Mag-log in“Hey,” he called softly.Not now. She didn’t have time for this.Isla tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path.“Why did you run?” he asked quietly.“What are you talking about?” she muttered, attempting to move around him, but he shifted again, blocking her.“Don’t play dumb with me, Isla. You know what happened at the studio.”She inhaled deeply, forcing a smile at him.“We did a photoshoot for our new launch. Anything beyond that is all you,” she said, taking the other route, but he followed.“So you’re really going to lie to me? You didn’t feel all of that?”Isla shot him an incredulous look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Damien chuckled under his breath. “You’re really going to play dumb? Or do you want me to say it out loud?”Isla turned again, and when Damien reached out to stop her, she raised her knee sharply into his groin.“Ouch!” He winced, doubling over, clenching his fists as he fought the pain.Isla smiled wickedly, taking slow, confident steps toward
Singapore; The Next Morning.As usual, a meeting was underway in the Khan boardroom. The members watched intently as Mr. Han presented the product.“Last meeting, Mrs. Khan asked for a sample of our idea, so the team came together to create what we imagined the crystal blue flame stone wristwatch would look like,” he announced, handing a mini-designed box to Isla and Damien.Isla opened it. A sharp white-greenish-blue glow burst out, washing her face with light. She squinted and leaned back slightly, trying to take the product in.The wristwatch was the most exquisite item she had ever set eyes on.“We’re looking at our next billion-dollar product,” one member whispered, earning murmurs of agreement as the others discussed under their breaths.Feeling satisfied, Mr. Han smiled at Damien. “What do you think of the product, Mr. Da Silva?”Damien nodded, a half-smile tugging at his lips. “I saw the success coming. I knew it would be good, but I didn’t know it would be this good.” Turning
Excited, Isla ran into the mansion. The living room was empty, not a single plate on the dining table. She ignored it and hurried upstairs, but the smile on her face faded the second she saw the empty space in their bedroom.Gareth wasn’t here either.Sighing, she dragged herself to her closet to change out of her clothes. Gareth’s closet beside hers was open, it hadn’t been touched for days, yet when she checked, half of his clothes were gone.Her fingers curled into a fist.She rushed out of the room and searched the guest rooms one by one until she finally found him. Gareth was sound asleep, his back turned to her.Isla’s throat tightened, her chest squeezing painfully. After days of disappearing, he still planned to avoid her. She marched out of the guest room and returned to her room, feeling worse than when she didn’t even know where he was. Now he was back… and still wouldn’t speak to her.The next morning, Isla was up early. She had showered, dressed for work, and walked downs
Still at the Khan's meeting room*"Since Mrs Khan has challenged us on how we can distribute the shares, I think it's time to discuss how to market these stones. Both marketing departments have been working on what would look best for the stone, and we’ve wrapped it up with an idea."The marketing manager placed a pictogram in the middle of the table, an airy picture of a wristwatch popping up.Isla arched a brow, staring at the picture."This is going to be a crystal and Blue Flame Stones wristwatch. We’re mixing your crystals with our stones, and it forms a very beautiful image. I’m telling you, Mrs. Khan, if you stare at it, you wouldn’t want to look away."Damien added, "It’s like a very rare, charming wristwatch. Just a glance is never enough, you’d want to have it." His gaze fixed on Isla, his voice lowering to a whisper. "You’d kinda want all of it."Normally, he would have gotten a glare or an irritated look, but she didn’t show any reaction, her gaze moving back to her phone
At a big supermarket**Alexios pushed his cart to the shelf where various protein shakes were kept. While picking the amount he needed, a familiar scent strode past him.Alert, he looked forward and saw Elise shopping alone. She stopped her cart at a gym water bottle stand and tried to reach for the bottle higher up but couldn’t. Knowing this was his only chance, he pushed his cart toward her."I can help you with that." He stood behind her, effortlessly taking the bottle for her.Elise greeted him with a glare. She huffed, taking her cart and rolling it to another section."Good to see you too, Elise," Alexios grinned, walking behind her."Ugh, what do you want?" she kicked at him."What else? I was shopping in a supermarket like every other person, and I saw someone in need of help, so I helped," he shrugged simply.Elise forced a smile. "Now that you’ve shown yourself, do you expect a reward? Or perhaps a..." She twisted her voice into a sarcastic, grateful baby tone. "Oh my God, A
"Hu... Hunn," Isla found herself faltering as her gaze fixed on the image of her and Damien from eight years ago, sharing a bed. Her eyes batted repeatedly, wondering how Gareth had that picture in his phone."When were you ever planning to tell me about this?" His question came in; his voice was calm, but it carried firmness.Isla shook her head. "I... I was going to tell—""Bullshit!" he barked, and next came the sound of shattering glass. He had just pushed down everything that was on the dining table.Isla gasped, stepping back to avoid the glass pieces. She raised her wide, surprised eyes to him, hoping to see some sort of regret, but there wasn’t any. His eyes were bloodshot soulless, remorseless.He pointed his trembling finger at her. "We've been together for eight years, fucking eight years, Isla!" he roared. "And you can't even tell me this? I fucking told you everything about me!"Something was wrong with Gareth. He didn’t yell; he didn’t cuss. She was too shocked to respon







