LIA
The weight of the cake and vodka box in my hand feels satisfying as I tuck it onto the passenger seat with a smile. Today's my husband's birthday, and I'm three days early from my week-long trip. I told him I wouldn't be here for his birthday, but that was just me messing with him.Pulling into the road, I steal a glance at the box.My stomach flips as I remember my husband's grumbled response on the phone when I told him I wouldn't be around for his birthday. How could he believe I'd miss his birthday for a trip? For him to believe that is beyond me. I chuckle to myself.My life has never been more perfect than it is right now. I feel happy, content, and fulfilled.Truly, money can't buy happiness.I have lived with having tons of money all my life but I hadn't been this happy. Especially after everything that happened following my mother's death. The secrets that came out destroyed the relationship between my father and me and for a while, I forgot what it felt like to be happy until I met Karl, the love of my life. He filled me with happiness again and made me find a reason to want to live to my fullness again.Tears well in my eyes and I quickly wipe them away as I revved my small sedan car into our home garage. Today is a day of joy. I don’t want to make it about me.Exhaling deeply, I kill the car's engine.Truly, there is no place like home.Stepping out with the cake and his favorite vodka, a sense of peace washes over me. My bones and muscles ease out as the homey feeling envelopes me. I can never get tired of the joy that fills my heart whenever I’m home with the love of my life.My steps falter as I catch a glimpse of a familiar red car parked outside. I scrunch my eyes, racking my brain. I recognize it but, I can't figure out where or how.When nothing comes to my brain, I shrug it off and continue inside. It’s probably someone from Karl's work. Besides, today is his birthday, and guests are expected. The same fragrance that hit me in the driveway envelops me once again when my leg meets the floor of my matrimonial home.A smile grazes my lips. Good to see that the house I left four days ago is in the same state. Karl isn’t much of a cleaner so I’m pleasantly surprised.I don’t deserve Karl. He is so good to me. He takes care of me. He loves me. He cherishes me so much. He was even against me working which didn't matter to me. I wasn't much on the corporate side of the world. My dream was to have a big family and support my husband.His family was against getting married, especially his mother. That woman despises me. She wanted him to get married to someone else but Karl protected me and stood his ground that it was me he loves and is willing to spend the rest of his life with.My mouth opens to announce myself but I think against it as a mischievous grin spread across my face. Announcing myself won't be nearly good as seeing the shock on his face when I walk in. I picture his jaw dropping when he sees me.I can't wait to see the pleasant surprise on his face.He mentioned needing a day off, and his car's in the driveway, so catching him off guard is a sure thing.My tiptoes navigate the ground floor, checking his usual places: the pool, the game room, the living room. Each space fuels my anticipation, the excitement climbing with each rising stair. After four days away, the thought of seeing him sends a flutter through my chest. I must admit, I miss him so much.My steps quicken as I approach our bedroom, anticipation turning my insides into a ball of jelly. My smile stretches so wide, that I fear it might tear my face in two.Suddenly, a burst of feminine laughter pierces the air, making me freeze in my tracks. My blood runs cold. Did... did I hear that right?Every muscle in me strains as I press my ear against the wall, desperate for another sound. It comes, clearer this time, laced with the unmistakable baritone of Karl's laugh.Icy daggers replace the warmth in my veins as a thousand possibilities twist my mind.Why is a feminine laughter coming from my matrimonial bedroom? A room I shared with my husband.My heart hammers against my ribs. I lean against the wall as my breath comes in ragged gasps. What...is...going on?Is it...No. Impossible.A capital N-O.I shake my head frantically.How could I think of such a heinous thing? Is this how little I trust Karl? He will be so disappointed in me when he finally clears this misunderstanding.He will never do this to me. It's probably one of his colleagues here for his birthday. Another shake of my head, this time at my delusion.Calming myself, I take a step forward, then another, deliberately slow to avoid the noise of the click-clack of my shoes. My ears strain to pick up the muffled voices over the deafening roar of my heart.When the incessant sound of my shoes continues, I slip out of them, before inching closer to the bedroom door. Silence stretches, heavy and suffocating. Just as the voices fade, I release a shaky breath and prepare to enter. But then, the laughter erupts again, piercing the quiet. I freeze, backpedaling slowly, desperately silent.My back scrapes the wall, rasping out a hiss. I held my breath, waiting for something to happen. But it seems they didn't hear me because the voices continue in their muffled words.My heart has lunged into my throat at this moment."God, she's such a fool," the woman's voice sneers. My heart plummets. I recognize this voice. It's...It's Pen, Karl's secretary and someone who I have grown fond of over the years. Someone I call my friend.Panic claws its way up my throat as a male voice, laced with disdain, replies "I know." Blood drains from my face. It was his voice, Karl's. "Lia is the biggest fool I know."The world tilts on its axis, threatening to collapse as my heart shatters into a million pieces.LIA Tendrils of agony twists my gut, and my vision blurs with tears but I force myself to remain quiet and listen to them. My husband and Pen. "How could she not see it?" Pen's voice drips with annoyance, laced with a hint of irritation. “I practically shoved it into her face that there is something between us, yet she isn’t one bit suspicious.” My heart breaks, scattering like marbles on the cold floor, and sending a wave of visceral pain crashing through me. They're talking about me. No. They are berating me. “She is foolish. It is one of her charms.” This time, it is the husband that I love so much that chuckles, his voice devoid of warmth. The words scrapes against my soul, coming from the man I love and thinks loves me the same if not more. He just reduced me to a ‘foolish woman' in front of his secretary whom I considered to be a friend. A sob threatens to rip from my throat, but I clamp my palm over my mouth, muffling the sound. I dig my teeth into my palm as silent whimpe
LIA I am disoriented so I glance around wildly, before realizing the noise is from the vodka bottle and cake slipping from my numb fingers. My tears filed eyes gazes down at the wreck at my face. —Shattered glass, smeared cake, and spilled wine—. They mirror the devastated state I am.Pen and Carl appears in front of me. They stare at me with surprised looks. Pen's expression shifts, morphing into a cunning smirk as if she was glad I eavesdropped them. “Why are you here?” Karl says, annoyance lacing his voice, though I can tell he was trying to hide them. “Shouldn’t you be on your business trip?” He leans forward, hand reaching out to my face. A cold rage simmers in me. I glare at him icily, making his hand drop to the side of his pajamas clad body. That is when I realize that Pen and my husband are wearing a matching pajamas. The one I supposedly bought for me and Karl. The food I ate earlier on the cab threatens to make appearance in my mouth. Karl shrug and curl an arm around
LIA I jolt awake, my clothes damp from sweat as my breath comes out in frayed gasps. The same dream has tormented me since me and Karl parted ways. His hateful words and despiteful gleam in his eyes burned holes into my memory. For the past two weeks, I have cried myself to sleep because of what my life has become. I feel so angry and used. My despair is starting to turn into bitterness and hatred towards myself.Two weeks later, the nightmare was in fact my reality no matter how much I denied it or wished it away. After I made a fool of myself by fainting right in front of Karl and his mistress—she doesn't deserve to be regarded after what she did to me—, I woke up in the hospital with a divorce paper and my teoy luggage bag. I finally understand it now when people say 'ignorance is bliss' because even though I was oblivious to Karl's hatred towards me, I was blissful and happy. I woke up every day with a smile that competed with sunshine. I thanked the star every day for bringing
LIA"You." He spit, shoving back with an unexpected force and the back of my leg hit the edge of the coffee table. Pain course through me, but it was swallowed up by the sudden burst of anger from Karl. "How dare you?" He roars, "You went around telling people that I cheated on you." The pain in my body throbs as my heart beats frantically. I raise my head to meet his darkened glare. "Isn't that the truth? You cheated." He scoffs, "This is your revenge, isn't it? To ruin me? My father is threatening to cut me off because of you. Don't you understand what this means for the Jones family? For me?" The venom in his voice sends shivers down my spine but this time I don't back out like a coward. A flicker of satisfaction sparks in him. I should have done this sooner. Though what he did to me didn't come close to simply telling the truth, I feel a tad better knowing he may potentially lose the company he so no cherishes. "Good. Maybe it's the karma for what you did to me." My voice was
LIA "Pack what you can. We are leaving now." "Excuse me?" I furrow my eyebrows, confused at who this mysterious handsome man is and the nonsense he is spitting. "I really appreciate your intervention but you can't just barge in and tell me my father." Whom I haven't spoken to in three years. "—was involved in an accident and order me to follow you to god knows where." Yes, with the tone of his voice, he is borderline authoritative. "We don't have time for this." He growls, his voice inches from my face. My nose catches a whiff of mint in his breath. My hands cross over my chest. "And I'm supposed to just take your word for it?" I say, slightly intimidated by how he is towering over me like a mountain. To be frank, he is a mountain. His black t-shirt struggles to contain his bulging biceps and sculpted chest, while his cargo pants cling to his trim waist like nobody's business. He shoves a phone into my face. I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth in shock. It is a scene of an acciden
Nikolai's POV. I got an anonymous job to bring Leo Rodriquez's daughter home safely shortly after the news of his accident exploded across the internet. The Rodriquez family is one of the wealthiest conglomerates so it is a given that Leo Rodriquez has dominated the headlines after the news of his accident. Everything reeks of foul play from the news I gathered but I wasn't paid to play detective. My job is to bring Lia Rodriquez safely to New York. I'm just a broker who deals with transporting contrabands across countries but the money offered to bring Lia Rodriquez safely to New York is too much to ignore. Not to mention the fact that I am far behind my sister's hospital bill and they threatened to cease her treatment. So yeah, I don't have much of a choice. Lia has bombarded me with tons of questions right from the time I told her about her father's condition up to this moment and I have given her only vague answers. I couldn't tell her about her father's critical state with he
NIKOLAI I didn't think this job through before I accepted it. The payment was so tempting that I didn't give it a second thought. My sister was behind with her treatment due to her hospital bills so when this job presented itself to me, I was overjoyed and thought it could have only been the messiah who brought it my way knowing fully well that I was in dire need of money. But right now, with how gloomy and grim everything is, I'm starting to think it's from the devil. This is not my first job having to bring someone illegally into the city, but I don't understand why this particular job set me on edge. This is why I hate dealing with human beings. With contraband, it is always perfect. No distraction. No talking. No questions asked. No deep blue eyes. No beautiful note of a voice. I grit my teeth and shove my thoughts down. The floorboards creak under my foot as I tiptoe towards the stairs. It is already night and below, moonlight streamed through the dusty living room windows o
LIA The tremors running through the floorboards send every thud that filters up from the floor below through me. My heart hammers like a wild horse against my ribs. Each gunshot fired causes my breath to hitch and I jump everything. At some point, I used my hands to cover my ears when I can't take the loud, jarring sound anymore but it doesn't stop the chaos erupting to drum loudly in my ears. I don't understand what is going on nor why this is happening. I have no idea why these men are after me. Or what I have done wrong to deserve a target on my back? Nothing makes sense anymore. And that fills me with fear to the brim. I have never been this scared for my life. Now, I see what a privilege it is to wake up everyday because right now, I'm not sure I will make it past this night. The sudden news of my father's accident juxtaposed with what's happening causes a large blumerage of terror inside of me. A choked, muffled cry escapes from my lips, and tears blurs the empty room aroun