Veil returned to work the next day with a bright smile on her face and a spring in her steps. She said hello to the doorman who beamed at her in response. He wondered why she was at work that early. It was barely 6 am and Anders hadn't gotten to work yet. Attributing her reasons to the cause of her excitement, he wished her a beautiful day and went on about his business.Everything sparked to Veil, even the usual grumpy receptionist at the front desk. She waved as she sauntered into the elevator, hitting the button for the 16th floor, and leaning on the wall. The doors opened in a minute and she strolled up the hallway to her office.It was a plain space and although Veil had thought about decorating a few times, Anders’ demeanor made her chicken out of it each time. The space was exactly the way she had left it, folders properly organized on one side of the table and a computer on the other. But there was a card right beside the computer, looking out of place. Veil knew that the las
It took an hour to walk from the sixteenth floor down to the first, even though the clock had barely traveled five minutes. A silence, screaming to be heard, kept springing up, on Anders’ shoulders as he leaned on the elevator walls, waiting for that familiar ding, on his shoes, as they padded softly through the floors, not making a squeak.Veil might have tried to do something, say something. Perhaps, an awkward chuckle that would have him sending a ludicrous look her way, a loud yawn that might spur him to question her willingness to work that day. He might have alluded it to taking care of her father all night and then grumbled about how that wasn't an excuse.Anything at all.Her arm felt weird swinging by her side, so she put it up on her purse along with her second arm. It was an awkward way to walk, her feet getting slowed down and her brain questioning the intelligence of her actions. Yet, it was better than the silence. The first floor was quiet. Most people had gone out for
The silence has returned, but this time, it was way more awkward. Veil couldn't stop thinking about the implication of what Grandma said, how her eyes had regarded her, nudging across something that Veil thought she should have figured out already. But she was clueless. It felt like a gaping hole in her mind that needed to be filled soon.Anders, on the other hand, had put aside what plagued him earlier that day. The short ride with Veil had done something he couldn't place his hands on. Although he wanted to attribute it to Grandma and her worrying, Anders knew he started to feel better before they had even arrived at the restaurant.Now, as he picked up a fork full of lasagne, he regarded Veil from underneath his lashes. She looked deep in thought, a crease on her forehead and a faraway look in her eyes. She drew circles with her fork on the empty side of the plate, but Anders was just grateful that she had at least gotten over the dread of eating with him.Or maybe she didn't make
“Reports, please,” Anders requested, still watching Veil. She had turned her frame away from him, content with looking at the plain white walls and the finely polished doors. She grabbed her pen and scribbled something on the sheet. Audrey, a tall fine man with a head full of dirty blonde hair, cleared his throat noisily and wheeled his chair subtly to face Anders. He read the report of the marketing team from his laptop and the rest of the departmental heads followed him through the projected view on the screen.The figures were good. Business was booming. However, they thought the Pharmaceuticals was going to be a big risk from the market survey. Hospitals had a trusted brand, and it was hard to sway them away from their regular purchases.“So what do you think we should do?” Anders questioned, finally pulling his eyes away from Veil. She unnerved him. Every part of her. Anders had never found concentration a hard thing to do. He never missed details because he was always attentive
It was all a buzz – a bunch of hungry bees swarming in the air, intent on finding their prey while the sun was still up. He tried so hard to focus, adjusting himself a million times on his high-backed chair. His black pen looked like the most interesting thing before him, and he swirled it in his hands, scoffing when it got stopped by his ring.Flinging to a corner caused a clatter, barely audible to the rest of the room. But Veil was right beside him. Although her head didn’t lift off her sheet, he felt her eyes on him, confused, surprised. Anders found it pretty easy to read her, except when she was stuck inside her head.Like earlier that day, at the restaurant. He still hadn’t gotten it out of her, and for some reason, he doubted that she was going to say anything.Someone cleared his throat noisily and asked a question about the report that was on the screen. Anders tried to pay attention – to turn to the screen to decipher whose department’s turn it was. He needed to find the i
Seconds trickled by, yet if anything, Anders seemed to have wrapped his arms around her stronger, a light smirk playing on his lips. She fit perfectly on his thighs, like one half of a puzzle that was only just discovered. He could feel her perfectly molded butt on him, and the more she moved, the more she sent sparks all around. His body was painfully aware of her presence, but Anders wanted to take his time.Veil's fair thighs were out in the open, and Anders couldn't stop staring. She had beautiful skin, and even though Anders had seen it before under the glow of the morning rays when she had been deep in the arms of slumber, it still had the same effect on him.Anders got up suddenly, taking Veil with him. Taking a few steps around the table, he leaned forward, giving Veil no other option. Her hands darted out to steady her, planting themselves firmly on the huge glass table.Her face was barely a hair away from his. He could feel her warm breath on his face, teasing his pores, s
Her dress bunched up around her waist, and the cool air of the conference room caressed her thighs. But that coolness was quickly replaced by the heat left in the wake of Anders’ hands as he trailed her skin with one hand while the other was buried in her hair.Veil arched her back when his lips left hers, planting themselves on the curve of her neck, biting, tasting. He savored the taste of her skin against his tongue, relishing in the thought that forbidden fruits tend to taste the best. Every part of Veil felt like it was being thrown into a source of electricity, as the sparks flew around. She trembled in his arms, shocked at the sensations his tongue could elicit out of her. He kissed nerves that Veil hadn't known existed until that day, and released every tension in her bones.Her toes curled up again when his hand left her hair, toying with the zipper that held her dress in place. All it would take was one yank to get it out of the way, and Veil anticipated it. He returned hi
Simon stopped by the door a micro-second, hoping that Anders wasn't inside the room. As he pushed the door open, he thought about the bulk of work he had left to do before the end of the day. His partner has chosen that day not to show up at work, leaving Simon to perform the tasks of two persons, while covering up for him.All through the day, he had been frightened that Anders would figure out he was hiding something, like the time when their eyes had met by the front door on the first floor during Lunch hour. Simon had almost felt the urge to pee on himself and he already had an apology speech prepared in his head.But Anders hadn't even paid him the least attention as he sauntered away, Veil right beside him. He breathed a sigh of relief and slicked back into his office, sending his partner a note containing a million reasons why he was never going to cover up for him again.Simon had no idea that the meeting that had been put on hold that morning was rescheduled for later in the
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