you cut me some slack?” Nathalie had been silent since earlier, even though Cohen openly reprimanded her. The latter stared at her ocean-blue eyes and then looked away. “P
Cohen watched them as Nathalie broke down while in Samantha’s arms. His eyes were fixed on the woman who he treated rudely all the time. Caleb came from behind him, “Are they Nathalie’s family?” “I don’t know. Tsk, we should go. We should not meddle in their affairs—” “But Nathalie told me that all of her family had gone first. She was looking for Johannes, the man who she got left now,” Cohen turned to Nathalie again and remembered how she desperately called the man’s name last night. ‘Just who is Johannes for you to look that miserable?’ Cohen clicked his tongue and pulled Nathalie from them. Clinton furrowed his brows and grabbed Cohen’s arm. “Careful who you pull casually, man,” his voice was calm, but Cohen understood his intentions. Cohen pulled his arm from him and dragged Nathalie by his side. The woman simply watched him, utterly confused as to why a man who did not want his nose stuck in another’s business was butting into their affair. Cohen cleared his throat and looke
“I don’t care. I will look for him. You guys can go home if you want... there...” Nathalie cried, “there is no home for me when Johannes is not there, Sam,” Brian stared at the sea as he drank his wine. Clinton arrived and stood by his side, “Are you worried?” but Brian did not respond. He finished his drink and took the bottle from the table to have another glass of wine glass. Clinton sat on the bench by the infinity pool where Brian stayed. “I don’t like that man. Did you look into his background?” Clinton is a meticulous man. He dislikes it when there’s someone close to whom he does not know the background. When they left Nathalie earlier, he did a thorough investigation about the man who was with Nathalie. Cohen Edzekiel Adamson is clear of his suspicions. He’s just an ordinary folk on the island who cooks in a small eatery near their house. “He dropped out of law school five years ago,” “A law student,” Brian mumbled as he read through the information about Cohen. There’s so
“What did you say?” Clinton took the folder from him. He read everything in it but did not notice what Brian mentioned. He cursed under his breath when he confirmed it. “Then, is Nathalie even in good hands?” Clinton slumped to the bench and crumpled the paper. “I pinned a bodyguard to keep an eye on her. He texted me just now, Nathalie is in the festival night market with Cohen,” “Let’s go,” Brian took his coat and car keys. The night market is about twenty minutes away from the villa they are staying at. They could not bring many cars since the island is quite far from the city. Clinton had to go there with Brian. “How could Nathalie end up with the son of a criminal?” Brian scoffed. “Let’s just hope Cohen is different than his father,” “Nathalie seems fond of him and the kiddo back there,” Clinton mentioned. He recalled how Nathalie treated the family of strangers. He could not help but feel somewhat uncomfortable at the thought of Nathalie with a different man than Johannes. “
Nathalie was brought to the villa after what happened. She received an earful from Clinton and Brian, but now both of them were just silent. Cohen went with them because Nathalie told them she would not be staying for the night. "You should not act restlessly next time, Nathalie," Clinton broke the silence. She furrowed her brows and faced him, "It was not a reckless act, Clinton. I did it because I saw your cousin," Clinton heaved a sigh as if he had had enough of this talk. Clinton forced a smile at Nathalie and simply handed her the folders he's been holding for a while now. "What is this?" "Look for yourself," Clinton told her and sat on the couch. He glanced at Cohen, who was relatively calm on one side of the sofa. "I would not bring it up today since a stranger is here, but you left me no choice. I had been holding onto that for the past months. I think it's time to finally had it over—" "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Nathalie shouted and threw the documents at Clinton. She'
Caleb knocked at Cohen’s door. He opened it when no one answered. He looked around the room and saw Cohen immersed in reading books. Caleb watched him for a while until the man noticed him as well. Caleb smiled at him and sat on the couch? “Can’t sleep?” Cohen removed the files and books from the table and took his coffee to take a sip, “Been a long and tiring day,” Caleb stared at the slight curve on his brother’s face. He only sees Cohen genuinely smile when he is studying for law. Caleb glanced at the books and then took the coffee from him, “How would you sleep if you contained so much caffeine? Tsk,” he drank it instead, earning a glare from his brother. Caleb grinned and leaned with satisfaction. “So...” Caleb smirked, “Care to tell what happened earlier? It seems you have gotten closer to Nathalie,” Cohen and Nathalie came later than he expected. They were even talking when they arrived, which was unusual for Cohen. Caleb knew that the man only took Nathalie to the festival
“The fairy! The fairy from last night is here!” “It’s the fairy!” “Woah, she’s more pretty with the sun!” “Her eyes are like the sky!” “It’s like the ocean!” “The sky!” “The ocean!” “Alright, alright, stop right there, kids,” the elderly woman from last night stood between the kids and smiled shyly at Nathalie and Cohen, who arrived at the orphanage. Nathalie smiled at her and handed her the basket of fruits and bag of snacks that Cohen was carrying earlier. “What brought you here, Miss?” “Nathalie. I believe I had not introduced myself last night,” she smiled at the woman, and Cohen greeted the woman as well. The elderly smiled and nodded. She held Nathalie’s hands and caressed them gently. “You can call me Olivia. Let’s get inside. The sun is starting to hurt the skin,” she chuckled. Nathalie and Cohen followed her inside, along with the kids, who were looking at Nathalie with admiration. The orphanage is a little run down. The building is old, and the walls are covered wi
“Where are we going, Dad?” Julian asked his father while still yawning. He had just woken up from his afternoon nap when his father picked him up from his grandparent’s mansion. Julian Nathaniel Alejandro, Johannes felt proud while staring at his son’s ocean-blue eyes. “We’re going to the cemetery,” “Is Mom there?” Johannes looked at him with sad eyes and smiled, “Yes, Julian. We’re going to see Mom there,” Johannes fixed his son’s seatbelt and started the car’s engine. It had been seven years since Nathalie birthed Julian. He’s a big boy now who hates it when Johannes kisses him on the cheek. He used to giggle when his father did it, but now that he turned seven, he would glare at Johannes whenever he did that, especially when they were in a public place. Julian looked like Johannes, but his eyes took after Nathalie. Those deep blues of ocean that always enchanted Johannes. He could not help but stare at them whenever he had the chance. “Are we going to visit Abuelo too?” the
“Uncle Ken,” Yohan sat beside him. Johannes was still staring at the door where the woman had left. The harsh sound of the rain was worrying him. ‘Nathalie hates the rain,’ he thought to himself. He furrowed his brows and realized that the fact that the woman hated the rain popped up out of his head out of nowhere. Was it a memory? Did he remember that from the past? “Uncle Ken?” Yohan called him again since Johannes did not respond the first time. Johannes then looked at him and messed up his hair. “Come here, bud,” Yohan sat on Johannes’s lap and lowered his face. Yohan rubbed his hands against each other and then looked at Johannes with teary eyes. “Did Mama make a mistake to Uncle Ken?” he asked, crying now. “Yohan is the bad boy because I lied,” “What?” Johannes asked, furrowing his brows now since he could not understand him all too well. Yohan jumped from his seat and took something from his pocket. “Yohan was mad when he learned that you were getting married. I thought
One week had passed since Nathalie and Johannes had a check-up. Nathalie is fine now, but the latter seemed different. Johannes stared at her sleeping figure. He had been doing this for almost a week now. After what he witnessed last time, Johannes always found himself inside her bedroom. Staying beside her while Nathalie cries in her sleep. Johannes could not understand what it was that pulled him to the woman he had lost memories of. Should he open himself for her, or should he cut every string connected to her? Johannes could not decide. "Nathalie... Nathalie Taylor," he muttered *** The chairman handed over the folder to General Smith. He’s a companion he had when he was just starting out, thus, confirming the trust between them. “We had been trying to figure out these cases before... I can’t believe such a young woman could do all these evil things,” “She’s crazy, Smith,” “Are you sure you want to hand it over to us?” General Smith asked the chairman. Miraflores Alej
"You're here again," Yael tried to get up but gave up when she felt an exhausting pain inside her stomach. It was so painful that her eyes teared up. Johannes panicked and ran to her. Worrying, he told Yael, "This is why I always come here. I told you you don't have to get up when I come here. How could you be so stubborn!?" He shouted to the poor woman. Yarl stared at his enraged face and then averted her gaze, "I told you you don't have to come here... you... you found your home, Johannes," "Ken. You gave me that name. Use that," "Johannes—" "Are you really trying to make me mad? Johannes here, Johannes that! I fucking cannot remember anything related to that name, so damn it, just treat me as that penniless Ken before!" Johannes frustratedly told her. Yael had realized her mistake. She stared into his eyes and tried to read his confused emotion. Yael had met Johannes when he was still in the hospital. She assisted Johannes back then, and he had felt indebted to her kindness.
Nathalie’s POV I was about to get inside the mansion when I saw a familiar figure, but I doubt it was him. It would be impossible to see him out of his cave. “Nathalie Taylor!” I turned around and saw Harries waving at me. It had been so long since we last saw each other. She even nagged me because I was behaving unlike myself these past few months. “Harries!” I hugged her, and she kissed me on the cheek. Harries still treats me like a child, really. I motioned her to sit on the chair and asked a waiter to serve us food. “How was your trip?” “Terrible,” I furrowed my brows; this woman loves traveling like how she loves medicine. To hear her condemn her last trio like this, something must have had occurred. She rolled her eyes when a man greeted her with a kiss. Now I get it. Harries must have felt upset with her husband, Loki. He’s a businessman like Johannes though he majored in the medicine industry, the reason why he eventually met my best friend through the same acquaintanc
Cohen’s POV I could swear I never intended to attend this fucking party. There were a lot of familiar faces though I am sure that they didn’t know who I was. Sebastian is doing his thing of introducing me to everyone he knows, which is practically everyone at this event. “Sebastian,” “Hmm? Wait. Mr. Alfredo! Hey! Long time no see. How is it going with the firm?” he chatted with yet another man in a suit. Sebastian seems friendlier than the last time I saw him. I distanced myself a little since it would be a nuisance if he asked me to talk to his acquaintances. I sat by the bar, and the bartender gave me a tequila. I smirked and greeted him with proud eyes. He dares challenge me? Well, I have a pretty high tolerance when it comes to these types of drinks. I was enjoying myself when the host announced that the party was about to start. I could vomit at the sight of the host of this event. What the hell? Is this party about them? Sebastian, you idiot. I should not have mentioned Nath
Cohen’s POV It felt strange waking up on a soft mattress. It had been a long since I last slept in one. I don’t know why it feels empty though this room is not even that big, to begin with. It’s cold, really. Winter is knocking on the corner of this house. I stood up after lazily staring at my ceiling for hours, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me today. It should be another day when I should visit the eatery and cook for them, but for some reason, I picked up my phone and told them I’d have to take a leave for today. When I went to the kitchen, Caleb was already there, cooking breakfast. He glanced at me and smirked, “Fancy seeing you wake up late,” I ignored him and went to make my coffee. He seemed to be in the mood today that he irritated me this early. “Where’s mom?” I sat on the edge of the table as I looked at him over my cup of coffee. Caleb turned around and shrugged his shoulders. I furrowed my brows with that. “You don’t know?” “No, I mean, she asked me
"A party?" Ken just reached home after visiting Yael in the hospital. He did not want to leave her, but his family insisted that he stays at home. Yohan was with a nanny since he wanted to stay beside his mother. Johannes stared at his parents with a confused expression, "What party? Do I have to participate in one?" he asked again, removing his coat. It was snowing outside. The first snow was last night, and the whole city was covered in white the following day. Joaquin and Beatrice smiled at Johannes, "This is to celebrate your return, son," Joaquin said. Ken furrowed his brows and sat on the couch. He stretched his neck. When he opened his eyes, he looked at his parents and shook his head. "I hate parties." "You don't even remember that," Clinton, who came from the entrance, interrupted his cousin's refusal. Clinton gave Beatrice a box of a new set of tea from China. The woman smiled at him and then turned to her son again. "Clinton is right, Johannes," "Ken. I told you to call
Nathalie visited the orphanage again when she felt well. She brought a lot of toys and food that she bought from the market. The kids were happy to see her, chanting the fairy song they had made to dedicate it to her. Nathalie was looking around, and Olivia noticed that she was looking for something, “Are you looking for something, Nathalie?” “Oh, ahm... I... I was just wondering where Yael and Johannes—I mean Ken are,” she shyly replied. She had heard from the nurse that Yael had been discharged, so she assumed that the woman was already feeling better. Nathalie thought they would be here since it seemed like Johannes liked being around the children, but afternoon came, and there was no shadow of him, Yael, or her son. “Yael? Oh dear, you haven’t heard the news yet? She was brought to the city to have medications, her illness relapsed, and she needed better treatment,” Olivia told her. Nathalie was shocked. She could not utter a reply and just forced herself to smile. Nathalie we