Novels by Hillary

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINT.Natalie, Gaia and I had a long chat before Giovanna arrived. We had been talking about our childhoods’ most embarrassing experiences and laughing about how immature we had been. Gaia had had the most adventurous, and made Natalie and I laugh so much that our stomachs hurt. I had checked on Annie a few times during the conversation and she had been fast asleep, until the moment Giovanna came into the home and announced her presence. A confused “Annie?” followed by an excited “Gia!” could be heard before the two began conversing. Gaia, having no idea Giovanna was coming, perked up in excitement. I went to freshen up in a washroom I had found while searching for Gaia, before deciding to wait in the kitchen for her, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to keep myself calm in front of others. I had disposed of my façade near Gaia but I wasn’t going to let down my guard until I could confirm her trustworthiness.“You’re not going to see her?” Natalie asked when Gaia had

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINT.We arrived at the address after visiting the hospital and being told Dr Desroches wasn’t working today. I parked beside a familiar Donatello style SUV, seeing a modern home in a reserved neighbourhood. I inspected the area to make sure we weren’t followed and turned back to Annie, who was fast asleep on the suitcase, looking peaceful in her slumber. I smiled at her in awe, admiring how at ease she was despite our current situation. I was wanted by my fiancée’s father. But it seemed like life didn’t get better than that when being associated with the Donatello family. I couldn’t paint a picture where the odds were in my favour in this whole chaos of a relationship with Giovanna’s family. I looked away from Annie finally, turning to Officer Berrien in expectation of orders from my father. I assumed she was working for my father to keep Annie safe, and not help me get through this mess. “Please help me with the suitcases in the boot. I’ll take Annie.” I told Offi

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINTThe world seemed to stop when Annie dropped lifelessly to the floor. My head went blank and blood rushed to my ears, blocking out every sound that didn’t tell me Annie was alive. When I didn’t get a single signal after a few seconds, I was in complete denial. I found myself wondering how and why my instinct had let me down now when it had never done so before. I was about to run carelessly to hold her in my arms but it seemed God had been on my side. A man dropped down after her, blood spilling from the hole in his head. Reading the situation and realizing there was still hope, I felt my senses perk up again, a new confidence in myself being discovered. In that split moment before the man had come to sight, my life had flashed before my eyes. I had judged my every decision, except not marrying Giovanna. If the supposed death of my sister wasn’t enough reason to leave her, I knew I was fighting for the right cause. I found myself grinning despite having killed a

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINTAnnie and I watched Giovanna get into a mysterious black jeep, seeing strange men surrounding it. As quickly as they had come, they disappeared into their respective vehicles and zoomed off into the day. I let out a sigh, wondering how to put this simply so my father didn’t get angry. I could tell him about Annie helping out first so he got angry before I could deliver the worse news. Or was it good news first? Was there even good news? My life could be ended and it wasn’t the most terrifying possibility. I only wanted to get married to the woman of my dreams. These dangerous circumstances weren’t at all in the plan. “Daddy?” I heard Annie say and my head whipped to the wide, seeing her grinning while she spoke on the phone. I knew she was intelligent but being this far ahead of me with her thoughts was genius. I was considered quite cunning and a quick thinker myself; much more than the average person, so it made Annie’s abilities almost superhuman. I wondered

SERGIO’S VIEW POINTThree days ago, I had gotten permission from my daughter to use her fiancé as a negotiator and temporary consigliere. I had to say, I wasn’t too happy to have had suck up to the revolting yet fascinating man. I was an honest man, so I couldn’t lie to either of them about my plans. Luckily, I had been able to keep my intentions private and expose only a small part of the full story. The only person aware of the entire hoax was Isabella, who was a questionable ally, having spent so much time with Igor. She had escaped his possession three weeks ago, which shortly after Yves had been attacked by Igor. It had been a measly and very shallow execution of strength and display of lack of fear, but it had somehow had a great effect on my business. And knowing Igor, there was absolutely no way he or his men had discovered Giovanna’s importance from surveillance; so it made me wonder if Isabella knew about her and had told Igor. Even Mr. Clever French boy hadn’t figured it o

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINT I was visibly happy when I stepped back into the house. The thought in my head was a simple one; “I'm going to marry Giovanna”. It was all I could think about. The conclusion came before the slightest decisions. It affected my reasoning in a way I felt was positive because anything I did always led back to the thought that I was doing it for Giovanna. That I was growing for her and slowly morphing into a spouse she would see as perfect. I had an idea of what she thought about me now. I knew she regarded me highly, but I wanted to be her everything, just as she was mine. Which was why, when I saw her standing with Blossom and Belle while Annie made them rehearse her lines for her play tomorrow, I pulled her into my arms and gave her a loving kiss. I hoped to be able to do this for the rest of our lives. “Leave my supporting character alone!” Annie yelled, stomping her foot while Giovanna smiled at me. “That’s a first. Are you in a better mood than usual?” She