Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale...Her eyes opened a sliver. White. Too white.Darkness took her back in.Her ears caught the hum of faraway chatter. She felt so weak. Fighting to lift her eyelids, she gave up and tiredly resigned herself to listening to the ongoing buzz around her. Something soft pressed against her head. Her brows twitched. Letting out a delayed puff of air, she pushed at her eyelids and was pleased when they lifted. The first thing she saw was blue. Blue walls. Movement to the side caught her attention. Though it was hazy, she could make out the figure of a man fiddling with the curtains. Moments later, bright light flooded the room. She winced and slammed her eyes shut, easing them open again when she felt the bed beside her dip. Through her lashes, she saw a downturned head. Trying to move her mouth, she found that it was uncomfortably dry. "Brandon," she mouthed. His head flew up. "Elizabeth," he breathed. Blinking tiredly, she made to nod. He was besi
Over the next few days, Elizabeth had strictly refused a therapist, choosing to talk to her friends about it instead. She had also made up with Sherlie and had openly admitted to having a new fear of alleyways. How wonderful. Hehe. She was discharged the very next day and whilst she still looked about as coloured as a rainbow, she literally danced out of the place. Hospital beds just weren't it. At all. As soon as they arrived at Brandon's, she forced her sore body out of the car, trudged to her room, threw herself on the bed and clenched her teeth in pain."Elizabeth!""I'm okay," she wheezed. Two days passed and it had began to snow so heavily, the grounds were completely submerged. Companies shut down earlier than expected as the snow took them all by surprise, but it was all in good stride. Christmas was fast approaching, anyway. For once, New york rested. Well, as resting as New York could. Beth breathed with relief that she had gone present shopping weeks earlier. They were o
The first few weeks into the new year was all fun and abandon, but as the time came for the working class to return back to what they did best- work- Christopher included, Elizabeth found herself turning up at bars and clubs in the evenings to sing. Nothing like talent making a way for you. She could tell off Brandon's less than happy smiles that he didn't like it, but she didn't care. Not one bit. Because it wasn't about the money. It was about having something worthwhile to do and being passionate about it. He had surprised her with his presence a few of those nights in show of support, and boasted about her voice like a proud father over midnight ale with his friends. That had meant more to her than she could explain.On a breezy night, while Beth was splayed out on the floor of her apartment, going through the song lyrics for an orphanage she had recently volunteered to sing at, Brandon sat on the couch, typing away on his laptop. Glancing at him every once in a while, she smiled
After dropping the sleeping Mia off at her dad's at the close of day, Beth took a cab to Brandon's on the other side of town. Hauling the numerous shopping bags out of the cab, she waved at the driver and began up his driveway, pausing at the green porche parked there. Did he have company? Trudging the rest of the way to the door, she knocked and waited. When no response came, she knocked again. When there was still no response, she tried the handle. The door gave. Huh. Stepping in, she closed and locked it behind her, looking left and right at the pristine state of the house. Her eyes glanced over and did a double take at the dark blue designer purse sitting on the couch. Dropping the bags she held and taking off her crossbody bag, she went and peeked in the hallway, her body tight for some reason. Glancing back at the bag, she stared at it for a few seconds before stepping into the hallway, and that was when she caught a whiff of a smell that wasn't Brandon's. A smell that was all
When Brandon's eyes came open, the first thing his brain registered was a voice. He drew in a breath and felt his lungs stretch somewhat sorely. Blinking once, twice with his gaze on the white structure, he watched the ceiling, zoning in and out. It wasn't until a blurry face came into his direct line of sight that his mind began the journey back to earth. He watched her smile with a delicacy that reminded him of warmth and fuzziness... And blinked."Brandon?"He blinked again, stalling the easy urge to zone out again."Can you hear me?" Something warm fell to his hand and his fingers jolted. That jolt forced his sight to focus. "Hm?"Her smile burned brighter. "Brandon." She disappeared and was back a second later, helping him sit up. He felt spent with a strange weariness that possessed an undertone of relief. What happened? The rim of a cup was placed on his mouth and he downed the contents like a man starved, not hearing her warnings to go easy. After his third glass, he took th
Laying off office life for a whole week served to be equal parts easier and harder than he thought, realizing just how used he was to the rush of the office. When he could press a button to summon his assistant, at home, he had to reach for his phone and make calls. On the bright side, he had Beth around him and if that wasn't fresh air enough, with all her troubles and contributions, he got to listen to her speak professionally, and boy was that sexy as heck. On Friday, Beth left him alone for the first time that week to go see a long lost friend. One he vaguely remembered her telling him about. It had barely been two hours into her absence and he missed her already. The house was too quiet. Asides Lola who was too busy napping to pay him some attention, he was all alone. And... Oddly, bored, even though he had work to do. Maya Yosef had been a part of Beth and Sherlie's friend group, once upon a time. Her mother died at around the same time Beth's father had. Maya was one of the pe
With Sherlie's hand in hers, Beth watched the city of New York whizz by, brimming with such a high level of excitement, she was in danger of taking off like a rocket. How the day had turned out was nothing short of divine. After arriving at her uncle's place and catching up, not only did he offer a job- which she gladly accepted- he expressed his interest in a certain young, calculated genius. Brandon Wade.All Beth could do in that moment was stare. Because partnering with Glaze inc would be phenomenal! And that was exactly what Micah wanted, but it proved rather difficult for him to get through to Brandon... Until Maya had said with a smirk,"Count this your lucky day, dad. Brandon Wade just happens to be Beth's boyfriend." The first thing Micah did was frown and ask,"Is he treating you well?"Beth laughed tenderly. Because even while one of his goals were being ticked, he still worried about her. She flung her arms around him, hugging him tight."Is this your way of telling me t
As Brandon drove, he threw glances at Beth, still too floored to speak. The unsettling truth of her working very closely to other males- some of them without the basic understanding of boundaries- made sighing and just going along with it harder. It wasn't that she didn't look presentable, she did... She just breathed sexiness at the same time. Her simple, red, knee length dress with cup sleeves was the true definition of light and corporate. Paired with black flats and a small, white bag, combined with the tight bun at the back of her head, she looked absolutely ready to rock the working world. Where the problem was was the plunging neckline. It was modest enough that it didn't show too much cleavage and allowed space for easy movement, but teasing to just the right amount of peeking, smooth skin, it was sinful. That she was totally oblivious only made it all the more flirtatious. Brandon was so occupied with his train of thought, he didn't notice the Gregorian type mansion before th
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