The next morning, I slowly wake up in his arms. He is already awake. I catch him staring at me when I open my eyes.“…why are you staring?” I ask sleepily. “What’s on my face?”He holds me tighter in his arms and whispers, “nothing…I just can’t get enough you. I can do this all day—watching you sleep.”“Getting a little creepy here I think,” I sit up and stretch my back. “Today is Saturday. Do you have any plans?”He sits up with me, “So I was thinking…maybe we can go get some new furniture? You can redecorate a little.”The idea of decorating my first home definitely seems interesting. So I immediately jump on board.Since we are trying a simpler way of life now, I thought he would take me to IKEA or Target. But instead, he ends up driving me to a fancy mall with all those luxury designer brands.When the sales lady welcomes us into the VIP lounge again, I whisper to Eason, “I thought we are buying furniture. What are we doing here?”“They have house products here. And all decoration
Natalia’s POVI open my mouth, but no words come out of it except a shaky sob.He seems to realize something. The next second, his anxious voice comes out of the speaker again, “Nat whatever you heard, don’t make any rush decisions! Please come back to me and let me explain! Just—please, please don’t go.”He is begging me. I‘ve never heard of him begging to anyone before.But he deserves this.I take in a deep breath as tears blur my vision. Then I ask him between gritted teeth, “…is it true?”He growls lowly, “God what have you heard! I can explain everything—”“Just fucking answer my question!” I half-cry and half-scream. “Just do this for me…just stop lying to me for this one time!! Is it…is it true?”He lapses into silence. I hold the phone and press it tightly against my ear. I can hear his restrained and shallow breathing on the other side of the phone, and it makes my heart tremble.I can’t help but hope that he would deny it. And everything is just a bad dream. So that I can s
Eason’s POVI march into dad’s study. He is already there waiting for me.I used to dread this place. Whenever I made a mistake as a boy, he would ask the butler to bring me in here and sit me down for a long lecture. He had to make sure I knew that I wasn’t good enough to be the Ramirez’s heir.But now that I’m old enough, I’ve learnt not to give a shit about how he thinks of me.“Sit,” my father nods at me as I take my seat in front of me across the table. “Your security team reported some unusual activities to me today. I think I have to ask you the reason.”I lean back on the chair and raise my eyebrows at him, “My bodyguard snitched behind my back? How unprofessional.”A faint smile appears on his lips, “You can fire him if you like. But the new guy will still report to me. I can assure you that.”My face tightens out of my control. I know that’s a warning. He is telling me that I still don’t have any real controls over the family.“So? The reason?”I snort, “I was looking for so
Fate really is playing me like a puppet.I just got rid of one stepbrother only a day ago and it throws another one right back at me.But I guess…the new one seems much better than the old one.Embarrassed, I quickly apologize for making a big fuss earlier. But Liam doesn’t seem to mind that at all, “I should be the one to say sorry. I thought your dad had already told you about me and I just couldn’t resist the temptation to see the surprise on your face.”I let out an awkward laugh, “I didn’t know dad’s girlfriend—I mean your mom—has a son.”“Really? You dad didn’t mention a word about me? I thought he was so fond of me. Well, that hurts,” he clenches his chest and pretends to be shot in the heart. “Ouch.”Jenna has a big stupid grin on her face. She turns to me and mouths me again: HOT!I sigh internally. My other stepbrother is also very hot, but we all know how that turned out.“So why were you in the airport?” Jenna asks him. “You weren’t there to pick us up no?”“Not really. I
Even Eason being here would be less of a surprise for me. Mr. Ramirez needs to talk to me? But about what? What could possibly bring him from the east coast to the west? I swallow hard and step aside, whispering under my breath, “Please come in.” Mr. Ramirez makes his way through the door and then nods at Liam, who still seems very confused at the moment. “Umm Nat? Who is this again?” Liam asks me with a frown. Right at this moment, dad and Hallie follow us out of the dining room. Dad freezes the moment he lays eyes on Mr. Ramirez—of course he recognizes his ex-wife’s current husband. “Sorry for intruding,” Mr. Ramirez says calmly, his eyes glancing around the room. “I just need a moment with Natalia.” “What? Why?” Dad takes an instinctive step forward and snaps. “Did—did something happen to Alicia?” “Oh no, it’s nothing like that. Nothing urgent. I really just need 5 minutes alone with Natalia,” Mr. Ramirez says. I’m slightly relieved hearing that mom is ok, but it makes me e
“NO—!!!” I let out a sharp scream and make a lunge forward, stepping in between him and Liam. Eason stops abruptly in his track, his grip on the bottle tightening, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “What the fuck are you doing!” I yell to him, making sure Liam is safe behind my back. “Drop your bottle now! Or I’m calling the police.” His eyes become redder, as if the next second his eyes will cry blood. “That’s the first thing you say after so long?” he asks with a trembling voice, which is filled with sadness and rage. “Do you have any idea what kind of life I’ve lived ever since you left?!” I was sad at first. But now hearing him say these, anger starts to build up in my heart again. I grit my teeth taking a firm step forward and snatch the bottle from him. He quivers for a bit but doesn’t resist. I smash the bottle to the ground making a huge noise. “What kind of life you’ve lived? Do you have ANY IDEA what kind of life I have lived?!” I growl, unable to control my temper
THREE YEARS LATER. I rush down the street, knocking a few shoulders along the way and stepping into one icy mud pond. The cold winter air is like a blade cutting through my lungs. After making a sharp turn at the corner, I finally see the bus station. A bus has just arrived. “Wait…Please wait a second!!” I yell to the driver. But he only gives me a cold and indifferent look before closing the door and driving away from the station. “…Fuck!” I bend down taking a time to catch my breath and then check the time. It’s already 16:37. Now I have exactly 23 minutes to make it across the town and arrive at the restaurant I work in, which is impossible, which means I’m so screwed. Today is not the day to be late, because I’ve made a plan to talk to my manager about making an early withdraw of my salary. My rent is due in a few days and the incredibly high living expense in New York is sucking me dry. I have a student loan to cover my tuition, but I still have to work my ass off to pay
I’ve imagined a million times what it would be like when we meet again. Maybe at our family gathering, maybe at a friend’s party, or maybe even at my wedding in the future.But I’ve never thought about this, with him sitting there with his beautiful new girlfriend, and me standing there all embarrassed like a clown.This can’t be any worse.But unlike me, he doesn’t seem surprised at all. He simply looks at me calmly, as if we just saw each other this morning.“Babe,” his girlfriend pouts. “This is the stupid waitress I was talking about. She ruined the outfit you got me and—”He cuts her off, “Natalia.”He isn’t pretending that he doesn’t know me, as I thought he would be.But he used to call me “Nat” and not “Natalia.”Then he stands up from his seat and leans forward, giving me a gentle hug. I can smell his scent, the familiar scent of mint and woods, but this hug feels very strange. His hug used to be full of passion and energy, but now it’s polite and aloof.“It’s been a long tim