Anders wondered what changed as he took a slow sip, the heat from the scotch burning its way down his throat. He stared into the night, watching it go by at its own pace, while three friends, sharing the bond of grief, remained trapped in the past. “Camila had always known I enjoyed music,” Amanda disrupted the silence, answering Anders’ unspoken question. “She thought it was silly that I bashed musicians out in public, while in the comfort of my room, I sang my heart out like I was in a concert.”“It's pretty hard to see you in that light,” Anders muttered, spurring laughter from Lucas.He good-naturedly raised his shoulders in a shrug when Amanda sneered at him. “I thought so too. You can imagine how surprised I was when I walked into a bar downtown and saw her singing with a band. It was a rude shock.”“That led to something beautiful,” Amanda completed, looking into his eyes. They seemed to gravitate towards each other, like the north and south poles. Anders could be in the room,
Amanda's eyes shone in honest excitement, as she looked from Lucas to Anders. “Oh My God! Now, this is juicy. Who is she?”“Lucas doesn't know what he's talking about,” Anders said dismissively, throwing his hands in the air. “There's no one, okay? I'm just trying to get Sophia off my back without getting on the President’s bad side. That's all.”Amanda's face fell instantly. “That's really bad. I was getting excited about bonding with your woman. It would just be like old times.”“Nothing will ever be like old times,” Anders said forcefully, a vein visible in his throat. “Nothing.” He didn't want to remember it. All that pain had left him in despair. He was a shadow of himself. Anders would never think about his friendship with Amamda without remembering the later part.“Okay,” Amansa said warily. “Maybe not exactly like old times. But you know what I'm talking about.”“There's someone actually.” Lucas had been observing the situation, wondering if he should just say what he knew. An
Orleans didn’t mirror Anders’ smile. Instead, his face hardened even more, contorting into a twisted version of De Acosta, almost like his mother when things didn’t go her way.Anders had done business with her on multiple occasions, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that he never let people walk all over him, De Acosta would have had her way.He stepped forward in controlled aggressiveness, and Anders smirked. “I want to ask you how you found me, but then again, a desperate man doesn’t reveal his secrets now, does he?”“Can we talk?” he said, motioning to Amanda and Lucas standing behind Anders. “Without the company.”Maybe it had something to do with the scotch bubbling in the pit of his stomach, or the fact that he was in the mood for a fist fight. But, Anders took a dangerous step forward, his immaculate smirk still in place.“They’re family,” he sneered, placing his hands in his pocket. “But then again, I’m not sure you know what that even means.”“Hey, Andy,” Amanda called. “Do
“Now, this just got interesting,” Amanda chuckled. “I made the greatest decision to come back to Mexico.”But Anders wasn’t listening to her. Every bit of his attention was focused on the man in front of him. He noted the apprehension in his gaze, the way his eyes darted like he was trying to avoid something, how he cleaned his palms on his pants, the first trait of nervousness.“What have you been trying to tell me, Orleans De Acosta?”“I haven’t been speaking Spanish, have I? Stay the fuck away from Veil.” Orleans spat. He felt like he was in control once again before it got rudely snatched away from him.“I hear you loud and clear, Orleans,” Anders sneered, nodding. “But what I don’t understand is the reason you’re so passionate about this. I’ve read about you. One of your many traits is staying away from conflicts. Yet, you have embraced this so wholeheartedly that it has to stem from somewhere with depth.”“You’re trying to psych me up.”“You talked about Sophia getting married t
Loud music echoed through the walls as the group stepped in, and instantly, Amanda’s face lit up in a grin. She pulled Lucas with her to find a table, leaving Anders to trail behind them, questioning his reason for choosing to go with them. It had always been Amanda on the receiving end, with Anders and Camila making her tag along on their outings around the whole city. They sampled meals, and Camila made Amanda take their cute pictures for them. She was big on that. Anders snapped back to the present when someone bumped into him. It was too dark to tell the person’s identity. He swore and walked in the direction he saw his friends go, wondering why he hadn’t suggested they go to his club instead. Amanda had already ordered drinks for them when he reached the booth, and as he slid in on the opposite seat, Lucas pushed his glass over to him. It was the same thing they’d been having on his balcony. “I didn’t want to mess with what we already have in our systems,” he explained, sampl
Veil had just had dinner with her family, and they were in the living room seeing a show. She was smudged in between her parents, a huge bowl of popcorn in her hands. Her father laughed at something one of the characters said, and Veil found herself focusing on the sound rather than the show. She had missed that deep sound that echoed through the walls almost every day while growing up. It had seemed so normal that, at some point, she just got used to it. Maybe overly used to it. But suddenly, that voice was gone, replaced by gloom and quiet. Now, Veil wanted to appreciate every waking moment she still had him around—both of them around. She pulled them into her suddenly, sighing as their warmth met her skin. Her mother knew what she had been thinking about, and she pressed her lips against her hair. “It’s all right now,” she whispered. “We’ll be here for as long as you want.” If she could have forever, Veil would eagerly take it. Her father laughed again, and she pulled her eyes
Veil was stunned, her eyes shining in surprise as she stared at the drunken figures of Amanda and Lucas. She tried to rationalize it - the probabilities. Her number was perhaps the only one on his emergency contacts because she was his secretary and needed to be accessible at any time. Or maybe it was because of the contract they had that was binding between them. She refused to think about the other possible reason. In fact, Veil didn’t want to consider it. “What about you guys?” Veil asked as Amanda snuggled up into Lucas’ arms. It looked like he had it covered already, but she needed to be certain. “Caring and pretty,” Amanda muttered, sighing in bliss. “I like her already.” “You said that at the balcony,” Lucas chuckled. They looked so great together, and Veil felt odd watching them being so sweet to each other. It sharply reminded her of her own predicament and how long it had been since she had last felt that way. “Then I double like her,” Amanda replied, giggling like a ki
The first living room was dark, the lights from the stairs casting a dull glow on some parts. The furniture looked even darker, huddled in the middle of black, its arms couched like an obese woman with a child on her arm. Veil gasped as her body collided with a breathing brick wall, the door closing behind her. Her hands flew up instinctively, resting on his chest. It moved slowly, her hands along with it. It rattled Veil, and she released a breath, too, the heat swirling through her, sharpening her senses. She was aware of him, of the heat that radiated through him, his warm breath hovering over her head, his strong arm wrapping around her waist. Veil breathed him in, his heady scent that sent delicious thrills to the pit of her stomach and made her ache between her thighs. He whispered something into her ears, but Veil was too distracted by the low vibration traveling from his throat. She shivered deliciously as goose bumps erupted on her skin, her pores alert, sizzling at every
MONTHS LATERElvis Presley's “can't help falling in love” reverberated across the full hall as Veil walked down the aisle slowly, in the arms of her father, with June behind her, unable to stop smiling so wide. Veil's best friend seemed to be the most excited about this wedding, as she had been in such a great mood since Veil returned with Anders to Mexico, the news of their engagement in tow.She and Amanda had been responsible for all the planning, leaving Veil nothing to do than being doted on by Anders and taking care of her gradually bulging stomach. Veil thought it was better to do the wedding before she wouldn't be able to walk easily, and Anders was cool with whatever she wanted.Anders was at the aisle, with Lucas by his side, the roles reversed so beautifully. His wife, Amanda, was at the front pew, dabbing at her eyes and at the same time, glancing at her watch. She was in charge around here and since Amanda was the queen of perfection, she wanted everything to be in place
Anders walked into the house with trepidation since Veil hadn't said anything about welcoming him with open arms. He had taken too long to realize he was in love with her, and the thought plagued him as he stood in the center of the small and cozy living area, struck at how homely she had made it look.“This is nice,” he noted, not expecting Veil to dignify him with a response. That explained how his eyes raised in surprise when she smiled at him, a sigh escaping her slightly parted lips. “I'd always wanted my own space,” Veil explained. “But living with June has made me realize that perhaps, solitary living isn't for me.” She laughed awkwardly and sat on one of the mismatched couches. “It's been a little bit hard living alone. I don't know how to cook just for myself, and there's no one to fix me a quick snack when I'm too tired to lift a finger.”Anders wanted to tell her that he would happily do all of that for her, but something kept him mute. He wasn't certain how open she would
Anders didn't bother to change into something else, getting onto the private jet from his landing. The tuxedo made him look like he was going to a ceremony, but there wasn't any time to go back home, especially since Anders made the decision in the spur of the moment.The usual readings of the weather, flight safety information, and weather forecast were announced before the jet took off from the ground, and Anders wished they could go faster. His legs bobbed in the aircraft and he shuffled between looking out through the window and scrolling through the magazines before him.He wasn't going to get to Veil in the next five hours and now that Anders was midair, he was beginning to think about the spontaneous choice he had just made. Perhaps, he should have celebrated the day with his best friend, then waited till the following morning before making the trip. He hadn't even considered if Veil would be open to receiving him. If that happened, was he just going to come right back?The ans
Anders was in the room with Lucas, helping him with his brooch before he went to the aisle to wait for his bride. Lucas hadn't stopped talking about how special he thought Amanda was and how lucky he was to have her as his bride. At first, Anders was receptive to the emotions flowing, even handing Lucas a napkin when tears threatened to fall from his eyes. But three hours into the day, Anders decided that it was getting on his nerves. And not in a bad way. The more his best friend spoke about love and the beautiful things it had done to him, the more he feared that his choice not to believe in love was more damning than it did him any good. It was becoming oddly real to him, that Lucas and Amanda were going to need their privacy after today, so he wouldn't be able to disturb them as often as he was used to.“Don't look so sad, Anders,” Lucas drawled, patting his friend's face affectionately. “We're still going to be your friends. Things are just going to be a bit different.”“How so?
“Veil!” June yelled from the living room, where she was huddled with her laptop, peering up at the screen. She had been at it for a couple of hours now, muttering that she had a deadline to meet up with, more urgent than having a shower or eating. Peeking out from the kitchen where she had been trying to whip up a snack for her best friend, Veil rolled her eyes and muttered something about her yelling being worth it before leaning on the door frame. She was only about six weeks gone, and the pregnancy hadn’t started showing yet. “I hope it isn’t something as mundane as getting you a glass of water,” Veil murmured, eyeing June, who still had her eyes glued to the screen of her laptop. “You got the job!” June said at the top of her voice, and for once, Veil didn’t complain about her best friend yelling when she was right beside her. Veil covered the distance in one second, planting herself by June’s side as she peered down at the mail open on the screen. Veil had logged on to her ema
Anders was in Lucas’ studio, watching his best friend and Amanda gush over the idea they had for their wedding. They wanted it to happen there since it was not only cost-effective but they could, at the same time, have an influence over the decorations.Lucas wanted the paintings he had made of Amanda gracing the walls that day, with the pictures they'd taken together showing the journey of their dating life. They giggled when they saw an old picture of the four of them - Amanda, Lucas, Anders, and Camila, and tears pooled at the corner of Amanda's eyes. She whipped them off hastily before Anders or Lucas could notice. She only wanted to have happy memories of her best friend.“What do you think about beige?” Amanda threw at Anders who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. Unfortunately, he had nowhere else to go. The bar sounded like a very tempting idea right now, but Anders knew it was too much of a show since the whole of Mexico knew who he was and there wasn't goin
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIXJune couldn't get rid of the surprise etched on her features, no matter how hard she tried. And oh boy, she did try. She walked behind Veil like a shadow, following her every moment and popping the question a million times, so much so that Veil started locking her room door to keep June out in the middle of the night.She had to inform her parents too about the development, and they were supportive of her decision. Veil had resigned from Kingston Groups and sent her CV to the English Investors’ company. She was awaiting feedback from them. On the day she sent in her resignation letter, Veil ensured she was in and out of the company like a breeze, too fast before Anders could realize she was there in the first place. She came just after lunch, meeting Simon at the desk who was about to make a sharp U-turn to stay out of her way.It made Veil laugh about the comedy that had become her life. Just a couple of months ago, Anders was threatening every sing
June was waiting by the door when Veil got home, and she allowed herself get whisked into the living room, with June watching her like she would drop to the floor at any minute. June was not far from the truth because the only thing holding Veil up was the fear of doing anything to harm the baby.It was still pretty early and she had read somewhere that the first few months of a pregnancy were usually the most delicate, and extra care needed to be taken in order to get through it.June said nothing until later in the night, when Veil came out for a snack. She was working in the kitchen, a huge pair of frames on her eyes when Veil sauntered in, covered in her cute small pyjamas.“Hey,” June called, taking off her glasses. Veil hadn't told her anything since she returned because she didn't want to overburden her best friend with the drama that had been going on in her life. They felt unending, from one level to the other. Veil couldn't remember the last time June had complained about so
Those words would have rocked the whole of Veil’s world if she wasn’t so certain of what she had seen in Anders. He was one of Mexico’s greatest businessmen, but the one thing he couldn’t do as expertly as running a business was lying to her. He tried to be mean, to act like he didn’t give two fucks about Veil. But she could see through the walls he had put up, and he had no one to blame for that but himself. The days he had spent with her had opened him up more than he had thought possible, and now, he was left staring at the face of the woman who didn’t believe him one bit when he said he wasn’t in love with her. “I can’t lie about my feelings for you,” Anders said, his tone almost pleading for her to reason with him. “And I have tried my best to make it clear from the beginning that I want nothing more from this than what you want, or at least, what I thought you wanted.” Veil shook her head. “Maybe at first, you believed those words as much as you try to convince yourself now