HANA Michael suggested a hundred things we could do together, like the mall which I don’t find attractive at all, or the restaurant where I don’t want to spend more money or the church where the god whom I don’t believe exists. I wanted to spend more time with him, but given the circumstances, it felt highly inappropriate. He is here to deal with his father’s death. I do not want to stop him for me. All my thoughts started to drift back to Bash. He will be gone for five days. “Are you alright?” Michael asked me, he held my hand as we walked to my apartment. I nod my head. “You still feel like a little girl who used to hold my hand for every party because she was afraid, she would get lost in the crowd.” I smiled. “I have grown up now. But I am still lost. I have been lost for a while now.” “It’s okay. We all take time to find ourselves.” He hugged me one last time, gave me his card and shared all the social media IDs before he le

HANA There are so many things I concluded after reading Rose's letter. 1- Bash is not Xavier's biological father. 2- His biological father is a monster. 3- There was someone named Cillian and Sebastian who helped Rose escape from wherever she was. Perhaps they named these two cousins after them. 4- Xavier is a wonderful human being. 5- His wife killed herself. Now I wondered what Bash thought of me every time he looked at me. Does he see his mother? Because I made that decision before to end my life. But I will worry about that later. I need to see Bash now. The first thing I did was to book a flight for the next day. I slept at Bash's home that night and he was so happy I did that. I counted every second until it was morning. I looked at the mirror and practised smiling. It's nothing new to me. I had to put up an act if I had to get to Bash. Then I called Shalini. "I need a dress," I tell her. "What's the occasion?" She asked me. "It's surpr

HANA There is something I always do whenever I feel uncomfortable around people, analyse their personality and height so that I can plan my escape. Surely, Cillian is not paying attention to his south so I could kick, maybe twist his arm but he is too big for me. If he captured my hands, it would be hard. So I analyzed how I could bring him down to his knees if he tried to do anything to me. So far, nothing. He took a step forward, and I tried to stand my ground but it was too difficult because he was reeked of alcohol. It makes me want to throw up everything I eat for lunch. It's the middle of the day for goddam sake. He took another step forward, caging me between him and the wall. An evil smirk spread over his lips. I didn't feel threatened when Bash did the same. Cillian's large hand came around my neck. He gave it a light squeeze. His thumb grazed over my lips. Just a touch I am going back to the days of my middle school. "Stop," I begged, squeezing my eyes

HANA "You ran away from your marriage?" I could see Shalini's big brown eyes widen in apparent shock. She looked at her surroundings. Everyone is having their lunch, and no one is paying attention to us. She leaned closer, removing her ID card as though it was coming in her way. "Is that why you tried hard to get an on-site offer?" She asks me. I nodded my head and grabbed my water bottle. It's not what happened but it's Shalini's reaction that was making me feel like I was on adventure. "They didn't come after you?" I think about the question. They didn't come until Bash had cancelled Violet's wedding with Cillian. I don't know how to explain that. So I shook my head, saying no. "You did a very good job, you know that? You don't strike like a person who is going through a lot when people see you." I smiled at her words. "My friend, Ravali had married a guy her parents chose even though she wanted to go abroad for studies. That

HANA I parted my lips to feel more of his. But all I got was a graze of his lips. "What's your safe word?" He asked me against them. "STING," I breathed. He dipped his thumb into my mouth and I sucked, feeling hot and aroused. "Yes," He growls. "It's STING, Hana. I don't take no and you are not allowed to say no to me. Do you understand?" I nod my head frantically as he sucked on my lower lip. "Remember, when you said, no, at the end of the day, I'll command your body. And the shit you talked about in my office, I'm not taking it." "There's no other way Bash." I protested. He bit my lip as a punishment. "All you have to worry about is how you can get away from me. Because I'm not leaving you anytime soon now." I was supposed to be scared but I felt myself becoming wet. "Bash," I breathed tugging at the tie around my hands. Bash palmed my breasts, making me arch my back. He squeezed them hard, taking on