2026-01-26 05:02:46
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Kara’s POV.He asked me to meet him at an art gallery.A freakin art gallery.At first, he asked me to dress in something nice, which baffled me. I asked him what on earth he meant by ‘nice’ because my office wear was always nice, and he spluttered something nonsensical, but I managed to catch one or two words. It sounded like he wanted me to wear something fit for a respectable night out rather than a business meeting.“You know, something fancy, but not too much?” he’d asked, and I actually pulled my phone away from my ear to stare at it.The audacity of the man!I refused, citing that the office didn’t allow us to wear such clothing during work hours.“Well, you can go home and change after work, right?” Derrick asked. “Don’t worry about transportation, I can pick you up from your place once you’re ready.” That was when I realized this man was trying to convert our work meeting into a date.Two years ago, I’d have been ecstatic to have this opportunity with Derrick. His asking me
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Kara’s POV.“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed, burying my head in my hands in mortification. “How could I have done that?”“It was pretty late, and you said you went to bed late the night before,” Axel pointed out, patting my back in sympathy. “He’s the one at fault here. Instead of distracting you with art, he should’ve allowed you to end the meeting at the right time.”“I shouldn’t have sat down at that easel in the first place,” I muttered. “I know how I get when I draw. It was an easy trap to fall to, and I didn’t even look twice.”“It can happen to anyone, Kara,” Axel patted my back again, but his effort to console me fell short in front of my mortification.“I just hope it didn’t give him any ideas,” I grumbled. “That’s the last thing I want.”I was so stupid, letting myself be tired enough to fall asleep in the office before kicking Derrick out. To make matters worse, I didn’t even remember falling asleep on him. One moment I was awake, painting, and the next, I woke up in the office c
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Watching Jesse draw was a revelation.For the first couple of minutes, as she was getting her canvas ready, she was quite talkative. She was so careful with her painting supplies, and that showcased her love for the craft from the very start.But then she started to draw and promptly lost herself to the process.After the first absentminded ‘mhms’ and ‘sures’ I got, I realized that talking to her was futile. Her mind was somewhere else, and her hand was moving lightning fast, a brush clutched in her hands. I’ve never been much for art, but even I could understand how magical it was to see what Jesse did. And seeing her be so passionate about it, I had to admit that the odds of Jesse being Kara was getting lower by the second.I knew Kara had gone to university for something artsy, but I didn’t think it was actually drawing kind of art. Maybe art history, or something, I wasn’t sure. I don’t think I asked. I regretted that a lot, because if I had known that Kara could draw, I would’v
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Derrick’s POV.Before I came to Jesse Brady's office in the afternoon, as she suggested, to discuss her progress, I had to make a resolute promise to myself.I was going to give Jesse Brady the benefit of the doubt and call her by her preferred name.It wasn’t an easy decision to make but given how atrociously all my interactions with Jesse had happened, I knew I needed to do things differently.No matter how much my conscience cried out that it was Kara, not Jesse, I didn’t know if I could trust myself like that. Because every time I expected Jesse to do something Kara would do, she would prove me wrong, and act in the opposite way.Perhaps she was a long-lost relative of Kara’s; she had been an orphan after all. Or they were merely two individuals who had certain common features.If I wanted to protect my sanity, I needed to see the truth rather than what I wanted to see.So, despite the nagging conviction and the ever-present guilt, I greeted Jesse without planning to play a game w
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After Derrick’s unprompted visit, neither Axel nor I felt like sticking to our original plans, and I quietly asked him if he could drive me back home. Although Axel tried to show that the meeting hadn’t affected him, I could see the tension tightening his shoulders after two years of knowing him.I felt awful. Axel didn’t deserve to be attacked by Derrick like that. I had no idea why Derrick was being so hostile to Axel; he had no reason to be. Axel had done him nothing wrong! Derrick hadn’t been the type to insult people and demean them for their lack of wealth when I was with him, at least, unless it was me. I was his punching bag in the sense that he always accused me of being a gold digger. He was a demanding boss, that was clear, but he did treat everyone else who wasn’t married to him with dignity.So, what was his deal with Axel? Was he just being a jerk to him because Axel was my friend?The ride home was quiet as I tried to find a way to apologize to Axel on Derrick’s behalf
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He was holding her hand.As soon as he saw me, he snatched it back and schooled his expression, but I saw how he’d been looking at her. No man looked at a woman like that without being halfway in love with her.And she was letting him. It looked like she even liked it. Every time I’ve seen these two together, they seemed to enjoy each other’s company immensely, and I couldn’t believe it.Kara was going out with another man while she was still married to me?!How could she? After telling me over and over again that she loved me, the moment she was away from me, she had fallen for another man?It didn’t matter that she had a different name now, apparently, because I would not allow it!No matter what this woman said, I knew she was Kara, and I wanted to prove it, now more than ever. I couldn’t let this Axel, whoever he was, take her away from me.“Mr. Whitney!” Kara exclaimed. “What a surprise! I hadn’t expected to see you so soon.”Swallowing down all my bitter feelings and envy, I smi
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