"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
"Ezra, what on earth is going on? Why did I just get a ransom call? I thought you were on a date with Elara; now I am hearing that if I want her alive, I must do as they ask," Elliot said over the phone.Ezra stopped in his tracks as he allowed silence that was loud enough to deafen to fill his soul. His worst fears had been confirmed. He was on his way to see the CCTV footage when Elliot's call came in. He did not want to deliver bad news but he knew that it would be unwise for him to keep them in the dark about the situation. Hearing that there was a ransom call-out, then it was sure that she had been kidnapped."What happened?" Elliot's voice broke him out of the trance he seemed to be in."We were watching a movie and she said that she had to use the restroom. It seemed weird that she had been gone a long time so I went to check on her but she was nowhere to be found and I was on my way to check the footage from tonight in the control room when you called," Ezra explained."Who co
"You look beautiful as always," Ezra said as they sat in the car. He had picked her up after work, and they were going on a date. Since both parents knew about the situation between them, they decided to date as freely as they could. Just as Elara had predicted, Jacob had asked them when they intended to get married and proceeded to show Ezra the pictures of the mansion he was going to gift them as a wedding gift. Relanda had been so joyful that she said that she was going to start the wedding preparations as soon as she could and that all they had to do was tell her their preferences, and she wouldn't fail to get the best for everything they wanted. They had found a way around it and assured them both that they would do it by the right time. Jacob had not been too impressed by their answers, but he had no choice but to let them be."You always say that," Elara said with a smile. She tilted her head and laughed. "But I like it," she added with a shy smile as she tried to avoid his eye
Micah hated that he had to spend time sitting in the prison cell without anyone attending to him. It was like the Quinn family had totally forgotten about him at this point. Anytime he asked the officer, they all responded as if they were uninterested in his case. He did not know if it made sense for them to do this to him in any sense."You have a visitor." One of the policemen tapped on the metal bar of his cell. He looked up and pointed to himself, and the man's expression was all the answer he needed."Who is it?" he asked as he stood up from the hard concrete floor and walked to the gate of the cell where the officer was waiting."You'll see" was all the man said, opening the door and letting him out. He held his hand in case he had the crazy thought of running away and led him to a room where he would meet his visitor. As if on cue, as his door opened to let him in, the one on the right opened as well, and his mother came in. His mother, too, had somewhat abandoned him, as she h
Zara received a notice from the court that since both parties signed the divorce papers without any issues, it would all be resolved without them having to go back and forth to the courthouse. She had mixed feelings about the entire situation. While all she tried to do was marry Micah because she fell for him, she knew that her methods were wrong but still hated how easily he signed. What did she expect, though? His mother must have convinced him to sign.The knock on her door dragged her back to reality. She gently looked up at the door, knowing it was probably her mom on the other side. Since she signed the papers and moved back to her mom's house, she had been stressing about every little thing. She had told her that her constant moping and crying around was not going to do the baby good. She sat staring at the door until another knock jolted her back."Zara, are you in there? Are you awake?" Sarah's voice came through. Zara sat up straight and cleared her throat. She looked down a
"I am only wondering how you and Isla met," Elliot said as they sat down to drink. Clara had instructed the staff to bring out a bottle of wine for them to share. It had been quiet with each person sipping on their wine before Elliot broke it off. Marcus had been expecting the question so he was not surprised."We met during the party last time; she needed help with something and now that I think about it, she never told me what it was that she needed help with." Marcus trailed off as he looked at Isla, maybe wanting an explanation. Her response was a quick shrug as he sipped from the wine in hand."Oh, I see but I wonder what took her so long to introduce you to us," Clara chimed in. "I don't mean this. in the wrong way so don't take my words too wrongly but Isla can barely sit in one place for things like this," she said.Isla choked out as she began to realise that this was a wrong idea; she should not have invited him over, as her parents might do all they could to try and embarra
They all sat down to dinner; Isla seemed tense as her guest was yet to arrive. Elara was able to put two and two together to know who was coming. After the party, she and Isla spoke, and she could not deter her sister after she had confessed to falling for him. The truth was that it was possible to fall for someone at first sight, but she knew her sister was wise enough to make sure that she knew him well enough before they committed. When she had not heard an update as regards the matter, she had asked Isla, but the response did not seem encouraging, so she let it go; after all, Isla did not seem like she wanted to talk about it either."The guest is here," a staff member announced and Marcus came from behind the young girl. She bowed her head and walked off. Marcus stepped forward and Isla stood up. She searched her family's face to see the confusion written all over it; it was as if they were asking her what was going on."Come sit," Isla gestured to the open space opposite her and
"Elliot," Clara said as she rushed into the room they shared. "Elliot!" she screamed, entering the closet and stopping when he was nowhere to be found. He had just gotten home from work, and she received the news from a staff member. She had been waiting on him since she got information from Isla that she was having a guest. She was out in the garden, relaxing, trying to relax because her mind kept spinning as she thought of who her daughter could be bringing home. She had to admit that having three grown children and trying to keep in tune with them was quite taxing."Elliot," she said with a frown as she approached the bathroom; the door opened before she could reach for the handle, and Elliot stood between her and the door so she could neither see inside nor go in. "What are you doing here?" she asked, and he shook his head."Nothing? Then why...?" She trailed off as she realised he was intentionally trying to block her view. She frowned and tugged on his hand. "Why are you blockin
Isla did not think she would have to wait about a month after the party to hear back from Marcus. She did not want to reach out first; all she knew was he was the one who thought she was worth talking to first. She hated that her mind kept on going to him all day, but he was nowhere to be found. She leapt to pay attention to every news surrounding Old Mrs. Smith, and in each picture or video, she tried to see if he was in them, and he appeared missing. Sometimes she was angry that he had come to shake things up when she was dealing so perfectly with herself, and other times she was worried that something might have happened to him and no one was aware. Mrs. Smith had not announced him as her successor yet or even as her child, so if anything happened to him, no one would probably know."Why am I spending my day thinking about a man who did not care enough to reach out to me?" She asked herself with annoyance as she lay on the bed. She let out a deep breath and looked around before lan
TEN DAYS LATERChole is out for dinner with her friends. They dragged her out after hearing what had happened very recently to her and how sad everything turned out to be in the end. They kept on blaming her for losing Ronan after he had chosen her over the crowd of people around. Chole knew it was her fault, but she did not need a herd of people to tell her what she already knew. However, even though their accusations against her were a bit too much, she found the space to be relieving. She at least had people surrounding her. Her mood also improved slightly, especially when they spoke about other things.She had spent almost two weeks coupled up in her room; she only thought about how she was too proud to go back to Ephriam and how her father would try to disown her if she did and how Ronan had completely disregarded him. Her father's plan to humiliate him and Noelle had completely failed without a second thought. After a few days of gossip, everything was restored, and everyone was