If I could sing, like an angel and make the mountains move but don't have love, I am nothing. I amount to nothing. Love is pure. It is kind. It is beautiful. It is caring. It is amazing. It is endless. It'll forever be.

Stephano’s POV

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           “Will you tell me why we stopped the car here? It seems you have a thing for stopping cars by the roadside.” Kara eyed me with a squint. I looked at Kara as she asked me the question. We’d been here for just a few minutes and she already asked me the same question twice.

“Yes.” I replied, admiring her cute inquisitive eyes.

“Well...?” She fixed me a stare when I merely kept staring at her.

I kept staring at her for a long while. When I discovered I wouldn’t get tired of doing just that, I knew I had to move to the next level. “Let’s take a short walk around here.”

She scoffed unbelievably, so I turned to glance at her with my hand still on the doorknob.

“Stephano, should I be scared? There’s no single soul on this road. It’s like a deserted road and this is the second time you’re stopping by the roadside like this. Cars even hardly pass by this area.” She stated in an exasperated breath.

I chuckled at her confused expression. If anything, Kara looked cuter as I stared at her by each passing minute. Her hair was put into a neat ponytail but I wanted to pull it out of the white band and just run my hands through it all day.

“Let’s just alight and stand outside, okay?”

She eyed me warily. “Okay...”

Alighting from her side, she shut the door and I did the same.

I walked over to her side and held her firmly by the waist. If I had just started developing feelings for her, I would’ve said this was a lustful feeling, but I knew I loved this girl.

I had developed this rare fondness for her since she used to crawl around my parent’s mansion with her baby protruded belly and now I could feel that emptiness in my heart for loving her from afar for so long and not being able to do anything about it. It was long overdue.

I need to tell her how I felt.

I love you, Kara, so damn much I feel like I will actually go crazy if I don’t tell you exactly how I feel anytime soon.

“Kara?” I called, eyeing her as she started scrolling through her phone. Oh yes, I had to get a better phone for my sweet Kara so she wouldn’t have to use the loud and embarrassing China model.

“Hmm?” She replied absentmindedly and I moved closer to put a hand around her shoulder, pulling her close to me. She was checking a blonde guy’s picture on Instagram and smiling. The guy was posing with a seductive smile on his lips and his abs was on display for the whole world.

I squinted and noticed the person’s name said Ryan Gosling, and even if I was a CEO in a well-known company, I still knew he was a famous person due to the million followers he had. He would either be an actor or a social media influencer of some sort. Perhaps an artist, but of no doubt, he was a public figure.

The news about some actors and actresses never failed to pass my hearing. I also had to conduct my research on one or two when my board of directors was deciding what model should represent our company for a clothing or hair texture brand and we always had to look into it carefully before picking so we wouldn’t pick just anybody.

Admittedly, I didn’t have any right to entertain jealousy since he was just a public figure but the green-eyed monster still surfaced, just to taunt me as I watched my girl stare at the man’s picture.

“What’s your username on Instagram?” I asked, instead of blurting out the words I’d held in me since forever. I wouldn’t make my love confession when she was busy checking out a man’s abs. When I decide to do it, it would be ‘our thing’.

She looked up at me and my eyes instantly dropped to her lips. Noticing my eye movements, she immediately dropped her head low and a small smile graced her lips. My expression grew soft as I stared at my girl, so beautiful, smart and humble at the same time. I didn’t care that I doted on her so much and if I had the chance, I would definitely do some more doting.

“KaraWilson003.” She told me softly.

“Okay.” I brought out my phone from my pocket and searched for her username. Immediately, I liked every one of her photos and my girl didn’t have so many photos in the first place. Just a few of herself alone, then her and Adrian and finally some famous quotes too.

She gasped and looked up at me, before staring at her phone once more but a smile was now on her gentle face. “You liked all my photos?”

Pride filled me as I nodded and pecked her forehead. I was glad I could make her grin so well. So I shrugged and kept checking my notifications. It wasn’t a big deal and I wouldn’t mind doing it over and over again if such a little thing would make her smile so widely. An idea popped up and I immediately pressed the suggestion button, following her.

Smile for me.” I instructed.

She looked up and moved closer to me. I quickly held her by the waist and curved my lips at the camera. I took the picture and posted it on Instagram with the caption, ‘love of my life.’

She gasped as she received a notification and I knew it was because I had just tagged her. She immediately followed me back and also snaked an arm around my waist, nuzzling into me and heaving a contented sigh. A car stopped by us and I turned around to see Andre alight his car with two packs in hand.

“Good morning boss, miss. Kara.” Andre greeted as he approached us.

I merely nodded and gestured for him to keep the packs inside the car.

“Good morning. Hope getting home last night wasn’t all that stressful for you. I heard you had to leave due to stomach upset.” Kara replied with a charming smile that made my heart turn to mush as the morning breeze caressed her face gently.

Andre shrugged and smiled at her. Seeing him smile at Kara wasn’t strange, but seeing him smile in the first place was the weird thing. He never smiled at work or when we were having a conversation but he probably just did it because Kara was a female and she was a lovable person to be around. It would be somehow awkward if he kept smiling at me, since most of the time we would be discussing work, contracts or some projects

“How has work been?” She further asked him with a smile. He returned it and took a glance towards me, then nodded.

“Work has been good. We’re managing just fine. How is your mom? I hope her health has improved now?”

Kara furrowed her brows and placed a hand on my chest to support her stance since she was slightly leaning onto me with my arms around her waist. “She is doing good, thank you for asking.”

“Okay. I heard she was ill. I’ll stop by and get her some get well flowers, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course it is. You’re far too kind. Thanks, Mr. Andre.”

He frowned at her and shook his head in disapproval. “Just call me Andre.”

“If only you’ll call me Kara.”

They looked at each other for just a couple of seconds before laughing the awkwardness away. I looked from one person to another. I had nothing to say though, so I just planted my lips on Kara’s hair and peppered kisses on it, zoning out.

“Fine then, Kara.” He concluded with a bright smile. Kara giggled and patted my chest again. It was a subconscious act but it still managed to fill me with a certain kind of warmth. Shame consumed me as I realized I was almost being selfish by thinking only I should be the source of her smiles.

“I should get back on the road and it was nice seeing you again. Enjoy your day, Kara, Boss.” He nodded stiffly in my direction.

“Okay.” I replied. He left and Kara watched the car till it faded into the distance.

“Let’s eat.” I told her and released her.

She casted me a curious glance and stole a peek at the back of the car in a rather skeptical way as if she would see the package Andre had brought me by peeking that way. My car’s glasses were tinted and I fought a wry smile. “What?” She questioned.

“He brought breakfast. Let’s eat.” I clarified and gently pulled out a tendril from her hair. Her mouth parted into an ‘O’ shape as she nodded.

“Okay. What about work? We aren’t sitting in the car all day, are we?”

“No, we aren’t. I just thought we should have a quiet time away from people.”

“Hmm… We shouldn’t stay long though. There could be danger around here and one wouldn’t even be able to call for help.” She stated and looked around us again.

I gave her a serious look, shaking my head. “I won’t allow any harm to come near you.”

“That’s cute.” She laughed stiffly.

“You are cute.” I leaned in and kissed her rosy lips, chuckling when my comment earned me a blush from her.

I could tell she was still feeling uncomfortable due to our location and it didn’t sit well with me. Also, I would’ve taken her to work with me but she would be a great distraction. Maybe I should actually do just that. I would love to see her in my visitors chair, make out with her on my desk and even play with her when I should be working. This wasn’t something I did on a normal day but today was special, having my girl visit made it special.

I held her hand softly. “Come on, it’s time to feed that stomach.”

We got in and I winded down the glasses.

“Chicken pepperoni, mashed potatoes, bars of chocolates and lots more. Did he think we could finish all these?” She moaned and quickly un-wrapped the Bounty Chocolate wrap before taking a bite.

We ate in silence and disposed of the pack immediately, having almost finished it all.

“We should drive to the office.”

She merely nodded. I also didn’t say anything as I started the car and drove all the way to the company, occasionally glancing sideways at her. Goodness, she was biting her lower lip and all I felt like doing, was to lean in and kiss her rosy lips till she was totally out of breath. When I drove in and parked at the lot, I got out and opened the door for her.

We walked into the lobby and Kara tightened her hold on my upper arm.

“Now everyone’s staring at me.” She murmured with her beautiful brown eyes looking around. Regardless of the shyness and probably slight anxiety, I could see the excitement in those brown eyes, it made my stomach do weird summersaults. She would be seeing my accomplishments as the boss of my company and that meant a lot to me.

“They should stare at you Kara. They obviously see something worth admiring.”

The place was in frenzy and almost everyone on the floor kept their gazes solely on us as I walked through the ground floor. Some of my female workers had their lips parted as we walked past them and I knew the reason. They had never seen me with any woman after my ex.

Also, my ex had never visited me here, as I was usually too busy to attend to anyone; including her. My company was just growing in that year.

I easily slipped on my look of professionalism as I stared ahead and wrapped my right arm around Kara’s waist, leading her to my private elevator. She kept roaming her beautiful chocolate orbs around, obviously appreciating the look around her.

“Welcome, Sir. Kara.” Andre nodded curtly when we exited the elevator on my floor. No one was allowed to come here, except the guards stationed on it or if I had a visitor.

“Hi again, Andre.” She chirped in response. I led her to my office and shut the doors.

“What would you like to drink?”

“For now, I’m full. I’ll just relax while you go ahead with your work.” I nodded and took a seat on my swivel chair but I didn’t take my eyes off her.

She went to the glass wall separating us from the other side to look at the outside world and my lips quirked up when I noticed she was struggling not to show her awe at the sight of my office. She was trying to appear casual, but I could still spot every expression on my girl’s face.

What a sight it would be if she was already waking up by my side every morning and have this look of awe while staring at me! Kara never kept her eyes on me for more than a few seconds while I found absolutely nothing wrong in staring at her all day.

“Stephano!”

“Yes?” I blinked and momentarily entertained a frown. Apparently she had walked towards me but my gaze was still transfixed so I hadn’t even seen her appear before me till she snapped her fingers in my face.

“I called you twice while appreciating the view from up here and you didn’t respond. Am I distracting you?” She asked sourly. I shook my head. She could not be called a distraction if I wanted to keep staring at her.

“No.” I smiled gently.

She looked around with a small pout before smiling. “I think I’ll take a tour around the building. Everywhere will sure be as amazing as your office and I would like to check out some departments to know how they work.”

My face contorted into a frown. “There’s nothing interesting about the building that I can’t show you in a few hours. Also, you might get lost if you wander around. It’s really big.” I didn’t want her to go anywhere yet, I wanted to keep staring at her.

She walked closer and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I’m distracting you, and I don’t want that.”

I felt my shoulders sag a little. Was it a bad thing if she was distracting me? I wanted her to distract me some more.

I pulled her closer to me and she gasped softly when I kissed her sweet lips, quickly balancing her stance with a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not distracting me, Kara. Also, there’s nothing wrong with you being in my office while I watch you take in the beautiful view. I love staring at you.”

Pinks tainted her cheeks and she avoided my eyes, biting the insides of her cheeks.

“We can’t do that all day. Maybe we should play a game if you really don’t feel like working?” She proposed and leaned in to peck me. Before I knew what was up, she was out of my grasp and sashaying her way to the seat before me.

I quirked surprised eyebrows at her sudden act that left me wanting more. She could be such a tease. “A game?”

“Yes?” She shrugged.

If it were someone else, they wouldn’t even be here in the first place, talk less distracting me when I was supposed to be working. I realized I had broken every rule I set over the years in just a few minutes and this girl was the main cause. Still, didn’t have even a single regret.

I, Stephano Alfonsi, the CEO of an international company and multiple firms, was being asked to leave my office work and play a game with a short girl; who was currently giving me this look that just tempted me to pull her flush and kiss her senseless?

Hell yeah!

“Which one?”

Her eyes widened. She darted her tongue over her lips and I took a harsh exhale. “I didn’t think you’d agree. Maybe twenty questions? But we’ll make it ten so you can start working?”

“Interesting,” I smirked and sat up in my swivel chair, bracing myself with my elbows on my coffee colored mahogany desk. “You go first.”

“What’s your favorite music band?”

“I don’t have one. Favorite color?” I asked with twinkling eyes.

She giggled and stared into my eyes. “Blue. Favorite food?”

Does she like blue because they’re the color of my eyes? The thought sent a pleasing thrill down my body.

“I don’t have one. Favorite fruit?” I asked her.

“Erm…banana?” She giggled again. I summed up my conclusion that she was being nervous or too excited with this game, just as I was too. That would explain her giggling ever so often. “Favorite musician?”

“There are two of them but I think Michael Jackson should overrule the second one a bit, who I've known for a shorter duration. That's Enrique Iglesias. I love their songs though.” I shook my head. “At what age did you have your first kiss?”

She tucked a game tendril of a stray hair behind her ear. It was the same tendril I had let loose from the bun. “Sixteen, I think. You?”

“I was twenty.” I told her with pride-filled orbs. She had kissed me when she was fifteen, carelessly and beautifully. She was my own first kiss and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world.

The memory alone brought a small smile tugging at the side of my lips.

On that fateful night when it happened, someone had dropped something into her drink at one of my dad’s house parties and she had been behaving weirdly, asking me weird questions and pouring emotions out. She had confessed to liking me because I was good looking and treated her and her mother well. She’d then kissed me for a good couple of seconds but I had recollected myself from my shock and helped her to my room in her drugged induced state. I’d have preferred to take her to her own room but I had no idea who’d drugged her and the safest place was my room, where I could stare at her all night.

I didn’t tell her anything after that night, though I later found out she had been drugged by one of her classmates who did it over a bet but I couldn’t tell her. She would freak out and probably attack the person. Still, I made sure he was dealt with!

Since that night, I was even more distanced from Kara because that kiss made me see just how much effect she had on me without even trying. That was the only way I could keep from yielding into the temptation of confessing my feelings towards her.

“The kiss was from your ex…right?” I further asked.

She nodded. “How old are you?”

I wriggled my eyebrows. “Did that just pop up or has it been in your mind all these years?”

“Please answer the question.” She requested with a small smile.

I laughed lightly. “I’m twenty-five, just five years older. My question is, have you ever wished for something so bad?”

“Yes.” She said softly. “I have always wanted to help the less privileged out there by creating some kind of home to take care of them and empower them by providing a source of income because I believe I’m so privileged while so many are starving and cold. I want to build small businesses that can provide jobs to several people. I want them to hug me one day and tell me that I have made a huge impact in their lives. What about you?” When she looked at me, I knew she was struggling to hide the sadness from her expression. She was such a caring personality with a golden heart.

“To fulfill the wishes of the woman I love, however, I can.” I told her gruffly. I didn’t know if I could love her more than I already did, it was just too much to keep in for me. She was so careful and considerate about the feelings of others and I couldn’t help but think how beautiful that was.

She didn’t even bat an eyelash after my last statement as I kept my gaze on her and my heart dropped into the pit of my belly. Was it too hard to figure? Was I being senseless for having a crush on her all those years? Would she ever feel the way I felt after so many years?

I found my eyes on her and I held myself from just cursing out like a sailor at the uncontrollable feeling surging through me. She was so bright, bright like a shining star. Her presence alone filled me with calmness.

The mere thought of her always lighted up my world. I wish she knew how much I loved her.

“I know this is a contract relationship so I’ll ask. Have you ever been in love with someone?” She asked softly. Straightening up in her seat, she tucked her tongue to the side of her cheek and awaited my response.

Rigidity engulfed my system as I slowly processed the question. The one you love asks you such a question, what would you say? ‘Have I ever been in