"Why is there so much traffic?" Ronan muttered, looking up. They had been stuck in traffic for almost three hours now. They left the house and were already on their way to the countryside. The road was so blocked that there was no way out and no way in. The driver fidgeted as if he was the one who caused the traffic. Noelle cleared her throat and put her hand in her lap. "It seems like there has been an accident," she said calmly, using the same tone he had used with her. She looked at him in the mirror and watched his eyebrow furrow. Since they had been stuck in traffic, he had tried his best not to act and ask why, but when it was being prolonged, he could not help himself but voice out. "Can you ask the bodyguards in the other car to go out and check if they can help clear the traffic?" he asked. Noelle opened her mouth to protest but still, it would be the best thing for them all if the traffic moved and they were on their way. At this rate, they might have to sleep over in the
"And so? What are you trying to say?" Ronan asked. Noelle knew she was not supposed to begin this discussion since she could lose her job over it but she was already doing it so why shouldn't she do it to the end? "I am sorry, sir but Ms. Prescott is a junkie and her being the next madam of the Quinn family is kind of absurd," Noelle muttered. Her tone was lower than earlier. She knew that Ronab could get angry even though they rarely saw him angry. "What do you mean by absurd?" He cleared his throat and shifted forward as if she was sharing some kind of wisdom and he wanted to learn from it. She swallowed and pushed herself a bit forward as well. She refused to turn to him and kept her eyes on the jam-packed road. "What I mean is that she is a junkie who has been caught many times." "And she always explains the situation to me. She never smoked all this time; it was always bad company." "And the last time?" The driver could no longer take the tension and opened the door. "Where
"Why did you release the news about your wedding, and why did it get taken off so fast?" Janelle asked as he walked into Olivia-Marie's apartment. "I released the news about the wedding by mistake; we are going to wait a bit more," she lied. How could she tell Janelle that Ezra was going to break it off with her because his first love showed up from nowhere and that she was still holding on to him even though she had no dignity left?She was not even sure if she had a chance anymore after knowing that his first love was a Quinn; if she held onto him too long and the Quinn family wanted him, they could take him since they could take what they wanted and they had always gotten it. How could she turn herself into a laughingstock with her after all she had heard them discuss the last time?"I thought you were getting married in three months? If that is the case i dont think its too early to let everyone know," Janelle continued. She was faithful to Olivia-Marie and she was here to help h
Elara did not know what she was doing but she was doing it. She knew that Ezra had a fiancée whom he was with, and she also knew that he was getting married to him but she kept convincing herself that it was just lunch. It was not as if she was sneaking around with him. They used to date but those feelings, especially on her own side, had been tucked away for a long time. When she got a call from Ezra asking for lunch, she thought it would be too cruel to keep turning him down. After all, one lunch did not hurt anybody. She had bought a bunch of clothes with nowhere to wear them to so this was a great opportunity for her after all. "Thank you for meeting me for lunch," Ezra said as they sat down. Elara looked around; it was quite strange to see a restaurant so quiet during lunch hour. "This place is awfully quiet," Elara murmured. "I guess so," he said with a shrug. "Shall we order first?" "Yeah." She took the menu before he could hand it to her and scrolled through it; she could
"Olivia-Marie!" Ezra stood up angrily at her. She did not need to mention that, especially with her friends behind her. They all gasped and looked at Elara. Elara cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably. She knew what Olivia-Marie meant. Saying something like that was so similar to calling her a man snatcher or a cheater and even if it was true, who wants to be called that?" "What? Are you defending her?" She asked, putting a hand on her waist. "Is she your mistress?" she continued. "Olivia-Marie, you are going too far." Ezra held her hand and pressed down her elbow, ready to drag her out with him. He could barely have a moment with Elara. "Am I?" she asked, taking her stand. She was putting her foot down, and there was no way she would allow him to pull her away. She had to humiliate Elara; after all, she knew that he was a taken man. Why was she still lurking around him like a dog around a bone?"Olivia...""Are you trying to destroy my relationship just because you do not
"How dare you speak to me like that?" Olivia-Marie was beyond angry. She thought that Elara must be some dumb girl to have her heart broken and then get humiliated like that. She did not expect her to have a sharp mouth. Ezra's grip on her hand loosened, and she turned to him. He did not care that everyone was watching him as he shamelessly smiled at Elara. It was as if he was proud that she could take care of herself. That in itself pissed her off. She had never seen him smile like that after dating him for so long but Elara muttered a couple of nonsense, and he was already grinning from ear to ear. "I only spoke to you in the same way you spoke to me," Elara said, taking a step out of the frame table to be able to stand in front of her. "What? Is it so difficult to pack up what you dish out?" she continued. "This is my man!" Olivia-Marie continued as she screamed."And who said otherwise?" Elara asked and Ezra's smile faltered. "Who said I was claiming him?" she continued. "Then
"Elara?" She kept walking even though she heard Ezra calling her. Her driver and car were parked in the basement of the restaurant yet she was walking away from it. She just did not want to face him, especially after what she had said there. "I did not mean it, of course, I did not" she said trying her best to convince herself. There was no way she meant what she said. She closed her eyed for a brief moment her legs still going forward as if she knew exactly where she was headed. She shook her head and by the time her eyes flew open, she felt a grip on her hand. She jolted, she knew who it was but she did not turn to face him. Still holding her hand Ezra came to stand in front of her. It was obvious that he had run after her but still, his breathing was steady as if he had just woken up, if she had been the one she would barely be able to stand up straight again. She looked at her and she tried to take a step back but was stopped by his grip on her hand. "Where are you going?" he
Elara took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "I only said that because she kept coming at me. I wanted to walk off triumphantly and that was the only thing that came to mind." "So you are saying you did not mean it?" She nodded before he was done with the question. "I definitely did not mean it," she said and then pressed her lips together again. "Ezra, I don't know what all of this is but I do not want to be caught in all of this mess." "Can you please hear me out?" he asked as she turned to leave. She stopped and waited. She could tell that Olivia-Marie and her friends would be in there plotting how to get back at her. They would be fuming at the fact that he had followed her out. "What is it?" she asked because something within her told her that she might regret it if she walked off without hearing what it was that he had to say. "Can you make it quick?" she added as if she were not going home to lie on the bed all day after this. "First of all, I never considered the relati
Ezra walked into his office; Mary stood up as soon as she saw him walk in. The expression on his face was not something she was familiar with so she knew it was going to take her a while to know how to react."Welcome, Mr. Thatcher," she said, taking up her tablet, ready to follow him. He only told her that he was going out for a quick lunch but had spent a longer time out. The meeting he had with the team leads for the design team had run late and she needed him to get on with it immediately."Don't come in," he said in a lingering voice. She stopped at the edge of the table and watched his back as he entered the office and shut the door. She walked up to it and turned the knob but realised that he had locked it from inside. She could open it if she wanted but she knew he would be into it like that."Mr. Thatcher?" she said, pounding on the door with her fist. "This is important, very important," she added when Ezra did not bother to say anything with her knocking."I do not want to
"You would not believe what happened to me today," Elara said, bursting into her sister's room. There was no way she could keep it to herself. Even if she was not going to say anything about the conversation she had with Ezra outside that left her heart pounding for the entire ride home, she still had to let her sister know about what Olivia-Marie had done while giving her even more reasons why she should not be with Ezra no matter what is being said.Isla looked at her with amusement. It must be something for Elara to burst into the room without acting curtly and respectfully. "Oh well, this has to be good," Isla said, standing from her table, where she had been designing some clothes and coming to sit on the bed. "Did you go out?" Isla asked, seeing how well-dressed she was.Isla was her sister but yet she looked at Elara's body and how all the curves she needed to have were in the right place. She remembered being in the shadow of Elara while they were in high school and how everyo
"Don't you think that is a mean thing to say?" Aria asked. Winter looked down at Janelle and knew she had gone too far; wherever she was, fired up in situations like that, she was one to go too far. It was nothing new to them but still, Janelle's feelings were hurt. One thing with Winter was that no matter how much she knew she was wrong, she never admitted it and never apologised for it.She squeezed her lips together and sat down. Janelle still had her head down. No matter how weird their relationship was, she still feared being kicked so she could not even express her displeasure. It was true after all; she had been a waitress before and it was not a fact she hid from them so she took it in good faith."What is taking them so long?" Winter murmured. The girl had barely been gone for about five minutes yet Winter was eager to get into battle with the girl. The reason they stayed back in the restaurant together was now tossed aside because none of them dared challenge Winter. She wan
"That girl annoys me so much," Winter said, taking deep breaths as they watched Ella walk out of the restaurant.Somehow Janelle wished she could follow her but she did not have the kind of backbone that Ella had. She knew this was a risky plan and understood very well what Ella was trying to say. All of it truly was fishy but she was their lackey and she couldn't have a voice of her own. All she needed to do was do what they wanted and her life was set in stone."We need to humiliate her" was the next thing Janelle heard when her consciousness found its way back to her. Winter had declared it as if she was going to war and all the girls on the table nodded in agreement."I do agree with that but how? How are we going to do that?" They all seemed concerned about how to hurt her. They sat in complete silence, and just then the waitress approached them."Hello, I would like to take your order," she said in a sheepish voice. Janelle looked up and immediately recognised the girl. She used
"This is exactly what I hate about people like you. Just because you feel smart, you think you can give advice like this?" Winter scoffed. Somehow they all knew that every word she said was the truth but they could never accept it. How could they accept it?"What is it that I have said that is wrong?" Ella asked. It makes no sense for a man to just abandon all he had worked for. If he was truly in love with you and wanted to really secure a future with you, then trust me, he would not break it all off just because his first love from some years ago showed up." Ella was glad that her train of thought was not interrupted as she spoke. "I mean...I'm just saying.""If you want to sit there and talk all smartly, then you shouldn't be here. No matter what you think. Olivia-Marie is our friend and we should be helping her out and not generating ideas in our heads. If you know you aren't interested in helping out, then I suggest you keep those opinions to yourself and let us be." Aria's voice
"He broke up with you? Because of her?" Winter asked with a frown on her face. Before Ezra stormed out of the restaurant after Elara, he had turned to Olivia and warned her sternly. "We are no longer together so if you pull a stunt like this, I would be forced to do something you would definitely not like," he said and he walked away. Her friends stood there with a gasp and shocked expressions on their faces. Somehow with Ezra's words, she was able to prove to them all that she was indeed in a relationship with him earlier and that none of what she had done was false. "Elara suddenly showed up and he wants nothing to do with me. She had been his first love and now that she is back he wants to go back to her" she murmured. No matter how any of this went, she had to portray herself as the victim. Elara was the bad b**ch who had come to steal her man."So what you are trying to s..." Yara began but was cut off by Aria. "Let us get this straight: he proposed to you and then broke off t
Elara took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "I only said that because she kept coming at me. I wanted to walk off triumphantly and that was the only thing that came to mind." "So you are saying you did not mean it?" She nodded before he was done with the question. "I definitely did not mean it," she said and then pressed her lips together again. "Ezra, I don't know what all of this is but I do not want to be caught in all of this mess." "Can you please hear me out?" he asked as she turned to leave. She stopped and waited. She could tell that Olivia-Marie and her friends would be in there plotting how to get back at her. They would be fuming at the fact that he had followed her out. "What is it?" she asked because something within her told her that she might regret it if she walked off without hearing what it was that he had to say. "Can you make it quick?" she added as if she were not going home to lie on the bed all day after this. "First of all, I never considered the relati
"Elara?" She kept walking even though she heard Ezra calling her. Her driver and car were parked in the basement of the restaurant yet she was walking away from it. She just did not want to face him, especially after what she had said there. "I did not mean it, of course, I did not" she said trying her best to convince herself. There was no way she meant what she said. She closed her eyed for a brief moment her legs still going forward as if she knew exactly where she was headed. She shook her head and by the time her eyes flew open, she felt a grip on her hand. She jolted, she knew who it was but she did not turn to face him. Still holding her hand Ezra came to stand in front of her. It was obvious that he had run after her but still, his breathing was steady as if he had just woken up, if she had been the one she would barely be able to stand up straight again. She looked at her and she tried to take a step back but was stopped by his grip on her hand. "Where are you going?" he
"How dare you speak to me like that?" Olivia-Marie was beyond angry. She thought that Elara must be some dumb girl to have her heart broken and then get humiliated like that. She did not expect her to have a sharp mouth. Ezra's grip on her hand loosened, and she turned to him. He did not care that everyone was watching him as he shamelessly smiled at Elara. It was as if he was proud that she could take care of herself. That in itself pissed her off. She had never seen him smile like that after dating him for so long but Elara muttered a couple of nonsense, and he was already grinning from ear to ear. "I only spoke to you in the same way you spoke to me," Elara said, taking a step out of the frame table to be able to stand in front of her. "What? Is it so difficult to pack up what you dish out?" she continued. "This is my man!" Olivia-Marie continued as she screamed."And who said otherwise?" Elara asked and Ezra's smile faltered. "Who said I was claiming him?" she continued. "Then