As we drive in, I see people all dressed up walking towards the ball, looking absolutely beautiful.
We finally get to the entrance and I quickly thank Philip as I step out of the car, putting on my mask, I check my phone and see its 9pm, right on time I say to myself.
I begin to walk towards the huge oak door, and I am stopped by the guard,
“name please?” he asked “Catalina Brooks” I reply a little nervous, I’m nervous because I feel Stiliyan might have known by now that i am on the guest list and decided to take me out and if he has not figured it out, how would he react once he sees me, I am brought out of my thought when I hear,
“welcome Miss Catalina have a lovely night,”he says something inaudibly to his earpiece and immediately the door opens.
As I walked in, I was in total awe by the marveling sight bestowed upon my eyes, an elderly looking man interrupted my gawking asking if I would like my purse to be taken care of, I looked skeptical and was about to decline, when he pointed at a side screen which was showing us at this moment, I looked back and notice I was causing a line, I immediately figured it was a normal thing and its safe, I gave him my purse feeling apologetic,
“sorry about that,” I said, “Not a problem” he replied giving me a slight nod,
I have seen a lot of pretty parties but this was amazing, the chandeliers were absolutely divine, and on the walls were beautiful art paintings and different Bulgarian historical artifacts, people were dancing and having so much fun with their beautiful dresses and suites, not the usual fake smiles and business conversations I was accustomed to,
I was still gawking at the view when I sighted a familiar tall figure at the top of the stairs staring directly at me, he was wearing a red suit and a devil's mask, his muscles evident amidst all that clothing, I moved closer to get a better view of this person, when someone stops me in my tracks,
“May I have this dance my my lady?” Looking back up, I realized he was gone, “sure,” I reply with a shy smile,
This man was slim and average in height, I was a few inches taller mostly because I was on a six inches heel, we make our way to the dance floor,
We were about to participate in a type of dance which involves a switch in partner to the next person by your right at a designated tone, we dance for a while then I twirl at the designated tone,
I am now dancing with a shorter man who looks a little chubby, I was laughing so hard because he was making funny faces and dancing weird, we get to the twirl and he twirls me to the next person,
Rose, He smells like roses, but the touch of his hands on my waist confirmed what I was thinking, it’s him.
I felt that wave of electricity, my knees becoming weak as my body responded to his touch, I look up to meet his eyes and i realize he was the red suite guy I saw at the top of the stairs, I look right into those green eyes and i notice he had so many emotions in them, but the most prominent emotion I could see was desire and this time he was not trying to conceal it,
“ Stiliyan!” I say in a breathless whisper, longing and want laced in the tone of my voice, he takes of his devils mask and speaks to me,
“What are you doing here Catalina?” he whispers in my ears, his hot breath fanning my skin, he stares at me looking from up to down over and over and I notice his jaw clench, my body felt frozen, I couldn’t speak I couldn’t move, he called me by my name! I haven’t heard my name from his lips like this before and I felt really hot, he is still staring at me, waiting for my answer, and I notice the dance just changed into salsa, I guess no more twirling,
“John invited me here,” he says nothing, and I can’t seem to figure out what he is thinking, he pulls me closer and our faces are so close to each other, he looks like he was fighting a lot of emotions at that moment, I don’t wait for him to decide as I am sure he would just walk away from me and I am tired of that,
I immediately grab his hands and lead him to the middle of the dance floor, he was giving me a questioning look but I ignore it, I begin to salsa, he surprises me as he joins me, our body moving in sync with one another, my body lighting up at every touch, the way he looked at me and only me, his eyes locked on mine,
The music stops, and I start to hear loud cheering and clapping, I know it was directed at us but I was too engrossed in those deep green eyes to care, his eyes still locked on mine, as they trail down to my lips and back to my eyes I can see he is still battling with a lot of emotions right now, and I know this is the right time to pull away but I do not want this to end, and at this moment I did not give a damn about anybody or anything I just needed him,
I craved and yearned for his touch, and I could not hold back anymore, I lean in to finally have a taste of his lips when he pulls away and walks out, my heart drops and I feeling too much at once, but most of all I felt angry, fortunately no one noticed as they have all returned to dancing, I quickly go after him because I needed answers,
“Excuse me,” I heard someone call out to me, I was in no mood at the moment and I was in a hurry,
“What!!” I say as I turn around, immediately I felt really embarrassed, it was the same man that took my purse and I saw he was holding it probably just trying to return it,
“o my God, I’m so sorry, I am not always like this, please forgive me,” he just smiles and hands over the purse,
“No problem madam, have a lovely night, hope to see you again next year,” he says to me with a small smile then he began walking away, I wanted to apologize more but I really needed to catch up with Stiliyan,
I finally caught up to him as he was about to get into his car, “Stiliyan!!” I yell, he stops, I walk up to him and I see he is back to his emotionless front, I guess his wall is back up,
“Stay away from me Catalina,” “stay away from you? You think I am doing this because it’s fun? I am engaged for shits sake! And why the hell are you acting like you don’t feel this too” I raise my hand trailing his collar bone with the tip of my fingers, I caught the body response before he could cover it up,
“I feel nothing Catalina,” Stiliyan says,
“bullshit Stiliyan! Bullshit!” tears threatening to spill from my eyes, he stares at me for a second and then slides into the car and shuts the door, The car speeds off out of sight and I am left standing in misery, tears begin to pour slowly and my hands start to shake as I bring out my phone to call Philip to drive me to my hotel room,
I see missed calls from Anna, I make a mental note to call her when I’m home, right now I just need to get the hell out of here,
I really tried my best trying to hold back my tears on my way to the penthouse because I did not want Philip to start asking me questions as I would feel way too pathetic than I already feel.
I opened the doors to my suite, falling down on my knees and crying like I have never cried before, I cried because I finally felt like I had the courage to do whatever I wanted, I cried because I know I have finally felt love but the person I am in love with does not want me, the person I needed and craved like my life depended on it rejected me, I pulled out my heels throwing it at the television screen, feeling so much rage and anger, I felt really rejected as I beat my chest and begged my heart to stop hurting, it was really hurting and I could not do anything about it.
I hear banging on the door, and ignore it hoping it will go away, nobody knew exactly where I was except Anna,
“Anna!!” I mentally yell,
she is probably here to surprise me, I told the receptionist earlier today I would have a guest by the name Anna, that was before I found out she was not going to make it, I quickly dash to the door, just wanting to hug my best friend and cry in her arms,
I hurriedly open the door and my eyes immediately meet those beautiful green eyes which is the cause of my heart ache at the moment, I freeze, completely stunned.
He looked disheveled, his dirty blonde hair looking scattered like he had run his hands through it a couple of times, he was not wearing his suit jacket and his shirt was unbuttoned by a few buttons, he looked breathtaking and absolutely beautiful even in his disheveled state, memories of my heart wrenching moment long forgotten.
“Tell me what you want Catalina?” he asks me in a low whisper as he closes in the little distance between us, his eyes staring deep into mine, our noses inches apart,
“I want you”, I say softly, and that was all the invitation he needed.
In life, everything sadly comes to an end, my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer 4 years ago, I guess all that smoking finally caught up with him, we have spent so many beautiful years together, I don’t think I am willing to let him go, it’s a miracle he has lasted this long, but these days he seems worse, I know he is trying to look strong for me but I know my husband, and my husband is in pain. “a penny for your thought?”Stiliyan says in a low whisper, letting out a slight cough with blood stains on his handkerchief as he lay down, “Mum, dad, what is going on? You called, is everything okay? Dad, are you alright?” my two children, ‘Annabel and Christian’ say as they walk into the room with our grandkids, ‘Elena, Iglika and Naiden,’ Annabel is married with two children, “Elena who is 16years of age and Naiden who is 13 years of age,” Christian is happily married with a daughter ‘iglika, who is 15 years,’ I named my daughter afte
I look through the glass window, Everyone looks really busy, I see Anna talking to a few people, my mum is giving a young lady an earful, My Dad and Ryan are talking to a few people, children are running around, I can’t believe this is real, I feel like my heart is going to explode from this much happiness, I am so grateful beyond words. “it’s about to begin, cover your veil,” Anna says as she rushes into the room,“I can’t believe my baby is getting married,” she says giving me a hug, a drop of tear making its way out of my eyes, “oh come on, enough with water works, we are stuck with each other forever,” “Come on ladies, you can’t leave a man standing at the altar,” My dad says as he walked in looking really chirpy. I can hear the music as I slowly walk into the wedding grounds, my eyes are fixated on the ground, I am a little nervous, as I walk beside my father, our arms interlocked with each other, I am dressed in a really long white, lacey long slee
“Catalina!!!! My princess, how are you? Oh darling,” she says to me embracing me in a tight hug as she lets out a light sob, “mum I am okay, I am really okay” My dad and Ryan walk up to me as they embrace me in a tight hug too, this felt nice, I really missed my family, we finally break apart and my dad notices Stiliyan, “Thank you so much, thank you, we really appreciate and I am entirely grateful t..,” “You must be Stiliyan, you look so young? Thank you for saving my daughter, we are forever indebted to you,” “It was no big deal, you are welcome,” Stiliyan says with a smile on his face, but I could tell he is uneasy, I could see guilt in his eyes, My brother walks up to Stiliyan giving him a handshake thanking him too, “It was not all me, my best friend here played a very important role,” Stiliyan says gesturing towards john, “This is your lawyer; we’ve seen each other at the business meeting, 
“Why are you so lost in your thoughts?” Stiliyan says, as he sat next to me, legs crossed, ‘damn this man is sexy’, I mentally say to myself,“I have no idea how badly they are going to take all of this, the news regarding the death of the heir to the Montero Empire should be everywhere, the airport is probably swamped with reporters, awaiting my arrival, I wonder how much they know?All this is going to be really difficult.Stiliyan, what are you going to do about all this, you might get arrested?” I say to him, revealing my biggest fear,“Catalina, no one except your family knows we are on our way to Manhattan, I made sure of that,and Christian killed himself to save you, the only name the Montero’s can link to his death is Diego, and this is without prove, it will merely be an accusation without evidence, all the while you were locked up your dad, Sebastian, called me various times, plea
In a flash of an eye, Stiliyan pulls out two guns, one pointed at John, the other pointed at Christian,“Diego, do not do this, John! Put down the gun! Don’t make me do this,”“Cata, I am willing to let you go if you never look back at Stiliyan, the moment you come in contact with my son, I would kill you,”“Take the deal Catalina, go home” Stiliyan says calmly, his eyes filled with so much sadness,“I will taste death willingly if that’s what it takes to love you,”I say to Stiliyan with so much love and also sadness,“Wrong answer Cata,”“Diego, let her go I’d come with you,” “Not good enough for me son, I want her gone” “Diego!!!! Don’t make me do this please! You are the only father I have left! I will come with you, put down the gun, please I beg you, do not hurt her” Stiliyan says to DiegoI close my eyes, accepting what is to come, I would miss my Anna, my mum, Ryan, dad, and most of all, I would miss ‘him’ I look at Stiliy
“This was not the deal!” Pablo yells,I am feeling extremely scared my palms are sweaty, my heart is beating uncontrollably, Christian looks extremely scared, sweat dripping from his forehead as he mumbles incoherent words due to the duct tape over his lips, his vein popping out of his neck,“Please I beg of you, don’t do this, we are extremely sorry about thirteen years ago,” Juliana says tears flowing helplessly from her eyes,“What the fuck!Son, did you hear that? She says she is sorry? You are sorry? Are you crazy? You killed people! You killed my friends!!You destroyed families to get to where you are,I ran away from Manhattan to avoid been killed by you, you killed my best friend, you stole my life! While you were seated on my throne, you had the perfect family, you were living it good! I struggled!I had to do unspeakable things to survive!” Diego roars in anger, I have never seen Diego this angry, no smile present,