Another day, another squeal from Kian. “So you’re telling me not only did you meet them, and I mean the,” he jumped for joy enthusiastically and when I say enthusiastically I mean with more vigour than he usually had, he was full of unabated joy and I wondered how he never ran out of battery because my social battery was drained from just getting up today and turning my alarm off. That was enough interaction to really make me feel like today was going to be the worst.This is why I needed my weekly dose of Kian antics to lift my spirits, and of course, it’s working, “The Noir Dupont, you had lunch together and you made him make this amazing video of him reading my line!”He turned to Merelle who was busy setting up Honey Perhaps for its breakfast customers, “Merelle do you know how life-changing this is! Noir Dupont said my lines! He called your slab of stone boss a sonovabitch and he said it like that. Merellle,” his voice was half a screech a sound way too early for this time of da

“Ignore what Grace said,” Corbyn said curtly as we walked to the integrated cafe in the hospital. After the cinnamon twist, Grace had felt even hungrier, it could take quite a toll on her, her body working to fight against all odds and survive.“Is that a request or a command?” I quipped as we turned into the cafe.He gave me an unimpressed look, pressed against his features, the tears were gone, he was no longer in disarray no longer clinging to me, his shirt was tucked back in a hidden behind his dark blazer. He was the picture of put together, but I had seen those moments of vulnerability. I had felt the thundering of his heart, the hot tears trailing down his eyes and splashing onto me.“What happened, Mr Emerson, why did you think that Artymov had something to do with this?”“I am rather irrational when it comes to Grace. I thought that maybe as he has so much pull in this city, he had paid her nurses to be neglectful. Absurd leaps in logic on my part, I trust these nurses, they

Corbyn offered to drive me home, but I politely declined, “You should stay here, with her, she’ll want to see you when she wakes up,” he gave me a grateful look as I quietly left the room, being careful not to make too loud of sound as I shut the door.For a moment I stood there, my palm pressed against the door, feeling the wooden beneath my fingertips and knowing that just beyond this inch thick wall, there was a man I would never see beyond these walls. A man who cared, who loved, who had lost so much, who could be just as vulnerable as anyone else.Out of these hospital walls, everything would be different, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.I made my way home, the streetlights glowing at full brightness, but London was always busy the streets were still packed with people trying to escape the rain, that had begun to drizzle over us all. There was a chill in the air but nothing too major and it wasn’t too late that the train station was deserted.10 pm was often a second s

I was right. The moment we were back in the office it was business as usual. And I really despised my morning self for wanting to wear heels. I don’t know what possessed me, well that’s actually a lie. I thought they would look nice with my outfit. Afterall, this was the first time I had given in to the urge of wearing a skirt. Luckily for me, it wasn’t a pencil skirt, it was a brown pleated maxi skirt that flowed to my ankles, paired with a cashmere white blouse, because there was a bit of a chill in the air.Cute and practical if you minus the heels.Never again.“Miss Laurence why are you being so slow today,” his voice cut through all of my thoughts as a I scowled.“You try walking in heels for a day and then you can complain.”He rose a brow at me as he sat down in his chair behind his desk looking like the epitome of wealth and class, “It is neither my fault nor my responsibility to cater to you because of your poor footwear decision,”I really did want to punch him sometimes, m

You can tell a lot about a person based on how long they take to answer a question that you know they don’t want to answer.The curl of the lip, prepared to lie and I knew it, “Really think before you answer,” and then with all the nicety of a starving fox, “Mr Emerson.”“Your drawing conclusions based on conjecture, Miss Laurence,” he spoke calmy, but I wasn’t having any of it.I let out a bitter laugh, so bitter I could taste the acridness on my tongue, “Are you seriously gaslighting me right now?”For the first time since we had met, I saw him falter. There was a spark in those usually measured eyes, a flicker that was soon gone.“No? Nothing?” I walked over to him my arms crossed and my eyes as analysing as possible. I wanted him to cave so badly even though I knew that was a fantasy that would never be fulfilled. But even seeing the reserved slab of stone I knew crack under the pressure of me just looking at him. There was so much he wasn’t saying and so much I could no longer ig