Eight

Gabby’s POV

It's already morning. 3:16 a.m., to be exact.

And I haven’t slept a blink.

How could I, when my heart keeps beating too fast and my mind won’t stop replaying what happened last night? After everything, I can’t seem to focus on anything else—my heart and mind keep going back to him. Only to him.

Rei, damn it! What is he doing to me? He affects me too much—his presence, his voice, his face, his body, his eyes, his lips, his kisses..

I rolled on my bed. Its all I’ve been doing the entire night since I got home from his kisses—uh, I mean, from work.

There are times when I'm not even sure what I'm thinking about, but I'm still far inside my head. Ugh… am I going insane?

Seriously, I find myself staring into space with his name running through my head. Maybe I really am going insane, huh?

Why was he like that yesterday? Why did his mood suddenly changed? Could he be into drugs? I hope not. He can be addicted to me, just not to drugs. Oh please, Gabbriel Lane! This are the thoughts that kept me up all night? I groaned.

Seriously. I was confused about Reigan. I felt such strong anger from him? Yes, I think it was anger. I csaw it in his eyes. I felt it in the way he touched me, in the way he kissed me so roughly. But what was his reason behind it?

I couldn’t think of anything. It’s not like I shouted at him or ignored him. Well, okay, I did pretend that he didn’t exist—as the guy I made out with in Bora—but that was his order! He has no right to get mad about that. What else could he possibly be angry about?

Hmm...

Think...

Think...

I guess I was too caught up in his kiss. My brain didn’t process what he said back then. But I need to remember his words. Maybe I can figure out what caused his anger. I can’t just stay like this—clueless and overthinking everything.

Think...

Think...

Like a movie scene suddenly replaying in my head, I heard Rei’s voice—echoing in my mind.

“I don’t want you seeing other guys.”

“You’ve got the nerve to meet other guys?”

“You are mine. Only mine.”

I closed my eyes. Those words. How could I not remember them? See what Reigan’s doing to me? His effect on me was like an amnesia shot.

How dare he forbid me to be with any other man when he clearly doesn’t have the right to? He has no reason to tell me to stay away from other men.

What could be his excuse? Because he’s my boss, I should obey him? Nah… bosses don’t interfere with their employees’ personal lives. Then what? Because something happened between us? That’s still not a reason—unless it is?

I froze. Does he like me?

Well… that sounds nice, but I know it’s impossible. Completely impossible!

He said I was his. He’s claiming me. I should be overflowing with joy, right? But why would he say that if he already has Suzzette by his side? The man is playing with me, right?

Damn it, my head is throbbing from all these thoughts! I should just sleep.

The sound of an alarm woke me up. With my eyes still closed, I reached out for the alarm clock on my bedside table. Damn! I’m still sleepy! How long did I fall asleep? Three hours? It’s already 7:00 a.m.! Ugh! My head is pounding. That’s what I get for overthinking last night! Damn.

I got up, took a shower, and got dressed. I didn’t eat because I didn’t have time to cook—and honestly, I don’t know how to cook anyway.

My parents never taught me how to cook, and my brother’s not here either. Its already morning and he’s still out? That punk!

Oh, right! Of course—he’s already at school. Why didn’t he prepare food for me, though? He always does!

Oh, he doesn’t know how to cook either! I forgot. The only time he gets to eat was when I reheat something. Poor guy. But he’s good-looking, so I’m sure plenty of girls give him food at school. They always do. His words, not mine.

I was putting on makeup in front of the mirror. Of course, your girl has to look good first. Gotta be pretty. Fresh. Thinking about that guy all night has made me look so worned out.

Lesson learned: Men are bad for your beauty. They’re bad for your health, too.

Okay! Time to go! I’m gonna be late! If I don’t hurry, I won’t have time to grab some coffee.

I was about to walk away from the mirror when I noticed something.

Yes. I noticed something!

My neck!

There’s something on my neck!

THERE’S A LOVE BITE—A KISS MARK ON MY NECK!!!

It’s red and it was so obvious! A full-on kiss mark!

That’s the exact spot where Rei bit me yesterday! I can’t be mistaken—it’s right there! He’s the one who did this! Oh my God, I can feel my face burning.

It’s like that part of my neck where Rei’s love bite was suddenly in heat. Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to walk in the office with this?

Triple damn!

I need to think of a way… wait, I got an idea! This is solvable!

**

“Good morning, Gab,” one of my colleage greeted.

“Morning,” I replied with a smile.

I came in all nervous, and now look at me—smiling like an idiot because I actually fixed it. Tapping my back here.

By the time I reached the fifteenth floor—my department—I checked the mirror one last time. No sign of Rei’s stupid love bite. Ha! I’m a genius. Take that, Rei.

“Hey, Gab! You look happy! What’s up?” Kesha from the next cubicle called out.

“Nothing,” I said, grinning. I’ve been smiling nonstop just because I managed to hide Rei’s love bite. Or maybe… it’s because I can’t stop thinking about the fact that I have Rei’s love bite on my neck. Okay, that’s confusing.

“Hmm… Why are you wearing a scarf?”

I froze at her question. I knew someone might notice the scarf I’d wrapped around my neck, but still—I panicked. Or maybe I just got nervous. I mean, who wants anyone to see a love bite? It’s so embarrassing.

Kesha knew I wasn’t dating anyone, too. I let out a nervous chuckle.

“N-Nothing.”

“Nothing? Its hot, you know?” she said, raising a brow.

“Yeah, but the office air conditioning’s pretty cold.” I reasoned.

“Come on, you’re used to the cold here by now.”

Looks like she’s not letting this go. She’s always like this.

“I—I’m practicing to be a flight attendant, okay? What’s wrong with that?”

Not my best excuse, but it’s all I had.She frowned. Huh? She actually bought that? This woman’s crazy.

“You’re way too short to be one,” she said before sticking her tongue and walking back to her cubicle. Ugh, she’s so mean!

We had tons of work to do. When our break came, Kesha and I went to the hallway where the coffee machine was. I planned to grab a cup since I was sleepy—I barely got any rest last night.

The elevator dinged at the end of the hallway.

A few people got out—lunch crowd. I didn’t even look at them. The doors started to close… but then I froze when I heard a name that made me turn around.

“Good morning, Sir Reigan.”

I turned toward the elevator’s direction. He was looking right at me. Intently.

“Good morning,” he replied to the greeting. But his eyes didn’t left mine.