INSATIABLE CRAVINGS
Insatiable Cravings – Episode 91
Subtitle; {Loving You Is A Loosing Game}
TAGS: Age-gap, Mafia, Forbidden Love, Drama, Tragedy and Betrayal.
Settings: United Kingdom, Russia and others.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
~ Genevieve ~
Seconds turned into minutes, minutes transformed into hours, hours stretched into days, days morphed into months, and months finally slid into years. Season after season, I observed time drifting by with an agonising slowness.
It was the most excruciating and torturóus period of my life, yet I persevered. I overcame it, despite the myriad of difficulties, and I take great pride in my progress.
During the first year, I couldn’t stop crying. I wept almost every second of the day until my throat throbbed paiñfully and my eyes ran dry. The world felt like a grey haze, and I was lost within it.
I left the UK for Beijing, China, on a transfer, abandoning the school I had longed to attend for as long as I could remember, and stepping into a place entirely foreign to me.
The second year? You guessed it, I was still crying. It seemed there were more years to endure. My heart remained heavy with sorrow, and I yearned for numbness.
But numbness didn’t arrive, nor did sleep. They appeared to conspire against me, taunting my fragile state. I cried too frequently and slept far too little.
The sleeping pills offered some relief. I can’t say I was grateful, but at least they ensured that when I drifted off, I didn’t dream of him.
I hardly dreamt at all. It was as if I had been swallowed by a black hole, and oddly enough, I preferred that to the torment of dreaming about him.
By the third year, I finally managed to smile without feigning it. I won’t lie; I was still húrting, but I had learned to manage myself.
I kept my composure even when memories of him crept into my mind, controlling the impulse to cry. I was happier, stronger, and slowly rediscovering myself.
No longer was I the object of concern for Ria, Xavier, Jules, and Liam. I was once more Genevieve King.
As for the fourth year? I had returned, better than ever—and wait, I was at my best. Genevieve Dove King was back, and this time, she wasn’t going anywhere.
“So, I need your help with one of the clients,” said Cora, the friend I had made during my first year here, her voice laced with caution.
My interest piqued, I replied, “Alright, spill the beans. My schedule is clear for the next three months.”
After successfully winning yet another case, I had decided to take a well-deserved break. Yes, I was my own boss and a lawyer to boot.
“Oh, I know,” Cora beamed, her smile bright and almost mischievous. “So, are you going to do it?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“We have a client based in London.” I froze, my smile fading. She blinked at me, continuing, “His company needs a bit of renovation. But you know about my upcoming trip to the Bahamas, so I can’t go.”
Oh no, she’s saying what I think she’s saying. She truly is.
“I can’t,” I replied honestly.
I had delved so deeply into this recovery era that I wouldn’t jeopardise it. Returning to the UK was nothing but trouble waiting to happen, and I would prefer it to wait forever.
“Girl, why not?” she whined like a petulant child. “You’ve been pestering me to get you something, and this is it.”
No, this is not it.
This is a disaster waiting to unfold, a storm brewing. I can’t do this to myself.
I won’t!
“Cora, I know what I said, and I’m certain leaving Beijing for London wasn’t included.”
Cora and I happened to be business partners in a small interior design firm known for our exceptional designs. We had garnered three awards in just two years since our launch.
We were thriving. The business was booming, and I was genuinely pleased for her. She needed this to succeed.
“Genny,” she elongated my name until it started to grate on my ears. “You’re literally British; London is your home. You can’t just run away from it.”
“Who said I’m running?” I countered. “I’m protecting what is most important, and that’s myself.”
“The UK is vast; it’s highly unlikely you’ll bump into him. Just do this, alright? You are Genevieve bloódy King; you’ll be alright.”
I would have rejected her again, but knowing Cora, she wouldn’t let it drop until I acquiesced. So, I nodded reluctantly.
“Yay, I’m so happy!” she cheered.
“Of course, you are.” The sarcasm slipped out before I could rein it in, earning me a narrowed brow from her, which I greeted with a cheeky grin. “So, who is this man? And what does he do?”
The cautious expression returned as she slowly rose from the couch we were seated on, an awkward smile flickering across her face.
“Cora?”
“It is… It’s… erm, erm, Do…”
“Cora?” I snapped, impatience creeping into my voice.
“It’s Dominic Morozov.”
All the air was knocked from my lungs, and my heart thundered—was it rage? Shock? Whatever it was, it felt wild and chaotic, spiralling out of my control.
“Cora Song!” I picked up the throw pillow next to me and hurled it in her direction as she made a dash for safety.
It narrowly missed her, and she laughed, clearly impressed with her “good dodge,” her words, not mine.
“I’m so sorry, Gene. I know this might seem dreadful to you, but what better way to convince yourself you’re completely over your ex than being close to them for a couple of weeks?”
“Hmmm, I don’t know. Perhaps by staying as far away as possible?”
“Nah.”
“Nah?” I echoed incredulously. “You did not just say ‘nah’ to me right now. I’m furious, and this isn’t amusing, so don’t you dare ‘nah’ me.”
“Girl…”
“Don’t ‘girl’ me either,” I snapped, and she feigned a dramatic flinch. “I’m serious, I can’t do this.”
✷✷✷✷
You won’t believe this.
I did it. I’m back in the UK, and I may or may not be hyperventilating at the thought of working on his company’s renovation.
My mind incessantly wandered, conjuring up images of how awkward it would be working under the same roof as him. I desperately hoped my imagination was running wild and that I was merely being paranoid about the whole situation.
He has a girlfriend who’s all pink and obsesséd with him, posting countless pictures of him on her Instagram, and he wouldn’t even notice I’m there.
Wait, what am I saying?
I am Genevieve King; of course he’ll notice I’m around—everyone does. It’s my thing to draw attention, not that I’m bragging or anything.
And it’s not as if I spent the first two years of my wrétched breakup stalkíng him, but somehow I discovered he was having a grand old time without me in his life.
In every single god-forsàken video I stumbled upon—whether it was on the telly or my phone—he was grinning like a Cheshire cat, his smile so wide it practically lit up the room. That dazzling grin was what helped me move on from him, or at least I tried to convince myself of that.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.
Can I do this?
••
I killéd the engine of my latest Audi, feeling the hum of the powerful engine fade into silence. As I stepped out, I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the crisp London air, tinged with the faint scent of rain and exhaust mingling together.
I can do this.
I can do this.
As I had reminded myself just yesterday, all eyes were on me as I strode towards the receptionist at the front desk. Ignoring the hushed murmurs of people who should’ve been working, I received my instructions from the man at the desk before heading towards the lift.
And that was my second mistake; the first was agreeing to this. Unfortunately, it was already a bit too late for second thoughts as I stepped inside.
The doors closed with a soft chime and began to ascend, and the person sharing the lift with me was none other than him.
TBC📖✍️
