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She listened without paying attention as Damien went back to giving her endless lectures after checking her temperature for the umpteenth time.
She thought of Kellen and the lake again.
She shut her eyes tightly.
What was fate doing to her? There was nothing left in her that could break anymore, but the heavens had found a way to do just that by cruelly bringing him back into her life. Her instincts told her they would meet again and again until he completely destroyed what was left of her broken self.
She was restless. She had been like this ever since she ran into him by chance a few days earlier.
For most of her lonely nights, it felt like cold, clammy fingers were wrapping around her throat, making her want to curl up into a ball, run away, and hide in a corner so she wouldn’t have to face him. Not because she was scared to fight him but because she would have to fight the one she loved.
But as morning broke, the resurrected beams of the sun always gave her strength and determination that seemed to come from a planet that no one else knew about. She fought like hard to keep them inside her feeble, straining hands.
She wasn’t incorrect this time. She had never been.
She also knew that she would stay strong till the end. What else did she have to lose?
The next day, she got to the boutique early. She had a lot of work to do because she had missed work the day before. Damien had told her to call in ill again today, but Lena was determined to get back to work.
She had a lot of bad thoughts and dreams when she had nothing to do. She was better off being busy.
Lola came in late this morning and was all over the place. She was a sullen woman on crack from the moment she walked into the store. Her angry comments made it clear that she was in a bad mood because of a recent breakup. Lena gave her space and waited for Lola to get back to being happy. It wasn’t a big deal to her; breakups and Lola were normal since Lena met her.
Lola grumbled as she led a client to the changing rooms and then stood next to Lena. “Do you know who’s coming to check out our store today?”
Lena put away the expensive hats and looked up at Lola, who, by the looks of it, was starting to feel better. “Who?” “
“Damien has made a deal with the big fish.”
Lena turned to face Lola entirely, quite curious. “Why don’t I know it yet?”
Lena knew this agreement was really significant to Damien. It was his big break. She couldn’t help but feel a bit sad that he hadn’t told her yet.
“He was going yesterday,” Lola said with a click of her tongue. “But seeing you kill yourself—”
Lena cut in, rolling her eyes. “I wasn’t killing myself, for heaven’s sake. It was just a fever, and I didn’t mean to get it.” I just lost—
Lola jokingly flung up her hands. “yes, yes. You got lost in the downpour! Whatever. By the way, why don’t you try writing poetry? Or maybe you already have, and I don’t know about it yet…
And the talking carried on. Lena groaned. “Lola! Please give me the name of this large fish, at least. Damien has been acting like I don’t even deserve to hear the name since I don’t take care of myself, at least according to him.
“Yeah? Was he acting like that toward you? “Don’t worry, Lena,” Lola said with a laugh. “I’ll tell ya.” Then, in a sudden burst of enthusiasm, Lola hopped on her tiptoes. “It’s Kellen Hart!” People say that his wife beat him up one night because he was cheating on her with a royal bitch. After that, his wife disappeared. People believe that Kellen Hart killed her and then buried her body in his garden. The guy seems to be a lunatic alpha male who couldn’t handle the fact that one small woman completely destroyed his ego.
Lola started unloading her bag of facts as Lena stood frozen in place. This was just her luck.
The ground beneath her feet suddenly seemed like it was spinning, and she had to grasp onto the rack next to her for support.
Lola then saw Lena’s pallid complexion and beads of perspiration on her forehead. “Oh, my God! Lena? Please don’t pass out on me now. Please. Is the fever coming back? Are you scared to hear the scary story of Kellen Hart? Lena, shit. They were probably lying in the tabloids. They do that all the time. I think Hart’s wife really did hit him, but maybe she just fled away after that. Oh my word, I need to stop talking now! “
Lola pulled Lena to the little office of the boutique by grabbing her by the shoulders. But the sound of a car coming to a screeching halt made them stop in their tracks.
Lena’s eyes grew bigger, just like Lola’s.
“Don’t worry, Lena,” Lola said as she hit Lena on the back. “Even if he really is a crazy killer and grave digger in the backyard, don’t ever forget that I AM HERE, okay? You know how skilled I am at punching people in the nose, and I have a little knife hidden in my bra. All the time.
Lena didn’t hear a word, Lola said. This time, the girl’s endless talking didn’t get her attention off of what was happening. She could feel his footsteps getting closer and closer every second. Her skin prickled, and her heart raced.
It was frustrating that she still reacted to him like she used to. She had been a fool to give someone so much power over her heart, and now, even after being apart for so long, it was impossible to get rid of him. So she remembered the last thing she had seen of him: the hatred in his eyes.
Lena took in the bad energy, the horrible taste of death, and all the darkness it brought with it as if it were a miracle. They came together and became the type of power she had never known existed. Even though it seemed like it was going to destroy her, she held on to what she had.
Damien’s voice chirped behind her.
“…  And here is the girl I told you about. My support, the lifeline of my stores, Lena.”
Lena slowly turned around. She heard Lola say something from the sideline, but all she could think of were the lovely eyes that haunted her dreams—through the love she had once admired in them and the contempt she had memorized in them.
She let out a trembling sigh as she saw the horror on his face. The attempt seemed disgusting. Still, she grinned at her own ruin, which made her appear so weak in front of her.
Kellen’s chest felt like it was on fire. He couldn’t believe she was there in front of him again.
People dubbed these “infernal interventions of fate.”
The pain that was getting worse spread to every cell in his body. It felt good, like when he saw her. He watched her smile, and for a split second, his lips twitched. That was the best he could do to smile. He saw that her smile didn’t show any happiness; it showed everything else.
His fingers were clenched at his sides. He didn’t want to look at her. It was too much.