The conversation between Audora and Daniel stopped as soon as Clarissa entered the dining once again. It made her feel as if she had interrupted something very important but Audora gave her a warm smile to ease her discomfort and confusion. Daniel groaned inaudibly as Audora stepped on his foot after a while, bringing him to order. He hadn't even agreed to whatever she was suggesting and she was already concluding. This was what he should avoid without hesitation but Audora wouldn't let him. Once again, he refused to budge. Audora's smile became pronounced when she stepped harder this time making him yelp.
Clarissa blinked in confusion. "Are you okay?"
"Sure. Sure, I'm fine." He replied before sighing in defeat. Walking over to her, he took her hand in his and walked out of the place. While she, stunned to the core, followed him leaving Audora to smile in success.
---
They continued the car ride in silence. After a while, she couldn't take it anymore. She was hoping he would at least say where they were headed or give her a reason for taking her away from home but it seemed as if he had no intention of doing either. She stole a glance at him but his attention was mainly on the road.
She sighed. "Are you going to tell me where we are going?"
He told her, "Relax, we're only going to visit my grandmother's grave. I don't know why my sister insisted that I take you along and really, I don't want to know but I would appreciate if you give me my space when we get there."
Oh, so that was what that scene was all about, now she understood. At least he wasn't asking for too much. All he was asking for was space, she could do that.
"That won't be a problem, I'll do just that."
He was already too upset with himself that he had forgotten their normal tradition to visit her yearly because he was too preoccupied with work.
As the aspiring CEO of JK groups, he has piles of files waiting to be attended and he couldn't spend anymore time wallowing on empty thoughts and allowing himself get distracted. He stole a look at her before looking back at the road.
---
It was sunset and the view from there was quite beautiful. She found a place to sit just before the water and she caught herself admiring the sky. She smiled to herself loving the view of that particular evening. Just sitting there and doing nothing got quite tiring and so, she let herself think away.
Sighing loudly, she wondered what her cousin would be doing. She should be having lots of fun with her lover now compared to her. This is karma taking turns on her. When she decided she needed a distraction from Daniel, she went ahead to date Nicholas, the guy that always wanted her attention. She thought she could forget about the moments she spent with Daniel but the result was quite unsettling.
Times like this made her remember every detail of it, the times her cousin stood him up. He wasn't the rude and bossy kind of person for his billionaire status, and that was why she fell so quickly. Thinking of it now, Clara ditching him so many times, could have been signs. Signs that she couldn't pull through with the marriage.
Here she was now, in a wedlock with the guy she was secretly crushing on, what does fate have in store for her? Her thoughts gradually drifted to Nicholas. She wondered how he would be feeling. She hadn't seen him for quite a while now. Had he given up on her and sorted a new life for himself? Maybe he already accepted the fact that she couldn't be his anymore.
She smiled when she realized she had been playing with her wedding ring unconsciously. She stared at the ring lovingly silently wishing that their relationship could be normal. She pulled it out and it slipped through her fingers and fell right into the water.
She cursed, "Shit! This cannot be happening to me why does it have to be the ring?!"
She panicked. What should she do?
She thought about it for a second before taking off her shoes and diving into the lake even though she knew that there was only but a slim chance of getting it back.
She combed her hair in frustration when she emerged all soaked, she cursed again.
"Rissa?" The tingles that erupted everytime he mentioned her name was something she couldn't comprehend. Forgetting that, he was there quicker than she expected and now, there was no better excuse for her clumsiness.
His eyes widened on seeing her in the lake when the heavens were already threatening to pour than rain.
He shrieked. "What in heavens name?!""I lost it, I lost my ring to the water. One minute it was in my hands and the neck it's in the water. I can't believe I let it slip."
"Get out of there, you're going to get a cold!" She was already shivering and so, she complied and got out of the water.
"You lost it, we'll get a new one, you shouldn't come down with a cold because of it."
It was worth it!
What made her put on a hopeful smile was that, he cared.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what you were going to think-"
"I left you for sometime and look at what you've done to yourself." He sighed before saying, "let's go home already."
---
"How cold are you?" He asked but mentally face palmed himself for asking such a question.
She replied still, "Very." She hugged herself hoping to rid herself of a little cold.
"Just wait a bit, we'll soon be there." He stole a glance at her hoping he could drive fast before she freezes to death but it was like today, luck just wasn't on their side. His eyes widened as the car slowed down until it came to a stop.
"What went wrong now?" He looked at her mentioning, "I'll be back, give me a minute."
She gripped his arm. "But it's cold out,"
"I'll be alright," he told her before walking out of the car.
Few minutes later he had come back completely drenched from the rain. "There's something wrong with the battery. Plus we have a flat tyre, I'll try and see if I can get Noah to come give us a lift." He said to her but she didn't even have the strength to alter a word of reply to him.
He just didn't know how to help. Right now, all he could do was assure her that she was going to be okay. She had taken off her wet clothing and wore only his white sleeve shirt which seemed to have impressively cover half of her thighs.
"I couldn't get any signal." When she sneezed he knew her cold was a bad one.
He thought for a moment just staring at her wouldn't help and so, he joined her at the backseat.
"What....what are you doing?" She asked as she watched him dry himself with a towel he always leaves at the back of the car. The towel she had used... but that didn't stop his shivering. At that moment, he was more concerned about her.
"I heard once, body heat works," she couldn't believe her ears. "You shouldn't mind because you're literally freezing and I can't let you freeze to death." He said to her gently placing her head on his chest.
Growing fond of his shirtless body, she snuggled closer enjoying the feel of his body on hers. If this was one of those 'once in a lifetime thing,' she should at least make the best of it.
He smelled her hair, rude, yet he was addicted already to the strawberry scent it carried. He had once thought about holding her, so this was how it felt.
so comfortable....
***"I know you think that I have something going on with Thia," he started after a while. Her silence showed that she didn't want to talk about it. Like he said, she thought, they were only having a public relationship, not something real so others will not dig up their dirt when they weren't looking. So why does it matter to him? He sighed. "You should know I'm not that kind of person," He paused but she still didn't utter a word. "You have to believe me.""It still wouldn't matter if I did, would it?" She finally said failing to meet his stare. "You said to act together in public, what if it wasn't me but someone else that was at the door, what would they think?""I know what you saw and trust me, there was nothing going on. I happened to be distracted to even notice her come in. I mean she did say she knocked but I guess I was too occupied to notice. The next
***Applauds...The congregation applauded them until they took their seats. As young as Frederick could get, he was handsome, looking a lot like his breathtaking son and Kara, wasn't looking any less.Daniel, on the other hand, had climbed up the podium to welcome everyone to this auspicious occasion. It was made grand and the welcomed guests were wholly wealthy that one couldn't help but feel very courteous and if possible, nervous too."Good day everyone, I'm glad you could all make it. I welcome you all to the 13th anniversary of Mr. Frederick Thompson and his wife, Mrs. Kara Thompson...."Daniel wasn't oblivious of the stares he was getting. He wasn't supposed to be the centre of attraction yet the ladies never fail to notice his attractive physique and alluring voice. He had met the stare of one of the hundreds but failed to hold it for it drifted over to
***---(Flashback)Daniel came interrupting their conversation at the coffee shop. Immediately, their girlish talk was suspended as they now paid attention to the tall guy with dark locks and piercing green eyes."Hey," He pronounced kissing Clara on the cheeks in greeting before sitting next to her. "Oh, hey Clarissa, didn't see you there." Clarissa rolled her eyes at his joke and faked a smile which he returned with an amused look."How did you find me?" Clara asked him and he smiled at her. He said, "I always know where you are sweetheart." She gave him a cheeky smile and he leaned down to lock their lips in a kiss which he didn't fail to lengthen fully aware of the third party seated across them. Clarissa's eyes darted to
Audora ran down thestairs hurriedly before falling into the arms of man. A Blondie with the dark blue eyes. He pulled her to himself and stroked her hair."My love, I missed you so much." He said and she tightened her arms around him in reply. She released him to stare at how well he looked. Staring at him after a long time brought back their memories. She missed him so much, so damn much!"Darius, is that you my dear?" Kara said, smiling immediately she recognized him and engulfing him in a warm embrace."Yes mother, I missed you too." He replied.___ Clarissa noticed that the office was oddly different today. She later discovered Cynthia's desk empty on her way back from lunch. She rolled her eyes at how oblivious she had been to her absence. This was very unusual. Thia was never absent from work exce
***It was the third time she ignored Nick's phonecalls. At every interval, she would catch the stare of all of them, silently urging her to pick the call. She once again rejected it wondering if he would ever stop calling.When she thought it was all over, with every one resuming their action of eating breakfast, she received a text. She froze as the music of her phone sounded in the dining room. Meeting the eyes of her husband who had long ago lost appetite, she forced a smile muttering an apology before checking what the message was all about.'Since you refused to speak to me, I'll come to you and don't try to stop me!'She quickly excused herself from the dining table dialing his number. As soon as it rang, he rejected it. She sent the call again and he did the same thing. She thought for a second before deciding to text him.
***The elevator clicked open and she drifted out of her thoughts staring at the brown headed figure that stood before her. She stared too long that he began to wonder if she would recognize him yet. His smile finally slipped through as she recognized him.Austin!"Oh my goodness! What are you doing here?" She gaped at him in surprise."I came to see Daniel on a project discussion. You shouldn't be so surprised to see me because I will be coming here umpteen times." He smiled genuinely at her and she nodded in understanding.He said, "What happened? You look disturbed."She sighed and said, "You could say that but frustrated could also be the word."He frowned. "Did you two have a misunderstanding?""Huh, what?" She was driven out of trance again."Did you two fig
***The hand wrote on the book with enthusiasm. The black pen against the book was something the writer had gotten accustomed to in a short period of time. He wrote down,Dear diary,For the first time, I'm convinced that I am doing the wrong thing but I can't seem to stop myself. Every passing day I have my patience deteriorating and....He hesitated before sighing and tearing the page off. Closing the book, he threw it on the table and laid on the couch jadedly.---Clarissa quickly turned when she noticed him staring. Presently, she was trying the zipper of her dress but her hands fumbled with the zipper instead. She cursed silently with a groan. She had always done this trick before, so she didn't understand what went wrong.She nervously turned to see if he was still
*** Moping and sulking was all he could do as he watched Henry dance with his wife. Music played unceasingly allowing the horny adults dance energetically.For all the times he had been there, he never knew he would one day come here and mope around. Not like he didn't have a wife that he came with. He poured the drink into his throat and swallowed noisily. Daniel tried to remember the reason he allowed this to happen. Oh yes, he lost a fucking dare to that bastard. He drank another glass of vodka in one gulp and asked for a bottle."Daniel Thompson why the hell is Henry all over your wife?!" Austin asked right after taking the bottle away from the bartender faster than Daniel could."I didn't feel like dancing and Henry offered to keep her company." He answered shrugging as if he was okay."And you came over here to drink?" Austin scoffed