There were times in Lina's life where she realized how small the world was. She needed to meet Atlantis, and coincidentally, shortly after a bath, she received a call from him. She began to appreciate how every moment of a person's life was connected to another, and that another was connected to someone else. The entire world was a web of connections.

  The call occurred when Kaden took his shower not long after she got out of her bath. He had given her a sweet massage prior to her soak, but did not enter the tub with her.

  Kaden wouldn't be able to control himself if she were within an arm's reach of his burning desire; he wouldn't be able to resist devouring her there in the water.

  "Madam?" A voice gently called from the closed door.

  Lina had slipped on comfortable clothes when she heard the knock. She approached the door and opened it to see it was Theodore.

  "Theodore," Lina addressed.

  "Madam, there is a man claiming to know you," Theodore told her in a respectful tone. He masked the judgment in his gaze, wondering if she'd dare to cheat on their Master.

  "Is it my brother?" Lina excitedly asked him, her eyes lighting up. "Did he say his name was Milo?"

  Theodore was touched that her first thought wasn't of panic. He thought she'd be frantic because a man that wasn't Kaden was trying to contact her through a home phone. Usually, affairs were more discrete. Seeing her lack of anxiety, Theodore concluded it was nothing.

  "Unfortunately not, Madam, he claims to be Atlantis," Theodore told her.

  "Atlantis?" Lina repeated in disbelief.

  "Atlantis," Theodore confirmed. "As in the lost city."

  Lina blinked. "And where is Atlantis?"

  "On hold on our house phone," Theodore told her.

  Lina realized she hadn't given him her new number. Nor did Atlantis give her his number. They had no means of reaching each other, but he still found her. She wondered how.

  "Oh, alright," Lina eventually said. She turned her head to the bathroom door that remained shut.

  "Kaden is still showering. If he looks for me, tell him I'm downstairs," Lina informed Theodore.

  Theodore was pleasantly surprised by her nature. Despite the unexpected phone call, she wasn't startled. Nor did she appear to be hiding something. Here he was, believing she had allowed her side piece to call the main house.

  "As you wish, Madam," Theodore.

  Lina tucked strands of hair behind her ears, flashed him a quick smile, and headed downstairs. In the meantime, Theodore noticed the lack of a ring on her finger. How peculiar——

  "How did you find my number?" Lina instantly asked when she picked up the phone sitting on the table.

  Lina was grateful that 'on hold' literally meant on hold. As in, the phone was lying on the table with no one touching it. She felt old-fashioned by using this telephone. There were still the antique coiled wires attached to the receiver.

  "My father's secretary also resigned at the same time and left his successor to me. To prove the new secretary's usefulness, I had him look up Kaden's contact," Atlantis told her.

  One thing that Lina appreciated was the truth. Atlantis said things as they were. He never spoke in riddles. Never deliberately confused her. Whatever someone wanted to hear, he'd tell them straight.

  "I couldn't reach you by your old phone number," Atlantis said in a lowered voice.

  "You remember my old phone number?" Lina asked.

  Lina was shocked. How many years had it been? If she hadn't known better, she'd have thought that he had tattooed it onto his hand or something.

  "You can't get away from me that easily, Linlin," Atlantis jokingly told her. "Of course I remember your number by heart. Don't you remember mine?"

  Lina's smile slipped. "No."

  "Oh, well—"

  "You must have changed it before you could've given it to me," Lina pointed out.

  "I'm sorry," Atlantis whispered. "I really am."

  Atlantis could not tell her why he did what he did. Nor could he mention changing the number was for her own good. Or else, she'd ask him questions with answers he couldn't give her.

  "Why did you do it?" Lina questioned, disappointed by his behavior. "We grew up together. We were each other's bestest friends. I thought we had something special."

  Atlantis let out a shaky breath. He raised his head from the empty desk of his father's office. His secretary was waiting for him in the corner.

  "We still have something special, Linlin. We have the childhood we shared…… We have time that can never be replaced by anything, not even all the wealth in the world," Atlantis told her in a gentle voice.

  "And, we still have time to go back to how it was," Atlantis promised her. "If you'd let me—"

  "Atlantis," Lina suddenly addressed.

  Atlantis' face grew cold. She rarely called him by his full name. What was going on? He should've known better. Was Kaden hurting her? Did Kaden threaten her to drop the nicknames? Was he forcing her against her will?

  "We have to accept that we can't go back to having something so special anymore," Lina suddenly said to him. "We can be good friends, of course. But friends and nothing more."

  "Nothing more?" Atlantis echoed. He did his best to hide his disbelief and disappointment.

  "Yes," Lina told him. "Friends."

  Lina did not feel the presence behind her. Nor did she feel his heavy gaze.

  Kaden watched her from the top of the staircase. He rested his hands inside his front pockets. He simply admired her beautiful stance. Her hair was flowy and long. Glowing, even. The strands reminded him of shiny silk. There was something exquisite about her, he couldn't understand.

  "I…" Atlantis trailed off. "I respect your decision. You've always been a faithful person, Linlin, even when you could've made friends with rich children like yourself. Instead, you chose to socialize with an illegitimate son like me."

  "You've outshined all of them now, haven't you? While our peers are still struggling to take over their parents' companies, you got your position with ease," Lina said.

  "It's not as easy as you think," Atlantis chided. "You should've seen the look of hatred on my stepmother's face and the disbelief on my step-sister's face. I've never seen so many women want to kill me at once."

  Lina let out a curt laugh.

  "You can't possibly imagine how frightening a woman's murderous gaze could be. Now I know where the phrase, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' came from, Linlin," Atlantis told her.

  Lina's gaze softened. She missed reminiscing about her childhood. Only Atlantis understood her. Only he knew of her painful memories. Only he could relate to her, or so he had always told her.

  "Oh, I don't need to imagine it, I've witnessed it plenty," Lina told him.

  "I-I had forgotten, I'm sorry," Atlantis immediately said. How could he have forgotten about Evelyn? That woman loved to compete with her own daughter. What kind of screwed-up mentality was that?

  "No, you're fine, Atlantis," Lina told him.

  "Well, anyway, you'll be getting it a lot more frequently now that you're Kaden's woman. I heard he's the most eligible bachelor in all of Ritan," Atlantis mused.

  "His wife, you mean," Lina said.

  "What?" Atlantis asked. His voice dropped an octave.

  "Not his woman, his wife," Lina told him.

  Atlantis nearly smashed the phone in his hand. He gritted his teeth and glowered to the ground. He needed a distraction or else he was going to hang up on her and destroy the closest thing to him.

  "Why didn't you wear a ring last night?" Atlantis asked through clenched teeth. "Doesn't he think you're worthy of inheriting the family heirloom?"

  Lina didn't know what to say. "He has his reasons, Atlantis."

  Just then, an arm snaked around her waist. Lina jumped, letting out a shaky breath. She turned her head, but it was too late.

  Kaden rested his face upon the curve of her neck and shoulder. She was startled by his presence. He hugged her from behind. He nudged his nose upon her soft skin. Then, he kissed the spot.

  "Hey, you," Kaden said in a gentle voice.

  Atlantis heard it. He swore he saw red. What was that man doing to Lina right now? Couldn't he even give her an ounce of privacy? He could picture Kaden's arms around Lina. He could picture her in his arms.

  "Anyway," Atlantis suddenly stated. "I didn't call to pry."

  Lina had forgotten she was talking to Atlantis. Nervously, she swallowed.

  "R-right, what did you call me for—!" Lina's voice rose towards the end.

  Kaden had caressed his hand over the sliver of skin exposed from her top. His touch was warm. Then, his fingers slipped underneath her shorts. She held back a whimper. His middle finger brushed upon her bundle of nerves. She could feel a trail of fire licking at her from where he touched.

  "Are you alright?" Atlantis worriedly asked, hearing her breathing grow heavy.

  Lina was going crazy. She tried to keep Kaden's hand in place, but his mouth was just as mischievous. He pressed open-mouth kisses on her skin. He licked and nipped, sucking on the spot. She was weak-kneed by his wet assault.

  "Y-yes," Lina shakily responded.

  Kaden laughed quietly. He pressed his hard body closer to hers. His arm tightened around her waist. If she wanted to focus on this phone call, he'd just focus on pleasuring her.

  "Are you certain?" Atlantis said. "Should I come to you? Is he hurting you?"

  "What? No, Kaden would never," Lina stated. "A-anyway, what did you want to tell me?"

  Kaden's lips curled. Abruptly, he cupped her heated entrance. She yelped. He smirked. She was wet. Already. Through the thin fabric of her panties, he teased her. First, with his fingers turned, he teased the soft skin.

  Lina couldn't stop him. She tried to close her thighs, but he was already underneath her pants. It was too late. And it wasn't like she didn't want it either.

  "Our high school is having a gathering to celebrate my succession," Atlantis slowly said.

  Lina tried to concentrate on his words, but was failing too. Kaden had nudged her underwear aside. He stroked her gently, softly, teasing the lips. She struggled, but her body betrayed her. When he slipped a finger inside, she nearly moaned. He let out a soft chuckle, kissing her throat.

  "A-and?" Lina pressed on, eager to end this conversation.

  "And I was hoping for you to attend," Atlantis said.

  Lina slowly blinked. She was practically panting for Kaden's euphoric touch. He circled her bud below, barely touching it, but she was already clenching and unclenching. His fingers curled inside of her, seeking for her sensitive spot.

  Lina's nerves were all over the place.

  "Oh, I'd love—"

  "As my guest of honor. My date," Atlantis finalized.

  Kaden heard it. Lina knew he did. It was why he immediately plunged two fingers inside. She let out a soft moan.

  A heavy silence came from Atlantis' end.

  Lina cried inside of her head. Atlantis knew…… He knew what was happening.