An internal countdown began the moment the billionaire allowed himself to believe in a fairytale ending between him and Kharis, and even though he knew he was being ridiculously foolish, he still couldn’t stop feeling – expecting – that something bad was going to happen.

On the day he saw Kharis off to the airport, she had just kissed him goodbye but upon turning away to climb the steps leading up to his plane, he found himself holding on to her, his fingers involuntarily tightening around her wrist.

It had Kharis almost losing her footing as she suddenly found herself chained, and she turned to face him again, confused. “Christien?”

He abruptly let go, a flush darkening the billionaire’s high-boned cheeks. “Sorry.” Christien’s voice was terse and slightly uneven.

His bodyguards prudently turned away as Kharis walked back to him. She touched his chest, asking in soft concern, “What’s wrong, baby boy? Missing me already?”

With the question asked in all seriousness, it made him want to smile but more than that, it made him want to haul her closer and never let go.

Don’t leave.

He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling if he let her go now – there was no way he could get her back.

“Christien?”

Telling himself he was being foolish and selfish for making a nineteen-year-old girl worry over him, the billionaire forced himself to smile as he looked down at her. “It’s exactly what you said,” he murmured. “I’m just missing you already.”

Her eyes brightened hopefully. “Then perhaps you’d reconsider---”

Bending his head, he cut her off with a kiss, and as her arms automatically wound around his neck, he murmured against her lips, “No.”

She pouted as he pulled away. “Meanie.” Her tone was grumbling, but her brown eyes were soft and dreamy as they met his.

“Call me?”

She nodded. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

And then she was gone.

Days passed, and his paranoia steadily increased as Fredericka had yet to hear from Karolina Martin. That his internal countdown still continued didn’t help, and he found himself dodging Kharis’ calls again. He knew he was hurting her, but he also knew that if they spoke, Kharis only needed one look at his face and she would realize something was troubling him.

She would ask, and he would have to lie, and he didn’t want that. When they did speak, he wanted to be able to tell her the truth and reassure her that Karolina Martin would never cause her trouble.

The weekend came, and Christien spent most of it inside his office, doing his best to distract himself with work. It was almost six in the evening when the billionaire finally decided to call it a night, and his receptionist handed him a package on his way out. His heart beat hard when he caught sight of the familiar logo on the envelope, which could only mean one thing. This package contained the test results he was waiting for.

He opened the package as soon as he made it back to his penthouse apartment, and his hands shook a little as he pulled out the documents. He did his best not to skim it, trying to read every line, but when the nature of the results became clear---

High suicidal risk…

Unfit for any type of permanent relationship…

Handle on emotions is dangerously unstable…

He realized then that there was no point reading the rest, and the papers fell from his fingers.

So what now, he thought dully. What did he do now?

He waited for Death to speak. He waited for God to give him a sign. He waited for anything – any goddamn clue – that would tell him he could keep Kharis in his life.

But nothing came.

* * *

The next day, the billionaire woke up to numerous text messages from Kharis, all of them filled with cute-as-hell pleas to have a video call. He read them all, and then he deleted them all as well. A part of him already knew what he needed to do, but the larger part of him wanted to delay the inevitable.

Freddie called him in the middle of the afternoon, saying unhappily, “I wish I had better news to share, but your old flame hasn’t returned any of my office’s calls, and I’m guessing she’s either plotting to get you back…” The lawyer paused. “Or worse, she’s plotting to get back at you.”

He tried to make himself care about what she was saying, but the part of him that had already accepted his fate was steadily growing, numbing him, and making him feel like ice inside. What was the point of all this? Why should he go to all this trouble to keep Kharis –if he’d eventually kill himself anyway? Wasn’t it better if he left Kharis now before he could hurt her even more?

“Christien? Are you still listening?”

The billionaire withdrew himself from his thoughts with an effort. “Yes, I’m sorry. I was just mulling over what we should do with Karolina.”

“I say we up the ante,” Freddie suggested. “I could send her a warning about possible legal action just so she knows we mean business.”

“I see.”

Freddie frowned. “You don’t seem to be taking this seriously enough. Ever heard of hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Well, the fury of a mistress fired from her job is about a thousand times worse. A million. A trillion---”

In the background, Christien heard Sergei Grachyov drawl, “Careful, pchelka, or you’ll make di Luca think you’re speaking from experience.”

“Which I am,” Freddie said sweetly, “since I still think Elsa Nilsson is a bitch of the highest order.” Her voice turned brisk. “But that’s beside the point. Anyway, I know this isn’t what you probably want to talk about but – have you told Kharis about this?”

“No.”

Freddie blinked at the tone. She had expected Christien to sound curt or even disapproving since she was being rather meddlesome, but instead the billionaire sounded…tired. Almost…dead.

Clearing her throat, she said uneasily, “Well, you might have to, you know. I mean, you should. You don’t want to risk Kharis learning about her from other people because she might misunderstand things.” Freddie paused, expecting some sort of confirmation, but when none seemed forthcoming, she cleared her throat again, asking, “Christien?”

“Your warning has been duly noted,” the billionaire murmured politely. “Thank you for taking the time to update me, Freddie. It’s very much appreciated.” He ended the call right after, leaving the lawyer no time to reply.

Freddie looked at Sergei as Christien hung up on her, but she was more confused than offended.

Seeing the look on her face, Sergei set aside the contract he was studying and held his hand out to his wife. The moment she placed her hand in his, he pulled her gently to his lap, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s off with Christien di Luca,” she shared uneasily. “He didn’t sound like himself. I think something’s seriously wrong.”

And she was right.

For a long time, Christien stared at his phone, thinking of all the things he should do---

Tell Kharis about Karolina…

Tell her he was sorry he had ever walked into her life…

Tell her goodbye…for good.

But he just couldn’t make himself do any of these things.

So was this the start then, Christien wondered tiredly. Was this where his apathy once again took root in his heart, squeezing the arteries, destroying everything and everyone his heart had come to care for until all that was left was emptiness---

Just like how it used to be.

* * *

When Christien woke up the next day, it was to find his cellphone once again flooded with messages from Kharis.

Kharis: Call me? Text me? Or just let me know you’re okay. I love you.

Kharis: I hope you don’t mind, but I got your friends to check on you. But I also made them promise not to talk to you or anything about us. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And they say you are, so that’s good. That’s really good. It’s all that matters.

Kharis: I miss you.

Kharis: I really miss you.

A not-so-subtle plea for him to come to her, and this from the girl who would rather bear the pain of not seeing him rather than have him spend so much money traveling back and forth to Connecticut.

His fingers hesitated on the keyboard, but when they finally moved, it was not to send her a reply. Instead, he found himself deleting her messages, one by one, and with each deleted message, he found himself remembering less and less how it felt when his heart still beat.

I’m sorry, little mutant, but it’s better this way.

His test results from the hospital were proof of it. He had to start breaking things off between them while he still remembered that she meant something to him.

Another day passed, and when he woke up, there were more messages from Kharis – and one from Karolina, asking him to meet her at the apartment he had been letting her live in rent-free for years.

The passcode to her apartment remained the same, and the billionaire let himself in. The living room was empty, and it was the same with Karolina’s bedroom and the rest of the apartment. He called her immediately after, and as soon as she answered, he asked curtly, “What game are you playing?”

“A game I’m going to win,” his ex-mistress answered in a coldly saccharine tone. “I left an iPad on the coffee table. Did you see it?”

“What of it?”

“Oh, don’t spoil my fun, please. See for yourself. It’s going to be quite a surprise.”

The billionaire walked slowly back to the living room, and taking a seat on the couch, he reached for the iPad, its screen playing what seemed like a Facebook Live video. The crowd on the video was mostly young, college students probably, and they seemed to be filling up a small auditorium. The stage, on the other hand, featured an on-location set for Karolina’s lifestyle show. Her trademark pink tufted sofa was there, her usual vanity table, and---

His gaze narrowed.

The makeshift walls behind the sofa sported a new wallpaper design, and it had C&K embossed all over it. His internal countdown sped up, and he thought, Anytime now.

It was only just a matter of time before he lost everything.

“Have you seen it?” Karolina was asking.

“I have, yes.”

The deadly calm in the billionaire’s tone nearly made Karolina shake in resentment. How dare he take her so lightly? It only made her even more determined to destroy the ugly little brat for good. If Christien di Luca thought he could get away treating her like trash, he was in for a horrible surprise.

Through the video, the billionaire watched Karolina come up the stage and signal to someone off cam. A moment later, the huge screen behind her came to life, and squeals filled the auditorium as it started showing a series of Christien’s photos.

“Care to make a guess where I am?” When the billionaire didn’t answer, Karolina clucked her tongue. “Oh, come on, Christien, you used to be more fun. Or is this what you’ve become after dating a teenager?”

Ah. So this was it then. His internal countdown sped even faster, and he could only think, Anytime now, anytime now.

At the billionaire’s continued silence, Karolina’s teeth gnashed against each other in rage and she hissed, “You think I’m no threat to you, don’t you? Well, you’re fucking wrong.”

Through the video, the billionaire watched Karolina’s lips widen in a smile just as she waved at someone from the crowd. The camera swung towards the latter’s direction, and that was when he saw the girl seated alone on the front row, looking shy but excited.

Kharis.

He sucked in his breath, and the sound filled Karolina with vengeful pleasure. “Your Kharis is so fucking sweet,” she cooed. “When I told her this was going to be a tell-all about your relationship and that I had your blessing, she seemed to think this was some surprise of yours and the reason you’ve been acting weird the past few days.”

With every word she spoke, a picture began to form in his mind, the billionaire able to vividly imagine how Kharis would look when talking to Karolina---

And no doubt it was exactly how Karolina had said, he thought dully, because that was just the person Kharis was.

She’d have smiled at Karolina, her sweet I’m-sorry-for-believing-in-Santa-Claus-but-I-can’t-help-it smile, would probably have thanked his ex-mistress for being so nice. She would have looked straight into Karolina’s eyes, and she wouldn’t have seen the glint of malice in the other woman’s gaze, would never have heard the contempt in Karolina’s voice---

Even when most other women would have known that Karolina meant trouble with just one look, Kharis would have welcomed the other woman with open arms---

I have a hard time believing that another person would want to lie to me or hurt me.

The way rainbows welcomed storms in all its ugly, destructive violence.

“She’s quite the idiot, isn’t she?” Karolina murmured derisively.

The billionaire’s fists clenched. “Don’t do this.”

“Or what? Maybe I want you to beg---”

“Then I’m begging you now.” The billionaire’s tone was harsh. “Please don’t do this.”

But the words only made Karolina want to scream in rage. Why? Why could a stupid teenager make someone like Christien di Luca beg? Why?

“Too late,” she hissed. “It’s going to be a pleasure to tear her apart on live TV---”

The billionaire hung up.

There was no time to waste.

Grabbing the iPad off the table, he tried calling Kharis as he stalked out of the apartment, rapping out orders to his security all the while.

Cut off the feed to Karolina’s TV show.

Put an end to the broadcast.

Get Kharis as far away from his ex-mistress as possible.

Mounting the iPad on his dashboard, Christien sped out of the basement and drove like a madman to the airport while Kharis’ phone continued to ring.

Pick up, baby girl.

Pick up.

Please pick up.

In the video, he saw that the other cameras had started rolling as Karolina’s lifestyle show went live.

Christien di Luca had been dating someone for years, his ex-mistress declared with a wide smile, and today their show had the ultimate scoop about it.

“Anyone from the crowd care to take a guess?”

Numerous hands shot up, but Karolina only had eyes for Kharis.

God, no, God.

Run away, baby girl.

Please run away.

But she did not. Instead, she acquiesced as Karolina beckoned her to come up the stage, and he could see on her face that she had no fucking idea that she was walking into a trap, no goddamn idea that now she would realize she was wrong all along---

And there were people in this world that would want to hurt her, badly.

The billionaire felt sick to his stomach as Karolina and Kharis began chatting.

Do you know Christien di Luca, Karolina asked.

Oh, yes, his little mutant answered.

Are you a fan of his?

I’m his number one fan, Kharis bragged.

Wow! Then do you think you can name this woman he’s been secretly dating for years?

I think so. And stars started to shine in her eyes.

What do you think the first letter of her name is?

K, she returned shyly.

The crowd cheered and applauded, and when Kharis’ eyes shone even more, it ripped his heart into pieces because he knew.

Ah God, he knew that she was thinking right now those C&Ks on the wall were about him and her---

When it was not.

That’s absolutely right. Karolina laughed ruefully after, asking, Or did our walls clue you in?

Just a bit, Kharis admitted with a giggle.

Well, let’s get to it then. If you guess correctly, you’ll win tickets for you and your friends to Nightclub as well as an all-expense paid trip to Miami. How does that sound?

It sounds amazing! Kharis had a look of awe on her face.

Great. Here’s what we do. We’re going to have you face the crowd while we start showing photos of Christien di Luca’s mystery girlfriend on the screen behind you. I’ll then give you three letters, and you’ll tell me if her name has those letters. Sort of a Hangman thing, you get it?

Kharis nodded eagerly.

Awesome. So sit here please---

Karolina placed Kharis on a chair and swung it around to have her face the crowd. Behind Kharis, the digital screen started showing a new series of photos – this time of Christien with Karolina.

The crowd went wild, Kharis started to blush, and the billionaire blanched.

First letter: A! Does the mystery girl have an A in her name?

Kharis nodded eagerly. Yes!

Karolina clapped her hands. Correct! As she spoke, the screen showed another photo of Christien and her, this time with the host seated on his lap.

The crowd hooted, and Kharis giggled.

Second letter: R. Does the mystery girl have an R in her name?

Kharis giggled again. Yes!

Behind her, another new photo popped out, with Christien and Karolina kissing in Paris.

The crowd went aww, and Karolina laughed. Contain your excitement, you guys. We still need one more letter to confirm this. She looked at Kharis. So, third letter: does the mystery girl have a letter I in her name?

Kharis beamed. Absolutely!

You’re correct again, Karolina exclaimed. So can you make your guess now?

A new photo filled the entire digital screen behind them. It was obviously taken from a great distance, but even so the features of the couple on the photo were clearly Christien and Karolina, and equally clear was what they were doing on the balcony of the apartment –

The same damn apartment he had just left.

In the video, Kharis turned to face the camera, heart worn proudly on her sleeve. And then she smiled, saying, “I’m the girl that Christien di Luca is dating.”

The crowd fell silent.

Karolina had a picture-perfect look of gracious embarrassment on her face. “Oh, darling. I didn’t realize you were infatuated with him.”

Kharis turned red, stammering, “No, you misunderstand,” She turned towards the digital screen, saying, “It’s true, we’ve been dating for years, and the photos---”

Her voice trailed off.

And she paled.

Because still on the goddamn screen was the photo of Christien and Karolina having sex.

No. God. No.

Christien left one message after another as he violated every speed limit in his haste to get to the airport.

Please. Let me explain. Please. I love you. Please. Talk to me.

His fingers tightened around the wheel as tears started to sting his eyes.

Please, baby girl. Please.

His vision blurred, and he blinked the tears away, but by that time it was too late. Another vehicle had lost control in front of him, swerving towards his lane, and a split second later, his ears exploded with a thunderous noise as their vehicles collided---

Kharis.

And then everything went black.