Deborah shrank back and tried to scoot away, but he wasn't prepared to let her go.

Liam yanked on her hair and forced her to look up at him.

She screamed,

Her scalp felt like it was on fire.

'What did you say?'

He impaled her with his eyes.

'You want me to fuck off?'

Deborah sensed his rising anger.

Her lips quivered.

She wanted to take back what she said but couldn't string a sentence together.

Liam tore off her panties.

Deborah gasped and choked.

She knew what he was about to do, but she was powerless to stop him.

Fear paralysed her.

He slid a finger into her.

'I remember you used to like it rough. Let's see if I can still make you scream with pleasure.

Love Is Selfish

Kira didn't know how she got home.

She walked through the front door in a trance.

'Young Madam?'

Elsie clapped her hands loudly in front of Kira's face.

The housekeeper called her five, six times, but Kira didn't hear her.

Kira's face was pale.

Her eyes were open and unfocused.

'Young Madam, what happened?' Elsie was concerned. 'You look like you've seen a ghost.

Kira stood in the foyer like a lifeless robot.

Elsie shook her shoulders. 'Young Madam?'

Kira blinked.

She looked around and seemed to have just realised where she was.

'Elsie?'

'Yes, it's me.' Elsie touched Kira's forehead. 'Are you all right?'

Kira's mouth was open.

She changed her mind halfway and said instead, 'Is there something to eat? I'm starving.

Elsie still looked worried. 'Yes, I'm making a stew. Go sit down. I'll bring it to you.'

Kira nodded.

She trudged to the sofa and slumped against the cushions.

Her mind was a mess.

Multiple thoughts tumbled over each other, fighting for her attention.

She couldn't figure out any of them.

She drew up her knees and huddled up on the sofa, lost in thought.

Elsie called out from the kitchen, 'Young Madam, come to the dining room. The food's ready.'

Kira struggled to get up from the sofa.

She sucked in a deep breath and plodded to the dining table.

Elsie set the table.

The beef bourguignon smelled delicious.

Elsie scooped out a generous helping of the well-marbled beef braised with carrots and potatoes enveloped in a rich wine sauce.

'It needs another half an hour in the oven, but the meat's cooked.'

Kira picked up a spoon.

The beef cubes were meltingly tender, yet she tasted nothing.

She chewed on the meat mechanically.

'Elsie, can I ask you something?'

'Sure.' Elsie gently placed a hand on Kira's arm. 'What is it?'

'Do you have any photos of Deborah Connelly?'

Elsie was taken aback.

She thought the conversation about Deborah was over at breakfast.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in her?'

'I just want to see what she looked like.'

'Oh,'

Elsie thought for a moment.

Then she shook her head.

'No, I don't have Miss Connelly's photos. Young Master should have them, but it's been so many years. I don't know where he keeps them.'

Kira stared down at the bowl. 'Never mind.'

Elsie sensed something was off with Kira but couldn't tell what it was.

She sat down next to Kira. 'Is there something on your mind?'

'No.' Kira stuffed a big piece of carrot into her mouth and pretended to be busy chewing.

Elsie wasn't convinced.

Kira's smile looked forced.

The housekeeper checked her phone.

'Young Master should be home soon. If you want to see a photo of Miss Connelly, you can ask him.'

It had been seven years.

Surely, Young Master had moved on from the past.

Elsie could see that he was growing increasingly fond of Young Madam.

'Okay.' Kira nodded. 'I'm fine, really. I just got curious, that's all. The stew's delicious, by the way.'

'I'm glad you like it. Have some more.' Elsie dropped the subject.

***

Kira could count the number of times she entered Austyn's study on the fingers of one hand.

She tried to stay away from his place of work.

He was in the room each time she came in.

But not this time.

The door was unlocked.

The domestic employees wouldn't dare enter his study without permission.

Kira hesitated at the threshold, then she walked inside.

It should be a simple mission-find photos of Deborah.

She knew Austyn had them.

Other than the one he carried on his person, there had to be more photos of Deborah stashed away somewhere.

Back at Sunglade, Liam and the woman were long gone when Kira recovered from her stupor.

She called Liam but he didn't pick up.

She had to know if the woman was Deborah, or if Liam had made a mistake.

She tried her luck with Elsie but came up empty.

The question weighed on her mind and refused to go away.

Kira knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight until she found out the answer.

In a way, Liam's reaction already told her the answer, but Kira refused to believe it.

How could a dead woman just suddenly come back to life?

Kira felt as if she was living in the Matrix, where things just stopped making sense.

She shook off that absurd idea.

She just needed more evidence.

Austyn's study was spacious, with four bookshelves and half a dozen cabinets.

13

Kira searched high and low, even flipped through some books, hoping to see a hollowed-out section like she'd watched in the movies. But she drew a blank

She stopped in front of the solid oak desk and stared at the closed drawers.

She knew snooping was wrong, but she just couldn't help it.

There wouldn't be a moment of peace in her mind until she knew for sure.

There was another way to find the answer-call Austyn and ask him.

But she was afraid to do so.

What if Austyn hadn't known about this before?

Then Kira would be the one to tell him that his first love was still alive and well, that Deborah was back in Stamford.

What would Austyn do?

How would he react?

Kira didn't want to know.

She knew she was being selfish, but love was selfish.

Her relationship with Austyn had just begun to change for the better.

She could feel he was getting closer to her.

Love is Selfish

It might not be love yet, but at least he was growing increasingly fond of her.

His feelings for her were like a young plant that had just sprouted.

The news of Deborah's return would be the storm that killed it.

Kira didn't know if she could handle that...

Her hand touched something hard and smooth, like glossy paper.

She looked down.

It was a photo.

The same one she saw in Austyn's pocket that night.

He was dressed in a crisp uniform with a row of medals pinned above the left breast pocket, looking serious.

A woman was holding his arm, wearing a white dress and smiling at the camera.

Kira couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman's face.

The last flickering flame of hope was extinguished.

It was Deborah.

She had really come back.

The san Of Omron

The Sin Of Omission

Kai was on his way out of the president's office when he heard the phone ring.

The caller ID said Kira.

The assistant hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

'Hello.'

'Kai?'

'Yes, Young Madam, it's me.'

Kira stared at the number on her screen.

She'd called Austyn.

Sensing her question, Kai said, 'Boss is in a meeting right now. He left his phone in the office.

'Oh, I see.'

Kira pursed her lips.

Kai waited patiently.

After a while, she asked, 'When's the meeting ending?

Kai checked his watch. 'About half an hour.'

'Then I'll call him back later.'

'Okay.'

Kira hung up.

She returned the photo to its place in the drawer and left the study.

Her heart was both heavy and in a flutter.

Liam's reaction plus the photo offered irrefutable proof.

Deborah Connelly was really alive.

The moment she confirmed that, two voices started fighting in Kira's head.

One said she should tell Austyn.

Deborah was an important part of his past and probably still important in his heart.

He had a right to know.

The other voice scoffed and ordered Kira to say nothing.

Liam was the only other person who knew Deborah was alive.

Austyn would never talk to Liam if he could help it.

If Kira kept her silence, Austyn would never know.

She'd dialled Austyn's number on an impulse, before the fighting in her head had produced a clear winner.

Maybe she wanted to sound him out.

When Kai answered the phone, Kira didn't know if she should feel relieved or disappointed.

'Maybe it's meant to be,' she thought. 'Maybe fate doesn't want him to know.'

She left the study with the two voices still quarrelling in her head.

Kai knocked once before pushing open the door of Conference Room One.

He delivered the documents to Austyn, who checked them one more time before signing on the dotted line.

They were the revised business plans for the last quarter of the year.

Seated around the long conference table were the heads of various departments.

Kai made copies of the plans and distributed them.

The vice-presidents quibbled over the KPIs but signed their names eventually.

It was another forty-five minutes before the meeting finally came to an end.

The participants filed out of the conference room, drained.

Kai packed up the documents.

'Young Madam called earlier.'

'When?' Austyn got up from his seat at the head of the table and stretched.

'More than half an hour ago."

Austyn scowled. 'Why didn't you tell me this sooner?'

Kai shrugged. 'You were in the middle of the meeting.'

Austyn tossed him a look.

The astute assistant caught on immediately and said, 'I'll put her calls through right away in the future.'

Austyn let him off the hook.

He returned to the office and went straight to his phone.

'Kira.'

Kai took his time laying down the files on the desk, eavesdropping.

'Are you done with your meeting?' Kira asked, gripping the phone.

She was kind of hoping that Kai had forgotten to pass along the message.

'Yes.'

There was a trace of exhaustion in his voice.

'Are you tired?'

Austyn massaged his brows. 'A little.'

Then he added, 'What do you plan to do about it?'

'Um, what do you want me to do?'

Austyn was about to speak when he glimpsed Kai standing to the side. 'What are you still doing here? Scram.

Kai set down the last folder on the desk and mumbled reluctantly, 'Yes, Boss.'

He closed the door on his way out.

Austyn made sure he was alone in the office, then he whispered something into the phone.

The gist of it was what he wanted Kira to do, or rather, what he wanted to do to her.

Kira's voice went up a few decibels. 'You're too much!'

Austyn visualised Kira's flushed cheeks and chuckled to himself.

He leaned back in the leather swivel chair, his fatigue gone.

'Why did you call me just now?'

Kira struggled for an answer.

Should she tell him about Deborah?

What if he didn't believe her?

Or worse, what if he did?

Would he race out of the office to Sunglade before he had the time to hang up the phone?

Would he end things with her on the spot once he knew his old flame was back?

Kira didn't want that.

She didn't want him to leave her.

She was already feeling inferior in this relationship.

If Austyn had to choose between her and Deborah, Kira had no confidence at all about the outcome.

'Hello?' Austyn looked at his phone screen.

The call was still connected but Kira hadn't spoken for a full minute.

'What's wrong?'

Kira looked down and picked at the hem of her t-shirt. 'Nothing. I just called to ask when you'll be back.' 'That's it?'

'Uh-huh.'

Austyn checked his Timex Marlin.

'Should be another couple of hours. Stay home and wait for me,

'Okay.'

okay?'

Austyn glanced at the pile of documents left by Kai. 'Watch TV or something. I'll try to leave before seven.' 'Okay,' Kira said in a soft voice.

She held the phone in her hand after the call ended.

The screen had gone black.

The Sin Of Omission

She saw her face in it.

She asked her reflection, 'What should I do?'

Dad taught her to have a big heart.

But she was failing.

She didn't want to be generous, didn't want to be truthful.

To hell with whoever said there should be no secrets between husband and wife.

Besides, she wasn't being untruthful.

Not saying something was not the same as lying, right?

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She would Give Them Her Blessing

She Would Give Them Her Blessing

Kira buried her face in her knees and softly banged her head against her lap, as if she could beat an answer out of her brain this way.

She felt as if her heart was being weighed down by an anchor.

It was dragging her towards a dark bottomless pit.

A pit of depression filled with what-ifs.

What if Austyn still learned about Deborah's return somehow?

What if Austyn decided to rekindle the old romance?

What if he chose Deborah over her?

What if he asked her to leave?

What if he came home with divorce papers and a pen, waiting for her to sign on the dotted line?

The thoughts grew and took the shape of parasitic vines.

They climbed out of the pit and wound themselves around her neck, choking the life out of her.

Kira knew she couldn't compare with Deborah.

She was going to tell Austyn during the call, but chickened out at the last minute.

She was acting like a coward.

Kira pulled on her hair.

This was driving her crazy.

She got up and went in search of a wildflower in the front garden.

She decided to leave it up to fate.

If the flower had an even number of petals, she would hold her tongue.

If it had an odd number, she would...wait till tomorrow.