26 years old successful millionaire and CEO of Eva's and Co., Evelyn White has committed suicide by drowning in a pool of shame in her apartment on Monday night.

Now that would be a good headline. At least the reporters will be benefited by my death. Maybe they'll be more genuine than others while praying for my departed soul, I thought solemnly as I watched the blurry images disappearing behind me.

Okay, if you people are wondering how that thought occurred to me, let me tell you, I was currently in Adrian's car, beside him, in the passenger seat, as he drives, headed to...

His place.

Yup, that's right. And that was the reason I had been wondering if it was possible for someone to die of shame.

Earlier, when I'd finished my works and was headed to the parking lot to get home, the devil was already standing right in front of my building with his stupid car and the already open passenger door.

By now, I don't think I need to mention his irritating smirk. 'Cause it's a given. You just need to assume that he was always smirking until mentioned otherwise. And that otherwise was close to never. Or very rare at the least.

I still didn't know how he managed to convince me, more like lure me into going to his place willingly, but I vaguely remember the mention of hot chocolate and his car. And my greedy self lacking self respect didn't stand a chance.

Damn you, Stone!

I was still cursing the devil and my stupid, greedy, in-need-for-a-solid-whack-against-the-head self when the car came to a stop. I realised that it was only about a twenty minutes drive away from my office.

Not surprisingly, Adrian lived in a penthouse. Surprisingly, his place was very cluttered. By his attitude, one would've thought that he would be a very neat person, a clean freak, even. But the first thing I saw when we entered his living room, besides the boxes of pizza, cookies crumbs, men's clothes and scattered DVDs, was a thong hanging off a leaf of a plant at a corner.

A yellow thong.

I didn't even know yellow thongs existed in the world. Who even chose to wear yellow thong? That was just unappealing in so many levels. Deep down, I felt something piercing in my heart at the sight of that weird female underwear in his living room, which was not a good feeling at all. But I just forced my brain to focus on nothing other than the thong. I mean, the color of the thong.

Adrian let out a string of curses as his eyes followed my cringing ones and his jaw clenched in anger. His eyes looked livid, as of ready to kill someone. Perhaps the housemaid for leaving out that important piece of clothing for laundry, I thought bitterly.

"Seems like your girlfriend left a souvenir for you." I commented and watched as his expression suddenly turned from angry to a horrified one, as if he'd just realised what it looked like from my view.

"Evelyn, it's not... she'e not... I mean, that's not my girlfriend's." He stuttered and I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, so a one night stand then. I didn't take you as a type to bring them home."

His eyes widened even further. "No! I don't bring them home! I mean... that's not my one night stand either!"

"So you're cheating on your girlfriend, then?" I couldn't help blurting that out as it was getting harder for me to accept the truth. I didn't even know why I was feeling this way. It was not like he owed me anything. It was no business of mine if he had a girlfriend or a thousand for that matter.

"Goddamnit, you annoying woman! Would you just listen to me?! That. Does. Not. Belong. To. Anyone. I. Know. I don't have a girlfriend so I'm NOT cheating on anyone. And that's DEFINITELY not my one night stand." He yelled, grabbing my shoulders and looking at me in the eye. It was the first time he'd raised his voice in front of me. Not even that day in my office when we had a fight. But I saw sincerity in his eyes and I knew I'd jumped into conclusions without thinking. Because from what I'd known about Adrian so far, I knew he was always honest.

My facial expression must've resembled a stupid retard with deer-caught-in-headlights eyes since he released my shoulders and let out a sigh. I totally blamed the sudden chill in my skin at the loss of contact to the increasing cold in New York. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and let out another string of curses.

"That fu-. That bloody bastard. I'll kill him with my bare hands. That son of a... " He pulled out his phone from his pants and started typing on it furiously, still cursing. I had a feeling he avoided the use of a certain curse word with an f... and other explicit words due to my presence, which brought up a small smile on my face.

He finished typing and put his phone back in his pocket. He then raked his hands through his hair and looked at me. "I'm sorry I lost my control. It's not what you think, okay? Come on, I'll explain everything to you."

He took my hand and led me to his kitchen. I silently thanked him for that since I was not comfortable with the idea of spending any more minute in the living room. And I didn't want even want to think what his bedroom looked like. No way.

"You can sit here for a while. Make yourself comfortable. I'll just go and change quickly, okay?" I nodded and he walked away, giving my hand a little squeeze before releasing it. I ran my left hand over my right one, which he had been holding and tried to see if I had some skin disorder that is associated with this tingly feeling as a response of touch.

It didn't have the result as I'd expected. Maybe it needed another human's skin contact. Or perhaps some arrogant devil's skin contact. I shuddered with the thought, ignoring the fluttery, jittery feeling I felt at the thought of the said devil's touch.

Lost in my thoughts, I was startled when a sudden whiff of fresh cologne hit my senses and I looked up to see a very fresh looking Adrian Stone in a simple white shirt and white trousers. That suited him so well. His entire place was gray themed and white made him look right at home. The front two buttons of his shirt were open, displaying a nice, smooth portion of his chest. Not that I was paying attention to it. Nope. I was in no way a pervert to pay attention to that.

"You're still standing?" He asked, surprised to see me standing there like an idiot, the same way he'd left me. I was so busy with my little... experiment that I didn't even think of sitting down. One would think I was not used to chairs or couches to sit.

"I didn't know if the chairs were clean. Didn't want to take any chances after witnessing that piece of clothing." I half teased him. That was something I'd wondered when Adrian left me here. It's another thing that that was not the real reason I was standing for so long, but he didn't have to know that.

He grimaced in reply and shook his head. "You don't have to worry about it. The kitchen is off limits to my brother. Even if it wasn't, he wouldn't step his foot here before the earth collapsed. So, yeah. You can be assured that these are clean."

Looking at him once more for confirmation, I carefully sat down on one of the stools by the counter, still looking around for another interesting piece of clothing. Thankfully, I found none.

"Your brother? You mean the owner of that... is your brother's girlfriend?" I asked as I registered his words. He had briefly mentioned his little brother and elder sister one of the days while we were talking but I didn't really know much.

"Yeah. Listen, I'll make you my heavenly hot chocolate and then we'll talk properly, okay? I can't concentrate on my masterpiece when I'm distracted by your talks." He winked, making me roll my eyes.

He rolled up his sleeves and started rummaging through the cabinets. He looked so at ease while moving around in his kitchen and I wondered if he was speaking the truth when he said he was the one to make that hot chocolate. I'd passed it off as a joke and had agreed to come here so that I could tease him about it later, but seeing him work so gracefully in the kitchen made me realise that not every businessperson was enemies with kitchen like me.

I silently sat there, observing the movements of his muscles as he worked. I dared not to go near to see the actual process, as much as I wanted to, because kitchens in general hated me with a passion, no matter who ever they belonged to. I didn't really want to send Adrian to an early grave by burning down his kitchen.

He started pouring his work into two identical mugs and a rich, heavenly smell entered my nose. I waited eagerly for him to place the mugs in front of us, reaching for one immediately and taking a sip, almost moaning aloud at the now familiar taste. I'd half anticipated burning my tongue but to my surprise, the temperature was just right. Not too hot to burn your tongue, but hot enough to drink it with delight.

He chuckled in amusement at my enthusiasm but I ignored him and continued enjoying my share of heaven. When his chuckles didn't stop for sometime, I glared at him. "Quit giggling like a schoolgirl, Stone. Or I'll drink your share myself." I said, half joking as I eyed his still untouched mug.

He snorted and chuckled again. "That was a chuckle, White. Not a giggle. Know the difference. And this is another part of my bribe, by the way. I can make another, if you wish. After all, I take very good care if my bestfriend." He smirked and I suddenly wanted to heat this chocolate up and pour it over his face. But I immediately relinquished that thought because that would be a waste of this amazing cup of heaven.

He took a sip of his drink and smiled. "Ah, I am one amazing chef, aren't I?"

"Very modest, too." I pointed out sarcastically and watched a slow grin formed on his face, his eyes lighting up in amusement.

His face suddenly turned serious and he sighed. "I've been living with my parents since a week. My brother, Aaron, studies in NYU so I let him stay here for the time being thinking it might be easier for him. But seeing the condition of this place today, I want to send him to Antarctica. Trust me, you're the only one other than my family and Nate whom I've brought here. I'm a very private person and this is my world. I only bring here the people I value in my life."

He gave me an intense, pointed look at the last statement and I blushed under his gaze. He smiled softly while I was busy being a blushing mess. But he suddenly scowled, jaw clenching in anger once again as he continued. "But that bloody piece of shi-. I mean, that idiot has made a mockery of my privacy by bringing others here. Not to mention, his bloody one night stands. He is the most irresponsible person you'll ever meet. Good heavens! I'm going to bloody kill him when I see his pathetic face!"

He started ranting again and I suddenly remembered something. "Why are you staying in your parents' place these days? Everything alright?" He looked conflicted at first but spoke after a few moments.

"Yeah... Everything's alright. My sister... uh... she's pregnant and is currently staying there. So... yeah. I wanted to be there, too." He looked nervous for some reason, like a student awaiting his teacher to catch his lie. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion as I wondered what the matter was with him.

Then suddenly, realisation hit me hard and I put two and two together. I narrowed my eyes at him, noticing how he refused to meet my eyes.

"Your sister happens to be a lovely, golden haired woman named Jade, doesn't she? Dr. Brandon Marshall's wife? Your friend's wife?" I added.the last part remembering what he'd told me earlier.

He cringed at that but nodded and I finally understood why Dr. Marshall changed his mind, why he was suddenly so invested to see to Eva's treatment. That also explained why I bumped into Adrian that day in the hospital and his visit to Dr. Marshall's office earlier today. Maybe that was the reason for his sister's reaction earlier. No wonder she was feeling sad for me. Everyone in his family must know about Eva's condition and how pathetic I had been, trying to contact Dr. Marshall.

I ran my hands through my face. I didn't know what to think. I thought Dr. Marshall was a genuine person. The way he talked speed like he really meant when he'd said he wanted to help. But looking at the truth now, Adrian must've made him help me. Out of pity. The feeling of guilt clawed my insides. Dr. Marshall didn't want to leave his wife's side but was compelled to do so because of me.

"So you knew about everything from the start, didn't you? You convinced your brother in law to help me when he didn't want to. You've known everything! You pity me!" I accused him.

He widened his eyes and shook his head vigorously. "No! You've come to a conclusion, alright. But it's a wrong one." He raked his fingers through his hair and then looked me in the eye with that serious look that made me feel like I was in front of a teacher for scolding. Oh, how the tables have turned.

"Listen to me carefully, Eve. It is true that Brandon is my brother in law. I'm sorry I lied to you earlier because I knew you'd jump into this very conclusion. But that is the only thing I lied to you. I was honest when I said that I don't know why you're in need of a neurosurgeon. And I know you're thinking that Brandon only decided to help you because of me. No offense but you can be an idiot sometimes, sweetheart."

I glared at him but couldn't keep up with it further as I was feeling overwhelmed with everything. He continued at my silence. "And as I said earlier, Brandon is a dedicated doctor. I think he would've done this whether I'd convinced him or not. We were in a family dinner when he got a call from you and I just happened to hear your name. He had no idea you were the Evelyn White of Eva's clothing. I only convinced him a little. But everything was upto him. And no, I don't know anything else. I want to hear them, but from you."

He took my hand in his and locked his intense gaze with me. "Evelyn, I want you to tell me. Believe it or not, I care a great deal about you. And I know Brandon deals with complicated cases. So seeing you contact him desperately, I can't figure out what's going on and it's driving me crazy. To top it all, I walk in on you talking about some complicated surgery next week and I don't know what to think! So please, I need to know this, Evelyn. Please tell me what's wrong. Are you okay?"

It was there in his eyes again. The truth. And sincerity. I remembered Dr. Marshall's words that day, when he said the same thing that Adrian just said. That he would've helped me nonetheless and that someone's meddling only gave him the push. I finally understood who he was talking about. My heart decided that moment to jump around my chest hearing that he cares about me.

I took a deep breath. "I can't tell you everything about me right now. But I'll tell you something. If you get me one more of this." I held out my empty mug and tapped it on the counter.

He rolled his eyes with a smiled but got up nonetheless. The whole time he worked, he kept mumbling things that sounded like: no wonder she's a businesswoman. I only replied by sticking out my tongue at him like a teenager.

The hot chocolate was ready in no time and I marvelled at the smell watching him pour it in our cups. I smiled widely as I saw my cup had slightly more than his. I decided to shut down my dear Mrs. S who decided to make her presence known by pointing out that I was behaving like a quarter of my age. 

He put them both on the counter in front of us and brought his stool closer, now facing directly at me. After settling everything, he raised his left eyebrow.

"Okay, time to talk, Evelyn White."