A long sigh and a nod later, the two friends walked out of the house. Leila had no idea where Freya was taking them but she allowed her friend to order an Uber.
It felt right to spoil herself silly after years of hard work without a break. Kelvin was right about her needing to take a leave even if it was only for a day.But what was the point?All those years she never took one because there was no place for her to go. She could go home but it didn’t feel like home anymore. It hadn’t felt like one since she found out the truth. Her eyes stung from thinking about that night, the memory was still fresh.Leila looked out the window when she felt Freya’s gaze on her. Freya knew part of the story, she couldn’t tell her everything but she was grateful for her constant support.The cab slowed down in front of a store. A gasp lodged in her throat at the name written in glitters.“What the—?” she was saying to Freya who“I’m not picking,” Leila said.She was pacing. What the fuck was wrong with her best friend? How do you mistakenly hit send on two different pictures? Fucking liar. It was not a mistake.“You have to pick,” Freya insisted.“I hate you,” she spat at her best friend who dropped the phone on her palm.What would she say to him?“Love you too,” Freya murmured.Summoning courage, Leila swiped up on her screen. They spoke at the same time.“It was a mistake.”“I like the red more.”They both laughed. Kelvin murmured, “You go first.”“No, you go first.”Leila traced a circle on the floor with her foot, a fire started in the pit of her belly at the sound of his voice.“I like the red. It’s perfect.”Her voice came out as a squeaky, “I didn’t send the pictures.” Kelvin hummed, she was sure he
Leila’s heart sped up. Her hands moistened and she subtly glanced around the office for any hidden cameras. There was nothing. More than ever, she wished Mike would disappear from her sight.“Him?” she whispered so the unwanted man watching her wouldn’t hear a thing she said.“Yes. Kelvin Michael Clyde. He’s there with you. Yes?” Yes but he came on his accord without her invitation. Leila could already sense her husband’s withdrawal before she spoke. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Leila.”“Kev, wait.”But he already ended the call.Leila flattened her hands on the table, her insides quaked in anger. She warned this guy to stay away from her, didn’t she? This bloody idiot. She opened her mouth to repeat the warning but Mike beat her to it.“Is that him? Your boyfriend?”“Yes.” And he was mad at her because of Mike. “Now, please leave.” Hol
Kelvin would not stop looking at her. It made Leila’s palms itch and the hairs on her arms stood. She almost missed a step under his gaze. He was beside her in a blink, a hand on her lower back. Leila jerked at the current that zipped through her at the skin contact. He arched a brow and she managed a smile.The floor-length gown had an open back, each time Kelvin’s fingers brushed her skin, she felt that current.“I’m ready,” she said while staring at her feet. Her toenails were painted a deep red colour. With her heels, she could look into his eyes without straining her neck but she didn’t. She might lost the little control she had on her nerves.Kelvin held out a curved elbow to her. “Shall we?”Tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow, she nodded. “We shall.”They got out of the apartment in silence, Kelvin held the door of the car open for her, waited until she was seated before he joined h
Leila forgot how to breathe. She forgot how to be Leila.Her husband was kissing her. His lips were pressed to hers and his tongue was seeking entry into her lips. She moaned and his tongue slid into her mouth. A sound barrelled out of her lips when he lifted her off the seat to his lap, he swallowed that sound too and continued kissing her.His groan snapped her out of her trance, she palmed his face and kissed him back with a foreign urgency. Her fingers slid into his hair, she tugged on it from the roots, loving and loving the sound of approval he made. He tasted like wine mixed with chocolate. She loved it. His lips were officially her favourite part of him.They broke apart for air and his hand lowered to her back. The pad of his fingers brushed her open skin and she arched her back in response to his touch. Her body ached for more of him. Their foreheads touched, her fingers caressed her swollen lips and he chuckled. His lips were swollen too so it made them eve
Leila was a wreck. Kelvin didn’t send her flowers today. He left the house earlier so she ate breakfast alone. Leila didn’t realize until she sat alone at the dining table, a large breakfast in front of her, that this new lifestyle, this routine was one of the best parts of her day. She took only a bite before clearing the table.When lunch time came and Kelvin didn’t invite her to Pacific as he always did, she didn’t call him. She waited, subconsciously glancing at the window that should have been decorated with the flower for today.“Your secret admirer sent nothing today?” someone teased. Someone who sounded eerily familiar to Susie. Only Susie could make silly, audacious jokes like that.Leila didn’t look up to confirm her suspicions. If she paid more attention to her laptop and less to that troublesome woman, she would go away. Her vision blurred as she skimmed through the email Amara sent her.The sponsors of Stars
The first man stepped in, suited up like Kelvin. Leila walked to the door, ushering them to their seats while welcoming them. The files had already been placed in front of them and the potential sponsors flipped through pages in silence. Leila took the slight bobbing of their heads as a sign they loved what they read.After the introductions, Leila walked to the front and opened her laptop. She clapped. “Shall we begin?”The man closest to the empty seat with the ashtray in front of it shook his head. “Not yet. One of us is on his way.” The others hummed in agreement. “He will be here soon.”Amazing.The mail mentioned punctuality and they couldn’t even abide by the rule. If it was Kelvin, she would give him a piece of her mind once they were alone.Five minutes rolled by with Leila cursing the person in her mind. If she was a boss, she would never keep her staff waiting. She would never keep anyone waiting.The
The water was not hot enough. Leila dipped her finger into the tub filled with water, it wasn’t as hot as she wanted it to be. Her skin was red from too much scrubbing but she needed to bathe again. She wanted to wash away Charles’s touch from her body; his smell, his presence, his entire existence.Leila got into the tub, and pushed her head under. Bubbles floated to the top of the water, her eyes blurred and her lungs burned from a lack of oxygen. She pinched her nose, counting the seconds. Twenty seconds was her highest under the water but she was counting thirty now. If she stayed here long enough, she might forget.A knock on the bathroom door had her head shooting out, she gasped for air, mouth wide open as she tried to suck in as much air as she could. New record. Forty seconds.“Leila?” It was Kelvin. “Are you there?”“Yeah.” She coughed out more water. “Yeah.”Leila wrapped a towel around her chest, waited for the sound of his fading footsteps before she ente
Leila raised her hands and Kelvin pulled her shirt over her head. Her nipples puckered in response to the chill air that swept into the room. Using her arms to cover her chest, she averted her gaze at his smile. Leila wasn’t flat-chested but she wasn’t large up there either and right now, she was all too conscious of his eyes on her.Prying her hands from her chest, he sucked on her fingers. “Don’t hide yourself from me.”“But you’re dressed,” she murmured in reply and her cheeks heated up with embarrassment.Kelvin chuckled. He set her down and took off his shirt. “Do you want to help?” he asked when he was down to only his briefs. His bulge was pronounced. She shook her head. She was shy, not confident. “Okay.”It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help but she didn’t trust her hands to function properly. Kelvin got back into the bed with her. He pushed her legs apart with one