A Bunch of Blues

Lips of an Angel

He had enough of himself and his brother and his company to care and worry about. He didn't have to be at her beck and call too. She wasn't his f**king butler. Why she even felt the need to consult with him for every decision she made was beyond him. Couldn't she run her own life? She didn't even oppose this engagement because she professed to care about him, and according to her, he needed someone who could show him the brighter side of life. So she cared about him, big deal. He didn't reciprocate, and she knew it, but she was perfectly all right with it. If that little notion didn't scream desperation, then he didn't know what did.

She could have made it so much easier for the two of them if she had refused, but she just had to agree.

For some reason, he couldn't help himself from comparing this annoying redhead with that other woman. Heck, he knew it was wrong to compare her to the overly sweet boneless creature currently residing in his mansion, but it was hardly unavoidable. Why couldn't the woman across the hall be as brilliant as her?

He would regrettably admit that part of the reason he had agreed to this recent publicity maneuver was to distract himself from thinking of her. He thought that maybe if he went gallivanting off with another woman—even if he wasn't serious about it—would keep him from falling back into his dark thoughts and trying to figure out why he had chosen to cut himself from her—from Kisara.

He hadn't even realized that he had broken himself away from the dresser that he had been previously gripping. Instead, he found himself staring at his smart phone, contemplating on whether he should act upon it or not. After a minute or two of deliberation, the CEO chose to screw it. He had just arrived from a charity gala, and now he was heading out again—with a different destination in mind.

Grabbing his black overcoat on his way out, he wasted no time in heading for the garage to claim his vehicle.

He needed to do this. He needed an affirmation if he was going to change his life for the better.

vVvVv

He cursed at himself as he glanced at his phone propped up on the holder. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he focused his hardened gaze outside the windshield. It had been ringing for four times now... Five... And by some miracle, the other person on the line picked up at the sixth ring. He resisted the sudden urge to sigh in utter relief.

"Who is this?" Came the wondrous voice that he had wanted to hear for so long now, even if he found it odd that she didn't recognize his number, or maybe she hadn't checked the caller ID. How long had it been? Two years?

"It's me." His voice came off sounding flat—dead.

"K-Kaiba?" She uttered in a stuttering whisper, as if she was unsure of how to say it.

He inwardly cursed himself yet again. The stretch of time had erased all sense of familiarity, it seemed. He hated it, and briefly wondered if he had made the right decision as impulsively as he did.

"I'm sorry. I didn't check who it was—"

"I'm on my way over." He interrupted her before she could say anymore.

"B-But—"

It would seem rude, but it was the only way he knew how to end that little snippet without having to state any awkward goodbyes. He had a lot of explaining to do, and a lot of catching up happening at the end. He knew he had left her confused and bewildered, and he felt guilty about that just as an unforgiving wave of nostalgia hit his mind in torrential floods. Without giving her an appropriate response, he had left her in a similar state the last time he had seen her, and because of that, he knew it would take a miracle to redeem himself now.