Now I’m worried for a different reason, she is losing control of her emotions and is becoming increasingly upset. “I found out who my parents are or were.” “Were? Do you mean they are both no longer here? But I thought that woman in the park was your mum.” “Me too. Turns out she lied. She is my mum's twin sister. She took me in when my parents died.” “Oh, Angel.” She shakes her head as tears spill down her cheeks and I am more desperate to gather her into my arms than ever. “Angela isn’t even my real name.” I stare at her in shock, clearly, this has been playing on her conscience for a long time and I never noticed. I have never been more upset about how well she can hide her emotions. I take a risk and stand to close the distance between us. Before she can evade me, I take her into my arms and hold her hoping to provide comfort and support.
“Of course! It was an act from the beginning. A ruse to make me pity you and then when I drop my guard you will stab me in the back!” “What? No! That’s not it!” “Don’t bother trying to convince me differently. I have seen your true colours now, Angela!” “Grant! Please, listen to me! What you heard were all lies! I Love You!” “Bullshit! You never loved me, only my money! I don’t need a leech like you in my life, get out!” He grips my upper arm hard and marches me to the front door before opening it and throwing me out. I scream as I stumble and fall down the stone steps…. I gasp as I wake up trembling and struggling to calm my heart rate. As my mind catches on that what I just saw was only a dream my stomach rolls and I feel the need to get to the bathroom. I throw the covers off but when I try to move, I am pinned by a heavy, weight. I try to move it, but he holds me
“Shit! Are you alright?”Grant panics and rushes over to see if he can help. He grabs a glass and fills it with water handing it to me, which I take gratefully and sip until my coughing stops. “Sorry, I guess that was a joke that I should have waited a bit longer to use.” “Is, is that something you want? At some point.” He stares at me while I wait for his response. “I have to admit I haven’t thought about it before now, but with you, I would be delighted. Just perhaps not yet. What about you? Do you want to have a family one day?” I turn to look out of the window into the evening sky before I answer him. “Growing up I swore that I would never repeat what happened to me. But I also assumed that I would be alone for a long time since touch was such an issue for me.” “What about now?” I turn back to face him with a small smile on my face. “Now,
“What do you mean you are an heiress?!” “Exactly what I said, Jack. I am the lost daughter of the Graystone family and heir to their entire legacy.” “Wow. Simply unbelievable.” I watch as Christina tells her friends about her rediscovered identity, and I see the fear in her eyes. But so far, I can just see shock and disbelief in them. I think she may find that her friends will surprise her. “I hope that this will not change anything between us.” “Baby girl, nothing in this life will ever change my opinion of you or how I feel. The same goes for Simon. We are a package deal, and you are stuck with us for life.” I smile as tears of joy and relief fill her eyes and she willingly accepts a hug from Jack. “Hey! Don’t leave me out! She was my bestie before yours after all and I will not give up that claim to anyone!” Anya pushes between them and squeezes Ch
I feel as if I have stepped back in time. Standing in the grand vestibule of the manor I am reminded of when I was a child running around in these rooms. A tear comes to my eye as I glance at Beth and John who are looking at me. “You kept it all as it was.” They nod solemnly with small smiles on their faces. “Yes. We couldn’t handle cleaning everything on our own, but we knew it had to be kept as it was from that day, ready for your return.” They then begin to take us on a tour of the building. I look around at all the various objects here in the space which are covered in white sheets to protect the items underneath from dust and grime and damage. On closer inspection, I note that the sheets are not quite white due to the detritus that has settled down on them. The entire place is frozen in time, waiting for someone to return to breathe life back into it. The warm mahogany wood and pale cream walls
I remain silent just staring at Jack and slowly his optimistic expression begins to turn to worry. “Don’t you think you are being overly pushy and presumptuous to invite yourself into someone’s home? And at that on the day they move in?” Grant sounds annoyed and I glance at him from the corner of my eye I am shocked to see he is more than annoyed, his brows are furrowed in a deep frown, and I notice that Ellis has taken a discreet step back, pulling Anya with him. Jack gulps and looks to me pleadingly with a note of an apology there for overstepping. The truth is I love the idea of housemates. These people have become my family in a very short time, and I realised recently that I trust them with my life. Seeing the fight about to break out I gently place my hand on Grant's forearm hoping he will calm down before I turn to Jack. “Is that the only reason you want to move in?” Everyone stares at me not expecting my question and in the silence that follows I stand and wait patientl
Standing in the main vestibule as we enter, my attention is captured by the grand staircase at the far end. I was in complete awe of it as a child and it still takes my breath away even now. Memories from my many visits here with my mother assault my senses and I move through the building on autopilot while following the others. Finally, we come to the kitchen at the back of the ground floor in the left wing and as I gaze around I feel saddened seeing how frozen in time it is. Miranda was always proud of her kitchen and Henry made sure that he always bought her the most up-to-date items for it. But now the machines lay untouched and outdated. I imagine Miranda would pitch a fit if she was here to see it now. “I’m moving in! Angel, I swear to God if you don’t let me move in and be your live-in chef, I will never forgive you! This kitchen is a chef's wet dream!!” I hear those words and glare at Jack ready to r
“Sorry, Angel.” “It’s okay Jack. Don’t feel bad, I’m alright.” “Are you sure?” “Of course. Don’t worry so much. Besides, now I need your amazing cooking even more.” Everyone chuckles and Simon speaks up to try to take his mind off of what happened. “Come on babe, let’s go do some shopping.” It seems he has some success as Jack turns and nods to him. “Wait, here take this to buy everything.” She walks over and hands them a black credit card. They stare at her as though she has just grown an extra head. “Why would you hand us that? We can buy what we need, you don’t have to pay.” “You aren’t just getting food for yourselves. You are buying to fill and stock this kitchen and when more staff are hired, I will need to do the same in the staff kitchen. And it’s not just food either, this kitchen is twenty years out of date with all of the appliances, so I want you to shop for all the gadgets we are going to need as well.” “Are you sure Angel? I mean the cost is going to be pretty