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 whimpers wrecks through me."Definitely." Pen purrs. "I doubt she has any other charms, though." A rustle precedes her words. "You won't believe what she told me when I showed her my necklace, the one you gave me." I knew, with sickening certainty, what was coming. "It looks similar to the one Carl got me for our anniversary," she mimics my voice, each words wrapped with a note of mockery. 'Looks like my husband and your boyfriend has similar taste."Shame washes over me like a tidal wave. How could I have been so blind? Now, looking back, A lot of scenarios happened that should have blown my radars off but I have been such a stupid, trusting, loving wife to notice. Besides, I consider Pen my friend. And I love Karl.Their mocking laughter echoes around me. It claws at my skin, digging deeper as their laughter continues. How can the people I trusted the most betray me like this? All the while, I thought I have found my home only to discover it was built on lies. While, I thought I have found my people, they laughed behind me, making me into their twisted entertainment.While I was lost in the consuming love I have for Karl, he saw me through a distorted lens, a mere object of amusement, a "gullible fool."A strangled sob escapes the confines of my hand.My marriage was an illusion painted by Karl, yet I was oblivious to it.Tears, hot and heavy, trace burning paths down my cheeks, soaking the back of my hand. I'm furious, angry at myself, angry at Karl, angry at pen. I want to implode in their faces. But like a fool, I remain rooted in the corner, hiding my pathetic self."Why did you even bother marrying someone like her?" Pen's voice drips with disdain. "She's not your type. She is chubby, ugly..." The words pierce me like poisoned arrows.My sobs increases in tempo around my clamped hand.Chubby. Ugly.Two labels people have called me all my life and I have somehow believed it too. Until I met Karl, who I believed loved me despite my flaws. Or so I think.Karl scoffs and I gag at the fact that this is a man that I have grown to love, the man that I have spent five years of my life with. “What do you think? She is convenient for me, low maintenance and easy to satisfy. She swallows my insults like they're compliments. She asks for nothing, expecting only the crumbs of my affection. Like a lost puppy, she is clingy and pathetic."A thousand tiny razors tear at my chest. His disdainful voice is like acid on my skin. So this is what I meant to my beloved husband? Karl snarls. “I married her because I needed a wife. my father wouldn't hand over the company if I wasn't married. My mom can't stand the sight of her too. She turns my stomach. When I touch her, it's your face I see, babe."“Aww…Karl.” Pen purrs. “How do you manage to sleep besides her.""Easy enough. I simply avoid looking at her. Or when I can't, well, I pretend as if I'm seeing you."The dam within me burst. Tears flows down my cheeks, trailing a hot path down my red cheeks. How could he say that about me? After all these years, and all the dreams and memories we shared. He hates every day he spends with me. The realization hits me like a physical blow. He doesn't love me. He never did.As sound of smooching fills the air, a nausea rises in my stomach. I pinch myself, slap my cheeks. Anything to wake up from this nightmare.This can’t be happening to me. The husband I love so much doesn’t consider me convenient. He doesn’t consider me chubby and ugly. He loves me not because he wanted to inherit his company. What we share is perfect and it makes everyone envious.No.No.This isn't happening. This can't be happening. I have to wake up. Wake up from this cruel, twisted reality, I land another slap on my cheeks and it stings so bad.The sickening sound of their kiss fills the air, twisting my insides. "She's so vanilla, it makes me sick," he mutters, the disgust towards clear.Angst and despair tears through my very being. I hoped escaping my past will lead me to genuine relationships, and to people who value me for who I am, not just as someone to use. Karl seems to be that person… at least, I convince myself he is.A sudden loud sound jolts me from my despair.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
LIAI puff, though I know shooting the man is purely out of luck not because I'm an expert or something. My gaze moves back to him as he checks the man's pulse. My breath hitches in my throat. "Is he...?""No. You missed the vital points." His voice is gruff and the chills it sends through me is crazy. I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding in. Oh, thank God. The last thing I want is the blood of another man on my hand. I don't want to be haunted by ghosts for the rest of my life. The relief I feel is short-lived because Grumpy draws his gun. A bloodcurdling scream jumps from my throat when he fires another shot at the man. This time, aimed at his head. "We need to leave before they find us." Grump extends a hand to me as if he hasn't done anything. His face doesn't waver one bit as if he hasn't just taken a life. "You—." I tremble, shuffling back from him. "No time, Heiress. We need