Achingly slowly, the limo came to a stop, and as my eyes focused on the dimly lit exterior of the restaurant, I realized that it was definitely not the Italian restaurant Nicholas mentioned yesterday."We are not going to Aventi's, then?" I asked quietly."No. This place just opened up so l figured we should try it. Come, " he said, informing me about of the change of plans as he slid the car door open, stepping out as I paused momentarily to pull my skirt down."Come," he repeated again, slightly more forcefully this time, as I climbed out of the comfort of the car, joining him on the sidewalk.As my eyes tried to understand what the glistening golden sign hanging above us read, I felt a light tug on my lower arm, and then, without warning, Nicholas's hand latched onto mine. My natural instincts kicked in, and I yelped and tugged my hand away from his grasp."What are you doing?" I whispered as he turned around, reading my thoughts exactly."I don't want you to be dragged away by papa
At that moment, I was suddenly hit by the memory of a game Rianne and I used to play in college whenever the guys we liked were at the parties we were. It was a pretty foolproof game to play when you wanted to find out more about someone. I couldn't help but smile as I folded my hands on my lap and introduced it to Nicholas."Let's play a game," I began, and he glanced up, staring into my eyes as if he was searching for the reason as to why I had suddenly transformed into a teenager."A game?" he asked slowly.I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Yes, a game. I used to play it with my friends in college. It helps you get to know someone better," I replied.He dropped his wine glass down on the table slowly."Come on. I think we need this if I am going to accept a new laptop and a new phone too from you."That woke him up from his musings and he nodded to show that he was listening. I tried not to focus on the parts of his toned chest that I could see through his unbuttoned shirt now that
"Okay. I told you a very harrowing story so you could finally answer my burning question. Why are you so concerned with what l eat?"The words rolled off my tongue before I could even process why I was asking them, but he already promised that he would tell me the answer if I ate a decent amount tonight, which I most definitely had. I ate all of the starter which was broccoli soup and almost all of the main dish which included lasagna. I watched attentively as Nicholas's face suddenly morphed into a look of surprise, and then what looked a bit like annoyance."I thought you would forget..." he admitted quietly, not even acknowledging the waitress beside him as she dropped our desserts quietly on the table."Why would you think that?" I asked incredulously."Because..." He trailed off, sighing loudly, as he closed his eyes for a moment before shifting in his chair as if he was uncomfortable. I narrowed my eyes at him before he continued. "I know the way women act around me, Ophelia. Th
I scrambled through the glass doors looking like a literal madwoman; messy hair, minimal makeup with the absence of coffee slowing me down. I ignored the decent amount of judgmental stares I received as I walked through the reception. Patting down my hair, I waved absentmindedly at Sarah and I slid clumsily into the elevator. An odd feeling of deja vu swept over me as the doors slid shut, and I realized that it was because my less than luxurious flats did the same thing yesterday. l also happened to remember the endearing laugh that left Nicholas's lips when I nearly fell, face first onto the floor.Oh, Nicholas. How awkward was it going to be seeing him today? I felt a lot closer to him now, that was for sure, but not really in the way I wanted to be. I was hoping to walk in today having found out his favorite color and maybe where his parents were from, not a heartbreakingly tragic story about his origins. I didn't expect to get so personal myself either, but what he admitted to me
"Mr. Kendrick," I called out.He glanced up, his eyes widening at my poisonous tone."Why did you fire Diego?" I asked him.Without warning, he shot up to his feet and strolled up to me, standing mere inches in front of me before he spoke."Because he has a sharp mouth and I don't value that in an employee," he said simply, before turning and he began to hastily organize a stack of papers which were strewn over his desk."I have a sharp mouth and you haven't fired me because of it," I pointed out.He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "He came into my office with the wrong type of coffee, argued back when I said it was rather lazy of my assistant to be recruiting other employees to do her job, and then refused to tell me why you were incapable of doing it yourself. In my eyes, those are three perfectly good reasons to fire someone.""Maybe, they are, but.." I started but trailed off when he gave me a deadly glare, instantly rendering me speechless."Look," he said. "I suggest you go and
"Hey, Ophelia!" a female voice called out.Phina's liiting Pittsburgh accent caught my attention, and I spotted her balancing precariously on a ladder at the front entrance."How early did you guys get here?" I asked playfully as I approached her, and she just shook her head as she dipped her roller back into the paint can clutched in her hand."We wanted to get a head start. Cranky Collins is expecting this finished by today, remember?"I couldn't help but grin at the return of that creative nickname. "Smart move," I replied.She grinned in agreement, pointing to the supplies at her feet when I asked her where I could get my own roller."Oh, that's William over there, by the way. He is your replacement," she added.I turned and narrowed my eyes in the direction she pointed to, but all I could make out was a mop of curly blond hair atop another ladder. Phina noticed this and cupped both of her hands around her mouth before yelling. "William, this is Ophelia!"My cheeks flushed at how o
"Ophelia, stay still!"I squirmed again despite Sarah's scolding as she tugged at my hair, trying her best to tie it up into a decently presentable ponytail."Okay, that will have to do," she mumbled as I turned to look in the mirror.Since the business trip's description specified casual attire, I decided to wear a wooly white sweater and a pair of blue jeans. Shane had somehow got a hold of my number and texted me that Nicholas decided to give me the early portion of the day off, because he would just be in meetings until we left for Washington.Once again, he successfully avoided talking to me directly. Why didn't he just fire me if he couldn't bear to talk to me?The doors of the elevator slid open just as Sarah gave me a friendly hug for good luck. We said our goodbyes and I walked out, dragging my small suitcase along with me. I hesitantly pushed the door to Nicholas's office open, and after quickly scanning the room, I realized that Shane and three other men I didn't recognize
A blood-curdling scream rang out through the air. I pulled desperately against my harness, but it didn't even budge. And then the car hit.A bright flash blinded me momentarily as I was thrown roughly forward. I felt a searing pain shoot up my arm as we hit the ground, and everything around me seemed to fall as well, landing carelessly in the debris of the two shattered cars.I spotted a white hat lying beside me, and I tried to reach for it, but I couldn't seem to move. A scream left my lips as my eyes slowly focused on the three people laying in the smoke surrounding me."Ophelia?"I parted my lips to scream again, but no matter how hard I tried, no sound came out at all."Ophelia, wake up."I jerked upright, panting loudly and feeling incredibly disoriented."Are you okay?" a voice called out. "Hey, it was just a dream."I realized that I was sweating and my heart was pounding rapidly in my chest. Closing my eyes, I tried to swallow the abnormal amount of saliva in my mouth. When I
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