GENERAL POVThe previous night was the longest night Isabella had ever had; she had woken up before her siblings the following morning, which was unusual. Her eyes were lazy, and her heart was anxious. She had spent most of her night thinking too much about the outing their dad had promised to take them on yesterday, willing the hands of time to run faster, afraid that their dad might pop out from the shadows anytime to announce a sudden change of plans.At some intervals, she would sigh impatiently and get up from the bed to stand at the center of their room and just stare vaguely at the wall clock. “Why are you so slow tonight?” she found herself whispering. She was acting this way probably because they had never gone on a family outing like this with their mom before, let alone doing it with both parents; this was the first of a kind for all of them.Before they even got to know who their dad was, it was something Isabella had always wished and daydreamed about secretly, particu
ELLIOT’S POVI stood, gazing into space with hands akimbo, after the call with Gerald."Fuck, so we lost the contract? Really? Not just to anyone, but to Xander, I can't believe it."I murmured in disbelief, feeling great disappointment at the administrative performance of those I left to just briefly take care of things in my absence, particularly at Hanks, who I initially thought was eligible enough to represent me."What a poor outing from a so-called senior executive board member—a department head, for that matter. Instead of giving his all to make a great first impression and earn my trust in his abilities, look at what he did. I'm never letting him handle such responsibility ever in the future."I took my hands off my waist and folded them as my mind continued to wander in thought. "Come to think of it, why should I even keep paying him when he can't do things properly? Why?"I blew out hot air from my mouth and wiped my forehead lightly; the wetness rubbed off on the back of m
SOPHIE’S POVThe first thing I noticed straight away as soon as Elliot pulled the door to our holiday home open was the eye-catching sight of flying balloons and ribbons that now adorned our sitting room. I threw Elliot a hasty glance to see if he was also as surprised as I was, but the smile on his face had no traces of surprise; if anything, it was complacent and satisfied, almost as though it was exactly what he had been waiting to see. I tried to ask him what was going on, but he had said nothing; all he did was keep his complacent smile plastered on.I directed my vision again to the front side to give everything a more settled look. That was when I noticed that my kids and our two domestic staff had been standing centrally with lifted placards all the while, lost in a dangling mesh of balloons.“Was I the only one at a loss here?” I thought, with my nerves already tumbling over themselves, that I struggled to make sense of the whole scene playing out without success. “Today is
SOPHIE’S POV I finally resumed work the next morning. It was refreshing to finally return to my office duties after the long, adventurous break. I felt a little wistful as I drove myself through the mechanized gates of the company, pulling up at the front yard in one of Elliot's whips, precisely the AMG CLA 45. I turned off the ignition and inhaled deeply to brace myself for my other colleagues' anticipated reception, which I couldn't exactly predict yet. I could still vividly remember the awkward situation of things the last time I was present here, and now I find myself imagining the unguarded surprise they would definitely show when they saw me again.I inhaled again, and when I finally thought I was stable enough, I picked up my phones, laminated files, and handbag before stepping out of the car and flipping the door closed.The unguarded surprise stares I initially imagined I was going to receive
SOPHIE’S POV I remained rigidly seated on Elliot's guest seat as we waited in hanging suspense for Gerald to show up at any moment. Mr. Hank's revelation had totally changed the atmosphere in the room, from just one of plain inquiry and supplication to one of bad omens and perhaps cautious distrust. The man himself has still not switched or changed his posture after making his claim; rather, he was still kneeling with his head bowed, whispering to himself as though he were making a silent prayer to God for vindication.Elliot, on the other hand, had assumed a bottled-up demeanor, expressing his anger and anxiety only by the continuous tapping of his thumb on the desk. As for me, I felt just as uneasy and worried. I kept folding and refolding my arms, staring from Elliot to Mr. Hanks in worry and subdued trepidation, wondering who could be playing such games at this time and hoping that the
Sophie’s POVIt was Saturday, and the time was about 7:30 a.m. I was almost set for the little outing I had planned for today.I had decided to seize the work-free day as an opportunity to finally meet with Elliot's family, taking the kids along with me.I woke up earlier to take my bath and brush my teeth a few hours ago, and right now I was sitting on the bed wearing a black and white polka-dot office gown while putting on some make-up. I needed to look as presentable as possible since this would be my first-ever visit to the family, so I knew that even with all that had happened, I still needed to make a great first impression. Elliot emerged from inside the bathroom wearing a towel around his waist with no shirt on; a part of his face, from his chin to his lower jaw, was completely wreathed in the white mask of aftershave. He was also preparing to meet with one of the company's investors later today, so technically we were all leaving the house this morning.When he saw me all dr
SOPHIE’S POV"What!?" I let out another distressed shriek, gawking into space in a disoriented manner."which..which hospital." I stammered, blinking excessively."St. Louis is a little far away from the house; I'll send you a cab now. Wait, where are you?""Brookfield," I whispered with my eyes closed, inwardly wondering what was really going on."The mall?" She asked further."Yeah, the mall," I affirmed sloppily. I opened up my eyes again, which were now probably going red."I'll send you a cab. Please be here soon," Olivia said, and she hung up at once.I got off the phone looking so flustered and unaware that I didn't realize the moment Amelia rushed up to me after my shriek."What happened, Sophie? Anything matter? That was pretty loud."I waited for some time and inhaled deeply."It's my dad; I just got a call that he was attacked," I said finally, turning to face her. She stepped back for a second, bobbing her head sideways. It was her turn to scream."No way! Attacked? By who
ELLIOT’S POV "Good gracious." I blurted out of surprise when I saw how much time had gone by the time I was done with changing into another sleeve shirt and tie in my office restroom.It was already 2:50 p.m., which was about 30 minutes before the presentation time with Eleanor Group. I hurried out of the room into my office, picking up my briefcase and dropping it on the broad brown desk abruptly, fiddling with my tie for a second, and then going back to the restroom a second time to gaze at the Cheval mirror stand, checking if I got the knotting of the tie right. I nodded quickly in satisfaction, returning to the office again to grab the briefcase one more time. I exhaled and had already made a calculated swerve toward the door when it occurred to me that I had not cross-checked the documents and files containing the project I would be presenting. "Fuck." I swore under my