REIGNFOURTEEN YEARS AGOI picked up my bag after the bell rang and began making my way out of my class along with my friends. I bid them farewell when we got to the parking lot and I spotted a black Corolla; the car that was used to pick me up from school every day.As I always did, I opened the door, got inside, and sat on the passenger seat. I was surprised to see that the driver was a different person. I had never seen him before and my parents never told me that my driver was going to be changed."Who are you?" I asked just as he turned on the ignition."I am your new driver," he replied.I looked behind me but there was no one in the back seat. It was strange because my two bodyguards always came along with my driver to drop me off and pick me up every day.I felt uneasy and quickly reached for the door to open it and run out. However, the door had been locked.Even though the glass was tinted, I screamed for help in hopes that someone would hear my voice and alert the school aut
Avery was shocked by Reign's actions. As she got up from where she had been made to sit for a while, she began to think about why Reign was being kind to her and letting her go.She realized his attitude toward her had changed the moment he saw the pendant on her neck and she told him it broke when she saved a boy from a fire. "Could he be the boy that Cora saved all those years?" Her eyes widened as she thought of the possibility. Cora had stopped wearing the band since the pendant broke so Reign had no way of knowing who really saved him."This must be it," she told herself. "Why else would he let me go? I just need to play along and see how much I can benefit from this."Once Reign led Avery out of the interrogation room, she asked him, "Can I see my mom? I heard she has been arrested.""Let her see her mom," Reign said to one of the officers. "I'll be waiting outside, Avery," he told her before walking away.The officer stared at Reign in shock as he could not understand what was
Reign recalled how netizens called Cora all sorts of names when her innocence had not yet been proven in the crown court. He remembered how he had picked her up after she fainted inside his panic room. He recalled how rotten tomatoes were thrown at her, how Avery's mother had attacked her at the hospital, accusing her of being a murderer, how Avery's father had injured her on the head, and all the tears Cora had cried.He shook his head, "Never. Avery, your dad committed a crime and your mum worked with him. You are only free because you saved my life but I can't save them.Yes, Cora's innocence was proven in court but that happened because she was truly innocent. I will never defend a murderer."Avery sighed, "I thought you wanted to pay me back for saving you but now I realize it was all a lie. Forget about everything, there's no need to pay me back."She turned and began walking back into the station but Reign said, "Hold on, Avery. I want to pay you back but not this way. There sh
Reign, Cora, and Emily arrived at the new house Reign had prepared for Cora."This place is so beautiful," Emily whispered to her. Cora smiled and thanked her, however, she felt that something wasn't right. Reign wasn't someone who usually acted on impulse and if he intended for them to move, he would have told her earlier.But Reign's facial expression showed that he was happy. So in the end, she concluded that she was overthinking and worrying over nothing.She thought Reign would spend the night in her bedroom. However, after Emily went to bed, he said, "You should go to bed too, Cora. After everything that happened today, you deserve all the rest in the world.I still have so much work to do because I haven't been to the office for some time.""Let me help you," Cora offered.He refused and said, "Please go to bed, Cora. I will feel better if I am convinced you are okay. You have insisted on going to work tomorrow and you still have a party to prepare for. Leave this to me."Cora
Reign sat down on his couch, manipulating his computer. Just as the time struck eight, his doorbell rang.He smiled, "I can see she is punctual."He opened the door and Avery walked in. She wore a black, handless, very skimpy gown that exposed half of her breasts and almost showed her butt cheeks.Her makeup was nicely done and her heels were very high, making her look very sexy and attractive as she catwalked into the living room."What were you hoping to achieve by dressing so provocatively?" Reign asked her the moment she sat down.She smiled sexily at him, "Mr. Fletcher, are you provoked then?"He scoffed, "In your dreams. You will have to be a spitting image of Cora for there to be a possibility of having an effect on me. The agreement was for you to spend a night in my bedroom, not on my couch. Get up and go inside."Avery laughed and got up, "With all pleasure."He pointed in the direction of his bedroom while she went toward it. When she got to the door, she stopped and said,
Hearing Avery's words, Cora lost control of her emotions. She turned and charged toward her, slapping her on the cheek before Avery could move away."How dare you?" Avery yelled and lifted her hand to slap Cora back, however, Reign swiftly caught Avery's hand and flung it, making her cry out in pain."Cora, this is not what it looks like," he said to Cora but she turned and began to walk away.Avery was so upset. She had promised herself that she would never let Cora slap her again after the last time she did in Reign's company, but now he had gotten in the way.Cora ran towards her car in tears and Reign was about to go after her when Avery hugged him from behind and said, "You promised me, Reign."He turned and pushed her away. As she fell on her back, he pointed his finger at her and warned, "This is really the last time, Avery. If you ever touch me again, I will forget that you once saved my life."After speaking, he dashed out of his house and saw Cora's car being driven away. He
CORA"Why do you seem so surprised?" I asked Reign. "Do I seem too soft and feminine to have achieved such an amazing feat?""It was....it was you?" Reign asked as his eyes brimmed with tears.I realized the implications of his words and gasped, "Were you the boy I saved from the burning house? What are the odds that..?"I was still speaking when he pulled me into his arms and hugged me, "Thank you, Cora. Now everything makes sense to me.""Wow! You were the boy I saved in the burning house in the woods? I still can't believe it!" I exclaimed."But I can," he replied, cupping my cheeks. "The first time I saw you in that elevator, when I looked into your eyes, I was so sure I had seen you before yet I couldn't remember our encounter. Now, I remember the little girl in pigtails crying because her Mickey Mouse pendant broke while she was helping me.I searched for you, Cora, and felt so guilty because you risked your life to save mine. I am so happy that you were the one who saved me and
Reign drove away from Cora's house while she sat beside him in his car staring at him. She kept thinking of what his surprise could be but nothing came to mind."Please tell me what the surprise is," she requested desperately. "Pleassssse"Reign stared at her and smiled, "Just be patient, dear. You'll get the surprise soon.""Get the surprise? That means you are giving me a gift," she concluded."We'll see about that," he beamed.His car suddenly came to a stop and Cora looked around for any sign of the surprise but could not find it. There were a lot of things she knew Reign had to tell her but she didn't want to waste her time talking about Avery. She wanted the night to be just about them and they could focus on Avery the next day.She looked around suddenly and realized that there were the only people outside and checked her time. She gasped when she noticed it was minutes past eleven. She didn't know that time had gone so quickly.Reign kept staring at something on his phone with