Kyle was back in his home studio. Rumors about him having a female personal assistant circulated and remained the top trending search for the past three days. This was the pain of being too famous. Anything about him spread ridiculously fast. Brandon lingered around the stairs outside, watching Kyle immerse himself in his work. He hesitated to enter the room. Sitting on the dynamic chair, Kyle had his Sony earphones on, listening to the beats of his new track. Little did he care about the ongoing online discussions. He took out a blank piece of paper from the drawer and began scribbling on it. "A semibreve in the first chord?" he mumbled, drawing signs only he could make sense of. "Maybe a half note here." He played the keys but frowned when the music didn't turn out the way he wanted. "Something is amiss. Which part did I go wrong?" He spun the pencil around his thumb while fine-tuning the track with the 48-channel digital audio mixer. He faded out the sound of the piano slight
Clover Hon. Clover Hon. Clover Hon. Clover counted the number of times her name appeared on the television. It seemed as though every channel was ablaze with news concerning her. True or otherwise, nobody seemed to care. They just wanted to keep up with the latest trending topic. When did she have a one-night stand with Kyle? Nor aborted a baby? Or even on sex drugs? Her hand holding the remote control trembled. She couldn't bring herself to change the channel again, knowing that it was going to be another disappointment. Maybe it wasn't her place to speak about pride, but those made-up stories the media amplified were going overboard. Sheer curtains were swaying in the wind, and pages of the unattended magazine on the table were left flipping. Propping her chin on her palm, she toyed with the purple succulents that looked like they were enjoying their moments of life better than her. Being a human was tiring. Having feelings wasn't a joyful thing. As tears welled up in her eyes, s
Yes, his plan succeeded. However, it was a plan that was going to ruin his friendship with Kyle. Brandon carried the unconscious Clover over his shoulder and threw her into his car. Bumping into anyone at this moment was literally sending him to hell. As he reversed the car, his foot went numb. He couldn't feel anything although he was stepping on the oil pedal. Sending a vulnerable girl into harm's way was going against Kyle's principles. He understood it very well. But it was either this or having those pictures exposed. There wasn't any third option or a win-win situation. He warned her! He warned her to stay away! He warned her to leave this place! She didn't listen. So now, it'd be her fault if anything bad happened to her... right? "Damn!" He slapped the steering and sped away. 'Don't waver. You're doing this for Kyle, man.' Upon reaching the entrance of the deserted place sent by the anonymous sender, Brandon hesitated once more. He surveyed his surroundings—a drab and
"Clover?" Kyle opened the door. But the face that appeared wasn't who he expected. "Hey!" Stella took off her boots and brushed past him as she entered the house. "What are you doing here?" He sounded cold. After what had happened at Sonderella, a fragment of doubt still lingered within Kyle. He didn't know if he should believe that she had nothing to do with it. Despite having known her for more than a decade, there were instances when he felt that he never truly knew or understood her. If she hadn't purposely acted lovey-dovey with him in front of the cameras when they left the hotel that day, he probably wouldn't have suspected her. But she did, so he couldn't help but wonder if it was her who had leaked their whereabouts to the media for the sake of getting entangled in another rumor with him. However, as much as Stella wanted to have rumors speculated about them, she shouldn't have involved Clover. Having no idea what was going on in Kyle's mind, Stella turned around and s
Clover entered. As soon as the warm familiar ambiance enveloped her, tears welled up in her eyes. She pursed her trembling lips and glanced around the minimalist house that kept her in when she had nowhere else to go. She ran her fingers over the cushion and let out a soft chuckle, recalling how Brandon stuffed his mouth with chips while trying to chase her away. "You know..." Brandon whispered, lingering behind her on purpose. He was trying to block her view from Danise, who was unknotting his shoelaces in the back. "Maybe—" "Don't..." She sucked in a deep breath. "Don't say anything..." Right then, Stella stormed out of the kitchen, her azure satchel bag dragging along the floor. Clover quickly composed herself and noticed that the red gift box was still inside Stella's bag—neatly wrapped. Upon catching a glimpse of the wet tracks on her face and the redness at the tip of her pointed nose, Clover frowned. However, before she could open her mouth to say anything, Stella returned
The table was set under the hanging gray pendant lamps. Steaks were served; champagne corks were popped. The birthday party was about to start. "Clover!" Kyle called while craning his neck to look past the wall. "It's all done!" Clover shook her head and blinked a few times, regaining her composure before she stepped out. Any hints of tears on her face might ruin her entire plan—the fake birthday plan. "Put on a good act, Clover Hon." She exhaled a silent breath, patted her cheeks, and got on her feet. With his arms folded, Kyle stood by the table and stared at the condiments—honey garlic sauce, salad dressings, and mustard. He seemed to have trouble selecting the sauce to go with Clover's steak. After a while of hesitation, he finally picked up the mustard bottle and opened its cap. Just as he was about to pour a small portion of it on her plate, he changed his mind again at the last second and took the honey garlic sauce instead. However, the honey garlic sauce wasn't flowing o
After what felt like an eternity, Clover woke up to the incessant buzz of insects in the air. With a groan, she sat up, her eyes struggling to open. She cast a wary glance around.Brandon and Danise reclined on the opposite couch, soundly asleep with their legs intertwined. Fan cards littered the floor, one caught between Kyle's fingers.Clover gazed out of the casement as the soft, early light enveloped the tranquil street in its gentle embrace.She heaved a bitter sigh. As much as how she slow she wanted it to be, tomorrow had officially arrived. She knew now was the best time for her to leave— when no one else was awake, when Kyle was still asleep. However, the moment she stood up, something pulled her back onto the couch once again. Upon turning around, what came into her view stunned her on the spot. Her hand. His hand. She gasped, almost forgetting about the game yesterday. The colorful paper chain binding their wrists surprisingly remained intact after a night. She looked
It wasn't the first press conference Kyle had, nor was it his first scandal. But this time, Kyle was uneasy. Somewhere, somehow, it just didn't feel right. The connection was missing. How did their photos leak? Why did Clover suddenly want to leave? And when Brandon saw her packed luggage, instead of feeling shocked, a slight disappointment flashed across his face. He bit his nails, staring at the big mirror in front of him. He didn't want to make any assumptions. However, it seemed that Brandon and Clover knew the presence of the photos way before him, way before they were revealed to the public. 'Where is she?' Kyle asked with his gaze. 'Where did you bring her?' Brandon averted his eyes from him and didn't say anything. Kyle slammed his hand onto the table and jerked his head in frustration. Startled, the stylist in beige stopped doing his hair at once and sensibly went away upon receiving a look from Brandon.In an instant, only two of them were left in the dressing room. Sho