NO ONE
Kimberly was enjoying lunch with Alex and Keyra in the cafeteria. It had been a long time since she had seen her two friends. Back then, not a day went by without her spending time with them.
“I thought after becoming Mr. Alistair’s fiancée, you wouldn’t want to be friends with us anymore, Kimmy,” Alex teased. He was waiting to see how Kimberly would respond.
Kimberly chuckled softly. “I apologize for being so busy lately. You both know our office has a lot of deadlines to meet.”
“So, how’s your relationship with Mr. Nicholas? Is it getting better? You haven’t talked about it at all lately,” Keyra now threw the question.
Kimberly didn’t respond immediately. She chose to take a sip of the green tea freeze she had ordered first. “I don’t know, honestly. I don’t know how long this relationship will last. I thought, after becoming Mr. Ice King’s fiancée, I could easily melt his heart. But it’s beyond my expectations. He’s really hard to thaw. I’m sure that up to this moment, he still hasn’t fallen in love with me,” Kimberly muttered in frustration.
Keyra reached out and gently stroked Kimberly’s shoulder, as if encouraging her to be patient and strong. Likewise, Alex did the same thing as Keyra.
“If you can’t handle it and want to give up, just do it, Kimmy. There’s no point in holding on if it makes you uncomfortable. You’re beautiful, and it shouldn’t be hard to find a man who’s ten times as handsome or wealthy as Mr. Nicholas,” Alex said at length, trying to give advice so that Kimberly wouldn’t continue to be downcast like she was now.NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
After years of friendship, Keyra and Alex knew very well that Kimberly’s silence didn’t mean nothing was happening to her. She sometimes liked to hide what she was feeling, especially her sadness and disappointment. Plus, they also knew the ups and downs of Kimberly’s life.
“Alex is right, Kimmy. If this current relationship isn’t bringing happiness, it’s better to end it. What’s the point of being engaged when, in reality, only you love the guy,” Keyra added her advice.
Kimberly took a deep breath, trying to weigh all the advice her friends were giving her. It was true that her relationship with Nicholas had started as a pretense to avoid the wrath of Nicholas’s parents. But when it came to her feelings, Kimberly was serious. She had started to love him when she unintentionally took care of him during a sudden onset of his phobia.
Amidst her swirling thoughts, a man approached Kimberly’s table and sat down between Keyra and Alex without hesitation.
“May I join you?” the man asked while placing his drink on the table.
“Please, Mike. Besides, I see that the seats in the cafeteria are full,” Keyra shifted her position to make room for Michael to sit comfortably.
Michael was one of the employees in the marketing division who had long held feelings for Kimberly. Everyone at Alpha Beta even knew about it. It was an open secret.
He turned his gaze toward Kimberly. “What’s wrong, Kimmy? Is something bothering you?” Michael asked without beating around the bush.
Kimberly raised her face. “M-me?” she pointed to herself.
Michael nodded. “Yes, you. The only Kimberly here. Besides, it’s pretty clear from your facial expression that something’s bothering you,” Michael guessed.
Kimberly grimaced. Why did everyone easily read her facial expressions? She had been trying so hard to appear normal.
“Instead of you being sad, how about joining the birthday celebration for Mr. Andrew tonight? The party is at HollyWings,” Michael suggested. He spoke while munching on the French fries in front of Keyra.
“Oh, really?” Kimberly inquired.
“Yes, Kimmy. If you decide to go, we can pick you up,” Alex offered.
“If you need a temporary date, I’m also ready to be your date tonight, Kimmy,” Michael teased with a playful tone, earning laughter from Keyra and Alex.
“No one can take Kimberly away without my permission.”
Suddenly, that baritone voice startled them all without exception.