NINA’S POVGreg walks into the office.“Seems that there have been some altercations here this morning.” He states as he takes a seat next to me. He gives me a grim look before he focuses his attention on Anthony.“This only forces us to fall into plan quicker than expected.” He tells him.Anthony presses his lips together and nods. He heaves a deep sigh and gets up from his seat.“Nina, you will need to excuse us. We have urgent matters to attend to.” Anthony tells me.I look at Greg and then at Anthony. I am being excused. They want me to leave the room. I don’t have any answers yet. I get up slowly and walk out of the room. Just as I exit the door, I hear Greg telling Anthony that Mark has booked a one-way ticket out of the country.I walk up the steps quickly. What the hell is going on? Is he not even coming back? He just walked out the door and booked a one-way ticket? I am stunned.I walk into my room and for a moment I have no idea what I need to do. I am still standing in the

Mark looks at me intently. He sets his mug down and touches his fingertips together.“A few centuries ago, there was a girl that looked exactly like you.” Mark starts to tell me. He pauses a few seconds to let it sink in. “Her name was June. We met her at a fundraiser and I immediately fell for her. Cole also fell for her but I never for one second thought he fell that hard.”Mark sucks in a deep breath and lets it out.“I started pursuing June and she enjoyed my company. I later found out that Cole was pursuing her also. She didn’t have the heart to hurt anyone so she tried her best to keep both of us at arm’s length. This kept on for quite some time.” He seems to think for a few seconds before continuing.“Cole befriended an old witch.” Mark looks as me and shakes his head. “Don’t ever, for one second, think you can really be friends with a witch. They always, only take care of themselves. Cole needed her to help him make June choose him over me. She told him all magic always comes

I sit crossed legged on my bed and stare at the box for a while. Of course, I know what is inside. I don’t really need to open it. What frustrates me most, is that I know that I will open it and I will not have any more answers than I had before I opened it. I open the box slowly and set the lid on the bed next to me. I take a deep breath and let it out in a rush. Inside the box is the little vile that Mark gave me with the potion in. Next to the little vile is the business card he gave me with the contact details of his secretary. The memory of his words leaves another stab in my heart. He basically told me to contact her, not him. Frustration builds up in my chest again. I had a connection with Mark. It disappeared within seconds and I couldn’t even get an explanation for it. I feel over emotional today. Tears well up in my eyes. I take the little vile in my hand and roll it the way I did the night he gave it to me. It feels exactly the same. There is no difference in weight. I op