Chapter 51
Katrina had never cried over a man quite like this. Let alone cried in front of one, rither And She had certainly never shed a single tear anywhere near where Kylan could see or hear her. No matter how awful he was to her, most especially during her early days at Ross Corp, She never cried in front of him.
Not when he told her that her reports were done poorly, or he yelled for her to find a new cafe for his tea for the tenth t awful he ever got, she never shed a single tear where he could see
time. It didn’t matter how
But now? Now, he had seen her. He had seen her normally professional front crack, and Katrina wasn’t certain how to glue her mask back together
I place Sure, Kylan had been. Well, he’d been truly awful to her.
She was equally as unsure about why her mask had cracked so much, in the firu p yes. But it wasn’t anything she shouldn’t have been prepared to hear.
She signed the contract
e knew the niles.
she
She accepted them.
She was prepared for them.
Weren’t she? Weren’t she prepared for them! Weren’t she prepared to deal with any and all complications this could cause!
She was a PR specialist and a businesswoman. An independent woman who hadn’t ever felt pressured by society to marry for the sake of getting mamed, or to have children just to fit in. Being newly twenty–nine, Katrina hadn’t yet begun to feel the tick of any sort of biological clock, either Even still, it was unorthodox of her to agree to a contract of this sort, to begin with. What was more, it was unprofessional for it to get to this point at all
If she thought back on the last five weeks, she wasn’t sure when the line between professional and personal had become so very entirely blurred.
It scared Katrina to consider the fact that she had more feelings invested in the situation, in her boss, in Kylan, than she ever should have,
How could she not though? How could she not develop feelings for a man that let her see vulnerable parts of himself? How could she not form feelings for a man who made her feel both alive in and out of the office?
Because he did. He absolutely did. He ignited a spark in her soul, in her heart, and in her mind. All of it, everywhere. He did that. Katrina didn’t know how, or why, or if he was aware of what he was doing when he did things like send her meals at home, or held open doors for her. Or when his fingertips grazed her neck or his gray eyes bore into her own like he simply couldn’t look away from her.
Had all of it really been fake! Did he not mean any of it? Was he that good of an actor?
With a man like Kylan, it was hard to know if he was being honest about something like this. The man was nothing if not a connoisseur at hading every emotion he wanted to, whenever he wanted to. So, if he told her none of it held meaning, she was inclined to believe him.
After all, she was his assistant, and he was her boss. She signed up to be his pretend fiance, pretend wife. The bottom line was clear, though it had been blurred as of late.
None of it was rea
It real.
-0-0-0-
It didn’t matter how many layers of concealer she applied, her eyes still appeared both puffy and tired. She frowned at herself in the bathroom mirror unhappy with just how exhausted she really was.
After nearly crying herself to sleep last night, Katrina had awoken to her alarm only a few hours later. She wasn’t sure what to expect from Kylan this morning, and the idea of having to see him. It set her stomach on edge and pushed any thoughts of breakfast far from her anxious mind.
She hadn’t looked for him before taking a shower, and now that she was finished washing and getting dressed in a sweater and cardigan, she wasn’t able to put off going out into the main room any longer.
She took a breath, closing her heavy eyes for a moment. She dug deep, so deep, looking for any and all of her usual professionalism. She would. need every ounce of it if she was meant to get through the day. Especially a day when she would have to see her father one more time before the wedding too.
If Kylan wanted things like this, if her boss wanted things to be like this, she would have no choice but to follow his lead.
Katrina couldn’t exactly force him to admit to any feelings or confusion he might be feeling. And perhaps he wasn’t feeling anything like that, after
Regardless of the hum she was feeling, or her confusion and embarrassment, she would be professional. She
She opened her eyes, squared her shoulders, and then opened the bathroom door.
e could do it. She had no choice.
2:51 PM
Chapter 31
She was startled slightly when she saw Kylan sitting at the table near the balcony in the bedroom. His hand was under his chin, and he was staring out at the Waterfront.
Should she speak first? Did she have anything to say to him? Everything that came to mind seemed like a terrible idea to unter aloud right now.
Kylan turned at the sound of her opening the door, and her stomach dropped when she saw the look on his face. Or rather, the lack of any look on
his face.
He was devoid of emotion, his eyes the most dead and dormant that Katrina had ever seen them. He may have been staring at her, but it didn’t feel like he saw her. Not really.
He was already dressed in a fresh button–down and jeans, his jacket over his shoulders. She wondered when he had gotten ready, and how she hadn’t woken up when he came into the room.
“Good morning. Sir.” Her voice was embarrassingly hoarse, and she tried her best not to outwardly cringe at herself.
“Good morning. Katrina” Kylan’s voice was just as empty as his eyes, and she frowned slightly when he didn’t correct her for addressing him
professionally.
Whatever warmth, whatever peek behind the curtain she may have gotten over the last few days, was gone. Long gone. She could practically see the invisible wall that separated the two of them.
urt and confused her
“I’m not very hungry for breakfast, but I know of a few places you can choose from if you’re hungry” She found that it both hurt to look at him right now. She decided to busy herself with stripping the bed of its sheets for housekeeping.
“I wanted to let you know that I’ll be on the phone most of today until dinner with her father tonight. A few things came up with the Nightfall that needs my attention” Kylan’s tone of voice never shifted from impassive, but she did her best to ignore it
He really wasn’t going to address anything. She was embarrassed and frustrated. She was lost. But above all, Katrina felt lonely. So lonely now, even though Kylan was sitting near her. In reality, She knew he was truly cons away.
“Can I help with anything, Sir?” She saw as he stood from his chair and helped her finish stripping the bed. The bed she had been on with him the night before, wrapped in his arms.
She could recall the feel of his lips on hers, his breath caressing her skin as he groaned into her neck.
It felt like a lifetime ago now, the bed between the two of them more of a metaphor than she was prepared to dissect at that moment.
“No, I’ll be fine on my own.”
ther
With that. Kylan finished peeling one last pillowcase away from the bed and then walked to the doorway. There, he turned around and faced “Make sure you pack your suitcase in the next while, Katrina. I don’t want to miss our flight after dinner”
She watched as he left, the sinking feeling within her gut only growing more prevalent as she saw him take up residence on one of the armchairs in the front room, his laptop open in front of him
She swallowed the sour feeling in her throat and followed his instructions, turning away y from both the bed and Kylan, and beginning to pack up
her suitcase.
