Clara's POVAs Derek opened his mouth to speak, the physician left the room.The doctor had our full attention at this point."Doctor, how's she doing?" So I did.She was in a hazardous situation, but for the time being, we were able to stabilise her. We're trying our hardest." He said.With a sympathetic glance in our direction, the doctor walked away down the hall.She doesn't deserve this out of all the people I know. She always shouts at us to eat healthily since she is such a powerful lady. I never imagined she would come to this place." It was Ivy.She seemed to have a few tears in her eyes.I let go of all I was keeping within. My mom wasn't doing well at all.Ivy saw the new stream of tears in my eyes and hugged me.Ivy said, "Don't worry, it's alright." As you would with a two-year-old, she was calming me down, which was helping. Ivy said, "It's all part of the plan," behind my back.She kept massaging my back until her words finally registered.By "this was all part of the p
Clara's POVIvy's remarks caused my eyes to enlarge."To start with, it is unrelated to you. Second, I have a question for you." Derek held back. "You are such a letdown; are you sure your aunt didn't have a heart attack?" He went on.After hearing Derek's comments, I gasped. Although I was accustomed to his making fun of me, I hadn't anticipated him saying that.Ivy was shocked by his remarks as well.This needs to be stopped before it becomes worse.I interrupted, saying, "My mother is in there; show some respect."Derek was giving in little by little."I'd like you to go now. I don't want any fighting around my sister, who will arrive shortly." I said something.I covered my face as if I was crying. I believe I have become used to this. I need an Oscar handed to me.With a groan, Derek got up from his chair.What caught me off guard was what he did next. He didn't go away as I thought he would.Instead, he got up to hug me while softly stroking my hair. I didn't struggle with him t
Clara's POV I dashed inside, making careful to draw the curtains and shut all of the blinds.To make sure nobody was trailing after us, I took one more look through the curtain.Ivy attempted to comfort me, "It's alright; I'm sure no one is following us."Just in case, I turned off our lights so it would seem like nobody was at home."He's going to send his henchmen to follow me again; I'm in so much difficulty right now." I went crazy.Ivy motioned for me to inhale deeply."Relax, I promised to assist you in developing a plan. The problem will only become worse if you get panicked." Ivy went on.The sound of an essential being turned in our front door reached my ears. With its loud sound, the door split open, and Mom entered carrying a large package."Why is this place so dark?" As I walked in, Mom questioned.Dragging her school bag and another bag containing her sports gear, Katy trailed her mother in the afternoon."You know how much the previous energy bill was," I said."Also,
Clara's POVI stopped."I know you people are trying to assist, but I'm incapable of doing this. I will be honest with him." I said something. "I simply want to get on with my life without so many falsehoods; I'm tired of this entire spectacle."Both Ivy and Katy looked at me in disbelief.Has she struck her head? Says Katy.Ivy decided, "It's probably because she is under a lot of stress.""No, I'm not kidding. I will be honest with him. Ever since the beginning of this entire incident, I've been living in continuous fear of being discovered. I don't want to live this way any longer; I've lied more in a day than my whole life. I don't want to forfeit what little dignity I still possess." I said something.Well, the end is nearly here. Telling him that you miscarried at that time is all that is needed. Ultimately, your mom is "ill." You may claim that the baby's closure was caused by stress." It was Ivy.Katy nodded in agreement with Ivy's approach."I'm not kidding; I'm overlying. I
Derek PoVI almost tripped and fell while kicking the punch bag.I clenched my fingers, prepared to receive another blow."Is it your conscience keeping you up at night?" Someone spoke up.When I turned back, I saw Luke enter the space.He stayed over on days when he had a lot of work to complete.This must have been close to three in the morning.I tossed and turned for a while before deciding to go to my gym."Why do you not go to sleep?" I shot back."Well, my employer is very picky. I intended to drop by and deliver a few punches to start waking me up and preventing me from dozing off." He responded.I took a step back to give him room to parry my blows."Would you want to discuss what happened today?" he inquired."You know, thinking back on yesterday's events, I've never met somebody who is this fortunate," I said.That meeting with the doctor was so near. In this manner, I could refute all of her falsehoods and prevent her from embarrassing herself."What would happen if she be
Derek POVMy first sighting was of my cousin Vincent. He was at the far corner of the living room, at the bar. Three additional females were gathered around him. He never appeared to change; he was always the flirty guy he was.It appeared as if he couldn't get away from those females any quicker once he spotted me.He went away with his drink and came up to me, releasing the one female who had her arm looped in with his."Hello, cousin," Vincent said. "I'm so glad you could come. Grandpa's self-centred banter was starting to grow on me." He exhaled. He sipped from his beverage."Were those three not with you?" I gestured toward the females.They were waving to us, we observed."Talking about myself was starting to become old." He was honest.A waiter came over and gave me a drink.I looked over the throng for a time, trying to recognize anybody.That's Calvin, right? Observing an old buddy, I inquired. Vincent and I attended college together.He was conversing with an elderly woman i
Clara's POV The queasy sensation in my stomach persisted. I had a feeling that today would bring some occurrences. I decided to be honest with Derek today."Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Ivy muttered.I put my backpack into my locker.Yes, I replied. "I want to stop telling lies now." I shut the locker."I hope he doesn't come today, just as he didn't show up yesterday." She let out a sigh.Ivy leaned back against her locker and began browsing her Instagram account. By now, she must have understood I was a lost cause.As fate would have it, Marcus entered the space. This man is following me, I promise."For what reason are you two still here? You must do it." Marcus cried out.Ivy sighed, and we left the room to return to our stations.Marcus had officially said yesterday that because Derek would be spending a lot more time here, I would be the one responsible for cleaning his apartment. He just needed to choose me out of everyone. If anything, I now have more work to do
Clara's POV *THURSDAY*"Ten things for which I am thankful?" To me, I mumbled."I am not ill in the hospital," "I am still alive," and "I still have a job."Ivy cut in, "You know that never works."I muttered, "Shh, it was beginning to work."I was in the coffee room with Ivy. I had not gotten a wink of sleep last night. I just continued to repeat all of Derek's statements."That you told him the truth is unbelievable." She said,"What action was I meant to take?" So I did."Your life was meant to be used to refute it. By behaving in such a manner, you demonstrated your suspension even if he had no solid evidence that you weren't pregnant." She responded."Well, things might have gone far worse," I said.Ivy said, "Well, I hope you have funeral insurance." She gave me a shaky head. "You were almost a mansion dweller."Ivy and I were the centre of attention for everyone in the room.I managed to finish my cup of coffee in one sitting. Before Marcus threatened to fire one of us, I real
Derek POV The things he is willing to do make me sick to my stomach, and I'm finally done. He deserves everything coming to him. I was glad that the trial with Maddison's mother went smoothly. Turns out, there is nothing Maddison loves more than her reputation and money, and for that, she is willing to let her mother rot and make herself the victim.I was finally done with the cooking and dished our food in the dining room.I slipped my hand into my pocket, ensuring the ring was safely secured.Clara voiced her approval. I'd made a Pad Thai dish for her, knowing it was her favourite. I finally influenced her. "If my mom calls, please tell her I'm not pregnant." She stated this in the middle of her dinner.I nearly choked on my food as my eyes widened."Are you pregnant?" I questioned, puzzled. "Of course yes. She came over the other day and found a pregnancy test in my bathroom." She explained."Oh," I noted, amazed. "That explains why she's been texting me a lot more often." I am
Derek’s POVI must have looked at my watch about five times in the same minute. Why was I nervous? I've made far more risky decisions, and none have ever made my heart beat this fast. The house had already been set, our dinner table was perfect, and the garden was just as I had instructed. Clara would be arriving any moment from now, and I was almost done cooking. Everything was perfect, so why was I this nervous?I wiped the sweat off my brow. Vincent was right; my idea was stupid. What was I thinking about planning a proposal here? Surely, I could have thought of a better idea.I needed to calm down. Hopefully, she had another busy night, and she wouldn't show up.Maybe I should turn off my lights and pretend I wasn't home. But she'd walk in. That's what I get for giving her an extra key.Since we've both been tied up with work, we have dinner almost every evening. It made sense that we'd both have the keys to each other's apartments after she moved out of her mother's.I needed to
Derek POV About a month ago, my mother decided that the best way to end her obsession was to start a new one. She went and got herself a replacement kid. I don't know who in their right mind decided that it was okay for her to adopt a ten-year-old kid. I'd be fine with all this, except the kid hates me. I've done nothing wrong to him. Maybe I'm a bit biassed, but it only took one visit to know there was no longer any space for me in that house."You should be happy about this," Vincent laughed. "Your mother will finally get to fix all the mistakes she made with you. It happened to me, too." He laughed.The secretary walked in to announce that an old friend of ours, Dexter, had arrived. We were working on a new business venture, and we had been waiting for him to start our meeting officially.Dexter walked into my office as laid back as usual. He had barely changed much since I'd last met him. He had a few classes in college together.We exchanged greetings as Dexter settled himself i
Derek's POVSOME MONTH LATERI swivelled in my chair, fiddling with my pen as I tried to develop ideas. When I needed my brain the most, I couldn't think of anything. I've never felt this anxious about anything before."Are you certain that's a good idea?" I inquired of Vincent, who sat across from me.He had visited my office to discuss our new business deal. We just happened to have moved on to the next item on the agenda.He looked at me in disbelief, as if there was only one obvious answer. "Yes, which woman wouldn't want you to take her to Paris and propose to her in front of the Eiffel Tower?" He answered sarcastically. He threw his hands in the air in disbelief.As incredible as his idea sounded, that didn't sound like something Clara would want. She wasn't that sort of girl.I leaned into my chair and stared at the ceiling. I always thought the proposal would be the hardest part, but I guess so was how to propose."If you think that is too cliché, you can go on a private islan
Clara's POV I leaned on the door and peeked through to stare at Derek's motionless body. My eyes were quickly whelmed in tears. I never wanted things to end this way.Without thinking, I pushed open the door and walked in.I collapsed into his chest, held onto him tightly, and sobbed."Please wake up and get back to me; I'll do anything. I love you." I whispered. I held onto him even tighter.I wish I'd said this when he wasn't fighting for his life. There were so many things I would have loved to have done differently, but now I can't take any of it back.I suddenly froze as I felt a hand patting my head.I looked up.I blinked at Derek, who was staring back at me. For the first time, I saw clearly. Derek wasn't covered in bandages or had wounds all over his face, as I expected."It's okay, I'm alright." He answered.I wiped away the tears, my vision becoming clearer. "You are not hurt?" I asked, finally realising what had happened."No, but I will be if you continue squeezing me li
Clara's POVDAYS LATERIt took a few days before the doctors could clear me out and send me home. I was being discharged today, and I had decided it would be the start of my new life.Derek hasn't come over as much, at least not to see me. It meant he was starting to get it. This way, we'd both be able to move on eventually.I was packing the few items Mom had brought to make me more comfortable when I heard a knock on my door. Layla peeked through the door before walking in.She has been responsible for ensuring a fresh batch of flowers in my room every day. She visited me a few times. I was glad she never pushed anything between Derek and me. Without me explaining, she said she understood.Today, there was something different about her. She didn't look like she was dressed for the runway, nor did she carry around her fancy handbag. She was wearing flat shoes. I noticed her eyes were red."I'm so sorry I haven't visited you much in the last few days. How are you, sweetheart?" she ask
Clara’s POV I was relieved when the nurse announced I'd have a visitor until I saw who it was.The sound of the walking stick should have been enough to know who it was. I could have used the time to pretend I was dead or, better still, leave the room,m but I was foolishly hopeful.Derek's grandfather walked into my room with his usual sinister look and a mightier-than-thou attitude.He looked over at me and smirked. "You don't look too bad. I guess everyone exaggerated how bad you were." He commented. If my hand weren't connected to an IV, I'd be the one leaving this room. He was here for a peace offering."Why are you here?" I asked."Don't worry," he replied, raising his hand. "I won't be here for too long. I wanted to be here in person to ensure my message was clear. I hope you liked my flowers." He smiled. "It's funny how I've tried to make sure you and I don't end up as a family, yet here we are." He chuckled. "You've cost me a lot lately, you and all your recent drama." He pau
Clara's POV I understood him, too. I made many bad decisions that I thought were good at the time, and he reacted that way because of it. I should have never done any of what I did, either. I know and understand that lies can never be good.But I wish things were different."You should leave," I finally replied. My mouth became dry, perhaps because I knew I was about to tell one final lie."Of course, you need some rest. I'll see you in the morning." He concluded. He smiled weakly and leaned in to kiss me on my forehead."You shouldn't come back," I added as he pulled away.He stared at me with confusion, but he dismissed whatever he was thinking as his face lightened up. "Of course, I'll be here," he answered.I shook my head at him. "You shouldn't come back to see me, not today or ever. We should end this. Everything that did or didn't happen, all of it." I explained."You should get some rest. We are not thinking right now; so many things have already happened on the same day," he
Clara's POVI woke up to a beeping sound and bright lights around me.All the anxiety rushed in. It took me a while to calm down and realise I was no longer tied up there. I was safe. I still couldn't close my eyes and not reimagine everything. I wish I could forget everything. About a month ago, I never imagined my life would turn out this way.The sedatives were wearing off when my family came rushing into my room.Mom and Katy were the first to strangle me with their hugs and kisses. Soon enough, my room was covered in flowers and soon balloons got well.It was a relief to see everyone again. I thought I never would.We spoke for hours and even cried. You never know how to appreciate these small moments until they can be taken away.I was glad to hear that the woman had finally been arrested. I hope she is locked away somewhere she can never hurt anyone again. Although everything seemed to settle, I couldn't help but think the real storm would soon follow.A nurse stopped by multip