Author's point of view... "No, no...no..." she replied almost immediately, picking up her breakfast as quickly as she could. She didn't get the chance to add some more into her plate. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to eat upstairs." she ran towards the stairs without even waiting for his reply. Returning to her room, she let out a deep breath before happily eating her breakfast. What a weirdo...! I heard him to be arrogant when I joined his company but now I can see what he actually was, a weirdo who always enjoyed torturing people around him. As Ericka ate, she recalled Nathan's reaction when he first tasted her omelet. "It was very strange," she thought. "He clearly seemed to be enjoying the meal then why the hell show ignorance when she asked...! She couldn't figure it out. Then, her mind wandered back to the dream she had that night, when she unknowingly and unintentionally kissed him. She had felt the heat of his body, and despite everything, she couldn'
Author's point of view... Nathan shook his head shedding all the thoughts from his mind. Once again, his expression darkened. "Though she was just trying to get herself out of Logan's grip, she could have tried something else. Why didn't she shout for help or push the emergency button next to her. Instead of doing anything else, she opted for flirting with that bastard..." His expression turned gloomy once again and he walked out of his room for a jog. After doing some stretching exercises, Ericka found a huge tree in the garden and strode towards it. It was a huge peach blossom tree and it looked beautiful, something from a fairy land. She stretched upwards, raising herself on her toes and tried to pluck a small branch from the tree. “What are you doing?” A deep, cold voice cut through the quiet morning air. Startled, Ericka gasped and lost her balance. Instinctively, she reached out to grab onto something, anything, to steady herself. Unfortunately her hand clenched
Author's point of view... In Ericka’s opinion, the evening’s food that those chefs had prepared, had not been bad. If Nathan disliked even the food made by a top-notch chef, she was certain he wouldn’t like what she cooked either. He probably just wanted to put her in a hard position. Maybe this was his way of getting revenge. She thought as she strode into the kitchen. As she looked around, she exhaled. In order to cook with the fresh ingredients every time, the chefs who worked there earlier, had discarded the remaining things. Now only a few ingredients were available. With the limited ingredients left in the kitchen, she gathered what she could do and began preparing a dish with steak, vegetables and mushrooms. Nathan was so hungry that his stomach hurt so badly. Unable to concentrate on the documents he had brought from work, he stood up and walked toward the kitchen to grab some water. There, he found Ericka cutting vegetables with her head lowered, focused on her tas
Author's point of view... Ericka stood before the mirror and practiced her words about how she would tell Nathan about the job application she had sent the other day. Despite doing it a hundredth time, she still trembled slightly. She sighed at last. He wasn't an easy going person to begin with. "Fine...! I will tell him once I get the offer letter from the company. Sea Hawks Enterprises is a very big company and I am sure he will accept my request once he knows that I am already accepted in it." she mumbled to herself before sitting on her bed and taking out her Laptop. "Besides, he is an unemployed man now. I don't know anything about his bank balance. Maybe he is broke. I can help him if I get a job at such a big company..." Ericka thought as she opened her mailbox to check any mails. As Ericka was waiting for a reply for the application she had sent the other day, she received a call from her sister, Elvira instead. After contemplating for a moment, she finally accept
Author's point of view... "The drama begins..." Nathan muttered to himself as he read the content of the text message he received. He had anticipated this would come sooner or later. Luke noticed the change in Nathan's mood and stood up giving him the privacy he needed. That expression clearly meant that the text he received just now was from his family and Nathan hated of anyone pry into his personal matters. And of course, Luke had already dug a nail for himself by bringing up the topic of his wife. He slowly walked away. Nathan narrowed his eyes and read the text ignoring Luke completely. [Nathan, there's a family dinner tomorrow. I know things are not quite well now but family is family. And you have to keep the promise you made. Bring your wife to introduce her to the family!!] Nathan felt a pang of irrigation building up in his chest. He had agreed to get married but had never signed up for a drama that was about to unfold. However, he had to attend it, as the
Author's point of view... The Dawis family was complicated. Jonathan had Nathan with his first wife, Amelia Dawis, a strong woman from a wealthy family in London, the Smiths. Of all the children, Nathan was the unwanted one while Logan was the favoured one. Ericka masked her emotions, pretending not to know Logan and Elvira, and greeted them politely. Though Ericka greeted everyone in the hall, only a few reciprocated the others just ignored her like she was some plague. These are all a bunch of arrogant brutes..! she thought. Once the formal greetings finished, Jonathan's commanding voice echoed. "Where’s Nathan?" Jonathan Dawis asked, displeased. Ericka was jolted as this was her big boss a while ago. She hesitated for a moment then answered in a low tone, forgetting the fact that she was not an employee at Dawis group. “Aa...Mr. Nathan Dawis is unwell and couldn’t come,” Ericka replied, using the excuse she had prepared in her mind. She used to work for them and fo
Author's point of view... Though the old lady didn't want to talk to Ericka, she tilted her head and peeked at her twice. The girl has something so natural and pure about her. She thought. Lila smiled, clearly understanding her mistress's interests. "Madam, your grandson has a great choice. That girl is so beautiful." Amanda unconsciously smiled but immediately contained herself. She was clearly pleased with the girl but hearing all that rumour about her, she hesitated if she could believe in her grandson's choice and in that girl. Maybe, that young girl was also behind the name, fame and money of her grandsons like the other girls were. Elvira saw that the old lady was hesitant but was also pleased with her sister's appearance and she instantly felt a pang of jealousy settling in her heart. She was completely ignored by the old woman. In order to grab the attention back to herself and to sabotage her sister's dignity, Elvira's crooked mind schemed a plot. She stepped forwar
Author's point of view... As if waking from a trance, everyone turned their attention to Elvira, who looked like a delicate flower. Elvira sniffled wiping her fake tears and added, “Sister, you were the one who wanted to marry Nathan,” she countered smoothly. “Are you regretting it now that you've realized he isn’t even close to that of Logan?” The Dawis family members exchanged glances, their expressions shifting. Suspicion flickered in their eyes, and they wondered if Ericka had ulterior motives. Meanwhile, Elvira smirked, her gaze laced with mockery. This topic, however, intrigued Logan's attention. He stared at Ericka eagerly. He wanted to know if that was true. At least, making the deal with that stupid girl, Elvira, wasn't that boring. He thought. “Don’t fight me, Ericka. You’re too inexperienced for that, dear sister...!” Elvira thought, her expression smug. Ericka’s expression remained neutral as she quietly responded, “What are you talking about? Where did yo
Author's point of view... "We won." The awkward silence in the hall was broken as Luke shouted excitedly like a small kid. Nathan instantly felt his entire body was on fire and released Ericka immediately as if holding her for even a second more might bring him disaster. Whereas Ericka was flustered, both with embarrassment and fear. She didn't know how she fell on him, but she could see that the men around her might have misunderstood that she did it on purpose. She looked up at Nathan's handsome face, which was now contorted, and saw something different in his eyes. She thought he was furious, but that wasn't the case. "Playing dirty?" he said accusingly with a smirk tugging on his lips. Ericka frowned. "I...I wasn't..." she immediately denied, but Nathan just chuckled and stepped aside. Ericka was furious. "It's full. We won..." Luke cried out, winking at Anna, teasingly. Everyone was dragged back to reality. As they looked at the socket, it was empty. Anna fr
Author's point of view... Anna had just finished her turn by rolling down eight of the pins in the first go, then completing the strike with the other bowl. It was a tie, though Luke still had an upper hand in the game. Nathan was up next. "Nathan, you can do it!" Luke said, cheering his friend on. Nathan tilted his head slightly and looked at Ericka. Her eyes seemed to be begging him under her long and curly eyelashes. Although they were technically married, the relationship between them couldn’t even be compared to that of friends. He might have considered helping her in other circumstances, but today, there was a desperation in his eyes. He wanted to win this bet. He stepped up, positioned the ball, and took an unfocused yet smooth shot. One pin after another, he knocked them all down, finishing with just a strike that had everyone surprised and cheering. "Wow...!!" "A complete ten...!!" The audience erupted. Ericka's jaw dropped. It wasn't an impossible thing to s
Author's point of view... "I quit." The moment those words left Ericka's lips, everyone near her, including Anna and Nathan, interrupted in unison. "No way..." Ericka looked up at them, stunned. Anna did notice something about the masked man. He seemed to be interested in her friend and that made her frown. It would be different if she got attention from the young master of the Copper family, but that mysterious man is definitely out of the league. She didn't want her friend to get involved with some mysterious guy whose origin even she didn't know. "Let's go for girls versus boys," Anna declared. Ericka elbowed Anna with a questioning gaze. She clearly didn't want anything to do with Nathan. Who knows what he was thinking at that time? She didn't want to play. Why was Anna dragging her into this!! Anna immediately leaned closer to Ericka and whispered in her ears. "It's just a game, sweety. What are you so afraid of?" Anna sensed the discomfort of her friend and turn
Author's point of view... Luke and Erik exchanged a quick look when they saw Nathan casually tapping his fingers on the desk. He seemed inexplicably happier than usual. Silently, they both pulled out their phones and started texting, careful not to draw his attention. Luke, "Is my vision acting up?" Erik, "It was not his wife then who could it be?" Luke, "Hell man, I have no idea! Did he get a secret girlfriend?" Erik, "No way...! Nathan!! in a relationship!! I feel like fainting" Luke, "I was getting the same feeling!!" Thier chatting ended as Nathan dismissed them all. When it was evening, Ericka was already waiting at the address Anna had sent her. She glanced around the exclusive bowling club in surprise. She’d never expected Anna to bring her here. Though Anna had taught her bowling back in their teenage years, they rarely had time for games these days. Just when Ericka was feeling uneasy a sweet voice echoed in her ears and a pair of slender hands hugged her
Author's point of view... Ericka was furious. Her cheeks burned looking at the man getting closer and closer. She couldn't help but feel infuriated. He dared to flirt with her when all he was going to do was divorce her. He is shameless. Jack felt his mind getting numb. The man sitting in the back seat was actually flirting with his wife. His boss flirting with a woman...! Jack thought that he might have heard it wrong. How could Nathan say those words? He felt he should just disappear from there. Why is he listening to something that he shouldn't have?!! Ericka unconsciously covered herself with her little hands and closed her eyes. Nathan stopped. A smirk tugged on his handsome face. Ericka's flustered face looked so attractive and appealing, but she didn't want to do anything stupid, not at least now. Getting back to his normal place, he grunted. Ericka slowly opened her eyes as the heat that she felt earlier on her face subsided. She looked at his handsome face, surpri
Author's point of view... As she walked in, Ericka saw that the entire Dawis family was gathered at the breakfast table, though her husband and the old lady were missing. At that point, her mind was in a mess and she was in no mood to join the crowd. She won't be welcomed dearly, anyways, so she went upstairs, straight to Nathan's room. Just when she was about to reach out for the door handle, she heard some noises coming from inside which made her freeze on the spot. "Sir, everything is done. What are we going to do next?" It was Mike's voice and she was sure about it. She hadn't seen him for days. Mike was on the phone. Nathan didn't respond immediately but after a minute, he spoke coldly, "Nothing" he said nonchalantly, he had just achieved what he wanted, there was no hurry about the rest of the plan. "Just wait until grandma transfers the shares." he replied, Ericka gasped. Shares!! Grandma's shares! So that was all true!! Logan was telling the truth...! T
Author's point of view... A hush came over the room. Everyone sat speechless as Elvira's lies were exposed. Elvira, out of any ideas to deal with the matter, pretended to faint and slumped into Logan's arms. "She might be stressed!" Nathan said coldly, the sarcasm evident in his voice. Ericka, however was not at all in a mood to see through her sister's act. She was so furious that she felt her cheeks started burning. "Logan, just take Elvira to rest" Jonathan was the first one to speak, easing the awkward situation. "That little girl...she might have done it by mistake. Why would she harm her own sister?" he tried to cover up Elvira's lies. Nathan scoffed but didn't say anything. With that, the matter was closed, just like that. Logan, however, shot one last glance at Ericka before scooping Elvira into his arms and rushing out of the room. Finally, a staff member broke the silence by announcing that breakfast was ready. Everyone left the room as the show was finally ov
Author's point of view... Elvira was so stunned in disbelief that it took a few minutes for her to recover from her shock. "You dare hit me...!" she growled when her mind reeled everything back before her eyes. It was the first time in her entire life that someone had slapped her and out of all, the one who slapped her was none other than Ericka, her useless sister, who was not more than a punching bag for her and her mother for years. That was utterly unbelievable. "You bitch..." Elvira was just about to spring up to grab Ericka's hair, but Ericka kicked Elvira's knees, making her slump down again. Ericka was done with everything that had to do with this shameless sister of hers. "Stop messing around..." Ericka warned through gritted teeth but her words were cut off as Jonathan strode to them. Taking advantage of the situation, Jonathan stepped into that mess, standing between the two of them. He glared at Ericka with disdain, clearly declaring his stand for the other o
Author's point of view... As Elvira walked in, she saw how affectionately the old lady held Ericka's hand while she was being ignored completely. She couldn't take it anymore. As the only daughter of the Hollow family, she was used to being treated like a princess, whereas Ericka, being the breadwinner of her family, was treated like a maid who would do anything. Elvira couldn't just see Ericka being loved. She just wanted that attention to herself. How could her cousin, a girl from a mediocre family, have that importance while the only daughter of the Hollow family was being ignored!! That's not going to happen...! That old hag must be blind to not see her!! She gritted. Moving forward, Elvira stood beside Logan. "Oh my, Ericka, you are here. We were all so worried about you last night, weren't we, Logan?" Elvira remarked, nudging Logan with a smirk. She just wanted to show herself quite dissolved in the family before the old lady. As if she cared a lot about her siste