LOGINKathalina nodded and stepped into the bedroom to change. Once she slipped into the gown, she carefully tried to reach the zipper at the back, but couldn’t quite manage it. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped back out and quietly asked one of the artists for help.When she turned around again. The room fell completely silent.All three women froze, their eyes widening in shock as they looked at her.The gown fit her perfectly, as if it had been made only for her enhancing her elegance, posture, and presence in a way that made her look almost unreal.“This dress…” one of them finally whispered in disbelief. “It’s by Layla… the famous designer!”She took a small step closer, still staring in awe.“Wait… you’re so lucky, Miss Kathalina. You’re wearing Layla’s gown. She designed and made this dress herself.”Kathalina’s gaze flickered slightly, but she didn’t react. They didn’t know it was her, and she chose not to correct them.Instead, she simply looked at herself in the mirror aga
Kathalina had just finished showering when she glanced at the wall clock inside the suite. It was already five in the afternoon. Earlier, after everyone left, she and Thirdie had ended up falling asleep together from exhaustion. When she woke up, it was already past four, which immediately forced her to rush into the bathroom to prepare for the gala later that night.Now, standing in the quiet room with her damp hair falling over her shoulders, she lightly dried her hands while staring at the clock again, still feeling slightly dazed from everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.Before she could even think further, a knock suddenly echoed through the suite.Kathalina blinked and instinctively looked around for Thirdie, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he stepped out for a while.Another knock came.Slowly, she walked toward the door and opened it, only to see three women standing outside carrying several makeup cases and garment bags. One of them carefully held
Steve crossed his arms while shaking his head lightly, finally looking a little more relaxed now that everything was over. “You seriously have no idea how chaotic everything became last night,” he muttered, still sounding exhausted from everything that had happened.Leon let out a long sigh beside him before glancing at Kathalina. “Your husband almost destroyed an entire mountain trying to find you.”Jeff immediately nodded with a completely serious expression. “That’s true, Miss. Sir was terrifying last night.”Thirdie shot all three of them a cold warning look.“Enough.”But instead of stopping, Erica suddenly narrowed her eyes suspiciously while looking back and forth between Kathalina and Thirdie. The longer she stared, the more suspicious her expression became.“Wait…” she said slowly. “Why do both of you look… different?”Kathalina instantly froze, and within seconds her face turned completely red from embarrassment.Meanwhile, Thirdie remained perfectly calm beside her, leaning
Kathalina froze completely. For a moment, she wanted to ask him why. But in the end, she chose not to.Her thoughts were already in chaos, her emotions too tangled to fully process everything he had just confessed to her.Thirdie held her gaze steadily, his voice lower now, as if each word carried something he had kept buried for too long.“I asked you to sign the papers,” he admitted quietly, “but after Jeff gave them to me for processing…” He paused, exhaling slowly. “I couldn’t do it.”Kathalina felt her breath catch. She didn’t even realize she was holding it.“Because no matter how much I tried to convince myself it was the right thing to do…” he continued, his eyes darkening with something raw and honest, “I never wanted to lose you completely.”The silence between them deepened. Even the wind outside felt distant, like the world had softened just for this moment.“You’re the only woman I’ll ever love in this life, Kath,” he said at last.Kathalina’s chest tightened painfully. Sh
Then slowly the memory returned.“You didn’t even let me inside,” Thirdie continued, amused now. “You opened the door just enough to look at me, then asked who I was and what I was doing there.”A small smile appeared on his lips as if the memory remained vivid to him even after all these years.“You looked so irritated that day.”Kathalina’s cheeks warmed slightly because she really did remember now. That was the time her mother kept telling her to open the gate properly, but she refused because a strange man suddenly appeared at their house carrying food.“And then…” Thirdie continued softly, “your graduation day. At my mother’s restaurant.”His eyes briefly dropped toward the coffee in front of him before he added quietly.“That was when I gave you the necklace.”Kathalina unconsciously touched the necklace resting against her skin.Of course, she remembered.That necklace was still one of the most precious things she owned.Thirdie lowered his gaze for a brief moment, and for the
“Kath,” Thirdie’s deep voice called from outside. “Your clothes are here.”Kathalina quickly grabbed the towel tighter around herself before opening the door slightly, just enough to take the neatly folded clothes from his hands.“T-Thank you…” she muttered softly, unable to look directly at him before quickly closing the door again.A few minutes later, she finally stepped outside wearing the clean clothes he had prepared for her.The moment she entered the living area of the suite, she noticed breakfast already arranged neatly on the balcony table. Warm sunlight poured across the room, the peaceful atmosphere almost making it hard to believe what they had gone through the night before.Thirdie was already seated there calmly, pouring coffee into two cups as if trying to create some sense of normalcy after the chaos they had gone through.But behind his composed expression, his mind was far from calm. The kidnapping had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.For the first time in y
After Jeff and Steve returned to the private room, Thirdie and Kathalina were already standing.“We’ll head back to the office now,” Thirdie said, glancing at Kathalina with a calm, gentle smile… a smile he only ever gave to her.But the moment he turned toward the door, his expression changed. The
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The quiet between them felt fragile, like something rebuilt after being broken, careful not to fall apart again.Kathalina looked out the window again, but this time her reflection was smiling, faintly calm, thoughtful, almost peaceful.When they reached her comp
Thirdie leaned back in his seat, his gaze fixed sharply on the rearview mirror. His voice was calm, but his tone carried quite a weight. “Something to say, Mr.?”Kathalina blinked, realizing she had forgotten the obvious. “Oh….my bad. I forgot to introduce you properly.”She turned to Steve with
Then his jaw tightened, and the light in his eyes dimmed. Someone had dared to steal from him and thought they could get away with it.“Jeff,” Thirdie said, his voice hard and cold like steel. “Tell Dubai I want everyone with system access on standby. When I call, no one blinks.”“Yes, sir.”“And J







