The Jeans fit perfectly. Too perfectly. So did the plain white t-shirt. She even pulled it together to tie the bottom in a round nut, highlighting just how small her waist was and how round her hips were. Forcing his eyes down, he stared at the pure white Nike shoes on her feet. She looked effortlessly sexy. He looked back up at her face. The innocent and gleeful smile wore chased every immoral thought out of his head. "You look amazing.""All thanks to you," she said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. "Thank you, Brandon.""Elizabeth-""Shut up and let me thank you!" She ground out, huffing in displeasure."His eyes widened.Taking his silence as acceptance, she smiled gracefully."Thank you for letting me sleep here. For getting me all this. You even turned up at the hospital yesterday, when you really didn't have to. You could have just stayed at your party with your investors, but you didn't. Not... Not a lot of people have... Come through for me. Thank you for being a
Sarah was wheeled into the operation theater.Beth was restless and antsy. Brian had showed up with a few snacks, but she couldn't eat. She wasn't sure she could keep anything down. The closest she had gotten to relaxing was sitting with her feet rapping against the floor in quick successions.After six solid hours of anxiety, the doctor finally came out to give Beth good news. The surgery was successful. Sarah was wheeled into a recovery room. Being the fighter that she was, Sarah smiled and laughed even when the doctor and everyone else told her to take it easy. After spending some time with her, Brandon, Sherlie, and Brian stepped out to allow Beth some alone time with her."I always loved it when you sang to me,"Sarah croaked out. Beth laughed. "I haven't sang in a long time, mamma.""You have been too busy. Showcase your talent to your mamma. Please?"Smiling down at her mom, Beth nodded. "Okay."Sarah listened with a gentle smile on her face as Beth's melodious voice filled her
"This is amazing!" She whisper yelled."Shall I play you some music, Elizabeth?""Can you?!""I can. Please, select an option."On the screen, there appeared options upon options of different genres. From reggae, to classical, to jazz, to classical jazz, to hip hop, to country... Even gospel and italian music! With her mouth wide open, she looked up to Brandon.He pointed at her open mouth."I don't know what to say.""You can start by declaring me the best gift giver the world has ever known.""I feel so... So honoured. Wh-- you-.... I don't know what to say," she stuttered, going to wrap her arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you so, so much. I..."He tipped her chin up and pecked her lips."You're welcome." Before she could run off to work, Jackie called and flamboyantly gave her the day off. Deliriously happy and at peace with herself, Beth proceeded to drag everyone into the woods to play with water balloons. Sarah decided to hold onto the pomeranian puppy and the buckets of wat
Minutes later, Beth appeared with her bag in her hand and a smiling Jackie following behind her."Go off with your man now. You take care of my girl, okay?" Jackie waved them off. As they drove off, Brandon asked,"Why are you so quiet?"Beth sent him a glance. "What do you have against a girl and her silence?""You never pass up a chance to bug me. What's up?""Nothing. Just tired. Where are we going?""Are you okay? You've been looking a little pale since yesterday.""Pale?" She chuckled like he was a gibberish speaking baby. "How?""You skin looked flushed.""Flushed? Nah, I'm just tired. I'll be fine."Are you sure?""Yup. Where are we going?""Where do you want to go?"Beth shrugged, feeling a headache coming on."How about I teach you to game?""Hm?""Video games at my place."Beth instantly sat straighter. "Like a PS game?"He nodded. She suddenly beamed with excitement. As they went on, Brandon noticed that the further they drove, the droopier Beth got. Brandon's worry went up
The next morning, Beth woke up and after taking a bath and brushing her teeth, she turned on her phone. Fielding all the messages from the others, she went straight to her mom's. Sarah's third voicemail left her heart pounding and her entire body tightening with fear. Retrieving nothing, she immediately bolted out of the room and out of the hotel. Brandon pushed past the crowd in front of Beth's house like a mad man. His eyes were stuck on the building ablaze in front of him. Thick smoke darkened the clouds. He felt the hands of the Police officers and Brian around him, but he kept fighting. He had to. Beth's house was on fire. 'Elizabeth, I'm choking. I-I think I left the stove turned on earlier. I'm going to ch-eck. Where are you? C--call me as soon as you get this.' Sarah's strangled voice kept ringing in Beth's head. The voicemail was sent a little over an hour ago. She had called over and over again, but it had gone straight to voicemail. "Please, go faster," she hassled the
As Beth walked down the lonely road with her hoodie up to avoid the stares of people, she turned off her phone and shoved it in her pocket. Sherlie had stayed away from Brian because of her, and for as long as she remained there, Sherlie would continue to avoid people till Beth was ready to be around them. Beth wasn't ready, but she wasn't going to wait till she was. She couldn't risk causing issues in Sherlie's life. She refused to cause a rift between Sherlie and Brian. She couldn't cause that too. If only she had gone home... If only she had left the hotel sooner...If only she had blown Brandon off from the start...If only Brandon hadn't bet on her...Why? Why was her life so sorrowful? Why did she attract pain wherever she went? Sherlie didn't think so. Brian didn't believe it. Her mom used to call her a blessing.... Her father had always called her his bright light in darkness... But light didn't kill. Sherlie. Brian. Brandon. Her mom... If only they knew. If only they k
"I can-""Shh." He rose his eyes to hers, then looked down to the angry finger imprints around her neck. She watched as the simmering anger in his eyes boiled over. Bowing her head in resignation, she let him wash her in her bra and panties. In that moment, she didn't care. Her mind wandered. She drifted in and out of her body, remembering words that cut through her, and images that caused her heart to pound against her ribcage. When a hand landed on her shoulder, she flinched, spun around, and instantly cried out in pain."Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."Her knees buckled. He caught her and with his arms around her waist, helped her out of the shower cubicle. In the bathroom's front space, he draped her in a towel and led her into the room. Handing her a robe, he briefly left the room for her to put it on, and to hand Lola over to the vet who'd come at his beckoning. Knocking twice, he stepped back into the room, holding a cup of grape juice. Beth sat on the bad, ramrod straight. Sitting
She forced air into her lungs and held it before slowly letting go. After repeating the procedure a few more times, her racing heart began to slow down. Her lungs didn't feel as tight."That's right, baby girl. Breathe in and out. Good," Brandon spoke in her ear.She looked to Brandon with tired eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry." Brandon watched Beth's eyes close as she fell asleep. Sherlie and Brian who had been stood at her room's door watching the whole ordeal, followed Brandon after he partially left the door open and went to the living room.Unable to sit, Brandon began pacing the length of the living room."I have never seen Beth that scared before. Ever." As he ranted, he racked his brain. What could have possibly made her react like that? She had looked so scared and helpless. She was plain terrified. With a puzzled look on his face, Brian pulled out a dining chair and lowered onto it. Sherlie stood with her back against the wall, deep in thought."What happened before we came i
EPILOGUE One year later Brandon had travelled exactly six months after the birth of his daughter, needing to complete the project in Australia and then another in Africa. They had made a habit of speaking over video calls every day, and while it was not what Brandon wanted, he still got to watch his daughter grow. He got to hear her say her first words and was even lucky enough to see her take her first steps. Bernice was one of those kids who maintained their hair and eye colors from birth and she was absolutely gorgeous. Every time he looked at his daughter and woman, he couldn’t help but feel so thankful and protective. What would he do when she was grown enough to start going out with boys? It rose his blood pressure just thinking about it. Beth was just happy she had had Brandon for the early stages because heaven knew that it hadn’t been easy. Bernice had turned one just two days ago and was already walking, howbeit unsteadily, pronouncing a few words, had a small set o
Brandon left a week later.Not being able to accompany him because her doctor had advised against it, and being fully aware that it was a five months long trip, Beth had spent numerous nights lying in tears and even more nights lying awake. Even though they spoke as much as they could over the phone and she fell asleep to the sound of his voice a lot of the time, it still wasn’t enough. Nothing beat his physical presence. At her eighth month, Jasmine and Byron had appeared at the house and bundled her and Lola away, much to Micah’s delight. Comforting herself with the fact that she was now an aunt, Beth took to caring for her new nephew, Malachi, Sherlie as much as she could. It was a welcome distraction herself from her loneliness, too. “Beth?” She had just put the sleeping Malachi in his crib. She turned and watched Sherlie enter.“There you are. He’s asleep?”She nodded, smiling.Sherlie had her hand and was pulling her out the next second. Beth rolled her eyes an
Dedicating a whole five minutes one morning to begging her not to do anything she shouldn’t and then going ahead to prepare her a healthy breakfast of steak and vegetables because she just absolutely loved her meat, Brandon finally went and got ready for work, then devoted another five minutes into pleading with her to eat and rest. As a plus, he had somehow gotten the eight months pregnant Sherlie to leave work and come spend time with her. That afternoon, she ended up fussing over Sherlie and lulling her to sleep. Sherlie’s pregnancy wasn’t a walk in the park either and as she neared her due date, extra care had to be taken. Though, how she escaped the horrible nausea and got to go to work and do whatever she wanted, Beth didn’t know. Lucky.Rebalancing on the feet, Beth heaved and planted her hands on her waist. Looking up, she licked her dry lips and sighed. It was further than it looked. Pulling in a deep breath, she pushed up on her tiptoes again and stretched up as far as she c
After throwing up that morning and sending Brandon a small, pleading smile, they relaxed together a bit and then went for the party. No sooner than her feet touched the ground of Brian and Sherlie’s home did a wave of dizziness, so strong and overwhelming, hit her. Somehow, she was able to strengthen her grip on the car door and avoid falling to the ground. Brandon was out of the car and beside her in no time.“Beth—”“I’m okay. I promise.” She took his hand and squeezed lightly. “I’m fine,” she reaffirmed, pleading with her eyes.He was going to haul her away and apologize later when Brian and Sherlie showed up.“Beth!”She turned and went to embrace her best friend and Brandon watched her go, glaring at her back. Smiling at the hugging women, Brian approached and extended a hand to Brandon. Brandon clasped it and pulled him in for a brotherly hug.“What’s wrong, man?”Brandon glanced at the women who were now making their way into the house practically glued at the hips and said, “S
Two years later…Brandon watched his sleeping wife with a worried look on his face.She had returned from work earlier looking rather pale and drained. When he had asked her what was wrong, she had given him a weak smile and waved him off. Mere minutes later, he’d found her asleep on the couch with her laptop open in front of her. His worry had begun when he had carried Beth, the usually light sleeper, up to the room and she hadn’t budge. Not once. Less than forty minutes later, Micah had called to ask how she was. Apparently, she had been sick in the office earlier, after which she passed out. After assuring Micah, Brandon sat, lost. Why hadn’t she told him? What was wrong with her?By the time she awoke three hours later, he already had dinner ready and waiting. Pulling her down on his lap at the dining table, he held her there and just watched her eat. Beth turned after a while and finally asked,“What’s up?” His silence was unusual. After observing her for a while, he sigh
Elizabeth pulled in a deep, sharp breath and froze as pain like no other whipped and tore through her. Her body revolted instantly and wanted the intruder out with a desperation that threatened to drive her mad. She wasn’t aware of the tears that had built up and were flowing down her cheeks until she felt a gentle thumb brush against it and cup it. Then, Brandon’s ragged breaths reached her ears.Brandon was beside himself with ardent shock and raw bliss. His strength had never been put to the test like it was then. He had thought the initial opening was tight, but then…“Fuck.”His jaw was clamped shut. His body trembled. She was so tight, it was almost painful. Everything within him roared so harshly, he had trouble breathing. Yet, he remained still, stretching the quickly thinning walls of his self-control. She clung on to him like a second skin, squeezing for all she was worth. He couldn’t tell where he ended and where she begun.So tight.So very tight.“Fucking hell.” Fighting
When Brandon woke up, the sun was on its way to setting and beautiful hues of pink, light brown and the palest purple decorated the sky, giving it an eye capturing glow. The light of the sky danced into the room through the open slide doors, accompanied by the gentle evening breeze, bathing the room in gentle lights even as the breeze lifted the transparent curtains, giving the room an ethereal, peaceful feel. It was a story book sight. One a photographer would love to capture. Absolutely gorgeous, yet, as extraordinary as it was, Brandon found himself sneered and captured by the nymph partially atop him. She moved in her sleep, grazing his sleep hardened manhood with her thigh, and he closed his eyes and let out a groan.“Sorry,” she mumbled.He opened his eyes and looked down at her. At the same time, she rose sleep softened eyes up at him and smiled.“Hey.”He returned her smile. “Hey.”“Did you sleep well?”She dragged her thigh over his bulge as he went to respond and watched hi
Looking at the door, she bit her lip in contemplation and, finally making up her mind, pushed the door open. The sound of water pelting the floor reached her ears and she paused, staring at the closed shower glass. He was taking a bath? Not knowing whether to stay or go, in the next few seconds, Beth just stood there and twiddled her thumbs in thought, deciding to be brave at the last second. Creeping to the closed shower doors, she glanced behind her once to check that the door was still open just in case she needed to bolt, then rose a small fist and knocked the glass. “Brandon?” Water kept pouring. Being able to make out his blurry form through the thick, wet glass, she waited and watched, squinting her eyes to catch a reaction. Resisting the urge to press her face against the glass, she relieved her eyes of the strain and settled for waiting. No response. Pulling and biting on her cheek wall, she glanced around and knocked again. “Brandon?” She counted down the seconds, but
The next day was claimed by work, bright and early. While that was a damper, Beth took it all in good stride. After all, she was a firm believer in doing anything to get what you want.While Brandon sat at his desk in his newly incorporated home office receiving calls, sorting faxed files and taping away at his laptop, Beth was with him every step of the way, being the perfect distraction. When she wasn’t helping him sort through his papers, she was playing with Lola, bending over, taking off items of clothing—because of the terrible heat—whispering in his ear what she could just say out loud, laughing softly, or just plain staring, and whenever he caught her, she would hold his gaze, smile and turn away.2 p.m. rolled around and deciding that he needed to see some people in person and get other things sorted, Brandon announced that he was making a quick trip to the office. Now, what kind of a wife would Beth be if she didn’t tag along? After ensuring that Lola had enough food and wat