"You met each other when you first come down with this illness," Rob answered. "At the hospital?" Hailey brought her attention to him. "Yeah." Rob smiled. "You were suffering from the same kind of illness. But hers is worse.""Really?""Yeah." "Does that mean she hasn't recovered?" Hailey asked. And suddenly, she didn't know if she wanted to meet that friend or not. Wouldn't it be a waste of time to visit someone who could forget things as quickly as her?"Well, she has recovered, somehow," Rob replied. "But I can't say fully," he added. "She does things like normal people, but the problem is the way she talks. Don't worry, Love. She doesn't forget things as you do."At Rob's reassurance, Hailey relaxed and sighed in relief.But what was with her speech pattern and why didn't she forget things like her? Didn't he say that they suffered from the same kind of illness?As if reading her thoughts, Rob continued speaking. Maybe he wasn't done yet. "Even though her condition is worse th
Hailey struggled out of the lady's tight hug. Her bright eyes were brimming with tears and she blinked rapidly."Kara?" Hailey whispered. There was no doubt this was Kara. The friend that Rob talked about."You've been gone for more than two weeks, where have you gone to, Hailey? Why didn't you return to my apartment that day?"Hailey listened to Kara's ranting, unable to understand a word she was saying. Then she sighed and started wiping her tears. "It's okay, stop crying. I'm here now and I'm happy to see you."Rob told her to play along, and it seemed to be working. Because Kara's expression brightened immediately. "I'm also happy to see you, Hailey. Hell! I'm the happiest girl on earth right now. Just don't repeat that. I live every day in fear and regret. I thought I've scared you off after that argument. Maybe I shouldn't have attempted to talk you out of chasing after your husband."Her husband? Hailey struggled to keep her smile. "It's alright, I'm not mad," she replied.
The young girls and guys didn't look happy. They looked at Hailey as if they had a lot of questions to ask her.And while Hailey sat on the stool and watched Kara cook, the chatters of the customers, the clacking of utensils, the sound of something frying, and the nice aroma of the food did something to calm her nerves. It was refreshing. "Hailey, don't you want to join me?" Kara stood in front of a pot that was boiling on a stove and she called out to Hailey. "It's alright if you don't want to, though. I just thought that you might miss cooking."Cooking? Hailey wasn't sure she could do what Kara was doing in front of the stove. Her actions looked familiar but Hailey wasn't sure if she wouldn't mess things up. And she couldn't turn Kara down either. And maybe it wasn't only because of Rob's warning. She really felt comfortable being with Kara. "Of course, I'll help." She got down from the stool and walked to where Kara stood. "What do you want me to do?""Urgh, Hailey. Stop acti
***"Look at her, she is beautiful and her education is top-notch. At twenty-eight, she has already climbed her way up to be one of the most admired professors. She has been a prodigy since she was a kid, Mr. Reid. I am very sure she will make a great match.""Mr. Reid, you are a high-skilled businessman who values his time. My daughter doesn't have any desires in the world. She has been raised on proper manners and etiquette. For the rest of her life, she will serve you without giving you any trouble.""Kind women are hard to find nowadays. Mr. Reid, my sister owns a lot of non-governmental organizations. She is always reaching out to help those in need. Having such a wife will not only increase your great reputation, you will gain plenty of fans across the globe who will wish you nothing but prosperity."Ridiculous. Insolents. Kendrick kept his eyelids close as he relaxed back on the couch. Leaving the company wasn't enough, he also had to follow his friend's stupid plan. All to g
Kendrick would in fact thank him. He needed to drink in silence. Because tonight, he had somewhere special to go. He downed the glass and poured himself yet another wine. And when he glanced down, through the glass partition, at the crowd below, a frown formed on his forehead. Since when did this bar get so crowded?"Argh! Now you're making me feel like the bad person." Devon slumped down on the couch. "I brought you here and you're forcing me to leave you alone. Tonight, I'll show you that in this whole universe, you can never find a friend as loyal as me." He took a bottle from one of the many wine bottles on the table. "Let's drown our sorrows together, Buddy. We'll yell to the world that this is not game over." "By the way." Devon lowered his voice and sighed. "If I dance with those ladies and Rosslyn gets wind of it, she's going to skin me alive." "Good for you." Kendrick raised his wine glass and downed it. Then suddenly, Devon's eyes darted to the glass and his jaw dropped
They left the washroom and walked through the path they had come from. The hallway was long and at each side were some doors that lead to small rooms made of glass. "Damnit!" Kara halted and Hailey bumped into her back. "What are they doing here? Isn't that Rick?" She pointed at some tall men all dressed in black. Who was Rick? Did Kara know them?Hailey looked back and forth between Kara and the men, feeling confused. "Oh, my God!" Suddenly, Kara exclaimed. "H–Hailey, your husband is also here. W–Why didn't you tell me that your husband is here?"Kara pointed a shaky finger ahead. From the glass room which the men in black had just come out from, two men were walking outside. One was holding a cigarette and the other one was holding a wine glass. Her husband?Hailey's heart stopped beating immediately. Even from afar, she could see the man's side profile. He looked familiar. She had seen him before. Her heart came alive and it started racing. Th–That man. She gripped Kara's
~~~The next day...Hailey sat on the bed, staring down at the white pills in her hands. Last night, she had slept throughout the ride back home and when she woke up this morning, Rob told her that he had some emergency at work. He also told her that he couldn't take her to the diner.Hailey had shown her desire to go to the diner, but Rob looked to be in so much hurry that he didn't say any reply. He simply bid her goodbye and left.He didn't even notice one thing. He didn't notice that Hailey was able to recall all the events that happened yesterday. And although Hailey didn't want to remember seeing her Boss, she was happy. Maybe she was finally recovering. She stared down at the white pills on her palm. Was it because Rob had given her three instead of two? Rob told her that she wouldn't fall asleep and she didn't. Hailey smiled. She couldn't wait to share this good news with him. She swallowed the three pills on her palm and gulped them down with water.After that, she lay
***What was he thinking anyways? She was an actress, an Oscar-winning one at that. Fooling people was her hidden talent. Wasn't it rather useless for her to pursue a career as a chef?Damnit! He needed to stop thinking about her. Or more correctly, he should stop thinking about that night. Kendrick had convinced himself that she wasn't the girl dancing on the stage. How provocative. But his eyes didn't lie. He saw them in the hallway and they fled.Was her acting done?Wasn't she supposed to keep groveling, begging him to take her back?As if he would ever do that. Ridiculous. Kendrick swiveled his chair and focused on the window overlooking the city. He couldn't get any work done and he didn't give a damn about it. Hailey, that woman. Oh, he couldn't wait for her retribution. And it was coming soon.So much with begging him. So much with regretting about endangering the child. She was out partying, she even dared to have fun in such a short period. What if he'd saved his