The excitement on Navy’s face slowly faded away, shooting a surge of self-doubt surge into my head and my confidence waned slowly.My eye balls flitted from side to side, looking for answers to the inflow of questions racing on my mind,“Do I look awful? Unpresentable? Am I overdressed? Did I unintentionally make the statement I feared; ‘Look, Navy Leonardo brought me to dinner!’”The slow strides at which we approached the table added to my anxiety, my heart raced uncontrollably, echoing all the uncertainties of my thoughts.Navy's gaze and expressions remained unreadable, he seemed consciously focused and intent on hiding his thoughts, leaving me grappling with thoughts and assumptions, threatening to uncover my composure.The couple at the table stared at me with intensity, as if to strip me of my clothes and examine my real identity. The uneasy exchange of glances passing round the room only heightened my self-awareness, intensifying my apprehension.The rhythmic sound of my hea
Navy’s POVDinner felt it was dragging on forever, unfolding before me like a slow torture.My attempt to mess up the family gathering and get even at Clarissa and Lumbar with Rosé’s presence had completely backfired.Not that it didn’t work, but to my surprise, Maya and my Papà were inexplicably fascinated with Rosé…and so was I.The mere thought of my initial plan to present her as a “low-life” that would upset them made me cringe inwardly, drowning my anger and frustration with Clarissa and Lumbar, I couldn’t care less about them- not when my thoughts were consumed by Rosé and that unexpected kiss lingering in my mind like an unshakable spell.Well, not so much the kiss but the effect it had on me- it felt so real. Every attempt to shift my focus only brought the vivid image back and I couldn’t control the butterflies in my stomach.Yet, amidst the chaos, Clarissa and Lumbar’s faces stuck to my mind like annoying thorns, reminding me of a plan that had gone awry.None of us had bee
ROSÉ POVThe silence in the house slowly, yet increasingly became so loud and deafening, suffocating my presence. I glanced at Navy and strangely realized, Clarissa was right- Navy still loved her. At least, the expression on his face said so."Wow!" I blurted out, my exclamation breaking the icy feel of the moment, Navy shifted uncomfortably, as if my exclamation was calling out to him.One glance at Clarissa and the smug on her face confirmed my suspicions as the story began to really unfold before me."Clarissa got married to Navy's brother. Navy became heartbroken and left home. He came back home after a while but he couldn't come alone without looking like a loser...hence, me!""Wow!" I exclaimed, this time a little louder than before.The smirk on her face was really sickening, even more sickening was the fact that my authoritative, domineering boss was completely shrinking at the sight of the promiscuous lady.She was not worth his love and neither did she deserve it.May
My mind buzzed with thoughts as we drove through the city, making our way back to Sereno Hotels.Amidst the beautiful night sky, I yearned for a breath of air, desperate to disappear from the Navy’s sight. I squirmed in my seat, restless and antsy, probably from the alcohol in my system but mostly from the unease I felt with the thickening air engulfing us.Sensing my discomfort, Enzo wound down the window, letting in the night’s breeze.“Thank you…” I muttered, and immediately slipped back to my dark reverie, wondering;"Is he going to pay me? Or hell, I might be fired as the Company’s blogger as well.” At this point, I realized that I shouldn’t have readily agreed to this deal without first of all securing my job.I would’ve felt better with his usual blank expression, but the unusual kindness he showed to me was like a slap to the face, a silent torture executed to the very core of my existence.Enzo made a smooth bend, cutting through the security barrier at the Hotel, seamlessl
Time seemed to stand still, and the world was well behind us as I leaned in and crushed my lips over hers.Hesitantly, she kissed me back, slowly at first, gently tugging my lips until I pushed my tongue into her mouth and she gasped, echoing melodious tones of a seemingly long unexpressed desire.“When was the last time?” I muttered, whispering in her mouth as she clung onto me.For me it had been too long to remember, it must have been over five years since I last glued my lips to a woman, and never in my dreams, did I imagine it would be to my employee, let alone, a woman I would be paying to be a pretend girlfriend.Rosé seemed to have been lost in my arms, completely unaware that the question was for her to answer. I pulled away from her and our eyes met. “This is my chance to stop this madness” I told myself. This was the perfect moment to let go of each other.I silently prayed that the sexual tension between could dissipate to something lesser.Yet when she blinked at me, and
Rosé’s POVThe morning I woke up in his arms is probably going to be my most unforgettable experience, and if embarrassment doesn’t lead me to an early grave, I would live long enough to write a story about it, and tell my children about it too.It wasn’t enough that we woke up next to each other, naked to the teeth, surrounded with tangible evidences that we slept together, we were also visited by an unexpected guest. The door banged shut, and bold footsteps approaching our bedroom echoed through the house.Maybe Navy was expecting his father but when the man busted into the suite, and mindlessly strode straight in to the bedroom, it was one of the times I secretly wished I could vanish, and by the look of things, Navy wished he could do same too.Yet, we were a supposedly serious couple, being in bed, naked together wasn’t such a bad thing, it only solidified our fake relationship and Mr Alessandro could not stop grinning.“Grand children before the wedding?!” He exclaimed, “Excell
My phone beeped in my purse as the taxi driver rode through the estranged streets of Washington in the late morning rush.I fumbled my bag for the phone and eventually found it, I glanced at the screen and there it was… a whooping sum of two million dollars.An amount I would be crazy about had lost all value and excitement and I couldn’t explain why. That is just how it is with ill gotten wealth, or maybe it was the fact that Navy had ended our contract at the airport in a heartbeat, insisting that we went different ways. I hopped on a commercial plane as usual and he of course, strolled to his luxuriously parked plane gleaming in the mid-morning sun.“What an ass” I muttered to myself, as his back turned against me flashed in my memory.Strangely, I found it upsetting, disheartening. So upsetting that the credit alert did not excite me.My gaze fell on the date displayed on my phone’s screen- “Saturday, March 5th?!” The month had only just begun but it felt like it had been fore
For what it is worth, I tried to call her. I really tried, and I almost did, nearly did.After my second message was delivered, a sour aftertaste of my own actions developed in my heart, and I wished I could unsend the message. But I couldn’t, because “what’s done is done…”The weekend was over in a minute and Monday was an important day of the week in my company. My to-do list was mighty busy, and to meet all my schedules, I had to be there as early as possible. My driver was already at the gate by 7 30am, waiting for me. “Good morning Mr Leonardo.”“Morning, Finn” I replied, stepping into the back of the Maserati. For some reason, I had become fond of and comfortable with him. He was literally my everything- my driver, my gate keeper, my gardener, my personal assistant, my confidant, and if I was too tired to cook, Finn would be my cook too. Always handy, delivering his jobs to perfection and I couldn’t help but rely on him. Today was no different either, I didn’t have to tell