Chapter Sixty fourAll Zaire wanted was to have a nice, little lunch with Lana. He'd missed her terribly and had not been himself since that night of the gala.He was consumed with different emotions all at once-Anger at the fact that she'd chosen to work with MAGIC, even after several pleas for her to work with his company, SERENE.Fear, at the possibility of old flames being rekindled between her and Damien Romero. Fear, at the possibility that she'd never be his, as long as she'd stepped her foot back into Romero.He'd been cranky for days, snarling and snapping at things and people. He regretted leaving so abruptly at the gala. Perhaps, if he'd waited to hear her excuse, then he wouldn't be so troubled, and feeling such heavy weight on his heart.When he finally summoned up the courage to invite her out for lunch, so he could hear what she had to say, he'd been stunned speechless.By her beauty and gracefulness, and the silent plea in her eyes. Zaire was sucked in all at once, a
Chapter Sixty-five Damien had quietly returned to his office fuming, after Lana rejected his invitation to lunch.He walked into his office to find Liam giving him a knowing look. Damien's brows furrowed in a fierce frown at this.He pointed at him and said in a warning tone, "Do not say a word."Liam shrugged, a smug expression taking over his face. He knew Damien's offer to go for lunch was rejected by Lana, and it pleased him greatly. His lips twitched in amusement, as Damien brushed past him to his desk.He removed his jacket in a huff and draped it behind his chair, then sat down behind his desk. He flipped through the files which Liam had set on the table, wordlessly. His eyes were on the documents but his mind wasn't there."How much longer would she reject me?" He thought miserably, as his eyes scanned the work in his hands, absent-mindedly.He was a man of great pride and his ego had been bruised when she had rejected him, in front of Rina, nonetheless. It had taken grea
Chapter Sixty-SixLana jumped at the sound of that familiar voice. Her eyes flew to the direction of the voice, and she blinked in surprise, when she saw Damien standing at the entrance.He looked huge, his broad shoulders stretching his jacket whose lapels were unbuttoned. The dining room was not small but to Lana, at that moment, it felt like it was, with Damien's huge form taking over the space.Her eyes dragged the length of him, from his legs until it stopped at his face, and their gazes held. He looked amazing, like some kind of Adonis, and she could not help a tiny shiver of relief run through her at the sight of him.She was getting very uncomfortable with Zaire at the moment.However, that relief was short-lived when she saw the dark scowl on his face. It seemed like the room grew a little darker, from the intensity of his frown and angry gaze on her. She blinked once more in shock when she recalled how he'd yelled her name.What was going on? Why was he here and why had he y
Chapter Sixty-Seven As soon as they were out of the restaurant, Lana tried releasing her hand from Damien's grip but he was all too strong. She pulled back, but it did not even have a fraction of effect on Damien. She gritted her teeth in frustration, and dug her heels into the ground, pulling back with all her might. Damien growled low in his throat, aware of what she was doing, "Can you stop doing that?!" he whirled on her and said tightly. She glared back defiantly, and they stood on the pavement, glaring down at each other. "Just let go, already!" She shot back, just as tightly "We're out of the restaurant already. Zaire is not here, so let me go now!" He stared at her and was at a loss for words at the moment. Her cheeks were red with anger, and her gaze was not that dead stare she normally gave him. Her green eyes, which shimmered with unshed tears, was filled with hatred and pain. This did nothing to stop his gut from twisting with guilt. Damien felt his grip on her arm l
Chapter Sixty-Eight"So...you're homeless?"Lana glared at Damien as he walked up to her, his hands clasped behind his back, like a guard. His steps were relaxed and he had a mocking grin on his face as he stood before her.She narrowed her eyes at him in fury, "Seriously? You eavesdrop on other people's conversations now?"He shrugged as though that meant absolutely nothing to him. Infact, he enjoyed the way she was glaring at him, looking all cute with her flushed cheeks and narrowed emerald eyes. The hot sun shone down on her bright red hair, making her look as though her head was on fire.Damien thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful. He definitely enjoyed looking at her.How on earth had he survived his days, after the divorce? Hold up, how come he'd never known she was this beautiful, this tantalizing to the eyes?He knew the answer to that, he thought as his chest tightened with shame. He'd never even thought to give her the time of day.She was the burden brought upo
Chapter Sixty-NineAs the Maybach rolled away from the restaurant with a satisfying purr, Lana let out the ragged breath she didn't know she was holding.She leaned back on the leather seats and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, but it did nothing to calm the inferno that was raging within her.It was a mistake coming back here. She should have thrown Lana's letter and parcel to the blazes, the minute she got them.Her heart clenched with guilt as she thought of that, and she quickly shook her head to clear out the thoughts. She laughed cynically as she leaned back with her eyes closed, resting her head on the headrest behind her. Laura had asked her to help and protect her grandson, but she'd sooner kill him than do any of that.She could not believe that he still had such opinions of her. Worse, the fact that his words still hurt her this much was enough for Lana to punch the seats beside her in anger and disgust."Ugh...that crazy bastard! I swear to God, I'll
Chapter SeventyZaire could barely control his anger as he watched Lana walk out of the restaurant with Damien.Who the hell did that bastard think he was? Storming in here and claiming his woman.His fingers bunched into fists at his side, as he muttered through gritted teeth, "And she went right out with him."This was the main reason why he'd not tried to stop her from leaving. She'd had no choice but to follow Damien but she did not try to stay either.The dark look Lana had given him before she left, had left him short of words but he knew he was to blame for that.He groaned silently, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. He knew he'd messed up big time, losing control like that and lashing out at her.He was very content with showing her the part of him that she was used to. He knew that way, he'd be able to get her eventually, one way or the other.But he'd slip up.And now a single mistake might upset every of the pieces which he'd been carefully putting in place
Chapter Seventy-One"You've got to be freaking kidding me!""I beg your...pardon?"The receptionist looked stunned. Her brows were furrowed with puzzlement as she stared at Lana, and the smile on her face faltered. The gorgeous red-haired woman in front of her, placed her hand on the counter and closed her eyes, blowing out a breath in frustration. She looked like she was counting to one hundred, in order to calm down. The lobby of the hotel was filled with people and guests. Some were travellers, while some were business people and vacationers. True, it was that time of the year, where the city would be flooded with tourists, gushing over its beauty. Diego stood beside her, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. His expression mirrored that of his mistress when he heard what the receptionist had said.When Lana spoke again, her voice was ragged and it sounded like her temper was hanging by a thread."So you're saying I can't book the penthouse?"The receptionist did a double take,
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Seven"Miss Lana, its okay. I can take it from here."Yvette said in a worried tone but there was no mistaking the gladness that laced it as well as she watched Lana gently remove the delicious, creamy bread from the oven.Lana gave her a grin over her shoulder as she removed the thick mittens from her hands. The sweet aroma of roasted meat, and freshly baked bread filled the kitchen and teased their noses, making her mouth water."The master would be back home soon. You go ahead and freshen up, Miss Lana." Yvette said with a conspiratorial grin at Lana.Lana cheeks flamed as she heard the hidden meaning behind Yvette's words. Its not like it was a special day or something, but Yvette was adding meaning to her cooking for Damien after such a long time.It was no big deal, really.Bored out of her wits from staying at home all day, Lana had gotten tired of watching TV. Then she resorted to growing her phone for emails and also her Instagram. Her feed was
Chapter One Hundred And Forty SixLana sat in her room poring over designs sent to her by Mandy, on her laptops. Each scroll she made, had her heart jumping for joy as she slowly forgot the bitter experience she'd had earlier that day.She had been so frazzled after listening to the recordings, that she'd gone home and cried herself to sleep. That morning, she woke up to about fifteen missed calls from Mandy the day before. "Ma'am, we made it to the preliminary round for the Queen's Glamour And Festival Awards!" Mandy had squealed excitedly into her ear that morning when she called her back. The young women sounded very excited and Lana had immediately been affected by her joyful mood.Although, she knew that they'd get selected and even possibly win the awards, her heart could not help but race in anticipation when Mandy announced the news."Mandy, that's awesome news," she said to her assistant, tears of joy filling her eyes suddenly to her surprise."Yes, ma'am. It is." Mandy af
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Five"Let me out, you hear me! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Rina yelled as she hit the metal bars of the cell doors holding her back. The cops, however, paid her no heed and went about their business like she wasn't even there."Agrhh!" Rina screamed, shaking the metal bars once more and snapping her head back. She winced in pain as she held on to her neck which had a brace over it.The doctors had warned her to be careful with moving it around, and now she'd almost dislodged it from its position again. She knew what she was doing would make no difference, but she could not sit still.It's been almost twenty four hours and yet she was still languishing in this cell. Her stomach growled with hunger and anger, and she glared at the police men.She'd not had anything to eat since she was brought from the hospital, and even then she'd not eaten anything.Both the food from the hospital and the one given to her in the cell looked like they were meant for dogs, n
Chapter One Hundred And Forty FourZaire had been following Damien all his life. He kept tabs on the Romero family as well, always looking for an opening, a leverage he could use against them.He saw when the little bastard had his first car.When he got into an ivy league. When he took over from their father.Zaire was always skulking around them, hiding in the shadows, watching every moment of Damien's life.Damien had been happy. He had loving parents, and a doting grandmother. He had his life set out for him and even got to marry a beautiful, and astounding woman in the long run.Everything that should have been his.With one tilt of his head, he downed the entire contents of the glass in one gulp and walked inside the house with it, leaving Aryan staring after him.He walked into his spacious bedroom, which seemed to be made of glass, with one part overlooking the glorious expanse of the sea.Zaire made his way to his walk in closet, divesting himself of his clothes. He walked o
Chapter One Hundred And Forty ThreeZaire stands in the balcony of his villa, overlooking the sea as he sipped from a glass of tequila.The sea wind was cold and crisp and ruffled his hair and the collar of the crisp white button down which he wore.He tucked his hand in his pocket, a calm expression on his face as he watched the sea down beneath him.It was dusk already and the dark, foamy waves of the sea crashed against the rocks situated at its bank, and spilled over the beach. During the day, he'd walked barefoot on the beach, close to the edge of the sea.The sand on the beach was fine, mixed with pieces of rocks that prickled the sole of his feet as he walked past, 0but Zaire paid no heed to it.He looked down at the beach now from his balcony, and let his blank stare gaze at the roaring waves.He took another sip of his tequila, letting the warmth of the liquid burn through his throat and spread throughout his chest. His calm and blank expression belied any of the raging turmo
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Two."There are some things we need to look into before handing the files over to the police."Damien was silent.He had his head in his hands with his eyes closed. He was not fully listening what Liam was saying, with his mind whirling with various thoughts. He was still numb from the fact that his grandmother had been killed. She had been taken away from him. He did not even get a chance to reconcile with her.For months he'd been at loggerheads with her because of Rina. He'd made her cry and frustrated. He'd repeatedly declared his love for Rina, and how he'd choose her over Romero. Damie closed his eyes as pain lodged in his throat. She must have been very heartbroken, yet she still made sure she helped him recover.Yet, she'd been taken away from him?Rage coursed through his body and he shivered with the intensity. At that moment, he swore he was going to crush Zaire's neck.Just the way he'd done to his grandmother. And he'd take extreme pleasure
Chapter One Hundred And Forty OneAs soon as the party arrived home, Lana went straight to her room and locked herself in.She had been quiet throughout the ride home, and refused to say or acknowledge a word anybody said to her."What's wrong with Miss Lana?" Diego asked, looking round at the others who stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Lana go up.Yvette shrugged, as puzzled as Diego was.Damien and Liam, however, ignored him as well, and went into his study. Damien was brooding, his heart heavy with sadness and anger.Liam stood before him looking downcasted as well. Knowing Damien's temper, it would not be a good idea to say anything unless Damien spoke first.It had not been a good idea to let Lana listen to the recordings with them. That was the one thing Damien regretted. Although, it was supposed to come to her notice one way or the other, but Damien would have loved to keep it buried for life.He hated to see Lana sad, or heartbroken. After listening to the tapes,
Chapter One Hundred And Forty "Miss Lana, pick up already." Mandy muttered to herself, as she called Lana's number for the umpteenth time. As usual, the call rang out, leaving Mandy in despair and on the verge of pulling her hair out.She was pacing up and down the design team's office, the phone pressed to her ear, while the other employees went on with their work. It seemed like the design team was not affected by the crisis which had hit Romero since earlier that day. There was an air of joy, and the employees were working in a frenzy, with a light heart and smile on their faces.But their joy was incomplete somehow, with Lana's absence in the office.Where on earth did their head of design team go at this very crucial moment?At this memorable moment.A smile of joy and disbelief tugged at Mandy's lips, as she tried Lana's number once more. For the first time in years, MAGIC got accepted in the Queen's Glamor And Festival Awards, and it was all because of Miss Lana.She had mad
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Nine Without another word, Samuel stormed out of the office, followed by Paul and his companion.Lana heaved a sigh of relief, but she could still not ignore the pang of guilt that twisted her stomach. She'd have to call her Dad later on and explain things clearly to him.She was still a bit stunned that he'd actually left with a warning. "Oh God, hope he's not planning something behind my back." She muttered to herself, biting her lower lip in trepidation. If he was, then she deserved it, but she was not leaving Oackcrest without doing what she came here to do, anyway.And with the way things are, it seemed they'd gone back to the root of all squares. Romero was in danger!Before she could comprehend this thought any longer, Damien pulled her in to himself for a crushing hug.He pressed her to his chest, his heart racing from her nearness and his nose filled with the scent of her. He closed his eyes deeply and reveled in the feel of her still in his