KATE I was about to board the flight to Vancouver, waiting in the lounge next to my boss. Five days. Five days had passed with no message or call from Nathan. My heart was in pieces. He didn't want me anymore. That was the conclusion I reached after all these days. It wasn't just a burst of anger, as I wished; I had really hurt him. What's worse is that it was all my fault. I would never have gotten close to Niels if I had known. I had no idea they were so close; I was just living my life and trying to forget him back then. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, everyone found out about us right after he told me to disappear. On Monday, they published a photo of us on the cover of a gossip magazine, holding hands as we left the restaurant. I wondered why Nathan didn't avoid that. Did he know about it before they published it? If he did, he didn't do anything to stop it. Why? I tried to bury myself in work to try to forget everything that was happening, but I couldn't.

NATHAN "Kate? Kate?" She was crying; someone tried to abuse her, and she was bleeding. It couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. I panicked. What was going on? Where was she? What did it mean? Damn it! It couldn't be! I kept calling again and again, pacing back and forth in my room, but the damn phone kept sending me to voicemail. I tried not to lose control; my heart was pounding in my chest. She must have been in Vancouver. Had she gone on that damn trip? I was about to contact my team to find out exactly where she was when her name appeared on the screen. I answered. "Kate? Please, tell me where you are." "Good evening!" It wasn't her; it was a woman's voice. "You are the last name on the recent call list; are you familiar with Ms. Katherine Collins?" "What happened? Where is she?" "Ms. Collins is being taken to the hospital now." Damn it. I struggled not to shout at the

NATHANShe seemed sadder now that we were back. Seeing the sadness in her eyes was killing me inside. It was raining heavily when we arrived. I escorted her to my room."Do you prefer to stay in another room, or do you want me to sleep somewhere else for now?" I didn't know if she needed space or if she wanted to be alone. I watched as she sat on the bed, looking anywhere but into my eyes."No. It's your room. I already feel bad enough for being here after what you...""I've already told you to forget about that. If you change your mind, I'll leave anytime; you just need to say.""Why are you doing this?""I want you to be comfortable.""No, not that. Why are you pretending like nothing happened? Like we're okay?"Why? Because she was my priority, damn it."Kate, my priority is knowing that you'll be okay.""And what about your feelings?""I'm not doing this out of pity if that's what you're thinking. I'm d

KATE"You must be kidding," he said as I parked in front of the La Perla store on Madison Avenue. I laughed."I said James couldn't buy it.""So you need my approval; is that why I'm here?""Don't be grumpy," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt and leaning in to kiss him. "Let's go."A smiling blonde approached us as we entered the store."Hello! How are you? Can I help you?" She ogled Nathan while he looked around, scanning him from head to toe."Hello! I want to try some pieces from the new collection.""Sure, follow me."We exchanged names, and I picked out some pieces to try on before she led us to the fitting rooms, leaving me alone with Nathan."Have a seat." I pointed to the salmon-pink sofa across from the mirror."Kate... this doesn't seem like a good idea. Not now.""It's a great idea." I smiled.I entered the small cabin to try on the first piece, a white set with floral designs and a ga

KATE "I had to see it to believe it. So, it was him all along? Ryan?" John asked with a familiar smile. "Huh?" "You made me think you hated him. But my suspicions were right after all. Love and hate always go hand in hand, don't they?" "Sorry, John, it's complicated." "Do you trust him?" "Why are you asking that?" "I don't know. It's weird, considering he was your boss." "Are you trying to insinuate something?" "Some people just can't accept that they've lost." Nathan appeared behind me, placing his hand on my back. His tone was irritated. "Excuse me," John said, stepping back. "I'm not your damn trophy, Ryan," I growled between my teeth, pulling his hand away. "No, you're not. You're the woman who just put me in an embarrassing situation with my cousin and my friend." "Like all the times I bumped into the fucking wo