Ariana had been in her room ever since Lisa left. She fixed the room but soon got bored when she had nothing left to do. She picked up her phone and saw that she had messages from Calhoun."Hey my heartbeat, how are you?""I am already packing up... I'll see you in a few days.""Are you there?""I hope you are smiling..."Ariana was certainly smiling. She started replying to each of the messages. Her eyes were buried deep into her phone even as she left the comfort of her room to head to the garden. For some reason, she felt closer to Calhoun in that small tree house than in this large room.But as she typed away her replies she didn't realise that Lily was right in front of her waiting for her to patiently make a mistake so she could attack her. Ariana took another step towards the exit of the corridors and that's when she felt her body collide with another body. The shock made her drop her phone at once and she raised her eyes in a panic to see who she had walked into."Argh!" A ne
"You lied Ariana... what I want to know is why?" Elsie queried.Ariana tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. She was tired of taking in all of Lily's problems to Calhoun. She wanted to be her own woman. It was actually time for her to stand up for herself."Is there a fight between you two?" Elsie asked again seeing how Ariana hadn't said a word to answer her first question."No, it isn't that." Ariana rushed out. "The thing is, I bumped into Lily and my phone fell off my hand and somehow it got broken..."Elsie frowned again. She looked at the floor and then at Ariana like three times over before she opened her mouth again. "May I see the phone?" She asked stretching her hand to Ariana.Ariana hesitated at first but then thought against it. What was there to lie? She had to just present it to Elsie.Elsie took the phone and turned it over in her hand. She observed it for a few seconds before raising her eyes to Ariana. "When it fell did you pick it up imm
"There she is!" Lily screeched above the natural noise as soon as she spotted Ariana entering the house."Hello everyone," Ariana greeted with confusion written all over her face. What could Lily be up to now? She wasn't even in the house for the last two hours and she returns to meet even more drama and she seems to be in the middle of it all, how was that even possible?"Ariana, how are you?" Aunt Bianca said stretching her hands towards Ariana.Ariana started moving towards her and Lily screamed again. "Where do you think you are going?"Ariana stopped. This was definitely another problem Lily had invented."Grandfather, I have told you several times before that this woman doesn't deserve to stay with us! She is a thief and a street animal! She should be thrown out!"Ariana had taken enough insults from Lily. This was the last of them. Before grandfather could talk Ariana's sweet voice pierced the tension."Lily, if you ever got formal education, you would have thought that it is r
"Finally you are starting to stand up for yourself!" Elsie breathed out in excitement ignoring Lily and her family's glares toward her."Come, let's go to the kitchen. You must be hungry. Did you get the phone?" Aunt Bianca asked as she led her away from the living room.Lily couldn't feel her legs. She couldn't believe Ariana had just said those things to her. She could hear Ariana's voice ring in her head. The girl had just called her homeless. Ariana had picked her fingers into Lily's past.Lily lowered herself into the seat closest to her and closed her eyes as anger slowly started to burn within her. She couldn't let this little thing repeat itself. Where ever she thought she was getting the strength from must be stopped before Lily lost total control."Mom, let's go talk in the room," Noah gritted and started walking away. They were all ashamed of themselves. Ariana had put them in their place and that was a stain they had to clear out as soon as possible. Calhoun was already a
Lily looked between her son and her husband. Benson looked like he couldn't hold on anymore. He lowered himself to the bed and tried to cover his face but matt was not having any of it."Look, I won't tell her myself but I will leave but expect you to open up to her yourself. If I find out that you didn't confess, you won't like what I will do to you!" Matt warned before walking out of the room as well."Matt, what is it?" Lily asked her son but Matt was already out the door. She then turned her attention to her husband who looked like he would disappear if Lily screamed."What did you do Benson?" Lily asked her husband.Benson couldn't speak. He kept rubbing his hands together looking lost without making any attempt to start the conversation and end what his son had threatened him into doing.Lily had gotten enough stress for the day, she didn't need more. She got up from the seat and moved closer to where he sat. "If you don't tell me what you did, I would walk down to Matt's room a
"Now I can call you my sister inlaw without having second thoughts!" Elsie said wiggling her brows happily. There was no one as excited as she was about how Ariana had stood up for herself. In her opinion, Lily really deserved what she got. It was high time somebody put her in her place.Ariana and Bianca giggled like little girls as they sat around the kitchen eating area. It was made for the maids but sometimes Aunt Bianca used it to catch up with her sister Elsie or whenever she wanted a quick meal for herself. "I'll say you use, aunty-in-law than sister-in-law!" Aunt Bianca added making the trio erupt in another round of laughter.Ariana was grateful that Aunt Bianca and Elsie had accepted her wholeheartedly despite all of Lily's gimmicks. She wouldn't have been able to get this far if she hadn't had their love and support."That reminds me, why don't they call you an aunt? By all right you are their aunt, right?" Ariana asked as she picked up a fresh waffle from her plate.Elsie
Matt truly had nothing important to say. He only wanted to lure her into the room somehow and then try to seduce her but she was acting so strong he couldn't even find a good point to start his seduction. She looked like she was going to slap him Red if he dared touch a wrong part of her body."You know what?" He suddenly said, taking a step back. "You are right. We can talk about this tomorrow..." he said."So, you won't kill yourself anymore?" She asked in a high-pitched tone. Ariana would admit that when he did mention that, she really thought he was going to kill himself overnight. But now, she knew better. He was just another minion sent by his mother."For you, I will stay awake," He whispered staring intently into her eyes. He took a dramatic bow as he turned to leave. "Have a pleasant night Ariana Brown. We shall talk tomorrow.""Goodnight, Matt!" Ariana whispered. She stood there by the door watching him take the bend to his room.For some reason, she didn't want to leave jus
His breathing filled the air and Ariana was slowly finding it harder to breathe as each second passed. What could she say as a defence? What could she do? How did this even happen?"Come here," He said in a husky voice but Ariana was so deep in her thoughts of doom that she didn't hear Calhoun's voice.She didn't even notice when he got up from the bed and moved to where he had left her on the vanity table. His cold fingers ran along her jawline and that was when she jumped realising that he was right in front of her."I know you didn't do anything... why are you thinking so much?" His voice was pained and Ariana thought she would melt by this amount of love.Her throat was tight and her lungs heaved. She was overwhelmed with emotions."I woke up by the sound of your voice and when I came down, I didn't lock up the door, I just pulled it close I think. I don't know... and when I came to meet you, I don't know how he got here..." she rambled.Calhoun caught her mouth in a smooth kiss.
(EPILOGUE)A soft knock resonated against Lim and Laura's bedroom door. Laura was in the bathroom and she had left Lim still sprawled on the bed with their handsome son.She expected him to have answered the door but when the knock resonated again, she hurriedly rinsed off the soap from her body and hurried out of the bathroom with a towel sparsely tied around her body."Lim, didn't you hear the door?" She hissed as she made her way to the door."I pay them to handle things in the house not bring every little thing to me... I am tired..." He mumbled softly against his son's head.Laura couldn't help but roll her eyes. Lim was a changed person but sometimes he couldn't help but be cruel at the smallest of things.She ignored him and went to pull the door open. There was her maid standing with her head lowered to the floor."I am sorry for disturbing your afternoon ma'am but the driver taking you to the venue is here... You said I should let you know..."Laura smiled. "Oh, thank you so
LOST IN YOUR ARMS: (NEW)"Laura, you need to eat more," Jasmine said as she kept filling the plate with more beef meatballs. But Laura never paid her any attention. Her advice was like extra water to an ocean.For the past three days, she had become a food monster. She couldn't do anything without eating. She even woke up early in the morning to get food from the kitchen. Was that how pregnancy changed women? To night thieves?"Don't you think you'll turn her into a fatty?" Charles asked. He was sitting on the other side of the dining table with Dennis."That's none of your business! She is pregnant and she needs to eat more!" Jasmine retorted."Whatever..." Charles rolled his eyes and turned to Dennis, who was busy biting off his meatballs with both hands like a hungry lion. When he noticed that his hands were stained with the stew from the food, he dropped the fork in his hands and started licking his fingers.Charles got irritated by this and made pulled up a scowl that said exact
Marcus opened his eyes and the first thing that welcomed him was darkness. He looked around, desperate to see the surrounding he was in but it was difficult to see through the darkness. He should have known that Lim had a mind of his own. As far as he could remember, back in the abandoned house, he heard the sirens of the police cars outside. Wondering if Lim was ready to damage the family's reputation name by exposing them to the public as kidnappers. At first, that was what he thought but to his disappointment, the little boy had another plan.After the police left and they got moved, he became deeply concerned with what Lim was going to do to him and Thomas. Maybe being exposed to the police was going to be a better option.Fear suddenly cupped him. He became edgy like a psychopath. He had to free himself at all costs before the devil laid a hand on him.Just as he was about to move, he found out he was cuffed against a chair. "Fuck! I'm tied!" He grumbled in frustration. Then,
The police officer's eyes were strained on Lim's injured arm. He was eager to help in any way that he could but Lim waved him off."Don't worry, it is just a mere scratch. My woman is more important now. I need to leave.""Alright, sir!" The police officer saluted again.Lim turned to Charles and gestured to him, using an eye look that only the two of them understood."Don't worry, I can handle the situation here. You need to get Laura to the hospital. Go!" Charles said.Lim nodded and made to move but Steve shouted behind him."I'm coming too!"Lim glared over his shoulder. "Suit yourself!" he said and got into the car that had just parked in front of him. Steve ran the rest of the distance and also jumped into the car before the driver pulled off.The atmosphere in the car was thick as the two of them faced opposite sides, never saying a word to the other.Steve could not stop blaming himself. He wanted to speak out but he didn't want to anger the devil that was beside him.Soon, t
Her hands were covered in blood.The world went silent as her eyes scanned the man in her arms. Her heart was dragging painfully down her throat and she thought she would pass out from the pain."Lim!" Laura screamed in horror.Instantly, the men pushed Marcus down on the floor with great force. They were red with anger, both at themselves for letting this happen and at Marcus. How dare a rat like him shoot at their boss in their presence!?Marcus couldn't believe he blocked the shot. The bullet wasn't aimed at Lim but at Laura. She was the target Marcus had planned to shoot but stupid Lim took the hit instead. Marcus was so stunned that, his body became numb. Even as Lim's men continued beating him, he couldn't feel a thing.Their plan was completely messed up!Thomas, on the other hand, couldn't do a thing but stare at his brother with pitiful eyes. Lim's men were kicking and punching Marcus. Blood seeped out of him yet no sound came out.Thomas couldn't do anything to help him. H
"Why don't you take a seat?" Marcus stated, motioning to the couch in the corner of the room, just across the bed.Thomas moved briskly to the side and took Lim's gun.Lim gritted his teeth as his eyes shifted to Laura. She was so scared, he could feel it in his bones. He knew she wanted to say something due to the movement of her eyes but she couldn't, because of the gag in her mouth.Lim's heart squeezed in pain. He felt like an erupting volcano, but he couldn't bring himself to that state, he had to stay calm for the safety of Laura.He composed himself and sat on the couch with his legs crossed. Trying to be in a character that would not show his anger."So, where should we start?" He asked them with a smirk.Marcus smiled and gestured to Thomas to handle the files. As Thomas messed with the papers, Lim's eyes moved over the room, that was when he noticed Brent, tied up and left sprawled on the bed. "Hmm..." Lim sighed and raised an eyebrow. His brothers must have had another pl
As soon as the call ended, a grin of excitement appeared on Marcus's lips. He was happy that everything was going according to plan.A few minutes from now, he would become the rightful CEO of Walter's occupation all thanks to the little dove he kidnapped.Speaking of the dove, he turned to look at the other side of the room where Laura was tied up on the bed hopelessly like a lamb.There was now a light in the room, enough for Laura to picture the faces of her kidnappers. She should have known that not all of Lim's family members liked him. But now it was too late, they had her.The smile on Marcus's face expanded. It was just amazing to watch fear and all crawl into the girl.He was grateful that she had come into Lim's life when she did because if it wasn't for her, they wouldn't have known how to get the mighty Lim to surrender."So what did he say?" Thomas, who was sitting on a couch with Brent by his side, asked his brother. Marcus turned to them with his hands in his pockets.
Lim got down from his car in a hurry and rushed into the mansion, ignoring the servant's greetings at the doorway. Charles strode behind him trying to keep up with his speed. "Laura!" Lim called as soon as he entered the living room.His heart was thumping and panic was already flowing in his veins. He didn't want to think the worst, but at this point it was inevitable."Laura!" He called again. Not caring that he was being extremely loud."Lau—" Before he could complete his words, his father stepped out of his room into the living room looking wild."Lim, what's going on?" Old Walter asked from the stairs. He was walking down with the support of his butler, Mr May."Where is my wife?" Lim snarled like a wounded snake. His voice was filled with authority and anger so thick it was like a volcano.Old Walter looked at him quizzically. What was he saying? Wasn't the girl home yet?"Laura took her leave in the morning. Isn't she home yet?" Old Walter asked as he went down to the last st
Lim tried almost ten times and yet, it still said the same thing. At this point, he couldn't put the feeling away, something was wrong."The line still says the same thing," Lim said worriedly. He had sweat all over his face from the pressure.Charles was having the same thoughts and as much as he tried to calm his friend, he couldn't bring up the right words. "Isn't Laura coming already?" Jasmine asked as she walked closer to them. Lim sighed and returned his phone to his trousers pocket. There was no time to waste, he needed to go to Walter's mansion and find out for himself what was happening."We're going to Walter's mansion!" Lim stated coldly and walked out of the room. His expression had changed to something so dark and scary that even Jasmine could feel the change in the atmosphere on her skin.Everywhere suddenly turned cold and it wasn't the good kind.She turned to Charles with a worried look. "Is everything okay? Why is Mr. Ice so cold?" She stared at Lim's retreating w