Veil felt really sick after she threw up, but since she had already taken a seven-day leave, which, by the way, had gotten her into trouble with Anders, she didn't think he would be all sunshine and brilliance if she told him she wanted to have the rest of the day off. Of course, she had seen the concern in his eyes when he helped her in the bathroom and even felt a shiver run through her when she felt his hands at the back of her neck, lifting her hair up. But Veil didn't want to think too much about it. It hurt enough already, and she wasn't going to push it. Certain it was some stomach flu, Veil skipped lunch and stayed in her office, catching up on the workload she had left behind. She called the English investors, who maintained they had to leave the following day. The only middle line they offered was for Kingston Groups to take responsibility for their flight back to England.Veil immediately gave her consent because she was sure it wasn't a big deal for the company. And sinc
Anders waved the driver away, grabbing the keys from him. He walked Veil to the passenger's seat and strapped her in before getting behind the wheel. She told him he was making a big deal out of nothing and that it was just some stomach flu.But even if she was right, Anders needed to make sure of it. He already felt like shit for breaking her heart. He wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that she wasn't feeling well, and he had done nothing about it. The hospital gates came into view, and Veil tried to talk him out of it. Anders knew it wasn't exactly because she didn't want to go to the hospital, but it had everything to do with him and his nagging presence. He knew she was right that it was selfish of him to push her around this way when he was the one who wanted nothing to do with her at the end of the contract. It felt like the first time all over again, the annoying inability to let her be. Anders worried about her all week when she took a leave. He had been scared that she woul
It was a simple test, and in just a few minutes, Veil was back in the doctor’s office to meet a placid-looking Anders still seated in the exact spot she had left him. He raised his head towards the door as Veil walked in, dragging her steps behind.All of this felt so surreal and fast that she hadn’t had time to blink or think about it. Even the sudden employment at Kingston Groups couldn’t hold a touch to this. Veil was engulfed in a whirlwind of emotions, a weight pulling her down, emotions that she had no clue existed in the first place. Anders watched her till she was in her seat, blowing out a warm breath through her mouth. Veil thought it was only a matter of time before she combusted into flames from how she felt. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She wanted everything to pause so she would have time to reboot and process all of it. “How did it go?” Anders questioned. He was in the same situation as Veil but just
The doorman hadn't been expecting Anders back this early, so when his car drove in with Anders behind the wheel, he double-checked just to ensure nothing was wrong. Waving him away, Anders pulled out at the entrance and got out from behind the wheel. Veil didn't wait for him to help her out this time, pushing the door open and walking to the doors without him. She saw herself in, since she already knew the passcode, heading straight for the kitchen. The weather was not unbearably hot, but it sure felt that way to Veil as she pulled open the refrigerator and got out a cold bottle of water. Downing it without a glass cup, Veil whipped at her chin and returned to the living room, throwing herself on the couch, the same one she had spent the most passionate night with Anders, giving herself totally to him, not holding back. It was the day she decided to throw all consequences to the wind. Of course, she hadn't factored this into consideration. Veil stared at the space beside her, wonde
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
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
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
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
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