"Where do you think you are going?" Ethan asked when he saw Arabella and Everly hand in hand walking toward the door.
"Out for breakfast," Everly said in a voice that said 'You should know where I am going and not ask me useless questions like this'"What about breakfast?" Ethan asked his face drawing up in confusion. Where was she going when she had not made anything for him to eat?"What do you mean?" Everly replied blinking rapidly. She wondered why he became so distant from her and began to treat her like a maid all of a sudden. It was as if he was brainwashed."Aren't you going to make what I would eat for breakfast?" Ethan replied."You have two hands don't you?" Everly said and watched him raise his hands to his face."What are you trying to ask?""Since you have two hands you can whip up something quickly for yourself" Everly said and he jumped out of his chair so quickly it was like a flash moving about.<"I found this cute place in town where they serve various varieties of breakfast," Everly said with excitement. "Oh really have you been there before?" Arabella asked. She was careful and so she did not like trying new things."No, but it would be a fun thing to do, don't you think so?" Everly asked."I guess" Everly could hear the doubt in the voice of Arabella."You don't like trying new things do you?" Everly asked turning to her."Is it obvious?" Arabella said with a nervous chuckle. "Your eyes dilated, your hands shook on the wheel and I could see your body tense up," Everly said. Arabella turned to her with widened eyes shocked she was able to get all that information in such a short time."I am a mom, we know these things," she said when she saw her stare. "You might be afraid to try new things but I want you to try this place and see for yourself" Arabella nodded. What else did she have to be afraid o
"But Mom, he is sulking here in the living room," Kieran said. He was concerned for his father."Oh he would be fine," Everly said like it was not a big deal and it was not supposed to be a big deal. It was just breakfast after all."Order something for him or I can bring something home for him from the restaurant on my way back" She added.Kieran did not know what to say about the situation. He had always thought that his Father was being extra about meals."Don't worry I will get him something to eat. Enjoy your meal" Kieran said."Wait," Everly said before he could cut off the line."What is it?""Why did you call then?" She wondered what made him call and even started screaming."I wanted to speak with Arabella because I believed it was her doing" "What was she doing?" "That you left home without making breakfast" Kieran put it simply. He was not ready to waste his time beating around the
Arabella had a good time at the restaurant and she was glad she overlooked her fear and ate there. As she drove in the music-filled car with the occasional lip sync from Everly from time to time she thought of how she needed to do something about Kieran's sudden outburst.If her presence was somehow disturbing them she needed to do something to stop it, but she needed to talk to him as soon as she got home. She did not want him to think that she was after his kind of life.She sent a text to him telling him to meet her in the garden outside so she could trash out whatever it was that she needed to before she went inside. He had seen and read the text but he did not respond."Home sweet home" Everly exclaimed as she drove into the driveway."Thank you so much for today," Arabella said as she parked the car and took off her seat belt. "I should be the one to thank you" Everly cut in before she could let out another word. "I would have been
"Yes I did," Arabella said trying her best to show that he startled her. She sat still and gestured for him to sit beside her."Make it fast or else I might be tempted to walk out" Kieran said as she rounded the chair and sat on it keeping a safe distance between them."I keep getting a feeling that you don't like me but I don't recall doing anything to you" Arabella started. She glanced at him and the state of his face was as if he was going for the championship of the frowning association."And the way you talk to me, I did not hear what you told Everly the other time but I am guessing that it is not something nice" she continued.He sat beside her like a statue and did not move. She would have been fooled if she did not hear his silent breathing."I don't want to ask what I did because you would only evade the question and tell me I did nothing when it is obvious that there is something about me that is bugging you" "All I wa
Arabella rolled in bed as she could not take her mind off what Kieran had said. She could hear it so clearly that it was like her mind was replaying the scene over and over again.'I am quite interested in you so I don't think I can stay out of your business'"Interested in me? What does that mean?" she muttered to herself as she sat up straight in bed. Maybe her mind was not working because she was lying down."Maybe I should have asked him what he meant and not allowed him to walk away like he had not just dropped a bomb on me" "What did he mean?" she mumbled to herself again.Her eyes darted to the alarm clock by her bedside. She had only four more hours before she had to be up and out so she could go to work.She wondered why her mind did not play this truck on her while it was day. It has to wait till night and then keep her awake all night.She knew that she would be so exhausted at work and she would probably mak
"I can't believe that guy, it's his fault that I am going so late to work and yet he could not even check on me" she murmured as she climbed down the stairs.She was out of the house with the speed of light and she saw Kieran standing there with his hands up as he frowned at his watch. He leaned on his car and looked up and their eyes locked."I thought you were not going to make it to work today" he said opening his door and entering inside. She stood there wondering what he was doing there. He always left the house earlier so why was he still around at this time? Was he waiting for her?"Aren't you going to work?" he asked rolling down his window.She caught herself from staring and gaping at him and ran down the final stairs to overcome. She ran and sat in the front passenger seat of the car."I thought you had left already," she said as she struggled to put on her seatbelt."I was waiting for you," he said silently.
"You are late" Aurora said as soon as she came into the office."I have no excuse," Arabella said immediately. There was no need for her to begin to beg for forgiveness and understanding, all she needed to do was accept her fault so that Aurora could get off her back.Aurora was thrown off for a second because she had expected her to make excuses. "Don't be late next time" she said before walking away as quickly as she could.Chole waved over to her and Arabella skipped to her. "You are usually early? What happened today?" Chole asked as she sat in her seat."The weirdest thing happened to me, I overslept even past my alarm," she said and Chole gasped.Arabella had never been one who found it difficult to wake up in the morning except she had had a hard time going down to bed."I am shocked you were able to tame her, She had been waiting for you all morning just to give you an earful. I wonder what generation she thinks we are. how ca
"Aren't you going for lunch?" Chole asked standing up and stretching so loudly."I wish I could but I have a lot to catch up on with work" Arabella said looking up from the papers in her hand."I think she is just giving you extra work on purpose" Chole whispered bending to her level."It's obvious isn't it?" Arabella sighed as she clicked her pen multiple times."Stay safe with the papers, I will bring you back a sandwich or something," Chole said taking her jacket off her chair and walking to the entrance where the rest of the team was waiting for her.Arabella sighed as she turned in her chair. She could at least get a cup of coffee to keep her awake since she was the only one left in the office.She stood by the counter waiting for the water to boil. She tried to stretch herself as she was there."It's lunchtime what are you doing here?" Kieran asked as he pushed the door to the kitchen open."Oh my god" Ara
"I am so happy for you," Ava said as she stood with Kieran and Arabella; they had just got married, and it was truly a joyous day. Kieran had been so quick with the preparations that it took them barely two months to put everything together. "I just couldn't believe that my little one had found love," she added, tears welling in here again."Mom, you need to stop crying; seeing you cry makes me cry as well," Arabella said, blinking back the tears. Her make-up artist had retouched her make-up multiple times because she knew she was getting annoying already, but she could not control the burst of emotions flowing from her body. "Mom," Seraphina said, coming from behind and putting her hand over the shoulders of her mother. "It is a happy day; why do you keep crying? Someone, I mistake you to be mourning." "I am just thinking of how proud your father would have been to witness today.""I am sure he is watching over us from above," Arabella said, holding her mom's hand tightly."Mom, let
1 YEAR LATER Arabella was meeting Kieran after work; she had moved out because she was not comfortable with being there while dating him and had found herself a new job where she seemed to function much better. She was even on her way to write a book of her own. Kieran, who started a book publishing house solely for the money, now began to learn about this thing so he could help her out with the publication.She was glad that she had given in and tried to date him, or else she would never understand what this kind of relationship meant. Kieran was so attentive and made her feel like his entire world revolved around her. She learnt to drive and even bought her car.Sometimes she believed that he was going to propose to her because he would bring up discussions that centered around their future home, but then after that, it would be like they were back to base one. She liked base one, but she hated living all by herself. She wanted to move back in with him, and she wanted to begin havi
"A trip?" Arabella asked, taking up the blanket and covering herself. "Yes, a couple's trip," he said, dropping the phone back on the table and walking to her. "What about work? Aren't you going to work again?" she asked. "Are you afraid that you would live broke?" he asked in a teasing tone."Of course I am," Arabella said before tilting her head. "I am jobless now; at least one of us needs to work so we can live a happy life," she added."You know that I do not mind you still thinking with us," Kieran said. After the trial, Arabella decided to stop working there even though Aurora was no longer there. How could she work there after everything that happened? She would be able to face her co-workers if that were the case. "I am sure I will get an offer soon from one of those companies," she said, and he sat beside her. "And you know you do not need to work again; I can take care of you and as many children as you want to have," he said with a wink. "Children?" she said flustered
Arabella rolled over, and she landed right into Kieran's hands. She looked at him like it was an offence for her to do so. She peered at him and then covered her eyes with her hand. She could not believe what she had done over the night. If her mom heard she was going to give her a long lecture and then have her head afterwards. She looked at him, and she was tempted to trace her finger across his face in frustration. "Sleep so much more," she was startled to hear him talk as his mouth moved without even opening his eyes. "How long have you been awake?" She muttered, feeling shy that he had caught her staring so much that she could drill a hole into his face. "A while now," he said, his eyes framing open like a princess that was cast under a spell but was now liberated all of a sudden. He pulled her closer as he wished they could somehow get closer and maybe even mesh together. "Should we go home? Everly must be worried searching for us," Arabella murmured into his chest. He opene
"Somewhere, like where?" she asked shyly, dropping her head so their eyes would not meet. "You would see," he said, lifting her head gently. "But we have to make sure that the ride ends first," he said, looking around. He had thought that they were going to have a moment there, but seeing how things turned out, he could not wait to be out of there. Finally, the ride was over, and he drove out of the amusement park to a hotel. "You brought me to a hotel?" she asked in shock as they drove into the underground parking lot. "Why?" she asked now that her tone was in a hushed whisper. "I told you we should come somewhere, and you agreed," he said as he drove by the cars looking for a place to park. "That was because I thought you said that we should go someplace nice," she muttered, looking around like they were sneaking around. "Why are you looking around like we are committing a sin?" he asked, noticing how uncomfortable she got. "It is not that...""Am I being clueless? Am I jumpin
Kieran paid the operator to let the ride go in a loop three times, and Arabella wondered why he did that."Why?" she whispered to him."To have some alone time," he replied with the same wink from earlier. She gulped down hard, wondering what he was thinking.As the ride got into the tunnel, Arabella held the hand of Kieran tightly with her eyes closed. She had no time to think of what he might have meant with the wink and statements because the ride was definitely scarier than she had expected it to be. She looked at him when she felt his firm hand hold her face and turn it to him. "Are you scared?" he asked, dropping a kiss on her lip. "Kieran," she said in a hushed whisper as she looked around. "There is no one here, and I have been waiting all day just to get that," he said before dropping his head for another kiss. She placed her hand over her mouth because he could kiss her and therefore kissed the back of her hand. He took her hand from her mouth and began to drop multiple k
Arabella could feel Kieran's excitement for the date, and she wondered why they got so lucky. They went on every ride in the park like they had been waiting to do this. Arabella was more proud of the fact that a handsome hunk named Kieran was with her. In every line, they heard murmurs of people talking about how handsome he was. She was not letting any of that bother her because she could disagree with them; he was a beauty to behold. She did not let the nasty comments, such as those criticising his choice, get to her. He glued to her like gum on the sole of a shoe, and it must have infuriated the crowd the more because of the kinds of dirty glances she received from them. Kieran was always pushing back her hair and staring at her while holding her hand tightly and dropping random kisses on her forehead. She was shy, but she liked how he marked his terror so openly. She was on a date, and she was going to try her best not to be affected by any of that. "Should we go there?" Kieran
"Do you want to explain why you are here?" Kieran asked. Arabella had expected him to scream his lungs out, but he was wrong. Myabe's drive down has calmed him down. "It is a stupid reason; I don't want to tell you," Arabella murmured to herself. She had wanted to hear an apology so much that it felt like her self-worth depended on it. She turned her head to the side so she was looking out the window. "Look at me," Kieran said softly. "Look at me," he said again, this time turning her head with his hand gently. "I am so ashamed of myself; I don't know what I was thinking," Arabella said again. Seeing Kieran had somehow triggered something in her. It was like judging her actions without even saying anything. "Tell me, I want to know why you dressed up and left the house to come here when you should be resting.""Okay," she said as she heaved a sigh. "I wanted an apology so bad." "What?" "See, I knew you would judge me.""Ara, I am not judging you. I just want to understand what y
"Why are you laughing?" Arabella was shocked. That was not the expression she was expecting from her. "Dearest Arabella, you must think the world revolves around you," she said, leaning in that she was seated at the edge of her seat. "Why do you think I would apologize to you? I did what I did, and I would do it again and again if need be.""You are not sorry for kidnapping and assaulting me even though you ended up here?" Arabella asked. "Of course, if I had the chance to, I would do it again. Can you imagine how hard I worked? I worked hard on Kieran, and you swooped in from nowhere and decided you wanted to take him from me. Oh, please, like you deserve him," Aurora said, leaning into the chair. "If you are here to ask me for an apology, I am afraid that you have to go back without one today and that you need not expect one from me," she said, looking at her nails like she had gotten a fresh set of nails. "Arabella, I think one of the problems you have is that you seem to overra