ELENA'S POV The dull weather perfectly complimented my mood today as I moped into thin air still laying on the bed with my hands tied to each sides. I had not made a single sound or attempted to struggle when the doctors came and left each single day for a freaking week. According to Mrs Hawthorne, “we need to make sure there's no single escape no matter what”, she'd said, eyeing me in her usual contemptuous gaze. As for Adrian, I never caught a glance of him during these traumatizing sessions and the entire period I was locked in here but the moanings and loud music from his room kept me up for days straight. “Get me a mirror”, I muttered lowly, pretending not to notice miss Edith's face lit up in joy from the corner of my eyes as she raised her head to look at me. It was a surprise even for me but I couldn't help it, at least not after an entire month has passed. Although I wished to soar my dark world alone without having anyone to share my pain, anger or even irritation with b
LUCAS POV The Everhart's family Villa upstate was a place I never considered to be home for lots of reasons. Asides from visiting here once to go through the documents my father left me, I'd never been here again. I wasn't blind to the hatred and anger steaming from them during my formal introduction as the new heir of the Everhart family and businesses. Nathan carefully rolled me towards the main entrance murmuring bitterly under his breath. “I don't get why we have to do this Lucas, we could just lock every single one of those haggard faces and torture them until they cough up their last breath”, he whined endlessly, eyeing the entire mansion in contempt. My cold, scrutinizing eyes were no different from Nathan's but his continuous whinings eased up my expression a bit. “I’m disappointed in you Nathan. You've been the business advisor to my father for years and you still don't know my family is more complicated than you think”, I calmly retorted, lowering my tone as we got closer
LUCAS' POV I puffed out a smoke watching the sun set from the balcony connected to my room. The previous night had gone exactly as I planned leaving me with a pile of questions I never thought to ask ever since.Why exactly did she find me then? She would have easily given the company to her son, Henry and kept her knowledge of me a secret. Perhaps I'd have liked it better if I never knew the truth about my family. Why did she get me to come back and act nice to me, if this was her plan all along? Something just didn't add up here. Another frustrated groan escaped my lips for the tenth time as I put out the cigarette, striding back into my room and laying down.My phone buzzed on the table besides my bed indicating a text and just as I picked it up, Nathan's heavy feet stormed into my room with a heavy expression as the announced the same dreaded words appearing on my screen. “Elena's gone missing”. My feet touched the ground almost instantly as I beckoned him to the balcony where
ELENA’S POVI stared out the window out of my strangely well furnished room they threw me in for days now. After banging endlessly and even attempting an hunger strike, the pregnancy hormones didn't let me live up to my determination. Although I had no idea where I was but this place was awfully quiet and weirdly peaceful giving me some sort of much needed break. I twisted my less sore wrists which weren't tied to anywhere that they began to feel numb and swollen. My eyes wandered back to the blinking red dot at the top corner of the room knowing I was being watched. “Hey if you can hear me, at least tell me if I'm going to die or not”, I yelled towards it, turning back to the window facing the deserted island. Soon the door opened, letting in carts of food and different snacks making me sigh in frustration. “Uhm I just finished eating a full meal. Maybe you could bring it back later”, I said to one of the maids, wearing an apologetic expression but they all continued to do their j
LUCAS POV Pregnant? A bomb exploded in my ears as I took a few involuntarily steps back taking in her somber expression and her leaner stature that looked nothing like her. “She was far worse than this when we brought her here”, Lucille said, like she read my mind. “I had to check her pictures twice to make sure”. Elena casted a glare towards Lucille, warning her to keep her mouth shut then awkwardly took a few shameful glances at me. “You know, this could be a hot topic for the media”, Lucille spoke up again, her shiny eyes seemed to be enjoying every moment of this. This time, my icy glares were directed at her almost regretting having her for a sister and a twin at that. “You're now officially a side piece huh”, she continued to tease, not in the least affected by my cold gaze. “Shut up Lucille”, Elena and I snapped at the same time, already fed up of her blunt and embarrassing remarks. “Lena how? Did he force you? James mentioned he saw you at the hospital and I've been text
ELENA'S POV Having breakfast at the table was weird for me but Lucas and his sister's constant banter made it less weird. Despite the troubling call yesterday which made the three of us awfully silent, the twin siblings still found a way to jab at each other with their words. I mostly chuckled, other times choking down my food which I intentionally took my time to nibble on. Soon, my life was going to go from something to nothing all again. Every bit of happiness was taken away from me the moment I’d just started getting used to it, so why bother to hold on to any at all. My lost gaze found their way to Lucas again, sitting across the table passing glares to his sister who chewed slowly in satisfaction at her brother's expected reaction. A soft smile tugged on the corner of my lips as I instantly saw the love that had grown between them within just a day of…bonding, I guess. Although they still had a lot to uncover about their family but somehow being together made it seem less bu
LUCAS' POV Nathan stormed towards us as soon as I parked in the underground parking lot, “If I didn't know better, I'll think you were on your honey moon”, he said, his voice filled with spite and anger. I straightened my suit striding along with him and keeping an emotionless expression on my face. “Where is she?”, I asked, blatantly ignoring his remarks. “In your office, last time I checked”, he shortly replied. “Should we go there first?”, he asked curiously. I shook my head sideways, making a beeline to the conference room. Even though I was sick of standing those greedy bastards for even a second more, I still had to..for now. A guard hurriedly pushed the door open giving room for us to enter but instead of a full room, my gaze swept around the empty chairs and dusty tables. How predictable of those money sucking fools? My eyes dimmed as I noted down each of them, determined to uproot them from my company, starting with that bitch, Katrina. “Let's go”, I muttered coldly, st
LUCAS' POV The park was usually as dry as a desert during weekdays especially this early in the morning. It was perfectly quiet for Lucille and I to gather our thoughts and freely let out the questions on my mind. Nathan grudgingly stayed back at the company after I ordered him to because of his shameless stares at my sister who was too busy drowning in her own guilt to even throw a glance at him. “So, you killed father huh?”, I said slowly, as we walked to a slide where she sat on the steeps facing me. “I'm sorry Lucas. I didn't mean to”, she replied, her voice breaking and sounding defeated. I crouched in front of her, taking her hands into mine as I mustered a reassuring smile. “You had no choice Luci, I'm sure you were forced by the organization but why father tho?”, I asked, raising my eyebrows curiously. “And why did you leave since you already finished your mission?”, I asked again, now frowning in suspicion. She sighed heavily while withdrawing her hands from mine and p
NATHAN'S POV It was crazy how rarely I visited Lucas' company despite being his business advisor for years now. According to my knowledge as well, Lucas was also hardly ever here as well. More than half of the employees definitely didn't recognize me but I could care less anyways because I wasn't here for them - I was here on an errand from that cunning motherfucker, Lucas. The door to my office automatically opened as there was a face detector on it, making it the only office in the company that couldn't be compromised. Lucas had refused to increase the security into his office, saying dumb stuffs like “They'll just fine another way to break in without my knowledge, but you”, he patted me on the shoulder like it was supposed to be an encouragement. “They wouldn't give you much attention so they wouldn't see me coming…at all”. Just as I stepped inside the office, barely taking in the fresh scent of lavender and the breathtaking view from my large window occupying the entire east s
ELOISE’ POVMy heart ran wild and was continuously filled with chaotic thoughts yet releasing different words from my mouth. The mix of beats surrounding me through my heavy headphones all sounded distorted, making me feel like I was drowning and there was no one coming to save me. “...Hold on cause I'm letting go. I'm gonna—” I paused abruptly, noticing the heavy silence around me which wasn't a good thing. Spending half of my day behind a glass filled with lots of impatient and expectant eyes while I performed was not at all included in my expectations to be a part of the entertainment world. I could feel the glares piercing through the glass like lasers and imagined them drilling into my skin just like Elena's betrayal. Actually, hers stung more than this.Why was it so hard to support me? Just when I finally started to have something for myself. If she could go through her toxic marriage with Adrian, get heartbroken by Lucas and pick herself up then why couldn't I? What was it
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