WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DELICATE TOPICS LIKE SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SELF HARM. PLEASE REFRAIN IF YOU’RE TRIGGERED BY SUCH TOPICS.***AMANII’m hallucinating. I’m sure of it. I’ve been hallucinating for the past hour.One moment I was lying on the grimy floors of the phone booth, thinking I’d never get to see Zuri again and the next, an Angel appeared right in front of me.I looked up at him dazed and confused, blinded by the sheer beauty of his bright, golden air and pure white shirt. Even now, I can still remember the unique colour of his eyes — silver and narrowed, while his head shook with pity as he looked down on me.“Are you Angel?” I ask, my voice weak and barely audible.“Yes, I am. What would you like me to do for you?”A real Angel?! What a treat. Or maybe I was hallucinating.“Take me home, please.” I begged, wrapping my arms tightly around my middle. “I’m so cold. I think I’m freezing.”“Your wish is my command, princess.”Without uttering another word, the Angel swept
BHYRONI hear Amani’s screams from down the hall and it tears through my soul like a fiery blade. I run blindly and don’t stop until I’m storming into the master bedroom. The sight that greets me shatters my nonexistent heart to pieces.Amani is writhing and shaking in bed. The once perfectly laid sheets pool around her legs and arms, evidence of her distraught.Without uttering a word and driven by an urgency that makes my blood boil, I take off my shoes and climb into the bed with her, pulling her trembling body flush against my chest. Her eyes are firmly shut but the second I touch her, tears still manage to leak through.The sight of her wet cheeks unravels an animalistic intensity inside of me, but I have to tame it and take care of my baby. Amani is my only priority. She’s more important than even my darkness. “Bhyron…” she whimpers, clinging onto me like a baby monkey. “It hurts. It hurts so much. I can’t take it anymore. Please, make it stop.”I hug her fiercely and kiss her
AMANIMy eyes are firmly shut as I thrash around on the bed in search of my anchor, in search of my source of strength. But he’s not here. He’s gone. I know he is. When he was here, the piercing pain in my heart had reduced to a dull throb. The dirty, contaminated feeling that tainted my soul stayed far away, too scared of his darkness to come close. The heavy feeling in my limbs had disappeared, too. When he was here, he protected me. He shielded me from Antonio’s grubby hands. But now that he’s gone, I’m being bombarded with everything at once. The excruciating discomfort is back. My demons have returned to attack me and he’s not here to fight them off.I can hear voices in the distance and even though I’m clutched in the throes of a horrible nightmare, I still call out for him. I need him. I listen carefully, hoping I hear his voice, hoping he comes back for me.When the pain becomes unbearable, I curl into myself and hot tears slip past my tightly shut eyelids. My soul takes a
“Mommy, where’s daddy? He promised he’ll be here for my birthday. Is he working again?” I swallow the painful lump in my throat and turn to my three-year old son. The hospital air is already depressing enough, but watching my frail son tethered to so many wires threatens to break the dam that holds my tears. “Your father will be here soon, sweetheart. He promised us, didn’t he? I’m sure he’s on his way right now.” I say those words without any iota of hope whatsoever. It’s already eleven PM and I’ve been calling my husband since sunrise with no response. “It’s almost midnight.” Dave argues weakly. “Is he spending time with Miss Laura and her daughters again? But he promised to stay with me throughout today.” His eyes fill with tears and my heart tightens painfully. No longer able to bear his sad face, I plaster a fake smile on mine, get to my feet and wipe his cheeks. “You know what? I’m sure daddy is waiting outside right now. I’ll go out there and bring him in, ok
I’m shaking. I can’t breathe. I can’t even speak. The birthday decorations are still hanging from the ceiling and the cake that Dave refused to eat without his daddy still lies there, untouched. All that doesn’t faze me, but the moment I see my little boy covered from head to toe in a white cloth, a horrible, painful pang shoots through my chest. I’m shaking like a leaf as I lift the sheets and look at his frail face and closed eyes. Eyes that will now be closed forever. “N-no.” I whisper, tears falling in torrents down my face. “God, please no. Take me instead. Please take me and bring back my little boy. Please…” I lay my head on his chest, hoping to hear a heartbeat. Nothing. Dave is not breathing anymore. He’s really gone. My baby was diagnosed with brain cancer at just two years old. So far, we’d tried our best to give him the best medical care possible but three months ago, the doctor informed us that he only had six months to live. I run my shaky fingers ove
It’s been three days since my son died. Three days of keeping myself holed up in my new apartment and crying myself to sleep every night. Three days of darkness and gloom. I wake up frowning because the rising sun currently peeks through the sheer white curtains, bathing the room in brightness when all I want is to keep wallowing in darkness and grief. It suddenly hits me that I’ve not received any response from Henry ever since I served him our divorce papers more than forty eight hours ago. I pick up my cell phone and scroll through the endless list of missed calls. There’s none from my soon-to-be ex-husband. Henry never called me even once. Suddenly driven by anger and frustration, I dial his private number and wait impatiently for him to respond. I end the call when I get no response twenty seconds later and get to my feet. Henry still thinks I was playing around when I asked for a divorce. I’ll pay him a visit today and illustrate just how serious I am about leaving his
At exactly three PM the next day, I stand outside my matrimonial home, clutching the strap of my bag in a death grip. Henry had called me an hour ago with news that he’d finally decided to sign the divorce papers, but I was expected to pick it up at our house. I didn’t want to come here but he was adamant. I can already feel tears pricking my eyes. This house holds too many memories of my dear David. I finally summon the courage and knock once. The door opens almost immediately and Zeya, our house keeper, appears. “Who is it…?” Her eyes widen in surprise when she sees me. “Mrs. Amani! Oh, it’s so wonderful to see you again. How’ve you been?” The middle aged woman pulls me into a bear hug and I almost burst into tears as her familiar peach scent fills my nostrils. “It’s wonderful to see you too, Zeya.” With my best friend in another country and my aunt always busy with work, Zeya was always my only companion on those nights when Henry never made it home because he was too b
AMANII can swear on the single sunflower that keeps growing atop my parents’ graves that wild banshees just held a concert in my brain. I peel my eyes open with great effort, hissing as the blinding white lights assault my poor eyeballs. I try to lift my hand but little pin pricks of pain shoot through my entire body. “It hurts…” I whimper helplessly.As if on cue, the sound of shuffling feet reaches my ears and seconds later, my aunt’s face fills the peripheral of my vision.“Amani, you’re awake! Oh, darling. I was so worried about you. What happened?” Her worried tone snaps me to the present and I wince in pain as she helps me to a sitting position.“Aunt… what are you doing here?”She pulls me into a bear hug and despite the fact that my entire body is sore, I draw comfort from her warm embrace. Tears prick my eyes as I suddenly realise how much I’ve missed her.“Aunt…”“Hush, my darling. That’s enough.” She pulls back and gives me a wobbly smile, running her fingers over my fa
AMANIMy eyes are firmly shut as I thrash around on the bed in search of my anchor, in search of my source of strength. But he’s not here. He’s gone. I know he is. When he was here, the piercing pain in my heart had reduced to a dull throb. The dirty, contaminated feeling that tainted my soul stayed far away, too scared of his darkness to come close. The heavy feeling in my limbs had disappeared, too. When he was here, he protected me. He shielded me from Antonio’s grubby hands. But now that he’s gone, I’m being bombarded with everything at once. The excruciating discomfort is back. My demons have returned to attack me and he’s not here to fight them off.I can hear voices in the distance and even though I’m clutched in the throes of a horrible nightmare, I still call out for him. I need him. I listen carefully, hoping I hear his voice, hoping he comes back for me.When the pain becomes unbearable, I curl into myself and hot tears slip past my tightly shut eyelids. My soul takes a
BHYRONI hear Amani’s screams from down the hall and it tears through my soul like a fiery blade. I run blindly and don’t stop until I’m storming into the master bedroom. The sight that greets me shatters my nonexistent heart to pieces.Amani is writhing and shaking in bed. The once perfectly laid sheets pool around her legs and arms, evidence of her distraught.Without uttering a word and driven by an urgency that makes my blood boil, I take off my shoes and climb into the bed with her, pulling her trembling body flush against my chest. Her eyes are firmly shut but the second I touch her, tears still manage to leak through.The sight of her wet cheeks unravels an animalistic intensity inside of me, but I have to tame it and take care of my baby. Amani is my only priority. She’s more important than even my darkness. “Bhyron…” she whimpers, clinging onto me like a baby monkey. “It hurts. It hurts so much. I can’t take it anymore. Please, make it stop.”I hug her fiercely and kiss her
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DELICATE TOPICS LIKE SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SELF HARM. PLEASE REFRAIN IF YOU’RE TRIGGERED BY SUCH TOPICS.***AMANII’m hallucinating. I’m sure of it. I’ve been hallucinating for the past hour.One moment I was lying on the grimy floors of the phone booth, thinking I’d never get to see Zuri again and the next, an Angel appeared right in front of me.I looked up at him dazed and confused, blinded by the sheer beauty of his bright, golden air and pure white shirt. Even now, I can still remember the unique colour of his eyes — silver and narrowed, while his head shook with pity as he looked down on me.“Are you Angel?” I ask, my voice weak and barely audible.“Yes, I am. What would you like me to do for you?”A real Angel?! What a treat. Or maybe I was hallucinating.“Take me home, please.” I begged, wrapping my arms tightly around my middle. “I’m so cold. I think I’m freezing.”“Your wish is my command, princess.”Without uttering another word, the Angel swept
BHYRONIt’s been an hour. One full hour and my woman is still nowhere to be found. The mere thought of her cold and probably lying hurt somewhere sends pinpricks of pain through my heart. I haven’t been able to sit still. The penthouse is currently teeming with police officers and private investigators, but none of them have been able to say anything reasonable concerning Amani’s whereabouts. I’m giving them five more minutes to come up with something other than “we’re still searching.” If not, I’ll go out there and search for her myself. The fingers in my pockets are tightly clenched and it takes every ounce of self control I possess to stop myself from ripping the hair off my scalp. I feel like a bloody ticking bomb. One tiny mistake from anyone here and I’ll explode.“Sir, for the past thirty minutes, our men have tried their best to trace the call your wife made to Miss Zuri, but information reaching us is that the rain damaged some of the land lines and the signal is in shamble
BHYRONI arrive at the Hope Fortress for the second time to meet police cars parked on the grounds. My mood is too foul to speak to the cops right now and thankfully, they’re just leaving. I take the private elevator to my penthouse and try to appear as calm as possible while a bloody war is literally brewing in my veins. The second I step inside the brightly lit interior, I grab the first guard that I see, which, as luck would have it, happens to be Duncan.My vision is red and bloody with venomous rage as I slam him back first against the nearest wall, wrap both my hands around his throat and squeeze until his face is as red as a clown’s nose and he can barely speak. “Where is she?” I growl through clenched teeth. “I left my wife in your care for two hours, just two fucking hours, and she’s gone?! You have five minutes to provide her hale and hearty, otherwise, I’ll have you and your useless men slaughtered. That’s a fucking promise!” The atmosphere is thick and choking with tens
AMANII’m not sure how long I’ve trekked in the freezing cold, but I’m exhausted, hungry and frustrated.I haven’t stopped crying and hiccuping since Antonio kicked me out of their car and I’m still struggling to come to terms with the fact that I was almost raped.Minutes pass by and my headache returns. Combined with body pain and blurry vision, all I want to do is give up, lie on the wet street and wait for help. But if I do that, I’d either freeze to death or get attacked again.So I keep pushing. I’m half naked and on the verge of exhaustion. I feel like I’d pass out and die in the next few minutes, but I keep pushing. I try to count the seconds and minutes in my hazy mind. By the time I come across a pay phone ten minutes later, I’m pretty sure my soul has left my body. I duck into the glass booth, glad to have a temporary reprieve from the rain. I can’t stay very long though. The area seems dangerous and there’s barely another human being out here.My mood gradually takes a n
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEXUALLY VIOLENT SCENES. PLEASE DO NOT CONTNUE IF YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SUCH SCENES…***AMANIMy head is ringing. My heart is thumping. My entire body is stiff and I can taste pain at the back of my throat, but none of those horrible feelings can be compared to the icy fingers of terror that grip my heart as Antonio slowly starts to caress my sex.My body goes completely stiff, hoping he’d be thrown off by my lack of response, but the exact opposite happens. Antonio keeps rubbing my sex, pressing his thumb against my clit and murmuring dirty words in my ear that make my skin crawl.“Relax, Mrs. Macaulay. Don’t pretend like you don’t like this. I’m sure your husband touches you this way every night after he’s done fucking the whores in his club. And I’m sure you enjoy it.”His words rip through my heart like a well-aimed arrow and my tears fall harder. I never imagined that Bhyron was still sleeping with other women. We never spoke about seeing other
AMANI For a split second, I vehemently choose to believe that that vile statement is the Gunam Brothers’ hilarious attempt at a joke. But the wicked gleam in Antonio Gunam’s eyes and the glint of desire as their gaze rove over my chest and jean-covered thighs alert my hazy mind that there’s nothing remotely hilarious about my situation. “W-wait… you want me to work as a sex slave?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “Are you hard of hearing?” Antonio snaps, his eyes sparking with annoyance. Terror swims in my veins and I look around, desperately searching for a means of escape. “You’re trapped with us, Mrs. Macaulay. There’s absolutely no way you’d be able to escape if we don’t set you free ourselves.” Anton says quietly. I fold my trembling fingers in my lap and blink. They can read minds, too? Anger swirls in my brain when I think of Aunt Ophelia. She’s the reason I’m in this situation. Why did her greedy ass borrow another nine hundred thousand dollars without te
AMANIHunched over on my hands and knees on the smoothly carpeted floor of a luxurious car while two men who are most likely twice my size burn me to crisps with their eyes is not how I planned to spend the remainder of this horrible day.Slowly, I rise to my feet and sink into one of the seats opposite them, trying to cover up the icy fear that’s currently eating up my intestines like acid with a frown.I’m scared to death, I can’t think straight, but I sure as hell won’t let these big bad wolves eat me while I’m on the floor.The men are…twins? They have identical pitch black hair and fierce, wicked green eyes. Oh, and it doesn’t end there. They have on the exact same outfit — black leather jackets over a black shirt, black jeans and black boots. The silver glint of the expensive Rolex on both their wrists somehow adds to the ice-cold tension in the room. They’re even sitting alike, with their left legs crossed over the right one. Oh, and they’re gorgeous as hell. Although they b