ELENA'S POV The day had finally arrived- my freedom at only a grasp away. Meanwhile I'd been fired from the company the day after the press conference. Adrian's father had refused to let me inside his office or anywhere inside the Hawthorne's mansion. Adrian however, had given me an earful of threats including, how he was going to imprison me the moment he won the case. All these contributed to why my mood continued to deplete faster while I kept watching the clock ticked closer and closer to the time. There was no telling what Adrian was up to but by now, I could estimate the lengths he could go which even made my mood worse. “I'm done Miss Edith”, I muttered quietly, shifting my chair backwards as I exited the dining room. She wouldn't be happy about it but neither was I, about anything.Adrian busied himself with cuffing the sleeves of his shirt which suprisingly looked well ironed and then, my gaze travelled through his outfit in curiosity. His usually roughed up hair was nea
ELENA'S POVSlowly and most annoyingly, my eyelids fluttered open forcefully tearing me apart from the warmth of the darkness filled with so many of the precious memories of her. It strangely felt like I was leaving a warm embrace, but how come my body felt so warm? Shifting sideways just to make sure, I realized my body was wrapped underneath someone's arms. I slowly rose up to seating position almost falling backwards due to the blood rushing up to my head at once and the dizziness that blurred my vision. My fingers grazed the tiny strands of hair on his hands instantly knowing who this was. Lucas. He had probably watched me and worried for so long without even a blink to make him fall into such a deep sleep. The car slowly came to a stop at the front of his apartment making me scrunch up my face in confusion. Did Adrian really allow Lucas bring me to his house? Well, it wasn't like he could do anything to me at a courthouse and besides, his mother had just been revealed to have
LUCAS' POVThe horrific expression on Adrian's face seeing the faces he thought he'd successfully erased was worth most of my efforts, especially Karen. Adrian's father had tried to play a fast one by throwing Karen in prison and cutting off ties with her family after the attack on Elena. However, he seemed to have forgotten a little detail about cutting ties with old friends-they always had your deepest secrets. As much as the idea revolted me, Karen's Father and I struck a deal to earn her release but who would have thought there was more. My head spinned in a buzz hearing the heavy words spitting from her mouth like a bombshell in my ears. “Mrs Hawthorne killed your mother”, Karen revealed. The thick coat of bitterness and regret reverberated from her voice like she had been betrayed. Then it all made perfect sense. Before my brain could register anything else, I quickly caught a glimpse of Elena from the corner of my eyes falling flat to the floor. As my arms hurriedly protecte
LUCAS' POVI paced up and down the living room ignoring the words of Nathan and the lawyer I'd hired for Elena. Why did I not consider the possibilities of this happening? For fuck's sake, Elena still had a lot to process and someone, whoever this psycopath was had the heart to kidnap her? “I'm going over there”, I suddenly announced, heading towards the door only to be held back by Nathan and a firm gaze from the lawyer who rushed in front of me. “Legally, she is still his wife and the court hasn't seen a reason to put a restraining order yet so whatever you do, you're only shooting yourself in the foot”, he sternly advised, raising his chin towards me. His words only seemed to fuel my already ignited anger and I inched closer to his face, showing no signs of being intimidated by his posture. “I shot myself in the foot the moment I let her out of my sight for just one second!”, I yelled into his face, frustration lacing every inch of my face. “And if you're any good of a lawyer lik
LUCAS' POV Being the one behind bars wasn't exactly what I had planned out for the day but I'd also not suspected Adrian's moves as well. Currently, my house was being searched by police officers as I'd readily given them consent with Nathan and Mr Elvis there to supervise. Adrian had left earlier claiming he had office matters to attend to while I scoffed out loud, asking when he'd become so responsible all of a sudden. Nothing felt right at all. It had to be Adrian.He was doing this to stop Elena from getting the freedom she deserved. The bastard knew he was going to loose already. A surge of restlessness flowed uncontrollably through my body as I paced up and about in the cell biting my fingers like I always did. “I'm so elated you didn't let me follow you”, Nathan said, approaching where I was with a police officer holding a bunch of keys. My grip tightened on the rails raising my eyebrows in slight surprise at his sudden arrival. The officer rattled with the keys silently,
CHAPTER 89LUCAS' POV Tonight made it sixth night since I last set my eyes on Elena which made my eye bags grow larger and darker. At first, I had tried to use every means to draw Katrina out of her hiding but unlike her, I didn't know any of her weaknesses. With each passing day, my senses were heightened for a threatening text or a phone call from her just to confirm Elena was with her, but none came. Despite the multiple glasses of hot scotch flowing down my throat and burning every part of my body, the pain still managed to surpass the burning sensation in my chest.What would they be doing to her? Was she in pain? Was she calling out my name? Even as my imaginations grew worse each minute, I still couldn't dare to imagine the worst. If there was no trace of Elena in the world anymore, I would erase myself instantly and find her wherever she was. For now, Elena's lawyer had managed to get the next court date postponed until a week time while Adrian had strongly resisted to the
LUCAS' POV The man sitting across the table from me could be no less than twenty five years old yet his posture seemed like that of a forty year old. His piercing black eyes, although empty still reflected some horrid stories underneath them and right now, they seemed to cut right through me and for a moment, I feared someone seeing through the pain I'd long cemented. This guy certainly surpassed my expectations for the leader of an organization. His name was Alfred Leonardo, apparently a young, mafia leader who was somehow connected to my family in some way. Even though James had desperately warned me to stay out of his sight as he was known to be a notorious killer and vengeful at that, Elena's safety was more precious than my life. And if it took traveling to the gates of hell backa and forth, I'd gladly embark on that journey a thousand times. With the help of Uncle Dave, or rather my threats on him, we managed to track Alfred's activities down to his private party tonight at
LUCAS' POV “You look normal”, Dave remarked lightly, raising his eyebrows in concern while I shifted my tie into a more comfortable position. “How else should I look uncle?”, I responded, my tone laced in slight irritation as I moved away from him to the other end of the chair. He stubbornly followed behind, sitting on the space beside me making me more irritated as to why there was no single-person sofa in this goddamn house. “You mourned the death of your sister for weeks and now you heard she's alive, there's no reaction?”, he asked, inching closer to me like trying to suck out emotions that just weren't there. A small scoff escaped my lips in amusement attempting to mask the numbness starting to defrost in my chest once her name was me turned again. “Why should there be any? If she showed herself to everyone except me, then I'd rather she was still dead anyways”, I answered bluntly, proceeding to check my wrists and instantly standing up. “W-what are you doing? Where are you
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
ELENA'S POV My face had begun to get used to being blonde that I almost thought it was natural. However, with Eloise around as she was ‘hiding” from Nathan, my hair was always done in different styles every day. And today, we set out to go grocery shopping as a way of lifting our moods and most importantly, an excuse to leave the apartment for once. “now this is a good time to use his card”, Eloise said, bringing out a black card from her purse as we walked into the sea of people moving up and about in the largest mall of the city. I chuckled in response, unable to help but agree with her. If anything, it was sufficient compensation for wasting her time in the first place. “I mean, all that hardwork to get me and now, he's getting engaged to somebody else?”, she ranted, cursing angrily underneath her breath and subconsciously increasing her strides. “Whoa, slow down Eloise”, I called after her, my hands holding onto the edge of my leather skirt which annoyingly went up with every
SOFIA'S POVMy heart pounded loudly in my chest as my father drew me closer to himself, where I could clearly hear the vibration in his rich baritone voice exploding in happiness at the announcement of my pregnancy. I couldn't afford to wince right under his nostrils and Lucas' piercing eyes. “Dad, dad”, I muttered, trying to stop him from crushing me. “Your…your grip might be too strong for the baby”, I let out a shaky laugh, gently rubbing my stomach while exhaling in pain. His eyes flashed with something I couldn't describe yet but recognize well enough to break out into buckets of sweat. It was strange how I could never stand up to this monster of a man even though I'd devised numerous ways to fool him over the years - including my pregnancy. ***A week earlier***I raised my hand to knock on a door, scanning the entire place fearfully and praying not to be seen by any of my dad's men. This was the best hidden location I could find for now and it wouldn't be a pretty sight
ELENA'S POV An eye contact was all it took to travel back in time and it was shocking how little it took to leave all behind, perhaps freeze in the present. But we knew, time wasn't enough to live it all out. So there we stayed, holding on to the moment no matter how fleeting it could be, keeping the distress we could now barely see, completely out of sight. The sunrise felt different reflecting through my curtains this morning and the bird chirps no longer sounded annoying to listen to unlike before. My life seemed to have been washed with a radiant hope I'd hardly known since my family fell apart. I quickly took a shower then put on a fresh set of clothes while grinning and humming the entire time. Since it was beginning to look like spring - at least from my end, I went for a simple pair of blue shorts with a white sweatshirt Lucas had given to me that night. The famous sweatshirt that caused a scandal. “I see you guys are back together”, a scheming voice resounded from behin
LUCAS' POV “How did this happen?”, I roared at Sofia, feeling frustration building up inside me. There was already so much to deal with and rumors of a child my supposed fiancee had with someone else wasn't going to be one of them. “Have you told him about it yet?”, I asked, trying to get my head wrapped around it. She stayed silent, looking at me like I was speaking in a foreign language. “Answer me!”, I urged impatiently, sighing in irritation and turning my face away from her. There was no way our engagement could still go through in her condition. On the surface, this was naturally a way out for me but something about it just didn't seem so simple - especially her father, Mr Anderson. Turning back to face her slowly, the calm gaze in her eyes seemed to fan the flames to my suspicions. “Is your father aware yet?”, I asked, whispering in a hoarse voice. She shook her head sideways, her lips tightly pursed and just when my bubble of frustration was about to burst, soft sobs broke
ELENA'S POV The girls were finally reunited after what seemed like forever. Luci spontaneously showed up at the bar, making Eloise and I squeal uncontrollably in happiness. After three quick shots, Eloise and I pumped with excitement ready for the night in a better mood than earlier, when we both came down with a sense of overwhelming sadness. It also turned out Nathan's parents had planned out an arranged marriage for him and knowing her background, it was a bleak road for them henceforth. I hugged her tightly, softly reminding her of her strength and rare beauty no matter what. “You need this more than I do Elena”, she said, glaring at me with a knowing look, making my gaze droop to the ground. Without even saying it, we both knew what she meant. My rejection to Dave's offer. Thinking about it each time made me feel both stupid and sometimes, in agreement with my decision. Letting him do anything for me felt like he owed me something in the first place and my pride wouldn't acc
LUCAS' POVThe past one week has been hellish in my apartment and at the company as well - Elena's silence which made me uncomfortable and Henry's appointment as the standing CEO until my official wedding with Sofia, as announced to the entire world by her cunning father. Even from my investigations, it wasn't certain whose side Henry was on - but there was only one way to find out and it could only be through the woman I once called ‘mother’. “It's pretty strange how you stopped coming around to beg for my apology after your stupid plans couldn't get me killed that night”, I said, raising the cup of coffee to my lips but not letting a drop pass through them. I couldn't trust her. Ever again. From where she sat on the couch opposite me, she seemed to have aged much in such a few weeks. The weary lines running across her face all scrunched up together into a deep frown, staring at me in confusion. “What are you saying Lucas?”, she asked, a slight tremor in her voice perharos due to
ELENA'S POVThe air was saturated with the smell of fresh bacon and savoury pancakes, making me sniff even harder from my dreams. My eyes subconsciously opened staring straight into the kitchen from the sofa I laid on. He was right there - whistling a happy tune while flipping the pancakes in the pan. Pancakes and bacon. It was both our favourite meal for breakfast as I clearly recall my winnings for lots of them so we'd share at school. But now, she got to share them with him…and he seemed happy. He was happy, and that should be all that matters right? “Elena?”, his voice came, sounding right in front of me and making me shut my eyes quickly in embarrassment. Shit. Shit. How did I get so lost in my thoughts that I didn't see him coming? I wasn't prepared to face him after everything I saw last night. “Hey”, he whispered, squatting down the length of the sofa and planting a peck on my forehead, causing my skin to recoil in irritation. I jerked up to a sitting position, wiping of