I reeled in shock at his words. I couldn't believe that Keith, Dr. Keith Jenkins loved me. My mind started swirling with the realization and I tried to think back to all my interactions with Keith. Could I have missed the signs or misinterpreted his feelings for a harmless crush? Had I been blind all along?

I opened my mouth to apologize but he shook his head, his hand gripping mine a little tighter before letting go. "Please don't. I knew it was wrong. It's against my ethics develop any feelings for my clients other than empathy. But heart never plays by the rules. Ironic as it is, I can't cure myself of this feeling I have for you. Love doesn't go away when you want it to."

"Keith..." My word was barely above a whisper. I was still trying to grasp the meaning of his words. I saw him take a deep breath and open his mouth.

"Evelyn White, I... I lov-"

"No." I cut him off in the middle. Shaking my head to get rid of the faint throbbing in there, I took in his disappointed eyes. "Keith, I... I'm sorry if I ever encouraged you or unknowingly led you on. In the span that we've been friends, I never once harbored any feeling other than genuine friendship for you. I know I may sound rude now but I haven't ever lied to you about my feelings. And I'm not going to start now." This time, it was me who took his trembling hand in both of mine.

"Keith, just know that I'd never deliberately try to hurt you. You've no idea how much I hate myself right now for speaking these words. But you need to know this now before you get into it any deeper. You're a good man, Keith. You really are. All I've done is hurt you, and yet you still kept on helping me. If not for you, I wouldn't have met Brandon and Eva would still be there in the hospital. But you've made her dreams come true. You've given me the most valuable gift of friendship- my sister.

You're the most selfless person I've ever known. And I don't deserve you, Keith. You deserve someone who'll love you more than you love her. Someone who would die for you,  go to the end of the earth if it's with you, someone who loves you wholly, from the bottom of her heart, not out of duty or sympathy. You can't settle for anyone less, Keith. Not someone who keeps on repaying your love with rejection, and certainly not someone who'll never be able to love you as anyone more than a friend."

Not someone who already has another in her heart.

I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand, withholding myself from speaking those words. "So don't repeat those words now. Save them for later, for the person who will not only hear them, but  return them as without guilt. I know you'll find this person someday. Don't give up on love yet, Keith. Save it for someone deserving." I looked into his eyes as I spoke, meaning every word of it.

I let go of his hand and he ran his fingers through his hair, messing the strands in the process. We were both silent for some time, him looking towards the city and me at my toes, unable to meet his eyes knowing I'd hurt him. He finally turned to me after some long, agonizing minutes of silence and forced a smile.

"You're right. I deserve more," he nodded. I returned it with a watery smile of my own. "But I don't ever want you feeling guilty, Eves. It's not your fault. You have done absolutely nothing wrong. I knew all along that you never and never will feel the same way for me but I loved you anyway. And I just wanted to take the load off my chest by telling you. Eves, you... you're perfect. You're successful, yet still down-to-earth; kind yet straightforward; beautiful yet humble. But you're not what I deserve. I know it now. As perfect as you are, I deserve someone who loves me back. Someone who is perfect for me. I... I think I need some time to think about all these and hopefully, get you out of my mind."

I furrowed my eyes in confusion. "What're you talking about, Keith? You're not moving away because of me, are you?"

He let out a small chuckle at that. "God, no! Nothing as dramatic, I assure you. I just meant that I need some space. Now that Eva is well and okay, I'm thinking of moving to another case and assigning a fellow doctor for her. I'll be available if there's a problem or if you need anything, of course. I just... don't think I can continue her therapy anymore. I'm sorry, Eves, but I don't want my personal emotions interfering with my profession. But you don't need to worry about Eva, though. I'll make sure that she's in capable hands."

I regarded his words with a heavy heart. As much as I didn't want Eva to be seen by someone else, I couldn't be selfish. Keith was more my friend than Eva's doctor and he was right- he needed space from me to sort out his feelings and carry on with his life. The thought of him not being around brought unwanted tears in my eyes and I swallowed hard, hoping to force them back into my head. "So this is it, then?" I repeated his same question that had started this conversation in the first place.

I was surprised and at the same time guilty to see moisture in his eyes as well. Keith shrugged a little, his shoulders drooping a little more than before. "I guess it is. But just because I'm not around, it doesn't mean that you'll get rid of me, got it? Just make sure to keep all your nerves intact till we meet again. Contrary to what you might expect, I don't offer discounts. Now, care to give me a goodbye hug?" He said, opening his arms out to me.

I reluctantly smiled at his half-hearted attempt to crack  a joke but nevertheless stepped into his open arms. I'd never been much of a hugger and kept physical interaction to a very minimum. So despite being good friends, it was my first time hugging him. And perhaps, the last. I closed my eyes, silently apologizing to him for everything I had, or rather, hadn't done while he held me tight for a few seconds before letting go.

He pulled away and leaned down towards me. I stiffened but relaxed a little when he left a soft kiss on my right cheek, making my heart beat wildly. But try as I might, I couldn't deny that I didn't feel anything than a feeling of loss and guilt looming around me.

"Goodbye, sweet Eves. Take care." He whispered softly against my cheek before rising to his full height. He looked at me with a sad smile and was about to say something when something else behind me grabbed his attention. He went rigid, looked back and forth between me and the object before wishing me well and taking his leave.

I frowned at Keith's strange behavior but everything became clear when I turned around and came face to face with the object behind me.

Except that it wasn't really an object. It was a human. A human with hurt and anger in his eyes.

A human named Adrian Stone.

He stood there without speaking a word and all the feelings I hadn't felt just a few minutes ago with Keith, came rushing back to my heart like a downpour as I took in his rugged appearance in black.

"Adrian."

"Eve."

The way he said my name caused my heart to beat erratically against my ribcage in excitement and nervousness, which I didn't understand at all. There was nothing to be excited or nervous about. This was just Adrian Stone. The arrogant devil who made money showing his smirks. But no matter how many times I tried giving pep talk to my heart, it wasn't about to listen. As inconvenient as it was, my heart didn't have ears. Or a brain.

I kept on looking at him. He looked angry. Livid, in fact. Which sent a rush of shiver down my spine. Stupid body mechanisms.

"I came to talk to you in private. But I didn't even consider the possibility that you already had a private conversation going on. With someone else."

My eyes widened as the realization of what he must have seen set on me. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Adrian, how much did you hear, or see?"

"Enough." His answer was curt, and so sharp it went right into my heart, making it bleed. I shook my head, a sinking feeling beginning to form in my stomach as I thought about how he must have misunderstood the whole thing. I was so close to confessing everything now. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't misunderstand.

"No, Adrian. Listen to me. Whatever you saw, or heard, it's not what you think it is. Let me explain everything. Keith wa-"

He held up his hand, effectively halting my words and shattering all the plans I had about tonight.

"I don't want to hear anything, Evelyn. I was an idiot. I confessed my feelings to you without expecting you to return them. But I didn't even stop by to think that you might have returned them to someone else. And here I was, trying to get you alone the whole time just so  I could convince you to at least think about it. I should have known that we aren't kids anymore. Whatever we promised each other, it was a stupid childhood fantasy. I should've known you would never feel the same way when you didn't even acknowledge my words last night."

His last words were like a punch to my gut. Here I was, preparing the words and time to confess my feelings for him, to make things right between us all the while letting him believe the contrary. I opened my mouth once again, making another attempt to make him see how stupid he was for assuming things, but he silenced me again.

"Save it, Evelyn. I'll take my leave now. It was an interesting party." With that, he stormed off, leaving me standing there with a broken plan and a bleeding heart.

***
A soft knock of my bedroom door grabbed the attention of my overworking brain and I looked at the time, frowning as I realised it was past midnight. I'd been lying awake since an hour, replaying tonight's event over and over in my mind. It was funny how I had two completely different men professing their love to me in the span of less than twenty four hours and yet here I was, alone than ever, surfing the internet for a certain someone's photos. I glared at my phone when I saw a good few number of Adrian's pictures with Rochelle Scorpes, one of the popular models of the fashion industry. She'd made her debut only a couple of years ago, through Eva's and was now on demand for every other company. I personally felt that she was too vain for my liking but maybe it was just me. 

The knocking continued and for a second, a small, childish part of me expected it to be Adrian. I scolded that particular part of mine for being stupid when I opened my door to reveal Eva in her pajamas. I felt a small twinge of disappointment which was replaced by worry when I thought of what she was doing in my room so late. 

"Eva, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked rapidly, opening the door wider and helping her sit on my bed. 

"Relax, sis. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to come here." She shrugged.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What're you doing awake at this ungodly hour? It's nearing one for God's sake!"

She rolled her eyes at me. "I couldn't sleep. All the excitement of tonight and finally being able to return home to you.. I guess it hasn't worn off yet."

I relaxed on hearing this, and couldn't stop the little air of warmth that blew around my heart when I heard her call this place as home. But this warmth turned into annoyance when she narrowed her eyes at me. "By the way, what are you doing awake? I know for sure that it's not the excitement of having your sister finally come home." She smirked knowingly and I rolled my eyes.

"I was just... thinking. Yeah." I nodded to add extra effect.

"About Adrian?" She asked cheekily making me glare at her.

"Why would I even think of him?" I  snorted in an exaggerated manner which nearly cut off my air supply. 

Obviously, the annoying weisenheimer didn't buy my sorry excuse of denial and smirked wider. "Come on now. I know you're thinking of him. No need to deny in front of me."

"So you think you know everything?" 

"Of course I do. And I also know that he's finally told you about him... and his feelings." She flipped her hair smugly while I gaped at her with my mouth wide open.

"You KNEW about it?! How...when...?" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Evie, I knew that he's your Mickey since the day he came to meet me in the hospital that day. You might not remember, but the paintings you drew of him are embedded in my brain. I had my suspicions when I first searched him when you said you guys were business partners but that day, when I saw him in person, I knew for sure that he's the one you've been waiting for your whole life."

My head started throbbing painfully when she talked about the paintings as the blurry images of a big portrait burning in flames formed in my mind. I rubbed my head a little and sighed in relief when the pain faded away. 

"That day when I asked to speak with him, I confronted him because I didn't trust him yet. But that day, I saw in his eyes how much he loved you, Evie. He hid the truth from you because he was scared. He'd finally agreed to tell you everything on my insistence." She took my hand in hers and gave it  a squeeze. "You need to talk to him, Evie, tell him that you feel the same way. Don't let your fear come in between your happiness."

"Alright, enough of the deep talks for tonight. I suddenly feel tired. It takes quite a lot of energy to share my vast knowledge, you see? Goodnight, sis! Sleep tight and don't let a certain someone bite!" She got up and hop-ran out of my room before I could scold her. I rolled my eyes while my mind began pondering over her words.

*

Ten hours later, I was in my office, being more un-productive than Leah, who was on leave today because of reasons I didn't bother to find out. I was just grateful that I had one less thing to worry about with my mind already overthinking about the damned blue-eyed devil. I wanted to call him after Eva left last night, but decided against it because it was his fault for misunderstanding everything. I was ready to make things right but he had to make that dramatic exit without listening.

And now my heart was scolding my brain for being stubborn. Was it only his fault tho? It reasoned with my brain, since I never gave him a reason to believe otherwise with my own dramatic exit from his place two nights ago. I pursed my lips and stood up from my desk, finally making up my mind to listen to my heart this time. I nodded to myself determinately and left for Adrian's office. I would make things clear once and for all.

I entered his office building and frowned when I saw Adrian's glaring strawberry secretary sitting on the reception desk having a hushed conversation with someone over the phone. I briefly wondered if she'd been demoted to a receptionist. I shrugged and walked towards the elevator, making sure to stay out of her vision. I was in no mood for her glares today. Besides, there was a fat chance that she'd notify the devil of my presence, and God knows how he'd react.

I rolled my eyes at the empty secretary desk in front of Adrian's office but silently thanked God for making this easier. I was just about to knock on his partially door when I heard a female voice from inside. Heart beating furiously, I peeked inside from the little crack to see the one female I was somewhat envious of, standing too close to Adrian with her hand on his chest. Rochelle freaking Scorpes.

"Adrian, babe, just think about it. You and me are perfect for each other. We're both good looking, smart, successful, and everything needed for the golden celebrity couple. I'll give you everything you'll ever want of. Say yes, darling. Just say the word and we can rule the whole world." I heard her speak softly against his ear.

I held my breath, waiting for his answer while my heart was cracking around the edges, ready to fall off dead if Adrian gave her a positive answer. One word from him and I knew my heart would break altogether, never to be the same again. I closed my eyes and snuck a deep breath when I heard him speak. I didn't want to see him choose someone else.

"Three things, Ms. Scorpes," his loud voice boomed throughout the office, "one, there is never going to be anything called you and me. Better not use them in the same sentence while speaking to me again. Two, I love someone else- someone who is more beautiful, smarter and more successful than you'd ever hope to be, and even if she wasn't all those, I'd still love her. Because she, unlike you, actually has a good heart."

My heart, which had the cracks spreading all over it, just a second away from breaking into thousand pieces, healed with warmth spreading over its entire being from Adrian's words. I peeked a little and smiled like a loon when I saw him remove her hand from his chest.

"And the third thing, Ms. Scorpes" He continued, "don't you ever call me by my first name. It's Mr. Stone to you."

I frowned at this. Since when did the big headed devil prefer Mr. Stone? As far as I remembered, the guy had serious issues whenever I called him that. I decided to leave that thought for now. I'd heard enough. It was time to own for my mistakes and remove the litters from my property.

With that thought, I pushed open the door with a bang and raised my eyebrows at a stunningly and scantily dressed human form of a scorpion. The said scorpion was red faced enough to match with the color of her dress which was suffering from a serious case of fabric deficiency in areas one would deem necessary for office visits.

I turned my head to the devil and took in his surprised gaze which lasted for a second before returning back to their cool, indifferent expression. I smiled inwardly in satisfaction when I caught his small, almost inexplicable movement away from the very dear Ms. Scorpion.

"Well, well. What a pleasant surprise to see you here, Ms. Scorpion. Looks like you guys were discussing something pretty important." I announced after I pretended to get over the shock.

"It's Scorpes, not Scorpion! And as a matter of fact, we were. Before you disturbed us with your unwanted presence. Seriously, didn't your parents teach you to knock?"

"Of course, Ms. Scorpion," I said dryly. "You'd be surprised to know what my parents have taught me. And I'd like to think they did a far better job than yours seeing as you're trying to seduce someone who clearly doesn't even want to be in the same room as you."

"I wasn't seducing him!", she screeched sharply, making me wince. "And even if I was, it's not of your business. You shouldn't stick your nose to where it doesn't belong."

"Well said, Ms. Scorpion. I'm not really a fan of minding useless people and useless business when I've got a pretty good one of mine already running around. Which, you're disturbing, by the way. So, care to continue this conversation sometime later while I deal with an important topic with my dear business partner over here?"

She opened her mouth to spurt out some colorful nouns and adjectives but before she could get the chance, I held the door open and gestured the way out with my hand. At least she had enough grace to stomp out in her high heels.

"Well, that was quite a show, wasn't it?" I exclaimed once the scorpion woman had left, turning around just in time to see Adrian replace his amused eyes with indifferent ones.

He didn't say anything. Just got back to his desk and started going through the files as if I wasn't present. I pursed my lips. That was fine by me. Two could play this game now. I pulled out the chair in front of his desk and sat down, folding my arms.

"Was there anything you need, Ms. White?" He spoke without looking up from his file.

Oh, so we were back to last names now? It was Evelyn from Eve last night. And now it was Ms. White. Just like Ms. Scorpion. That thought left a bitter taste to my brain. Slowly, doubts started to creep in my mind. What if... he wasn't talking about me? He never mentioned a name to her so it could be someone else he loves. Besides, he'd have no reason to still love me when I'd hurt him so bad. I took a deep breath, deciding to get this over with.

"I...um... came to apologize."

No response.

"I wanted to clear things up last night but you stormed off before I had a chance to speak."

Again, nothing.

"The file you're pretending to be so engrossed in, it's a closed deal from last year, by the way. Nullified and void. I use the same color coding."

This got his attention. For a brief period of time. He grunted in reply and continued flipping through the pages, this time a little aggressively before throwing it away and plucking out another one from his desk. He resumed pretending again.

I took another deep breath. It looked like I should be the one to initiate the topic. "Listen, I'm really sorry for leaving without saying anything that night."

He kept on ignoring me but I noticed that the pages started turning  a little slower than before, which I took as a sign that he was listening. "And I'm sorry about whatever you saw last night."

The pages started turning more aggressively this time. There we go again. I sighed. "Adrian, you misunderstood the situation." I waited for slow turning of pages, and continued. "Keith was... it was an emotional goodbye that you walked into. He was just there to bid me farewell."

Finally, he stopped turning the pages and I saw his shoulders relax as if a heavy burden was lifted off them. 

Then he grabbed another file and started leafing through the pages once again. 

"Are you ignoring me, Mr. Stone?" I narrowed my eyes at him, which, of course, he ignored as if he hadn't heard a thing but the slight curling up of the left corner of his lips spoke volumes that his mouth couldn't.

So he wanted to push his luck, huh? I'll show him how it's done. I though with a smirk and leaned back on my seat, enjoying my view of the hot devil reading the business plan. Well, pretending to read the business plan.

"Y'know, when I was young, I'd never thought that my Mickey would grow  up to be so handsome." I smiled a little in satisfaction as I watched him stiffen at my words before resuming to flip the pages again. I decided to carry on.

"Okay, it's settled. Gray is definitely your color. My, my, don't you look hot enough to eat today?"

Adrian made a choking sound at this, which I would've made as well, if only he hadn't beat me to it. I had no idea where my flirty self was coming from or where it had been all my life but his slightly reddening ears gave me a new confidence to continue with my little fun.

"Well, black suits you as well. I wanted to tell you how hot you looked last night at the party but you stormed away before I had a chance. Had you stayed a moment longer, I'd have jumped your bones. You looked that edible."

The telltale signs of pink flush started spreading towards the light skin of his neck, bringing out a full blown smirk on my lips. "Soft, black hair, electric blue eyes, distinct cheekbones, chiseled jaw- oh, heavens! It's not fair for anyone to be this good looking."

I stood up then, sighing dramatically. "Anyways, I see that you don't want to talk to me. So I won't take more of your time now. I'll just tell you what I'm here for and I'll be on my way." 

I slowly moved towards his desk and lightly traced his shoulders, all the while my heart was doing a weird dance in an unknown excitement. "Mr. Stone, I wanted to say... can you stand up, please?"

He slowly got up from his chair and turned to me, his ears slightly pink, eyes unreadable and filled with smoldering heat.

I leaned towards him and whispered in his ears, "so... I actually wanted to ask something from you." 

"I'm here to ask you for..." I made sure to run my hand through his shoulders before continuing, "a couple of highlighter pens."

"Ah, I was waiting when you'd get to thi- uh... wait, what?  Adrian's smirk fell right off his face replaced by an extremely dumbfounded expression as he looked back and forth between my innocent smile and the highlighter pens on my hand, which I'd just taken from his desk. Me on the other hand, I'd have been richer than him today if I got a cent for my single inward smirk.

"Highlighter pens. The ones you use to mark important events and dates in your lif- I mean, calender. I don't know where mine are- I believe I misplaced them somewhere. So I thought to borrow a couple from you. Unless... you need to mark something as well?"

He blinked a couple of times before shaking his head. "Let me get this straight. You came here all the way from your office to... borrow highlighter pens?" He asked incredulously and I couldn't help but smile.

"Of course! What else would I be here for, Mr. Stone? Anyways, I'm sorry for taking your time. I'll be on my way now. Thanks for lending these to me, by the way." I held up the pens for him to see and turned to walk away to the door.

"The hell you will!" He exclaimed, suddenly grabbing my waist and pushing me against his desk. I smiled. Victory.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I acted like a moron. Now, tell me what you're here for, please?" 

I had a half-mind to further annoy him but my heart melted looking at his eyes filled with longing. So I opened my mouth to speak. "I'm here to say I'm sorry, Adrian. For everything. I should've said something that night but between knowing that you're my Mickey and then your confession, I just didn't know what to think. I'm so sorry, Addie. But I swear I was about to tell you everything last night."  

Adrian's hold on me tightened when I accidentally called him Addie, feeling surprised at how easily it rolled off my tongue. He suddenly looked remorseful as he spoke. "About that, I'm sorry too, Eve. I just... it hurt when you didn't acknowledge my feelings and when I saw you and the doctor hugging and... him kissing your cheek, I thought you wanted him and not me."

I shook my head. "The only one I want is you, Adrian. " I bit my lips and looked at him in uncertainty before continuing. "I'm gonna sound like some stupid girl who doesn't know better but I like you, Adrian. A lot. I can't say I love you yet because right now, I don't even know what to feel about all this. All my life, I've grown up envisioning my future when my Mickey would find me someday but then you come along as this arrogant handsome devil and start making me feel things I'd always deemed as irrational when I read about them in cliche romance books. And just when I'm slowly beginning to replace Mickey's image with yours, I find out that you're both the same. So I just.. I'm confused about my feelings right now. All I know is that I really, really like you and want to try this with you... if you're still willing?"

In return, he gave me a smile so big it went straight to my heart once again and this time, melted it into a giant puddle of goo. "With you, love, I'm willing to take anything you give. I'll wait for an eternity if that's what you need."

He leaned down to kissed me but I pulled away and guffawed loudly. "Oh my goodness, Adrian! You're so full of cheesiness. Are you sure you never worked as a baker before?" I giggled at him and received a dry look in return. 

"I don't know how I feel about you demolishing my profession every time. You've made me a driver, a waiter and now a baker. But I'm just too happy to care about that right now when I've got better things to do." With that, he pulled me close and placed his lips on mine. I complied happily, sighing in pure bliss all the while feeling like Hercules finally having the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. 

Aaannddd... finally the chapter I've been waiting for! lol. I'm sorry for the lengthy chapter btw. I just can't seem to be able to shorten it. I can only hope that it wasn't boring. Do drop your thoughts through comments and perhaps a vote?