"Enrico, It's really not what you think." She quickly stated, as she took a step towards him in an attempt to explain herself.

"I... I needed the money but... "

"Did you ever like me as much as I did with you?" He suddenly asked, interrupting anything she had to say. He stared at her with hope filled eyes, waiting for a positive reply from her, but all he got was silence, followed by the sorrowful and pitiful look in her eyes.

He let out a sigh as her silence finally concluded his reply. The new realisation hurt him and he gulped down hard in an act to control his emotions as he looked elsewhere, he turned away from her to leave.

"Enrico. Enrico." She called as she rushed to his front in an attempt to stop him, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"Please, believe me when I say I truly love you very much."

"Why... what changed? You weren't in love with me back then but now... now, miraculously... you are. I'm still the same person, aren't I?" He questioned, unable to hold back in the very fact that had been troubling him.

"Enrico." She called in a low and sad voice, as she somewhat pleaded to him with her eyes.

"I can't... I can't believe mum was right... It's the money, the wealth, isn't it?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Because I don't know you! Actually, I really don't know anything about you. I never asked and I never had you secretly investigated because of the trust I had in you. I believed you had your reasons and that someday, you'll tell me everything, but... clearly, I was wrong." He explained before attempting another step away, but she stood on his path, tears streaming down her cheeks. She had to take deep breaths in order to control her sobbing and enable her speak properly, but Enrico looked anywhere else but on her.

"Enrico, I know... Fine. I admit to the fact that keeping this a secret from you for so long was wrong of me, but I had my reasons. I..."

"Can we stop here?" He suddenly interrupted, his gaze now back on her, but Kiana could see something different in his eyes. His gaze on her was different from his usual. That time around, it seemed cold and staring directly into his eyes, he seemed soulless.

"W-what?"

"I... I don't trust you anymore. I don't know who you are and I... being around you will only make me feel miserable, a sole reminder of the past and of a future that was never there in the first place so... let's stop while we can." He told her and for the first few seconds, all she did was blankly stare at him. Eventually, she blinked several times to control her emotions before taking a step towards him in an attempt to touch his hands, but he took a step backward away from her.

"Let me know how much trouble you have been through because of me and I'll make sure you're heavily awarded for your troubles." He coldly stated before walking right past her, sparing her not even one last glance.

Kiana rolled both her lips inward, while she stood there.

Let me know how much trouble you have been through because of me and I'll make sure you're heavily awarded for your troubles.

She recalled his exact words and a strange chuckle escaped her lips, while her eyes remained teary and as she shut her eyes for a moment, the tears came trickling down her cheeks. She opened them once more and took a look back at Enrico. She was able to catch sight of him getting into his car and without wasting a second more, he drove off. Kiana watched as his car rode away and she didn't look away till he was out of sight. The tears kept rolling down her cheeks and no matter how many times she sniffed or tried to control them, they just kept coming.

While seated on one of the public benches, Kiana kept recalling his last words to her and she felt hurt that he would say such things to her. She wasn't a gold digger and she, most certainly, hadn't fallen in love with him because of his money. Yes, perhaps, she didn't have a crush on him in the past like he did with her, but she had truly cherished him. Back then, she had a lot on her plate and having a crush couldn't be part of it. She had given him a special place in her heart, regardless of her situation, but now, it was too late to explain anything to Enrico. She wasn't mad at him for saying such things to her. He was angry and his anger was duly justified. He had thought so highly of her, but in the end, he was disappointed.

The tears rolled down her cheeks and as she held her phone in her hand, she dialed his number and brought it close to her ear. It rang for several times, but there was no reply. She repeated the same thing over and over again and when she got no reply, she eventually burst out into sobs, burying her face in her hands.

* * *

Enrico took a look at his phone lying on the passenger's seat and when he realised it rang no more, he looked away from it and unto the view ahead of him.

"Did... Did you actually accept the money she offered?"

"Yes."

He shut his eyes upon having recalled the conversation he had with her. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and his breathing heightened. At that very moment, every scene from his past, regarding their moments together, flashed across his mind and his brows slowly furrowed in contempt. He opened his eyes with a heavy sigh and his chest felt like it was going to explode. He felt really bad. He felt like a sore loser and he hated such a feeling. Honestly, he didn't know what to think of his new found situation. In Fact, he didn't want to think of all this anymore. His heart was hurting so much and it was a feeling worse than the one he had when she had rejected him. Now, it was much worse.

His eyes grew teary and he tried his best to control the tears, but eventually, they went rolling down his cheeks. He wasn't upset with her because he had found out about her not having felt the same way as he did for her. He was upset because she had easily accepted money from his mother just to set him aside. It only goes to prove that he meant absolutely nothing to her. Neither as a friend, nor as a respectable human being. The thought alone was heart-breaking and the fact that she earlier claimed to love him, but never told him about the past, completely threw him out of balance. In a few minutes of having found out the real truth, he had lost his trust in her. Nothing she said now made sense to him. Not even her recently confessed feelings for him. In the past, he would argue and defend the fact that she wasn't materialistic, but now, he couldn't utter a word in her defence.

His sobbing became much worse and in that moment he could barely recall the beautiful and warm feeling he had felt with her in his arms, earlier that day.

* * *

She inputted the password to unlock the door into the penthouse that evening and afterwards, dragged herself in before shutting the door behind her. She made her way to the light switch and switched it on, before turning away from it to stare at the apartment. Everything was still the same as they had left it that morning. Turning to the kitchen, she sighted the glass cup on the counter that Enrico had taken juice with. She walked up to it and stared at it for a moment before a sigh escaped her lips, while she shut her eyes for a moment. The earlier incident of the day flashed through her mind and she eventually opened her eyes. At this point, she should cry, but she had practically been crying for the entire day that the tears had gone dry and she was going through a splitting headache. She hadn't set her eyes on Enrico since he walked away from her and he had refused to pick her calls.

She had accepted the fact that he was upset with her for accepting the money from his mother, but he knew nothing about her real reason for doing so; he only knew half the story. Obviously, Giulia had left out the other side to the story. If only he would listen to her. If only he wouldn't judge her so quickly. All she needed was one last chance. One chance to tell him everything and the fact that her love for him had nothing to do with his present social status in life. If only wishes could come through, then she would most definitely take full advantage of it. She was going to wait for him to get back home and she was going to do so, even if it took all night.

* * *

Her brows slightly furrowed before she attempted to turn her head to the other side, but a strange and sharp pain shot upwards from the back of her neck. Her face narrowed, squeezed in pain before she made an attempt at opening her eyes. She blinked a few times before looking sideways. The entire apartment had brightened up with the illumination from the sun and Kiana slowly sat up, she didn't need a shaman to tell her that the next day was here. As she dragged herself up to her feet, she rubbed the back of her neck to try and ease the pain she was feeling there from having fallen and asleep in a bad position on the sofa.

Enrico.

His name echoed in her mind and she gathered enough strength and made her way towards his room. First, she placed a few knocks on the door into his room, but she got no response. Eventually, she decided to take a look if he was actually inside and when she stepped in, the expression on her face grew sadder, as she realised he wasn't in. He never came back last night.

As Kiana took each step down the staircase, she eventually stopped and slumped on one of the staircases. A loud sigh escaped her lips. In that very moment, she realised just how serious he was about staying away from her. She couldn't help it as tears gathered her eyes and she buried her face in her hands.

At work, Kiana felt a little better when she sighted him approaching his office. On an impulse, she stood to her feet, but before she could say or do anything else, he walked right past her and directly into his office. She stood like a statue for about a few seconds as disappointment washed over her. She felt the tears coming on again, but she gulped down hard and tried her best to control her emotions. She gently took her seat once more as she lowered her eyes and tried to compose herself.

"Kiana." A familiar voice called and she immediately looked up. Macy stared down at her with an inquisitive look. She took a look at the entrance into Enrico's office, before returning her gaze back on Kiana.

"Are you okay?" She asked, care laced on her words. Kiana blinked a few times to try and clear away the tears in her eyes as she drew up a smile.

"Y-Yes... I'm fine." She lied with a simple smile on her face, hoping that would convince her friend, but all Macy did was stare at her for what seemed like forever. Eventually, she let out a sigh.

"Let's talk in private." She stated as she forced Kiana to her feet and before Kiana knew what was happening, she had walked alongside Macy halfway across the room.

"Look, almost everyone in this building saw you walk hand in hand alongside Mr. Vos the other day." Macy started as they finally stood at a secluded corner away from prying eyes and listening ears.

"You might not tell me anything and I understand you owe me no explanation, but recently, we've grown to become good friends and I can easily detect when something's wrong with you." She continued and Kiana listened patiently, although she couldn't look her in the eyes for fear of blurting out everything wrong with her.

Somehow, Macy could see how hard she was trying to be strong.

"Are you in a relationship with Mr Vos?" She suddenly asked and Kiana instantly looked up to her.
At that very point, she didn't know what to reply. Their relationship had barely made it past three days and although she still thought of Enrico as hers, he had made it clear that it would be better they go their separate ways.

Is she to say yes or no? Kiana had no idea, but as she stared at Macy waiting expectantly for a reply, she realised that first and foremost, she was his employee before anything else. Her yes could somehow spread rumours that might tarnish his reputation about dating at work, and her no... her no could mean acceptance of the fact that their relationship was truly over. Both answers were heart-breaking.

"The relationship we share is that of old school mates. We attended the same high school." She gave a reply of something within the box, but at the same time, completely different.

Macy raised both eyebrows at her in surprise and at the same time questioning. Kiana expected another set of questions from her, but all she got was a simple smile.

"Okay. I asked because of what I saw and I didn't want to hear the truth from someone else, which might as well be a lie. I hope you understand." She explained and Kiana gave a light nod in accordance as she tried her best to wear a smile on her face.

Macy smiled back.

* * *

While lost in thoughts, her phone rang and she barely heard it till after a while. As she picked the call, she brought the phone close to her ear.

"Hello, am I speaking with Kiana Stuart?" The strange voice asked and although Kiana wondered who it might be, she gave a reply.

"Yes, speaking."

* * *

Enrico stepped out of his office and pretentiously choosing not to pay much attention to his surroundings, he looked straight ahead and walked forward.

"W-what!?" Her voice sounded averagely low, but that was enough to cause him to come to a halt. He stood about less than two steps behind as his eyes fell on her.

What caught his attention wasn't actually her voice, but the tone of it. He got the feeling that something was wrong and his feeling was only justified when the phone she had stuck to her ear, suddenly fell from her hand and onto the floor. His brows furrowed in confusion and within a second of staying in that phase, she suddenly sprang to her feet, picked up her handbag and quickly began making her way towards the elevator.

Enrico took a step further with the thought of going after her due to his undeniable feelings for her, but the scene of their last discussion flashed across his mind and he halted on any further action. As he watched her go, looking devastated and sad, his mind felt divided about his decision to stay away from her.

Why does she seem so upset? What news could she have received? Is she okay? Such questions flooded his thoughts. Regardless of how upset he was with her, there was no denying that he was still very much in love with her and nothing could be done about that. He took one look at her phone on the floor, the screen slightly cracked and he shifted his eyes back to her, who seemed to have forgotten her phone. She seemed so impatient about the elevators that were taking time to open and without further hesitation, she hurried towards the staircase.

Kiana.

His heart called out and without thinking any further, he rushed forward, picked up her phone and went after her. Her steps were fast, faster than usual, which made him more eager to catch up with her and find out what's wrong.

If possible, comfort her.