Elara's eyes fluttered open as she began to adjust to reality. She had been so scared about being kidnapped, but she tried her best to act brave all through. She looked around the hospital room as far as her eyes could carry her, and they landed on her mother by her side. She thought that the nightmare would never end, but she was glad that it did. She saw her mom's body rise and fall gently, and she wanted to try not to wake her up.The kidnappers were not as bad as everyone thought, but then she could not trust them, seeing how badly they dragged her there. She had refused any meal they had given her and only relied on water because she was somehow convinced they could not poison the water.As she tried to take the covers off, her mother stirred and sat up, scanning the entire room. "Elara?" she murmured as she stood up and stood beside her bed. "You are awake," she said, hugging her daughter gently.Clara had been so worried that she had gone out three times in the night to ask why
Elara swallowed the lump in her throat just because she could not take it anymore; it felt like someone had taken time out of their busy day to tie up her throat, and it felt itchy. She cleared her throat and straightened her back as she walked through the restaurant.She looked to one table in the corner; her boyfriend Micah's back was to her, and she took a deep breath, clutching tightly to the handle of her purse. As she approached the table, she wished that this was different.When she first caught on that he was cheating, she did not believe it one bit because there was no way that her boyfriend, who swore to love her even though he was too closed off to show it to her, was showing another girl with flowers and chocolates and dinner dates; she could believe that the same man she had been with all these years was cheating on her.But when her sister called to tell her that she was getting out and that everyone knew that he was getting married to Zara, she knew that she did not sta
"You are the heiress?" Elara asked, letting out a long laugh. She was angry to meet her boyfriend with a woman, but it amused her that this woman was pretending to be the woman she hid from Micah all these years. She did not want anyone going after her for her family money and influence but for who she was. "But I hear that no one knows what she looks like, so how can we be sure that you are the one?" Elara followed with continuous laughter. She was sure that her siblings would have a field day with this information if they got to hear it. Her father had been the expert at keeping his children away from the public and had only introduced her brother Ronan when he was twenty years old to the media because he said he had to learn the ropes of the business. Since Elara stayed hidden from the press, it was easier for her to live a life of freedom. "Are you saying that I am lying?" Zara asked, shifting on her feet uncomfortably. "Of course not; how can I call you an impersonator?" She
"Regret this? Regret marrying to the Quinn family?" Micah scoffed like she had just told a lie. "I don't think so," he said with a smirk on his face."Oh, boo, don't listen to her; she must be crazy," Zara chimed in."Crazy? You are calling me crazy? I am the crazy one here?" She said, looking around, hoping that the people around her would help her judge the matter."Both of you are shamelessly out here cheating on me, and you think I am the crazy one? In what world are you the sane ones?" She did not even know she had those kinds of words brewing on the insides of her."If you know he is cheating on you, as you said, why don't you let him be?" Zara asked, air-quoting the word cheating. "Moreover, if you were never in a relationship, why would it be cheating?""Did he say that?" Elara asked, quietly dropping the plate in her hand to the table and cleaning off the soup residue that had stuck to her hand on the napkin. "Did he tell you that we were not in a relationship?""Well, he did
Elara held her cheek as the words she had been saying were now lost in her throat; she could not believe that she had been slapped across the face by Micah's mistress. The two of them stood there, Zara's chest rising and falling in annoyance as she balled her hands into a fist by her side. "Imposter? Who are you calling an imposter?" She screamed at her. The entire restaurant was now fully focused on them. The couples who were there on dates would probably think that the show before it was more enticing than their date. "I guess you must really be an imposter," Elara replied. She had always been a confident girl, but meeting Micah had done something to her and made her believe that for her to be accepted, she needed to be sevirle and submissive to everyone, and everything around her meant that she had forgotten the training that her father had given her. "Do not call me that," Zara said through gritted teeth. "Why should I?" What else am I going to call you? You are here claiming
"I finally got rid of her, and I did not have to do much work," Micah said as they walked to his car. They had to leave the restaurant immediately because of the embarrassment that came with the scene that Elara had created for them. Immediately she stormed out as if she had won; he paid the check and left with Zara in his hand. "Since you have been able to ditch the b*tch, how about we go ahead and have the wedding as planned?" Zara suggested, poking his chest roughly. "Of course, we are going to have the wedding next week," he announced. "Now just remember, since my parents do not want me to be exposed to the public, they would not be attending the wedding, and they would not be sponsoring it either, so you have to do all of that by yourself, and also I cannot access my trust fund until I get married and have a baby," Zara said. "Oh my darling, what do you take me for? I definitely remember all that you said, and I am going to keep it to them all. As long as Mr. Quinn has agreed
Elara walked through the door to the house that she had shared with Micah for the past three years. Everywhere in there pushed out some kind of memory for her. She wanted to sit in the darkness of the house and cry out her eyes because when her family had told her that she was making a mistake by trusting a man like Micah, she had told him that they loved each other, and that was all that mattered. Now she understood very well that love was not all that mattered. She walked to the bedroom that they shared and took down her box; these were the same ones she left her father's mansion with, and now she was leaving with the same one. She had wanted the relationship to work out so badly so she could prove to her family that she was right. Now that the relationship was in shambles, she began to clearly see all of the warning signs. "I really am a fool for ignoring all of those signs for the longest time," she murmured to herself with a sad smile. She barely had anything to pack from the h
"Beautifully?" she asked again, the cackle not stopping as she doubled over her hands, patting her knees in laughter. Micah did not like the scene before him; he was not saying anything funny, so she should not be laughing as hard as she was laughing. He had expected to meet her at home on her knees, begging him to take her back. She should be crying and asking him to help her because she had nowhere else to go, but she felt different and out of reach.It was like she was possessed by a confident spirit. "What is so funny?" "You think that a scum like you can ever produce anything beautiful," she said, looking at the car that had parked right before his car. She knew that was her ride, and she did not want to cause a scene. A well-built man who could pass for a bodybuilder came down from the driver's side and jogged to her. The man approaching them made Micah lose his train of thought. "Hello Ms..." Elara waved her hand in the air to stop him from addressing her as a Quinn as much
Elara's eyes fluttered open as she began to adjust to reality. She had been so scared about being kidnapped, but she tried her best to act brave all through. She looked around the hospital room as far as her eyes could carry her, and they landed on her mother by her side. She thought that the nightmare would never end, but she was glad that it did. She saw her mom's body rise and fall gently, and she wanted to try not to wake her up.The kidnappers were not as bad as everyone thought, but then she could not trust them, seeing how badly they dragged her there. She had refused any meal they had given her and only relied on water because she was somehow convinced they could not poison the water.As she tried to take the covers off, her mother stirred and sat up, scanning the entire room. "Elara?" she murmured as she stood up and stood beside her bed. "You are awake," she said, hugging her daughter gently.Clara had been so worried that she had gone out three times in the night to ask why
Micah had somehow convinced his mom to surrender. He had spoken a great deal, but he was not sure what it was that he said that broke her. He was glad that the madness was over. It was not like he wished to be put in jail for the rest of his life, but maybe this was the universe's way of punishing him for never being content.They sat in front of the police officer; no matter the questions that the man threw their way, they did not seem to budge or say anything. "We have nothing to say," Micah finally said after he saw the sour expression on the man. "We did it, and we were just greedy." He could not let his mom take all the fall for the kidnapping. At least they were the ones who turned themselves in, so it shouldn't be as bad as they think it is.The officer looked up at them and nodded before standing up to leave them there. If they were not saying anything and they had confessed to the crime, then it meant that all they had to do was go to court and get this over with.MEANWHILEZ
Clara, Elliot, and Isla rushed to the hospital to see Elara. After Ezra had made a fuss at the hospital and demanded an emergency checkup, he called her family to inform them about what had happened. He told Elliot that he could not go into details over the phone and it would be better for them if they came over at once so they could see Elara.By the time they got there, Elara was still taking some tests, so they had to wait, and during this time, Ezra took the time to explain the situation to them."I am never ever going to allow those evil people to see the outside world till they die," Elliot announced, extremely angry. Nobody there thought that the right thing to do was to calm this man down; they were all so angry that humans would think of doing something as horrible as this to a fellow human and that they would do it so proudly.Clara kept on sobbing, and when she was asked what the issue was, she assured them that all was well and she was just happy that nothing bad had happe
"What?" The man looked genuinely concerned that he had missed an opportunity to make so much money."Micah and Cora, the woman who paid you, have come in and confessed, so you do not have to worry about trying to take a deal to save yourself." The man looked fidgety as he realised that if Cora had come in to confess, then there was really no escape for him anymore. He should not have pretended to be too tough, but he was sure that if he had taken the money, he would have been hunted down, and the money would have been returned to Ezra."I see?" the man said in a singsong voice. "But you are yet to find the woman, aren't you?" The man asked, as even Cora did not know where they had hidden Elara. She told them to do everything at their own discretion, as she did not want to be tied to something as terrible as that."What do you mean?""Cora paid us alright to kidnap her but she had no idea where she is and even worse, my partner and I have a plan that if one of us does not show up after
Ronan and Ezra got to the station and saw the man who had helped with the kidnapping of Elara. The policemen said that the man had refused to speak and that they caught him when he was out buying supplies. They asked that they be allowed to see the man, as they could maybe find a way to force him to confess. The police officers agreed because they knew that it was useless for them to disagree, as they would still find a way to have their way. Ronan and Ezra made a plan, hoping that they could both stick to it and that way get him to say something incriminating."I respect a man who works hard for his money," Ronan said as they sat down. The gruff and big man looked up. Ronan could see the realisation on his face before he cleared his throat and tried to act like he did not recognise the two men in front of him. "I am Ronan Quinn; it's nice to meet you." Ronan took out a card from his card holder and slid it across the table to him.The man looked down at the card without touching it.
"Mom?""Wait, I am thinking of what we can do to escape this; this is good for us. You've been free, and now we can leave if we can just find a way." Micah stood in a corner as he watched his mom pace around the room with her hand stroking her chin. He did not need her to speak for him to know that her mind was going in every direction possible. He bit his lower lip as he thought of how he would dissuade her and convince her to accept her fate."They don't know that we are connected to those men; maybe if the men do not confess..." she trailed off as she knew the possibility of that was very low. She was sure that the wealthy family would do all they could to coax the truth from them. "This is all your fault," Cora stopped and put her eyes on her son.Mixah shuddered at the thought of what had happened; he did not like it at all. How could she try to blame him for decisions she made without him? He was locked up in jail and did not know anything about what she was planning, so how was
Cora knew there was no escape for her now; all she could do was hold onto Elara and act as if she knew nothing. There was no way she could escape, and her entire plan seemed ruined."To what do we owe the pleasure of your coming here?" Cora asked; she was trying her best to act mature, but Ronan and Ezra already saw through the facade."We are here to pick up Elara Quinn; just tell us where she is and we won't make a scene and will be on our way without a word," Ronan said gently. He seemed more composed than Ezra, who was shaking with anger. All Ezra thought of doing was beating up the owner, but he knew that it was wrong to do so, and that would make them find Elara quickly; in fact, it might even make it worse for them."You are making a dangerous claim right now," Micah said, standing up, and you, more than anyone, should know that it is wrong to frame someone for something they have not done."Have not done? You know fully well that your mother is the one behind the kidnapping of
Micah sat in shock after hearing all that the lawyer explained to him; he stared at the man hoping that he would begin to laugh at how gullible he was and that none of that had happened. When the lawyer did not look like he was about to laugh, he hoped that he would be rudely shaken from this dream he seemed to be having and every tug in his life would be back to the time before he lost Elara."Why on earth would you allow her to do that?" Micah asked, picking at each word gently. He wanted to scream and pull out the hair of his lawyer, but he knew that was not going to make anything better; it might even make it worse if he did not take care."She is the only one who can sign off for you, and all the documents had your legal signature and stamp." Micah could understand how she got the stamp, but how could she get the signature? It made no sense except that she forged it. Why did she forge his signature? What was she trying to get by forging it to sell off all they had? Has she done th
"Mr. Micah Swanson, you are free to go," the officer said, unlocking the cell door and opening the gate. Micah stood up from the floor where he had been and walked to the gate. It made no sense because just yesterday Ezra had threatened to make sure he spent the rest of his life behind bars since Elara was still missing and Micah did not say a word about it."To go where?" Micah asked with a frown."To go home""Am I free to go home?""Do you need me to get an interpreter for you?" the officer asked angrily. He hated that Ezra and Ronan had walked in there and asked them to let Micah go without allowing them to do their jobs, but there was no way they could say no to them. It was more of an order than a request, and since both families were involved, the officer would rather keep his job than go head-to-head with them."I just won't understand why you would let me go without an explanation," Micah said, still staying inside the cell. He felt some kind of chill fill his entire body; he