CLAIREThe proximity between us evaporated as he clutched my face tenderly in his hands. My breathing heightened. I was still trying to recover from the heat of his kiss. I was drowning in the heat that threatened to consume me. My hands were on fire as soon as I realized they were still placed across his torso. It was impossible to concentrate. “I've been waiting for you all day. I thought you were going to take forever to get back home. Get back home to me,” his voice drifted into a whisper as he placed his head against mine.I closed my eyes. My heart was threatening to give way from my body. I couldn't breathe, but it was a good kind of discomfort. “I've been thinking about you all day too. I-” I paused as my eyes watered with tears. I was terrified that Asher was going to see me in a more vulnerable state than he has ever seen me in his life. I wondered if it was the right time to be vulnerable with him. I closed my eyes. I needed to breathe. I need to pause every negative thou
CLAIRE“So what's in it for her?” Asher asked after a few seconds of silence.“That's the thing,” I told him, “I have no idea, and I can't seem to figure it out.” “That's very strange...and suspicious. Liah wanting to help someone for no reason? That's practically impossible, to be honest. The Liah I know wouldn't be caught dead doing someone a favor without getting a single thing in return.” He went back to massaging my scalp. It was more of him running his fingers absentmindedly through my hair while he spoke than it was a massage. "Well, I don't think it's for no reason. She kind of said she might be doing this for you when I asked what she would get out of it.” “Oh, that definitely sounds more believable. So what exactly did she ask for?”My body tensed up a little bit as I thought of answering his question, and he seemed to notice. “Anything wrong? You seen tense. What did Liah tell you?” He placed a hand on my shoulder gently, and I started to feel slightly relaxed. Then I r
CLAIREI toweled off quickly, feeling the residual heat from the bath clinging to my skin. Asher's gaze lingered on me with a mixture of affection and intensity, which had me fighting a blush that I knew was already creeping up my neck. He wrapped his towel around his waist, his eyes never leaving mine. Back in the bedroom, I watched as Asher moved with ease, the muscles in his back flexing as he reached for clothes. For a moment, I just stood there, taking him in—the effortless confidence in his movements, the way the faint light caught on his skin. I found myself unable to look away."You're staring," he said without turning, but there was a hint of a smile in his voice, as if he had been watching me and not the other way around."You're too smug for your own good," I shot back, rolling my eyes to hide the flush creeping up my neck. "Maybe put on a shirt before your ego inflates."He turned around, one eyebrow raised. "So you admit you were enjoying the view?""Maybe I was just adm
CLAIRERegal was becoming a thorn in the flesh. I couldn't think of any way to get him to stop bothering Asher and I. The more that I tried to get him to stay away. The more he would keep coming back to prove a point and I was getting extremely tired of entertaining his antics. How could I not see that he has been such a pain when I married him. I closed my eyes and sighed.I shivered when Asher ran a finger over my bare arm tenderly. My gaze met his. Somehow, he had been awake and I didn't even know it. He had a way of taking his time to observe me before I became aware.“Whatever is bothering you. It's best you tell me so that I can take care of it,” he said softly. But then I still couldn't find the courage to bring up Asher. Bringing him up is going to ruin the mood completely and I wasn't so sure that I could have that. Regal had already caused so much tension between us. I wasn't going to let him ruin the morning too. “Nothing. Just thinking about the pile of work that I had
CLAIREAsher had this way of making me feel like the only person in the world. It was the little things—the way his hand hovered near mine like he was ready to catch me at any second or the way he smiled like he knew a secret no one else did. It was comforting, almost addictive, and I found myself wanting it more and more.When we left the coffee shop, the city seemed alive in a way I hadn’t noticed before. Maybe it was the buzz of morning activities—people moving around, talking, going about their days. Or maybe it was Asher walking next to me, his hand brushing against mine every so often, sending little sparks of electricity through my skin.“Where to first?” I asked, glancing up at him.“You’ll see,” he said with a sly grin.Of course, he didn’t tell me. Asher loved a good surprise, and while it usually annoyed me, today I decided to let him take the lead.We ended up at a small flower market tucked into a corner of the city that I had never explored. Stalls lined the cobblestone s
CLAIREThe drive to Asher’s father’s house felt way too short, like the universe was speeding things up just to mess with us. The closer we got, the heavier the air seemed to get. I glanced over at Asher. His grip on the steering wheel was tight, his knuckles pale, and every so often, I could see his jaw tighten and then relax, like he was trying—and failing woefully—to keep it together.Neither of us had said much since we got in the car, and the silence was almost worse than any awkward small talk we could’ve tried. The tension between us wasn’t the kind you could ignore. It just sat there, heavy and obvious, like a third passenger we couldn’t throw out of the car.Outside, the scenery blurred past, but I barely noticed. My stomach was in knots, and my hands were clenched in my lap, fiddling with the edge of my sleeve just to give myself something to do.“You okay over there?” I asked cautiously, though I already knew the answer.“Absolutely not,” he muttered. “Going to see my dad i
CLAIREThe room was shrouded in silence for a brief second, and I couldn't stop myself from wondering if it was because of me or because of the tension that traveled through the air. I didn't regret my outburst.I guess this would count as the first time that I had the luxury of putting Annabelle in her place without thinking of consequences. I took my time chewing into the chicken tenders. They were juicy and delicious. The only privilege of being in Gregory's company was that at least we had access to delicious food. That was the only thing that I was going to give him credit for. I was still trying to wrap my head and my mind around it. Asher and Regal were family. It dawned on me that there was a high possibility that I was going to be seeing more of Regal. Just when I hoped that I was done with him. “So tell us, Regal. Simply for curiosity sake. How did you two separate considering the fact that the both of you were once married?" Liah asked. I could see her lips curled up in
CLAIREAsher held my hand the whole ride back home. We didn't even bother telling anyone goodbye. They didn't even know that we had left. Not to be a vindictive bitch, but I didn't care what anyone thought about me now. I wasn't bothered about what Gregory thought about me. I was simply relieved that I got the opportunity to get out of that place.Being around Regal and Annabelle made me choke with so many sensitive memories that there was a high possibility that I might explode on the spot. “You're tired,” Asher said the moment he got into the house. He crouched and undid the buckles of my shoes, and I automatically slipped out of the shoes. My legs felt relieved almost instantly. A small laugh escaped me when he automatically hoisted me up into his arms, bridal style. “What are you doing?” I asked, breathless with laughter. There was no need to ask any questions. I trusted him, but that didn't mean that I wasn't curious; I was curious to know what he was planning to do. “Just gi
CLAIRE I stared at my trembling hands. My eyes ached, and I ignored the stray tears that fell down my cheeks. I was angry, but at the same time I felt stupid. I don't know if it was supposed to make any sense, but I hoped that it did. It annoyed me that I was crying over the painful memories that I had tried to keep at bay for so long. It annoyed me that I couldn't keep it all locked in.I felt stupid for crying over people that didn't deserve it. For crying over Annabelle, over Regal, over the fact that I had wanted to forgive her if only she said something. Anything. It made me wonder if I even had any atom of love for myself. Sometimes I wished that it was different. That I didn't feel so much, that I didn’t have empathy. Asher stood in front of me. I was aware of the empty silence that lingered between the both of us but couldn't exactly bring myself to say anything. Maybe it was the ache in my chest. Maybe it was the heaviness that has chosen to remain in the pit of my stomach
CLAIRE “So when were you going to tell me that you dished out invitations without my permission?”Asher said casually as he took a sip of wine. I watched Liah pause for a moment as she turned towards him. They exchanged glances. I couldn't really read too much meaning into it. I was relieved that Asher was able to keep it together. He didn't act on the tension that lingered between him and Regal. And if things weren't according to plan, maybe an argument wouldn't commence. I was too quick to assume that I would be lucky. But it certainly wasn't wrong to hope that no drama would take place. “You didn't have a problem with me inviting people before?” Liah raised an eyebrow at him as she took time to chew on a piece of chicken tender. I noticed the subtle tilt of her chin. I noticed the way her gaze lingered on him a little longer than necessary. I noticed his sharp glare. “Stop diverting and answer my question,” he said. “I will, when you stop talking to me like a child,” she snappe
CLAIRE “Annabelle,” my lips were slightly parted in surprise. I blinked and opened my eyes again. Somehow I hoped that this would be a figment of my imagination. I hoped that this was simply a case of my anxiety hitting over the roof and I would just be imagining things, but when I opened them, she was still standing there looking at me. “You don't look so excited to see me, sis,” she grinned at me. Her eyes twinkled with something. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what it was or read any sort of meaning into it. It was the last thing that I wanted to do. Somehow the words were stuck at the back of my throat, and they wouldn't come out freely. Maybe it was my confusion, maybe it was the dreadful feeling in the pit of my tummy, but somehow, I couldn't get the words together. All I could think about was what she might be doing here. My gaze lingered on her ridiculously short dress and the glasses on top of her head. “What are you doing here?” Somehow I was finally able to gather the
CLAIRE I had no idea how long it took me to move. I had no idea how much time passed as I slept but the next time that I awoke, it was noon. I couldn't remember the last time that I slept into noon. When I turned to the side, Asher's bed space was no longer empty. He laid beside me, as naked as I was underneath the sheets. He was still fast asleep, his arms were still wounded around me like he had no intentions of letting me go even in his sleep. I had no intention of letting him go too. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was utterly and completely exhausted as I relaxed back into bed. I didn't have pressing deadlines to meet, I didn't have meetings to attend. Here. It was me and Asher. My mind traveled towards Liah but I didn't react to it in any way. I wouldn't let myself think of her. She had done enough damage with her scheme and I had let her. This time, I got to be the one to decide how I was going to react to her or whatever pathetic schemes she threw at me. Asher groaned slig
CLAIRE I was back here, back to feeling like my whole world was shattering before my eyes. I would have done anything and everything to escape the pain that I felt in the confines of my chest. I didn't want to be back here. Maybe inviting Liah to stay here was a big mistake. A mistake that I was already regretting. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I raised my gaze to look at the clock. It was already five in the morning and I had barely gotten any sleep. I turned my head towards the side. I was taunted by Asher's empty bedside. There was nobody to warm me up. I couldn't smell him. My eyes watered with tears. The ache in my chest intensified. Maybe I should have believed him. He had done everything to prove that he loved me. And even when I thought he wouldn't stay. He did. So why wasn't I open enough to listen to his explanation? I got down from my bed. I considered looking for him in the guest room. I would tell how sorry I was. How I couldn't sleep alone. My hands were su
CLAIRE I noticed how tense Asher was when he returned. I wanted to say it was because he had no choice to be in the company of Liah but my guts kept telling me that something was wrong. “Are you okay?” I murmured as he approached me. I noticed how Liah walked closely behind him. He held my hand, I couldn't help but notice that he looked a little pale. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was utterly exhausted. I don't think that I had the stomach for more drama.“Thanks for letting your husband drive me around. How generous of you?” Liah smirked at me. I felt a slight tug in my chest coupled with the suspicion that was nibbling within me from the inside out. I remained silent. I had no idea what to reply to what she had just said.“I guess it's time for dinner?” She looked at me expectantly and I nodded in response. I waited until she disappeared into the house before I directed my gaze back at Asher. “I know this isn't your idea but you seem too quiet. Did something happen?” I looked
ASHERI watched as Liah pushed another bite of her croissant into her mouth, a smug smile spreading across her face. She was trying to get under my skin, to take me down memory lane and make me remember the past. But I wasn't having it."You know, Asher," she said, her voice husky, "I'll never forget that night we spent together at the beach. Do you remember it?"I raised an eyebrow, my expression neutral. "I'm married now, Liah. I don't dwell on the past."Liah's smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. "Oh, I'm sure Claire wouldn't mind if you reminisced about old times," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.I leaned back in my chair, my eyes never leaving hers. "Actually, Liah, Claire is the reason I'm not interested in revisiting the past. She's the one I'm committed to, and I don't have time for games like this."Liah's eyes narrowed, a flash of anger sparking in their depths. But she kept her cool, her smile never wavering. "You're really devote
ASHERAs soon as Liah left the room, Claire turned to me with a strange look on her face. "You should drive her," she said, her voice calm.I stared at her in confusion, wondering if she had finally lost her mind. "What? Why would I do that?" I asked, incredulous.Claire's expression didn't change, but I could sense a hint of something beneath the surface. "Just do it," she said, her voice firm.I shook my head, feeling a surge of frustration. "No way," I said, my voice firm. "I'm not going to drive her around just because you're saying it. I refuse to be in the same space with her for that long. Her presence irritates me, freaks me out. I hate being around her, and I'm not going to do it just because you’re asking me to."I couldn't believe Claire was even suggesting this. Didn't she know how much I despised Liah? Didn't she know how much Liah's presence affected me? I thought Claire knew better than that."Liah is toxic, Claire," I said, trying to reason with her. "She's poisonous,
CLAIREI woke up to the warmth of Asher's gaze on me. I smiled, feeling a flutter in my chest. "Good morning," I said, my voice husky from sleep.Asher's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled back at me. "You're beautiful in the mornings," he said, his voice low and husky. "Your hair is a mess, and your eyes are still sleepy, but you're still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as Asher's words washed over me. I loved moments like these, just the two of us, basking in the warmth of our love.Just as we were having our own little moment, the door to our room burst open, and Liah strode in, a look of determination on her face."Oh..." she said, her voice trailing off as she took in the sight of Asher and me in bed together.I sat up, startled, pulling the covers up to my chest as Liah's sudden entrance caught me off guard. Asher and I were both naked under the sheets, and I felt a flush rise to my cheeks as I tried to cover myself.Asher's face