Ada I start to feel better after I pass the three-day mark. I’m starting to learn how to live again. It’s good to just wake up and lounge around. Sure, I should get a job. I’m an adult and don’t think it’s ideal for me to sit on my ass and do nothing, living off my mother and the money my father left us, but I feel light. It’s good to take this time off to myself. Back then, before I started working for the Loxleys, I was always thinking about them. It was almost obsessive. So, even when I had free time it felt like I didn’t. This time, it’s different. I’ve tried and I failed, and I can live with that. I’m lucky I didn’t go to jail. It’s like I’ve been given a second chance at life. My mother is so supportive, and I feel bad for having put her through hell while I was working at that place. How would I have felt like if she’d been the one who was in my position? I wouldn’t like it, that’s for sure. I’d worry all the time. But now, it’s over. I feel like my life is back on trac
Ada “Ada, are you sure about this?” my mother asks as she follows me around my room. “What if this is all a trap? You have to be reasonable?”“Mom, they couldn’t have lied about it if it’s on the news,” I remind her as I shove a shirt into my suitcase. “I was the articles online. The bomb in truly happened.”“But how if you made it up?” she asks in a shrill voice. “I don’t know,” I admit. I have no idea how such a thing could be possible. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t hear a thing. It’s a sick and twisted coincidence and one that seems to be working in my favor. What is this? Divine guidance? “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Ada,” my mother says to me. “So, you’re going back? Back to that place after you put it in your head that you were going to move on?”“Can I really discard such a chance, Mom?” I ask her. “It’s like it fell from the sky. I have a chance to make things right again. What were the chances of such a thing ever happening?”She closes her eyes as if my words
MaximilianI don’t know if it’s fear or wonder in her eyes as she opens the door wider for me without a word. I enter her apartment, my curious eyes mapping the place. I can never walk into a place and not make sure of my surroundings. It looks just as I remember it looking last time, and the faint smell of vanilla and something else is lingering in the air though not as strongly. “I hope the smell isn’t offensive to you,” she says as she closes the door. A brief smile tugs at the corners of my lips, but when I whirl around to face her, it’s gone from my face. “No, it doesn’t,” I reply. “The place smells just fine.”I can tell she wants to argue with me and remind me of what I said the first time I was ever here. I don’t know what drove me to say that. Anger, perhaps. Anger that I’d liked how the place smelled and that I’ll always associate this sweet scent with her.However, she asks instead, “What can I do for you, Mr. Loxley?”“I came here because I wanted to apologize to you fo
AdaThe way everyone at the Loxley Manor is acting toward me makes me feel like a celebrity of some kind, or a local hero. Two people still died, and I hadn’t predicted anything. There was no way I’d be able to save anyone when I didn’t know a bomb was going to go off to begin with. But that aside, I think it’s great to be back. My mother, Harry, and Damson are all mad at me. I don’t blame them. I myself changed my mind way too many times already and it can be clashing to anyone. Plus, there are always dangers involved to doing this, so that’s that. But this was a golden opportunity for me to come back. How could I discard it? I now know where the other office is. Maybe I’ll find something. I just need more time. Maximilian Loxley, someone I’d considered to be so arrogant and condescending, personally asked me to work for them again. He even told me that part of his life that I’m sure just have been difficult for him to talk about. I didn’t know he had a wife and that she’d die
Ada Two hours away from ending my workday, I’m near the garden cleaning some windows on the other side of the house when l hear laughter and splashing water. Curiously, I walk the few steps that will allow me to peer over the edge of the wall. I see Maximilian Loxley right away, and he’s holding Sammy who’s kicking his legs and laughing hysterically. His hair is wet and the strands are all practically glued to his forehead. His shoulders are bare; he’s probably only wearing swim shorts. And he’s smiling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him genuinely smile before. I don’t know why I give a fuck about the scene before me. I think it’s because of the happiness it’s oozing. Sammy has such a cute laugh, and his uncle is holding his body just above the surface of the water as he kicks his legs, splashing water everywhere. “That’s it,” he says in his authoritative voice. “Keep kicking. Don’t stop.”“I’m trying!” Sammy exclaims. I can’t make myself look away, so I stand there for a handful
Maximilian “…Max?”I blink and snap my head in Rebecca’s direction. She’s staring at me with slightly wide eyes. “Did you even hear a thing I said?”“No, I’m sorry,” I reply as I cut into my steak. “What was that? You were talking about Sammy’s custody and then?”She arches a brow at me. “I’m worried about you, you know?”“There’s no reason why you need to be worried,” I assure her. “I’m just thinking, that’s all.”“You’re never distracted, Max. Not ever! And now, all you seem to do is daydream. Is something going on that you’re not telling me about?”“Like what?”“Like…” she begins, dragging the word, “the fact that Kelly confessed her feelings for you and you’ve been quiet about it like a dick for like four days?”I snap my jaw shut. As I look down at my plate of dinner, I realize that I’m not even hungry anymore. I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about this for so long and now, here it is, staring me in the face. “I don’t know, Rebecca. I don’t really want to talk about it.”“Why
AdaI’ve decided that I should keep my distance from Maximilian Loxley. I have the feeling that what’s happening isn’t healthy at all, and I need to get my priorities in order so I don’t forget what I’m doing here. What I mean is that there’s too much friendliness involved and that’s not good. I’m here for a specific purpose and won’t be deterred. So, I keep my head lower than usual during breakfast and force myself not to look at him. It’s not as easy as I thought, which means me wonder how often I actually looked at him. But whatever. That’s in the past now. I have to think about how I’ll get my hands on more information. When will I have the chance to make it upstairs again? I need to find an opportune moment where I won’t be caught. It’s important that I don’t get caught. Again. Today, I’ll be working on the sitting areas. It’s more responsibility but Mrs. Danes tells me that she thinks I can handle it. The good thing is that the sitting room isn’t too far from the stairs.
AdaWe're walking right toward the living room, which is where Rebecca and the contemptuous blonde woman are. "Max!" Rebecca exclaims joyfully before her eyes land on the bucket in his hand. Then, I see her brows knit together in confusion. The other woman wears the same look on her face. "I'll be back in a moment," he tells them before we continue walking past. I'm sure my presence attracts their attention because their eyes land on me simultaneously, and I'm forced to look away from their judging eyes. I follow him through the house. He seems to know where the kitchen is, at least. I don't have to give him directions. I mean, of course he knows where the kitchen is; this is his house, after all. It's still strange, though. We walk past a few employees who all give him these wild looks that stain my cheeks red. I know how this must look. Especially after the photos in the article. I don't want them to think of me as a Sheila. That would be dreadful. Maybe I should've stayed beh
MaximilianThe sounds of her sobs make me desperate.I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. “Ada,” I whisper her name softly while caressing her face. She sobs even louder, turning her head to the side like the sound of my voice offends her. I wait for her to speak. It’s the only thing that I can do. “I’m sorry, Max,” she says once she’s calmed down enough. Her eyes are back on mine and they’re red. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad. I just…it hit me all of a sudden. How much things changed.”“Don’t I know it,” I murmur, doing my best to keep things between us light though it’s almost impossible to ignore how hard I am right now, and how she’s the only woman I’ve wanted for so long. “I feel like such a failure,” she admits. “It’s not easy, coming to terms with a separation. I loved you, Max. There are times when I think that I always will.”I meet her gaze, hope surging inside of me. “So will I. I’ll always love you no matter what happens between us.”“I’m scared,” she admits. “I’m t
AdaWhen Max arrives, I have to admit that I feel nervous. Really nervous. Like I know what will happen before I do. Our eyes lock the minute I open the door, and a heated moment passes. I don’t know why it happened or even how. I just know that I feel this heat low in my belly at the sight of him and it didn’t happen when we saw each other the first time. This is a bad idea. I know it. Yet, I open the door wider for him, inviting him into my apartment. Max walks in uncertainly, looking around and clearing his throat. He’s clearly uncomfortable and perhaps senses the same thing that I do. I close the door and take a deep breath. “How are you feeling?” I whirl around to face him and notice that his eyes are already on me. Licking my lips, I say, “I’ve had better days.”His eyes soften with concern and for some reason, I’m transported back to the old days—the days when we used to be together all the time. He looked at me in this exact same way. “Did he try to call you again?”I
Ada But Damson never calls me, and in the end, my hopes are crushed and I have this despair deep inside of me because I don’t know what to do. Why didn’t he call?I didn’t do anything wrong. I followed his stupid instructions. I did what I was supposed to! Yet, he left me hanging, which makes me wonder exactly what his plan is. I thought I had the whole thing figured out. Apparently, I was wrong. I’m so demotivated that when my phone rings and I see that it’s Max, I cry before getting any word out. On the other end of the line, his despair is evident, and even though I hear all his questions, I can’t bring myself to answer any of them. “Ada? Ada, please, tell me what happened. Please. Don’t leave me like this. Is it Damson? What did he do? What did he say?”“I can’t take this anymore,” I sob. “I can’t. He told me he’d send me the address. Told me I’d get to…to see Victoria today.”Max is silent as I try to get my emotions in check. Sniffling and feeling considerably calmer, I say
Ada “Today is the day,” Damson says as soon as I answer the call. This sends goosebumps spreading all across my skin and I suck in a breath through my teeth. “What? What do you mean?”“I can’t tell you more but do you trust me.”I tuck a lock of hair behind my ear and fight my parched throat. I move away from the window in the living room and turn to sit on the couch instead. I don’t think my legs can keep supporting me. “Yes, I trust you.”“Then that’s all I can say to you. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. We’ll talk soon, alright?”After the call, I walk around my apartment restlessly. I’m chewing my nails. I’m pacing the floor of the living room. It’s a mess, waiting for Damson to call me again. The strange part about all this is that Max didn’t call me the way he usually does. What does that mean? That he doesn’t receive a call?I think briefly of calling him before deciding that it just isn’t worth it. What if Damson wants me to see my daughter today or something similar? May
MaximilianI nod. “That’s him.”“You’re sure?”“One hundred percent,” I grit out. “I would never forget his face. Not ever.”I’m exhilarated that we’ve managed to catch him. I know that this isn’t much—we still don’t know where he lives—but this is more progress than has been made in years. The investigator says, “I’ll be watching him closely after this to ensure that we find his residence as quickly as possible but the shop’s clerk didn’t have a fixed time. He comes and goes whenever he has to shop and it’s usually at random times. I’ve also mentioned this to Miss Loxley here, but they’ve never seen the girl. Not once in all these years.”“What could that mean?”The man shrugs. “Just that he keeps her well. I don’t know enough to draw any conclusions—this is just me guessing at things.”“We understand that,” Rebecca cuts in. My eyes are drawn to the screen again. Years of hatred bubble inside of me and nearly spill over. I have to keep it all in for when the time is right. “It’ll
MaximilianEvery time my phone rings, it can only be one of two people: Ada or that fucking lunatic. At least, that’s how it’s been in the last few days. But this time, it’s Rebecca who’s calling me. So much has happened since I last spoke to her that I forgot all about our interaction. “Max,” she says. “I have news.”“If it’s about Damson, forget it,” I say right away. “We’re already negotiating and I don’t want you getting involved and ruining everything.”Her response is a sputter. “What? What are you talking about? You’re talking to him? How? When did this happen?”“Very recently,” I reply, my tone clipped. “Max, you can’t buy into his story! That man is evil and he’s out to get both of you! I take it you didn’t call the police?”“Rebecca, we’re taking care of this the way we see fit. Thank you for your help but I never asked for it. I don’t want it.”“Max, I told you about the investigator, didn’t I? Well, now we have some information and he might have found the area that Dam
Ada The next time Damson calls, I’m ready for him. “Hello, Ada,” he says in that strange voice of his. “How have you been? Did you miss me?”The first time, I was so caught off guard that I didn’t know what to say or where to even begin. I had nothing in my head apart from the crippling despair that came with wanting to know where my daughter was. But since Max and I spoke and I had time to think about this, I knew what Damson expected of me. I knew deep inside of me what he wanted—what kind of cooperation he was looking for. And for Victoria, I would do it all. “Yes,” I answer in a small voice, trying to sound afraid. I hoped he would buy my act because that was what I would be doing for the next few times we talked. Until I found our daughter, that is. I hear the sound of water. It sounds like he’s taking a bath. “I’ve been taking to Max. I always call him before I call you. You know why?”I don’t answer him. “It’s because I need to remind myself why I did all this before I
Ada So much has happened today that I’m not even shocked that Max is standing in my living room. When I received Damson’s call, it left me completely disoriented. As I stare at Max’s face, I recall it even now. I don’t think I would ever be able to forget the phone call I had with him. “Hello, Ada,” he said. Though he sounded the same, his voice had a strange ring to it. “It’s been a long time since we’ve talked, hasn’t it?”I was so shocked that he was talking to me that I didn’t say anything in response for like a solid minute. I thought it was perhaps an interviewer or something. I never would have guessed that it was him even though I’d been waiting for this call for the longest time. For seven years, to be precise. “I thought you’d be happy to hear from me,” he claimed. “I’ve been holding myself back for the longest time. Every single day that passed, I wanted to call you. But I held myself. Now the time has come.”My breaths became shaky and I couldn’t open my mouth to spea
Maximilian “It’s been a long time since we last spoke, haven’t we?” Damson says in my ear. His voice still has that crazy quality to it. He doesn’t sound like a sane person. And the worst part is that this man is by my daughter’s side, somewhere out there. We don’t even know if he left the state or even the country. We know nothing. I clench my jaw so tightly that I hear a molar crack. I remind myself that this time, things have to be different. I need to stay calm and hope that this time, he’s going to tell me what he wants so we can get our daughter back. Everything is depending on me. “You always had so much to say, and now you’re saying nothing. You’re silent. I wonder…does that mean you declare defeat?”“Yes,” I say, the word scratching the sides of my throat and making my mouth so bitter that I nearly gag. I’ll say whatever I can to please this man. I’d do absolutely everything.“Yes? Good,” he claims. “Ada has received a similar call from me and she has also declared defe