ELENA'S POV As Lucas led me through the familiar paths of the park, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. This was where we had our first date back in high school, a memory that still held a special place in my heart."You brought me here on purpose, didn't you?" I asked, gazing up at the towering trees and the twinkling lights strung between them.Lucas smiled, his eyes meeting mine. "I thought it would be nice to revisit the place where it all began."Our gazes locked, and for a moment, I was transported back to that magical night so many years ago. The sound of our laughter echoed through my mind as we strolled hand in hand under the stars, young and carefree.Back in the present, we reached the same bench where we had shared our second kiss. My heart fluttered as Lucas took my hand, guiding me to sit beside him."Remember when we were here last?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper."How could I forget?" I replied, feeling the warmth of his hand in mine. "We were so youn
LUCAS'S POV As we entered the park, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. This was where Elena and I had our first date, and the memories of that night still lingered in my mind.Elena looked around, taking in the familiar surroundings. "You brought me here on purpose, didn't you?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.I smiled, meeting her gaze. "I thought it would be nice to revisit the place where it all began."As our eyes locked, I could almost hear the echoes of our laughter from that night long ago. We were so young and carefree, with no idea of what the future would bring.We reached the bench where we shared our first kiss, and I took Elena's hand, guiding her to sit beside me. "Remember when we were here last?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper."How could I forget?" she replied, her hand warm in mine. "We were so young and foolish back then."I chuckled, nodding in agreement. "But that's what made it so special, Elena. We had no idea wh
ELENA'S POV" Let's head home, shall we?" I suggested, and he nodded, taking my hand in his as we walked to his car. And yet, there was a part of me that couldn't help but wonder what it might be like if we were more than just friends.But then, he has a fiancée!The uncertainty of our relationship hung in the air, leaving me with a mix of hope and confusion as I pondered what the future might hold.I sighed as we approached his car. He pulled open the passenger seat for me before heading to the driver's seat." Elena," he called, and I turned to look at him." Are you sure everything is ok?" He asked, staring into my eyes and I smiled awkwardly. " Hmhh" I hummed, trying to retain the smile on my face.He nodded, not believing a word i said but decided not to push it any further." OK then" he muttered, starting the car as he zoomed off to our destination. I stared out the window, pondering about my life.' If only he didn't run away back then, we could have been married but I gues
LUCAS'S POV I stared at Elena as she waved at me while standing at the entrance of Adrian's home.I smiled sadly, if only I had not left back then. But then I didn't have any choice than to flee so I could protect my mom.I sighed and drove back home, pulling up at home, I got out of the car and threw the keys to my driver who got into the car to go park it properly. I stepped in and was greeted by the maids, they tried telling me somethingbut i ignored them as i walked towards the couch.I sat tiredly and pinched my forehead, i could feel myself getting brain freeze from the ice cream we had earlier. I am not a lover of ice cream but i will do anything to make Elena happy.A hand stretched a cup of milk to me and I smiled taking it and gulping it down." Thank you Maria " I mumbled without looking up and returned the glass back to her.Soon, I felt hands on my head, gently massaging it and I sighed in relief but then it clicked.No one massages my head like this except my mom!I
ELENA'S POV " What thug did he hire?" I muttered, breathing heavily from running . I paces around my room in thought before finally deciding to sit on my bed." He hired a thug to molest someone. Was the someone me?" I questioned in a whisper. ' But if he hired someone to molest me, he wouldn't have come over to save me!'This is messing with my brain, and I need answers!" Who did he hire someone to molest? Why were they discussing secretly?" I muttered, resting my back against the wall tiredly. I slowly sat down and dragged my legs to myself, still thinking about what I had heard earlier. I began to doze off, and soon, I fell asleep in my awkward position. *******The sun shone directly on my face, and I frowned, opening my eyes.I hissed in pain and closed it immediately. The sun ray was shining directly into my eyes.I tried to stand up but fell back to the floor. It was then I realised that I had fallen asleep in an awkward position. " Oh well," I mumbled, stretching
ELENA'S POV " Is that the only thing you heard in the whole sentence I just said?" I mumbled, and he chuckled." Of course I heard everything, but what got my attention was you asking him for permission just to go see your mom! That is like him caging you in there!Did you ask for permission to go out with me?" He probed, and I could sense confusion in him." What the fuck is wrong with you Lucas, of course I did not ask for his permission to hang out with you but that isn't what is important right now!I need you to focus on what I told you, please. I need to know who he hired the thug to molest!" I ranted and he sighed." I am sorry" he apologised. " There is nothing to be sorry about, I just need to know if you will be able to help me or not" " Of course I can help you find out about it but under one condition!" He trailed off and I bite my lips nervously. " Under what condition?" I asked." Why are you concerned about this?" He queried and I took in a deep breath." Well, da
LUCAS POV" Why didn't you try calling me? So you called Adrian instead of me? Is that how less you think of me?" I threw questions at her out of anger. " Well, Mr., I had called you that night but then..." she trailed off, and I felt like she was hiding something, but what?Why didn't she tell me about it?" But then what?" I asked, eagerly waiting for a response. " Nothing, just forget about it. The past is in the past, I just need you to help me find out about it, ok?" She asked, and I didn't reply immediately. " Ok, I will let you know when I find out about it," i muttered and hanged up the call.I was feeling frustrated and mad at myself because she made it seem like it was my fault she almost got molested when I didn't even know anything about it.'What could have happened the day she called me?' I thought, frowning in confusion. Anyways, let me find out about what she requested before any other thing.Picking up my phone, I dialled James's number and waited impatiently as i
ELENA'S POV The prospect of dinner with Adrian's family loomed ahead, filling me with a sense of dread. His parents, especially his mother, had never been particularly fond of me, their arrogance and sarcasm making every interaction uncomfortable.I reluctantly rose from my bed and prepared myself for the evening, choosing a conservative dress that might win their approval. I knew it was important to Adrian, so I would put on a brave face and do my best to make the night go smoothly.As I entered the dining room, Adrian's parents were already seated, their gazes appraising me as I took my seat beside Adrian. I couldn't help but feel uneasy. The opulent surroundings did little to quell my anxiety about the impending meal with Adrian's parents. His mother, especially, had never been particularly fond of me, and I was expecting the same biting remarks and unwelcoming demeanour as always."Elena," Adrian's mother said coolly, her lips pursed in a tight smile. "How lovely of you to
ELENA'S POV My eyes flurried open, gradually adjusting to the soft beams of sunlight resting on my face. I stretched more comfortably, suddenly pausing as my body finally sensed the unfamiliar surface where I laid. Turning my face to take a look, my lungs gave way to a shrieking sound but thankfully, sighting Dave laying peacefully on the sofa opposite mine made me swallow the panic rising to my throat. How could I have done this? Yanking the covers off my body, I jerked into a sitting position trying to make sense of the situation with a lot of questions buzzing around my head. How had I fallen asleep in a stranger's house? How did I not scream myself awake somewhere in the middle of the night? This was all too much for me, I had to get out of here. With light and careful steps, I finally stepped outside racing all the way to my house and collapsing on my couch, breathing hardly. “Elena?”, Eloise' voice came from behind me, circling me with suspicion in her eyes. “Oh Elly, w-wh
LUCAS' POV Not so surprisingly, the recordings from the cameras in my office had been wiped out, making me order for all the cameras to be removed. There was no use for them anyways since their locations had been found already. The culprit could have been Henry or any other pawn and despite how impatient I felt in digging out the root of the case, I knew it would only do the opposite of the results I really wanted. ‘patience, patience, Lucas’, I chanted repeatedly underneath my breath with my knuckles resting on my desk as I watched them dispose all the cameras, not knowing whether to be angry or sad. Despite my tough and cold exterior that night as I threatened him - meaning every of those words still, the sting from the betrayal still hurt deeply more than anything. I'd thought giving him a promotion and making him the acting CEO during times when I was out the country for a meeting or business dinner would make him realize my sole trust in him and recognition as my brother.
ELENA'S POV Dear Miss Elena, we sincerely appreciate your offer to design the hall for the party. Please take a look at the contract details below and let us know if you need any clarifications. We'd be happy to help! I blinked twice at my screen still in awe at Dave's commitment to helping me soothe my frustrations and bring my dreams to life. How come he still went ahead with this plan even when I'd asked him to stay away from me? No. This was just too unfair. He didn't have to do all these because my response was still the same. The past few years of my life had been traumatic and still overwhelming at the slightest thought of it. No one, not even Eloise knew about my constant nightmares and the pills stacked up under my pillow that helped me sleep soundly. That's right! I had ran out of those and needed to restock soon. “Hey Lena”, Eloise said, jumping in on the bed and snuggling up to me. My eyes froze into the empty space in front of me, surprised at her sudden entrance whi
NATHAN'S POVThe Brooks family was among the top five wealthiest in Atlanta - a city known for its beautiful summer sights and most times, a substitute of Vegas. Casinos, drugs and trafficking thrived bountifully underneath the beautiful women and all the fun you could find there. Despite my family always emphasizing my addiction to fun and lots of women flicking around me, somewhere deep down inside my heart accused them for bringing me up here in the first place. My father for instance, was never a better example than any of us as we - my brother and I grew up to see different shades and sizes of women leaving his bedroom every morning. At a very young age, we made countless trips to the casino watching how he handled deals with a few of his ‘businessmen’ and how we feared he might lose his life sometimes. Fortunately, it didn't take long to get used to the tense atmosphere mixed with thick smoke and the smell of pipes and drugs in the air. Not so surprisingly, it soon became m
ELENA'S POV Wine didn't seem to work on me anymore as I tossed uncomfortably throughout the night, unable to get any sleep. Seeing the soft sunlight reflect through my curtains, I decided to get some work done; more like continue from where I'd left off last night. With Eloise nowhere in sight, I quickly assumed she was off to work doing something meaningful with her life anyways. Going at this pace for me, would probably take me long, painful months to get any real clients. “Fuck it”, I cursed, jogging all the way to my kitchen to make some breakfast while listening to Eloise' cover on the said David Thompson's song. David Thompson. Right. I had to do some background check on him so I swiped out my phone, typing his name and meticulously reading every article, every headline written about him. And just as I expected, there were a few terrible news about him especially concerning his divorce and scandals about his record label company. My heart skipped a beat skimming through th
ELENA'S POVIt was exactly three days since I went out for a run again, not because I was scared to see Dave again but…okay, I was scared to run into him again. So here I sat by the window with a hot coffee in hand, and my work laptop on my laps anonymously pitching my offers to potential clients; most of which were the rich people in the city. Unfortunately, the only few replies I got was them stating their need for a housekeeper. “What the fuck is wrong with these people?” I muttered to myself angrily, forcefully closing the laptop shut and heading towards the kitchen for another round of coffee. “Can I have one of that too?”, Eloise asked cheerfully behind me, a hint of amusement in her voice. Humming lowly in response, I filled an extra cup and handed it to her by the time I was done. “What's causing all the mood swings Elena?”, she asked, settling into the chair opposite me. I hissed in irritation, shifting restlessly in my chair as I seethed with frustration. “These rich peo
LUCAS' POV Tonight was just as gloomy as the last one when we met up at this very bar, somehow hoping to meet the girls here - at least for Nathan and I. James on the other hand was unusually quiet and brooding over his third glass tonight, detached away from himself. “What is happening to us?”, Nathan questioned, stretching his arms with multiple lines of frustration running across his face. “Just when I thought I didn't matter to them and I'm happy, he just ties me to that slut?”, he ranted, yelling above the loud music blaring around us. Too occupied in my own emptiness to offer any real response, I simply nodded in understanding, acknowledging his frustrations even more clearer as I was in the same position. How convenient for my late father who never even had a glimpse of me from the time of my birth to seal my future with a devil in human form - Mr. Anderson. “Welcome to a man's world Nathan”, I finally answered, after long minutes of silence. Nathan scoffed in response, fo
ELENA'S POV Since things had gone haywire the last time I stepped into the city, I'd decided to stay away until I was sure of what to do with myself. But for now, I bit into a slice of toast and grabbing a bottle of water to take a long for my morning jog. In the past few days, I was starting to become too relaxed staying indoors and it had somehow made my brain lazy. So I opted to go for exercises, starting with a morning run every morning. I stepped out of the house with a determined glint shining in my eyes, staring ahead through the light fog hovering the neighbourhood. “Good thing it’s not fully dawn yet”, I muttered underneath my breath, a smirk playing at the corner of my lips in satisfaction as I didn't feel ready to be known by anyone here.Apart from Eloise and perhaps Luci, I hardly ever had a good relationship with anyone. From high school until college, everyone always acted like I was a threat around them or just something they couldn't stand. Back in high school, I
ELOISE' POVIt was all fun and games until I saw it before my very own eyes. The very girl I loathed and just like that - the solid bricks of reassurance built somewhere in my heart crumbled slowly. His love for me was never a doubt but accepting it was harder than I wanted it to - still, the end came too quickly even though I'd always known it. Expected, even. I took a quick glance at my phone longing for that familiar name sliding through the screen but none came - for days. Just to make sure, his contacts were all unblocked, and I knew he knew that. I wanted to listen to his own side of the story, yearning to believe them even if my mind fought it. Nathan had never lied to me, and he never would but it didn't make any difference in what I believed, especially now.“Please give this to him when you see him”, I said in a downcast tone, handing his black card to his house keeper who obviously had a lot to say but my shielded aura was enough warning. I missed her too regardless. Wa