Christian"My assistant mistakenly got tickets to the delayed flight", John says on the call. "Delayed? Of how many hours?" I exclaim and immediately strive to sound normal as I realise I was sounding too loud.They were about to board the morning flight to return to Texas. I'm worried about the transplant procedure tomorrow. Patricia said they needed to bring Thea for a casual check-up. And the most important thing is I don't know if they will be able to make it back to Texas until tomorrow. That's so messed up."Not much. We'll be boarding this evening and hopefully, we'll reach Texas before ten at night", he says, giving me a bit of relief.Thea didn't call or text me after the last time I replied to her. Even though I was pretty much at peace, I couldn't stop being concerned about the change in her decision. Her silence is the scariest one. "That's great. I'm relieved that you and your team tackled the week so gracefully. I can't imagine the pressure of sudden action. Hopefully,
ChristianI clench my jaw and click my tongue against my cheek walls, inhaling deeply. Ivanna says I often do this when I'm controlling my anger. Why am I thinking about her right now? Because she's never out of my head. But I want her to stay out of my head from now to afterwards. Which I know is next to impossible. I hear the clicking sound of heels against the floor as Thea walks towards me. "It was not exactly a surprise to me", I say in a pressed tone and look up. She crosses her arms, stops by the desk and smirks. "You were expecting me?" She whispers, dancing her eyebrows."Yes. Because I'm compelled to expect you over here", I say. "But not so fast. Of course""Well—" she lets out a deep sigh and walks towards me. Leaning back to the desk, she scoots over the desk, hell closer to me. She crosses her legs, brushing against my thigh and slides her hand around my neck.I gulp down. Again. I roll my eyes. I inhale deeply. I press my lips tighter. Only to control my frustratio
ChristianMy breath hitches and no words escape my lips. Her eyes are straight into mine, devastated and terrified. The next moment, she drives her eyes away and holds onto the door as if she's tripping over. Her body shudders against the door and she rolls her eyes, darting onto the floor. Her lips part open and she breathes heavily.All of that happens in just a few seconds. And every second seemed like the longest one. My brain freezes the moment she again looks up at me. Her eyes are not pooling with tears and her jaw is clenching. I have never seen her in this much anger and pain before which I could see only in a couple of seconds. The nightmare again flashes in my sanity and it ices me on the spot. She was looking at me the same way she was looking at me right now. The same anger and pain filled her eyes. She was numb in the same way.That fear crams inside me again. What if from this moment, the nightmare comes true? To my terror, it does. Ivanna doesn't say a thing and turn
ChristianI slump onto the bed, placing my elbows on my thighs and rubbing my palms against each other. My legs are shaking. I drop my head, chewing my bottom lip. I'm at a loss for words. I hear the sound of water splashing. Minutes pass. My head is overloaded with millions of thoughts. Tomorrow is a big day for Chrissie. At this point, I don't know whether to handle Ivanna or convince Thea. I don't care about Thea unless she's not related to Chrissie. But at the end of the day, I'll need her for Chrissie. What am I gonna say to Ivanna? And will she even trust me if I tell her the truth? She'll never trust me after what she saw today. I can't imagine the pain she must be going through. What if the nightmare comes to be true and she leaves me before I can explain it to her? "God!" I grab my head, groaning heavily when the door clicks open. I immediately turn around, spotting Ivanna in the washroom room. She comes out, wrapped in a towel. She's completely silent. And cold. She doe
Christian I can't believe my ears after what I hear. Did she really ask this? I gawk at her in disbelief and shock. "I'm asking something, Christian. Answer me", her hoarse voice booms around the walls. "Did— did I accidentally send you the mail?" I stutter. "Which mail?" She curls up her face, a bit annoyed by not getting the answer. "I wrote a letter for you", I say nervously. "This morning. And I scheduled it for tomorrow. Evening. I wrote everything that you— you should know. Did you already get it?" I ask.Her reaction doesn't change. "I don't know which mail you're talking about, Christian. But you should know that I don't need any mail, letter or— or words to trust you"The last words from her shake my soul. They come out so powerful and intense that it sends jolts all over my body. Her eyes start to fill again. "I never needed anything to trust you, your love, your efforts, your loyalty or anything. Never", she seethes. "When I said I trust you, I didn't mean that I trus
IvannaWhile we all were enjoying the beer and Christian left to sleep, I was already getting concerned. I didn't let him know that I had seen Thea's name on the notification. It worried me after I recalled how he reacted to his phone. I kept my calm even though it was freaking me out. "This Albert is getting on my nerves", Kane slammed his phone aside after reading a text. "What happened?" Emily asked. "I mean what did he do again?""Is he really in talk?" I asked."Nah. An asshole is being an asshole. Nothing new with that. We are kind of used to his shit. Just because he's one of the most powerful clients we have to tolerate him", Kane sighed. "What does he want now?" Emily asks. "He's going crazy for the New York Fashion Week. It was supposed to be held next week but Christian postponed it to next month. Maybe, because of the surgery. He doesn't seem impressed""Screw him!" Emily shrugged and took all the empty bottles. "I need to do the dishes now""Wait. You—" Kane strived t
IvannaWith Christian's shocking statement, I feel the earth sliding away beneath me. I gape at him in disbelief, no words escaping my throat. I find it impossible to believe. Even process. Even accept. I shake my head, being unable to utter something. He keeps his eyes straight on mine. Blood red and swollen. There's anger, frustration, pain— all the mixed emotions that he has been hiding. Mostly anger. I clutch his hand tightly, expecting him to change the statement. But it doesn't happen. "Thea is her mother, Iv", he repeats as if he understands that I'm not believing it. "This is true"My hand slips down from his shoulder. I look down. My eyes keep frozen at the ground, hollow and clueless. The next moment, I cover my mouth in utter realisation.My eyes have popped out, my heart buzzes faster than before and all of a sudden, everything has just changed."I didn't believe it either, Iv", he says. "But this is true. She's not only Chrissie's biological mother but also—", he inhal
Ivanna"What the hell!" I exclaim, immediately getting off the bed and rushing towards the window to close it. But the wind was so heavy that I struggle to pull them. My body freezes with the chilling wind and snow covering my face. "Back off!" Christian screeches and hauls me behind and he reaches the window. It doesn't take him more than a few seconds to close them. "What was that?" I groan, slightly shivering due to the blow while rubbing my arms. "Snowstorm", Christian says, rubbing his face. "I can see that. But why suddenly?""It has been chilly since last night. But I didn't expect a storm", he sneezes right away as he can't handle the cold even for a second. I turn on the furnace right away and surge to get a sweatshirt down. "What's up with this network?" I hear Christian freaking out. "It's gonna act up from now", I walk towards him near the bed and hand him the sweatshirt. "Put it on before you catch a cold"He puts it on his lap and again gets into the phone. "Why