Sapphire's POV"That Sophia sounds like a menace," Jamila commented, her eyes fixed on the clothes rack. "She's really something, huh?"I exhaled and grazed my hair with my finger subconsciously, glancing away, "You have no idea."We were out shopping for clothes, courtesy of my 'darling' husband who had been so kind enough to give me his credit card to do as I pleased with it. It was some sort of bribery, of course, for leaving me all alone. After he'd left with Sophia, he came back later in the evening and apologized for leaving like that. He seemed to know how to apologize more often these days.It was pointless to keep being mad at him so I let it go but it didn't mean I was going to jump into his arms and kiss him after what had transpired. Eric explained everything to me when he got back but frankly, I wasn't really paying that much attention. I was trying so hard to drown out my anger at Sophia. But I did grab a few things. He told me something about her boyfriend, (that's righ
Sapphire's POVI felt blood drain from my face as I struggled to find the words to defend myself. How could this have happened? I hadn't even seen the necklace, let alone taken it. What the hell was going on? Panic clawed at my chest while I stared at the necklace in Mrs Donovan's grasp, searching for an explanation but nothing came."You sneaky little thief!" Eric's mother boomed, stroking her jewellery. "Why am I not surprised at your despicable behaviour? You're a lowlife after all, a half-baked wannabe. You'd do anything to get a taste of the good life. As if trapping my son wasn't enough, you had the effrontery to steal from me.""No! I didn't...I swear I didn't take anything! I didn't steal that. I have no idea how it got in my purse! You have to believe me. I'm innocent!" I finally found my voice, breaking my silence.Patricia scoffed, "First you were going on and on about not knowing anything concerning my diamond necklace. Now that you've been proven to be a thief in front of
Eric's POVThe very minute I stepped into the godforsaken designer store, I knew for a fact that something was off because I felt it deep within my bones. The aura of the place was just too thick with what I perceived to be tension and a ton of crap. I walked further inside, my eyes flickering all over the place only to see my tigress, cornered and being dragged away like some criminal.Fucking hell! How dare they?There she was, my wife, putting up a goddamn fight, caught between two meatheads. Their beefy arms were hauling her off to God knows where, like she's some piece of trash they can just toss around! Heat flushed my neck, a wildfire of rage spreading under my skin. Every muscle in my body tensed, coiling like a spring, itching to launch at those bastards.How dare they manhandle her, my tigress, with their grubby, ape-like paws?Sapphire's face was as pale as death itself and those little tears rolling down her cheeks made something inside me snap. I never liked seeing women
Eric's POVMy mother's glare was frosty but her usual poise was cracked by the situation which had now spiralled out of her control. Her nostrils flared like they belonged to a bull ready to charge through a wall and her blood red lips twisted into a nasty snarl but she was obviously cornered. With the evidence now questionable, her credibility was slipping away as fast as the crowd's whispers were growing, faster than gossip spread in a high school locker room.The manager's stupid face turned a shade paler, if that was even possible. His skin was like delicate china about to crack under pressure. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy seeing the son of a bitch squirm. He'd think twice before pulling a stunt like this ever again with anyone else. I saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard. Sweat poured down his skin, his breathing becoming heavier by each passing minute. The audience of onlookers was silent, watching intently while waiting for the next act in this absurd theatre.
Sapphire's POVEric drove me home and the ride, like most of our rides together, was dead silent. The difference this time was that we weren't silent because we felt awkward or because we were unsure of what to say to each other. We weren't quiet because we were angry or upset with each other. The silence was just there because we were still trying to process everything that happened. The weight of the events was just too heavy and it hung between us like a dense fog, flooding both our minds.Jamila was seated at the back and just like us, she didn't say anything either. Not a single word. And while we were leaving the store, she had rushed back to pack up all of the stuff that we bought. Classic Jamila. If things hadn't been so bad, if we hadn't been shaken by the day's madness, I was pretty sure that she would have been hurling insults at the store now. And she would have made a bunch of nasty comments about Patricia and, like Eric had called them, her minions. She never would have
Sapphire's POV"Is there something else you need, tigress?" Eric asked, moving an inch closer to where I stood facing him.Tigress. The name felt honeyed in his tongue, in his deep and gruff voice. Although I never admitted it to him and probably never would, I loved it when he called me that. I'd always had. It made me feel special, made my belly tingle with heat and had me all fluffy inside. The worst or best thing it ever did to me was make my hormones rage and make me involuntarily wet my panties a little.Eric was always so charming, so hot, so goddamn irresistible. Everything about him exuded sensuality and sex, his looks and physique screamed "Worship me". From the start, I had been drawn to him because of his tremendous sex appeal and for the longest time, I had been in denial. And now, it wasn't just his sexiness that pulled me closer to him and made me want to be with him. It was so much more than that now.I was in love with him and I wanted him to know.How could I not be
Eric's POVI woke up, my head slightly spinning with a feeling like I had been hit by a car but in a really good way. Actually, it was the kind of ache that said, "Damn, you lived last night."I realized that I was butt naked, with Sapphire just as bare, curled up against me, her skin still damp from the marathon we had pulled in the bathtub. The sheets were a mess and my tigress was still sleeping in my arms, her breathing calm and soft like a gentle autumn breeze.I chuckled as images from last night's escapade flooded my mind. We had really spent the entire freaking night making love in the tub, of all places and she had dozed off right there, in my arms with my cock still buried deep inside of her. I had carried her to the bed after a while and that was how we called it a night. But that didn't stop me from showering her body with kisses and fondling her all over.I'd have made love to her some more if she hadn't been so tired and sore from my thrusts and all. I lost count of the n
Eric's POVAfter finally admitting to myself that I was hopelessly in love with Sapphire, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. She was still asleep, looking peaceful and utterly beautiful. I wanted to do something special for her, something I'd never done before—make her breakfast in bed before I told her how much I fucking loved her. The idea had me grinning like an idiot. But there was one little problem. I didn't know shit about cooking.Still, I was going to give it a shot. How hard could it be anyway? I had faced down boardrooms and negotiated million-dollar deals in my sleep. I had earned my first billion dollars without a dime from my family. Cooking should be a piece of cake. I slipped on a shirt and sweatpants. I gave my tigress one last kiss on her forehead before tiptoeing out of the bedroom.I strode into the kitchen and damn, I'd never realized how foreign this place was to me than the surface of Mars. The plan was simple: scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Tigress was go
Sapphire’s POV“I’ll never be yours,” I spoke defiantly, hiding every hint of fear in my voice. “Never.”“Oh but you already are,” Ethan responded, sniffling on my hair and twisting the gun against my head like it was about to bore a hole inside. “Whether you like it or not, you belong to me now. Eric can’t do anything about it. Isn’t that right, Eric?”Eric snarled, moving forward, “Ethan—”“Careful, bro. I thought I made it clear that if you try anything stupid, your tigress will pay for it. You wouldn’t want me to paint the walls with her blood now, would you?”Eric stood still but the fury in his eyes was unmatched by anything I’d ever seen before. He knew he was trapped, forced to play by Ethan's rules to keep me safe. Ethan was relishing in his power, revelling in the control he had over both of us. The son of a bitch held all the cards right now to his sick game.“Hang in there, tigress,” Eric told me in a softer voice, “I promise we’ll both walk out of here together. I’m takin
Sapphire’s POV “Going somewhere?” I looked up at Eric who was getting ready to head out. “Yeah,” he answered, peering into the mirror and fixing his shirt. He was wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of black pants. His hair was wet from the shower he had not quite long ago. He grabbed his leather jacket from the back of the chair and shrugged into it, zipping it halfway. The material creaked softly as he moved and his rich cologne filled the room. “Where are you off to?” I asked, sitting up on the bed and watching him. “Just going to meet with some contacts,” Eric replied, flashing me a quick smile. “I’ve got some important stuff to take care of.” “By this time? It’s almost 10.” “I won’t be long, I promise.” “Be careful,” I mumbled. Eric turned to me and shot me a warm smile. “Always am, tigress,” he cooed, crossing the room to plant a kiss on my forehead. I watched him as he grabbed his keys and wallet from the dresser, tucking them into his pocket before heading towards the
Sapphire’s POVI struggled so hard underneath the monster, trying to get him off me but all my efforts were futile. He was a whole lot stronger than me, pressing his body harder on mine, his lips grazing neck. I screamed and squirmed, flashes of that night he violated me whelming my brain.Ethan didn’t relent. He groaned in my ear, kissing my neck hungrily and rubbing his erection against my core. His breath washed my body whole with filth and disgust and I wanted to throw up at that point. The bitter, foggy memories of that night were replaying in my head as Ethan tried to have his way with me again.“Let me go!” I cried, struggling still, hoping and praying that someone out there would hear and come to my rescue.Where are those stupid bodyguards when you need them? Where’s Eric when you need him?I had to do something to get myself out of this. I had to break free and run away. I couldn’t let him do it all over again. I would never look at myself the same way ever again if I didn’t
Sapphire’s POVEthan took a step forward, the usual calm and friendly look on his face completely gone. His eyes went dark and he pressed his lips into a grim thin line, his brows furrowing slightly.“It was you!” I screamed, angry tears spilling in a split second as I clutched my panties tighter and stepped backwards, heading for the door. “You…you..raped me!”He was quiet, deadly quiet and something like anger flashed in his eyes. He looked different, like a completely different person. The stare he gave me was frosty and sharp; the kind a psychotic criminal gave after being exposed.I didn’t wait for him to say another word and didn’t demand any explanation from him even though the whole thing was puzzling and mind-boggling. In a flash, I turned towards the door and raced for it. But Ethan beat me to it. He blocked my path and locked the door before shoving the keys in the back pocket of his sweatpants.“Leaving so soon?” He asked, a devilish smirk now imprinted on his face.“Open
Sapphire’s POVEric had still not come home yet. I was still up, waiting for him and it was already very late. My eyes darted at the huge clock in the living room, my hands gripping my phone tightly. It was a little over 9pm and I’d been calling him for that past one hour but couldn’t get through to him. Perhaps his phone was down. I wished he’d come home soon.He’d given me specific instructions to stay put and not go to the hospital to look for him. I was intent on listening to him this time. I didn’t want him getting all worked up again about how stubborn I was so I waited patiently, glancing at my phone occasionally and listening for the sound of his car driving in.I had been waiting all evening to hear the latest update regarding Patricia. I hadn’t got any information about her condition and what state she was in but from the looks of things, she might not make it. She’d lost a lot of blood when I’d gotten there the previous night and she had more than two stab wounds.I didn’t
Eric’s POVThese past few months had been fucked! I had never seen anything like it. It had been from one fucking problem to the other, day in, day out, with no breathers, no breaks and no end in sight. What the hell was going on? The universe must love playing horrible games with us.First, Sapphire and I split up for months after she found out about the accident which I believed all my life I was responsible for when in reality, my sick mother was behind it all. And up until now, we still had no idea who’d called Sapphire to feed her with all of that bullshit of me conniving with my mother to kill her siblings.Secondly, my wife got raped after we were back together and like that wasn’t terrible enough, she got knocked up in the process. The bastard who did it was still on the run. She made up her mind to keep the baby, another blow to my face. It almost broke us apart and then she lost the baby, thanks to Patricia. I felt like shit at first when we thought Sapphire had a miscarriag
Sapphire’s POVI glanced down at my body. I was covered in Patricia’s blood and the footsteps were getting closer. I swallowed, cold sweat dripping out of my pores. If anyone saw me here like this, they’d think I stabbed her. I had to get out of here and fast. I got up and headed quickly for the door but I stopped dead on my tracks when someone walked in.Oh no! I was too late.“Sapphire? What the…?”“Eric?” I was relieved for a moment. It was just Eric. Surely, he wouldn’t think that I had anything to do with this. Or would he?I went over to him, my hands trembling, my voice shaking and my breathing heavy. “Eric…I…I… P…P…Patricia.”Eric gave me a hard once-over, his eyes trailing over the blood on my clothes and then darting towards Patricia’s seemingly lifeless body lying on the cold marble floor. He had an unreadable expression but his gaze was fierce and hard that I feared the worst.I didn’t know what I was expecting exactly. Perhaps I thought he’d begin with the interrogation,
Sapphire’s POV“Mrs Donovan,I’m terribly sorry that you had to find out this way. I should at least have the guts to face you and say this but I don’t. And I’m even sorrier for what I did to you and for the pain I caused you. I never intended to do it. I was forced into it. As you know, the love a mother has for her child can be overwhelming and compelling; hence I did what I had to do.I’m not saying any of this to excuse my actions, for you to take pity on me or even consider forgiving me. I don’t deserve your forgiveness and I’ll carry the burden of what I did to you for the rest of my life. A week ago, I had told you and the others that my little boy was very ill and so I took a leave. But that was a lie.My son was kidnapped and they told me the only way to get him back was if I did the unthinkable-kill your baby. I didn’t want to do it but I had no choice. They threatened to kill my son. The day before I left, I laced your tea with an undetectable poison the kidnappers gave me
Sapphire’s POV“I’m sorry but she lost the baby.”The doctor’s words replayed in my ear every single minute since the day I lost my child. The day he had broken the news to us, I was distraught and words couldn’t even express how shattered and hopeless I felt. I felt like dying along with my baby. All of a sudden, my life stopped making sense.How did I get here? How did I get to this point? When did my life become such a never-ending pain-filled nightmare? It was always one problem or the other. Why couldn’t I just be happy and have peace for once? Why was I always a mess? Why was my life a mess?I thought back to how terrified and unsure I was to become a mother at first, given the traumatic circumstances. And then, how I grew to love the idea of having a child, of creating a life and nurturing it as the days passed. I had so many dreams for my baby. I was already coming up with names.But now, all those hopes and dreams lay shattered at my feet, broken beyond repair. They were brut