Orphan Callistaa

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: This novel is original and a pure work of fiction. Every character in here is completely fictitious and is born of my imagination. Any resemblance to real name, person, or event is purely coincidental. Enjoy reading.)

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At the CH Advertising and Design:

It was a monday morning. All the employees were busy doing their work there. But the girl who was sitting inside her cubicle, seemed to be lost in her own world. She was an intern business design analyst here. Though she was good at her work, no one really appreciated her for her hard work. But it was her fault that no one wished to sit or talk with her. She deserved it. No one ever talked to her except for when her opinion was needed. But there was one person who used to talk, laugh and eat with her and considered her as her friend. And that person was Jasmine Winter, who was her only friend in the work place. Though other than work place, she had no friends. So, she really cherished her friendship with her.

"Hey, earth to Cali." The voice of her friend, Jasmine, brought her back to reality. She gave her a tight smile. That was all she could do, because every time she smiled, it never reached her eyes. Because she was not happy with her life, and she deserved it.

"What were you thinking missy?" Jas asked her but all she could do was to utter a nothing. But Jas was excited about something. So she said, "Okay, if you say so. Anyway, I am here to give you a big news and to congratulate you as well."

"What big news and why would you congratulate me?" Asked Cali with a frown on her face. To that, Jas replied, "Cali, your idea has been appreciated by the R Industry and they are going to give a big pay check to our company." She announced making the frown on her face to be replaced by a full blown smile.

"What? Wait, you are not kidding, right?" It was hard for her to believe that her design had been selected by the R Industry, which was the biggest diverse business company in the state. For God's sake, she was just an intern.

"I am not kidding, Cali. It is true. So, today we are going to celebrate. Be ready during the lunch time, okay? Cain will be joining too." As soon as that name escaped her lips, the smile on Cali's lips faltered. She could not help but ask, "Are you sure? I don't want to be the third wheel there."

"Oh, come on, you won't be a third wheel and besides, this celebration is possible because of you. So you are coming. See ya later." With that she went out of the door not giving her any chance to refuse. But it was quite difficult for her. Cain Hutton, their boss, the CEO of CH Advertising and Design, would be there too and she was not wishing to face him yet. He already hated her guts. He was Jasmine's boyfriend and everyone in the company knew it. But she always felt uneasy around them and why won't she? After all he was her...

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It was time for their lunch and after contemplating for more than an hour, she decided to go there. Only for her friend, Jas and no one else. Yes, no one else. But who was she lying to? Only to herself. She knew it from the core of her heart that she was going there for him. Just to get a glimpse of him. She ran inside the washroom to fix her look. She re-applied her cherry red lipstick on her plump heart shaped lips, that complimented her heart shaped face well and applied a little foundation on her face. All these she was doing only to look beautiful in the eyes of her...boss. Yes, that was whom he was to her, atleast infront of everyone here. She got out and headed towards the cafeteria where Jas was waiting for her already. But he was not there yet. She felt relieved and anxious at the same time.

Not long after, a man dressed up in a charcoal suit, holding his blazer in his hand, entered into the cafeteria. He was looking exquisite in his attire. And her heart started beating at an irregular pace, only at the sight of him. Looking at him after so many days, she felt calm and restless simultaneously. She was staring at his face, memorising every feature of him, from his raven hair gelled to the side to the small stubble that he had grown. Because she would not be seeing him after this for many days again. She knew it. He halted in his track and started looking everywhere around him. Just then, Jas called his name out loud so as to get his attention to where they were sitting,

"Babe. Here." Yes, that was what she called him, after all he was her boyfriend, that too official. Then who was she? Her heart dropped seeing them getting all cozy infront of her. That was the reason she didn't want to come here. As soon as he came to them, he claimed Jas' lips giving her a lingering kiss. Jas giggled and stopped him from going any further.

"Stop, babe. Cali is here as well." As soon as those words left her mouth, his head snapped towards her direction. When his eyes landed on her, they were the same cold, emotionless. While Cali was praying to God to make her invisible so that he could not see her. But it was not going to happen obviously. Slowly, she lifted her eyes from the ground to look at him. When his deep ocean blue ones met her hazel ones, they softened. But that was just for a split second, as they once again turned icy cold. No hint of warmth could be found in them. He was always like this, even when he was with Jasmine. But Jasmine didn't mind as he was just another rich handsome guy for her who was ready to spend his money on her.

"Good afternoon sir." She said in a monotonous voice though her insides were screaming longingness, yearning for him, for his love. But would she ever get it? Haa!! She wanted to laugh at herself. He just gave her a curt nod in reply. Arrogant much!

"So, Cali, what would you like to have?" Asked Jas as they settled on the chairs to have their lunch. "I..uh." She stuttered but didn't say anything. It was much difficult for her when her...boss was sitting right opposite to her with his eyes fixed on her. But as soon as her gaze met his, he averted his eyes.

"Oh, don't be shy Cali. We are celebrating today just because of you. So, just tell what you want to eat. Okay?" Said Jas.

"Okay." Said Cali timidly. Then they all ordered for themselves. Jas had strawberry cheesecake, strawberry muffins and red wine. Cain had his usual rice cake with peanut butter and banana and ginger ale. While Cali had her favorite choco berry tart and creamy chocolate smoothie. After they finished eating, Cain received a call and went to receive it.

"So, did you enjoy the lunch, Cali?" Asked Jas. To which Cali nodded her head with a tight smile. Though she enjoyed her food, the intense gaze that she felt on her almost the whole time, made her a bit uncomfortable. When Cain returned, he had a toothy grin plastered on his face.

"You would not believe what just happened." He said looking at Jasmine, who was giving him a questioning look. He continued, "I just got a call from the manager of R industry. He said that they are coming to have a meeting with us because the CEO wants our company to have a lifetime membership as his industry's advertising agent. God, I can't believe it." He said dreamily. Jas stood up and hugged him while he hugged her back.

"Oh my God, babe. I can't tell you how happy I am." Said Jas and then they both leaned in for a kiss. Cain started kissing her desperately like his life was dependent on it. Cali felt disheartened. She was jealous obviously, it should be her in place of Jas. No doubt she loved her friend but it was just too much to take in for her. She felt her eyes burning. No, she could not cry infront of them. She could not let them know how vulnerable she was right then. That was why she decided to go to the washroom. She stood up making the chair she was sitting on screech a bit loudly and the two people who were making out infront of her, pulled away due to the sudden noise, startled. They both frowned looking at her. But she could not wait anymore, she had to go away from them, from him.

"Excuse me." Her voice was raspy as she was holding her emotions in check. And then she was gone. As soon as she reached the washroom, she could not hold herself anymore. She cried her heart out. Her tears were falling furiously. She was even more disheartened when she realized that she didn't have anyone by her side to give her their shoulder to cry.

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On the other side, Cain excused himself from Jasmine and went to the washroom. But he didn't go to the gents' washroom, he entered the ladies' washroom instead. When he spotted Cali leaning against the wash basin, his heart broke, which he didn't know could happen. But looking at her disheveled state, something dropped at the core of his cold heart. As if sensing his presence, she opened her eyes, which were bloodshot from all the crying, and looked at him in the eyes, telling him how much he had hurt her in their relationship. But as always, he decided to ignore that despite the heaviness he was feeling in his heart. He stepped closer to her while she glared at him with so much hurt and anger.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to go to the gents' washroom? Or stay with your girlfriend? Oh, did I disturb you and your girlfriend in between your make out session?" She said bitterly showing her anger and hurt in her voice. He almost felt guilty. Almost. Then in no time, he composed himself and stepped even closer to her and held her by her arms in a firm grip.

"What was with that attitude of yours back there? Do you want everyone to start doubting about our relationship? Jasmine was asking about what was wrong with you. Don't give her any thought about 'us." He said stressing more on the word 'us'. He didn't give her a chance to speak, "Listen to me and listen very carefully, Miss Cali Ruth. You mean nothing to me and that night, that night was just a mistake and it means nothing to me. I have already forgotten about it. You better forget it too. It will be better for you. So, be careful with your attitude out there from the next time." With that, he released her from his grip abruptly, making her stumble a bit. She could not take it anymore and yelled, tears streaming down her eyes,

"But you are my husband." Yes, he was her husband. But to him, she was nothing? Then what about their passionate night when they made love for the first time and consumated their marriage? Was it really nothing to him? His expression became dangerous. He then said, "Never ever say that again. Not to me, not to anyone. Do you understand?" He was gritting his teeth that made her shudder. She didn't say anything anymore and looked at the ground as if it enticed her more than her husband, well so-called husband standing infront of her. She wanted to cry badly, but she won't, atleast not infront of him. She won't show him how weak she was. She knew it. She knew it from the beginning that her husband didn't love her, but her naive heart wanted to give their marriage a chance. But it was useless.

Once he was gone, she slid down to the floor and cried cursing her ill fate. No one loved her, no one wanted her. Everyone just left her alone in this evil world and let her thrive on her own. But it was her fault. She deserved it, didn't she? After all she was an 'orphan'. So, she deserved all the pain and suffering that she was getting in her life, didn't she? She was a bad omen, right?

After crying for almost half an hour, Cali got out of the washroom and went inside her cubicle. She could not work anymore today as she was so emotionally drained. So, she decided to take the remaining day off. She was shoving her stuffs inside her hand bag when Jas came in. "Cali, what happened? Are you alright? Where are you

going?" She asked all in one go. She was trying to avoid eye contact with her as her eyes were still swollen due to all the crying.

"I am alright, Jas. It is just that I have to go somewhere urgently, so I am taking the half day off." She said as she continued to put her things in her bag. Yes, she urgently needed to go home and lock herself in her room. Jas just nodded. She didn't care much about anything or anyone other than herself and Cali knew it. But still, she was the only one who behaved well with her even after knowing that she was poor and orphan.

"Okay. Well, I came here to tell you that I am going on a vacation with my boyfriend. We are going tomorrow. I will be off for a week." She said excitedly. Making Cali halt in whatever she was doing. Oh, so Cain and she are going on a vacation? That too, for a week?

She looked up at her and asked, "So, you and Cain are going on a vacation?" She asked, trying her best to sound excited. Jas shook her head making Cali frown.

"No, I am not going with Cain. He is always busy, you know right? I am going with Damien." She said as if it was nothing. But for Cali, it was, he was her everything. So, she asked, "What are you saying? Isn't Cain your boyfriend?" "Yeah, he is. The official one, but just for now. You know me Cali. I don't do relationships and all. And Cain too knows it. So, I am just enjoying my life and there is nothing wrong." She explained. Cali's mouth was touching the floor. Yes she knew Jasmine. She was a type of girl who would want as many boyfriends as she could have, but being in a serious relationship was not her thing. But she said Cain knew it too. How come he didn't stop her? Did he not love Jas like he claimed he did infront of her? All these questions were running inside her head but she could not bring herself to

ask Jas any of those. "Hey, what are you thinking?" Jas asked, frowning.

"How come Cain didn't stop you even after knowing this?"

She blurted out before she could stop herself. She mentally facepalmed. Now Jas would probably think why in God's name, she was suddenly so interested in her love life with Mr. Cain Hutton. Jas' expression suddenly changed as if she just realized what she said. She was looking at Cali with wide eyes. And Cali was looking down as she didn't want Jas to start judging her.

"Uhh...what I meant to say is Cain knows about me not being serious about our relationship but he doesn't know about me having another boyfriend already. So, please don't tell anyone about this. Please." She said desperately. "Ofcourse, I won't tell anyone about this. You are my friend,

Jas." Cali said assuring her. She released a sigh of relief. "Thank you Cali." She said giving her a tight smile. "But please, don't do this to Ca...Mr. Cain. He does not deserve it. I mean, no one deserves anything as such. You should tell him first that you are not interested in having a relationship with him. Okay?" She said as she could not even imagine seeing him hurt, even if he hurt her.

"Ofcourse, I will. But after I return from my vacation. Will that be fine?" Jas asked and Cali nodded at her.

"Okay, then. Bye." After that, Jas was gone, leaving Cali immersed in her own thoughts. She was feeling bad for Cain. He didn't know about Jas' intentions.

*****

After getting out of Cali's cubicle, Jasmine felt relieved. She had almost blurted out the truth about her and Mr. Cain's pretentious relationship. Thank God, she was able to handle it in time, otherwise what she would have said to Mr. Cain?

But the thing she still didn't get was why Mr. Cain was doing this? Did he want a certain someone to get jealous by seeing them together? But who that person could be? She was itching to ask those questions to Mr. Cain, but she didn't have the courage to do so. Although she was happy that she was getting a very decent paycheck other than her salary. But still she wanted something more.

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He was sitting on his swivel chair inside his office, holding some papers trying to concentrate on his work. But his mind kept going back to the scene that had occured in the ladies' washroom a while ago.

Was he a bit too much hard on her? Did she cry too much after he was gone from there? But you are my husband.

A ghost of a smile was formed across his beautiful set of lips when he reminisced the sentence said by her. That was what he wanted to hear from her. That he was her husband. Now that he finally heard it from her mouth, he would plan something else to let her submit infront of him and to tell him that she didn't want his property or his fortune but him, only him. And he would do it, at any cost. Smirking at his evil thoughts, he started thinking of various other ways to torment her until she would submit herself to him. Because, she was his. Yes, his and only his. His Cali. Mrs. Cali Cain Hutton. At that thought, a warm feeling invaded his chest. God, he could not wait to claim her as his. But before that, he had to make her compliant. Then, the image of her crying badly in the washroom back then, came into his mind. Guilt washed over him as he remembered how harsh his words were which he directed towards her. He didn't mean any of it in actual. How could he consider their love making as a mistake, when he was dying to do it again. Yes, he was under the influence of alcohol which gave him the courage to do it with her after waiting for so long. And he remembered every single detail of that night, because even if he was drunk, he had it in control. After that night, he didn't go home for ten days now, because he knew that he won't be able to control himself after seeing her in their bedroom in her nightie. He was now reminiscing that eventful night when they made love for the first time. It was the night when he took her virginity and she took his and they made sweet and passionate love to each other. And now he wanted to do it again, and he would, but before that, he had something to break. Not her, but her so-called ego.

As Cali went out of the office, her phone chimed in her purse. She took it out to find out that Horace was calling her. He was also an orphan and they both lived in the same orphanage. An involuntary smile spread across her lips. And she picked up his call almost immediately. She forgot about all her troubles and pain in her life for a moment. It was always like this when it was him. He was like a loving brother that she never had.

"Hey, Horace. How are you doing?" She asked still smiling. "Oh, stop it. Okay? Why do you care anyways?" He said and her smile vanished. A frown took over her features. "What are you saying Ace? You know I care about you, a lot." She said truthfully.

"Oh, really? Then why were you not calling me? It has been

almost a month, you know that right?" He said with disappointment laced in his tone. Cali now understood what was wrong. She was so much caught up in her fucked up life that she didn't have time to call him. She sighed. "I am so sorry Ace. I was actually so much caught up here. Please forgive me? Please, please? Pretty please?" She said and heard him chuckle softly from the other end. And she knew that she was forgiven. "Okay, okay. You are forgiven, but, but, I have a condition."

He said. Cali hummed him to continue. "I am here in a restaurant just infront of your office. So, will you come here? Let us catch up, yeah?" Cali smiled at his condition and replied a quick yes and dashed into the restaurant infront, unaware of the pair of deep ocean blue eyes that were boring holes into her self.

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He was standing there, near his office window, looking at the sky. The image of his beautiful wife wearing her pink nightie coming out of their bathroom that night was what he had in his mind. He could not wait to taste her again. Though he remembered clearly how she tasted and how good it was, he would never tell that to her. It would only boost her ego. And what he feared is that she would leave him if she kept living on with that ego of hers, and the thought of her leaving him, scared him. He could not let her go. He did not know about love but she had become his obsession now, that was for sure. At first, she was a challenge for him, but after that night, everything changed. Now, he craved for her. Only he knew, how difficult it was staying away from her for ten long days for him. Although he always went home secretly at night without letting anyone know just to have a glance at her while she slept. Her serene face made him feel at ease. Even though he could not cuddle her in his arms tightly, like he wanted to, he would just place a light but lingering kiss on her soft and plump lips. It was enough to keep him sane for the time being.

He was lost in his blissful little bubble of thought when he

noticed a familiar, actually a very familiar figure standing at a distance from the exit of his office building. She was on her phone. His scrutinizing gaze was now set on her. What was she doing out there? Her working hours were not over yet. Oh, then he remembered that she had taken the remaining day off. And he granted it because he thought that she might be tired and would go home to have some rest.

Then, she sprinted towards the restaurant right infront of the office building. Why was she going in there? Did not she just have her lunch a while ago? Was she going to meet someone there? But whom? As far as he knew, his wife didn't have much friends or relatives. The only friend she had here was Jasmine. He was now getting all vexed. So, he decided to go there as well. Just as he was picking up his phone to go out, someone knocked on his door. He allowed whoever the person was outside the door to come in, much to his dislike. Now, he just wanted to fly out of the window and into the restaurant where his wife was doing God knew what.

The door creaked opened and came in Jasmine. Just the sight of her, irked him. Only they knew that they didn't have any relation between them. They were never once involved in any sexual relation, other than kissing, and that too just infront of Cali. However, Jasmine didn't have any idea that her boss was trying to get his wife jealous there, who happened to be Cali Ruth. And she never questioned it. Because firstly, she didn't have the courage to ask her cold and indifferent boss and secondly, she was getting quite a handsome paycheck for putting up this act. She sauntered inside the office and looked at her boss who was looking all frustrated. She gulped visibly. "I don't have the whole day, Ms. Winter." He said in an intimidating tone.

"Sir, this is my leave application. Could you please approve it." She said internally fearing about his outburst. He was obviously not in the mood.

"Keep it on the table and leave." He said getting ready to go out but then Jasmine again stopped him. "Sir, actually I am going to leave tomorrow and I would need some money. So..." She trailed off. Cain immediately understood what she meant. The paycheck for her acting. She was a part time escort, so this kind of acting was not difficult for her. She was even ready to climb up to his bed, but he didn't want it. He had his wife for that. He had just hired her for the job to make his wife jealous.

"You will get your pay by tomorrow morning. Now you may leave." He said with a finality in his voice. She immediately put the application on the table and scurried out of his office.

He then hurriedly went out to go into the restaurant. The

only thing that occurred in his mind was his wife.

......

She entered the small restaurant and immediately spotted Horace sitting at one of the corner seats, sipping on a cup of tea. As soon as his eyes fell on her approaching figure, he stood up and reached her half way to hug her lovingly. And she hugged him back. "So." He said, smiling brightly at her.

"So?" Horace was looking at her with a mischievous glint in

his eyes. "How is your life going?" He asked her making her smile. "I mean married life?" He said smirking. Her smile threatened to falter at his question. He didn't know about how their marriage had happened or how their married life was. She had told him that they got married because they both fell in love with each other. And he bought it since she was working as an intern in his company. He thought that their love story was a cliché one. A typical love story between the boss and his employee.

She managed not to let her smile slip off her face as she innocently said, "Yeah, it is going quite well." He was genuinely happy for her. Though he could not come for her wedding, he always wished her well since he loved her as his own sister. He always wanted her to be happy. He was well aware of how difficult her childhood was back in the orphanage.

He gently held her by her arms and kissed her forehead lovingly.

"I am so happy for you. You finally found the one who is meant for you. Finally (Chuckling softly) you are going to have the 'happily ever after' like you used to read in those fairy tales in our childhood." He said softly. As he was going to continue, a growl was heard by them from behind. "Get your hands off her." And she froze in her place. That voice. She could recognize that voice anywhere. It was him. But what was he doing here?