"Mom, I am at work. Why are you calling me?" Micah said rudely over the phone to his mom. "Can't a mom call her son again? Why are you being so rude to me so early in the morning?" Cora replied."Why are you calling?" Micah asked, ignoring her questions. He knew how dramatic she could be and what she could do to him just because he ignored her call, and that was the reason he picked up. "Can Zara join us for dinner tonight?" "Mom, I don't know; why do you want her to join us for dinner?" "Since we can't meet her family, I invited your aunty and her husband so she could get familiar with the family," Cora said beaming with pride. "MOM," Micah said, almost screaming her ears off. "What is it? Why are you screaming at me?" Cora asked her own voice going up as well. "Why wouldn't I scream at you? I explained to you a million times why we have to keep this a secret from others, and yet you have gone to invite Aunty and Uncle? Why did you think this was okay without asking me first?"
"About the meeting with the prime minister," Isla began as she paced around the room. Elara dropped her phone to her body because she heard from her sister's tone that she wanted to say something important. "Is there something wrong? Are Dad and Mom not supposed to be going there?" Elara asked, sitting up and looking at her seriously. "It's not that..." Isla trailed off, making Elara panic a bit more. "Then what is it? Is the business still safe? Are Dad and Mom still safe? Do you think there might be trouble looming?" Elara knew she was supposed to be the laid-back sibling who does not worry, but somehow the incident she just faced had ignited something inside her that made her fearful, and she did not even know it."It is not that; I mean, when they are out together, should we go for dinner?" Isla said she felt a bit bad that she had made her sister go through the torture. "What?" Elara's face squeezed together as she bent her mouth to a corner and her eyebrows raised. "You want
"You sure chose a fancy place," Elara said as they walked in. "A fancy place?" Isla was not sure if her sister was being cheeky or serious. This was one of the least fancy places she was able to get because of how close to the time they were booking, and since they did not use their real identities while up and about, they could not get in like their dad or Ronan would. "Yeah, look at all the lights and decorations Oh my gosh, it's been a while since I've been at a place like this." Elara's three years out of her family home meant that she lived like a peasant, and Isla seeing it firsthand angered her the more to hate Micah. "Are you saying that when you were with Micah you did not have dates in places like this?" Isal asked."He said that dates were a waste of money." Elara began her eyes darting to the painting on the wall as she smiled at how beautiful it was before adding under her breath. "But he had the money to cheat on me at one of the fanciest restaurants in our part of to
"Ezra?" Isla raised her head to look at him, and truly he was standing there. "You see him too, right; this is in my mind." Elara leaned in and whispered to her sister, and she nodded. "Oh well," she said, almost yelling and looking up. "What are you doing here?" "I am here for dinner with my sister," she said playfully, waving the menu in hand. "What about you?" she continued. Ezra seemed uncomfortable as she shifted from one leg to another and then shook his head. "Well," he began and then stopped to clear his throat. She raised her eyebrow at him and wondered why it was so hard for him to just say that he was there for dinner. "You don't have to say it if it is that hard," she said and then smiled at him. "It's nice to see you anyway," she said, looking back down at her menu. She felt a bit fuzzy inside; why did seeing him do that to her? "It's not that I don't want to tell you; I just did not want you to hear like this." "Hear what?" Isla asked, being nosy and also because
"Ezra," Olivia-Marie nudged his side after she saw him spacing out. "Yeah?" he muttered, looking around. All the eyes of her six friends were firmly looking at him; they must have asked him a question, and the way they were looking at him indicated they needed an answer. He wondered how someone would have six closet friends and thought it was right. He wondered what their relationship was like. "Why are you spaced out so much?" one of the friends on a pixie cut asked. "He must be busy with work," Olivia-Marie responded, trying to create an impression that was the reason he was so spaced out. "Can you give us a minute?" she asked, sliding off the chair and asking him to follow her. "Don't take more than a minute," another friend yelled as they walked away. All the other girls began laughing, and Ezra knew it was an annoying joke he might never be able to get, and he was not ready to be bothered by it."Definitely," Olivia-Marie said before walking faster. She found a spot where th
"Why are you coming back alone?" the girl with the pixie cut asked as Olivia-Marie approached the table. "Yeah, something urgent came up so he couldn't stay longer." Olivia-Marie lied as she slid back into her chair. "Did you guys make out at the back?" another girl asked, pointing to the direction she was coming from. "What are you saying?" Olivia-Marie pretended to blush as if something had really happened. She could not let these girls know that she and Ezra's relationship was rocky and not what they thought. At first, they always thought that she was making him up since there was never any evidence. No pictures, no gifts, no physical boyfriend to show, and now that he had shown up, they were a bit convinced, even though some of them still had doubts about it. Olivia-Marie had always wanted to prove she would be the first to get married in their crew, so it would not be unlikely that she was staging the whole thing. "I thought he would stay a bit and maybe pick up the tab," t
"Sooo...""Isla, can you please not talk about Ezra?" Elara said that because she knew that was what her sister was about to bring up. "Oh my gosh!" Isla exclaimed as if something surprising had happened. "How did you know what I wanted to talk about?" "Because before we left the restaurant, you have been itching to talk about it." "But still, how do you know what I was about to talk about?" Isla asked, still shocked at her sister's skills. "The same way you were able to know that that one out of those girls at the table was getting married." Elara closed her eyes and rested her head, and the car went slowly over the express. Elliot's one rule for all of his drivers was driving within the minimum speed. "I just don't understand it," Isla said as if she were talking to herself when in reality she just wanted to know why her sister and Ezra broke up. They were the perfect high school couple. The school they went to was only for the rich and wealthy, so when Ezra confessed to Elar
Ezra walked into his room with his tie that was always perfect but was now scattered on his neck and his hair disbelieved. He was holding his suit jacket in hand and looked like he had been drinking even though a drop of alcohol had not dropped on his tongue in weeks. He threw the jacket in hand to the bed and sat on it slowly. He had been searching for years, and yet Elara had not turned up. Why was she turning up just a few months before his wedding? When he saw her, all the emotions he had when she broke up with him eight years ago came rushing back. Elara was the first woman he had looked at and liked, and it had stayed that way. When he finally worked up the courage to ask her out, it was a relief that she felt the same way. They were kids according to their parents, but he thought it would stay the same way forever until the day after graduation."I waited a day after graduation to do this," she murmured as they sat in the garden of her house. "And I said we should do this ou
"What? My daughter?" Elliot asked, looking from side to side. "Yes, she claims she is a Quinn." "And that is the reason Micah is getting married to her because he thinks he would be able to climb the wealthy ladder by being with her," Isla said as the realisation of what was happening hit her. "He claims to actually love her though," Elara said. "You do not actually believe that bullshit do you?" Ronan asked. He was visibly angry. He wondered how the interaction would have gone down when his sister found out. Elara would have been too nice to even do anything to him. He must have left feeling proud of himself that he was able to ditch Elara and get with a Quinn. "What am I supposed to believe? I was with him for four years, and I believed he loved me; looking back now, maybe I was just delusional." Elara took a deep breath and shook her head. "None of this is my fault; how am I supposed to know what kind of person he is?" "Nobody is blaming you for this," Elliot said. "But Dad,
"Woah, everybody's at the table before me," Elara said as she got to the dining area. "What took you so long? We have been sitting and waiting for you all morning," Ronan commented as soon as she came in. "Good morning, Mr. Grumpy Pants," Elara murmured. Coming to sit down, she greeted her parents and sister before facing the empty plate before her. "I am sorry I did not get the memo that I had kept you all waiting for me," she said and shrugged. "Some of us have real work to get to..." "Like what? Saying hello to your little girlfriend?" Isla interjected, causing Ronan to throw her a death glare. If she was being honest, she did not care about his death glare. Finding a way to rile him up was part of her obligation to him. "You know that I do not like it when you say things like that," he said, picking each word with great care while also adding insane pressure on them. "I know, but it is still fun to tease you," Isla said and shrugged. Ronan opened his mouth to talk, but Clar
"Elara is going to tell us the reason why she came back home tomorrow, so please make yourself available," Clara said as she took off her robe and slid into bed beside her husband. "Don't tell me that you pestered the girl to tell you why she came home," Ellipt murmured. He knew what his wife was capable of, but he did not want to believe that she would ever pester her. "Are you saying we should just act as if it is all okay that she disappeared from our sight and then appeared without any word?" Clara asked."Aren't you happy to see her?" "I am" "Then shouldn't you leave it at that?" "Are you saying I should just be happy to see her without asking any questions?" "That is exactly what I am saying," Elliot nodded his head, and Clara turned up her nose. She knew her husband might act like this, so why was she still surprised that he did? "You know it is not a crime to show a little bit of concern for your children and to know what is going on in their lives too." "I know what i
"I have not yet introduced anyone to him yet, but I told him that I was a Quinn." "A Quinn?" Sarah asked confused. The name struck a bell in her mind, but she could not quite put her hand on it yet. She shook her head as it all came to her. "A Quinn? Your dad's boss?" she asked, her voice going up. "They have a daughter who has been missing for years now, and no one knows what she looks like." "And why would you do something like this?" Sarah asked."I am sure she has a plan, so maybe you let her...""A plan? What kind of plan do you think it can be? There is no justification for this madness," Sarah said, standing up as she began to pace around. "She lied; she is a Quinn to Amy, a rich man, I suppose. What then would happen after the wedding when he finds out that you aren't who you say you are?" Sarah could not believe that her husband. If she was not her daughter, she would have sworn that she put some kind of black magic on her husband to make him act the way he was. He would
"Dad, Mom," Zara said as she walked into the house. Sarah glanced at the clock and shook her head. She wanted to reprimand her daughter, but it was too late at night for them to begin to throw words back and forth at each other. If her daughter was out working and not partying, then she would not have a hard time allowing her to come back to the house at this time. "Where is Dad?" Zara asked, looking around the dim living room. Sarah was catching up on her favourite shows. "He is in the room," Sarah replied gently. She had wanted to ignore her daughter, so she did not feel the need to talk to her. "I will get him; can you please turn that off?" "What?""Can you turn off the television?" Zara asked as if she were the mother. "And why should I do that?" Sarah asked."Can't you act like a mother for once?" Carlos asked, coming into view. "Like a mother? And what is that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked, whipping her head in the direction of her husband. "If she is asking you to turn
Elara fell to the bed. She stared at the ceiling, and all of the stars she put there when she was young had fallen out except for one that still stood in the middle. She stood up and switched off the light so the glow from the sticker could fill the room.She fell back as she stared at the sticker. "I guess one star isn't enough to glow," she whispered to herself. As she closed her eyes, the image of Ezra filled her mind, and no matter how she tried to refocus her attention on something else, all of her efforts were wasted.She had thought she had forgotten him; she thought he was in her past; she thought she had moved on and was in love with Micah. It made her really begin to question all she knew: did I really love Micah, or was he a way for me to forget the lingering pain that leaving Ezra had caused?She remembered, crying her eyes out, after telling him that she wanted to break up. Her heart was wrenching into tiny pieces, but she still believed that she had done the right thing.
Ezra walked into his room with his tie that was always perfect but was now scattered on his neck and his hair disbelieved. He was holding his suit jacket in hand and looked like he had been drinking even though a drop of alcohol had not dropped on his tongue in weeks. He threw the jacket in hand to the bed and sat on it slowly. He had been searching for years, and yet Elara had not turned up. Why was she turning up just a few months before his wedding? When he saw her, all the emotions he had when she broke up with him eight years ago came rushing back. Elara was the first woman he had looked at and liked, and it had stayed that way. When he finally worked up the courage to ask her out, it was a relief that she felt the same way. They were kids according to their parents, but he thought it would stay the same way forever until the day after graduation."I waited a day after graduation to do this," she murmured as they sat in the garden of her house. "And I said we should do this ou
"Sooo...""Isla, can you please not talk about Ezra?" Elara said that because she knew that was what her sister was about to bring up. "Oh my gosh!" Isla exclaimed as if something surprising had happened. "How did you know what I wanted to talk about?" "Because before we left the restaurant, you have been itching to talk about it." "But still, how do you know what I was about to talk about?" Isla asked, still shocked at her sister's skills. "The same way you were able to know that that one out of those girls at the table was getting married." Elara closed her eyes and rested her head, and the car went slowly over the express. Elliot's one rule for all of his drivers was driving within the minimum speed. "I just don't understand it," Isla said as if she were talking to herself when in reality she just wanted to know why her sister and Ezra broke up. They were the perfect high school couple. The school they went to was only for the rich and wealthy, so when Ezra confessed to Elar
"Why are you coming back alone?" the girl with the pixie cut asked as Olivia-Marie approached the table. "Yeah, something urgent came up so he couldn't stay longer." Olivia-Marie lied as she slid back into her chair. "Did you guys make out at the back?" another girl asked, pointing to the direction she was coming from. "What are you saying?" Olivia-Marie pretended to blush as if something had really happened. She could not let these girls know that she and Ezra's relationship was rocky and not what they thought. At first, they always thought that she was making him up since there was never any evidence. No pictures, no gifts, no physical boyfriend to show, and now that he had shown up, they were a bit convinced, even though some of them still had doubts about it. Olivia-Marie had always wanted to prove she would be the first to get married in their crew, so it would not be unlikely that she was staging the whole thing. "I thought he would stay a bit and maybe pick up the tab," t