Hunter cautiously set the little boy down onto his own two feet. He then desperately tried to force the windows open, but they remained stubbornly shut, having been locked by the system for security purposes. In Hunter's perception, time seemed to stretch and warp. Every second felt like a minute, every minute an hour. The weight of the situation pressed on him, making each breath he took feel more labored and each beat of his heart more pronounced. His increasing distress contrasted with Christine’s attempts to mask her aversion to heights. Whether it was genuine fear or an odd sense of self-preservation became irrelevant in the gravity of the present circumstance. His condition was palpably more serious. "Mommy, what's wrong with Daddy?" Ethan inquired, his voice a breathless whisper, the abrupt shift in his father's demeanor ringing alarm bells in his young mind. "I'm fine, no worries, champ!" Hunter reassured, raking shaky fingers through his hair, yet the visible distress etch
Until they reached the ground, the ride descended into an awfully tangible silence, a quiet that seemed to consume the space around them, wrapping them tightly in its invisible grip. Although it might have appeared that they were all engrossed, gazing through the glass wall, in stark reality, they were just staring into an abyss of nothingness. Christine cradled Ethan tenderly in her arms, her posture radiating an unspoken, fierce protectiveness. Once the immediate dread for Hunter's safety had dissipated, a wave of chilling concern for her son cascaded through her, washing over her in chilly, unsettling waves. Ethan's small frame was still trembling slightly, a manifestation of the massive guilt he was internalizing. For a boy of merely five, such guilt was a colossal weight, a burden too profound. His innocent wish had only ever been for his parents to be closer, to spend more cherished moments as a family. 'Did I make Daddy sick? What if he never forgives me? Or worse, never spea
Christine felt her composure threatening to falter, and she wondered anxiously what revelation her handsome boy might share next. “I believe we’ve had enough excitement for today. Ethan needs to complete his homework for tomorrow, and it’s getting quite late,” she said, trying to divert the topic. Ethan’s expression clouded with confusion. “But, Mommy, I don’t have any homework. You know that, right?” She mentally groaned. ‘My son might be a genius in some respects, but sometimes he misses out on the simple cues. Right now, is one of those frustrating moments.’ Christine masterfully suppressed the urge to theatrically roll her eyes—what practical purpose would it serve, anyway? “Sweetie, we should head out; your grandpa is expecting us back home.” She gently extracted Ethan from Hunter’s grasp, enveloping him in her own protective arms. Hunter, not wanting the evening to end, suggested, “Why not stay a little longer? I promise I won't press any further, if that's what's troubling
‘Why is this uncle always getting his nose in other people's business?’‘Damn!’ Hunter cursed in his mind. ‘Why such bad timing? I cannot even convince myself to feel sorry for what I was about to do. Am I becoming a really bad person?’When nobody seemed willing to answer his question, Simon posed another one. “What are the three of you doing together?”Christine took in the gloominess crossing his usually cheerful features, and it instantly made her feel like a villain in his story. She did remember how the one he loved in the past betrayed him. And though she did not believe he held such great feelings for her as well, he was not deserving of the poor treatment from her side.‘How did I manage to get myself into th
The atmosphere was wrapped into an awkward silence for the first two or three glasses of cocktails, none of them uttering a word. Moreover, they stared blankly, each of them undeniably deeply trapped inside their heads with their own demons. “Can I get you anything more?” The waiter smiled while asking them, but no response came. Caressing his chin, Simon asked Martha. “Maybe… we should go?” A single tear rolled on her cheek. “You can leave. I’m staying.” She then glanced at the waiter. “Please keep the cocktails coming.” The waiter’s gaze landed on Simon to receive a silent approval and he probably gave it, as it took a few minutes to return with another set of colorful drinks. “Why are you still here?” She locked
A few hours ago:Jake understood that Christine was appalled by the mere thought that a ruthless murdered might be her father, so he needed to find out the truth. Not knowing is always worse than knowing, is fucking torment if one were to ask his opinion.‘She even ignored the danger by requesting me to contact him the other day.’It’s been days since he cloned Markus’ phone and started tracking his activity and he found out nothing. Why was that? To Jake’s surprise, there was not much activity at all.He didn’t dismiss the idea that the man discovered his little trick, therefore, he had to act as soon as possible. On the grounds of that, he decided to contact him.[“I’d like to meet you. I’m a friend of Christine Carter, I believe you remember me.”]He stared at the phone waiting for a reply. ‘Would he even text me back? Better not hold my breath.&rsquo
Christine was having a twinge of conscience, pacing back and forth in her room. Her frame was slightly shivering, her moment of weakness from earlier generating doubts now.‘What have I gotten myself into? Should I back out?’It was an impulse that drove her to write him a text, the same impulse that for some unknown reasons, against her will, always traveled to him when she needed comfort.But what about Simon? Why didn’t she at least wait until the next day? They had a lunch appointment where she planned to clear things out. The guilt was eating her raw.She was about to text Hunter, determined to cancel their outing when she received a message from him with the dress code, causing her to change her mind, again.
‘I love you…’ Those three magic words made her heart stop, then drum in her chest with an unhealthy force and rhythm for the poor organ. Without her knowledge, her frame started to shiver. Her insides were a mess, her feelings all over the place. She could feel the hair lift on the back of her head. He declared he wanted to spend his lifetime with her, and a lifetime seemed like such a long time. As much as it was painful for her to admit it, she was in love with him as well. Yet the things she hid from him, those things would turn his love for her into hate in a mere second. She could not risk him to find out, it would be unbearable pain for her, an awful torture to watch how those loving eyes turn into accusing, loathing ones while glancing at her. She was strong, but was she strong enough to handle the s