Zed’s POV
I can’t believe how things turned out for me. The Quartet is growing rapidly and the branches of XYZ Coffee Shops have multiplied. And since my passion is always on the stage, I never stop accepting speaking engagements. I even entrust my businesses to a pool of managers and analysts.
The stage is my escape world where people think of me as someone great and powerful. I inspire them with my words and mesmerize them with my looks. I know I have those assets because magazines and tabloids often feature me as the beautiful face behind powerful mindsets.
Yes, I change people's mindsets, always pointing them to the bright world of positive thinkers. I let them refuse to entertain weakness and encourage them to be resilient. Those whose willpower and inner drives have died, I resurrect them under my coaching. Those whose companies are losing beyond the point of redemption, I let them spring to life under my series of motivational and leadership training.
However, they don’t know that behind my uplifting words, I also suffer sleepless nights. All because of the pain I have always kept, starting from the time I lost my parents, down to the day Yen chose Kim over me. Although I have a set of few friends and people who work for me, I’m still lonely and alone. Because they are like those thousand listeners I have inspired; they never have entered into the innermost chambers of my heart.
Yen hadn’t seen that loneliness because she brightened my world. And to keep her from asking about me and my family background, I only told her I grew up in an orphanage. However, I grew up with my parents who both died in unusual ways. After several years of searching for the culprit and trying to solve the mysteries, I think I am now getting closer to having the answer.
The search should not control my life and happiness. But rather vice-versa. I’ll only give it a time when I’m free. Because through my years of struggles, I have learned to control the urges. It’s because the sound advice I gave to my crowd was also convincing messages for myself. I have learned from my own coaching and am motivated by my own mentoring.
“Breakfast is ready!” Ella hollers, disrupting my train of contemplation.
It’s been hours already and I am still staring at my laptop with a dull mind. I can't take my mind from Yen who almost begged me to return to her. I knew she’s only guilty and not in her right mind. But at least I know now that somehow I hold some worth in her eyes despite my flaws.
“Coming!” I holler back, smiling as I close my laptop. I then rise to my feet and saunter towards the garden.
Ella gives meaning to my life despite the fact that our situation is only temporary. She doesn’t tell much about James and I also don’t pester her about him. I only know that she is waiting for him and that she is and will always be his.
“Sit down,” she says while pouring coffee into my cup. “Do you want me to add sugar and cream?”
“Don’t pamper me too much, dear. I might not be able to hold back and hide you from James when the time comes.”
“Can we not talk about him, Zed? Let’s enjoy what we have and what we are now. We have already talked about it.”
“Alright,” I say, planting my lips on her forehead.
Eversince our sex becomes regular, I always put it in my mind that Ella is only temporary. That one day James will come and take her from me. Because I have nothing against James. He’s someone that Ella’s father valued. And I understand that whoever her father held dear in his heart, she will also do the same.
“What’s your activities this morning?” she asks.
“Tell me yours, first.”
“I’m going back to Jakara Hotel. I may have the chance to see Mr. D.”
“I want to go with you,” she pouts before she continues, “because I also want that latte art for Jamella. But we will have a meeting with the board today. We will discuss the partnership with Kim Yuan Microelectronics.”
“If I have some luck today, I will book another appointment for us to see him together.”
“Thank you, babe,” she says, making my heart jump at her endearment.
I raise my cup and take a large gulp. Then, my brows crease as I savor its taste in my tongue.
“Dear, what kind of coffee is this?” I ask.
Her reply is instant. “Why? Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it. But it tastes bitter like there are lots of herbs.”
She chuckles. “Yes. I choose the ones with herbs because they’re healthier.”
“So, I’ll expect that next to this is corn coffee or herbal teas.”
Ella laughs and her eyes move seductively to my lap. At her gaze, my shaft also twitches, poking behind my workout shorts.
“That’s what I mean. It also makes you healthier down there.”
“Damn you, Ella!” I stand up from my seat and Ella giggles. Before she can think of escaping, I already wrap her in my arms, kissing her nape. It’s one of her most sensitive spots.
“No!” she squeals.
But she’s already too late. I have already stripped her nighties which she still put on while preparing breakfast. And my hands instantly cup her two hardened peaks.
Ella’s squeals and laughter are endless. I’m only plowing her nape with my tongue while caressing her breasts, but she’s already screaming hard. And that’s what I like about her. She always responds wildly, like I’m the god of sex. All the negative feelings I harbored for years because of my sexual flaw are now gone. All because of her.
Ella has changed me. She makes me feel desirable in bed. So, I always look forward to pleasing her.
I lift her off the floor and bring her to her room. Ever since she started asking about my secret room, I no longer allow her there. She can’t find out about me yet. I make love to her and even sleep with her sometimes, but never in my room. I also don’t want to get used to sleeping with her because I don’t want to go through the same pain again. I only hope she understands.
“Stop it Zed. Put me down!” she screams and giggles at the same time.
“You ask for this. Do you see what you have done?” I tell her as I place her on the edge of the bed. She lies prone right away, giving her back and ass to me. She never demands foreplay, though I never skip that part. It’s something I have learned from Yen.
“Yes, but I like that!”
I start working on the contour of her spine with my mouth while my hands stay on her cups. Her screams get louder every minute. And I get harder down there.
“Zed, please. I need you inside!”
I remove my undies and poke my dripping head to her entrance But before I can make my way inside her, my phone rings. I ignore it, but the ringing doesn’t stop.
“Let me take this call, Ella. I promise to turn it off afterward.”
I place the phone in my ear. But before I can greet the caller, he speaks ahead of me.
“Sir, Mr. D has a new design. He has just arrived.”
“Send me a picture, please.”
The caller ends the voice call, but soon, a notification pops up. I click it open and a latte art greets my eyes.
It’s another portrait of Yen, but this time, it has his logo.