Contrary to what Nathalie told her, Johannes felt like it had been two months since he last saw Nathalie. Was that how love works? You can’t get too far from your other half, or you’ll feel so drained. Johannes felt like he became a battery that suddenly recharged when he hugged Nathalie. The woman was slightly embarrassed since it was just not them in the place. She would usually pay no mind to her surroundings, but some reporters were there, and some of them were capturing the scene. Nathalie would sometimes forget how famous Johannes was whenever it was just the two of them, but the world would remind her how big of a personality this man was whenever they went out. Nathalie leaned to his ear, “Hey, crybaby, a lot of people are watching,” “So?” Johannes does not care about them. His head is full of things he had listed to do with the woman in the two days they were far from each other. “I don’t care about them, silly,” he said and even kissed her in front of all these people. Na
Nathalie's POV "Truthfully, you look better when you smile that way. Our lovely Nathalie had grown up, huh? I'm glad you're with my son... really," I had been with them for almost five years while working as Johannes's secretary. Present in the family events to fill Johannes's partner since he never had a permanent girlfriend at the time. To put it bluntly, he never even had someone as a girlfriend. He was a real jerk with women. I never imagined I would fall in love with him. At first, it was mere curiosity since he was the first one to court me for that long. All the men who attempted to ask me out all gave up after a month. They must also all see me as someone who was going to be baggage since I still had so much to take care of at that time. I had my parents' debt, and then there's Nathan. The dinner went smoothly, contrary to what I had imagined. I thought Johannes's mother would ask me about uncomfortable things, but she never mentioned any. We simply talked about the things
Johannes checked the ring for the fifth time. He had prepared it since Nathalie left after Nathan's passing. Johannes got it from his grandfather as an heirloom. It was not the most expensive diamond. Even the craftsmanship was a little rough, and it could have been better. Johannes could afford something more expensive than the diamond ring, but it was the first diamond that his grandfather bought for his grandmother. The chairman told him he should give it to the woman he thinks deserves to have the ring on her fingers. Oddly enough, this is not the first time he's going to propose. Johannes had proposed to Via before, but he never thought that the ring was calling for her. "Do you really think she deserves that ring?" Clinton asked. He was leaning on the door with his hands inside his pocket. Lazily looking at Johannes. He supports Johannes's decision to marry Nathalie. Clinton knows how much this man loves the woman. Clinton was a witness to his ups and downs. His emptiness whe
Johannes could not get rid of the uneasiness in his heart because of what Vie said the last time they met. It was not a threat, not a direct one at the very least, but Johannes could not trust the woman. She’s cunning... and crazy to top it all. Who knows, maybe she’s planning something that could ruin the party. Johannes kept on looking at the entrance, waiting for the woman to arrive. The red carpet of petals would be where she’d be walking. Johannes had to buy all the red roses in the city to make it so that Nathalie would step only on flowers tonight. Harries texted him that they were nearing the venue, so he announced that everyone was ready any minute now. Johannes stepped on the platform that they made at the center, he usually dislikes such a thing, but Samantha said it would be better to have him in the center so Nathalie would see him immediately in the middle of the crowd. They asked Harries to have Nathalie blindfolded so she would be surprised that the party would be he
Johannes's POV My heart still thumps as I feel the touch of her hand on my arm. Damn it. We had shared a lot of time together, so why am I so affected by just a touch from her? This is no fair when she looks like she's just enjoying herself! "Johannes! Are you not gonna let us meet your fiancee?" Damn it. Joshua's emphasis on the last word is making me feel like choking him right now. He winked at me as if he thought that what he said had helped me. It did not! This darn idiot. I could feel the tension in my system. I don't even know when I should ask her. Nathalie looks like she's still enjoying herself. I introduced her to my friends, and she did likewise. The number of people she knows is significantly lower than mine. I am astonished at how great she handles my business when I send her overseas to greet a lot of people and deal with them. She has a very small circle of friends, but I'm glad there are people who are with her. I am grateful that besides me, there are people she c
Nathalie's POV "Nathalie Taylor, the most beautiful woman next to my mother... I have my shortcomings, and I don't know if I'd ever be enough for you. Will you let this man show you the beauty of the world... the life... will you let me spend the rest of my life by your side... Nathalie, my star, my light, my life... will you marry me?" My eyes instantly turned into a waterfall as I stared at Johannes. I averted her gaze, afraid that I would make him feel uncomfortable with my crying face again, but Johannes held my hand. I looked at him. The bright stars above and the moon showered us with lights. Damn, this looks all magical and surreal to me. I could not respond to him immediately, my system was still processing the situation, and my heart was beating so loud that I could hear it from my chest. I saw his tears reflecting the moonlight, and I was caught off guard. I hardly see Johannes shed tears. He does not cry that much or frequently. But Johannes in front of me right now is s
The lab results about Vie's condition came in. Samuel could not help but feel miserable while staring at the piece of paper. He had it rechecked with three more doctors, but all of them were telling him the same thing over and over again. Vie is dying. Samuel crumpled the lab results that came from the biggest hospital in the country. He wanted to throw a fit and scream his agony, but he stayed silent in his car. Samuel rested his head on the steering wheel, gritting his teeth. He stayed there for the whole two hours, just closing his eyes. Thinking. When his phone rang, he immediately answered the call. It was Vie. [What took you so long to answer?] Vie asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice was evident. She had been waiting for Samuel since early morning because they had the day planned, but the man suddenly excused himself, saying that he needed to get something right away. "I'm heading back now. How are you feeling?" Samuel could not tell her that the results had come out
“Johannes! Nathalie!” Chaos instantly filled the yacht. They were screaming in pain as almost all of them had been caught off by the explosion. A fire started in the captain’s room, and it was near where the couple had been standing earlier. “Ysabel? Ysabel? Damn it.” Clinton turned around and looked for Johannes and Nathalie. He could not see them. Brian and Lothie are taking shelter on the deck while Samantha is getting assisted by the family’s bodyguards. Most of their friends are screaming in pain, and those with experience in such an occasion are taking action. Thankfully, there were doctors on board that started aiding in the situation when they made sure that there was no explosion following the first one. Joshua, Johannes’s friend who came from a naval family, went to Clinton. “It’s an ambush, Clinton. That’s no ordinary bomb. No way the machine of this yacht exploded like that. Someone deliberately made it explode. Shit. We’re in trouble. The captain’s room is all wrecked.
“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