Vincent was at home alone when his phone rang. He'd just finished a video call with one of his clients at that time and when his gaze wandered to the caller's name flashing on his phone's screen, it was a splitting headache that accompanied it.He let it ring for more minutes before he picked it up and put it on speaker while the phone was still on the table. Not allowing her to land, he said, “I have no money left, Elora.”Elora laughed. “You don't mean that right?”Vincent shook his head. “I've finished paying the Money which we agreed on as a billion dollars and now, I'm broke. I really have nothing left to give you.”“I still have the video and the pictures.”“You will delete it. I've performed my own end of the deal. It's left for you to perform yours.” “If I were you, I wouldn't try me, Vince.” “Sorry my bad.” Vincent snickered and cut the call. He continued rubbing the lines on his head before he dropped his fist on the table in anger. Some of the stuff on the table jumped b
On stepping into the huge opulent office, Vincent's eyes landed on Dimitri who was standing in front of a floor to ceiling window, overlooking the city with his hands in his pocket. When he heard the door open, he turned to the door, the sides of his eyes crinkled when his eyes landed on him.“You can leave now.” He said.And Mara doesn't need to be told again before she leaves after bowing. Vincent watched the door close behind him before he turned his attention back on Dimitri who's assessing him with the gaze of a predator.Vincent didn't let his eyes wander too much so he wouldn't look weird as he slowly stepped further into the office. “You said you want to see me.” He repeated one of his rehearsed lines.“I said I miss you.” Dimitri said, taking slow steps towards him.Vincent paused. Okay, that wasn't part of what he rehearsed.“I…I'm here.” He said, his gaze fixed anywhere but his face. Dimitri made a turn and instead of walking towards him, he walked towards his desk instea
~ VINCENT ~“You look happy.” His mother said, her eyes fixed on him while he poke his salad with his fork.He shifted his gaze to her, a smile lingering on his lips. “That's because I am.” He replied, moving his gaze back to his phone which he was focused on while eating. “I definitely have Elora to thank for this.” She said, smiling at Elora who's sitting beside Vincent on the dining table. Elora let out a nervous laughter while Vincent clenched his jaw, his grip on the fork tightening. They spoke about random things while eating and Vincent couldn't help but thank his stars that his father was not there. After the maids cleared the table, they moved to the sitting room and sat in the lounge area. Vincent was starting to grow impatient, his eyes darting from Dimitri's last chat to his mother's smiling face and back again.“Mo—”His mother turned her attention away from Elora and to him before her red tinted lips stretched into a wider smile. “Less I forget.” She started. “We wa
*TWO DAYS LATER*The Reynolds mansion was booming with activities. The air is filled with the smell of expensive colognes and soft chatters. Vincent dusted an invisible dirt on his pristine cream colored suit as he gave one of the men at the mansion's gate his car key. Then, he made his way towards the mansion's entrance. It was 9:00 am in the morning and Thanksgiving will start by 10. He'd to maintain his good child façade by coming earlier an hour prior to the starting time.He nodded at one of the guests who stood by the entrance, chatting with a lady in a corporate gown. When he reached the main double doors, his mother, Isabella was there with his father by her side, receiving guests.When his mother saw him, she rushed towards him, engulfing him in a hug.“My boy.” She saidHe hugged her back, his eyes moving to his father who stood behind his mother. His mother pulled back, checking his side as if she's searching for something.“Where's your wife?” Vincent chewed the insides
~ VINCENT ~After branching from his apartment for a change of clothes, Vincent drove towards Dimitri's office. Having forgotten everything that happened at his parents' house, he has this smile and dreamy look on his face. He and Dimitri had gone on dates and he'd never felt this fulfilled in years. It was like he was floating. He doesn't want it to end. He stopped by a gas station, some kilometers away from Dimitri's office. He picked his phone checking Dimitri's last chat and his cheeks reddened again. Clearing his throat, he stepped out of his car and scanned his card.It was at that moment that his phone dinged and he hurriedly unlocked it in anticipation. But he was disappointed when the source of the notification was Elora. He snickered, ignoring it but he shook his head when he saw that what she sent was a picture.And he couldn't help but wonder what she's up to again.He opened the chat and downloaded the picture which was captioned with. ‘Your time is running out, Vince.’
~ VINCENT ~ His boyfriend, who'd been clouding his mind sat in the lounge area of his office. It would have been better if he was just sitting but no, he sat there, eyes dazed as Mara, his secretary and personal assistant bounced on his cock. Infact, his hands were placed on her hip, controlling her pace. Vincent stepped into the room in disbelief. Was this a dream? Or a nightmare he needed to wake up from? He couldn't believe his eyes.“Dimitri.” He called but he didn't even budge. Instead, the sound of his grunts only increased. “M… mara.” He called, his fingers digging into his palm.Mara turned to him, and when her eyes landed on him, she beamed and licked her lips before sealing Dimitri's lips with hers.The room was filled with grunts and Mara's moans. Mara ignored him as if he wasn't even there and continued to bounce on his cock. Dimitri's eyes were shut close with his mouth parted, his head leaned against the chair. Vincent stood still and released his clenched fingers in
~ DIMITRI ~The sunlight filtered through the huge glass floor to ceiling windows, casting golden glow on the tiled floor.Some meters away was a lounge area and on the three seater chair lay Dimitri, with Mara snuggled into his chest. His black inky hair was a mess and his eyes were shut close. He was also naked from waist-down. Mara slowly woke up and sat up with a wince. Her clothes lay some meters away from the couch and she was naked. After sitting up with great effort, she parted her thighs and poked her core, eliciting another wince from her. But despite the wince, there was a small smile on her face. She shifted her gaze to Dimitri who was still asleep and her gaze became unfocused, her mind running miles per minute on how to get herself out of the situation. Then, she fanned her face and yawned, forcing out tears. She sniffed, wiping the tears that slowly gathered on her face off as she tapped Dimitri. Dimitri's eyes flung open as if he was just thrusted into his body, an
~ DIMITRI ~Dimitri glared at her in confusion, his jaw twitching before he stepped forward and collected the piece of paper form Mara. However, when his gaze landed on it, his eyes darkened.His eyes scanned the content on the paper in a hurry, his eyes turning dark each second until he finally tear his gaze away from the paper. “Who dropped this?” He asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous edge.Mara stood up on wobbly feet and shrugged casually.But Dimitri couldn't deny the fact that it was Vincent's handwriting that was on the paper which meant one thing - he'd entered his office and saw them. But what did he mean that he's no longer interested in the relationship anymore because he he never loved him and he's already planning his marriage? No. He shook his head in denial. There's something wrong somewhere and he needed to know. He dipped the paper into his pocket and hurried to his table to use the telephone.After ordering his men to get a car ready, he rushed out of his off
~ VINCENT ~ Silence.Wave after waves of silence.He could hear nothing except the loud beats of his heart and the blood rushing to his ears and his harsh breath due to the anger coursing through his veins.Vincent blinked in shock as his friends suddenly brushed past him. He felt someone push him forward before he heard the door shut behind him. He turned to the door. It was really closed.The fuckers has locked him outside, leaving him with the devil.But he refused to be scared. He'd already dined and dwelled with the devil. He's the devil he knew now right? There's nothing to be scared about now right?He whispered to himself internally, trying to calm his racing heart.It was like they were in a staring contest. Dimitri stared at him, trying to etch his face back into memory. And he glared back, trying to contain the anger and bloodlust he felt. Thank God for Remi forcing him to gym and learn how to box, his confidence had increased by ten folds even though he knew that if he
~ VINCENT ~“Did you know that something similar happened with me and Jake?” Alex said, washing the cabbage in the sink.“Hmm?” Vincent asked absentmindedly, his gaze fixed on the potatoes he was trying to squash with a fork. It was the evening of his graduation and Mother-jenna had placed a ‘no take out’ rule to celebrate the newest graduates. And here they are, in the kitchen after Jenna herself almost burnt down the whole chicken while trying to flip a beef. Ironic.“It was a pool party and I saw a girl kissing him beside the pool. We were in our second year of university. If we hadn't been dating since high school, I wouldn't have believed him.”Vincent glanced at her over his shoulder. “If I could remember clearly, we were not up to four months and the trust was not fully established.”“Wow. And you guys did all those things within four months?”“Hmm.” He nodded.At that moment, Remi trotted into the open kitchen, his wet hair glued to his head.Vincent only spared him a quick
~ VINCENT ~ His eyes were fixed intently on his back in shock and rage until he disappeared into the crowd. But him disappearing into the crowd didn't break the haze in his eyes. However, it broke the one in his friends instead as they cornered him on all sides.“What in the actual hell just happened?” Alex asked, finally breathing after Dimitri was long gone. “That's quite a good looking man.”Jenna didn't beat around any bush as she took slow steps towards Vincent and grabbed his wrist, then she pinched hard until he winced.“What was that for?” He asked, glaring at her from above his nose.“You have a fucking whole lot to explain.” She said slowly.“There's nothing to explain.” He rebutted.“Keep saying that to make yourself happy, Vince.” Remi finally said. “But before that, can we take the picture now? I need to frame it and put it in my room. I almost lost my life including my social life just by chasing this degree and I even want to make a banner from the picture for my perso
~ DIMITRI ~He watched, his face blank as he stepped on the stage in his gown and was handed a diploma tube, a smile on his face as he started shaking hands with a long row of people consisting of men and women.What?Break their hands for daring to shake him? Carve out their eyes with his knife for staring at him, at his smile or sew their lips together for smiling at him? Umm, he could do all. But… he didn't want to scare him.It was a surprise not a mission to add more to the long list of his hatred for him. So, he sat there among the crowd who were cheering for the graduates while he tried to mix in with his eyes watching his every move, the glow in his eyes and the smile on his lips. It's simply addictive. He could watch him all day or no, that's what he'd been doing. He could watch him for eternity.When he reached the last line, he stopped again for the upteenth time and smiled in the direction of the camera, waiting for the famiiar flashlight.But that was when his eyes met h
A YEAR LATER~ VINCENT ~There was as much risk in taking leaps as there was in not leaping at all. Which was why Vincent had sourced for closure. Time heals everything will continue to be the biggest lie of all times to him. Because time didn't heal anything. He just learnt to live with a part of his heart gone and he's fine with it.Tonight's closure will cover up for the damages.It was his graduation tomorrow. The four friends had decided to have a pre graduation ceremony for Remi who'd repeated the same year more than two times and Vincent courtesy of Jenna.The incident at the bar the previous year didn't really deter them from going to bars and it didn't deter them this time either. Y.O.L.O!That's Jenna's mantra to get them to agree with her and it never fails. Afterall, they only live once and what's the worst that can happen. The living room was filled with different smells of cologne as they got dressed, music blasting in the speakers attached to the apartment's ceiling
~ DIMITRI ~The tension was palpable. The previous night, no one went for dinner except grandpa Santini and Selena who loved eating with him and had started feeling kind of obligated to do so just so he wouldn't feel lonely.The following morning, the maids had delivered that Grandpa Santini had made that morning’s breakfast compulsory. There was no choice. Everyone wanted the old man to be happy.Dimitri adjusted his shirt before picking his phone and stepping out of his room. The hallway was desolate but he was unfazed. Like usual, he reached the dining hall last.He bowed slightly before moving to his seat opposite Luca and settled down. The presence of the family members only made the tension rise. Selena felt like she was sitting on fire as she couldn't even spare Luca a glance as guilt gnawed at her insides. Over the night, she'd came to a conclusion.People like Luca are the type of people the caretakers at the orphanage warned her against. Unpredictable. Ruthless. Sly. The l
~ DIMITRI ~For the second time in his life, he dialed his father's number without being forced.The phone rang thrice before he picked up but he said nothing.“Where are you?” Dimitri asked.“Home.”“I'm coming.” Then, he cut the call.“Thank you.” He said to the doctor before walking out of his office and out of the hospital. He drove straight to the Santini mansion.He pocketed his key and walked towards the staircase again to his father's home office.The door was unlocked and he turned the knob and stepped inside. Luca was sitting behind his desk with his head leaned against the backrest of his chair, his face devoid of any emotion.Dimitri went to his desk and dropped the result of the DNA test on it. Then, he placed his hand on the desk and leaned on his hand.“Do you know that your wife had a child?” He asked directly.Luca raised an eyebrow as he watched Dimitri slide the brown envelope towards him. He picked it up and at that moment, Dimitri turned and walked out of his off
~ DIMITRI ~The past few days had been a blur. And Dimitri couldn't help but pretend. Not that he cared about people's opinion but for Grandpa Santini whose health was visibly declining, he pretended that he cared. That he cared about Ivan and Mara being locked up.That day, news about them being charged to court finally got to them. They'd been given fifteen years imprisonment each. That was when he finally had peace. Fifteen years of planning.He whispered to himself as he adjusted his jacket in the mirror. Now, he's finally done pretending.When he was done dressing, he went for breakfast. And as he dabbed his lips with the napkin, he cleared his throat,“I'm taking my leave.” He said, loud enough for everyone to hear. The few days where Mara and Ivan were waiting to be charged to court had turned to mourning for the Santinis. No one was allowed to act in a certain way and there's even an untold rule of not going to work. Dimitri was tired. He could only imagine how his first im
~ DIMITRI ~The following day, Selena had woken up early and gave the maids orders. After that, she took her bath and dressed up before going to Grandpa Santini's wing of the mansion.The old man was already awake, sitting on his chair in front of the door to his balcony. He didn't turn before knowing that the person who'd entered his room was Selena.“Good morning Grandpa.” She greeted him.“Good morning.” He greeted her and spared her a glance. When his eyes landed on her, he asked,“Are you going somewhere?”She nodded. “I need to go visit Mara.”The old man sighed and turned back to the view outside. “Make sure you use a facemask. I was just about to tell you that I need to be alone…. Sorry.”Selena chewed the insides of her cheek before suggesting, “Is the mood swing back again? Do you want me to call Dr. Dinna?”“Don't worry. Just… leave.”She said nothing as she turned and made her way out of the room. She shut the door behind her and leaned her back on the door, mouth parted.