Just as Bree’s thumb was about to press the call button, Nary spoke, her voice a low, ominous whisper. “Go on, call them,” she said. “When they come, I’ll tell them about your involvement in his death.”Bree froze, her eyes wide with horror. Slowly, she lowered the phone, her hand shaking. “Wh…what?”“Oh dear. Seems like you forgot already. Like I said, I always come prepared. I’m always prepared for anything I’m doing. If you call the cops and they come here like good servants of the government, I’ll tell them you killed him.”“You are not going to do that,” Bree said, her voice quivering. She trembled in fear, memories of years ago came flooding back to her in a torrent of images and emotions. She had tried so hard to forget, to bury it all in a grave. She could swear that she had forgotten about that incident and had only remembered it because Nary mentioned. This mother of hers would stop at nothing to make her miserable over and over again. Nary smiled, a cruel twisted smile
Bree let out a strangled gasp, her breath coming in a short sharp gasp. How had she not noticed those in her Nary’s hands? How had she not noticed that Nary was trying to make her have an attack and guess what, she succeeded. “Mommy, Mommy are you alright?” Ariel’s voice trembled as she patted her mother on her back. The child took off to her bedroom. She looked around frantically for an inhaler and her face fell when she found none. It has been a year plus sinceher Mother last had an asthma attack as she has been taking care of her health. It has been long since she saw her Mother struggling to breathe. “Mommy, I can't find any.” She tried to hold back her tears but she could feel them welling up in her eyes. She was a big girl who had to take care of her Mommy. Her Mother was already crying and it would be worse if she joined in. Right then, her whole focus was on saving her mother.“Ariel, I'll be fine. Do…don't cry, okay?”The child nodded, her little palms patting Bree’s back
“Mommy, you can't find me. I'm a pro in hide and seek. You’ll look for me everywhere.”“I’m not interested in your games, Ariel. Mommy is tired,” Bree replied as she continued knitting a cap for her daughter in the large hotel room that they were in. “Or Mommy knows she’ll lose to me?”“I’m a pro at hide and seek too. But we're not at home. You can't go too far else you'll get lost.” They were in a five star hotel located at a quiet part of the city. After the incident two days ago, she had arranged with Iris and they had moved into the hotel for the meantime. They can't afford to have Nary come back looking for them like she had promised so being in the hotel for the meantime was the best decision. As a FBI agent, she had a good pay and so, she could afford whatever place that she wants. Besides, the hotel was the best place to keep Narh away. There were securities and CCTV cameras. The security officers would find out that something was wrong if she finds them to the place.“Mommy
After Bree came out of the room, she glanced around for any sign of Ariel. But the child was nowhere to be found. Her brows furrowed, wondering what route she took and how on earth she was going to find the girl. Honestly, she wasn't in the mood to play. She would rather lay on the bed all day and sleep but when the child wants something, she just can't bring herself to say no, especially when she looks at her with those cute round eyes. “Where did she go?” Her hands were on her waist as she looked to her left and then right. She could envision a headache coming after playing with Ariel. She took the left-hand side and started searching for the girl. She searched through every corner of the hallways in the hotel but she couldn't find her naughty child. The hotel staff stared at her like she was a lunatic while wondering what she was doing. After twenty minutes of searching for Ariel and not finding her, Bree placed her hands on her waist and stared at her watch. Her worries began
Bree’s blood ran cold as she stared at the chest of the person whose hand was around her waist tightly. That cologne. The scent, she knew it so well. She could recognize the scent from anywhere. It couldn't be him. Her heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. It was just his cologne not him.Her eyes raised to look at the man so close to her that she felt suffocated and the moment their eyes met, she felt her heart thumping out of her chest and her mouth fell open in disbelief. Time seemed to stand still. Their eyes locked, shock evident in their faces. The moment lingered. Her hands clutched the fabric of his suit as if anchoring herself to something tangible. He stood there, so close to her that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face and the way his hand tightened the more around her waist. “Sp…Spencer?”Realizing just how close they were, their bodies let go of each other at the same time. Bree found herself stepping away from him, her hands o
"What the fuck is this?!" Spencer yelled, his face red with rage as he slammed the files down on the table severally. The six employees in the office all cowered under his gaze, not daring to meet his eyes. His voice was like ice as he continued, "I came here this morning and what did I find? Complete incompetence! Do any of you know what you're doing?"The company was unusually quiet apart from the boss’s loud yells that filled the building. Everyone buried themselves in their works, aware of his temper. They knew the drill. Whenever the boss comes in angry, Avoid him the best you can and don’t get caught slacking off. It was an act that they had not mastered even after years. The CEO was known for dragging out his anger, taking it out on anyone and everyone in his path. Word had already spread through the company, and everyone knew to avoid him at all costs. “Who the hell wrote this proposal?” Slapping the book two more times on the table, he demanded, his tone sending shivers dow
“But boss, why are we the ones always sent to do dangerous tasks? Every single time, we get sent for the worst tasks. Ahh, I think I'll reconsider my decision to be an FBI agent now.”“You're already one.”“I mean…. I can just resign and do something else. What if one day I get shot or kidnapped.” She let out a Loud gasp. “That day might be today. This is scary.” Giana complained, she held the seat belt tightly as she envisioned a scene in her head. “Stop it, Giana. It’s not like we’re going on a mission. It’s just questioning and it won’t take a lot of time. He’s not going to eat you,” Bree laughed. Giana threw her head back and laughed in disbelief as she stared at her boss sitting right next to her. “What? Just questioning? Haven’t you read articles about him? Everyone describes him as a cold, Unfeeling , no-nonsense man. I also heard that he treats his employees as trash and just his glare can make anyone pee their pants,” she said in one go. Flipping her head backward, she fini
“What the fuck. How arrogant can he get?” Bree snapped as she stormed out of the office with Giana, fuming as they made their way to the elevator. She angrily tied her hair in a loose bun, her displeasure evident on her face. “Really, Miss Boston. He’s so arrogant. If he was my little brother, I’d give him a slap.”“Too bad he’s not.”“We shouldn’t have come here without confirming he was behind the fire accident. We don’t even have solid evidence.” She sighed. “Now, we were made to look like fools.”“It’s fine, Giana. You don’t always need evidence for things like this.” Spencer was smart, she knew that many years ago. He always has a way around things.They got into the elevator.“Well, we still need to find the real culprit since Mr Bennett’s name has been cleared. We would have to conduct a proper investigation if we think that the fire accident was caused by someone.”“Definitely.” How was she going to tell her naive assistant that Spencer had it all planned out? How was she goi
Netherlands for honeymoon was a dream come true for Bree. The whole wedding, in fact, had been a fairytale come to life. Oops, did someone forget to say that a good four months has passed? It was hard to believe that just four months ago, their relationship had been haywire. But after the reconciliation and their rekindled love, Bree and Spencer insisted on having their wedding immediately. Their wedding had been a whirlwind of emotions. Laugher, tears of joy, excitement. And now, as they strolled hand in hand through the city of Amsterdam where they came for their honeymoon, Bree felt like the luckiest woman alive.Unlike other couples on their honeymoon, they decided to bring their little bundle of joy with them. They couldn’t imagine themselves having fun on their honeymoon alone without their daughter. And so, even though Ariel had wanted them to go alone, they’d taken her with them like a third wheel and they had every intention of bringing her with them wherever they went. Arr
Spencer didn't wait another second before he dashed out of the room, closing the door slowly behind him. He took a deep breath, combed his fingers through his hair, and began to take slow steps to the living room. Once he got there, he looked around for Bree and when he didn’t find her in the living room, he made his way to the kitchen, taking slow and silent steps. Bree sprang up from the island table where she’d been sitting immediately she saw him step into the kitchen. She pushed her hair backward and stared at him awkwardly. “Hmm, do you want something?”She looked around the kitchen.“I don’t.”“Why are you here then? We shouldn’t leave Ariel’s side. She’s going to be upset.” She intended to walk past him and go to the child’s room but he stepped before her, blocking her path, his hands dipped in his pocket. “She’s not going to get angry. She gave me a go-ahead.”“She asked you to leave?” She gazed at Spencer in disbelief. He nodded. “She did. Gave us time to talk, right?”Br
“Enough, Ariel,” she repeated, her chest heaving in anger. “Who’s even feeding you all these thoughts? You have to tell me this instant.”When Ariel refused to say anything, she slammed a hand on the bedside table and leaned in. “Speak to me, Ariel, I’m talking to you.” She let out a sigh and squeezed her eyes shut to calm her nerves. She wasn’t usually this angry, especially at Ariel. But the whole situation and the events of the weeks had her burned out already. Plus Spencer was in the same roof as her and just the thought was enough to have her heaving in anger, not at him, but at herself, at her heart for still fluttering at the sight of him. When she opened her eyes again, the previous anger was gone and she now stared at the child softly. “Forgive Mommy for yelling, okay? I just want to speak to you. Remember what Mommy said about communication?”Ariel let out a low, ‘en.’“Good girl. Mommy won’t yell anymore so all you have to do is to tell Mommy who told you that a child has
In two days, Gaspher confirmed that Ariel was fit to get discharged. It came as a huge joy to Bree as she was delighted that the issue wasn’t more than that and that her daughter was fine now. It was a confirmation that there was no other child stronger than Ariel. She was able to recover even more quickly than other children and wasn’t that a flex?This evening, they were finally leaving the hospital for home and Ariel couldn’t be more happy that she was finally leaving the place that smelled like drugs twenty-four-seven. She was hyperactive for her discharge, gathering her belongings herself and singing to the little mermaid movie song that played in the room. She gathered her clothes and sanitary in the bag and zipped it afterward. “I’m done, Mommy,” she announced, her teeth on full display as she smiled. Bree rose from the couch and walked to the child, examining the room for anything forgotten. Ariel hadn’t let her father have their belongings as she wanted to do it herself. Nod
Iris scratched the back of her neck and with her head lowered, she muttered. “Emily died! Even before she could be taken to the hospital.”“What?” Bree’s legs lost their balance and she almost fell backward if it wasn’t for her good reflex and her hold on the wall. “What did you just say?”“You heard it. Emily didn’t survive the fall. The police weren’t able to set up a preventive measure before she fell. It was tragic that I couldn’t even look at her body.”Her hands flew to her mouth as she gazed at Iris with wide eyes, her hands trembling while she tried to process the words in her head. She’d thought of the possibility of Emily unable to survive the fall but it still came as a shock to her. Who would have thought that Emily would die so soon after her obsession with them? Who would have thought that she would die so easily? Only if she’d repented and lived her life as she should, getting over her obsession with Spencer and Ariel, maybe she would’ve still been alive with them. It
“Well, I agree with being stupid. Way fucking stupid for ever letting you go.”With tense shoulders, Bree walked around the kitchen while she prepared the food instead of Spencer. She carefully picked up the shopping board and skillfully continued slicing the vegetables and meat, reshaping the shapeless vegetables that he’d sliced. Afterward, she grabbed a pan, placed it on the stove, and poured oil on it before pouring the vegetables, the fresh scent of fried vegetables and meat immediately filling the air. Turning around, she stretched her hand to the top counter, stretching her foot to get to it. When she was still unable to reach the counter, she groaned, her eyes searching for the small stool that she usually used in the kitchen. But as her eyes fell on it and as she was about to move to the other side of the kitchen to pick it up, Spencer showed up behind her, her back to his chest as he stretched his hand to the counter. “What you want?” Cold shivers ran down her spine at t
Spencer’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the words on the paper that Ariel wrote, his head shattering at the words of his daughter. God, he was a fucking failure, he cursed in his heart. He didn’t deserve to be the child’s father. All she needed was protection, love, and care and all he did was the opposite. He even tried to separate her from her mother, the person that she loved the most in her life. Fuck! He deserved nothing good.How could his daughter blame herself for something that wasn’t her fault, something that she knew nothing about? He found his feet stepping forward as his eyes fell on Bree who had her head lowered as tears streamed down her cheek. He dropped the book in the closet and brought his attention to Bree. “It’s fine, don’t blame yourself, okay?” The mother and daughter were fond of blaming themselves for situations that had nothing to do with them. They found themselves overthinking almost all the time.It was a strong feature that they shared. “I didn’t kn…kno
The early hours of the next day soon rolled in revealing Bree helping Ariel back to her bed after helping her wash up. “Do you feel alright, dear?” The child let out a yawn and lay on the bed, pulling the blanket to her chest. “I’m sleepy again.”“What? You didn’t sleep at night?”“I forced Daddy to read to me after you fell asleep,” the child confessed, letting out a mischievous grin. “He had no choice but to do my bidding.”“Ariel? You’re sick. You shouldn’t stay up late. How could you force him to do that?”“Daddy looked so helpless,” her tiny laughter filled the air around them. Bree sighed as she watched her daughter speak about Spencer and how she’d made him so helpless the previous night. Well, Spencer had insisted on staying with them in the hospital despite her protest and he’d only left when they woke up after Ariel pointed out how disheveled he looked. He needed to freshen up.Last night, he’d slept while sitting beside Ariel’s bed and she’d taken the spot on the couch. It
“No, Ariel, it’s Daddy, okay? And…and…” Why the fuck was he stuttering now. The whole shit was already driving him nuts at the moment. “I mean, I’m sorry for what I did to your Mommy, okay? I was out of my mind. Daddy admits to be wrong.” Ariel still didn’t spare him a glance. She looked around the whole room, staring at everywhere but him. “Ariel, please speak to Daddy,” he pleaded. If she so pleases, he didn’t mind dropping to his knees right then and pleading for forgiveness.“What? It’s Mommy that you should be apologizing to.”“I did and…and she didn’t forgive me. Will you at least forgive Daddy? I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I’ll never think of taking your Mommy away from you ever.”“You tried to separate us.”“It was really juvenile of me. Why don’t we do it this way.” He gently took one of the child’s palms and brought it to his chest, gazing lovingly at her. “Why don’t you punish me instead? Give me a punishment, anyone.”“Punishment?”He bobbed his head up and down. “