“I see you're done drooling over the club's embellishments?” Oriana asked as she noticed her friend finally approaching their table after minutes of gaping at the regally caparisoned club.
Emerald only rolled her eyes, dismissing Oriana's remark and smug look as she turned towards the other people at the table, passing them what she hoped looked like a genuine smile and not akin to a grimace.
“Hi,” she greeted as she began walking towards the empty seat beside Oriana. She was glad they hadn't chosen a booth because it would've been quite awkward and inconvenient trying to slide in with her pretty short outfit; besides, she delightfully embraced the lack of human contact — something that even made her feel more gauchely than other things.
However, before she could sink into her haven of serenity — well, something close to the serenity you could attain in a club, taking into consideration the booming music — she was pulled into a hug
“P–please. . . I'm s–s–sorry. . . I–it hurts,” the brunette whimpered as hot tears chased each other down her face profusely but he didn't stop, his movements didn't waver one bit. He didn't care. He didn't want to care.“I–I'm r–really so—”“Shut the fuck up!” his stentorian voice thundered round the dark room, bouncing off the walls, leaving her to only let out whimpers of agony as her face grew paler with each of his merciless pounding movements inside her.The agonising images passed through his subconscious, teasing him with their pernicious contents. He remembered everything.He remembered how he had watched her strut into the club with her majestic yet refined gait which exuded confidence. He remembered how he had successfully yet painfully inhibited his strong urge to gouge out the eyes of the men that dared to let their gazes linger on his gemstone.He remembered the ephemeral express
Would be nice to wake up to the tickling effect of a beautifully patterned butterfly perching on the tip of your nose as the first rays of sunlight kissed your skin.Would be nice to hear beautiful blue birds singing as they glided across the clear blue morning firmament. Such a taradiddle it would be if one could pad barefooted across the room towards the window to behold the beauties mother nature had to offer to mankind.The rows and rows of endless, clean-cut green grass, the ethereal colours that splashed the morning skies as the ride of the round orange-yellow ball made the Manhattan welkin blush with different shades. The mountains in the distance that seemed to have endless peaks which projected towards the heavens.These scenarios seemed to only appear in fairy tales, maybe Cinderella or probably in the countryside of London because unfortunately, this was no fairy-tale story. This was Manhattan — an industrial city right i
Gurgling noises echoed round the dark, empty room as the beaten and battered man struggled to bring his head out of the blue vessel filled to the brim with water.The thick veins in his neck popped and throbbed as they ran through his head, growing smaller as they approached his temples. He could feel the energy left in him abating as the seemingly powerful arm held his neck firmly.Unable to hold his breath anymore, he blew out a breath through his nose but that had been a ghastly mistake on his part as consequently, he ended up losing a bit of his resolve, causing a stream of water to rush into his mouth and nose.He sputtered painfully as he could feel more water entering his mouth and nose, making their way into his brain; his struggles intensified as the panic for his life became frantic. Tightly shutting his lips albeit, it was probably too late, he kicked and shook in hysteria but all to no avail.His h
The woman dressed in a grey pastel pink turtleneck dress stepped out of the Uber vehicle, quietly shutting the door behind her. Her long sleeved sweater-like dress clung to her perfect figure as she stood before the lofty and Brobdingnagian glass building of the Columbia circle landmark.The sunlight bounced off the shiny and lustrous building of the Time Warner Center, giving it an unbelievably radiant splendour. Compared to its leviathan height, Emerald was nothing but an ant.Pushing through the revolving door, she walked into the vast glass building with the sole purpose of finding a particular restaurant.After taking a couple turns and a ride up the escalator, with the aid of the brochure that had been given to her by a worker, she finally found what she was looking for. In Hell's kitchen neighbourhood of the Columbia circle — precisely the 4F suite — stood proudly, a Japanese three Michelin-starred restaurant before her
The sexual tension that was currently brimming betwixt these two people — the devil and the angel as they stared at each other — was so strong that everyone in the room could hear it crackling like a log of wood burning in a campfire.‘Scientific studies have shown that one of the most attractive features to humans is symmetry, especially in facial features. That explains why most celebrities that are widely considered extremely attractive have nearly perfect symmetrical faces.’Emerald could vaguely hear the echo of her psychology lecturer's voice as her mind traveled back to the time when her teacher had decided to dwell more on psychological facts about attraction among humans.This should explain why she was mysteriously drawn to this man seated before her. She had noticed a few waitresses and female customers secretly staring and gawking at him since he walked in and with that thought, she let herself relax.Th
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬‘. . .I don't wanna be this cold (cold)Shivering to my bones (bones)Someone reset my soul, oh, ohAnd I don't wanna be locked up (up)I don't wanna feel this down (down)I just wanna scream and shout.I'll go out, grow my hair too longSing your least favourite songAt the top of my lungs (oh, oh, oh)I'll go out, kiss all of your friendsMake a story and pretendIt was me who made this end (oh, oh, oh). . .’The silence that stretched out through the car accompanied by the never–ending tension between the two beings was strained so thickly in the air like the thick smoke emitted from the chimney of a nuclear power plant.Other than their arguments about being dropped off or not and the persistent insistences of Jordan to drop her at her doorstep, the only few words that had been spoken again had consisted of him askin
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬You know that feeling. That feeling where it seems as though everything and everyone had come to a standstill. As though the Earth had ceased her movement and had decided to go on a break from all the lifelong rotation and revolution she had been subjected to since the beginning of time and existence.That feeling where your heart palpitates painfully in your chest, your mind shrills deafeningly, your head throbbing like a typist punching the keys on a typewriter. All of these happening concomitantly with your every organ squalling raucously at you to do just one simple thing — run! But somehow, you couldn't seem to move an inch.It was as though the thing called emergency hormone or otherwise, adrenaline rush had lost its purpose in her being. As though her adrenal glands had taken a vacation from producing epinephrine or — to put it exclusively — adrenaline.She wondered why
▬▬▬▬▬●●▬▬▬▬▬A loud thud resounded through the entire apartment, touching even up to the second floor of the apartment where the sleeping figure of the woman now laid comfortably on the bed.She laid inhumanly still on the bed. Her body was lying as straight as a log of wood with both of her hands placed on each other, resting on her lower abdomen. One would think she was a corpse if it weren't for the regular rise and fall of her chest, an indication that she was still breathing perfectly.Another thud reechoed, pulling the young woman out of her light slumber as she jolted out of the bed with a gasp.With her emerald green eyes opened wide, she clutched her chest as she tried to steady her jagged breathing. Beads of cold sweat donned her forehead and atop the bridge of her nose.She softly ran her hand up and down her chest while counting backwards like her therapist had taught her as a kid. Overt
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