Just after few ring Stefen picked up the call. "You miss me already?" Stefen had a teasing tone but Jasmine was in no condition to understand any of that. "Stefen..." she spoke in a low tone and her voice quavered. "Jasmine?" Stefen changed his tone to serious and concerned. "Are you fine? What happened?" He asked as his heartbeat also paced up. He was anxious. "Stefen..." this time she cried. She was too scared. All the bad thoughts made their place in her mind. It might have even been a prank but no one would dare pull a prank that far. She wanted to tell him what had happened but it was as if her vocal cord was absent and the only thing she could do was weep in fear. "Jasmine?" Stefen was more terrified than Jasmine. He was scared that something serious might have happened to her. "Don't cry alright, I am on my way." Stefen walked out of his room and grabbed his car keys and rushed out of his apartment. He did not cut the phone. He entered his car and drove without wasting any
"Yes Stefen..." Alice said from the other side of the phone. "Where are you now?" "I am..." Alice was hesitating. She looked towards Jack and was unsure whether to say or not. Stefen could not wait any more seconds for her to answer, "If you are home then can Jasmine crash at your place tonight?" he asked with worry and seriousness evident in his voice. "What's the matter? Is everything okay?" Alice could figure out that things weren't normal. Jack left his work and looked at Alice with a concerned face after hearing her. "I will explain that later but can I bring Jasmine to your place... right now?" Alice could not hide it anymore. If Jasmine needed her then she had to be there for her. She did not care what Stefen and Jasmine might think afterwards but for now, she had to do what was right. "I am not home tonight, I am at Jack's," she said. "What?" Stefen could not believe what he had just heard. "Explaining you isn't important right now. If Jasmine needs me right now then I
After few seconds, the door opened and Jasmine moved her eyes from Stefen to the door only to be stupefied. "You?" Jasmine was astounded to see Alice there. Alice immediately hugged Jasmine. Jasmine left Stefen's hand and hugged her back. This whole time as Alice was waiting for Jasmine to arrive, she had worried a lot and a lot of negative thoughts had arose in her mind. Seeing Jasmine in front of her brought calm to her mind and heart. Alice broke the hug and checked Jasmine to see whether she was fine or not. "Are you alright? Has anything serious happened? I couldn't find peace after Stefen's call. What's the matter?" Alice bombarded Jasmine with questions. "Calm down Alice, let them in first," Jack said as he came and stood behind Alice and kept his hands on Alice's shoulder. At that moment they looked like a married couple welcoming their guests. Jasmine and Stefen gave a glance to each other and curled their lips. They did not know what was in between Alice and Jack, but th
Alice saw where the conversation was going so she interrupted, "tomorrow we all have to go to work. Jack where can Jasmine and I sleep?" "Mmm, you girls can take the guest room. It's just opposite to my room." Jack smiled. "Okay let's go." Alice moved her hand in the air signing Jasmine to follow her. The girls left and it was only the boys. Stefen sat a bit closer to Jack and spoke in a low voice, "so, when are you confessing?" He smirked. "What do you mean?" Jack asked and went back to studying the files. "Oh, my Jacky boy is so innocent," Stefen teased him. Jack got a hint of what Stefen was implying. "I am working Stef, let me be in peace. Or do you want Sandra to throw me out?" "Chill man, till the time your dear uncle William is there, no one can touch you," Stefen winked and Jack nodded in disbelief. "So, coming back to the topic that you are trying to avoid. When did you start loving her?"Stefen all of a sudden became serious. "What?" Jack was taken aback hearing the w
"I guess I know who the person behind that text message is," Stefen said and Jack had a serious face."What? Who?""You remember the day of her accident?""Yeah.""Kevin had called me that morning demanding to meet me urgently...""Wait a minute," Jack interrupted. "Kevin meaning your cousin Kevin?""Unfortunately yes. So listen to me. After the call I was crossing the road to meet him at the café opposite to our company where he said he wanted to meet me and that's when the car drove at huge speed towards me and Jasmine came in between. And do you remember when I told you to stay in the hospital and I ran out of the hospital when Jasmine was still in the Operation room?""Yeah," Jack said recalling all those moments."I rushed because Kevin called again, he said that I was saved and his plan failed...""WHAT?" Jack could not believe that. Rage took over his calm mind."Yeah.""Did he do that because...""Yes, because dad took back his position and threw him out of the company. He told
"Jasmine was asleep but I was awake reading a book and I heard her phone beep so I checked it and it was a message from an unknown number. I suspected the number to be of that same anonymous person so I checked and it said this," though that message wasn't for Alice but her fear was pretty much evident. "I did not want to worry Jasmine anymore so I did not wake her up and ran here instead," Alice explained.Jack kept his hand across her shoulder and caressed her shoulder seeing her panic."You did good Alice. Jasmine should not be given anymore mental pressure," Stefen said. He clicked the photo of that message from his phone and deleted it. "If you don't mind, I would like to be with Jasmine for a while." He said."Sure," Alice nodded. "I will just grab my book, you can be with her," Alice smiled and Stefen nodded.***Alice came back and sat on the couch as she started reading her book without disturbing Jack.Inside the room, Stefen sat on a chair beside the bed and watched Jasmine
"We will help Jack do it," Alice said."But-""I am not finished," Alice interrupted Jack. "We will help you write the reports and then you can submit that one to Sandra. And you can still continue to work and write reports of the ones we helped you with and then you can later submit that to us. We won't set any time limits and you can freely do the work and it won't even look like you skipped your responsibility," Alice explained."But what will we do of those reports that Jack will give us?" Stefen asked."I don't know, maybe make paper aero planes and fly them from the balcony," Alice was confused too.Jack laughed hearing her."The idea that Alice gave isn't so bad. In fact it is excellent. Jack, you have to agree," Stefen tried convincing Jack.Jack thought for a while but what Alice said was beneficial in every way. He will still get to complete his whole task and Sandra won't throw any tantrums at him as well. "Okay," he agreed."Okay then, I and Stefen will help you write the r
"His own mother hasn't visited him, even once?" Stefen could not believe that."Yes." Mr. William replied."Are you sure dad?""Yes, Stef. My people worked very hard to find those information. I even called the respective officer to assure that and my men were correct. Kevin has never had any kind of contacts with the anyone.""That's impossible. He was the only one capable of doing this grubby thing. Who else could that be?""Don't you worry, I have men on run. They will always be around you all but they won't make it obvious, so you guys need not feel like someone's invading your privacy. They will guard you all.""I guess that is best precaution we can take for now." Stefen was dispirited, he went into his deep thought. "Dad?""Yeah.""I just got another brilliant idea, and I will still be needing your help for that," Stefen smiled after long hours."And that is?""Jesus, why didn't I think of this before. We can trace the phone number from which that anonymous message was sent. We
Hey Jack, You are reading this letter, meaning I am not around you anymore. It’s funny when you come to think of it, we have been living under the same roof for so long but when it came to leaving, I don’t have the guts to face you and say my final goodbye. So I am writing you a letter, a letter that represents my cowardice. Thank you for giving me your friendship and the care that came along. I never realized that I had grown used to your care until now. You remember that night on the balcony you asked me ‘How you were portrayed in my eyes.’ I would like to answer that again, You Jack, you are the most annoying and stubborn person I have ever seen in my entire life. You seriously tore all our hard works into pieces without thinking deep just because you did not want me to leave. You bunk working hours and somehow always catch Sandra’s attention. You ranked 1st when it came to getting on my nerves in the initial days at the office. But… you were also the one who stood with a handke
“It feels weird to be in this room and not see Alice,” all the memories with Alice flushed back the minute they stepped in the bedroom. “I miss her too,” Stefen said. “Come,” he pulled her in and closed the door behind. Jasmine’s sadness turned into nervousness the moment she heard their bedroom door shut. She was starting to have second thoughts on letting Stefen stay with her for the night. Stefen left the hold of her hand and went to lay on the bed. He stretched his one arm on the other side of the bed, a bit lower from the pillow and titled his head, asking her to come and sleep beside him. She was happy to see him not in rush for anything and the respect he gave her and their relationship. She walked on the other side of the bed and laid on top of his hand as he caressed her hair and then embraced her back. She also hugged him tight as she rested her head near his chest, feeling his heart beat. He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to him, “good night my princess, swee
“Are you sure about this?” Stefen said as he kept both his hands on both side of his pants pocket… helpless. “Yeah,” Alice said as she was almost done packing. She had reached Jack's apartment before anyone else and she had changed into her comfortable clothes as she started packing all her things up. “When will you be back? You will be right?” Jasmine asked standing beside Stefen, equally helpless. “I don’t know,” Alice gave a false smile. “Can we do anything to make you stay?” Stefen asked. “I HAVE TO GO. The plane ticket is expensive you know…” Alice laughed, completely failing to prove that she was fine with all this. “But I thought you were staying. you said you’d throw away the ticket,” Jasmine asked befuddled. “Well then, it’s good I didn’t, right?” She forced smile again. “Can I ask you for a last favor? Can you drop me to the airport?” Alice asked Stefen. “That's not gonna be a problem but... let’s just wait for some time. Jack must be on his way. Let me call him-” S
Jack looked at Alice hearing her as he narrowed his eyebrows, questioning her what she meant. “You don’t have anything to worry about,” Alice looked back at Jack with tears threating to fall down anytime. “Because we are not together… and we will never be together,” tears rolled down her cheek as she said those words. But she immediately wiped her tears and smiled. She gave one last glance to Jack and she walked away without another word. “Alice?” Jasmine followed her. Jack stood still, processing what Alice said. Just few hours back Alice promised to be by his side despite any hurdles and now she was contradicting her own words. Realizing that he can’t let her go he walked forward to go after her but he was held back by Alison. “Where are you going?” she questioned him. “Don’t tell me you are going after her after hearing all the things I’ve just said,” she was exasperated. Seeing that he was being the extra in the conversation Stefen approached Jack and tapped his back, “I’ll g
Alice reached the top floor and when she went to the roof no one was there. “Ha,” she gave a short sarcastic laugh. “Another prank-” But before she could say anything more, she was pushed from behind and she fell on her knees and hands. The slit dress contributed in bruising her knees. She turned around to see the person and was out of words at the sight. Alison stood tall in front of her with a cunning smile. “Hello there! Are you hurt?” sarcasm was evident in her voice. “What the- it was you all along?” Alice said slowly getting back on her feet, dusting her hands, suppressing the pain her new bruises gave her. She was shocked. “Surprise,” Alison moved her hands from her head to toe presenting herself. “Do you like my surprise?” “There,” Stefen pointed at a TV. “There’s Alice.” “She's on the rooftop," Jasmine exclaimed. "Let's go." "Okay, I will call Jack and tell him to be there," Jasmine picked her phone and dialed his number. They rushed towards the elevator and pressed o
“Okay everyone,” the host stood with a mic and grabbed all the attention with his voice audible from all the speakers from all the directions. “The most awaited time has finally arrived. Grab your partner and be ready, because today the sun will set only after witnessing 'A Beautiful Couple Dance'. So hurry up and ask for the permission to dance… LIGHTS,” the lights in the hall all went off and in the center blue and white lights glowed, making the air more calm and peaceful. Couples started coming forward and dancing along the music, under the blue and white light in a slow and romantic tune. The lights gave a winter vibe and the dance between two hearts warmth the place. “Can I have the honor?” Stefen opened his hand. “It would be mine,” Jasmine placed her hand on top and they walked towards the dancing area. “Will you dance with me?” Jack asked… unsure. “I don’t know, I am a terrible dancer,” she wasn’t lying. “Then that makes the two of us.” Alice chuckled and accepted his h
Stefen looked at the person and chuckled. “Yeah, we are where we should be,” he made her sit down and he himself took a chair beside her. “Hello Mr. Wills!” Jasmine said in a low voice and the man diverted his focus from his PA to Jasmine. “Oh, didn’t see you two arrive,” he smiled. “And please Jazz, call me Uncle, end the formalities,” he raised his eyebrows and nodded wanting Jasmine to approve. Jasmine just smiled and Mr. Wills went back to talking to his PA. Jasmine pulled Stefen by his coat and whispered in his ears. “Why is Mr. Wills talking this sweet and how does he know my nickname?” Stefen laughed hearing her. “Hey, what’s so funny?” “Why don’t you ask these questions directly to him?” “What?” Jasmine’s eyes widened knowing his intention. “No Stefen, no no-” “Dad?” “Hmm?” Mr. Wills looked back at Stefen. “Dad?” Jasmine was addled as she looked at Mr. Wills. “My girlfriend here wanted to know why you asked her to call you Uncle and how do you know her nickname.” “
As they were walking down the stairs the boys were waiting for them with their hands in their pant pockets and legs slightly parted. Jack had worn white shirt whereas Stefen had worn a black shirt. However it did not do a good job when it came to hiding their well-built body. Both had worn black coat on top and black pants. Both the boys and their cool pose flew along the thin air when they saw the girls. Jasmine walked down with a shy smile as she saw Stefen and his intent gaze. She looked down on her steps to avoid his eyes to which Stefen smiled. He was swooned. On the other hand, Jack was frozen. He had seen her after so long though they were living under the same roof and after all the distance he suffered, this view blew him away. Alice was walking beside Jasmine, her eyes only focused on his. She noticed how her heartbeat rose seeing Jack and she was happy feeling that loud pump inside her. She knew that her decision to be fearless was the best one because she could never let
It was a hectic hour in the hall. People were rushing around, frowning and screaming at each other. “Are you freaking deaf? I said only white lilies will be put on the stage. What the heck are you doing you freak. Are you colorblind?” the manager shouted at a staff. “Sorry sir, I will do it correctly this time,” the staff said pitifully. “You better…” the man said. “And you fool…” he shouted at another staff. “Are you going to finish that next month? Are you preparing all these for your own wedding or what?” “Sorry sir!” “Hurry up.” The staff nodded. “Mr. Gill?” a man in a blue suit called out the manager. “Yes, yes sir,” the manager responded. “Is everything ready?” “Yes sir the staffs are doing their work. Just an hour at most and we will be ready.” “All the top businessmen in the country will be here this evening, make sure everything is arranged perfectly. From the décor to the meals, I want everything to be PER-FECT.” “Yes sir, I’m at it,” the manager nodded. “Good,”