(Thomas)My blood had boiled at seeing Adam at her house again. I could tell that he cared for Lydia. But it was over my dead body that he would ever get together with her!Lydia had said that my engagement with Sarah was enough to keep us apart. So, I would have to end the engagement.I wanted to do that myself. But Mother had been so insistent about my marriage to her. She was right about the potential for scandal that underlined this whole situation. The bloggers and news reporters would have a field day out of it.And my company was not performing so well in the international market at the moment. I could not afford to have it drop a few more points.But … spending the rest of my life with Sarah? During the time that I had spent with her at the hospital, I had come to see her for what she truly was: petulant, needy, childish, and immature.The very act of trying to hurt herself and the baby, was in and of itself, sufficient grounds for Mother to have understood that she was not fi
(Lydia)I was baking a cake: sponge with meringue and almonds and a delicious custard filling. Mama used to bake it for Ruby and I when we were little. It was a difficult task, putting it all together, but that only made me realize how much love Mama had poured into us while she had dealt with an abusive husband.I had spent so long resenting Mama for everything that I had forgotten all of the good memories. After the incredible sacrifice that she had made in an effort to help the police catch my father – he had still escaped but that did not mean Mama had not tried her best – I wanted to dedicate an entire evening to her.So, I had asked Ruby to take Mama to the park while I made the preparations at home. I had also brought home some knitting equipment – Ruby had acquired that skill from Mama – as well as a whole lot of art paraphernalia.I wanted Mama to return to art. She was so incredibly gifted that it made no sense for her to stay away from this line of work. I had already depos
(Thomas)Mother’s eyes widened for a second. Then, she regained her composure and set her iPad aside. She removed her spectacles and raised her brows.“And why is that?” she asked.I was still overcome with emotion. “That woman is indecent, rude, and tacky. She is in no way fit to be my wife!” I exclaimed all in one breath. I was panting.Mother looked quizzically at me. “And what about the child?” she asked.“I’ll raise it!” I declared.My heart was pounding. I was overwhelmed. But this had to be done.Mother got up from her seat. She slowly turned her figure.“I know,” she grimaced, “That you have feelings for Lydia, my son. But there is absolutely no way that I will allow this to happen.”I gazed at her, stunned. “What?--”“Our shares are dropping every day,” she said, “The board has called a meeting.”Mother looked up at me and stepped forward.“I understand how you feel, my child,” she murmured, “And, if I’m speaking the truth, I no longer have any particular affinity towards Sar
(Sarah)I did not want to look fat, even if that meant putting off wearing the cushioned band that I had bought for myself. Surprisingly, it had been Lydia’s theater where I had picked it up. And that is what had given me the idea. Actors pretend to be all sorts of things. Why couldn’t I pretend to be pregnant?It would get rid of that awful Lydia. It would get me the man of my dreams.The man of my dreams. I smiled as I looked into the mirror.Thomas may not have feelings for me at this time – he had rushed out of my house yesterday – but I knew that he was a man of honor. He would not let me have a child outside of wedlock.So I had patiently endured his rude behavior. After all, he would have no choice but to come back to me!I tucked away the ultrasound reports back into their original files. Both folders lay on the table before me: one, now empty and one now full. The former said, “Sarah Winchester” –me! And the latter … it said Rebecca Waters.Rebecca had charged me a hefty sum
(Thomas)I’ve been trying to figure out how to bring the shares back up. But … Mother was right. Public perception was affecting our stock prices. And as stocks went down, so did sales. I called a meeting with the directors. We spent the whole day in the conference room, going over every conceivable plan that could improve this situation.I wanted to get this done before I went into my office and reviewed all of the paperwork. A part of me did not know whether this was a good decision or not. I was trying to put on a brave face but, inside, I felt incredibly swayed.It was taxing for me to keep myself together right now.I would not even have come to work if the situation had not already gone so far out of hand.But I was not going to go down without a fight. I decided to revitalize our marketing efforts: we had gotten a bad reputation. And good marketing would fix that. But, at the same time, I understood that whatever money and effort I put into marketing right now I could potential
(Adam)The jukebox blasted a trending hip hop song that reverberated through the walls. The bass reached all the way to the door. I pushed it and went inside. This was nice.The bar was loud and crowded. It took me a second to find them. I glanced around the tables left and right until I saw Monica waving her hand at me over the table.My old friends from medical school, Monica, Jacob, Matthew, and Vanessa were here. Matthew had proposed to Vanessa a week ago and they were planning to leave for Los Angeles in the morning, where Matthew had gotten a new job. The group had gathered here today to bid them farewell.I had reconnected with Vanessa by chance at the hospital during Mabel’s visits and she had invited me over here for drinks today.“Hey!” said Matthew, “Get in here, mate!”. He got up, hugged me, and thumped me on the back. I laughed and I shook his hand.“It’s been so long since we last saw you!” said Vanessa.I chuckled. “Well, I’m here now!” I shrugged.I dragged a chair up
(Thomas)Two days had already gone by and I had only met with four potential investors and secured a deal with one of them. While the alliance had boosted our shares up by five percent over the past two days, I still had twenty percent to cover. And only two days left.I was swamped with meetings and work. In fact, I had spent the last three days at the office. I was very disheveled and disorganized with papers splashed across my large wooden desk as I finished my pack of cigarettes for the day when Jack walked in.“You have got to leave this office, man!” he said, looking around. He was right. The whole place looked like a mess.But how could I leave this office until I had figured out how to solve my problem! This was my only shot at fixing things.I shook my head at Jack. He sat down. “I know you're upset,” he said, “But it’s going to be alright. I’m here and ready to offer whatever help that you might need, okay?”“Thanks, man,” I said. I handed him some files, “Please go over the
(Lydia)I did not know what to do. Everywhere I looked, there was news of Thomas and Sarah’s upcoming wedding. And, if I was being completely honest, it devastated me. I had told Thomas that I would not be with him for as long as he was still engaged to Sarah. I had bridled my hopes, but could not deny their presence.I had still wished that he would come back to me. And I hated myself for it.I sighed and put my phone down after watching yet another video of Sarah’s interview to a news reporter. She was beaming. She was so incredibly happy.“Hey,” said Ruby, stepping in through the door. She shut it gently behind her.“How are you doing?” she asked me.“I’m okay,” I said, holding back my tears. But Ruby could see through it all. She sat down beside me, took my hand into hers, and squeezed.“I’m here for you,” she said.And that was all that it took for me to break down.“I just—I just thought that he would choose me, Ruby,” I sobbed, looking at her through my streaming eyes, “I reall