Are they looking for the owner of the house? If yes, is it me, the old owner they're looking for, or are they searching for the new one? The questions lingered in my thoughts even after I turned the engine on and drove in the direction where the sleek Lamborghini had gone. I felt bothered by those questions because if they were searching for me, then it must be important—so important that they went to the house themselves instead of sending someone else to do the job.But then a reasonable part of my brain told me I didn't know the couple, so they were probably not looking for me at all. With that thought in mind, my worries faded, and I shifted my attention to the steering wheel.There was a beep from my phone, which was lying on the dashboard. I glanced at it just in time to see a message pop up. It was from the lawyer, informing me he was already waiting in the restaurant. His early appointment had been canceled, so he decided to head straight to our meeting place.I pressed on the
Speaking of the devil, my soon-to-be ex-husband was calling. Pressing my lips tightly into a thin line, I pressed the answer button none too gently. However, before I could express the bubbling rage within me, someone spoke before I could. A female voice! The realization made my forehead scrunch in confusion.“Why are you calling my boyfriend? Are you one of his obsessed stalkers?” a woman’s complaining voice pierced my ears. I inched the phone away from my ear to save my eardrum from her sharp tongue.Who the hell am I talking to? I asked myself, wondering if she had called the wrong number. I glanced back at my phone screen and saw Grey's number flashing right in front of my eyes. Definitely, she hadn't called the wrong number. I thought to myself in growing irritation.This is not good! My brain warned me. When Grey is involved, nothing good comes out of it.“May I know who I'm speaking to?” I asked politely, despite the urge to scream in her ears too.“His girlfriend! I saw your n
A sudden thought occurred to me, scaring me shitless. Could it be that my father owed them a sizable amount of money and they were after me to collect what he owed? Was the amount so large that they couldn't trust anyone else to take the money? The room was cold, but my palms were sweating. Jobless and homeless—two of the biggest problems I was facing now—but I was about to face the third and most difficult one: a loan so large it would take me a lifetime to pay.“Lily, are you listening to me?” Lia complained, noticing that I had been quiet for some time. Her gaze landed on my face, and her eyes popped open with worry. “You look pale! Are you alright?”“I-I'm fine,” I lied. “The room is just cold; that's why I look pale. I forgot to bring my jacket with me.” I added this and forced myself to smile to convince her I was alright.“Just drink your coffee, okay? It will warm you up.” She smiled.I nodded and picked up my cup. The hot cup comforted my cold palms. I took a sip, and the war
“Do you recognize them?” Lia noticed my reaction and asked.Unable to say a word for a while, I just nodded my head in response. My eyes remained fixed on the couple in the picture. There was something about them that gave me a warm feeling in my chest.“How did you know them?” My best friend asked in puzzlement because just a while ago, I had told her I didn't know the couple.I handed the phone back before replying. “I didn't actually know them, but my mom does. When you showed me a close-up picture of them, that's when I remembered seeing them in my mom's old photo album.”“So your mom knew them?”“She did. Mom used to work for them before as a maid. She hasn't told me about them, though,” I told Lia, who looked even more curious now, just as I was. She must be wondering why my mother hadn't mentioned the couple to me before.We fell into a deep, long silence as we pondered the reasons why the prominent couple was trying to find me.“Maybe they learned about your mother's death and
Frozen with fear, I stopped breathing as the man pressed the sharp knife closer to my body until the tip pierced my skin, causing it to bleed slightly from the small wound. It was a warning telling me that he could do more than that. Despite wanting to scream, no words emerged from my lips as the man helplessly dragged me to his car. He hauled me into the backseat, and another man who was already inside caught me in his arms and pressed a gun against my head.“Don't make this difficult for us,” the man holding me icily warned. He pressed the gun to my neck until the cold metal dug deep into the tender flesh. I bit back a scream and pressed my lips together. I couldn't die like this. Not yet, when I still had debts to collect from people who had stepped on me like a toy. Revenge. That's what I wanted. I still wanted to make those people who made my life miserable pay for what they did before I died.The first man finally climbed into the driver's seat and turned the engine on. He quick
The gun fell from her grasp and slithered to the side of the room, out of her reach. I slapped her hard across the face, the force sending her stumbling to the floor in shock. She raised her head and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. “Bitch!” she spat, fury emanating from her eyes as she looked at me. “Look into the mirror and you’ll see who the real bitch is between us,” I replied through gritted teeth. I had been terrified for my life a moment ago, but seeing the arrogant smirk on her face made me lose control. No one cheap like Natalia would bring me down. She wanted me to die, but I swore to drag her to hell with me before she could kill me. “Why couldn’t you leave me in peace, Natalia? You have everything you want in life. Why kill me when it won’t change a thing?” “It will change a thing!” Natalia screamed in rage, turning her fingers into a ball at her side. “Once you’re gone, everything I’ve ever wanted will be mine,” she added. Slowly, she pulled herself togethe
“I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix, but the patient is dead from multiple complications resulting from her fatal burn injury. We did our best to save her, but we couldn’t, despite trying. I’m really sorry,” the doctor announced, and the couple felt as though the world had collapsed beneath their feet.“No! No!” Sophia sobbed. Her hysterical cries filled the hallway of the hospital. “This can’t be happening, Philip! This can’t be!” She screamed while tears endlessly fell down her cheeks like waterfalls.Philip swallowed hard. Despite the pain, he forced himself to be strong for his wife. Without a word, he wrapped her in his arms and quietly shared her grief.After a brief nod to Philip, the doctor left to give them some privacy.“I can’t believe we lost our daughter. It took us twenty-four years to find her, only to see her dead now,” Sophia cried. The last of her strength faded, and she collapsed on her feet, but Philip caught her in time before she slumped to the floor. Carefully, he
The voice inside the room jerked me awake. Slowly, my heavy eyes fluttered open. I found myself staring straight at the pretty face of a young woman in her mid-twenties. She saw my head move, making her eyes widen in shock.“I'll call the nurse to inform them you're finally awake,” the woman breathlessly said before skittering to the door, leaving me alone inside the cold and quiet room.While waiting for her to return, my eyes surveyed my surroundings. The low ceiling was painted white, and so were the walls. Although the room was small, it was clean and neat. The presence of various medical apparatus told me I was in a hospital.It was still unclear how I ended up there and what exactly happened to me, but the woman must have been the one who brought me here. I didn’t recognize her, though.I willed myself to get up, but the sudden surge of pain across my chest stopped me. “Arghhh!” Wincing, my head fell back on the bed while tears stung my eyes.The pain took too long to disappear,
**ONE YEAR LATER**Days had turned into weeks, weeks had turned into months, and the months had turned into a full year, but the bouquet of flowers, boxes of chocolates, and romantic letters never stopped coming. Not even for a single day in the entire year.With the amount of effort Grey had put into his courtship, it was hard not to soften and fall for him even more—especially when he visited home every single day to continue what he called “courtship service,” which included being a gardener, a car repairman, an electrician, a plumber, and sometimes a cleaner.I once told him it wasn't necessary for him to do anything like that since we are in modern times. Men no longer woo women and their families by doing house chores, but Grey was stubborn and wouldn’t stop. He told me it was his way of showing respect and dedication to me as his wife, so I allowed him to continue what he was doing and just enjoyed the moment while he was at it.After his ceaseless dedication, Grey's hard work
A few seconds later, the soft voice coming from the bed made Grey and me abruptly pull away from each other so we could look at the bed. We both saw our son looking at us. My heart jumped, and I immediately went to Dylan’s side and grabbed his hand.“Mama.” It was the first word that came from his lips. The sound of his voice made my heart swell with joy. Despite being away from me for years, he had never forgotten that I was his mother. I was so happy that tears welled in my eyes. From looking at me, Dylan’s eyes shifted to his father. He opened his small mouth and, in a soft voice, mumbled, “Papa.”Grey's throat moved as he swallowed hard. I could tell by the way he sucked in a deep breath that he was trying to contain his emotions. “Yes, my little boy, papa is here,” Grey replied, his voice thick with emotion as he spoke. Crossing the small distance between him and the bed, he gently pulled Dylan into his arms. He was trying his best not to burst into tears, but his eyes clearly sh
“For our children, Lily,” he replied, looking me straight in the eyes.For our children… Yeah, for Isabelle and Dylan… But was that enough reason for me to stay? I thought to myself, wanting to actually hear him say that he wanted me to stay with him because he loves me.Grey continued, “I know if you leave, you will take the children with you, and God only knows how long it will be before you return here so Dylan and Isabelle could be with me again. I know I could visit them anytime if you're in Europe, but it wouldn't be enough for me because I want to be with them all the time… I want them to have a complete family, which I never experienced in my life.” His eyes filled with even more emotion as he said those words.Even though I never experienced having an absentee father and an abusive stepmother raising me, I knew that it wasn't easy. To say it was hard was an understatement. Perhaps ‘hell’ would be the right word to describe the situation.Grey had the luxury that everyone want
The room was quiet and still, and for a moment, I thought I was alone. However, when I opened my eyes, I saw that my whole family was inside the room. The only one missing was my grandmother, Leilani, who I bet wasn’t allowed to leave the house considering the time of the night. Slowly, I got up from the sofa. As I did so, I cast a brief glance at the wall clock and was actually surprised to see that it was past three in the morning, which meant I had slept for a straight two hours. Feeling refreshed despite the short hours of sleep, I felt somewhat relaxed, and as the rollercoaster events of last night rushed into my thoughts, I realized how surreal it felt, as though what had happened was only a dream.My gaze surveyed the room, looking for Grey, but he was not inside Dylan’s room.“Lily,” my mom called after she finally noticed I was awake. Everyone in the room looked at me, and they all wore the same worried expression on their faces. I bit my lower lip at the sudden rush of guilt
Grey said nothing. I expected he would snap and lash out at me for keeping the truth from him all this time, but his silence was the reaction I didn't expect. The lack of reaction on his handsome face filled my chest with tension. I would rather see him angry and furious than see that blank expression on him.I held my breath, waiting for him to say something, but even after a minute passed, he didn't open his lips. The only sound I could hear was the hum of the monitor and the thunderous sound of my heartbeat as I prayed he would express how he felt.Please speak… Get mad at me… Lash out at me… Those were the words I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't let them escape my lips.The silence that seemed to go on forever was shattered when he finally opened his lips. “Why did you keep the truth from me, Lily?”His achingly soft voice left a sting in my heart. I bit my lower lip, folded my hands in my lap, and kept the tears from falling down my cheeks as I replied, “It was the best thing
The police finally arrived. Too tired to even move, I stayed in my place. I didn't know how long I'd been seated on the ground until I heard footfalls approaching behind me. Without looking back, I knew it was Grey. I just knew it was him.“Lily?” His soft voice confirmed my assumption, and he pulled to a stop beside me, kneeling on the ground. I raised my tear-streaked eyes to him and saw panic and fear shining through his hazel-green eyes.“Is Dylan alright?” The words barely emerged from his lips. He looked at me with a wretched expression on his face. That must have been the same look on my face when I first thought Dylan was gone.“He's still weak, but Dylan is alright, Grey,” I replied, warm tears flowing down my cheeks in abundance.Grey slumped beside me. The weight he seemed to carry heavily on his shoulders disappeared as he let go of the breath he wasn't aware he was still holding. His hands covered his face, and he stayed that way for a while.“Grey?” I called weakly, wond
Ash landed on the floor, groaning in pain, blood leaking from the grievous wound in his right shoulder. He thrashed and cursed under his breath as he struggled to stop the bleeding, but the pressure he applied wasn't enough to stem the crimson liquid from flowing.All the while, my hawk-sharp eyes remained fixed on him. Just in case he tried to attack or escape, I'd shoot him—not in the shoulder this time, but somewhere more fatal so he wouldn't be able to move again. My fingers were cold and shaking, yet I didn't move the gun away from him for a second, fearing he would take the chance to grab the weapon from me and reverse the situation.“Untie yourself, Grey,” I told him. My eyes remained locked on Ash as I removed the ring from my finger and tossed it to where Grey was seated. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pick up the ring, push the button, and the dagger popped up. He began to cut the rope with the small dagger. “Damn, how did you manage to cut the rope with this?” he mu
The shot reverberated inside the room, mingled with the sound of my own horrified scream. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to strike. I even expected blood to flow from my injury, but there was nothing. Counting a few more seconds, still nothing happened. No wound and no pain. Reluctantly, my eyes opened, and I found Ash looking at me with a sinister grin on his face. The terror he saw in my expression pleased him in a horrible way. He crossed the distance between us and pressed the muzzle of the gun against my temple.The moment the cold, hard metal touched my skin, terror swelled inside me until it grew to the size of a monster. I could barely breathe. Without looking in Grey's direction, I knew he was feeling the same way, watching the gun pressed against my temple. The deafening sound of my heartbeat resounded in my ears, and I wondered if the two men could hear it too. Perhaps they couldn't at all, but I felt as though the world had stopped turning, and the only sound I c
My lips began to tremble. The deafening sound of my heartbeat resounded in my ears. This isn't happening, I told myself as my gaze remained locked on Natalia's dead body, which resembled a pale mannequin. She sat upright on the sofa, her long hair cascading down her shoulders and falling to her lap where her fingers were crossed. She looked alive and dead at the same time. I even tried convincing myself that it wasn't her, that it was just a mannequin, but I couldn't fool myself.I swallowed deep and hard. My eyes snapped shut. I counted to ten, then opened my eyes again, but she didn't disappear, which I had expected. She looked so real, and the thought alone sent shivers down my spine because I knew I would end up just like her if I didn't escape from my captor.“Holy shit,” Grey hissed under his breath in pure disbelief as he finally managed to get up and followed my gaze. “It's Natalia… It's not a mannequin like I thought at first,” he added, confirming my biggest fear. I was stil