The urge to run after Katerina was strong, to try and explain his part of the story but then if he left this room, the guarantee that he would not see this lady again was assured.Seeing the woman he loved flee away from him, crying because of him…it gutted him into two.Clenching his hands by his side, he turned around to face the lady.At least she was smart enough to notice that things had changed and she scrambled backward on the bed, literally quaking before him. “I-I’m beg-begging you …I swear, I'm in-innocent in all this!” Tears were running down in streams now and she bent over, pressing her head firmly on the bed. As ruthless as Tyler was on the field and in battle, the last thing he swore never to do was lay a hand on a woman.There were some lines that he simply couldn't cross, and that was one of them.“Fucking stand up and stop sniveling like a bitch. I want answers from you and I want them now!” She started, her eyes clouded with some sort of emotion that he could not
Katerina led him towards the back of the building, pulling away from him the moment they were out of sight.Hidden behind a cluster of trees, there was a bench encased in cement perfect for them to discuss.Katerina’s body was stiff as a doorbell, creating space between them. “Go ahead, you wanted to talk so do it.”Tyler tried to reach for her hands she shrank away. “I can't touch you now?” She folded her arms across her chest, giving him silent treatment.“I don't know how hurt you must have been when you saw Gemma on me but I must apologize-”Her head snapped up. “Gemma? Is that her name?” She spat out the word her.“Yes.” He sighed, calling on patience. “And no, it didn't mean anything.”“That's easy for you to say, I didn't just catch you with someone laying on your chest, running her hands all over you.” She flared up once more.“Can you allow me to get a word in before you crucify me?” He grunted, making her clamp her lips closed. “I only found out her name because I knew I nee
Katerina stared at the piece of crap woman laying on the floor, spewing lies just to gain two minutes of fame. It was downright sickening.Holding Tiara’s gaze, she arched her brow. “Go on then, why don't you tell everyone what secrets I have Tiara?”Realizing that all eyes were on her, Tiara flushed her face turning red. “Um, I w-was go-going to…”“That's what I thought.” Katerina scoffed. “All beauty and no brains, eh?”“Look who's one to talk?” Tiara retorted, her eyes flashing fire. “Just a couple of months ago, you couldn't dare to come out in public and now here you are…flaunting about what was underneath that hideous scar huh?”Tyler was still in the shadows, watching what was going on but when Tiara talked about Katerina’s scar, he knew that he had to step in.The incident that scarred her so badly had also taken a toll, not only on her body but on her self-esteem too. He knew how much he had to beg and cajole before she chose to use the ointment he got for her and even now, s
The drive home was silent, Katerina facing the window all through. Even though she appreciated Tyler for standing up to her at the party, it didn't mean that she suddenly forgot all about what he did with Gemma.“Are you hungry?” Tyler glanced at his wife's profile. “All that fighting must work up an appetite huh? What do you say, McDonald's or KFC?”His brain might not be working at optimum capacity due to whatever Elizabeth gave to him but he could sense the wall she'd put up facing the window like it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen.“I'm not hungry, plus I had a salad before I left.” Her response was short and clipped.He turned on the next streetlight, crossing lanes expertly. “But, don't you think that-”“Oh, for Christ’s sake, just drop it please!” She snapped, glaring at him.Tyler took the hint, clamping his lips shut until they got home twenty minutes later.Katerina felt guilty over how she talked to Tyler but she was too upset to apologize.The moment Tyler t
The next morning, Katerina woke up with a pleasurable soreness between her legs, her hands stretched overhead. Rolling around to hug Tyler, she encountered a cold spot next to where he should be.Gee's eyes flew open only to discover that the bed was empty. She sat up instantly, searching around for him but everything that spoke about what they did last night was cleared from the floor. The clothes that she remembered were strewn across the floor and the shoes were all gone.Padding across the room, she checked the bathroom first but it was also empty.As she walked back out, intent on heading downstairs, the time on the digital clock caught her interest, and her eyes widened.Past 8??What the hell was she still doing here?She had a meeting at Herbal Rise by 9, and here she was not even close to being ready to go.Reaching for her robe, that was when she saw the box and post-it note on the table.It was from Tyler, informing her about his movements.My love, I hated leaving you this
Katerina didn't say much about the attitude of her coworkers, even though most were quite rude to her face.Before Davis left to do other things, she stopped him asking a question. “What’s going on here?”Davis was clueless. “What do you mean?”“You didn't notice anything…odd?” She asked gently, not wanting to come straight up. “People have been looking at us for a while now.”He shrugged, placing his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, maybe they're just not used to new faces. Does it bother you?”It took a moment for her to answer, contemplating the repercussions of her response when negative. “No, not really, just wondering why everyone was staring at me.” She rolled her shoulders back. “Can I get someone to help me out?”“Like an assistant?” “Yes, that'd be nice.” She nods, walking away. The room Davis showed her was moderately spacious with adequate lighting and the decor was minimal. She set her bags on the oak desk, pulling out the things she needed to work on.A knock sounded on t
The rest of the week went by smoothly, and with her husband's support, Katerina managed to overlook the hateful looks and whispers behind her back, doing as Tyler instructed… killing it at work.But if she was being honest, she would say it's the new atmosphere in their home that gives her all sorts of inspiration. With the past few months being crazy, the drama with Mark and the Herbal Rise issue, and then her parents insisting on her getting a new husband…let's just say it hasn't given them much room to grow or get intimate with one another.However, things have changed now. For whatever reason, Tyler stayed home more nowadays, acting romantic by having spontaneous picnics and outings. Those events brought them together, making them bond in more ways than she couldn't have envisioned.It's safe to say that Katerina was more in love with Tyler than the day he helped her heal her scars.Tyler has a lot of internal struggles but he tries to be the sweetest man that he can for her.Now,
“Yes, sir.” Skylar's voice came through loud and clear, intruding on his private thoughts. “I double and triple-checked to be sure it was the right address.”Simon LeFluër is his target and a monk at that but thanks to Skylar's mad hacking skills, Tyler knows that Simon was a former assistant now turned monk, hence the reason for all the ammunition but also according to Skylar, he might have information on his dead parents.“Okay, then. I'm almost there, I'll let you know how it goes.”Was he petrified?Not necessarily for himself. This wasn't the first time he'd gone into battle with much scarier people, yet he had managed to triumph. However, now that he had tasted happiness and love from Katerina, he'd want to stay alive long enough to enjoy it.Being a monk meant the man had to live in a remote area, a couple of miles away from civilization.Both a good and bad thing, since it will be easier for Tyler to interrogate the man without fear of neighbours hearing in.Tyler rolled to a
EPILOGUE Katerina's plan worked perfectly.Bianca fell into the trap and spun for her by pulling out the gun.Luckily for Katerina, her SOS signal went out in time and the cops showed up in time. Katerina was able to wrestle the gun away from Bianca, throwing in a punch.The police raided the house and as expected, they found some of the things they planted. Of course, Bianca firmly refused to accept that they were there, stating that Katerina planted it.Of course, the idea was disputed since the cameras had her stationed with Bianca the entire time.Mark took the fall as unsurprisingly his parents threw him under the bus to save their skin.Thanks to Katerina, Tyler's family massacre case was reopened and they were able to place the crimes on Mark and his family. Mark served time for abduction, kidnapping, and intent to murder, along with his fraudulent crimes.Giorgio got to bow out from the whole crime rivalry gang since the crimes committed by Mark and his family were now out in
“So I'm going to go inside and distract them, making sure their fingerprints touch some of the gadgets stuff while you guys go around and plant these things in their houses, okay?” Katerina went over the plan one more time to be sure that everyone understood.She picked Heinze and another guy called Jake to spearhead the mission, making sure plants were in places that the cops could easily access but weren't too obvious either.Once they all understood their parts of the plan she grabbed a gun, tucking it at the back of her Jean, firmly clipping it on the waistband of her pants.There's no way she's heading in there without protecting herself. “Once I give the signal, I want you to call the cops, okay?” She instructed one of the men that were staying behind, about to walk away.“Katerina, can I talk to you?” Giorgio called out just as she was about to leave. She paused. “We don't have enough time for that.”“Just a minute.” He insists and she walks over to him. “I'm really proud of
Mason and Katerina sat down in the doctor's office, anxiously waiting for a news report on Tyler.Mason himself was a nervous wreck, his left foot tapping incessantly against the floor. He kept glancing at the door waiting for the doctor to show up.The surgery they performed on him took over 10 hours, so much so that Mason had to give up on waiting around and head home.A day later, they were back here awaiting reports from the doctor. Katerina couldn't help for but feel anxious but it wasn't only because of Tyler's issue. After Giorgio agreed to her insane plan, they started working towards it. Since they only had a small window before Mark's case was taken to court, they had to work twice as hard as they needed to.Now that she was in on the plan, Giorgio revealed how he systematically arranged for Tyler's parents to get killed and anytime she thought about it, it made her want to puke.This small reveal only showed her how sick and demented she would get to lead a crime mob lik
Giorgio's eyes widened the moment those words escaped her lips. “Wait, what?”“Let me do it. The other time in the restaurant, you asked me to take over from you….” She squared her shoulders. “So I'll do it. If taking over from you is the only way to stop this nightmare from reoccurring, fine, I'm in.”“Katerina, no I can't ask you to do that.” He sighed.“I don't understand what's changed, less than 2 weeks ago clamping from me to take over from you.”“Well, I was too desperate to find someone to fill in my shoes so I could take a break but now I'm realizing that you may not be the best person to be to do that. You're not equipped enough.” He explained.“Okay then, why don't you teach me?” She wasn't willing to take no for an answer.“You're still not getting it!” Giorgio grunted. “This isn't something that can be taught, you have to spend years on the job before taking over. You have to be cold and calculated to do what is wrong without flinching and you're not there yet, Katerina.”
Katerina barged into the mansion that Giorgio and his men were hiding in, pulling the bulk of his men's attention towards her.Alarmed by the sight of a stranger, they raised their weapons aiming it at her.However, Katerina was too pissed off to let it go. “Get me your boss, he and I have some business to talk about.” She ordered, daring to speak despite over a dozen guns being focused on her chest. “Well?” She arched a brow after a couple of minutes passed and nobody moved.Fearless, she took a step further. “If you guys want to bury a bullet in me, then I suggest you start or else…I'll need you to bring me to Giorgio.”She was about to do something crazy to get their attention when the person to whom she spoke stepped out. “Katerina…” he rumbled.For some reason, he wasn't so surprised to see her here. Her face was set in a grim stance. “Can we talk?”With one look in their direction, Giorgio casually ordered them to pull down their rifle and then he tilted his head to the side, i
“Holy shit, what happened!” Katarina exclaimed, scrambling up to her feet.Esther was crouched over Dylan whose eyes were closed as if he was asleep, a large bullet wound on his chest.She gasped, standing frozen in the middle of the yard.Which reminded her…Katerina spun around in a slow circle, taking in the destruction that those guys had caused.All around them was chaos. The moving truck which contained her clothes and some furniture had toppled over to the side and the back door was riddled with bullet holes.Some of the movers were hit during the shootout and their colleagues were trying to help them stem the flow of blood pouring out from the affected areas.“Katerina, I need your help!” Mom yelled, trying but failing to make a pitiful attempt at CPR.Her mind snapped back to reality reminding her that she needed to help Dad.“Come on, we need to get him inside?” She urged.Mom's head rose up, her gaze slightly disoriented. “What do you mean?”“In case those guys come back, w
“I think you need to move it in this direction. No, stop! That cannot go in there…what are you doing?”The cacophony of voices bounced around in Katerina's head pulling her out of her slumber.With a groan, she placed the back of her palms against her forehead, trying to shut out the noise but apparently, her window had been left open.Slightly grumpy for being abruptly woken up, Katerina flung back the covers, angrily marching towards the window to shut it when a movement from the corner of her eyes caught her attention.It seemed like there was a loading truck pushing in items and… Was that her luggage?She squinted to make out the design of the bag and to her shock, it was the bag she'd gotten on vacation with Tyler last year.How did…A thought flashed into her mind and she quickly scrambled towards her walk-in closet.Her room back at the house was like a mini-mansion. Two huge rooms split into her bedroom and her walk-in closet connected by an adjoining door which made it easy
“First of all no one is shipping me anywhere and what the hell are you guys even talking about?” Katerina walked into the room, watching their faces light up like they knew they'd done some wrong. “Is anyone going to answer me?”Dylan stepped forward, his hands stretched in front of him in an effort to placate her. “Honey, listen I don't want you to take this in some way but your mother and I have been talking-”“You mean to say ‘discussing’ we haven't finalized on it yet.” Esther interrupted, sliding a side eye to Dylan.“Whatever.” He waved it off. “what I meant to say is that we've been thinking about you and your general well-being and uh… some things that have given us concerns.”“Concerns like what?” Katerina asked, folding her hands over her chest.Esther and Dylan exchanged a glance, something meaningful passing through them. Dylan spoke up first. “I think with everything that is going on… you've been going through a lot of things for the past couple of months and for everyone
In a coma…Those words kept ringing in Katerina's ears as she stared up at the ceiling, mentally counting the tiles on each row.After that, she'd move to the next row and repeat the process all over again until she was tired.Anything to keep my head off suicidal thoughts or worse…. reliving both of Tyler's traumatic accidents.Mason had yet to discover fully from the shock, having staggered out of the room. When Katerina stopped him to ask, he simply mumbled that he was heading out in search of fresh air but she knew it was a lie.Just like her, he couldn't spend another moment stuck in a never-ending nightmare.Unable to stop torturing herself, Katerina replayed the doctor's words again in her head, picturing the exact moment when it sank in.“I'm sorry, we tried our possible best but sadly, it wasn't enough. He went into cardiac arrest and then anaphylactic shock, leaving us with only one option… we had to induce him into a coma.” The doctor's voice was devoid of emotion but I gu