LOGINDamien took Lucas from her, steadying him by the arm. Lucas went with him without much protest since he was dozing off, though he turned back once to look at April with that same softened expression.She looked away, while Damien's personal driver appeared beside her and held out his hand. She blinked in confusion."Lucas's keys," Damien said over his shoulder. "Check his jacket, they should be in his pocket."April reached into the jacket Lucas had left hanging over the wall and found the keys. She handed them to the driver, who nodded and walked toward the car park.She watched Damien fold Lucas into the passenger seat and watched the door close. She stood on the pavement with her bag still on her shoulders as she watched Damien's car pull out and disappear down the road.The car park was quiet as she stood there for a moment. But then she noticed Damien’s driver beside her, she almost screamed in fear.“I'm sorry, Mr Cole asked me to take you home”he explained and she calmed down
The week ran down till it was Thursday. Maya, one of April's colleague who did the evening shift Tuesday to Friday, sent a message to the staff group at half past two saying she had food poisoning and needed someone to cover for her. The group chat was quiet but there were several read receipts and then one by one, the people who were on shift stated they couldn't extend since they had other things to do. April read the message too, she looked at the time and at the message again. Maya was supposed to continue from where she stopped as the evening shift ran from five until close and she had already done her full day but no one was stepping up to replace Maya and even though she's tired and had plans of going home to help her mom with dinner, hang out with her dad and also sleep at a reasonable hour, she had to help Maya out. She looked at the message a third time.She typed: [Don't worry, I'll cover for you]Maya typed, “Thank you so much, April. I owe you one”The manager also sen
More days passed and April was getting used to the way things went. The lunch crowd at Soleil arrives all at once, with no warning and zero patience.By half past twelve, every table in April's section was full and the counter had a line that curved towards the door. She moved through it, her notepad in hand and a smile planted on her face. Her body felt like it was on autopilot while her mind ran the checklist, “Table four needed a refill…table seven had been waiting eleven minutes for their order”she noted“Ooh, the gentleman at the counter wanted to know if the kitchen could do something without pepper” she knew the answer was no but she needed to still go and ask. She liked this and that was still the surprising part. She found that the movement of it suited her…the way there was always something to do and it left no space for her thinking of unnecessary things.Her phone buzzed in her apron pocket but she couldn't check it, not during the rush. It took a week before she learnt
The dining room of the Cole's was always too large for two people. It had been built for gatherings, for the kind of family dinners that filled all twelve seats and required the staff to move between courses in an organised, soundless choreography that large houses demanded. But now it was Jonathan and Marie, at opposite ends of the long table, with the space between them and the clink of cutlery the only sounds being made.Marie had something bothering her, Jonathan noticed so he asked as she refilled her wine. "Amber called," she said.Jonathan didn't look up from his plate yet. "What did she want?""To talk," Marie said. "But she sounded calm.""Good.""She has been calm for weeks," Marie said. "Even with Adrian out of the country." She set the glass down. "It's unusual."Jonathan looked up, but not because the information surprised him, he was just accessing whether the information was worth his attention. "Damien is the calm one, but…Maybe Amber has decided to change? There's
[Damien’s Mansion]Damien was back from the office in the evening and he went to his room first but something went through his mind causing him to frown, so he headed for Ava's room.The bedroom was dark when Damien came in, not completely dark though. Ava had left the small lamp on the side table burning at its lowest setting after turning off her room lights.She was at the wardrobe, pulling out her pyjamas, when she heard the door open but she didn't turn immediately."Your timing is impeccable," she said."Your door doesn't lock properly," Damien replied, acting like he was trying to fix it but since it wasn't bright enough he turned on the lights."My door locks fine, why are you here” “That's not how to talk to the man you love, plus I'm serious your door lock has a problem” Ava turned around. Damien was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, jacket off, shirt still on from the office and he was looking at her like he could never ever get enough of her beautiful
[Next day- almost midnight]Lauren's apartment was quiet in the particular way it got after a full evening. She had changed out of her dress and was in her favourite oversized shirt, her hair down and her face washed, when she heard the doorbell.She looked at the time on her phone, Eleven forty-two.She walked to the door and looked through the peephole, then stood there for a moment with her hand on the frame because she knew the person.Victor Kane was standing in her hallway.He was still in the clothes he wore to the office today, dark trousers, a white shirt with the top button open the way he always wore it, his jacket folded over his arm. He had his other hand in his pocket and he looked, through the narrow circle of the peephole, completely relaxed.Lauren stepped back, she had been avoiding him all day so why did he come here?She opened the door, "It's almost midnight," she said."I know what time it is," he replied.She leaned against the doorframe and looked at him. "How
The Cole mansion in the evening carried its usual quiet. Amber stood at the window in the sitting room with her phone in her hand and her arms crossed. She looked disturbed, like she had been trying to ignore a feeling for days but it was going nowhere till she officially ran out of patience with h
Morning arrived gently into the mansion, the kind of soft pale light that came through high windows and touched everything slowly. Ava lay still for a moment before opening her eyes properly.She stared at the ceiling and then she smiled as she pressed both palms to her face.She was in love with D
Ava stood there, chest still heaving, her words were already out and floating between them.She has confessed her feelings and it was impossible to retrieve it now.She watched his face for something, anything, a reaction she could read and prepare for. But Damien's expression did what it always di
Two days later, the city felt like it was turning into fuzzy town, all because of the Greystone Charity Ball.The Greystone Charity Ball was one of the city's most anticipated events of the year. It was held annually at the Vantage Grand hotel. A hotel so ancient and so unapologetically beautiful t







