I checked my phone, sighing in annoyance when I saw that it was hardly 8 PM yet and I was already getting rather desperate to leave. It was not that the event in itself wasn't entertaining or anything, because it most definitely was. There was an array of amazing fireworks going off at every strike of the hour and the various singers and bands arriving to perform on the enormous stage set up at the front of the field, but because I had already had to converse with three guys in a rather rude manner because they were either drunk and confused, or clearly had intentions that didn't involve a light-hearted conversation.Just as I was thinking about all that, I felt a warm hand land on my shoulder and I wheeled around to see a tall man peering down at me. Even in the dim lighting of the evening, I could see his spiky dark hair and glazed over eyes that screamed that he was drunk.Yes, definitely drunk, I thought."Hello, beautiful," he slurred, but just as I opened my mouth to reply, a ro
"Mr. Kendrick, sir."Nicholas's eyes were stone hard and I realized that what I was witnessing right now was CEO Nicholas, not the slightly softer version that I knew, but the version that got him where he was today."Are they both family?""Yes, obviously," he replied sternly and after a final suspicious glance down at me, the men walked away without another word of objection."What is this place? And why do I have to be 'family'?" I asked, placing air quotes around the word, family, before I pulled Nicholas's hand roughly from around my waist. His eyebrows furrowed and l assumed he also realized what he just did, but he replied coolly nonetheless. Olivia raced off after her parents, beckoning enthusiastically for us to follow."Only certain people can can get in here, Ophelia," he said simply as we followed his sister as she bounded cheerily across the room.Certain people, huh?I realized that we were being led into what looked like a mini first-aid section, and I wondered briefly
The red lipped woman who checked my boarding pass had a small fit when she read the name printed across it. "Kendrick?" she asked skeptically, scanning me up and down rather unprofessionally as she scanned my ticket too which made me to snatch it from her grasp instantly. "Yes!" I snapped back, trying not to feel offended by how disbelieving she was that I could be associated with the name, Kendrick. Already feeling a monstrously bad mood setting in, I slumped down in my seat with the sole intention to sulk for an hour. The first class area was obviously incredibleThe leg room was equivalent to that of two economy seats put together, and I was pretty sure that the seat reclined into a completely horizontal position. The only negative was the number of dirty looks I received from the economy passengers filing onto the plane after me. "Would you like to order a beverage, Miss?" a flight attendant asked."Yes. Some water, please," I replied.She placed the glass on my tray table with
"So where did you work before Colins'?" I asked.William seemed overjoyed at my casual question, and a beaming grin spread across his face as he answered. Our conversation stemmed from there, and we covered practically every cliché date topic I could think of even before our food arrived. Thankfully, William was more than happy to ramble on about his two adorable younger sisters the entire time we were eating, gushing about the fact that his mother signed both of them up for toddler ballet classes and how it was the cutest thing he had ever seen. I could't deny that William was undoubtedly one of the most easy going people I had ever met, and a small part of me was forced to admit that that was one of the few qualities Nicholas didn't possess. Oh, wow! I finally found a flaw in Nicholas Kendrick? Well, I meant other than the obvious ones like his fear of commitment, his temper, his traumatizing past, his downright bossiness, his general tendency to just get jealous all the time, a
"Blasi's Club? Why there?" Rianne asked"I don't know. William said it is really cool and tons of celebrities have been spotted there, so obviously he wants our second date to be there." Rianne rolled her eyes as our taxi driver eventually got over her stunning good looks and started the car. "That boy just wants to get in your pants, Lia, and he probably thinks getting you drunk is the easiest way to do that,” she said.Then she chuckled to herself as I sighed in annoyance, knowing very well that she had likely hit the nail right on the head there. "Well, I feel so guilty about still being caught up on another guy that honestly, I will go wherever he wants to." Rianne rolled her eyes pointedly as she pulled out her phone, undoubtedly to check that her deep pink lipstick and sharp winged eyeliner hadn't been smudged in the reflection it provided. "Still thinking about Mr. Billionaire, huh?" she quizzed.I couldn't help but feel slightly offended by the disappointed tone in her wo
My heart skipped a beat. No, my heart skipped two beats. One because he was here, and the other was because he referred to himself by his first name. "What..." My words were drowned out by the club's music which suddenly increased drastically in volume. I scowled and clasped my hands over my ears in an attempt to tame the pounding in my head. After what I made out to be a few seconds, I felt my body vibrate with a loud sigh despite the all consuming music. Then my head began to hum with the sound of someone speaking, but the raging sounds of the club paired with my hands clasped over my ears meant I couldn't quite make out the words. "What?" I shrieked before one of my hands were roughly tugged from my ear as Nicholas repeated himself. "I said don't resist,” he said.And then before I knew what was happening, my feet were lifted from the ground. An overwhelming feeling of dizziness set in as I was hauled over his shoulder, and my head fell limply against the back of his neck as
Nicholas stared back at me, a look of anxious expectancy etched across his features as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. I quickly realized that I despised this particular look on him. “Don't look at me like that,” I said and he turned away, not saying anything. "We are here," he said softly. "Where is here?" I asked carefully. "My apartment complex," he replied nonchalantly and my heart stopped. "Wait, what? Why are we here?" I asked, almost panicking."This really isn't the time to answer all of your questions…" he started but I cut him off.“But…" I began and this time it was his turn to cut me off."Please, Ophelia. I have work to do and you are in no state to go home by yourself. Let's go." And then he was out the door, and for some deranged reason, I followed after him. No, it was not because of a deranged reason; It was just as if it was common sense to follow Nicholas Kendrick into his apartment building. l ignored the uneasiness welling up inside of me as I walked
My eyes snapped open just as a door slammed not too far away. I bolted upright, scanning the spacious room around me in an attempt to figure out where the hell I had just woken up in. From the groggy feeling in the pit of my stomach and the rancid taste of alcohol on my tongue, I could pretty much figure out what went down last night, but the room surrounding me didn't quite match up to what I remembered. I remembered arriving at a bar with William and Rianne, and maybe having a few drinks, and the next thing I remembered was being in Nicholas's car. When did he even appear? "Nicholas?" I called out loud before I realized that the wrinkled white sheets surrounding me were empty, apart from my own sweaty limbs. Oh my God, it is Nicholas I went home with, right? I asked myself, already doubting the little events from yesterday that I managed to remember. "Nicholas?" I called more frantically, and the door in front of me clicked open. "Yes?" And there he was in all his beautiful
NICHOLAS Two hours later, we were sitting in my bed, swaddled under the covers with a random movie playing on the television. Our legs were tangled together with her cheek was against my chest, and there were plates of unfinished food around the dresser beside us. Usually, the mess would have been bugging me but right now, there were more important things on my mind. Currently, it was watching Ophelia’s face break into laughter every time something funny happened on the screen. Her hair was usually in the way, but when I did glance down and saw her chuckling softly, something powerful ignited inside of me. I loved seeing her smile. Infact, I needed to see her smile. It has become as essential as food and water to me and I had never been so captivated by someone before in my life. She noticed my stillness and tilted her head up to glance at me. She was silently asking me what was wrong, but I couldn't think of a single cheeky remark, not even a joke to hide my true intentions. Her
OPHELIA It took me half an hour to find him but when I did, I somewhat wished that I hadn't. He was sitting on a bench outside the hospital entrance, and I realized that he often resorted to these when he wanted no one to find him. My heart was pounding in my chest as I gazed at him from afar for a moment. I could immediately tell that there was something wrong with him. He was curled up with his head in his hands and even from across the street, I could see that he was shivering. When I got closer, I realized that it was not just from the cold because he was shaking with sobs. Infact, his body was wracked with them."Oh, Nicholas," I whispered and raced up to him as fast as I could. He tried to stand up but not before I grabbed his hand to pull him back down. The sound of his harsh breathing as he roughly wiped his tears away was the only sound on the desolate street surrounding us. “Talk to me," I pleaded. Alarmed, I tried to place a hand on his face but he shifted away. "Don't
OPHELIA I walked through the admissions foyer of the hospital and Rianne's mother was waiting for me at the entrance. After greeting her warmly, I immediately asked her if Rianne was awake yet, although deep down I knew that it was a long shot because she probably would have texted me.It still hurt to hear that nothing had changed since she left last night. I tried not to show my disappointment on my face though. "She may have come to overnight. I haven't seen her yet today because I was waiting for you." I smiled at her thoughtfulness before she continued. "So is your other half coming today?" I pursed my lips at her question and she read my expression immediately. "Don't worry about it, dear. He did seem a little uncomfortable yesterday. I am sorry if it was because of me." "No, no, it wasn't. He should be here soon. He is just at work right now." "Oh?" She looked at me inquisitively as we walked side by side through the Accident and Emergency unit."Where is he working? I am
OPHELIA I woke up with a start, struggling to catch my breath as the vivid pictures from my nightmare slowly faded from my mind. I couldn't help my frustration when I realized that this was the second one I had had in the past few days. I really thought I was over them. When I glanced to my left, I could see that there was already light outside the wall-sized window. Where did Nicholas go? My eyelids were heavy so I clearly hadn't slept long enough to catch up on sleep entirely, but it was disappointing nonetheless to know that he must still be working. I got to my feet, deciding to go and get some water since my throat was abnormally dry. I walked into the kitchen, surprised to see a new bag sitting on the floor next to my own. I recognized it as Nicholas's suitcase, and I automatically assumed that someone must have found it in our villa in The Bahamas and delivered it here. Maybe Shane arrived in Washington and brought this bag with him? Both bags were unmoved from in front of
OPHELIA "Nick. Hey, where are you going? Nicholas!" I caught up to him and eventually, he accepted that he couldn't ignore me any longer and hesitantly turned around. "Why are you leaving?" I asked him."We can come back when she is conscious," he replied ."I don't understand. We waited for hours to see them and now you want to leave?" He looked at me and I realized that he was breathing harder than usual. His eyes were wide and his face was abnormally pale. "Can we just… go? Please?" His voice was trembling and suddenly, I blanched, realizing that this may be much more than I thought it was. "Ohh, okay. But please just tell me what is going on." I hurriedly signed us out at the front desk and scuttled after him. The front doors slid open as we left the hospital, and I was thankful that the sun had risen in the time we had been inside. The cold was still biting, but it was not as harsh as it had been earlier. "It was difficult for me to watch them together," he finally said
OPHELIA The clock continued to tick mockingly on the wall opposite us, marking time passing painfully slowly. It was only the end of November, but it was already viciously cold in the waiting room as if it was already full-blown winter. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt as if I was freezing to death, even as I was with Nicholas's jacket on and his arms were wrapped around me. Minutes became an hour, and an hour becames hours. I had lost track of how long we had been sitting in the waiting room by the time a doctor appeared, asking if we were here to see Rianne Thomas and Dave Hank. Rianne's mother and I jumped out of our seats, both with expectant expressions on our faces. Nicholas stayed back as the doctor introduced himself, and I thought he was probably wondering if he would even be allowed to see them because he wasn't direct family of Rianne's, or even that close to her. In fact the last time I checked, they hated each other's guts. "Hi, I am Doctor Nathaniel.” T
OPHELIAIt must have gotten considerably colder in Washington while we were away, because the few cars parked by the hospital had a layer of thick white snow on their roofs, and the ground was coated with icy mud. The moment Nicholas parked the car in the deserted parking lot, I was ready to unbuckle my seatbelt and bolt to Rianne's side. I already felt terrible that we weren't here sooner but hopefully, her mother would understand because we were halfway across the world when we were informed of the accident. Nicholas seemed to sense my predicament because he turned to me the second we were no longer moving. "Go," he said and I smiled gratefully as I scurried out of the car and up to the towering hospital entrance. I could see Nicholas's figure reflected in the glass of the front doors. He was looking slightly less calm and collected than usual as he walked in behind me. I, on the other hand, couldn't seem to breathe as the place we were suddenly dawned on me. The last time I wen
NICHOLAS Eventually, she detached her lips and smiled lazily at me before she opened her mouth to speak. “You don't know what I want to do to you right now," she whispered as she sat up and began to plant small kisses on my neck. I must have been too preoccupied with trying to unzip my jeans to notice the way she sucked and nibbled harshly on the skin just below my ear for a little too long. “Nice.” Her tone was proud as she kissed the tender skin one final time. Just then, I froze as what she just did suddenly dawned on me. "You did not just give me a hickey," I bit out but she just grinned widely at me so I went on, "You have got to be kidding me. I have important meetings coming up." She continued to smile, and it was beyond contagious as her hand landed on my boxers. She rubbed the material over my bulge as I nuzzled my head into the crook of her neck. "I am sure I can make it up to you," she said and that same smile was still on her face. "Oh, I am sure you can." My voice
NICHOLAS I soon grew tired of the silent driving. I really thought Ophelia would have broken and spoken to me by now, but I guess I didn't realize just how upset with me she was. Out of instinct, I reached over and brushed the hair out of her eyes, but she only stiffened at my small display of affection. My hand found hers and I pulled it to my lips so that I could kiss it tenderly with my eyes still on the road as I steered with one hand. She didn't snatch it away, which I guessed was a good sign. So I dragged my kiss down to her knuckles and wrist next, feeling the softness of her pale skin beneath my lips. She still didn't show any emotion, as she kept on listening to whatever song she had playing on her phone. I put her hand back in her lap in defeat, resting my arm on her thigh instead. I waited a silent minute or so before I couldn't help myself any longer. Then I began to rub the skin on her leg just below the hem of her dress. Cautiously, I made a move to slide my hand fu