Naomi West ****** I arrive at the cafe in my neighbourhood after receiving Myra’s text. It’s been a while since we got together and chatted like old times, so we decided to make up for it today. I was the one to approach her, of course. With Ben being with her kids and husband at home and Denzel being out of state, I guessed it’d help kill my boredom. He left a day ago and I’m already out of ways to indulge myself without getting bored. It’s one of my flaws. I get fed up quite easily. Of course, with a bit of determination, I could stay at my apartment and write the next chapter of my novel. Yet here I am, leisurely scrolling through the reels on Instagram—laughing at silly cat videos and relating to the miserable life of a full-time author and sometimes googling the meaning of random words. “You’re early.” I lift my view from the phone screen and stare at my high school friend. Yes, Myra and I’ve been friends since high school. She’s the only one I’ve been in contact with eve
“Please tell me you’re not wearing that.” Myra claps her palms in front of her, keeping them glued together and silently praying. I shoot her an annoyed look. “You’ve long past the privilege of playing the judge. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even have to put up with this.” I do a twirl in front of the mirror. Honestly, I have put more effort on my dressing while dropping off Ben to kindergarten than today. I’m wearing mom jeans and a dark green turtleneck top with sneakers. Still it’s not as ugly as I wanted it to be. “It’s not bad, but it’s too casual for a date. Why can’t you wear the red halter dress I gifted you on your last birthday?” I spin around on my shoes, giving her another smug look. “Is that another advice I hear?” She pouts, puffing her lips out like a pufferfish. “I’m already offering to babysit Ben despite my tight schedule, just so you can have fun without worrying.” “Oh, Myra, I’m so grateful to you. How would i possibly spend a day without your undying de
Denzel Flynn ****** My blood boils at the sight of her happily chatting away with another man. It isn’t her shy smile that bothers me though, it’s the way I catch that man undressing her with his gaze. Little rose doesn’t understand his stare and mistakes it for an innocent glance. That man is anything but naïve. The two of them turn to look at me at the sound of my footsteps. Little rose seizes me up from head to toe, worry shining in her eyes. All the joy and relaxation on her face from earlier vanishes into thin air whilst the man slyly expresses his displeasure at the sight of me, grimacing. Without delay, I take little rose’s hand and lift her off her seat, dragging her behind me. A moment later, my grip lightens on her wrist when I faintly see a red imprint of my fingers on her pale skin. Without saying a word, I shove her in my car and lock the door. Getting into the driver’s seat, I let my fury take over and drive like a maniac. “What was that about?” She asks with fury.
Little rose’s eyes widen in utter shock and fear. Those were probably the last words she ever wished to hear from me, especially when she went to obnoxious extents to hide Ben’s true identity.Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, and she finds herself at a loss for accurate words.“Mommy!” Ben runs from his room, rubbing his sleepy eyes and barges into little rose, hugging her like a panda.Little rose doesn’t hesitate to turn away and pay her undivided attention to the little demon. “I’m hungry.” He whines. Naomi smiles gently at her son and caresses his head before heading to the kitchen, ignoring my eyes on her all the way.When his mother is out of the earshot, Ben grips my wrist and drags me to the living room couch. He sits us down and checks toward the kitchen once again to satisfy his suspicion.“You got her back!” He whispers excitedly with a merry glint in his eyes. They look so much like little rose even when he has my colour.“I did.” I nod, responding in the similar hush
Naomi West******As we park outside the gigantic building, I second guess my options. It’s been a long time and no one apart from Jacob knows of my existence.Why does it still feel like I’m invading his private space?“Text him. If he’s had breakfast, we won’t go see him.”Ben looks a little demotivated but does as he’s told and texts Denzel. The Devil replies in less than five seconds.Does he really have so much free time?“He hasn’t eaten breakfast. Let’s go.”Ben enthusiastically jumps out of the car and if I hadn’t caught him and pulled him back by his wrist, he would’ve barged straight into the entrance.“Behave. Don’t announce to anyone who you are. Understand?”Ben nods as if he actually understands the trouble we would be in if the media were to find out that Flynn Enterprise has a mysterious heir.
Denzel Flynn ****** I dismiss Jake with a gesture of my eyes to keep watch outside. On top of having this psycho in my office, the last thing I need is to present a show for my staff. “What are you doing here?” My tone hints at my obvious displeasure at having her. “What? No ‘hi’? No ‘how are you’?” My face remains neutral. “What is your deal with Chloe?” “She’s my best friend. She’s been my best friend even after you dumped me for a dirty clodpole.” I clench my fists at my either sides. I have a hunch this meeting won’t go well. She stalks towards me like a predator, eyeing me like I’m her most delicious prey. She rests one hand on my chest before whispering seductively in my ears. “Don’t you miss me, Den? Won’t you like me to be back in your life?” I feel like I’ll vomit from her lewd behaviour. Appalled, I shake off her hand from my body. I feel an urgent need to shower. “I fell for your tricks once. I won’t repeat my mistake.” Her eyes widen in fury and the delicate ac
Naomi West******The evening of the reunion arrives earlier than planned. I busied myself with writing in the morning until I ran out of my creativity. As the afternoon neared, my heart was already beating frantically in my heart.And it’s evening now. I’m supposed to arrive at the party within an hour, but I’m caught in a dilemma whether to present myself with a bold look or an innocent one.However, concentrating my mind on my appearance is another discreet way to hide my nervousness from showing on my face.A knock comes at my door.“Come in.” I yell.I don’t spare a glance at my door and continue to decide between a red backless dress and a black sleeveless one. Both of them are eye-catching and stunning in their own ways.“Going somewhere?”Denzel’s voice brings me to reality and I turn back to look at him casually leaning against my doorframe, looking genuinely curious.“Yep. It’s my high school reunion.”After his confession, the air in the apartment has become fluffier to bre
I feel like throwing up my lunch at the scene of the two acting all lovey-dovey with each other.Sybil is shamelessly throwing herself at Jackson and anyone can tell how one-sided their relationship looks—almost to an extent that one would feel the desire to tear them apart with force.Nevertheless, no one focuses on the couple in front and I feel several eyes drilling holes into my back.As expected, no one would degrade the popular girl and aim at the weak without mercy.“Well, well, well... if it isn’t the whoremonger herself.” Sybil claps her hands, taking predatory steps in my direction.Everyone has already been picking up on the commotion and now, with her posture, she attracted the eyes of our entire class. Within seconds, I stand under an invisible spotlight, highlighting my appearance.“I get that you’re desperate, but snatching someone else’s man is still below you.”I feel my
I have been feeling guilty towards Marcus all night. Even though I made that Devil sleep on the couch and didn’t spare him a single glance this morning, my heart weighs heavy when I think of Marcus and how unfair I’ve been to him.Which is why the first thing I did in the morning was to schedule a meeting with him. I wanted to take Ben out as well, but Denzel probably knew about my intention and ended the discussion before it even came up.On the plus side, at least Marcus and I’ll be able to have a conversation like proper responsible grownups—on the downside, I won’t have any shield to hide behind.The bell jingles on the cafe’s door, warning us about a new presence. I look up and notice Marcus walking up to my table. For some reason, I can’t bring myself to smile.“Marcus, hey.” I speak, but even my tone sounds too monotonous. He nods, acknowledging my presence, but doesn’t speak up.Gathering courage, I say. “About last night. I’m truly sorry. Had I known beforehand, I would’ve d
Naomi West******“Let’s go Ben. Time for bed.” I intentionally don’t yell out my plans for tonight when I call for Ben. Denzel has been playing the role of a jealous and offended husband ever since we mentioned Marcus’s name this morning. It’ll only blow his head if he were to know what we’re going to do now.Ben finishes his dinner early and discards the dishes in the sink before running to his bedroom. With one more lookout for Denzel—still refusing to budge from the sofa and watching Frozen 2—I slip inside Ben’s room.He’s already sitting up on the bed under the covers when I enter. He excitedly looks at me as I approach my side of his bed and take out my phone.“Quick. Before daddy gets too weird.” He whispers, acting as if we’re kids watching a movie after curfew.I open my contacts and video call Marcus. I hand the phone to Ben as we wait patiently for Marcus to pick up. After three rings, he eventually does, but it changes to voice call.“Is it a bad time?” I ask, desperately
Unknown POV******Layla Kingsley stares dumbfounded at what she’s just discovered. After spending many weeks in isolation, plotting and planning and fearing for her life, it’s like she just hit a jackpot.But she never entered in the lottery, which is why the sight before her, the crucial piece of information, also gives her chills.This is it. This can change her whole life.She takes out her phone to capture this shocking moment. She continuously taps on the photo icon to take pictures from multiple angles.With a lingering look at the truth she’s just discovered, she walks away before anyone notices her presence. She laughs as she takes the street to her apartment. She’s been in so much pressure for the last few weeks, trying to come up with desperate measures to find something on the Flynn’s. But it’s been a pain in the butt with blondie and Davenport not picking up her calls. After her last meeting with Chloe, she made it clear that she wanted to come clean in front of her dea
Naomi West******I’m not mad. I’m not second-guessing my life choices at the moment. I’m only fuming with an uncontrollable amount of disappointment, hiding all of my viciousness behind a polite smile.I watch, standing in a corner as my dad empties my mom’s stuff from Denzel’s old room. He wasn’t exactly a cheerful lad when he found out that his wife has been living in a man’s room all this while, but one look at my face and he knows to keep his mouth shut about it.He only has himself to blame for what his wife has been through.But like myself, my mom isn’t one to hold grudges. My mom and dad had been MIA on me for three days since she went away with him and they only arrived this morning, that too, to fetch her things.I haven’t made peace with the fact that she’s so easily forgiven him, but who am I to judge, right? I can only bite my tongue and swallow my words for their happiness.“Did you eat a whole lemon for breakfast? Why do you look so sour?” My mom playfully bumps into m
Denzel Flynn******I never imagined Naomi’s father to run away like that. When I learned about his fleeing from the receptionist, it was bad enough. But when I overheard Mrs. West telling about their intimate moment from the night before to Naomi, it was a blow to my face.I’d warned myself to not get emotionally involved, but I end up being a part of this big drama, anyway. I guess that’s a package deal that comes with having a family.Mrs. West was not in high spirits after I broke the news to her but she was willing to spend the remaining days in the resort for the sake of our efforts. Even though we decided to stay and have fun, most of her time was invested in Naomi’s and Ben’s health.It was a nightmare to be short. If I exclude the morning picnics near the lake and occasional dinners and outing, we spent the last two days locked in our rooms.Now, it’s the seventh day, and we’re on our way to the court so little rose’s parents can finalize their divorce.The air inside the car
“Achoo!” I sneeze and snort, hugging the blanket close to myself early in the morning. It appears as though last night’s fun is catching up with me.“Achoo!” Ben sneezes beside me. I drape my blanket over him and pull him closer. At one point last night, he successfully washed his head in the chilly rain while I was too engrossed thinking about what his daddy said.Thinking about Denzel, my face heats up and I bury my head in my lap. Because of the Ben’s presence, I successfully avoided him last night.But what now?I think my thoughts summon the Devil as he enters our room. I try to act cool despite having a whole zoo running around in my stomach. No matter how hard I try, though, my face would always look like a blushing tomato.'I love you too.'His words resonate in my head and despite the huge, red warning signs, I feel myself surrounded by the dense fog created by his words. “Achoo!” Ben and I sneeze at once, struggling with a runny nose.Denzel raises an eyebrow and stares at
Naomi West******My parents kept to themselves all day, ignoring me, Denzel and even Ben at every turn at every corner. Denzel and I tried really hard to spy on them from a distance all afternoon, but everything seemed as normal as possible. It really struck a nerve in me when my dad shot me a warning look from his table during lunch when he spot me hiding behind tree pots.In the evening, when I refused to budge from my place, Denzel carried me away, claiming that I’ve developed an obsession with spying on my parents.It’s not that. Can you really blame a daughter for being curious? And it’s not like I’m hiding under their bed or something—now that’d be a scandal.After Denzel carried me away from my mission, he brought me back to the lakeside at sunset. Ben was already waiting for us near the water. It looks like he’s fallen in love with the environment here. Upon further inspection, I also find a cloth placed on the sand a little away from the water with an enormous basket on to
Denzel Flynn******I turn back to little rose to give her my undivided attention. Her fingers are fidgeting on the table to busy herself. Her mind keeps wandering to the door her parents and Ben disappeared into a while ago.“I thought you were a gold digger,” Little rose’s eyes flash at me with such intensity that burned my face. She’s indeed confused at my words and holds back her temper.“Like one of those women who deliberately spoils a rich man’s suit in hopes of getting close to him. But then again, I thought spoiling someone’s coat and putting them in a hospital are quite different matters.”She’s looking at me with an eyebrow raised.“All in all, I didn’t have a very first clear good impression of you, so I wanted to know you better before I could judge you.”I lean into the space between us with my arms resting on the table. She looks intimidated by the gesture, but in a good way. “Would you like to know how I feel about you right now?”Her cheeks flush and she immediately
Naomi West ******The soft rays from sun kisses my skin, melting my insides and compelling me to sleep. I had a sandwich earlier, but both Denzel and my dad restricted me from touching the wine. And whilst the three adults drank wine, I had to accompany Ben with a glass of orange juice.Serves me right, though. I don't recall much from yesterday. Everything is a blurry image after I drank the two glasses of wine. Even though I had my suspicions, Denzel assured me that the wine was a bit old and nothing else.However, I don't blame myself for passing out, since my dad came back last evening and promised to stay with us until the end of the week. Being overjoyed, I prepared everything this morning and here we are, sitting on the grass under the sun as one happy family."Ben don't wander too close to the water!" Denzel yells over my shoulder. Ben looks back at his father, smiles and walks further into the lake.I want to laugh so hard but I stifle it. I don't need to hurt Denzel's pride