SINFUL INDULGENCE 3

"I'm sorry, Miss -" "Ella. And you're?" Ella cuts me, and I realize we have been sitting across from each other in this coffee shop for several minutes already, but we have not introduced ourselves to each other. "Zed. Zed Ramos." She smiles, stares at her cutleries for a while, then looks at me. "Sir, it's too expensive if you'll get me a room in a hotel. And so are the food. If you don't mind, can I just go home with you?" What?! I gape at her for a second, and my lips curve to a smirk. Never. "I can explain it to your wife. I can help her with the household chores, take care of the kids, anything- " I understand. There's no malice in her expression. This woman looks up to me as her savior, and I know she's grateful for it. But I can't. "I'm sorry, Ella. I'm single, but I don't like to have any women in my house. Nor in my workplace." Her brows furrow into frown and confusion. It's perhaps the way I say it. Or probably because I make it sound like I'm allergic to women. If I

I sit across from Atty. Garcia on her desk. She’s still into a phone call when I arrive, so I quietly help myself into a chair across from her.She sits elegantly on her swivel chair, an exquisite wall in oakwood design spreads as her backdrop. A shelf filled with trophies and a corner wall adorned with diplomas speaks of her myriad achievements as a lawyer. And she’s the lawyer who handles my annulment proceedings with Yen.“Welcome back, Zed! How’s your travel around the world?” She smiles, adjusting her large-framed glasses. Then, she stands up, opening her arms wide to me.I hug her back. Of all the people I am interacting with, she’s the only one who knows the depth of my emotional struggles against my annulment. She and Ara are the only exemption to my no-woman rule since she’s already in her mid-forties. And she has become a friend to me.“It’s good,” I chuckle. “I’ve gone to d

I can't believe Yen will have the heart to bring this up. It's a subject I never want to talk to. It hurts me and my pride as a man."Yen, I'm sorry. Please leave that part to me," I say, a frown spreading on my face."Zed, please don't misunderstand. I'm just curious. Well, I want to know if you're healed already.""We can try it out and see," I suggest but laugh afterward. "Sorry, just kidding."She also laughs; the richness of her laughter soothes my aching heart."Honestly, Zed, I really wish you have overcome that part. It has made me guilty until now. After all, I am the reason why you have become like that.""Don't. Don't worry about me.""Have you continued your therapy?"Yen knows I had sessions with the same psychologist who had managed her before. The same psychologist who helped her restore her memories and the psychologist who helped me overcome the emotional trauma of my sexual pathology. And according to her

Ella's POV Four years ago... A waiter opened the door, and the strange gaze he shot at me sent shivers down my spine. I began to believe what I heard that my dad’s business partner was also not a simple man. “Good morning, ma’am. Are you Miss Ella Kaneko?” he asked, a weak smile forming on his lips. I frowned; I didn’t have to give my name to a stranger. But I got curious as to what extent the man I was going to see knew about me. Only a few people know that I am a Kaneko. The rest of the people knew me as Ella Sahara.” Without answering, I looked around, and I saw only a few people filling the place. It was still nine, so this was what I had hoped for. I was not too fond of crowded places, and even if Jamella was a five-star restaurant in Cambridge, I didn’t expect it to be less crowded. "Ma'am, this way, please," said the waiter I didn't notice was following me. He just sprung by my side, and I almost bumped into him. I glared at him, wrinkling my forehead at his know-it-all

There must be a deep reason why he wanted to topple the CEO of Kim Yuan’s Microelectronics. From what I’ve heard, it was a huge company with several branches across Asia. I knew it because the company where I was working ordered products from them. I cast a discreet glance at Mr. Mori. Then, when I saw that he was finishing up the food on his plate, I took my free time to look up on G****e the name of the CEO of Kim Yuan’s Microelectronics. And my mouth hung open as I saw his name on my phone screen. Kim Mori.  This couldn’t be a coincidence.  I glanced at the man in front of me, and I saw some features about him similar to Kim Yuan’s CEO. “A relative?” I asked. I was never good at holding back my mouth. “Cousins.” “Oh, why do you have to compete with a relative instead of helping each other?” “He screwed me up. And as I said, I am already walking on a thin thread until it breaks.” He smirked, looking