Lying in bed, I looked around at the sterile hospital walls and turned my eyes to see who was at the doorway; my heart was racing in anticipation. Then, I saw him. In the doorway stood my husband Adrian, a smile spreading warmly in his face. I was too happy-my heart swelling with delight-and I just couldn't help but return him a smile."Hello, baby," I said, my voice barely audible, as I stared back at Adrian's smiling face. He looked so handsome, so radiant that my heart just skipped a beat."Good morning, my love," he said in a low, husky voice, heading toward me. He was still smiling, his eyes crinkling up toward the edges, and my heart melted at the mere vision of him.As he reached the bed I was sitting upon, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. His kiss sent a run of shivers down my back, a wave of warmth that filled my body, making me happier, more alive. I closed my eyes, basking in the moment-the feel of his lips against my skin, the love radiating from him in waves, lik
As I looked into his eyes, my chest warmed up. "That's so nice of you, my love," I whispered, my voice barely audible as I looked up at him. He grinned at me with a radiant smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and offered me his hand to take. "Let's go, please," he said in this low, husky voice that sent my spine tingling on end.We walked towards the room, he put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. His hand rested at the curve of my hip, his fingers touching my skin as he stroked a flutter in my chest. "Baby," he whispered softly against my ear. His breath traveled the length of my neck, raising tingles across the surface. His heart skipped as he spoke a little louder to continue in this low, sultry tone: "I feel horny." Those words made some electricity pass right through my body.I knew right away in my chest was racing, a pulse of anticipation. Something pressed strong and insisting into my back, and my trouble was basically sealed. There was a complete riot i
Adrian's gaze, while he stood there in the bathroom, seemed to hold me hostage, his eyes ablaze with a longing that made my skin crawl. I tried to tear my eyes away from his naked body, but they were drawn back, as if by some perverse fascination, like a moth to a flame."Adrian, please," I whispered, my voice barely audible, trying to push him away, my hands shaking with fear and desire. "You're distracting me from the party upstairs. The party is coming soon."I wriggled myself out of the bathroom, wrapping the towel as tightly as possible around my body as I went into the bedroom. I felt Adrian staring at me, really looking at me, as I walked away from him. I shrugged off the weird sensation of his scrutiny and proceeded to get ready for the party.We were already late, and I knew everybody was waiting for us to arrive. I quickly dried myself, my towel swishing across my skin, cleaning off the drops of water clinging to me like small diamonds.Standing before the closet, scanning t
The moment the immensity of what his cousin Julian had done dawned upon Adrian, a contortion appeared in his face through shock, anger, and a feeling of betrayal.His bright and warm eyes had now taken the intensity of blazing fire, with a burning passion for justice as if filling those eyes. Gone was that perennial smile that graced his countenance, taken over by furrows which now seemed etched within him.Of a sudden, with the reality hitting his system, his anger boiled over from underneath; he could barely hold himself back.His fists turned into balls and his knuckles began whitening, reflecting the tempest inside his head. Somehow, his hands seemed to follow a mind of their own as they raced to the pocket behind and wrapped around the phone's familiar form.With a jerky, quick motion, Adrian whipped out the phone and clutched it in hands that seemed to show a resolve almost to desperation. His fingers flew across the screen in scrolling through contacts in frantic urgency, as if
"Did you dare raise your voice at me, Julian?" Adrian asked, his voice hushed and metered, only dripping with quiet intensity. There was almost a hum of silence around his words as he spoke-the tone a subtle warning, reminding him of the balance in the power scales."I mean, did you yell at me?" he continued in the same tone of voice, though his words low and controlled, definitely carried a lot of steel beneath them.He tried to explain, to justify the outburst, but Adrian would have none of it. He shut Julian down, his voice rising in a subtle yet unmistakable warning. "Julian," he called, firm and authoritative. The single word was like a slap, sharp rebuke that left Julian reeling.Adrian's next words were like a bombshell-a devastating accusation that left Julian gasping."You asked me for my wife's number so you could send her your nude pictures, right?" he yelled, his voice a mix of anger, outrage, and feelings of betrayal. The words hung in the air like a challenge-a no-he-cou
The moment the music began playing, I lost myself to the rhythm. However, it was then that I felt Adrian staring at me. His eyes remained on my hips and waist; his gaze would move with the way my body moved as I swayed to the beat. Instantly, a shiver ran down my spine, knowing he watched me with such burning in his eyes that seemed to pierce right through me.The music was louder, peaking, when Adrian just vanished into the sea of people and started dancing behind me, his body exactly in time with mine. Reaching around my waist, his hands circled me, almost like an embracing warmth. A surge of thrill rose as he drew me nearer to him; our bodies swaying with the beat perfectly.We were just getting into the mood with the music, until Zen cut through the noise; his hands in a cutting action across his chest stopped the music, as if demanding order."Alright, alright," he started, an irritating smile just tipping at his mouth, "the time is finally ripe to unwrap those presents which you
THE NEXT DAYEarly morning sun pierced the window, its warm rays dancing around the room, lighting it with soft, gold-colored light. Outside, the birds were melodiously chirping, their voices filled with trills, one of those sweet serenades that somehow seemed to go in rhythm with my heartbeat. And then the freshness of the morning breeze, through an opened window wafting in with fresh flowers just opened, promising a new day's greetings.My body stretched, still with the tiredness of the night's party, hanging onto my muscles. My mind started working, revisiting what had happened the previous night, and a smile spread on my face at the passion which had filled every moment Adrian and I were together. Images of our lovemaking filled my mind, and my whole body was aflame in warm sensation-a tingling feeling in my body, like an arousal of my senses.As I turned toward Adrian, he was still sleeping; his chest rose and fell with each soft breath. I couldn't help but smile as I took in the
My mind reeled as I stared at my phone, the message screaming a mixture of emotions. My stepdad, strict and unbending-a man who always demanded and never asked-was on his knees, beseeching me to beg Adrian, a prospective client, to grant him a very lucrative steel contract. Something was not adding up. My stepdad never begged, and the fact that he was doing so made my skin crawl.As I sat down to give it a thought, a growing sense of unease developed in me. Was my stepfather just trying to scam Adrian out of his money, or was there something shady about the deal that I hadn't known? The truth behind my stepdad's desperation needed to come out, and I was going to dig it out.I brought my hands to my head, my fingers massaging my temples as I tried to gather my thoughts. I needed a plan, some strategy as to how to bring the truth to light. I would have to question my stepdad, prod him for information, and see if I could catch him in a lie. But what should I ask him? And how would I know
The message on the phone caused Adrian to stare in horror with bulging eyes. The pang of hurt and disappointment had begun as the mind raced with questions. He answered immediately, smashing his fingers on the keyboard. "Zan, why?? What's this for?" was his message, his eyes glued to the phone, waiting.But there was none from Zan. The silence felt heavy, and the seconds ticked like hours. With his anxiety building, Adrian's mind wandered all over the place. There was a feeling of dread; his insides were churning.Just as he was about to lose all hope, the message popped. "We are going back to already, sir," was an obscure, foreboding message from Zan. Adrian's eyes sharpened, and his mind was racing with questions. "Why?" was again written furiously, with trembling fingers, full of anticipation.The words of Zan were so incisive and quick, like a punch to the gut. "Did you violate any rules?" asked Adrian, but though he had surprised questions, he was mostly involved in important mat
Nested deep in the shrubbery of the guagua bushes along the winding road, shadows loomed long and dark upon the earth as Adrian continued driving. Putting the car to a halt with the engine sputtering to a stop, Adrian sat in silence, staring at the telephone tracker. Somewhere out there, according to the stats by the GPS, Jenny was to be found, yet her exact whereabouts remained clouded in uncertainty. His frustration red-hot beneath the surface, Adrian felt he might explode with anger at any moment. He ripped off his shirt, the fabric tearing against his back, a white singlet visible underneath. He kicked off his shoes, bare feet trembling with rage and ready for the kill. He was a man on a mission, backed by an awesome determination to get Jenny and save her.Adrian sat there, chest heaving, and gathered every ounce of courage for the battle ahead. The path ahead was fraught with dangers: conditions under the guagua bushes kept many secrets and few ever braved them. Yet he was read
Samuel looked at Julian with a mix of concern and confusion as he observed Fidelia's odd behavior. "Maybe she has taken some hard drugs; that's why she's behaving like that," he said in a low, thoughtful voice. Julian narrowed his eyes somewhat, his expression skeptical but then nodded in agreement.Her eyes glowed and her face twisted with a new terror. "Yes, I am mad," she said rather bitterly. Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Due to the agony my mother went through. I shouted because she was in a state." Her words were poured forth in a flood, raw and unrefined. "No one was able to comprehend, not knowing her monster husband did it all, just so he could extort money.For a moment, Fidelia's eyes were fixed on Julian, boring into him with fierce intensity. "And you, Julian," she shouted at the top of her voice reverberating through the entire room. "You wanted me to have sex with you, right?" Her words hung in challenge and accusation in the air. In that instant, a longer ripple of
Standing there, dumbfounded, my eyes flew back and forth between those two people before me. What are you doing here, Dad?" I softly asked Samuel, turning my head towards him. Then to the other figure, a man whom I never have seen before, yet for all intensive purposes, he seemed familiar. "And you too, what are you doing here?" I added, narrowing my eyes while trying to place him.And then, like someone thrusting a sudden sunbeam into a cloudy day, it came to me and I recognized him, Julian. The name whispered through my mind, and I shivered. The pair exchanged a glance, Samuel and Julian, then both burst into laughter. A cold wind seemed to sweep the room.They laughed heartily and then, with a peal of laughter, fell silent, looking at each other with watery eyes. They turned towards me, then laughed again as they dug their faces in. That sound pierced through the fog of my confusion and terror and left me feeling naked and vulnerable.My throat mounted a steeplechase over my heart-
The darkness weighed on Adrian. Alone, he stared at the smartphone screen, and slowly the worries came and began overshadowing him. He tried calling Jenny for the final time. But this time it was even worse. "BEEP" the dial tone resonated inside his mind as a sad song, tying a heavy string to the future of uncertainty residing in front of him.He was losing within that desperation clutching his heart. His once sharp and focused mind began to wander off aimlessly and could not concentrate on anything apart from those haunting images of Jenny.The incessant maelstrom of questions swirling in his head formed different shapes, and all were more tortuous than the first. "Man, how am I getting through with this thing right now?" He held the phone in a grip that suggested it was the only rope that could hold him alive.His fingers raced across the screen with both urgency and desperation, and though the seconds trickled by in almost a freeze, every second seemed like an eternity as he stared
Minutes turned into hours as Mr. Zan stood by, waiting for Jenny to walk out of the ladies' room. His air conditioning motor started vibrating and soon it was beyond the threshold of audible perception but damps in harmony with the slow rhythm of his heart. For the hundredth time, he looked at the dial as the hands of time crawled across its face. It had been thirty minutes since he had been told to wait, but Jenny was still conspicuously missing.His gaze moved toward the security men, somewhat narrowed, as he put the question out to them- "Are you sure she's in there?" Confident nods came his way. "Yeah, look, she's coming," said one of them, somewhat softly, in a soothing tone. Mr. Zan immediately snapped his eyes toward the door of the ladies' room, with his heart now galloping in its euphoria. A woman walked out looking exactly like Jenny.Their gazes locked; he smiled warmly. "Mrs. Jenny!" he exclaimed, feeling relief. "We've been waiting for you for ages. Our company is next,"
Disgustedly, Adrian sighed; responsibilities lay heavy upon him as if to suffocate. His eyes moved through the room, over the sea of expectation on the faces, fluttering hands, whispering murmurs, crowding the air with tension thick with perfume, cologne, and the smell of freshly printed papers. "It's getting harder," he said softly enough that only he could hear it.With that, the next company was introduced- it sounded as if they were being announced in some long-forgotten imperial court: "A&Z Company Limited!" thundered the speaker from the microphone into the welcoming room. Clapping hands and cheering greeted the representatives of A&Z Company as they strode toward the stage. The applause sounded like relentless waves crashing against the shore, full of zeal.Adrian squinted as he calculated all his strategies and machinations while the watcher observed the present scene. The adrenaline in his system was pounding in his heart like an embargo drum. "Chevron Company, should get rea
The Dubai meeting was in full swing, and the atmosphere was charged. A male and female pair had organized the event and came on stage clad in bright red. The color itself appeared to embrace life with energy, beckoning to the audience. But Adrian's gaze was not on the speakers. He was staring at the door, almost through the gate, willing Jenny to return.Where had she gone? Adrian's mind was a storm of questions. Had she gone for air? Or was it to powder her nose? In Adrian's thoughts, of course, it crossed that she might have gone to relieve herself; however, with time slipping away and still no sign of her appearing, his worries began to build with concern over where she was.He continued watching the stage when the speakers announced the next one in line, and the words 'Diamond Company Limited" reached his ears. The Diamond Company Limited representative went to the podium, adjusting the microphone, commencing his speech. There were murmurs across the crowd, and all of a sudden, Ad
Frantically looking for the woman who just called me, I sat in the vehicle allowing my eyes to scour the space. Instead, however, I was surrounded by ominously faced men; their expressions were dark and foreboding. An unease overtook me, and I could feel an influx of adrenaline passing through my bloodstream."Where am I going?" I asked them, forcing my voice to stay even as terror began to rise inside me. The men did not seem to notice, though, lest be moved by such strident yelling and asking."Somebody talk to me!" I shouted, but before any reply could come, the whine of the engine roared into life, and the vehicle started to move, sending a jolt of panic through me that I was about to be taken somewhere against my will.The men were too strong for me again when I would have tried to open the door to escape. They kept me successfully on the ground, where one tied a black cloth around my mouth and rendered any outcry completely useless. Kicking and struggling did not help, for I had