Simon raised an eyebrow at Veil, as she folded the paper and put it back in the package. She blinked at him, and an awkward silence followed. Now, Simon was thinking that he should have left the package downstairs and allowed the delivery agent to go through the whole hassle of getting it upstairs.“How did the meeting go?” Simon asked. In truth, he wasn't really concerned about the meeting because he had no clue what it was about. He just really needed to make small talk to break through the awkward silence.“It was the absolute worst.” Veil sighed, resting her back. “I have all these papers to turn into a digital format and it is already stressing the hell out of me.”“Do you need me to help? It's not so different from what I do downstairs?”“Can you do that?”“Of course.” Simon wanted to add “anything for you”, but he figured that it only sounded really weird and was most likely to creep her out. So he settled for a huge smile that made Veil smile back.Simon went to his office to
Veil didn't know how to feel as she walked back into her office. As her heels echoed on the tiled ground, her heart thumped in perfect synchrony, making her halt abruptly in the middle of the hallway. Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of her fears before continuing the journey to her office.Although she hadn't done anything wrong that she could remember, the look Anders had given her wasn't particularly a friendly one.He was obviously pissed about something.And that smirk.Urgh! Veil felt shudders run through her as she dropped into her seat. She caught a package on the floor from the corner of her eyes and muttered “shit!” Anders had instructed that she finished the food before he returned to the office and she had totally forgotten about it.The shrill of the telephone suddenly interrupted the silence in the office, and Veil almost jumped out of her seat in shock. The phone stopped ringing before she could pick it up, but in a second, the ringing tone started again, and she
For every step that Simon took that brought him closer to Anders’ office, Veil wished she had telepathy each time. Perhaps, if she lived in some fantasy world where she could wish things to be, she would have screamed at Simon from her head, telling him to turn around and go back to his office. But this was no fantasy, and Simon was mandated to obey every one of Anders’ commands. He was still the CEO of Kingston Groups, and as such, even the smallest instruction mattered. Veil could only imagine the derision on Simon’s face as he struggled to come to terms with that flimsy errand. Even Veil had never fetched Anders something like that. Sure, she had to get him lunch and his usual black coffee before the start of the day. But that was about it. A bottle of water all of a sudden for someone who wasn’t him? That was suss. The knock Veil had been waiting for sounded at the door, and as her hands stopped midway to her mouth, Anders glared at her, urging her to keep eating. “Come in,
Veil stared at Anders like he was a crazy person, and he couldn’t even blame her. He was sitting in front of her, proclaiming that he wanted her to be his. No rational person was going to be fine with that, but for Veil and Anders, it was more than the bounds of rationality. And even though Veil was yet to admit it to herself, Anders was certain of it. He could see it in the way her pupils were dilated each time she looked up at him like she was drunken in his presence. He could tell from the way she flushed each time he came remotely close to her. In all of Anders’ life, he was barely wrong about something. And he knew this wasn’t going to be an exception. “Mr. Roderiguez...”“Anders. For the last time.”A muscle worked in Veil’s jaw, and Anders found it remarkably attractive. She was pissed, and it was all due to his stubbornness. But he knew he had to have this woman. “You can’t just say that when you don’t mean it.”“Who says I don’t?” Anders questioned, angling his head. He n
Anders would have asked whoever it was by the door to get the fuck away, so he could continue from where he stopped with Veil. But the trance was broken, and she was scampering far away from him, the hunger he recognized still in her eyes. Veil stood mere feet away from Anders, her eyes hazy and her breath untamed. Her previously sleeked-back ponytail was nowhere to be found, and in its place were her curls sticking all over her back. Her skin was a bright red, and she still pressed her legs together. Anders was pleased that even though she was no longer right in front of him, he still had that arresting effect on her. Both of them must have forgotten what made them jump apart in the first place because Veil suddenly froze in panic as the office doors were pushed open and Sophia walked in. She still looked as immaculate as Veil had seen her hours ago, and she could only imagine the stark difference between them right now. Her stiletto heels made a tapping sound on the ground as sh
Veil was distraught for the rest of the day, as every moment kept popping up in her head. She kept thinking there was something she could possibly do, even though Anders had told her to do nothing. But how could he expect her to just stay still and watch everything go by from a corner? If Sophia hadn't bothered knocking before walking through those doors, Veil would have been in a different type of trouble. Or maybe Sophia knew and was only pulling her legs. With a start, Veil realized that she had been working on the same page of a contract for the past thirty minutes and had made absolutely no change to it. "I think I'm going insane," Veil muttered to herself as she leaned against the headrest, closing her eyes. She could feel a migraine coming along and didn't think she could work in that condition. Veil could remember the day she got the invitation for an interview at Kingston Group. She had been so happy that she would finally be able to work somewhere as prestigious as KG,
Veil asked the windows to be rolled down and she reveled in the feeling of the cold air caressing her face. She put her hands outside the car, her fingertips having an alluring tug with the air. Veil was in control more than half the time, but it made her only feel worse.Withdrawing her hand, she sank into the seat, thinking about how difficult it was to be the driver of her life in real-time. She was in a tug with the cosmos, yet it kept flinging her in every direction. First, it was her father who had fallen ill at a moment when everything wasn't rosy, then her hunt for a job that almost took a whole year.“Where's your mind at, Veil?” Orleans’ voice fleeced over to her and she shook her head subtly.“It's just one of those days,” she breathed, sinking further into the seat.“Is it your boss again?”“No,” Veil answered, shaking her head. Although it was indisputable that Anders was a lot of things, she couldn't pin this on him. In fact, he had made things a tad better for her by en
Anders brought his car to a halt in front of Sophia's house, and for the umpteenth time, he wondered why he had agreed to do this. Spending the night going through the update report on the construction site sure was a better way to spend the night, rather than being cooped up in here with the idea of a marriage hanging over his head.One that he surely didn't want.He was late, and intentionally so. Anders had spent over an hour walking through his entire house, looking for an excuse to bail out on the dinner. He knew exactly how tonight was going to go and dreaded it. How was he supposed to act love-struck when all of him needed to check if Veil was okay?As Anders stepped out of the car, the doors to the entrance were pulled open and Sophia walked out of them with her head high. She looked great tonight, with a blood-red dress that hung right above her knees, and her hair down in ringlets. She had on a pair of black heels that looked pretty uncomfortable, but trust Sophia to strut i
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