LIAThe soft morning sun kisses Grumpy's weathered skin whilst watering flowers?...yes, I said that right. Watering a small flower garden in the backyard. With his sleeves rolled up, gloves on, and a sporting short on, he looks so ordinary, domestic. There is always nothing special about his clothing style but he doesn't usually look domestic as he does now. It's a pleasant surprise that I stand for a full minute, watching how he works fluidly before snapping out of it. "You are watering flowers," I say as a matter of factly as if the sight in front of me isn't proof enough. He answers with a deep grumble. "Yes." "Why?" The word falls out of my mouth before I can stop it. I quickly correct myself. "You don't look the type." I clear my throat to hide how my words stutter out of my mouth. I sweep my gaze around the flower garden. Beautiful, they are, but I can't focus on them because of this anomaly happening in front of me. "How?" His glance flicks over me as he straightens. The
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 h
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