At that, she turned her back to the block of ice who stood frozen on his spot, trying to process the information. As Bree flung the door open, her eyes fell on the child before her, blood draining from her body. “A…Ariel?”In the flash of the moment, she wiped her tears and fixed her expression immediately, her eyes fixated on the child who was staring back at her with wide eyes. Her legs trembled, her hands shook and her voice quivered as she spoke. “Di…did you hear everything?” The child’s expression was enough to tell her whatever it was that she needed to know, her wide round eyes, her frozen state, it was enough to tell Bree that her daughter was aware of everything that went on in the study room. Bree waited for Ariel to burst into tears just like she did when she heard those words from the man that she loved. She waited for Ariel to at least show some other expression from the one that she had on her face. But the child simply just nodded and turned her back to her.“Ariel, s
In the late hours of the night, Bree was awoken by the sound of cries from beside her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to stare into the dark. As the cries became even louder, she immediately sprang up from the bed and turned on the bedside lamp, her eyes falling on the child beside her who tried to muffle her tears. Ariel was seated on the bed, her hands wrapped around her knees with her tears streaming down her tiny face. “Ariel?” Bree called, her eyes wide in surprise. What the hell was going on and why was her daughter and why was she crying so profusely in the middle of the night? “What is going on, honey? Why are you crying? Is it a nightmare?”The child lunged at her, wrapping her tiny palms around her mother’s neck and biting her face into her neck. Bree patted the child’s hair, her eyes burning from the tears that she tried so hard to hold back at the sight of her daughter crying. Ariel’s tears were contagious and just the sight alone almost drove her into tears.“Mommy.” The
Once Bree’s car rolled out of the school, she fished her phone out of her bag and sent a text to Iris, though her eyes were fixated on the road. In a while, her car rolled into the parking lot of a restaurant and she threw herself out of the car and walked into the building, her eyes immediately catching sight of Iris who waved at her at the other end of the restaurant. She dragged out a seat as she got to Iris’ table and sat astride her. Iris took a sip from her mug of hot tea and smiled at her friend. “How are you? Where is our little mermaid.”“I’m alright now. Ariel is at school.”She raised a brow. “The little vixen finally realized that she’s a kid and has to go to school?”“I guess that’s the case. She insisted on going to school today. Anyway, how’s everything? How are you?”“As you know, my life is always boring. Nothing much is going on right now. Boring as fuck, unlike yours.”“What is not boring about mine?”“Considering that there is a lot of drama going on now. You shou
“Aww. One more thing, I hate that my soon-to-be husband has a daughter outside of marriage and it really is pissing me off. I can’t bear it. I hope you don’t have a nice day, Breanne.”Emily bumped into Bree’s shoulder and rolled into the restaurant with her security guards. Bree stood in place, trying to register the words of Emily into her head. She stood frozen on the floor, her eyes staring into space, and only when she heard a throat clear down the side did she return her attention to her surroundings. She moved, her eyes falling on the security guard by her side. “Are you okay, ma’am?”“I…I’m okay. I’ll leave now.”The door was pushed open for her and she immediately rushed out, walking to the place where she packed her car. Once she got into the car, she drove off, heading toward Ariel school. Since it wasn’t yet close time for the child’s school, she drove to the front of the school and stopped, placing her head on the steering wheel, deep in thought that led to a deep slumb
Spencer’s mansion was dead silent as Bree stepped in, her footsteps light and shaky. She wondered why the security guards had let her in without trouble. If the child was with him and he had plans to keep her, he would’ve given his worker notice not to let her in ever again.Just as she looked around the dead quiet living room, a thought flew into her head. What if he’d taken the child away? What if he let her in because the child was no longer with him? What if he’d taken her to a different country? At that thought, she took to her heels and raced up the stairs, heading into every room in search of anyone. Her footsteps increased as she got to Spencer’s room, her heart pounding through her chest. She prayed that she at least meet him in place. If Spencer wasn’t in his room, her doubts would be confirmed then. She felt her eyes burning as she tried to hold back her tears from streaming down her cheek. Slowly, she placed her hand on the door’s handle and pushed it open, her feet comin
“I don’t believe that. You’re one hell of a hypocrite, Spencer. Aren’t you tired of ruining Bree’s life? Just a few days after you both broke up and you’re already engaged to someone else. How shameless.”“Engaged?”“Don’t act so innocent. We know everything.”Bree had informed her about the situation and if it wasn’t for the situation at hand, she would have struck his face with her palm for daring to play with her friend’s heart. Bree didn’t deserve whatever she was going through at the hands of Spencer. She was a sweet woman and deserves so much better. If she’d known that their relationship would end up crumbling again after finding their way back to each other a while ago, she would have done everything in her power to stop Bree from seeing him. But their love got rekindled and her friend needed to get hurt just like always. First, it was her father, then her mother, and now Spencer. “I don’t know what you know and I don’t care. Get in the car if you so please.”“You’re still t
“Are you okay? The doctor said that you have to rest and can’t take any more shock,” Iris said as she helped Bree sit up on the hospital bed. Bree groaned as she looked around the room, taking in the surroundings before her eyes finally settled back on Iris. “How long has it been?”“It’s been two hours since you fainted on our way. Are you sure you’re fine now? Do you have difficulty breathing? I can call the doctor if you want.”“I’m perfectly fine now. Two hours is a lot.”“You have to listen to the doctor, Bree. You can’t take any more shocks.” She sat beside Bree, clasping her hands in hers. “I know that you’re worried but what’s going to happen if your health fails you? We have to think about that too.”“Iris, I’ll be good. We don’t have much time left. Is there any update from Spencer?”Much to Bree’s disappointment, Iris shook her head. “It’s been two hours.”“I’m worried too. He should’ve updated us by now.”“We should leave.” Bree threw the covers off her body and pulled the
“Iris, tell me that’s not my daughter on the rooftop,” Bree swallowed, her eyes fixated on the rooftop as she spoke. She wrapped her arms around Iris’ arms and let out a choking cry when Iris said nothing and just kept staring at the rooftop with her. Both women’s eyes filled with terror, their breath becoming ragged as fear enveloped their every being. “Tell me I’m just seeing things.”“Bree… that is Ariel.”“Oh my God.” She trembled. Immediately, she slowly pulled away from Iris and took a few steps forward. When the whole situation crashed over her, she took to her heels and raced into the mansion, not bothering to think of the fact that no guard was securing the mansion. Both women ran through the stairs that led to the rooftop, their footsteps echoing in the entire building. Just before Bree could storm to the rooftop, Iris grabbed her and pulled her backward for a while. Gritting her teeth, Bree spoke. “What are you doing, Iris? Let the duck ho of me. I have to save Ariel.”“Yo
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. “