‘Have you ever had a man who got away?’ Letting out a sigh of regret, Sarah Kate Wright admitted, ‘Well, I did. I lost that one person who probably thought of me as the best in the world. Yes, I hurt him. I overlooked his importance in my life, which was probably the reason he left. It was my fault, all my fault. Now, nine years and eighteen days later, all I can do is admire him on billboards, on TV, and over the internet.’ Kate’s tall and slender frame stood in the driveway of the Wright Diamond Corporation, the company belonging to her family. She could not move. Her blue eyes were glued to the digital advertisement across the building, utterly captivated by the sight of one, Carlos Ronaldo, a professional tennis player. “Carlos,” Kate said the man’s name. She remained gawking at the image of his gorgeous grey eyes. She gulped at the outline of his muscular abdomen, his splendid tanned skin, and how his beard gave off that dangerous yet sexy vibe. On that billboard, Carlos modele
“Hello,” Kate answered the call in her bedroom voice. Her eyes were still shut and puffed from all her crying last night. Her chest felt so heavy, and her heart seemed to be broken. Kate was unwilling to get up that weekend. She had the craziest Friday, going to New York, hoping to speak to Carlos Ronaldo once and for all. Sadly, her goal never materialized. She witnessed Carlos and Hailey Mckenzie briefly kissing on stage, and that was it for her. Her hopes were crushed altogether. Kate left without getting the answers she had longed to hear. “Miss Wright, this is Frederick of JetSuite charter flights. Good noon. I am calling to make sure your flight went smoothly, and we were hoping that you could give us feedback on the service we provided you last night,” the man said on the other line. “We sent you a survey through the email.”‘What? It’s noon already?’ Kate sat up and rubbed her eyes. Then, after clearing her throat, she weakly replied, “Yes, Frederick. All went well. Thank y
“After a two-hour finale at The Australian Open, The Devil on court, Carlos Ronaldo achieved his eighteenth Grand Slam win,” reported Roman, a news anchor of BNC Media. “Exactly, Roman,” said the other news anchor, Denis, “And we could not be more proud, knowing that Carlos was born and raised in Braeton City!” “Yes, that’s right.” Roman acknowledged. “Carlos Ronaldo is the son of the former veteran tennis player, Manuel Ronaldo. What happened to his father was a shock to everyone. His father died in a car accident, and his family lost everything. His mother, Agnes Ronaldo, became ill, and out of depression from Manuel’s death, she also passed away.” “Despite how tough life was for him, that did not stop Carlos Ronaldo from rising into fame, giving his father the honor he deserves, and using tennis, a sport his father loved the most!” Announced Denis. “I’m sure his father would be proud.” “For years, Carlos fought against odds, starting at the lowest ranks playing tennis. In his fi
*** FLASHBACK: Around Nine Years Ago.*** "Kate, coach is taking me to a junior tennis tournament tomorrow. It's sponsored by the school. Do you want to come with me?" Carlos walked into Kate's room while she was trying on a new dress. He whistled at the sight of her, and he flushed, knowing what the dress was for. "Is that for the year-end dance?" Kate and Carlos were still eighteen at the end of their high school days. They had always gone out together for the year-end school dance as friends throughout high school. Carlos was Kate's male best friend, and she also had a girl best friend named Lyla. Carlos was sixteen years old when he became part of the Wright family. This happened after his father and mother died. Because of his father's debts, Manuel Ronaldo's house was sold to the highest bidder. Social service was supposed to take Carlos’ custody, but Kate's parents opened their home for him. The Wright family was not a stranger to Carlos. After all, they were neighbors. Car
Two months passed. Kate was driving herself. She took a left turn from their mansion and went past an estate dear to her. It stunned her to see workers around the property when she perfectly recalled how a family of four lived there. A frown formed on her face. She found herself parking right in front of the gates. Rolling down her window, she asked, “Are the Smiths having a renovation?” The two workers carrying materials to the gates looked at each other, puzzled. One replied, “We don’t know the Smiths, miss. We were employed by a certain.” The worker pondered and replied, “Someone named Donald. Yeah. Donald.” “The house is empty. I think this Donald is the new owner,” said the worker before he and his colleague excused themselves. Kate stared at the home that formerly belonged to Manuel Ronaldo, Carlos’ father. She sucked in a breath, recalling how Carlos had always wanted to buy the house back, but then again, maybe his plans had changed. Giving the property one last look,
Kate's hands turned cold and sweaty. Everyone was standing up, waiting for the doors to the conference room to open. Again and again, she swallowed her own spew. She did it so many times; that she felt her tongue become paper dry. How the doors opened played in slow motion in Kate's view. The first person to enter was a tall man with pale skin. He had long and curly blond hair, and he had beautiful green eyes. Alexander smiled at everyone, greeting, "Hello, everybody. It's nice to see you." The next thing Kate heard was the sound of another man's heels against the tiled floor. She gathered air into her lungs profusely as the door to the conference room further opened. Finally, Carlos walked in. He wore a business suit that stretched nicely against his broad shoulders and chest. He had one of his hands tucked inside his trouser pocket, and his grey eyes scanned the room. Kate could not deny how he looked breathtaking. Carlo's hair was fringed up. A few strands fell into his eyes. Hi
Taking a deep breath, Carlos tried to control his emotions. He shut his eyes as he took the lift to CSK Apparel, a company he founded with his friend, Alexander. That day would mark the beginning of his soon-to-be relentless pursuit of the girl, the girl he left behind; Kate Wright. “Relax, friend. This is the moment you have been waiting for,” Alexander reminded him, and that made Carlos nod. “I hope I made the right decision,” Carlos expressed. The plan was to see Kate after the end of the French Open, when he was confident everything was safe. However, Alexander convinced him otherwise. “No one will find out. We just need to be… discrete about your real relationship with Kate,” Alexander suggested. “Besides, your assistant is still in France, covering for both of us.” Carlos nodded. He knew that he needed to make it clear to his directors that no one must know of his visit too. At the thought of Kate, Carlos smiled. He was a few minutes away from finally seeing her up clo
“Were you followed?” Ethan asked Carlos. He was frowning after learning about Carlos’ current predicament. He rose from his seat and turned his back on Carlos. Ethan looked distantly through the windows, taking it all in. “I don’t believe so, uncle. The French gang still believes Alexander and I are in Paris, preparing for the French Open,” Carlos answered. “And the driver who drove me is a company employee. Like all my employees, he had signed a privacy clause. He won't say a thing.” “I understand you, Carlos. I understand your reasons for leaving, for chasing your dreams, for going after the reason for your family’s downfall, but it should not have been reason enough to cut us completely,” Ethan berated. “I.” Carlos gulped. “I regretted not explaining my side. Again, I am sorry, uncle, but when it all got complicated, I was already stuck in the situation and… I wanted to be man enough to handle everything.” Hearing his defense, Ethan sighed. He replied, “Carlos, dealing with ev