This chapter is dedicated to Samira Mashni. Thank you very much for your comments and support, ma'am.
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The irritating sound of a phone ringing weaved its way into Jordan's dreamless sleep, chasing away the darkness that had cloaked his mind. Jordan's eyelids flew open with a start, before immediately shutting again at the sight of the blinding lights coming from the half-risen sun outside the glass door leading to his personal balcony.
With a loud groan, Jordan placed an arm over his eyes in attempts to block out some of the light from the balcony as the irksome phosphene danced in circles behind his closed eyelids. He let out a sigh when his phone went silent and the peace and serenity of his room was finally restored, but only momentarily before his ringtone went off again. The caller seemed persistent.
Irritated by the lights and noise and perhaps, everything in sight, Jordan a
I had fun writing this chapter. So I've found some kinda improvisation that could help me kick off of my lazy arse and update more often. Created a tracking calendar to ensure that I write one chapter every day and if I'm actually able to execute this, BTV should be officially completed in about a week or so. *Cue the tears* Wish me luck!
“Spill, J! Spill it!”“Drop it, Carol!”With flaming red cheeks and neck, Emerald sat completely still on the couch as she shied away from the arguing duo buzzing around the house. Carol had been teasing both Jordan and Emerald to no end after she and Keelan had walked in on their heated session and although, Jordan tried to hide behind his faux anger, from the looks of his red ears, one could tell that he was also inwardly dying from embarrassment.“Oh, come on, J. It's not as big of an issue as you're making it seem. I just asked if you two already had se—”“I dare you to complete that sentence of yours, Carolyn,” Jordan gritted out in annoyance as he stood in front of the huge LED television, steps away from his sister. He had been trying to get rid of her for hours now, but she was too much of a persistent pest to let go.
“We're finally here!” Carol squealed with glee, her loud voice echoing within the metallic walls of her car as she, together with Emerald seated on the passenger seat, drove down the streets of Lenox hill, Upper East Side of Manhattan.Beautiful and high-end mansions lined both sides of the road and from the rear view mirror, Emerald could see Jordan's car following closely behind them. She stifled a chuckle as she pictured his overly annoyed face when Carol had come to interrupt their moment in the room earlier, singing “Jordan and Emerald sitting on a tree, f-u-c-k-i-n-g,” in an exorbitantly shrill voice.His annoyance had escalated when Carol had suggested that they all visit her house with the excuse of wanting to show Emerald her humble abode, as well as to introduce her to her husband, Leonardo. After seemingly hours of arguments between the two siblings, Emerald had agreed and Jordan had no choice but to
Setting his phone down on the counter, Jordan carried the glass of warm milk in his hands and walked out of the kitchen, went through the living room and stood just by the glass doors opening up to his balcony. Letting out a sigh, he silently watched his woman stare off into space, deep in her thoughts.He had just gotten off the phone with Keelan after speaking with Carol, who had relayed a message from Leonardo as well. They were all worried about Emerald and had instructed Jordan to take good care of her before hanging up.She had been like that since she recovered from her short syncope in Carol's home. Jordan could've never imagined that something could ever make him as terrified as he had been when he saw her body go limp in his arms. Thankfully, Leonardo, who was a doctor, had been quick to revive her and she had been laid to rest in one of the couple's guestroom, all the while with Jordan hovering around her every second.
Staring absentmindedly at the transparent liquid content of his bottle, Jordan allowed his thoughts to float freely in clusters around his mind. He defied the known law to always slowly sip schnapps by gulping down bottles after bottles of the liquor, right from its glass container.He was seated on the floor of his living room, his back resting against the glass doors which demarcated his living room from the balcony. After grabbing bottles after bottles of peppermint schnapps, Jordan had withdrawn to the one place that still held Emerald's lingering scent. It kept him sane and at the same time, shattered him.After spending years of living his life closed off with walls as high as the Great Wall of China built around him, he had finally found the courage to open his heart out to someone, only to have it shattered into a million pieces.He had finally decided to live again and not just survive, yet the one person
Hearts beating, thudding ever so erratically yet so harmoniously in both their chests, Emerald and Jordan stared at each other, soaking in the sight of one another. One stoic expression against a pained and pallid face.Emerald shivered slightly, both from the wind gaining entrance into the house through the door left ajar and also from the empty, expressionless eyes staring right at her.Her eyes glistened with tears as she took a small, hesitant step forward. Gaining no reaction or expression from the man standing stiffly in front of her, Emerald continued to move towards him, her steps slow and shaky.The man had splatters of blood all over his face and tatted upper arms. His white cotton short-sleeved shirt was also soiled with the red pigment and his hands up to his wrists were painted in the same blood. Seeing him like that had knocked the wind out of Emerald so fiercely, so harshly and now, looking into his cold,
Jordan's gaze remained on Emerald's face even as she took off her jersey, revealing her naked torso. Jordan stared into her emerald eyes, not allowing his gaze to wander even as she was left in nothing but her panties; he awaited her permission first.Panting softly against the warm water that cascaded down her almost completely naked body, Emerald mentally prepared herself, inhaling and exhaling as she stared Jordan in the eyes. This action of hers could elicit two reactions from him. He could either accept her lovingly or reject her with clear disgust in his eyes. Emerald's eyes turned glassy at the thought of his reaction being the latter.She would be left shattered beyond remedy, but she had to do this. She had to. For herself, for him, for the both of them. She let out a breath before nodding her head, giving Jordan the permission to look.Taking in her state, Jordan moved to wrap his arms around her, l
Reaching the foot of the bed, Jordan carefully crawled on the mattress with Emerald still latching onto him, their lips still interwoven. He set her down on the cloud of grey comforters, propping his strong arms on either side of her body to keep him from crushing her with his weight.Leaving her mouth once again, Jordan made a beeline for her earlobe, nibbling on it as he whispered, blowing soft breath–like words into her ears. He slowly moved away, trailing those open-mouthed kisses of his down her jawline before stopping at the juncture where her shoulder met her neck.He blew a breath on the spot, noticing how Emerald shivered slightly when his nose rubbed across the spot to and fro before allowing his mouth to take the place of his nose. He bit down gently on the spot, feeling Emerald's pulse racing and her frame trembling as she panted, before he soothed the ache with a gentle swipe of his tongue.After
A/N: Couldn't hold back from updating. More updates soon!▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬Floating blissfully in the world of her dreamless sleep, Emerald suddenly felt a fleeting warmth against the side of her lips. Assuming it to be a figment created by her dazed brain, she thought nothing of it and continued to slumber until she felt another touch on both her eyelids and another on her nose.Frowning slightly, she let out a disgruntled groan, feeling annoyed at the intrusion. She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture before turning to her side and snuggling deeper into the covers; they were the comfiest things she had ever laid in.A few seconds went by peacefully and Emerald thought that she had finally rid herself of the disturbance plaguing her sweet sleep, until once again, she felt a warm breath tickle behind her ear. Going to raise her hand to slap off the intruder, Emerald was suddenly brought to a halt when
Grunting as he hurriedly threw on his clothes after haphazardly picking the first fabric he could get his hands on, Jordan had never in his entire life, multitasked as much and as frantically as he currently did. He buttoned up his shirt—his quivering hands making the task more difficult than it ought to be—while shaking his head to get rid of the water residue in his hair from his quick shower (the quickest he had ever showered), not having the time or patience to towel it dry as he simultaneously paced the length of the room in socks to find a pair of comfortable shoes since they were all only gathering in the backyard.Finally done securing the buttons on his shirt, Jordan grabbed a towel, fed up with the water marks ruining his shirt from his damp hair, and ran it vigorously through his hair; he crossed the room with a pair of shoes in his hold (ones he had also grabbed at first sight), only to suddenly howl in pain when he stubbed his little toe against the wooden bedpost.“Fuck!
If anyone had told Jordan three years ago that he would have all he currently had, he'd have probably stared them down with an emotionless expression before flinging a dagger in-between their eyes. But now as he stood in the kitchen of their home—one Emerald had been so adamant on contributing to purchase—doing the dishes, he couldn't help the smile that seemed to never leave his face whenever he caught glimpses of the shimmering wedding ring around his finger through the lather. He had been smiling more since they had gotten over the incident two years ago. Surely at first, he had been consumed by the guilt, but after Emerald vowed to leave him for someone else if he didn't suck it all up, he had eventually gotten over it, the both of them choosing to set it amongst the things of the past they wanted to forget. Presently, as he hand-washed the pile of dishes from the lunch buffet his wife had just consumed after already having breakfast and brunch, with snacks in-between, he could
Three months. . .It had been three months since that dreadful day. Three months since he had heard her voice. Three months since he had seen those whirlpool of her emerald green orbs. Three months since she had graced him with that heart–stopping smile of hers. Three months of merciless torture for Jordan and Emerald's family.And through the seemingly endless course of these harrowing months, it had made him wonder if he would ever get to hear her sweet voice call his name ever again, if he would ever look into those bottomless orbs of hers and see his image reflected in them ever again, if he would ever feel her warm touch against his ever again. The war had been won, the obstacles had been passed over, but the casualties and damage done was irreversible and too great to bear, especially for Jordan, who was ridden by overwhelming guilt. Perhaps if he had kept his unwarranted anger at bay that night at the club, they would have finished off Carl and wouldn't have had to deal with t
Hello everyone, this Author's Note is prepared with regards to my previous about the new book I intended to publish. So there's been a change of plans and I've decided to publish a totally different book instead and leave the Yuletide novella for the holiday seasons. The next book has already been drafted and will be published this month, maybe on the 4th of April as a birthday gift from me to you guys, so we'll see how it goes. Just wanted to inform you all. With mixed feelings, I announce the completion of Behind Their Veneers. There would be an epilogue and maybe a bonus chapter or two and then we'll close Emerald's and Jordan's book officially. I'm so happy and sad about this, cause I'm going to miss these two, but it'd pave way for our upcoming couples — Remi and Zion. You're all going to love them, I promise. Well, that'll be all for now. Thank you! Your author, Laramie.
Emerald could only hear the deafening ringing in her ears, she could feel her head throbbing as though someone was using her head as a drum to beat an arrhythmic tune. Her vision swam, multiple black dots clouding her eyesight as she dangled right off the edge of consciousness. Letting out an agonising groan, she let her head fall, her forehead hitting the floor as she was unable to keep her head up any longer; it felt too heavy for her to carry, so she remained on the floor, her pulsating head against the cold ground as she tried to recover her bearings. Vaguely hearing the clicks of heels tapping against the floor she laid her head against, Emerald groaned. To her, the small clicks sounded like the harsh shrill of cymbals clashing against each other. She heard the footsteps stop in front of her and with a pained moan, she squinted her eyes open, seeing doubles of each image as she stared cross-eyed at the pair of spiked hee
A feminine voice cut through the silence of the room, interrupting Owen's response and Jordan turned his head toward the entrance of the basement when he heard the clicks of heels tapping against the floor. A blonde woman came into Jordan's view just as several masked men shuffled into the room, taking up one side of the basement, surrounding the woman, while his own men took the other side and surrounded him and Owen, their stances rigidly alert. Frowning deeply at the new and unfamiliar intruder in the room, Jordan stood to his feet, pulling Owen with him before facing the unknown woman. His eyes remained glued to her face as he tried to shuffle through his memories for recognition of her while the woman was busy ogling his body, visibly undressing him with her gaze as she licked her lips. He had never seen or heard of her before, Jordan concluded, and not having the patience to deal with an evidently horny
Emerald felt as though she had been walking for hours non-stop since she and Jordan began walking down the stairs. She couldn't count how many times she had tripped over rocks and unleveled ground and how Jordan had prevented her from hitting the ground every single time.Her ankles felt strained and were throbbing in pain but she suppressed every pained groan that threatened to escape her lips; the last thing she wanted was to be a burden to Jordan, since Owen hadn't followed them down the tunnel, although she wondered why, because they needed all the help they could get.Feeling completely exhausted, she was about to ask for a five minute break when they finally stumbled upon a door. Jordan shone his flashlight on the disequilibrated structure, pulling Emerald behind him protectively before pushing it open gently.Sneaking in appeared farfetched at this point when the door creaked rather loudly, makin
The shrill sound of cars honking on both sides of the teal colored SUV irritated Emerald to no end. She stared out of the tinted windows, eyes glued to the slowly moving traffic they were currently stuck in, but her mind far away from her consciousness.When the recollection of where they were currently headed struck across her mind again, not that she ever forgot, Emerald dug her nails into her left thigh, trying to use the sting from the self infliction to distract herself from the jitters she felt.Her breathing increased, almost coming out in pants as her heart rate spiked. Her chest constricted and she could feel the familiar violent waves of a panic attack drowning her. Shutting her eyes, she tried to control her breathing, but found it near impossible as hot tears began to race down her cheeks.Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms lift her off the leather seat of the car and into their lap, familiar warm
'Dear daughter. . .' 'Dear daughter. . .' Those two words stared back at Emerald, glaring at her and mocking her from the surface of the bloodstained paper. She was currently at home, alongside Jordan, who had been adamant on not leaving her by herself. Thankfully, while the entire hullabaloo went down, her mother had been too tired and deep in her sleep to wake up to the sight of the blood on the hospital floor and Emerald's lower area, as well as the mess that was Oriana's face. Not wanting to deliver such terrible news to her while she was still so weak and on a day that was meant to be the happiest day for the entire family, they had decided to keep it from her for now, at least until she recovered a bit. But Emerald had been too restless to sit still. One look at her pale and sweaty face, slightly swollen, dull and bloodshot smaragd orbs, shaking form a