Novel-novel oleh Jay Writes

As soon as she hit the floor, he looked down at her with an unreadable expression, his gaze lingering over her very briefly.Then he walked past her without an apology, like nothing had happened.“Watch where you're going," he said over his shoulder." I'm sorry, sir,” she responded quickly, scrambling to her feet as she gathered her scattered bag.He did not respond.Her fingers tightened slightly around her bag before she forced herself to breathe.She kept telling herself that it was fine, that everything was fine, that was what she had decided.She straightened, adjusted her grip on her bag and headed to the small storage room to get her belongings.Most of the staff had already left, and the whole building felt strange and too quiet after such a tense dayShe retrieved her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked out of the building.Upon reaching the exit of the premises, she heard a voice.“Sofia." She froze, blinked severally, like her brain was trying to process something

Valeria had barely woken from sleep the next day when someone knocked on her door.She knew exactly who it was.Ivan.She sprang up from the bed, and rushed to the door. His cologne hit her first, then…“Be ready in thirty minutes, we’re resuming work today,” he informed, before turning away. "Pack your things," he said over his shoulder. “You’ll leave for your house after work.”He did not wait for a response.She stood frozen for a while, staring at his back until he was out of sight, the words settling over her like cold water. Then she swallowed and got back inside to get ready.“Okay,” she whispered to herself.By the time she finished dressing, the house felt different, like she was about to depart from an old friend. She stepped into the living room and discovered that he was gone.No sound, no sign that he had been there beyond the faint scent of his cologne that still lingered in the air.Mr. Rufus was the one who greeted her outside.“Good morning, madam,” he said gently a

Valeria froze and looked up at Ivan.“Mrs Ravelle," he began. “I'm not comfortable with you walking around the edge in my presence, if you need some time to yourself then I'll gladly grant that." He held her gaze for a brief moment, then she looked down. “I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." " Don't get me wrong,” he replied. "I'm really not uncomfortable with you, but with the thoughts that I'm making you nervous.”Valeria nodded. " I understand, sir. But I'm fine, thank you.”He studied her a little more, then returned to what he was doing.Soon, they rounded up and that was the last time Valeria saw him for the day. She went to bed that night, wondering why he hadn't stepped outside again.***Valeria lay on her side, eyes open, thoughts spiraling. Suddenly she heard a muffled sound.“Don't go!" She almost convinced herself she had imagined it, but it sounded like what she had heard before.Then it came again.“Don’t go!”The scream echoed through the corr

“Carefully," Ivan said, his warm breath brushing her face. She stilled for a moment, her heartbeat thumping in her chest, against his.She suddenly snapped back to reality and strengthened herself, stepping back from his grip"Th…thank you,” she stuttered, hurrying away and into her room.Valeria's heartbeat stayed in chaos all the rest of the day, but thankfully, Ivan had to be in a conference meeting, so they didn't have to run into each other.***The next morning, the house felt different after Aliyah's unannounced visit the previous day, Valeria moved through the hallway with careful steps, the files from yesterday balanced neatly in her arms. She told herself she was composed, she told herself she could handle his gaze, and being in his presence. But her pulse disagreed.Ivan’s study door was open when she arrives, he stood by the window, sleeves rolled to his reveal his veiny forearms, he looked calm, too calmHe turned slightly when he sensed Valeria“Mrs. Ravelle,” he cal

Aliyah froze in the hallway, her gaze traveled slowly, deliberately, from Ivan's face down to where his palms rested at Valeria’s waist.The air felt heavy.Ivan did not step away, he did not remove his hand from Valeria's waist.He simply looked at her calmly.“What are you doing here?” he asked, rolling his eyes. Barely, but she noticed it.Aliyah let out a short, humorless laugh.“What am I doing here?” she echoed. “That’s funny.”Her eyes returned to Valeria.Valeria felt pinned in place, fully aware of the warmth of Ivan’s hands still placed on her waist. Firm.Aliyah took a slow step forward.“You can get rid of me so easily, Ivan. Not when you need my dad.” Her eyes darted to Valeria. " It's not like you have something interesting to distract yourself with.”Valeria felt the insult.“This is my house,” he said. “You don’t walk in without permission.”“Oh please,” she waved her manicured hand dismissively. “You used to like it when I visited unannounced.”“I never did,” he cor

She pressed the phone to her ear.“Hel—”The screen suddenly went black, for a second she thought she had pressed something wrong. She tapped it, shook it lightly. Pressed the power button, yet the screen stayed black.Across the room, Ivan lowered his phone from his ear, his brows furrowed in both confusion and displease. Different thoughts crossed his mind. Did she had change her mind?Or did she panick? Or she had simply decided this was foolish.He did not call again, instead, he leaned back on the bed, one ankle crossing over the other, and watched her.She could feel his gaze without looking up.“My battery died,” she muttered, more to herself than to him.He heard her.“Hmm,” he hummed.She swallowed lowered her gaze, heat crawling up her cheeks, his presence in the room made her uncomfortable.Ivan observed the tremor in her fingers as she aligned the papers.“You have to start from the earliest date, that way you'll notice any inconsistency on time.She lifted her head and bli