As the night descended and covered the brightness everywhere, Nadia strode slowly through a shortcut alleyway from the bus stop where she had dropped, her face etched with tiredness and somberness as she wearily inhaled and exhaled the cold breeze from the atmosphere. Nothing seemed to exhilarate her like before, and it felt like her days were smeared with hues of gray, with nothing colorful to offer her solace. Her job had become more like an endless responsibility that she was saddled with, and the people who made her happy suddenly became so far away, casting her into an abyss of amplifying loneliness. “Life is hard!” Those somber words slipped out of her lips, as she moved languidly like she had no strength in her. Suddenly, it felt like someone was walking behind her as she ambled, and her neck instinctively turned sharply to see no one walking behind her. The sound of a notification from her phone brought her feet to a halt and her mind to rest, as she pulled it out of her coa

The past few days had been so busy for Carlton after he traveled for business with James, and it had been from meetings to conferences and to inaugurations that he was invited to. As a result of his schedule that had been packed so full, his frustration had multiplied with everything too, because Stacy had been unreachable. Neither she nor Nadia were home, the morning they stopped by their apartment before travelling. His mind was consumed by thoughts of Stacy and his heart was ladened with so much confusion that it clouded his thoughts. He had contacted WILLAND hospital about her whereabouts, and he was informed that she was on her yearly leave at the present moment and had not been coming to work. The response from them amplified his fear even more, and had him spiraling in a haze of oblivion. Questions constantly swirled in his mind like a storm, and he was not able to concentrate on things he did properly. ‘Had he done something wrong? Was she still mad that he missed th

Oblivious to the fact that her phone had been ringing endlessly in the pocket of the coat she hung across the chair, Nadia seemed a little distant from the person who was talking to her across the table. It was Caleb, her colleague from the hospital, and she had agreed to go out on a date after they returned from their retreat which ended earlier than they had prepared for. Dressed in a stylish dress, she exuded an air of elegance and poise, with her eyes shining with anticipation as she looked forward to a relaxing evening away from the hospital and from her badgering thoughts. Thoughts of Liam and everything about him. Thoughts about the kiss she wished she never had, had taken over her mind the more and spread like a love virus in her head. “It was time to move on and make space for others in my life. It was time to forget him and live my life now,” Nadia told herself repeatedly, as she stood in front of her dresser earlier that day, and got ready for the date. She thought of h

To Nadia, all was going to be fine, and she would definitely get over it soon. Why wouldn't she? What could go wrong? She had been doing better all these days and would continue to do well. She was going to be enjoying her life, meeting new people, dating, and loving herself better than she had ever done, so why wouldn't she be alright? However, she realized she couldn't. Because the moment she heard those side talks from everyone around her as she sauntered past them, she knew she had not gotten past it. How could she have missed it? She never bothered to know the date because it would hurt her more to see the truth. She had no idea it was so close already. So close that reality harshed upon her. “Guys, have you heard? Doctor Liam is the only son of Wilson Austin, the owner of this hospital!” One of the young nurses with curly hair came rushing with the piece of information she heard about where she was coming from. “What?! Doctor Liam is the hospital owner's son? Where did

Carlton sat across from Liam on the private plane they were taking to Chicago, trying Nadia's number countless times about how far they had gone in the investigation of where Stacy had been traced to. “Her number is not going through,” he informed Hudson, whose demeanor was still slightly indifferent to him because of how pissed he still was. “She is probably busy at work. We can go without her and inform her of whatever happens there,” Hudson replied under his breath, not believing that he couldn't take a cue of what could be the possible reason for Nadia not picking up her calls. “Alright then,” Carlton slouched back on the seat after he informed the pilot to get the plane ready for takeoff, feeling so uncomfortable with the deep silence that was floating in the air. The tension between them had lessened a bit more than the day Hudson first heard about the relationship he had with his sister for all those years, but he was still uncomfortable saying a word around him to prevent