***
She laid her items in her closet before walking down to her vanity table and taking off her earrings. The day was stressful trying out different quality gowns for the anniversary but it was worth it. She finally found one that was breathtaking, a gown worth to the dollars they spent on it. Holding her top to get rid of it, she froze as her eyes locked with those green ones. Her breath hitched in her throat and she put the shirt down on impulse. She didn't know he would be back today; maybe the meeting lasted for only a few hours for him to have made it home today.
"Hey, we need to talk." He hesitated before adding, "I'll be at the pool when you're done." She nodded in reply letting him walk away from her.
There he stood, in front of the pool obviously lost in thoughts. She couldn't help but feel nervous at the thought of what he was going to say. What if he wants to tell her that the relationship could never work? Besides, he is in love with another and he could guess the same for her. She sighed; she was definitely the only one over thinking this.
"Daniel," He didn't bother to turn to her because he was well aware of her presence even before she called out his name. "You said you wanted to talk?" The silence for a moment was almost deafening but he spoke anyways.
"What do you want for this marriage?" He started off. What was she to say? She wanted them to behave like a normal couple? That would sound hilarious to him. He would think her to be desperate. "People can't afford to see us like this; certainly they would know this is all bogus." She patiently waited to see if he had something else to say. Instead, he turned to look at her.
"I know you must be feeling sophisticated already, this wasn't what you wanted. But the truth is, we do not always get what we want." He paused looking for the right way to say this to her. "Mom and dad's anniversary is in a few days and I wanted us....I mean dad wanted us to pretend everything's okay between us for once."
Clarissa frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"It means we get to behave as if we are together for the anniversary."
"Okay." He raised a brow. "Let's say I agree with you. What happens next? What happens after the anniversary? Are we going to still pretend or what? Are we going to still pretend like everything is alright when it's not?" She scoffed when he couldn't give an answer.
He said, "It is as difficult for you as it is for me."
"Really?" When he said nothing else, she chose to walk away from him crestfallen that he couldn't even make his own choice. Everything wasn't right, she wondered how long till she exploded with all the pent-up feelings within.
He couldn't pinpoint what she really wanted. It couldn't be what he was thinking. She couldn't possibly be wanting chances with him. He had thought of the possibilities once, but no, he wouldn't be deceived by assumptions only. He had been broken once and wouldn't know how to repair the next.
___
Thia had gone into the office for the nth time in the last thirty minutes. She was his private secretary and all but Clarissa couldn't help but get the itch. Seeing her shirt buttons open, exposing her cleavage, the conclusion was quicker than she expected. Something was definitely going on, something interesting enough to put a smile of achievement on Thia's face when she came out of Daniel's office before going in the last time.
"How about tomorrow then?" Daniel raised a brow before throwing the file that he'd been holding on the table.
"For someone who claim to be mature, you behave quite like a child...too curious. Don't you think you should stop with the gestures already? I'm not interested."
But she was bold enough to play with his tie and press further into him.
"You should be careful, I could fire you. The only reason you are still here is because you begged for this job once do you remember. So, I advice you take your hands off me immediately." She paused with her lips ever so close to him. He was getting to her, her expression had began to change to worry and her courage was beginning to fade.
"I was just, I'm sorry i-" She tried but she knew more than to stay another minute. She moved away and quickly adjusted her skirt. When she began to walk away she paused at the sight of the figure that stared at the both of them in disbelief. Thia turned back to Daniel hoping to see something maybe indecision but his eyes were locked with Clarissa's so she walked away from the office. While he, waited for her to make a statement at the scene so he could tell her it wasn't as she thought but there was none from her. She looked away from him praying the burning sensation in her chest would go away. She tried telling herself that the reason she was probably upset was because, she had hopes for them. She felt an itch but an itch could ruin the whole thing for her eventually.
---
What did she think of him now? He groaned when he recalled her taking an excuse claiming to not feel well and went home. She was probably running away from him, avoiding him. She couldn't even meet his stare at the meeting. He had to clear things up really fast. Surely, she isn't meant to think that way of him but the fact that she did, made him worried.
He gripped her wrist when she attempted to walk pass him in the kitchen. "About today," he started.
"It was nice wasn't it?" She interrupted, but he shook his head at her reply. That wasn't what he meant.
"Are you two love birds going to stand there all day or come eat dinner?" Audora called out and she used the opportunity to release herself from his hold and walk away leaving him to sigh in exhaustion.
Now this, was definition of difficult!
***The conversation between Audora and Daniel stopped as soon as Clarissa entered the dining once again. It made her feel as if she had interrupted something very important but Audora gave her a warm smile to ease her discomfort and confusion. Daniel groaned inaudibly as Audora stepped on his foot after a while, bringing him to order. He hadn't even agreed to whatever she was suggesting and she was already concluding. This was what he should avoid without hesitation but Audora wouldn't let him. Once again, he refused to budge. Audora's smile became pronounced when she stepped harder this time making him yelp.Clarissa blinked in confusion. "Are you okay?""Sure. Sure, I'm fine." He replied before sighing in defeat. Walking over to her, he took her hand in his and walked out of the place. While she, stunned to the core, followed him leaving Audora to smile in success.---
***"I know you think that I have something going on with Thia," he started after a while. Her silence showed that she didn't want to talk about it. Like he said, she thought, they were only having a public relationship, not something real so others will not dig up their dirt when they weren't looking. So why does it matter to him? He sighed. "You should know I'm not that kind of person," He paused but she still didn't utter a word. "You have to believe me.""It still wouldn't matter if I did, would it?" She finally said failing to meet his stare. "You said to act together in public, what if it wasn't me but someone else that was at the door, what would they think?""I know what you saw and trust me, there was nothing going on. I happened to be distracted to even notice her come in. I mean she did say she knocked but I guess I was too occupied to notice. The next
***Applauds...The congregation applauded them until they took their seats. As young as Frederick could get, he was handsome, looking a lot like his breathtaking son and Kara, wasn't looking any less.Daniel, on the other hand, had climbed up the podium to welcome everyone to this auspicious occasion. It was made grand and the welcomed guests were wholly wealthy that one couldn't help but feel very courteous and if possible, nervous too."Good day everyone, I'm glad you could all make it. I welcome you all to the 13th anniversary of Mr. Frederick Thompson and his wife, Mrs. Kara Thompson...."Daniel wasn't oblivious of the stares he was getting. He wasn't supposed to be the centre of attraction yet the ladies never fail to notice his attractive physique and alluring voice. He had met the stare of one of the hundreds but failed to hold it for it drifted over to
***---(Flashback)Daniel came interrupting their conversation at the coffee shop. Immediately, their girlish talk was suspended as they now paid attention to the tall guy with dark locks and piercing green eyes."Hey," He pronounced kissing Clara on the cheeks in greeting before sitting next to her. "Oh, hey Clarissa, didn't see you there." Clarissa rolled her eyes at his joke and faked a smile which he returned with an amused look."How did you find me?" Clara asked him and he smiled at her. He said, "I always know where you are sweetheart." She gave him a cheeky smile and he leaned down to lock their lips in a kiss which he didn't fail to lengthen fully aware of the third party seated across them. Clarissa's eyes darted to
Audora ran down thestairs hurriedly before falling into the arms of man. A Blondie with the dark blue eyes. He pulled her to himself and stroked her hair."My love, I missed you so much." He said and she tightened her arms around him in reply. She released him to stare at how well he looked. Staring at him after a long time brought back their memories. She missed him so much, so damn much!"Darius, is that you my dear?" Kara said, smiling immediately she recognized him and engulfing him in a warm embrace."Yes mother, I missed you too." He replied.___ Clarissa noticed that the office was oddly different today. She later discovered Cynthia's desk empty on her way back from lunch. She rolled her eyes at how oblivious she had been to her absence. This was very unusual. Thia was never absent from work exce
***It was the third time she ignored Nick's phonecalls. At every interval, she would catch the stare of all of them, silently urging her to pick the call. She once again rejected it wondering if he would ever stop calling.When she thought it was all over, with every one resuming their action of eating breakfast, she received a text. She froze as the music of her phone sounded in the dining room. Meeting the eyes of her husband who had long ago lost appetite, she forced a smile muttering an apology before checking what the message was all about.'Since you refused to speak to me, I'll come to you and don't try to stop me!'She quickly excused herself from the dining table dialing his number. As soon as it rang, he rejected it. She sent the call again and he did the same thing. She thought for a second before deciding to text him.
***The elevator clicked open and she drifted out of her thoughts staring at the brown headed figure that stood before her. She stared too long that he began to wonder if she would recognize him yet. His smile finally slipped through as she recognized him.Austin!"Oh my goodness! What are you doing here?" She gaped at him in surprise."I came to see Daniel on a project discussion. You shouldn't be so surprised to see me because I will be coming here umpteen times." He smiled genuinely at her and she nodded in understanding.He said, "What happened? You look disturbed."She sighed and said, "You could say that but frustrated could also be the word."He frowned. "Did you two have a misunderstanding?""Huh, what?" She was driven out of trance again."Did you two fig
***The hand wrote on the book with enthusiasm. The black pen against the book was something the writer had gotten accustomed to in a short period of time. He wrote down,Dear diary,For the first time, I'm convinced that I am doing the wrong thing but I can't seem to stop myself. Every passing day I have my patience deteriorating and....He hesitated before sighing and tearing the page off. Closing the book, he threw it on the table and laid on the couch jadedly.---Clarissa quickly turned when she noticed him staring. Presently, she was trying the zipper of her dress but her hands fumbled with the zipper instead. She cursed silently with a groan. She had always done this trick before, so she didn't understand what went wrong.She nervously turned to see if he was still