DEVONLooking at the watch, it was 6:30, yet she was nowhere to be found. The party was now finishing up, and many guests had come to toast me.“Mr. Devon, I heard you had a fiancée. Where is she now?” one of them, a brawny man, asked.“She was busy and couldn’t come,” I replied.“I bet you missed her, right?” an old man said jokingly. I only smiled and chose not to comment.“What’s up, Devon?” It was my friend Andrew. “Why did you come just now, Andrew?” I growled. He ignored me and dug into the food.“I can’t allow all this food to go to waste; the party’s almost over, and no one is going to eat it. Remember, Devon, I’m doing you a favor,” he said while digging in.I ignored his rant and asked with a rude face, “I ask you again, Andrew, why the heck are you coming now?”He coughed and drank some wine to calm down. “I was caught up with something earlier; that’s why I’m coming now, satisfied?” He answered and continued eating.“If you dare skip my party next time, I would have skinn
DEVON It was early in the morning, and very few people were on the road. I didn't mind one bit. Right then, I was really furious. Karen really hadn't come to my party last night. I would have visited last night, but I was busy with Laura and we had a few rounds. It was a very long one. But when I woke up this morning, I wasn't feeling too good. The thought of Karen disobeying me filled my mind, and I wasn't okay with it. And I had to punish her to remind her who was boss. I pulled my car into a nearby parking lot. The park wasn't that far from Karen's house. I only had to walk for a bit. I sneaked inside her house. There was no gate in her house, so it was very easy for me to sneak. Having been there before, I easily made my way to her room and opened it without knocking. She was sitting in front of her mirror but was startled by the disturbance at the door. She appeared shocked when she saw me. "What are you doing here, Devon?" She asked in confusion.
KAREN "Ouch!" I cried out in pain. "Sorry, you had to brave up; it would only hurt then, and the pain would be over," Alice said. I smiled at her. "Thank you, Alice." She was applying warm water to the bruise on my head. I was really grateful to her. She had stood up for me when I needed her most, but I was afraid that Devon might get angry at her. She seemed to be aware of what I was thinking. "You worried too much, Karen. Even though the Greys were very powerful, my family wasn't a pushover either. My brother was no less powerful than Devon, only that he wasn't involved in illegal dealings like Devon." Alice tried to assure me. Her family was indeed powerful, unlike me, who only had my mother. But then, what did she mean by Devon getting involved in illegal dealings? "You said that Devon was involved in illegal dealings," I asked. "Yeah, I heard that from my brother," she replied. I nodded. "I will go and bathe now so I can go to work early," I said whi
KAREN "I understood; I can help you." Alice looked at me shocked, but I didn't retract my words. Indeed, I had the confidence of being able to do it. That was the confidence I had in my talent. I hadn't become the best student at the academy for no reason. After all, Andrews Beauty Academy, if not the best, could have been considered the second best when it came to training makeup artists. Being the best student was not an empty title. "Come on, let's get you beautiful," I said and took her hands with me as we made for the makeup room. "Linda, you will be the one to help me," I said to Linda. I had needed both of them to be good, so I always had them watch whenever I was applying makeups to customers. After all, I couldn't attend to every single customer, neither would I be there all the time. After the door was closed, I brought out all the tools for the makeup and made her sit before the mirror. Then I started laying the foundation for the makeup. The ma
KARENEmpire Hotel, one of the largest hotels in the country. I had just arrived and was taking in the view. I breathed lightly; I didn't know what to expect. I hoped we were just going to talk normally. After asking the staff, I made my way to the hotel. They led me to Room 102, and my phone rang; it was Devon. "Hello, if you've reached the room, just go in and wait for me. I'll be coming," he said before disconnecting the call. I looked at the door for a while before mustering up the courage to open it. The room was empty; the scent in it was that of a man, but not Devon's. Something kept telling me that something was wrong. I looked at the room decor; it was well decorated. I sat on the bed while waiting, but I had a deep, bad feeling. I opened my handbag and kept my pepper spray in a strategic position. The door opened, and a tall middle-aged man saw me. He was surprised and beamed. "Isn't this Devon's fiancée? I've been watching him closely, and I know a lot
DEVONNo matter what, I felt like killing the man in front of me. Of course, I was the one who set them up, but still, I felt angry at him for touching my woman. And coming to that, how come my plan didn't work? Was it that Karen fought with her life just to make sure she wasn't raped? No, this must have just been an act; yes, he must have been expecting me. That crafty woman. I looked at her coldly with a smirk. "Did you have to be that vicious?" I said. She stared at me in confusion. "What were you saying, Devon?" she asked. "Don't you think I don't know what you are thinking? You are just putting on an act; you are always pretending," I shouted. "Devon, you... You were the one who set me up, right?" Her eyes are bloodshot. I felt exposed, but I still wasn't going to admit it. "Why would I set you up? I already knew you were a whore, so what's the point? I didn't need evidence." This time, she looked so angry and did something I never expected. S
KAREN Inside my car, I was shocked at myself for having the guts to talk to Devon like that. I worried he would be angry and might do something stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if I went home and saw him waiting for me there. But no matter what, I still loved him. My love for him was deep and pure. If only he could have seen my love for what it was and not as a pretense. I decided I must win back his love. He had loved me before, and he could do it again. All I had to do was look for evidence to prove my innocence and show him how deeply I loved him. Where did I start in proving myself innocent, I thought? I had to start somewhere. I began by searching his office. That seemed like the only clue. Maybe he misplaced a file and mistakenly thought I stole it. I remembered going to his office shortly before he started hating me. It didn't matter what, but I had to try from somewhere anyway, so I made up my mind. I parked the car in front of my house, but I didn'
KAREN After successfully evading the traffic, I finally arrived at Frank Eatery. It was located in a less crowded place. Still, it didn't lack customers; the eatery was actually more crowded than the street. I parked carefully in the parking lot before alighting. Just as I was about to enter the eatery, I mistakenly ran into someone, and my handbag fell. Surprisingly, the person I ran into didn't get angry but instead helped me pick up my handbag. "I'm sorry, miss, I wasn't looking," he apologized with a smile. He was quite handsome and tall; he also seemed good-natured and easy to talk to. I smiled back at him. "You are too polite, sir; I am the one that is supposed to apologize to you. You are such a good gentleman," I complimented. The man smiled bashfully. "I feel flattered, miss. My name is Paul; what do I call you, miss?" "Karen, my name is Karen. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Paul," I intoned. "It's a pleasure; mind if I treat you to a meal?"