Sawyer and I were sitting at the park.

Warm rays of the golden sun slowly intensified as time went by in pure silence. Unless one counted soothing whispers of morning wind, murmurs of trees, and chirping birds.

Including, those noisy humans around us.

A tired sigh escaped my lips as I stretched my sore legs.

God knew how much longer we were about to sit and wait for nothing.

Yuvan had been waiting for me at home.

"Sir, can we leave now?"

Silence.

I pressed my lips tight at the ignorant man who was sharing this black iron bench with me.

"It's getting late, Sawyer."

"Not yet."

I huffed and flailed my arms before crossing them over my chest.

Two words.

Only two fucking words in two damn hours!

Was that a joke?

I was at my wit's end, clearly on the verge of unleashing my fury disregarding my position.

And, I opened my mouth to speak my mind too.

That was when I notice Sawyer's eyes glinted brightly as he grinned at something on his left.

With a slight frown marring my features, I followed his gaze.

My narrowed eyes widened as I saw Devon from afar in his quarter-sleeved, sky-blue tracksuit from the morning.

He was jogging in his white sports shoes.

And, he was all smiles toward a blonde beauty in a black sports bra and shorts running beside him.

Cara Rachels.

Devon's father's oil-merchant friend's only daughter.

Deep pocket and darling face.

That was Cara Rachels.

My heart seemed to bleed raw as I saw her crystal blue eyes twinkle at Devon's copper brown ones.

They looked... Happy.

I licked my dry lips and took deep breaths to suppress the burn in my flaring nostrils.

With a gulp, I blinked a couple of times to clear my now blurry vision.

No. No, Mirasol.

No showing weakness.

I cleared my throat, still staring at them.

They were going to a secluded corner behind those five-feet long green bushes on our right.

"How much time, Sir?"

No response.

Right. I had to call him by nickname.

"Sawyer, how-"

"Aren't you curious?"

I sent him a cold look in return.

"Why should I?" I spoke in a calm tone, betraying the raging storm in my heart.

Sawyer's honey-gold eyes bored deep into my gray ones.

With no smirk, no-nonsense look for the first time.

Only a somber, blank expression.

"I suggest you go after them, Hayes."

I offered him a small smirk.

"Why?" So that I could burn a little more?

I sighed and looked ahead.

"Let's go, Sawyer. We've wasted enough time."

I stood up and stepped forward.

Only to have a strong hand hold my nimble wrist in a gentle yet firm grip.

"For your questions to get answered."

My weeping heart trembled at his deep, raspy tone.

I looked away to hide my blurry vision.

"Why do you care, Sir?"

A long moment of silence.

Just as I thought this conversation was over, Sawyer's deep voice rumbled.

"I don't care about you. Don't fool yourself. My only concern is my colleague's mental health. I don't want any heartbroken woman in my workplace. She could threaten the service quality of our showroom. And, I don't want that. So go, Mirasol. Get your answers and come back without any mental baggage. Run fast! You'll lose them!"

I didn't know what happened to me. But as soon as those harsh words drilled into my mind, I began to rush.

My sneakers crunched the fresh grass and dry leaves beneath my feet as I pumped myself up against the hard, slapping wind.

Sweat dripped down the side of my cheeks as dread coiled deep in my stomach.

I was still not sure what I'd get out of this chase. But one thing was certain...

My heart would finally be at peace.

I'd free myself from this long burden of dwelling between hope and reality.

Between chance and choice.

Between love and heartbreak.

I slowed down my pace as I neared the bushes of my height.

With a drumming heart and stealthy steps, I edged closed the bushes.

My ears strained as frantic low voices mumbled inside the green heaven.

I dared to take a little peak further, pressing myself closer to the prickly body of the wide bush entrance.

Devon and Cara were standing behind a tall brown tree. Their backs were facing me as they stared ahead at the clear blue pond full of pink lotuses.

I leaned my head to the side to listen closely.

"How much more time do you need, Devon?" Cara spoke with thick despair in her voice.

"I'm close, my precious. Just a few more loose ends need to tie up and we'll be done." Devon caressed her left cheek as he offered her a tender smile.

I gulped a thick lump, my heart clenched hard at the sight.

Silent tears trickled down my cheeks as Cara held his hand over her face and smiled back.

"I know, Devon. It's just that Dad's pressing me for marriage more these days. I need to give him a positive answer. Besides, that PA of yours-"

Devon clicked his tongue, waving his hand as if chasing away a fly.

"She's not a bother to us, my precious. She never was. Don't worry. Besides, I got rid of her so she's old news."

A stone heavier than before pressed down upon my heart. More so than his blatant disregard for my feelings, albeit, unknown to him.

His last words swirled in my mind.

Got rid of me...

What did that mean?

I wiped my damp cheeks with a somber look on my face as I looked at the couple.

"Really? That's good news! Finally, she's out of your life." Cara breathed out with a smile while clutching her chest.

Devon chuckled.

"No, babe. Not out of life yet. Just the office building."

Cara pouted her red lips as she frowned.

"No! Why couldn't you just fire her for, I don't know, getting the alphabetical order of files wrong."

For some reason, her words made a smirk appear on my face.

I might make mistakes but getting a simple order wrong?

She was naive if she thought I was that idiot.

Even Devon knew that.

Maybe, that was why he did not laugh at Cara's cheap joke this time.

"No, my precious, it's not that simple. She's a topper with an MBA who's working here solely on uncle Jones's request. He was her professor at Yale. Getting her out of Trexon Empire won't be easy."

"Then what did you do?" Cara frowned.

Devon offered her a cold smirk, making a chilling shiver run down my spine.

"The oldest trick in the book, babe. I made her overwork with short deadline periods. For six sneaky slow months. The result was as expected."

Cara smirked back in response.

"She finally made a mistake."

Devon chuckled, wrapping his around her and bringing her closer.

"Nu-uh... Not just a mistake. A grave error in the report that could've been a deal breaker for us. But she didn't know I had already prepared a fool-proof copy of that file days ago."

Cara snorted as she snuggled into his broad chest.

"Serves that old-fashioned grandma right!"

I clenched my fists tight, fresh hot tears trickled down the curves of my chin.

A raging inferno boiled inside me, fueling my blood to seek their destruction.

I could have let them go for hurting my feelings.

I could've forgotten the humiliation of my demotion.

But how would I forgive them for the sick game of conspiracy?

How would I live knowing my loyalty was nothing but a source of entertainment for them?

For Devon...

I closed my stinging red eyes, pressing my head against the prickly body of the bush.

My lips threatened to hurl a heart-wrenching sob when I clenched my jaw hard.

Gathering my last bit of self-restraint, I rubbed sticky tears off my cheeks and walked away from there.

Silent and somber. Just as I had arrived.

When I was far away from that bush, I fastened my pace into long strides.

I crossed the bench where Sawyer had been sitting hunched over. He straightened up as soon as he noticed me.

"Hayes, what's wrong?" Sawyer jumped up on his feet with a rare, deep frown.

But I was far too busy to think over anything else.

I jogged out of the park, constantly wiping tears off my face.

"Hayes, wait!" Sawyer called out from behind me.

I was about to jump up on the sidewalk when a sudden thought crossed my mind.

Frozen on my feet, I barely had the time to register the rapid honk of a rushing car on my right.

Just as I looked at the fast-approaching silver vehicle my way, a strong hand gripped my arm and pulled me to the safe side.

I jerked forward, hitting my head with a white chest.

A strong fragrance of spicy cologne struck my nostrils and I felt my head spin.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Mirasol!"

I closed my burning eyes as a pair of firm hands jerked my shoulders.

"Speak the fuck up!"

I remained silent in response.

Sawyer's heavy breathing and cologne mingled with my hazy mind.

The combination proved to be dangerous as they only dazzled my mind further.

And, not in a good way.

Sawyer took one last deep breath and left my shoulders.

"Hayes..." his deep voice was somewhat soothing as he spoke. "What happened in there?"

"What you wanted to happen, Sir."

The busy air around us thickened with tension as I opened my gray eyes to the world.

The bright, hot sun glared down at me. Cars beeped around us. Pedestrians thudded on the hard concrete. The stale smell of cigars and roadside rubbish hit my nostrils hard.

All along with Sawyer's strong, heady, manly fragrance.

His honey-gold eyes pierced at my intense gray ones.

Where was that smirk now?

Wasn't this the perfect moment for him to show me his smug face?

"What?" Sawyer raised his left brow, speaking in a cold tone.

I decided to do the smirking job this time.

"Congratulations, Sawyer Ronnes. You achieved your goal of the day."

Sawyer frowned hard, making me let out a humorless chuckle.

"Come on, Sir. Don't act like you didn't want me to suffer seeing De- Mr. Harlington and Ms. Rachels together."

Sawyer pressed his lips tight and looked away.

My smirk widened as a lone tear trickled down my left cheek.

The burning in my bleeding heart intensified.

"You knew didn't you, Sawyer? About my feelings for Mr. Harlington?" I leaned forward and whispered below his left ear.

I felt Sawyer stop taking his breath. He stared at me with his stone-cold eyes.

And, they spoke volumes.

Leaning back, I offered him a trembling smile and sniffled.

"Thank you for showing me the truth, Sawyer. For teaching me once again no one is worth your trust and loyalty in this world."

Was it I or Sawyer did flinch a little at my words?

Must have been the deception of my blurry eyes.

I let my lips stretch into a pathetic grin, shaking my head slowly as I looked away at the bustling world.

"Not a single damned soul..."

❤ Such a heartbreaking moment...

Hey fieries,

Welcome to another of my twisted adventures aka stories. This one is more of an upbeat kind since I'm experimenting with the narrative voice. I have yet to see how it turns out. Hopefully, for the better. Fingers crossed.

If you're reading this now, that most probably means the story has piqued your interest long enough to last this much.

I hope to keep up with your high expectations in future chapters as well.

Till then, do your humble author a little favor and tell me what you think of this story so far. Good, bad, or bleh?

Take care of your mind, body, and soul, fieries.

Love you always ❤