"I missed you." Alexander said in a sexy voice while hugging the lady from behind.

Fortunately for him, his helpers are off-duty that day. That's why he's happy that Natalia is cooking for the both of them. He loves her dishes.

As he observed the woman, Alexander can't help but snuggle her neck and sniff her sweet scent.

"Xander...I'm not yet done." The woman said chuckling and ordered him to arrange the dining table as the food will be ready in few minutes.

Alexander obeyed and helped on setting up the table. Both of them ate quietly but wasn't bothered by the silence. After eating, the man washed the dirty dishes.

Natalia observed him in return. She wasn't aware that Alexander can do household chores. "It's surprising to know that you can do that."

"Just practicing...." 'for the future.'

The man nonchalantly replied but looked at her meaningfully.

Natalia focused her eyes on the pan as her heart became stuffy. She changed the topic to ease her emotion. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"None... Why? Do you want to ask me out?" Alexander directly asked. The woman's face turned crimson. He smirked and said, "Don't worry. Even if you won't, I already planned this day with you."

Natalia tried to calm herself after hearing the words from Alexander. "Hmm..Where do you plan to go?" She realized that she misses him, too and was glad that he wanted to be with her.

She had been staying at the Zimmer Estate for two weeks straight now. She stayed by her father's side every minute and every hour while the medical experts were checking and studying his condition.

"You'll see." The man told her smiling.

--------------

Alexander drove his Ford Raptor pickup car to the Antioch Orphanage. Along the way, he and Natalia ordered and bought snacks for all the people inside the institution.

Reaching their destination, the children welcomed them and expressed their happiness. The two fulfilled their promise to visit again.

Hannah giggled as she told the two visitors about what everyone is thinking. In the children's eyes, they are simply the best disney couple they've ever met in person.

Alexander and Natalia smiled tenderly at the thought and walked towards the venue hall.

(Reference of their outfits)

"How have you been, little girl?" Alexander asked Hannah as he carried her to the long table filled with different pastries, sandwiches and sliced fruits.

"I'm very great Prince." Hannah answered but then suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" Alexander gently asked. He followed the eyes of the little girl and saw a young boy beside him. The kid was bowing his head. Natalia once told him about a little boy who's bullying their little Hannah. He smiled and gave the little girl to Natalia.

"What's your name, young man?" Alexander asked with a straight face.

"Paul, your highness." The young boy replied and lifted his head to look at the handsome man whom he revered.

"You definitely know your manners when addressing a royalty. That's good. But what's greater is that you shouldn't harm others with your actions or words. Do you understand, young man?" Alexander firmly said yet smiled at the boy.

"Yes, your highness. I...I will be a good man from now on." The kid replied in full determination as he wanted to grow up just like Alexander.

After talking with the virtous man, little Paul marched towards little Hannah and apologized for the things that he has done. The little girl nodded and smiled at the boy.

Alexander strode towards the kids and proudly tousled their hairs.

Witnessing the adorable scene of how Alexander dealt with them, a thought sprung in Natalia's mind.

'You will be a great father someday.'

But the idea reminded her of the reality. The sad reality that she won't be witnessing how the man will become a great parent someday. Natalia abruptly inhaled so that her vision won't get misty. She tried to smile once again and joined the fun.

During the little snack time, Natalia's phone rang. She excused herself and answered the call of Jake.

Alexander followed her through his eyes and could tell that the woman became serious and rigid during the entire conversation. After the call, the woman shifted her expression to a lively one. He wanted to ask her but kept his silence.

After the little party with the kids, Alexander and Natalia bade their goodbyes.

"See you later, Prince and Princess!" Hannah hugged the beautiful woman then turned to the gorgeous guy doing the same thing.

"Once I grew up, I will become a princess. When that time comes, can I instead call you my King and Queen?" The innocent child proposed.

The woman stared blankly at the girl while the man answered, "Of course. You will be one of our princesses." After saying that, Alexander looked at Natalia with significance but the woman didn't see it as her gaze was focused on the child.

Hannah clapped her hands and said her thank you to the couple.

Alexander and Natalia drove back to the city capital. The man noticed that the woman became extra quiet. Only blinking and staring at the window.

"Natalia..." Alexander called out.

"Mm?" She unconsciously uttered which clearly showed that her mind was somewhere else.

"Can you... stay for dinner?" Alexander briefly looked at her then back to the road.

"Sure." She blinked her eyes and gave him a pleasant smile which contrasted her dreary eyes.

After hearing the reply, the man held her hands with his one hand subduing a negative notion that's building up in his mind.

Arriving at the Zion Grand Hotel, Alexander never let go of her hand. As they reached the penthouse, he called the hotel's chef to cooked a scrumptious dinner for him and Natalia.

While waiting for the food, Alexander suggested that they can watch a movie. The woman agreed and they browsed the movie catalog. Both of them chose something that they haven't seen yet. A movie entitled, The Greatest Showman.

Natalia became engrossed at the movie while Alexander just stared at her the whole time as they sat on the carpeted floor.

A specific scene caught their attention. It was when the two characters confessed and confronted each others' feelings. The background song hooked them up.

[[ You know I want you.

It's not a secret I try to hide.

I know you want me.

So don't keep sayin' our hands are tied..]]

Alexander never averted his eyes from Natalia as he listened to the lyrics.

[[ But you're here in my heart.

So who can stop me,

if I decide that you're my destiny? ]]

[[What if we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine.

Nothing could keep us apart.

You'd be the one I was meant to find.

It's up to you, and it's up to me

No one can say what we get to be]]

FEMALE CHARACTER:

[[You think it's easy.

You think I don't wanna run to you.

But there are mountains,

And there are doors that we can't walk through ]]

Natalia closed her eyes listening to the words of the song. Her chin trembled. And as her tears were threatening to fall, she angled her head to the other side.

[[ No one can rewrite the stars.

How can you say you'll be mine?

Everything keeps us apart.

And I'm not the one you were meant to find.

It's not up to you. It's not up to me.

When everyone tells us what we can be...

How can we rewrite the stars? ]]

Alexander creased his brows as he listened harder to the music which seemed to pierced his soul.

Natalia, on the other hand, was trying so hard to conceal her tears. Both of them were at a loss for words as the movie continued to play on the background.

Thankfully, the door rang. Alexander stood up to open the door and let the server push the kitchen cart inside. Natalia then switched off the big monitor and quickly wiped off her tears.

The two of them were silently eating again. Though the foods are delicious, each person tasted the blandness of the unspoken situation.

Alexander finished his meal first. He had been clenching the dinner fork the whole time as he cannot erase a worried thought that's lingering inside of him.

"Can you stay the night?" He asked hoping that she would.

Natalia stopped eating for a while then looked at the man and said, "I would love to." She smiled at him genuinely this time.

Alexander waited for Natalia to finished then held her hands once again as they climbed the stairs and marched towards the master's bedroom.

The woman took a shower and Alexander did the same thing at one of the other rooms.

Once finished, Natalia looked for a shirt then change to it. She then dried her hair and climbed on the bed. She wanted to wait for Alexander and spent more time with him but her thoughts brought her to dreamland.

Alexander went back to his room after finishing his bath. He noticed that the woman was already asleep and sighed as he laid on the bed. He draw closer to Natalia and kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose and her lips. His mouth lingered longer at the last one and instinctively caressed the woman's waist.

Natalia was awaken by his actions and slowly responded to the kiss. The man shifted his body above her as the kiss became intense. Her hands were fixed by the man above her head as he continue to devour her now swollen lips. As the moment became consuming, a faint noise escaped her mouth.

Hearing the way Natalia responded, Alexander became intoxicated by his desire. He roamed her body with both of his hands and unconsciously brushed the woman's chest.

Natalia whimpered at the action as she was bare underneath the t-shirt.

Alexander snapped back from the trance. "I'm sorry." He said between kisses and shuddered as he controlled his desire.

"Uhumm." Natalia replied and smiled at him. The man closed his eyes and his lips shifted to her neck staying there for a while. She hugged him and suddenly felt a weak jolt of pain.

"Did you just bit---"

"You're marked." Alexander said proudly then laid beside Natalia. The woman blushed and was spooned by him.

Both of them were satisfied holding each other and savoring the peaceful moment.

After several minutes, Natalia fell asleep in his arms. Alexander looked at her for a long time as he convinced himself that everything will be fine. Everything needs to be fine. He will deal with the dilemma after this weekend and come back to Natalia's arms. And after several minutes of thinking, Alexander gave in to sleep.

Natalia woke up after an hour or so.

She turned her head to glance at the man whom she learned to love. She stared at his face and caressed it with her hands before giving him a longing kiss on the lips. She slowly stood up and once again looked at Alexander with sad eyes.

#######

Morning came.

Alexander slightly opened his eyes and lifted his hand to caress the woman's face. His arm was unusually light and he looked around. There's no one beside him.

"Natalia?" He checked the bathroom and the kitchen, then the whole house but, none. He dialed her number but she didn't answer. He thought that she already went back to the Zimmer estate to monitor her father. He was slightly hurt at the idea because she didn't wake him before going back home.

His phone buzzed.

It meant that he needed to start his work. After taking a shower, Alexander checked his personal notebook. The priority is the newly acquired companies. The management has been busy with the acquisition lately. He needs to monitor the project strictly. Then another thing is the upcoming board meeting.

Tapping his wrist watch, he resolved that he will just message Natalia that he will be visiting her at the condo after his hectic schedule.

#######

Tuesday.

Alexander went straight at Zion Suites. He bought a bouquet of white flowers for Natalia. Thinking about their previous encounters, this will be the first time that he will give her such thing. He walked inside the building with a powerful demeanor yet deep inside, he was excited. Unaware of how the staffs looked at him with a different emotion, he went to the elevator.

The machine stopped at Natalia's floor and he buzzed once he reached the front of her unit. After half a minute, he buzzed again. He waited another minute then did the same thing.

After a while, he punched the passcode to unlock the door but it was denied. Alexander was puzzled and called Natalia.

"Excuse me, Sir. Do you need anything?" A utility man who was on the same hallway approached Alexander.

"No. Thank you." He answered then tried the passcode again.

The utility man observed him for a while then spoke again.

"Mr. Gates. If I may." The man punched 1.2.3.4.5. on the panel and the door unlocked.

Alexander raised his eyebrows and thought how this man knew about the passcode of Natalia. He stared at the man coldly.

"Sir, I'm sorry for the intrusion but this unit has been sold." The man explained.

'Sold?'

"What are you saying?" Alexander questioned the man giving him a death stare.

"Ms. Zimmer no longer owned this unit."

Alexander was taken aback but still opened the door. He looked around and found the furnitures were still there. He went to the master's bedroom to look at her closet. There's nothing there except the dress that he gave her. He looked over her dresser but, empty.

He tried calling Natalia again to know what's happening but, nothing.

He then exited the building and immediately headed to Zimmer Estate.

Arriving there, he called her again, but no one answered. He stayed on his car and waited. He sent her messages but didn't received any reply. His hands were shaking as he dialed his assistant's number.

After an hour, his assistant appeared beside him inside the car.

"Sir, I've contacted Ms. Trish Vene but she wasn't willing to disclose any information about the young miss. I've also tried the fashion designer but he has no clue at all." Sergei reported to him.

Alexander didn't show any expression as he listened to his assistant. Afterwards he started the car's engine and drove to the Lee Mansion.

Reaching the property, the guards told them that their masters are out of the country and didn't know when they will be back.

Alexander drove back to the Zimmer Estate.

'What happened Natalia?'

He waited the whole night for a reply or call from her. Anything. But nothing.

Sergei convinced his boss to rest and go back tomorrow but Alexander is a stubborn man.

"I'll wait for her." The man said.

The assistant reluctantly went home and told his boss that he will be back early tomorrow. Alexander just nodded.

--------------

Morning came. There's no Natalia that came out of the Estate. He approached the guards but they didn't say anything either. Then, Alexander saw Jake riding a car and the former parked his own vehicle outside the front gates.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jake shouted with an irritated voice as he cannot move forward.

"Where is Natalia?" Alexander questioned in return.

"Get lost." Jake replied.

Alexander just stared at him coldly and still barricaded the front gates with his car. The Zimmer guards came out to reprimand him but Alexander's men also came out to protect him at the same time.

"Mr. Gates. I don't know what kind of things you've done against my sister. But one thing is for sure. You won't see her anymore in this lifetime." Jake told the man in a dismissive tone.

#######

Disclaimer: I do not own or composed the lyrics.