The room was enormous, filled with modern décor and warm color on the walls that made it easy for the light to bounce on every corner. A king-sized bed lay royally in the middle of the room, with a mini bookshelf on the left, and a television screen on the right pinned a few inches on top of a mini-fridge. The room was also full of a vanilla fragrance, just like the one he had on. I smiled as I made a tour of the room, thinking of how he had this room set specifically for me. Or maybe it had always been this way.rem I jumped down my high horse of thoughts, as I remembered the kind of lifestyle Lucas lived. It only made sense that he would have a room for every kind of guest he had over at his. And this room so happened to be for guests like me, who liked to read and eat crazy. I had peeped into other rooms on my way here, and some had luxurious gold ornaments inside, with art pieces on the wall that seemed to scream expensive! This one only had a huge picture of a Siberian husky in a

Pangs of jealousy flashed through my entire body as I watched them talk about how good this Terrence guy was. He sounded like such a boring man to me, despite the fangirling that Vivian acted out whenever Charlotte illustrated their life together to her. “We met at a writers’ conference…. We had gone for a staycation at the Hiltons, then he asked me to be his girlfriend… We had the best time of our lives… Oh, yes! He’s very sweet… Terrence got down on one knee and proposed, and right then, the fireworks went off… Oh, it was such a lovely sight to behold… “ Fuck Terrence. I gulped another shot of whiskey, and left the scene, heading outside for some air that seemed to be choking me inside the house. I loved seeing Charlotte happy, as her lovely smile cured me of all my problems. But I wanted to be the one who made her happy. I wanted to take her to Paris, not just the Hiltons. I wanted to fly her to Goa, kiss her dry in Mauritius, make love to her in Tanzania, spoil her crazy in

I had three back-to-back meetings with private investors who were interested in my textile company, and as I planned on how best to have a merger with China's best textile company, a call came through from Vivian. I rarely ever put my phone on silent during meetings because I only had four contacts on my phone: Aunt May, Jacque, Vivian, and the recent addition, Charlotte. I never expected any of them to call me lest it was an emergency, so this call caught me by surprise. The bad kind… I swiped left, declining the call and returning my focus back to the meeting. Whatever Vivian was calling me for was surely less important than a ten billion-dollar-worth merger. After the meeting, I called her back. “Hello?” “Really Lucas? Since when do you decline my calls?” “What is it, Vivian?” I asked, my rising anger being laced with impatience. “Gee- okay…I just wanted to see if you wanted to have lunch with me at Le Bernardin. My mouth craves some seared foie gras, and Jacque said the chef

I stood at the entryway of my house, thinking of how best to throw her a surprise. I had not had a chance to welcome her royally into the house and back into my life. I summoned Jacque as he had often worked with my party planners and hence had some ideas on how best to create a dreamy surprise for her. I did not know much about the planning aspect of surprises and did not bother learning either. “Oui Monsieur, you called,” he said, making a half bow. More times than I ought to, I prohibited him from saluting me whenever I called, but Jacque insisted on performing his etiquette rites as a form of respect and honor. Seeing that my words were falling on deaf ears, I conceded defeat and instead glowed in the glory. “Yes, Jacque! Kindly oversee the preparation of multiple delicacies for Charlotte. I would like for us to welcome her into our abode the Lucas Benjamin way. Order the freshest and finest from the groceries store and get her some red wine, it’s her favorite.” A smile crept

I had a piece of everything I could devour, and the satisfaction that I felt afterward was one for the books. The juices in every bite and the crunch in every pastry were exactly what I needed in my life. Jacque poured me a glass of vintage wine from France which contained some espresso and chocolate flavor, leaving my tongue craving more of the tannic drink. “Thank you, Lucas. This was amazing!” I told him, looking at him as he sat casually on the seat, barely touching his food. His eyes were cast on me still, which made me feel naked again. “Lucas! Did you hear me?” I asked, concerned. Still, he did not shift his eyes, which were now traveling down my chest. I hit my fork lightly on the fork, which made him snap back to the dining room. “Huh? Sorry! You said something?” He asked, embarrassed that he had been caught red-handed. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, yeah, don't mind me. I'm good.” He cleared his throat, changing positions on his seat. He was sitting across from me, and his