"Oh, my good lord!" Sarah exclaimed as she saw a figure sitting on the couch with the lights off. She went to switch them on. "You acred the crap out of me," she murmured when she noticed it was her daughter. She looked at the wall clock and noticed that it was a few minutes past six am. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked, not even bothering to give her a glance. Her daughter came back late at night and usually slept through the entire day, but seeing her awake by this time must mean that she had probably just gotten in. "Or did you just get in?" she followed up. Zara sat there frozen, just staring at the moving pictures on the television. She had gotten in pretty late that night and sat there thinking about what had happened earlier in the morning. She could not bring herself to think of the consequences of what was going to happen. Even though she had acted all smug with Elara, she still felt fear grip her so badly. "Are you not going to respond to your mother?" Sarah ask
"How am I supposed to face Mr. Quinn tomorrow?" "You would face him like you usually do," Sarah said. "You speak as if this is not a big deal." "It might be a big deal but don't you think you are old enough to face the consequences of the actions you take?" "Actions I take? Consequences? I did not take any actions that would make me lose my job like this." Zara sat there watching her parents go back and forth. She wondered why her father was reacting the way he did. Her mother, who had been against her, was handling the situation better than her father, who had encouraged her. "Dad, don't you think you are being too cruel?" She muttered and he turned to face him. "Once you thought all of this was a good idea. You were happy that you would eventually have to stop working and live a comfortable life; why are you now so afraid of losing your job?""When did I mention all of this to you?" He scoffed as if he had not been edging her to go on. "Dad?" she exclaimed at how he was trying
"Do you care to explain this to me?" "Don't worry, Dad, I have taken care of it," Ezra said. "You have taken care of it and still there is some kind of gossip about it all around?" "It is just some people talking about it and soon it would die down. I have taken it down from the media; everything is going to be okay." Jacob took a deep breath and turned to his son, "Are you going to really marry this girl?" "I thought you didn't care who I married?" Ezra shot back. "Why on earth would I not care? Arent you my son?" "Other fathers in your category set their sons up with other rich ladies but you just left me to myself." "Is that the reason you decided to rebel?" Jacob asked, surprised by his son. Ezra had always been a good kid, and he never had difficulty with him. His name never appeared for bad in the media and this was the first time it did so Jacob did not know how to react. When Olivia-Marie had forcefully come to introduce herself to him, he knew that she was bad news a
"What does she want to say?" Coraasked as she sat down inside her son's living room. Micah had called her and told her that Zara called them both to tell them something important. "Mom, if I knew what it was, then I would not be sitting here with you; let us just wait for her and I am sure she would be here soon." The words left his mouth and were followed by the bell. "See, she is here, and now we can know the reason why she called us." He stood up and walked to the door. Her smile greeted him and he pulled her into a hug. He placed a kiss on her head and she pulled away. Micah studied her face and tried to know who was more beautiful between Elara and Zara. Zara always seemed to be in a lot of makeup but Elara was still able to pull off a natural look at all times. "How are you?" he asked as she created distance between them. "I could never be better; our wedding is in three days and I have good news," she beamed. "Good news?" Micah asked as he wondered what kind of wedding gif
"I am pregnant." Cara looked from Micah to Zara and then jumped up, squealing. "This is good news, fantastic news. Oh my goodness," she held Zara's hand and pulled her up as she hugged her with all of the might she had; having a baby was the best thing to happen to her. Micah sat there stunned; of all he had expected to hear, he did not think that this was what she would say but then something inside of him clicked as he sat there. If Zara was the daughter of the Quinn family and she was getting married before her brother and also having a child before him, then their child was going to be the first grandchild of the Quinn family, meaning that they could be producing an heir. "Micah, aren't you happy?" Cora's voice lured him back into reality. "I am so happy that I do not know how to react," he muttered, still seated in place with disbelief in his mind His mind was spinning as he thought about it. Was this possible? They had been so careful about everything they had done so how wa
Zara looked up at the ceiling with the covers on her body; she turned to him and put her hand over his chest as she traced her name on it. "Why don't you get my name tattooed right here?" she asked in a teasing tone."If I could, I would have gotten it tattooed everywhere," he replied in a serious tone."I think that would turn me on," she said with a wink. She bent down and kissed his face multiple times. "I have to go now," she said and he groaned sadly. "I know right, it is so sad that I have to leave like this every time," she said, standing up, allowing the covers to flow to her waist, leaving her upper part exposed. "I mean, if you wanted to go, then you should have gone without trying to tempt me again," he said, holding her waist and using his tongue to draw up her body. "Coem on Micah, in a few days we would be together forever," she said, holding his head and pulling it away. "But for now, I have to still act like a good child to my parents; otherwise, I might be kicked o
"Sir, I have something important from the PR department to report." Elliot looked up and motioned to his assistant Jack to get on with the reporting. "I just heard from the PR department that a lot of media bodies and journalists are calling to confirm the wedding of your daughter to one Mr. Micah Swanson.""Oh really?" Elliot's head came up again in amazement. "Can you give me a moment?" he asked and Jack stepped out, leaving him alone. He took up his phone and called his wife. Could this be her doing? Was she so desperate to humiliate the girl because she stole from her daughter? Clara had commented on how she did not like the way he reacted to their daughter's grief but he thought that all was well since she was okay. It could have been worse and she escaped a man who only gravitated towards material things. She would want a man who loved her and she was not going to get that in Mr. Swanson. "Clara" "Elliot," the relationship between them was now just a few words. Clara was conv
"Ms Richards?" Ronan said it in a low voice but loud enough for Noelle to hear. She tried to match her step with his and walked by his side. He had always told her to walk behind him at all times but she was barely able to keep up because he walked fast, always as if he were in a hurry to go somewhere. She was to stay behind him and then walk towards him when he beckoned on her. She tried her best to make sure they were walking in sync but it was too hard for her. Luckily, he slowed down almost as if he had heard her silent plea. He suddenly stopped and turned to her. The two bodyguards following them stopped making sure to give enough distance for them to speak privately but still close enough for them to jump into action. "Are you walking as I suggested?" he asked and she gulped the knot in her throat. "Are you?" he asked when she left him with silence."No, sir," she said, ashamed of herself. When he first gave her this job earlier in the year, he had told her that he walked fas
Noelle had successfully avoided Felix all week and she owed it to how much Ronan gave her. Not to mention he dropped her off at home every day because he was worried and no matter how much she said not to, he was not listening to her. He stopped coming in with a driver and would drive across town just to drop her off before heading home himself.She had stayed in all Saturday but she had to get to the store to pick up a few groceries and necessities for herself and the house. She was afraid that Felix was lurking somewhere outside and that she would not be able to avoid him. She did not know what he wanted but she was sure that it was money.After a few hours of mental preparation and encouragement, she decided that she had to go. She felt a strange feeling, as if she had to call Ronan to continue to be her bodyguard, as he had been doing. As she walked down the street, she could feel him following her, but she tried not to look back. The streets were barely filled with people; she kn
Elara rolled over in bed. It was evening, and her sister had come in a few minutes ago to call her for dinner, but Elara said she was going to get fruits instead. Her phone vibrated, and she took it off the nightstand. She had tried her best all day to stay away from her phone in case Ezra tried to reach out. Occasionally, she had checked the phone, and even though she had asked him to stay away, she could not believe he listened so well. She had asked herself countless times how much her words might have hurt him She was the one who spoke harshly, yet her heart was heavy."Should I bring up the fruits?" Isla asked. Her mother had told her not to ask any questions, so she decided to listen. Since it was quite strange for her to lay in bed all day. She knew that Elara would tell her what was wrong as soon as she came around."I have to move at least," Elara replied, and her sister understood what she meant by that. She was going to walk downstairs later by herself to get the fruits.It
"Micah? Are you going to let your mom speak to me like that?" Zara called as she followed him out. Micah rolled his eyes; he thought he was going to get a moment of peace away from them but it seemed like both women were determined to frustrate the life out of him."What do you want me to do?" Micah asked, stopping and turning to her. She stopped a few meters from him and crossed her hand over her chest."Are you asking me that? If I were Elara, would you let your mom speak to me that way?""Why on earth would you bring her up?" Each time Micah heard her name, he remembered how foolish he was. If he was patient enough, he would have been as rich as he wanted to be. He believed that Elara was head over heels in love with him and she would have taken him along to meet her parents when he went."Why wouldn't I bring her up? Wasn't it somebody like her you wanted to marry? Your mother is trying her best to constantly shame me for marrying up when that was your intention the entire time. I
"Micah," Cora called as they sat on the table eating breakfast. Zara thought that confirming she was pregnant would make her mother-in-law treat her better but Cora did not care about the child; she had repeatedly told her to her face that she did not care about the baby she was growing and that if she could, she would try her best to get her out of the house in a heartbeat."Mom, it's too early in the morning to start. Today is the only day where I can take a break and I don't think you are allowed to ruin that for me.""Ruin it for you?" Cora scoffed. She hated that her son made her sound like a devil that was on a mission to kill. She opened her mouth to counter whatever it was that her son thought when Zara strolled into the kitchen.She looked from Micah to Cora as she walked to the refrigerator. "Cora, I have told you time and time again that I hate the smell of fish; it is not good for the baby," she said as she squeezed up her nose."And I have told you that the doctors told m
The days of the week passed in a blur. Elara was unable to point to something she had done each day, but by the time the weekend was there, she was glad that she did not come from a family of workaholics who liked to work all the time. On Saturday morning, she lay in bed without plans to get out early.After all, she did not have any plans for the rest of the day. Her mother popped her head into her room out of concern. She was worried that the job was too much for her and that she might need to tune it down. Elara had yet to tell her family that things were not going to work out between herself and Ezra because she had not found the right time; it was either too early in the morning or too late at night. She wondered if now was the right time to go at it with her mom."El? Are you okay?" Clara asked as she walked into the room and sat on the bed.Elara turned to face her but was still lying with the covers up to her neck. "I am; I just had a really long week," she said in a tired voi
Ezra stood in place for a long time; he could not believe this had happened to him again. Strangely, that night was nothing like that day eight years ago but it felt the same. The air as she walked away from him and for what reasons? For reasons he thought he could control.Things would still be going smoothly with them if Olivia-Marie did not show up that night. Maybe he would have gotten her to accept her feelings for him, the one he believed she had hidden and neatly tucked away somewhere. He was finally able to pick himself up and go to the room. It was only when he had changed out of his clothes and said on the bed did he realize he had not put away all of the ingredients he had bought to use.The grief in his heart seemed too much for his body to handle so he was not sure if he would have been able to make it successfully downstairs. He tossed and turned all night, unable to find a moment to slip into sleep. He did not know how or when but his heart began to ache as he thought
Ezra managed to get Olivia-Marie to leave and Elara did not know what he did to do so. She seemed so adamant at first that she thought this was over."I am sorry about..." He stopped abruptly when she turned suddenly in the direction of his voice. He has sent her in and then got Olivia-Marie to leave before he joined her in.She pressed her lips and pushed them to one side of her face. "You want to say something about this and I feel like I would not like it," he said as he saw her expression.He knew it all took well; it was one he was oddly familiar with. "You know me all too well, even after all this time." "Well, you haven't changed a bit; you only grew." She did not know if it was supposed to be a compliment but she pushed that aside."Your silence is killing," he uttered after a while. He has kept quiet, hoping that she would spill whatever was bothering her. He knew this would be about Olivia-Marie."Do you think we are doing the right thing?" She asked, taking a deep breath.
Before Elara could process what was happening, Olivia-Marie held her by the neck and was strangling her while shaking her back and forth. Ezra rushed to them, but no matter how much he tried, he could not seem to pull them away from each other. Elara could somewhat understand the grief that Olivia-Marie was going through, so she allowed the girl to do whatever she wanted to do with her. "You did this; this is all your fault," Olivia-Marie kept chanting as she shook her. After a long while of shaking, her grip finally lessened, and she fell to the ground with her legs beneath her as she wept heavily. "Why did you come back and ruin my life? Why did you think all of this was okay? My life would not be the way it is if you had just..." She muttered as she trailed off. Elara could not help but see the truth in her words. After all, Ezra has only wavered after she mysteriously showed up all those years. Would things have been different if she did not return like this or if she had retu
"So where are we going?" Elara asked as soon as Ezra got back into the car. She did not want them to settle into any uncomfortable silence between them. She liked the gesture of him showing up at her office and taking her out, but she did not know if they should be doing things like that. Their image was still actively being painted black by his ex-fiancee; the only reason it was not so much of a big deal was because both families seemed to be blocking all of the news before it got out. "Let me first off offer my congratulations to you," he replied, glancing at her and then back at the path he was taking. "I was going to tell you, but I could not find the right time," she confessed as if she had done something wrong. She did not know why, but it felt that way to her. "I am not mad," he said, knowing that was what she was trying to imply. "I was going to bring it up the other night, but I just did not find the right time to do so." "You have to believe me when I say I am not angry