A few more weeks passed by and I continued leading art classes with Rae.

I spent less time at Ravenwolf Co. because things had settled down over there... and they were busy with the new line in Nagoya.

I was able to complete some commissioned pieces from clients I had met at events and art galleries... I set up a social media account finally for my work which slowly started to gain local popularity.

I watched over Nathan a little closely when I could to make sure he felt supported. Just as he supported his family this entire time... and everything seemed to be fine.

I thought about Kai whenever my thoughts wandered. I wondered about how much time I had left with this family and all the things I would regret after leaving.

That included not being able to tell Kai how I really felt...

I didn't regret our kiss and that fact still haunted me...

Would I have to hide this my entire life?

"Hazel?" I looked over at Rae who was helping one of the students. I smiled and walked over to a few of the kids admiring some of the bright acrylics.

***

A few days later I got up early to go to Ravenwolf Co. for a change and along the way Walt abruptly stopped the car. I had only been staring at my phone so it had startled me a little.

"Is everything alright?" I said, while leaning forward. I noticed that Walt was sighing.

"I think there's something wrong with the exhaust, sorry Hazel..." I looked around. He had pulled over to the side of the road. It looked like we were only about 10 minutes away from the company...

"It's alright... will you be okay waiting here for roadside assistance?"

"Yes, but what about you?"

"I can walk from here."

"Are you sure?"

"Let me call Nathan to update him..." I let Nathan know about our car troubles and that I would be walking to the company. Although he kept insisting on sending me a car I reassured him that I would be fine. I said goodbye to Walt and then exited the car.

I started walking along the sidewalk at a fast pace since I didn't want to be late. I knew no one would really care to notice considering I was just sitting in on a few meetings today that I wasn't participating in. But I didn't want to look tardy...

Along the way I heard a honk from a car a few metres away from me. When I looked over my shoulder I saw the window roll down.

Luca...

Why was he here?

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

I noticed that his driver was pulling over to the side. I tried ignoring him but he stepped out of the car as soon as they parked. He caught up to me within a minute.

"Don't you know? The company is nearby..."

"Oh right, you are the heir after all..." he smiled and I rolled my eyes.

"But why are you walking? Where is the royal carriage?" I scoffed a little when he spoke.

"I needed some fresh air..." we were closing in on a construction site ahead... I thought about taking a detour but it was quicker here and they had an underpass.

"Well then... let's get some fresh air together. My dry cleaning pick up is in another fifteen minutes and it's in this direction anyway."

"Great..." I said while trying to pick up my pace again but he easily caught up to me because of his long legs.

"Did you enjoy your trip to Japan?"

"I did..." I didn't want to be rude but somehow it felt like I was betraying Kai every time I spoke to him... even if Luca never did anything personally against me.

"How is the company doing?"

"Luca..."

"I heard you're a painter. How did you get into art?" I stopped suddenly and then turned to face him. He was a few steps ahead of me at that point so he shuffled back to stand in front of me.

"You... know an awful lot about me."

"I have a reliable source. My cousin is quite a terror when she wants to know her enemies..." my cheeks flushed in rage... Natalie...

"How can we be considered enemies at this point? She's like an annoying piece of gum that gets attached to the bottom of your shoe" Luca laughed a little at my comment.

"There's something unique about you..."

"Glad you find me entertaining..." I glanced at my phone again and gasped.

"Look, I have to go! I'm going to be late..."I put my phone in my bag in a hurry. Instead of leaving me alone Luca continued to follow after me... he looked like a lost puppy. Any closer and Kai would probably spot him...

"Luca!"

"Meet me for coffee?" I glared at him and pointed at him accusingly. I stopped again and we faced each other.

"You know this amount of persistence can be considered stalking?"

"How about it?" he leaned in and I sighed... it was like I was debating a wall...

I saw that Luca's driver had caught up to him.

"I'll think about it..." Luca smiled and then left me his business card before dashing off into his car...

This guy... I turned to walk underneath the underpass. When I emerged out into the other side I watched his car drive forward. I shook my head a few times...

Barely a minute later there was a loud, shattering noise up ahead. I rushed forward to look at people gathering around. Traffic had stopped so people were honking their car horns.

I saw a woman pull a crying child away from the scene who was holding onto a shiny red ball...

I looked at the car that had hit a steel post. There was a huge dent in the front of the car and I gasped.

It... was Luca's car...