"You stand there and watch her disrespect me so much?" Cora turned to her son as soon as she was sure that Zara was nowhere close again."What do you want me to do? To be fair, you started it.""I started it?" Cora scoffed as she searched the entire house as if there was an audience who was going to judge between them. "You were right here when she referred to me as the amid? She made it seem as if I came in here to make meals for the both of you. As if you hired me because you wanted to spend your honeymoon days together."As soon as Micah heard the word honeymoon, he felt as though he had to go after Zara and just do something to her. He was so angry and he knew that he did not want to spend a single time with her so he cancelled the honeymoon plans she made him book. It cost him money for cancelling so close to the date but at least he was able to get some money back."Mom, can we please just eat? I do not have the energy to do this."Of course you don't." Cora turned to the table
"I can't believe you are bringing me out here to shop again after we shopped just about three weeks ago." Isla had dragged Elara out of the house mainly because she was supposed to have a date with Ezra even though she kept stalling. Her father had told her that she could decide not to go because the ball was in her court but he still thought she had to go.When she asked him if it would hurt the business, he told her that even if she refused to go, the business would still be in the best shape. He was only doing this because a friend asked him for help and he just wanted to help the lonely man."You have a date and I heard they have new arrivals so I thought we would check it out together.""People are staring," Elara murmured, clutching her sister's hand. "Why are they..." she trailed off as she realised the reason why."I see you are not used to this sudden fame.""And you seem so used to it, almost as if you have been preparing for this your entire life," Elara replied, catching h
Isla stood up immediately; she knew her instincts to protect kicked in instantly. "Are you okay?" she whispered by her sister's side."I am good," Elara replied with a nod. She believed that as long as she ignored Olivia-Marie and all of her cohorts, they would leave her alone. This was not high school, where one would bully just because they wanted to or because they would regard themselves as the happening girls. Elara turned to her sister and they both kept inspecting the dress; Isla did not need to be told that there was no need to get into a conversation with them. She would even think that they were not worth it one bit."Are you seriously going to ignore us?" Winter? asked. She was glad they had met with Elara there; after the incident at the restaurant and after the manager had kicked them out, they did not discuss any plans on what to do with Elara and Winter was glad they did not because it meant that they could do whatever they wanted to her."She is acting higher than us a
"You know he was not single until you appeared around him," she replied, raising her voice so that it cracked. Isla came closer with the instinct to fight if need be. Elara was not going to allow them to try to manipulate her into fighting so she took a step back."I am stepping away not because I cannot fight back but because I do not want to be on the news," Elara mentioned as she moved back.Winter frowned; she did not expect her to be that levelheaded. The expectation was that after the slap she would get so angry that she would want to fight them and if they could spin the story in such a way that it would make them look like the victims, then the better for them."I thought you were bold enough to say all you wanted to? Why are you running away now?" Winter? asked. The other girls she was with had yet to register what was going on. It was upon seeing Elara that they discovered that they had not come up with a plan and instead of doing something about it, Winter dived in first."
"You know she is lying, don't you?" Isla asked as soon as they were left alone. Isla wanted to get rid of the girls so much that she refused to say anything until they had all left."Well, that is fifty-fifty now, isn't it?""Huh?!""Olivia-Marie and Ezra used to date for real so there is a fifty percent chance that a baby is growing in there already," Elara explained."I don't care for all that bullcrap; I stand by my word and I say that she is in no way pregnant and you are still going on that date whether you like it or not," Isla said. She knew that her sister had fallen for the fake pregnancy announcement and so she was most likely going to call off the date that both parties had come together to make happen."How can I go?" Elara asked. She wanted to go and let Ezra know, then maybe he would focus on making a family with her."You already scheduled the date before you got to find out about the pregnancy and if you tell Ezra about it, he can find out if it is real before they get
Zara sat in the car, her eyes firmly glued on the road ahead. She knew what the doctors were going to say and she knew Micah would not like it. She saw genuine happiness in his eyes when she told him about the baby.She could tell that he had gotten married to her because of money but in reality, he must want a child of his own. He must be the one with the problem after all; she had tried all she could to make sure that she got pregnant yet he could not do it. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Micah knew that she was not pregnant because she was not that subtle at disposing of the test strips. "Anything like?" She asked, rubbing her palm on her lap and flashing him a fake smile. "Anything at all about this marriage or your pregnancy?" he replied with his voice raspy as he spoke. "There is nothing to say," Zara replied and then looked out the window by her side."When we step into that hospital, do you know that I would find out officially that you are not pregnant and ye
Micah suddenly swerved to the side of the road, barely avoiding a collision with the car from behind. He parked the car by the side and turned to her.She sat with her eyes wide open as she clutched the seat belt as if her life depended on it. "Are you looking to kill me?" Her voice was slow and steady but anyone could hear the feral hidden in it."Of course not; at the moment I made a decision and maybe it was not the best decision but I made it because I wanted to," he said. She could tell he was trying to hint at something but she could not get it.She took off the seat belt and turned till her back was at the door. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I am trying but I just don't get it." "In that bar that night, you decided at the moment to do something that could ruin my life and you did not bother to look back," he replied.She blinked as his words stung but she was shocked this was the first time he was bringing it up. He opened his mouth and she braced herself
"You talk as if you know a lot of things but I am sure you are saying these things so I give up but I would never give up on getting back with her," Micah replied."Oh please, you think her family is sitting on their hands?" she asked and he stared at her with a straight face. "What do you mean?" "I am sure that by now they are already looking for a better fit for her. I mean, she was not really affected by the rumours but still, they can't sit on their hands and allow her to get ruined by you. I am sure they are working on a plan." "She must still love me. I am sure that was why she made such an effort to be at the wedding." Zara threw her head back and laughed so loudly that he was irritated by it. "You look smart but you are kind of dumb." Her words pierced through him and he opened his mouth to speak but she raised her hand to him since she was not yet done with her words. "You want to be rich and be amongst them so desperately yet you have no idea what they are and why they
Elara stared at her phone; she could not understand why Ezra had not responded. She did not want to make a big deal out of it but she had thought that with the way he was after her, he would have responded immediately. She glanced at the clock and then murmured to herself. "Elara, you are overthinking this." Somehow she could not help herself; she was even shocked that after the heartbreak she had been through just recently, she had thought of the possibility of getting into another one. Was she trying to rebound? She could not help but overthink; had she been too easy? Did she allow him to talk her into it? Was he now thinking it through? She sat on her bed and put her phone on the nightstand. Lying in the bed, she pulled the covers over her body. She had to force herself to sleep even though she knew that her mind would be raging with all kinds of thoughts; she would wish that he would end something for her even if it were some gibberish that made no sense. She lay in bed for a w
"I came here because I can't give up on you," she said. She had drunk the water he put by the bed and felt a bit better. She had been drinking every night since they met Elara at the store because she had no idea what to do. She was the master of scheming and still nothing made sense to her; she had no idea what to do."Even after I have told you countless times that we can't be together?" he asked. He could not understand how she was so hung up on her. "Ezra, you know that I cut off all ties with my family and moved out here with you." "I told you not to do any of that but you insisted. Every decision in this relationship has been taken solely by you" he interjected. He did not want to hear her make it seem as if he asked her to move out there with him and promised her a life only to then change his mind in the end. "But Ezra..." "Olivia-Marie, I gave in to everything you asked of me before now because I thought there was no chance for me but now that I know that there is a way f
Ezra struggled to get her inside and to bed because she kept acting up. She kept on speaking about wanting to get back together. Ezra knew it was impossible but with her state, how could he tell her that he had just gotten back from a date with Elara and she did not stand a chance? If she slept over there, he would tell her in the morning, and maybe they would find a way to end things in the right way and both be out of each other's hair.As soon as he stepped out of the room that he prepared for her, he met his father by the door. "Why did you bring her in here?" he asked without waiting for any pleasantries."She was drunk outside all by herself; I did not want to give her the wrong idea by driving her home," Ezra replied."Mr. Nice Guy, why would you need to drive her home?" Jacob asked, causing Ezra to stare at him in confusion. Was his father suggesting that he leave her out in the open? That would have been too wrong of him to do."Should I have let her out there?""What about c
"I had the best time today," Elara said as they stood before her car door. The driver had hurried down to help her with the door but Ezra had waved him down before he could get to them and the man understood it immediately. He stopped in his tracks and got back in the car."So you are saying that you are glad you came out this evening?" he asked and she smiled, knowing what he was trying to say. \"Thank you, Ezra." She turned to the car and tried to pull it open but his hands hovered over hers and without as much contact as necessary, she felt herself catch a breath. Her hand fell from the handle to her side as she tried to steady her breathing with her hand clutching onto itself by its side. He pulled the door open, very aware of what he had done while choosing to act as if nothing had happened.She mustered together all of the courage she had left and slid into the car quickly. She turned to him and smiled at him while murmuring a light thank you. "Thank you too," he said and then
Elara opened her eyes and she felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her. "What are you doing?" he asked again. She could hear the teasing in his voice but she did not know how she was to get herself out of this. She knew that it was all still too weird for her; she had to find a way to get comfortable around him again if they were going to do something like this. "I guess something got into my eyes," she murmured, pretending to close her eyes and rub them gently. That had to be her story; she couldn't tell him that when he leaned into her she thought he was going to kiss her and that was the reason she had her eyes closed. "Do you want me to help you?" he asked and she shook her head. "I got this." "Well, I thought that you reacted that way because I leaned in," he said and she wished he would let it go. "Of course not, I got something in my eyes." That was her story and she was sticking to it to the end, no matter what. "Well, I mean, it would be a bit awkward for you if you t
Ezra sat in front of Elara with a smile breaking from the corners of his lips; he held down his lips and wanted to scream yes to her but her finger went up in his face. "I am not saying that we are going to date; I am just saying that we should take it slow and easy and see where this goes," she said again to clarify. She would hate that he got the wrong idea.After the words had left her mouth, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Olivia-Marie and her friends had made it clear to her that they were not going to give up on Ezra and she knew what mean girls like that meant when they said things like that. She did not want to be caught in the crossfire and still at the same time, she felt like she would be at a loss if she let him go.After eight years, she wondered what her heart would bring; she wondered if she really was able to tuck away the feelings she felt or if this was her way to get over Micah. Her mind was running rampant with questions but she pushed them all to th
"WHAT?!" Elara could not help but exclaim in shock. She could not believe that Isla had been right about the situation. She had been so sure that the woman was not pregnant and that her friend had said it to buy them time. Maybe they did not think that she would be meeting Ezra soon and that she might be asking him about it."She is infertile and can never get pregnant; if she is pregnant, then it is a miracle and it is definitely not mine," he said. From his expression, she could tell that he was being serious."Are you saying that...""I am saying that we have not had sex in a year.""You date but..." She did not know if they were supposed to be having this conversation and even more the reason she was upset to hear that before now they used to have sex. She cleared her throat and gently rubbed her throat. "I mean, I did not deserve to know all of the details.""You asked so I thought you wanted to know," he said and then shrugged."I wanted to know but not all of the details," she
DAY OF THE DATE BETWEEN EZRA AND ELARAElara was nervous; if she was being honest, she had not been on a date in a long time and it was weird for her. It felt like a time for her to reject him officially. He wanted a date to the extent that he had to involve their parents and since that was what he wanted, she gave it to him but now she was going to make sure it ended there."Thank you for coming out tonight," he said as they sat down. He had gotten to the restaurant earlier and waited for her outside so they could go in together. She did not like the idea but the restaurant he chose was not crowded so she did not express her displeasure out loud."Well, you basically forced me out so you are welcome.""I forced you out? When did I do that?""You sent your dad to my dad and voila, we are sitting here on a date when you have a fiancée." She watched the expression on his face harden and release immediately. She did not know how the evening was going to go but she knew that she had to te
"My father found out" Chole said pacing the floor of the hotel room. They always met in a hotel room, Ephiram assured her that was the best place to meet, as they would never get caught by anybody. As soon as he noticed her father leaving the house she called up Ephriam and asked that they meet. They had just left each other but they were back to each other gain."I think that is the best news I have heard all day" Ephriam beamed with joy."What?" Chole asked confused. "This is not supposed to go like this" she replied with a frown on her face."How is this supposed to go?"Ephriam asked as he shifted in the chair. "We are getting married aren't we?""Yes, of course we are," she said in a hurry because she did not want him to overthink it."Then what is the big deal of him finding out?""That is because I am sure he has gone to confront your dad and now your dad would know too.""I was planning on introducing him to you this week; remember the date I asked you to go with me? There is a