The garden had an earthy smell to it after the rain. Even if it was just a drizzle, once water from the skies touch the soil, it releases a sweet smell, a calming smell that can keep anybody at peace.Dahlia sat on the moist garden ground, admiring flowers and inhaling their sweet smell as she lost herself in the warm cocoon of nature's embrace.Rudolfo came into the garden, a big mango fruit in his hand as he watched his little sister. Whenever he set his eyes on her he felt a pang of sadness and immense guilt. He felt sad for Dahlia because he knew that she will never remain the same, that she had seen the cruelty of this world too early in life. He felt sad for her because she took the death of their brothers the hardest, woke up drenched in sweat and tears and has panic attacks when approached by an adult male that is not him. He felt sad because he knew that the innocent Dahlia had been lost to Christian's cruelty.Guilt is a dangerous feeling that has a poisonous effect because
“Hey”, Amina smiled widely at Freya who returned the smile.“What's that?”, Freya nodded at the baking pan in the girls hands.“Biscuits. I baked biscuits. Wanna try some?”, Amina replied, bouncing on the balls of her heels.Freya narrowed her eyes on her and grabbed one from the pan and tasting it.“This is good”, Freya moaned mid chew, nodding her head approvingly.“Used some diy recipe I copied off YouTube once”, Amina beamed, taking one for herself.“I like it. You know, it's good to have someone who doesn't hate me and I don't hate here”, Freya sat down.“Mmhmm, you make work a tad bit easy”, Amina sassed, earning an amused eyeroll from Freya.“Mr lover boy is not coming today”, Amina stated.“And who is Mr lover boy?”, Freya decided to play coy, knowing fully well that Amina was referring to Eben.The girl had been hounding her to spill some juicy details since the last time Eben paid a visit and she did not waste a second before telling her about Christian's threat.“Bennie boo
Lauryn sat before a huge table, marvelled at the plethora of food spread over the long twelve seater dining table. Zach and Pippa too. The children giggled as they looked around the huge table, having never sat at a table that big and seen food that much.It had been a whole day since they were rescued by whomever rescued them and Lauryn was yet to see any signs of danger. It had taken hours of the woman huddled up with her grandchildren before trying to fall asleep but when she did, her body gave into the need to sleep the adrenaline off. It was such a relief to wake up with her grandkids still in her arms.“You're not hungry?”, That deep voice that could only belong to Alan spoke up.He came into sight, in all his formal glory, sporting a black dress shirt that was neatly tucked into a black dress pants.The three of them stared at him, causing him to squirm a little at the attention of two children and their granny who looked like she couldn't trust him one bit….well.“Hi”, Zach pu
The American mafia house looked a little swarmed up, with some people getting busier than usual and running around. Christian stood at the head of everything, making sure that all was going according to his plans.One last stupid resort on his plan was to ship Freya to Japan but he was going to have to do it on a low key since he didn't have the backing of the Japanese mafia, they are a horrible bunch to deal with. Having gotten one more sister, he was going to make the most of it so when he held a very private three people auction and sold off to a Japanese godfather, his only demand was that he lend him his forces to fight off vendetta if need be.“Where the hell are dragging us off to?”, Freya struggled against Christian who held her by her arm and was pulling her down the stairs with him, while her sister was struggling against another man.“To a vacation. It's good for your skin”, he humored her.“Unhand me this instant”, she pulled again.“I'm sorry honey, but I cannot do that”,
The type of laughter that filled Alan's house had never been heard in that house before. A child's laughter, giggles and cheerful screams. Children's feet stomping around and chasing eaching other with whatever they felt like, harmless things of course.Lauryn felt lighter that even the children contacted the good vibes and were having a good day. Lauryn knew that her daughters were coming back and somehow trusted Alan to get the job done so when she woke up that morning she filled tupperwares with food, cleaned the whole house, cleaned the children up and put them in one of the best clothes that was bought with Alan's money.Pippa had run up to her grandmother who was in good spirits and whispered happily in her ear.“I can't wait to see my mummy and aunt Brie”, she beamed a beautiful toothless smile at the woman who smiled softly and brought her into a hug.“Oooo huggies”, Zach had screamed and ran into them, joining their hug when they welcomed him with good natured chuckles.The c
“Zach, come here little man, have a sit, tell me your problem”, Pippa tapped the spot beside her gesturing for her brother who was running around, his hands in he air as he occasionally danced and shook his little butt.“I don't have problems. You are the boring one”, Zach stuck his tongue out at her.“This boy….”, Pippa groaned, holding her forehead dramatically.“Mummy can we return him?”, She asked Freya who was sitting on a nearby couch with Bridget and Lauryn, discussing.“I'm afraid he's staying honey”, Freya replied amusedly, causing Zach to stick his tongue out at his sister again and Pippa groaning again.“Stop sticking your tongue at your sister bubu. Now be a good sport”“Yes mummy”, Zach beamed and sat with his sister who was invested in her Barbie dolls.“It's still feeling weird, you know”, Bridget said when the children went back to their activities.“I know. I've never been so far from home. I was going crazy about my kids and little ol’ Mrs O'Hagan here”, Freya said
Alan was really trying his best to focus but his eyes was straying to a certain redhead. He hissed and tugged on his tie to relieve himself of the building strain on his neck.His phone rang and he picked it up and ran his hands through his dark curls.“Yes”, he gritted into the reciever.He waited for a bit while the other person said something to him.“Bring him to the fifth floor then”, he gritted out again and dropped the call.Why did Freya choose today of all days to use the pool and as a result had to be in a swim suit that was doing everything to his focus today? Infact why did his choose to work upstairs today?He took a deep breath and went back to work.Freya wouldn't lie and say that she didn't feel the eyes on her. She could feel the cold glare nipping on the nape of her neck but couldn't care less.She was not going to deny some sort of pull going on between them. Right from when she knew him as Eben she had always felt like she should get into bed with him and have him
The huge board room with a rather large round table contained fifty-nine people that includes Alan, Stephan, head of houses, Kings, Queens and Jack's of each pack and the leaders of each head house and the fifty ninth person, a man who had a big turban wrapped around his head and his beards long enough to imitate that of old Korean scholars.For a room that contained fifty-nine people, if was eerily quiet as all eyes was trained on this one man with the turban on his head.“You have killed enough of our people and the remaining ones have gone into hiding but we are innocent, at least for once we are”, the man told the crowd.Some of them sighed while some others scwoled at him.Edison, leader of Spades adjusted his glasses on his face and sat straight.“All evidence points to you. All CCTV footages, biometric data, DNA….. Everything is pointing at you so at this point we have issues understanding that you have no hand in her death”, Edison told the man.“Unless we have been looking at
“Madam, where you dey go?”, a man with a chewing stick hanging from his mouth said. (Where are you headed to, Madam?)The sun was so high in the sky, so bright it gave meaning to the word “sunshine”. The bright sun wasn't as hot as it looks, at least on an African's skin but for Klaudia, yeah it was one hell of a sun but the scene before her was as entertaining as it was intriguing.Luggages, packed together high as a bungalow and as big as a car were being pushed around in small trolleys and the laugage owners were just one person to one “mountain” and they were all headed for “departures”.“Madam?”, the man called out to Klaudia, waving his chewing stick in her face.“Hi”, Klaudia said to him, jumping back a little at the sight of his chewed chewing stick very close to her own mouth. She will try not to kill anybody on her first day. This man's mouth set off like a treadmill set at a high speed because of a single “hi” and from the look of things, he was throwing in some inults ther
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENTTip tap. Tip tap. Tip tap. The steady dropping of water on a wet surface could be heard all through the dingy cell. To the left there was a toilet and a very little shower stall, the room was pure mockery to it's occupant. What was left of the formerly handsome Christian Gerard was broken limbs and a swollen face. The toilet and shower stall were entirely useless since he didn't have the limbs to go, he did his business on the bed, emitting a very offensive smell in the whole room and everyday he was punished for doing his business on the bed.The guards would come in and whip him with belts and animal tails for finding him in a pool of his own excreta and urine that would explain the angry welts all over his body. He would be dragged down from the bed, dump him in the shower stall, and they would strip the bed and dump clean sheets on his bed.The excruciating pain of having to crawl around with his busted knees, broken shin bones, dislocated ankles and two
It had been twenty six days since Zach went into a coma, twenty six days since he had been lying still, except for the little rise and fall of his chest to show that he's alive and today he woke up.Freya had been changing his diaper when he wiggled his big toes and in a haste she punched the emergency buttons a few times, alerting the team of doctors and nurses that something was going on in the room.Alan had sprung up from where he was seated and was by Freya's side in a flash when he saw what was going on and the rest, Bridget, Lauryn and Pippa who were camped just outside the room rushed in when they heard the commotion.He groaned and tried to shuffle around the bed, his little hand trying to lift from where it lay by his side.“Mummy”, his eyes fluttered and closed, his voice croaked.“I'm here baby”, Freya said, choking on her words.“I'm here. Your mummy is here”, she reminded him over and over again, her hand clasped arpund his own that had lost that childish robustness and
Stephan walked through Hyde park with his hand stuck in his pants pocket and his phone in his ear. He was meeting a group of three men and two women in an apartment around there and he was close from the look of things.England was looking, well how England would look during winter and the cold was bone chilling, Stephan made a wise choice by rocking a coat, a hat on his head with leather gloves on his hands.He got to the entrance of the ordinary looking apartment building and checked himself in.He knocked on the door and waited for a response from the other side.“Who?”, a female voice asked.“My God. Are you a dog?”, Stephan sighed exasperated.The door opened to reveal a slender woman with a dark makeup going on, a crop top showing off her toned stomach and her fake blonde hair completing the look. The minute she saw Stephan she straightened.“Sir. Wasn't expecting you around now”, she said, making way for him to enter the apartment.“I see”, Stephan said, looking around the diso
Freya sat cuddled up to Alan who held her close to his body as he scrolled through his phone. They were in Zach's hospital room as the doctors had started chemotherapy for him and he looked weaker than before. He had still not woken up and Freya set up camp on his room, making Alan too decide to stay with her while the others came, spent the whole day there and went back home to return the next day.“Thank you”, Freya whispered.“For what?”, Alan looked down at her, ignoring his phone for a moment.“For being with me through this trying time”, she said.“I want to be here”, he shrugged and went back to his phone.Freya looked up at him, sitting up from his hold and making him turn his attention to her.“You are a good man”, she whispered, peering at his dark orbs.“Because I stayed?”, he quizzed, genuinely confused.“Because you can be selfless and human”, she shrugged.“I am human”, he reminded her, causing her to chuckle.“Yes. When you're not being an iceberg”, she said, earning a
A doctor came out of a ward with a solemn look on his face and faced the group of the O'Hagan women and Alan.Freya sprung up, her reddened eyes begging for some sort of relief for her pain but the look on the doctor's face was not giving her that hope.“Parents of Zachary McIntyre?”, he asked them, his eyes looking at each of them.Alan carried a tired Pippa in his arms who had fallen asleep on Freya after hours of waiting and he had to take her at some point since everyone was tired too.“I am his mother”, she said.The doctor looked at Alan and back at Freya and sighed.“I'm sorry I just… You are all his family. Come with me please”, he requested and started towards his office and all of them followed him until they all got settled in his office, Alan still carrying Pippa and standing beside a scared Freya who was seated on one of the two chairs, Lauryn on the other one and Bridget standing behind the two of them, their hands clasped together.He looked at all of them and sighed ag
His eyes fluttered open and went shut again, protecting his eyeballs from the bright light that filtered into the eerily white room. The long curtains were left wide open, giving way to a harsh sunlight that bounced off the bright white color in the room and it's effect could mess with a person who had been asleep for a while.He moaned and held his head that seemed too heavy for his neck and threw his legs out of the bed to try and stand. It seemed woozy for a while but he got his bearings and went to the ceiling to floor windows to know exactly where he was and all he saw was men on suit, scattered all over the very big compound but nothing gave his location away.He looked down at himself, stripped to pyjamas and he tried to remember the hours before he slept but nothing was coming to him. His memory was scrambled but he knew that something was wrong because this was not his room, nor was it his house.He picked up the AC remote controller that was on the beside table and cautiousl
Winter was in full swing and the ground was being covered with layers of thick snow. The cold was bone chilling and it actually became a brazen act to step out of the house with the temperature dropping below zero degree. With the sun nowhere near the skies, smell of baked goods and hot beverages wafted from every house as no one actually dared to step out and Alan's house was no exception.The heaters were turned on full blast and even fireplaces were on, yet you could still feel the cold once in a while and everybody slept in every morning but this morning a tiny happy boy zapped through the house, jumping on every body to wake up, it's his birthday and no one was allowed to sleep in on Zachary's womb escape day. It started with jumping on his mother who tried to wrangle him into a cuddle after so many kisses and wishes but he was all bouncy if that was one way to describe it and Freya had to get up and get ready for her little man's big day.The second person was his sister who ac
Alan's eyes followed the man that walked into the bar and the smile that lit up Freya's face was not all that enticing for him.What was so funny or so interesting about the blonde guy that Freya was smiling so big? The bar bustled with patrons who had not seen the sisters for a while and now that the business is back up, it's like the whole city wanted to drink there while the slimy men kept trying to engage the sisters in whatever inconsequential discussions their silly heads could bring up.Alan was pissed. Beyond pissed even. From the moment Freya came down the stairs at their house, with a jade green gown that hugged her curves and left her back bare, he knew that he was going to spend the better part of the night feeling angry and he wasn't wrong.The strong headed woman would rather bend backwards than listen to him when he not so subtly whined about her choice of clothes, only deciding to go with a jacket that he knew she would take off at some point, like right now.Now whil