Kate's brows furrowed in confusion. "Victor? Why're you back again...," she trailed off, her eyes finally finding the suitcases he'd apparently brought along with him.
"Since you refused to stay at my place, I decided that I would stay at yours," Victor winked, smirking as he walked past her and inside the apartment.
Kate's mouth fell open and stayed like that as she whirled around to see Victor's retreating figure striding inside her home.
Unbelievable!
Victor had dropped her off just a little while ago without any more demand to have her stay at his place. Not to mention, he had carried her all the way up and only let her go when she was comfortably sitting on the sofa in her living room. Kate had to agree that it was quite suspicious that he left without a normal goodbye - the one where characteristically he would've told her endless times how to take care of herself, about medicines and all, and call him if anything went wrong. She should have known that the guy had a plan going on.
"Victor!" she shrieked, incredulous. Her feet, with lethargy, followed him. "I told you I'll be fine on my own. I'll take care of myself."
Victor kept his suitcase next to the sofa, then turned to face her with an indignant look. "I know, but I am unwilling to take a risk. Because when last time I went away for a few days, you ended up almost dying in a hospital," pausing, he took a slow breath as if to shake off the bad memory physically, and then his face lit up with the next words. "So I decided that I would take it upon myself to make sure that your health is restored."
"You mean to say you're my self-appointed nurse now?" Kate asked. Just like always, Victor's caring nature touched her heart.
"You got it right," he grinned. "Now, let's cook you some chicken broth."
--
"What do you mean by you sent the divorce papers to my attorney ?! How could you! And that too without asking me." Alex couldn't help but scream in outrage.
His mother shook in deep sobs in front of him. But he was past, knowing how to control his anger. Whatever was left of the ground beneath his feet was quickly slipping away, and he found he was unable to hold steady, fearing there would be nothing left of his sanity.
"Kate gave them to me at the engagement party before she left. I...," Tamara breathed through her mouth, feeling quite helpless herself. "I had yet to know the truth - we had yet to know the truth. So I got your manager and had the papers sent immediately..."
"God damn it!" Alex grunted, cutting in. Not waiting to hear anymore, he whirled around and stormed out of the room.
This was hell. He was in hell, and it seemed like the devil had taken it upon himself to punish him in the proper ways he saw fit. Each one of his actions in the past was now coming back to bite him square in the ass, and he was in an impenetrable maze trying to find a way out.
He stopped only after reaching outside, under the open sky. With frightening chains tightening around his heart, he dropped down onto a bench by the pavement. His eyes squeezed closed as the realization dawned upon him, there was only one way now, and that way could never be without Kate.
--
"Yes, that was the reason I went out of Asthel," Victor said, his hands busy peeling carrots and then cutting them into two-inch pieces. "And it was a success. Red Cult garments have agreed to supply us with the fabrics. However, the final deal is yet to be made. I needed to discuss my plan with you first, and we need to hire people who're experts in tailoring and designing."
Kate smiled from the kitchen table, looking at him working before her kitchen counter like a pro. "You didn't have to wait. You could have finalized everything then and there."
In a sauce pot, he combined a small whole chicken with chicken neck, carrots, stalk celery, onion, and parsley. "I wanted to. You're my partner, Kate, and I value your opinion on my decisions."
Needless to say, he, yet again, didn't fail to make her feel like she was needed, just like always... and since the moment she'd opened her eyes to see him for the first time.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?" After a long, comfortable silence later, she commented, impressed with the way he cooked so skillfully - as he'd himself invented cooking.
"From my mother," after adding enough water to cover the chicken and then putting the pot on a stove, he turned to give her a sheepish smile. "She's a unique parent, I tell you. When we were little, she always used to say - if women don't become like men and men don't like women, and both like each other, then the world can never become a place of happiness and peace. She taught my older sister Karate so that she never becomes a damsel, you know, and I was taught cooking so that I can always take care of my better half." He scratched his head, his sheepish smile broadening.
Kate was awe-struck, in the most positive way. Her lips stretched into a broad, impressed smile. "I haven't met your mother yet, Victor, but I swear I already love her."
Victor grinned. "I can bet my last penny that she would absolutely love you too."
He converted his attention to the now boiling broth and began skimming the foam from the surface. Alongside, he described the recipe and what he was doing to make the broth perfect. Kate listened with concentration, making up her mind already that after getting well, she was going to cook the broth for all of the new ill and malnourished kids they'd brought to Mary's.
Now, thinking about Mary's, she recalled the brunch that was going to be held over there soon. She had planned to bake pies for it and then help the sisters in other arrangements too, all of which were going to be a little difficult to do now, she thought with a mental groan. Victor, her self-appointed nurse and chef, and the cleaner were going to prove to be a formidable obstacle.
She was thinking about a way to make the obstacle soften without hurting it in any way when her phone rang in her hand.
"I can bet it's Ellie," Victor said over his shoulder. He chuckled. "She's calling perhaps to inform you that she's murdered Neil with that freaking pocket knife she carries."
That was farfetched, yes. Nevertheless, if it were to happen, Kate knew she wouldn't be too much surprised.
But it turned out that it was a call from an unknown number. And as she picked it up, there was absolute silence from the other side.
"Hello?" she tried a second time, but no answer came. "Who is it?"
Still, no one talked. A second later, she heard someone sigh. It was a drawing breath - long and meaningful. A feeling of unease settled in the pit of her stomach.
She cut the call with a frown immediately. It must be a wrong number or a prank call, she thought, but was it really?
--
"The news that this company is drowning has spread like a wildfire. We're having problems with the shareholders, our ratings have dropped, and employees are causing chaos. And you want an invitation to an orphanage's brunch?"
"Yes," Alex replied simply to his manager.
His eyes were fixed outside the glass barrier. Streets and buildings of Asthel laid out before him as if waiting to swallow him whole. He heard his manager heaving out a defeated sigh and leave.
He pressed his forefinger to the throbbing vein under the skin of his temple. The knowledge sank more frighteningly into his bones that he was standing at the edge, just an inch away from losing everything literally.
He closed his eyes and saw Kate's face. Smiling, sparkling, crying, moving away, unable to bear the sight of him. His eyes pricked behind the wincing lids.
If out of all the things he was going to lose, he was given the choice to save and keep just one. He would, without a second thought, choose her. And he was doing just that at the moment, something he should have done since the beginning when he still had the time.
~
Wrote it in a hurry, so forgive the errors, please. :)
The cover above the chap has got some stars in it. It means that they're going to see stars soon, in a positive way or negative..., that we, friends, have yet to know. ;)
Hearts are going to mend, and hearts are going to break. And I'm really having a hard time choosing between Alex and Victor. Really. Lara needs your help at this crucial stage of the story. It's like a poll I'm putting up below.
Who do you want Kate to choose in the end?
Is it Alex that you want?
Or Victor?
And people who want Kate to be single and not ready to mingle, you can comment here...
I also want to see what Wattpad readers REALLY like the most. So, come on now, let me know! ;)
Lots of love,
Lara.