MIKE “Come to my place,” I suggested. “We can have a party there. Just the three of us. Let’s forget for a moment about all the craziness that surrounds us.” Honestly, I wasn’t ready to break up with her. I wanted her around more and more, but I was also afraid to leave her alone with that psycho. You could see with your own eyes how terrified she was of him.“Works for me,” Olivia said.“I don’t know what to say. I wouldn’t want Kevin to know. What if he comments that I’ve been missing a lot?” Emily said in fright.“Honey, Kevin doesn’t have any power over you anymore. Besides, don’t imagine I’d let you go back to him. I’ll stay with you and protect you until you get rid of him. I won’t let him touch another finger. Today we go to Mike’s and stay there, but tomorrow I’ll find another place to stay. I’ll get your bags from there,” Olivia said.“That’s a great idea, Olivia. Come to my place and we’ll see tomorrow. Emily, Olivia’s right, you can’t be alone with that man anymore.

MIKE“I feel great too!” she replied, smiling.I would have revealed what I was dreaming about, but something was holding me back for the moment. It’s just that I was extremely stubborn that day and couldn’t for a moment listen to my inner voice that was asking me to calm down and pay attention.“I was thinking about what our life would be like as a couple. Being a family and living here in a cottage by the sea.”I watched as her cheeks flushed red, resembling two blooming peonies. She gave me a smile that I perceived as warm and friendly.“That would be lovely. When I write, you take care of the house and when you sing, I take care of the house. And in the evening we’ll have dinner by moonlight.”Her response stunned me. It simply stuck with me. She dropped the palette from my hand with which we put the meat on the plate, at which point she started laughing. She came over and gave me a quick kiss, much too quick for me, then walked into the house.“I’ll get the cutlery.” She shouted

EMILYCould I describe in words what this night was like? It was like the sunrise on a spring day, shyly embracing the land, still numb from the harsh winter since dawn. I was afraid to give myself to a stranger, who, without asking my permission, stole my heart, my dreams and my future. I knew he loved me because I could see in his eyes the flame of love burning with mad passion. But I was afraid to let myself be loved and pampered, as he said.The way he made me feel was as hot as a hot summer day, but tender as the petals of a rose. The powerful thrill that shot through my whole body made me tremble from every joint. It was new, but so wonderful. I felt as if I had touched the impossible or discovered the infinite.I didn’t think there were men who could make a woman feel more treasured than the most important treasure. But look, I was wrong. That man was real, and he only wanted me. Do I deserve such luck? It didn’t even matter now. What mattered was that Mike was mine, and I was

KEVINThe amounts of money the two were transferring into my accounts were small enough to be inconspicuous. You know what they say about the small log upsetting the big cart? That’s how it was here. Those small amounts bankrupted the company. By the time Luiza brought in an expert, it was too late to do anything.All the blame fell on the accountant, and Eddy got off scot-free. All the signatures were the accountants. He was nowhere to be found. Plus, Luiza trusted him. She knew how to gain his trust and blindly believed him.When she finally realized that bankruptcy was her only way out, Eddy stepped in to offer his help. He informed her about me and how there was a potential to get the funds for recovery with no risk of a public scandal that might harm the reputation of the company.Without a second thought, she accepted our offer, and we fooled her once again. We now had her in our grasp with the contract we signed. She had to pay me back the total amount within two months, which

MIKEI was like a madman looking all over the house for Emily. When I saw Kevin, I was sure he’d done something to her. If Olivia hadn’t come in, I’d have kicked his ass.“Hey! You’re gonna wreck the entire house! What the hell is wrong with you people?” she yelled from the doorway of the room, but who had ears to hear her? “Mike! Stop it!” she yelled again in an even louder voice.Seeing that I wasn’t acting, she came and tried to break us up. Luckily I saw her in time, otherwise the fist that was dedicated to Kevin was coming straight for her face. “God, how can I hit a woman?”“You’re crazy! I almost hit you.” I yelled at her.“You’re crazy. You’re acting like a raving lunatic. What the hell happened to you?”“Where’s Emily? She’s nowhere to be found.”“Did you search the beach?”“I’ve been looking like a lunatic everywhere. She’s nowhere to be found. I’m sure he did something to her.”“Kevin, you’d better come clean. You know you can’t fuck with me. Leave Emily alone or I’ll have