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XXIV
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2024-10-29 19:42:56▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬
“Mar, have you had dinner tonight?” her mother, Maggie's silken voice came through the phone as Emerald grabbed the milk carton from the refrigerator.
Almost as if the guilt ate into her, she blinked rapidly a couple times before clearing her throat, unsure of whether to tell her mother that she was just about to eat dinner at past 10p.m at night or that she would only be consuming a few of her famous baked goods accompanied by a glass of cold milk.
Her mother had a strict rule against eating late at night, eating measly or insubstantial amount of meals and most importantly, not eating anything at all.
Emerald knew that this rule was made the utmost prioritized law in her mother's constitution all because of her. She remembered how she had made herself suffer from the bottomless contrition that had devoured her soul at such a young age.
She remembered all
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▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬“Thank you.” Emerald thanked the taxi driver as he helped her with her luggage — a mini suitcase and her shoulder bag. She already had some of her things here and she wouldn't be staying for long, so there was no need to pack excessively.The young man gave her a small smile and a nod before getting back into his vehicle and driving off, leaving her to stand alone before the gates of the average sized yet undeniably comfy home.Her mother had never been one to savour extravagant houses or grandiloquent mansions. She was a simple woman whose tastes were modest yet intricately riveting and Emerald had inherited that beautiful trait from her, amongst many others. That was also one of the features that had pulled Luca towards her.A warm smile graced Emerald's lips as she thought of the people living behind the closed entrance doors of the house. This house held so many mem
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▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬Music wafted softly from the stereo system and across the backyard of the house as the guests associated with each other with warm and welcoming smiles engraved vibrantly on their faces.Different gifts of varied sizes crammed the centre table as the celebrant's family delivered more wrapped presents to the already piled heap on the table.Emerald, Armani, Maggie and Luca, together with Oriana and Logan — who had arrived the day before to help with the preparations — tended to the guests, mingling with them with wide smiles on their faces.Feeling as though her legs would fall off anytime soon, Emerald walked over to an empty chair, away from the crowd and plopped down into it. She loosened the straps on her heels, freeing her feet from the hellish hold of the three inched devil.Heaving a sigh of relief, she massaged her feet before setting them do
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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!
Behind Their Veneers Bonus Chapter
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
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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
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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.
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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
Behind Their Veneers LV (Pt Two)
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
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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
Behind Their Veneers LIV
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
Behind Their Veneers LIII
'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
