“Aria Davis,” Noah repeated. His brows furrowed as he maintained steady eye contact with Tyler while thinking deeply. He had never really liked Aria, but then... “What motive could Aria have possibly had to sabotage a love letter? It doesn’t make sense.” Noah declared and leaned back on his office seat.Tyler shrugged and reached out to pick up a snack from the servings on the table delivered by the secretary on his arrival. “Maybe she has a crush on you or something.”“Not a chance. She loathes me.”“Well never say never. You never know with these women. Complicated creatures they are, every single one of them.” Tyler insisted with a frown. “Aria might have been like “I can’t have him... so you can’t have him too..” He sang while flipping an imaginary long hair back. Noah scoffed at the joke and let out a long sigh. Aria Davis having a crush on him was impossible. Thinking back, her territorial attitude towards Lola had not only been against him but he could swear that he had notice
Christmas...For many, it was probably the most wonderful time of the year, the jolly season that brings the feeling of joy, warmth, and nostalgia. But for Bianca Sanders and the occupants of the Sanders family estate, it was merely another month, another ordinary day with no festive excitement in the air. A long scream echoed through the hallways past the busy maids and household servants as Bianca Sanders yelled down fire and brimstone, threatening to break the room’s door down or simply put an end to her rather miserable life.The Sander family’s housekeeper, held on to the fabric of her gown tightly as she ran past the rooms, stopping and panting right in front of the door. Then she knocked hastily on the bedroom door. “Madam?. Madam??.” The door locked clicked from behind and Charlotte Sander’s sleepy figure emerged in a silky night dress to see the nervous-looking housekeeper.“What’s this disturbance so early in the morning Martha? Keep the servants under control. Will you..”
“Grandfather’s organizing a party on Boxing Day and insists that I bring you along with me. Do you mind?.”“Uh?.” Lola dropped the cell phone from her ear. She looked at the contact on the screen carefully with squinted eyes, after confirming that it was grumpy Noah Sanchez who had uttered the words she’d just heard, she mumbled an inaudible ‘wow’ and lifted the cellphone back to her ear. “When did you learn to be so polite?.” She asked. Noah’s eyes narrowed. What did she mean by learning to be polite? “I’ve always been polite.” He argued confidently.Lola scoffed and cleared her throat. She had not meant to say that out loud but it was really surprising. The Noah Sanchez she knew was a cold grumpy man who would always do things his way and never ask for her permission to tag along and he would instead give her orders to be present at the party. Hearing him ask properly for a change felt.. good.Lola smiled. “Well since you asked nicely, I will think about it and get back to you.” Sh
Clink!. Clink!.The maids standing some distance away from the dining area flinched as both the mother and daughter dropped their cutleries at once. Only the butler maintained his pois…unbothered, uninterested.Charlotte flew up from her seat abruptly. Her lightly made-up face expresses a mixture of fear and shock on it. “What do you mean by Bianca’s getting married? Who is our daughter getting married to?.” She asked in a firm yet scared voice, caught off guard by her husband’s sudden ridiculous announcement. Micheal ignored his wife’s reaction and instead spoke to his daughter whose face was also pale from shock. “Your left hand my dear.” he urged, signaling for her to offer her hand to him. “Don’t keep daddy waiting.”Hearing his words, Bianca who had been temporarily struck by shock instantly recovered and held her hands down by the sides, away from her father’s reach. “I don’t know what you are talking about father. You are simply mistaken. I am not getting married.” She announce
“It’s just one night Aria. One night.”Lola reminded her best friend with widened eyes, her hands clutching firmly on the strap of her backpack which held only a change of outfit for the next day, a novel, her special gift for Maria and Laura, and light necessities needed for their sleepover at Dew Square for Christmas Eve. Aria, on the other hand, was freshly out of the bathroom after a hot bath. Her wet hair was wrapped up with a pink towel likewise her curvy body. On her bed laid three different sets of outfits which all looked the same to Lola except for their different colors. “I know right.” Aria agreed. “But I can’t seem to make up my mind.” She complained with her lips protruding in a silly pout meant to tug at the strings of Lola’s heart. Her puppy eyes looked up at Lola for help.“Unbelievable...” Lola huffed. “..and here I was thinking you were the one with the fashion trends. How wrong I was.” She said disappointed. Lola shook her head and made her way to the bed at the
Lola Coker doesn’t pray very often. Yet she made a sloppy sign of the cross, touching her forehead, chest, and shoulders before springing up from her chair and walking past the door, tiptoeing to the entrance of the storeroom which was close to the kitchen. The store room’s door was left slightly ajar, letting Maria’s sweet voice and laughter filter out of the room. Lola gulped and paused to listen in, careful not to lean on the door and make a noise.“Yeah that, I remember...” Maria said and laughed into the phone. “You wanted turkey on the menu. I wanted us to try the chicken stripes. How could I forget?.”At first, the one-sided conversation from Maria on Lola’s end made no sense. But slowly, Lola could vaguely guess what they were on about. “A dinner? lunch? Hmmm…have they known each other that long?.” Lola thought.“The girls?.” Maria asked suddenly.“Girls?.” Lola concentrated once again. She and Aria? Is he perhaps..someone they know?“They are having breakfast..” Maria cont
“Sister-in-law?.” Xena repeated with a frown. Bianca’s head was lifted proudly and she wondered what exactly it was that made Bianca so sure that she would succeed at her ridiculous mission of becoming Noah’s wife. Bianca smirked, she could see the confusion in Xena’s eyes and it pleased her. That confusion was all that she needed. She waved a nearby waiter who carried a tray of drinks over just as Xena suddenly moved closer to her and whispered. “Whatever schemes you are planning would fail. I would never let my brother get married to a murderer like you.” Then she stepped back with a broad smile on her face.The waiter had arrived but Bianca’s hands which had reached out for the drink hung in mid-air shaky and unsteady, with the wineglass in her hand. Murderer…Her eyes shut tightly as sudden images of blood on both of her hands flashed before her. Unexpectedly, the wine glass she was holding fell off her shaky hand, breaking into tiny bits the instant it came in contact with the f
“After the party. Everyone should stay back and spend the night at the mansion. You can leave after the meeting.”Spend the night?“Okay, Father,” Andy responded and looked at Ava who shrugged. It was okay by the older couple. The Sanchez Ancestral home was where they lived anyway. Lola looked at Noah. The man was staring right back at her, he could sense the reluctance she had against the old man’s sudden announcement.“Grandfather.” Noah abruptly spoke out and pulled the attention of everyone at the table to him.Grandfather Sanchez sighed. Then he put on the most stoic expression that a patriarch of the Sanchez family could summon before looking up at his grandson who he knew was about to make a clashing comment to disregard his instruction. “What is it?.” He asked.“You see... “Noah started. “Lola doesn’t look too well. I’ll have to take her home so she can get some rest. How about we return for the meeting first thing in the morning?.”Lola’s face flushed as she stared down at h