SOFIAAt first, I thought it was the usual advertisement billboard, but this one was different.It had the face of the man I loathed. A man that had haunted me for a few nights now, that had made my days a nightmare, a man that made every light in my life dim, a man that made me have a lot of what ifs, a man that I literally wanted to kill...I found myself staring blankly at the large billboard screen. I lost all senses of what I ought to do and why I was outside. Without my will, my mind drifted back to that nightmarish moment. The memory came flooding back, overwhelming me with a surge of forgotten terror that made me stagger. Suddenly, I could feel his leering eyes on me, his lustful gaze, his unwanted hands violating my body, suffocating me with fear and helplessness.My chest tightened, my breath became shallow as the memories consumed me. Like an overwhelming ocean wave at the shore, I felt the whole terror shrouding my senses. I realized how I had been pretending that it didn'
ALEX I had to quickly leave her.I didn't trust myself not to touch her or do something silly. It was that bad, she was that tempting to touch.Waking up to see her cute face was on another level. Her mussed hair, her swollen face, her full lips. It was too tantalizing to be overlooked. I just had to brush my lips somewhere on her skin, still closer to her face. And I settled on her cheeks. Her smell was so captivating, and, it made me want to wrap my arms about her. I didn't waste another time. I grabbed my wallet and dashed out. It was just the best escape for me. And as I left her porch, my phone vibrated and when I read the text, an evil grin creased on my face. It was a message from my private investigator. And it was good news, a very good news.As I read the text from the private investigator, a surge of satisfaction and vindication coursed through me. Finally, that man would pay. It was no other person than Sofia's corrupt boss. He was about to be exposed for his despicabl
ALEX That would be possible too if she falls deeply in love with me. I was going to get everything I wanted - if and if she falls for me.And now? I chuckled. Damn, I felt like a scriptwriter now. I felt like I wrote a script and it went well.With what happened today at her place, my plans were beginning to fall in place. I knew she was going to fall for me sooner or later, I was that sure. After all, it wasn't the first time I had successfully manipulated someone's emotions to my own favour. I smirked to myself, envisioning how easy it would be to win her over, through the little things I've done for her I had started to plan my approach the moment I heard she ran away, ditching me at the altar. I began to think of all the things I could do to make her fall in love with me quickly. I knew that helping her with the one thing that troubled her mostly would be a good start, so I made a mental note to join my father's security company and now we were here. I also planned to be there f
ALEX I felt like a small god right now. This was because of the fact that I had someone that saw me as her messiah. The feeling was out this world. The fact that she trusted me was on another level, it was the first time someone put their trust in me ever since I knew right to left.I was the instrument of bully. Anthony saw me as a play thing, so he used me to lie to our father, used me as a cover for his mischievous activities. I was the bad child, I was the one that lead the enemies to the Cartel and I was the one that walked right into the enemy’s den and got my brother and I kidnapped. All these stories, I caused them. It got to a point my father wanted to take me to reform school, it was because my mother intervened that I didn’t go.I remember that event that made me know Anthony will stop at anything to make our father hate me so much he would be forced to disown me. It was the kidnapping event. I remember it like it was yesterday. The day my older brother and I were kidnapp
ALEX I almost lost balance on the wheel. It was like I was hearing things and I just had to stop the car to ask the man what he said again.“What did you say?” I asked, making sure my voice was not trembling. The last thing I wanted right now was to show my weakness to this man. He was once Anthony’s confidant and the last thing I wanted was for him to hear how weak I was now. Even when Anthony was alive, I never showed the man how much effect his boss’s words could have on me.“I have a hunch that he would pick his successor from the Cartel member, and to be frank, no one knows but the big boss would want a member of the Crow Cartel.”The big boss would want a member of the Crow Cartel to be the next successor? That was the most absurd news I’ve heard in a while. How could my father think of giving the Cartel to a stranger, a ‘non Crow’? Of all things to do, how in God’s name could he think of that? Sometimes, I wonder what goes on in his head, what he could be thinking as he annou
ALEXI stared at the report for a while. It was great. It was five times different from when I first came here to arrogate the position of the head of security.I could remember how things were. The sales were nothing to write home about and clients come back to report one thing or the other. It was not a good report to give as at that time but now, it was too different and I was sure Blake Crow would want to see more of it. It would even change his perspective.So far so good, I had been able to portray as a good leader, something I haven’t been able to do since I knew left from right. Or, I haven’t been able to do it because of the low self-esteem I had. I always thought if it wouldn’t be from my father, it would be from Anthony Crow, my brother.To say I didn’t see Anthony as a god was an understatement. I saw him as another god after my father. All those years of bullying and torture in the dark room, the secret den Anthony would lock me in, they showed me what a god could do and
ALEX I woke up leisurely and yawned. It was a brand new day and I was feeling every bit of happiness coursing through my veins. Yes, I deserved to be happy.The fact that I was going to work increased my enthusiasm. Today, all the workers would see the report of the month and the previous months. I was so enthusiastic about this that I could hardly contain my excitement. Yes, soon, it would be time and as it should be, I would be the rightful owner of the Crow Cartel. I smiled as the morning sun slowly crept into my room. I woke up with a sense of excitement and anticipation for the day ahead. Today was going to be a good day, and I was eager to get started with my morning routine.Nope, today was different. It was a great day.I went to my closet and picked out a different, more sophisticated outfit for the day. I choose a crisp white shirt, a navy blue blazer, and well-fitted khaki pants. I had lots of the same style with different colors, not particularly the same style though,
SOFIA I felt as though I had been unclothed and I was now naked. The fact that Alex had caught me staring at him made the butterflies keep roaming around my stomach. I was suddenly ashamed that I flushed and I more or less ran out of his office.But the shame was a good one. It wasn’t like the one I felt that night he rescued me from my boss. That day, even though I was fully clothed, though, parts of my office clothes were torn, still, I felt naked. But now, even if I was to go naked before Alex now, I was sure I wouldn’t be ashamed.The rest of the afternoon was spent on blushing and happily doing my work. As I delivered the rest of the memorandum, I kept on blushing and that didn’t pass the eagle eyes of Susan. At the office cafeteria to have our daily morning coffee, she kept on eyeing me until I was forced to talk.“Okay, what’s with the face?” I asked her when she wouldn’t stop looking at me.“How was your delivery to the long, lean and lethal office?”“I am not having this dis
ALEX Manchester was different…Manchester was blissful…The air in Manchester was very clear; till I could feel it suffocate me. But then I knew one day, I would put an end to all of this. I was living the life that I wanted here. Away from Blake and his Cartel, his mob and the killers and the snare and everything. I had used the money I had to start up something and I would be going back to hockey soon. It was what gave me utmost confidence. And I wouldn’t toss it away. She still didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I took it upon myself to stalk her in a healthy manner. I was there when she left for work and I was there when she was back. It was one thing that gave me joy, it gave me this push. I knew that one day, she would hear me out and would forgive me. I made a conscious effort to respect her space. It was hard to process that fact and I wanted to give her time but then one day, I would make sure I walk up to her again. Everyday, I couldn’t deny the pull she had o
SOFIA Manchester…I got dressed and sighed when I was done dressing. This used to be worn with a happy smile, now, my heart was filled with sadness, regret and disappointment. It wasn’t anger anymore. It was something else. I left the house, the crisp autumn air nipping at my cheeks as I made my way down the street. The familiar sights and sounds of my neighbourhood seemed to fade into the background as I focused on the task at hand: preparing for my move to Manchester.I came back home to prepare. It was now or never. Another day here and I would commit suicide. This was the place my parents were killed, this was the place Olivia had been arrested. Too many bad memories and damn, I can’t stay here any longer. I brought out my clothes and the new bags I bought when I went out. It was now or never at all. I packed my clothes into the bag, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of sadness and nervousness as I did this. I was going to England, leaving behind everything that had once been fami
SOFIAI could still dream. This time, I was dreaming about being alone in a field of roses, where everything was filled with tranquillity and warmth. I found myself standing in a vast field of roses, their sweet fragrance filling the air and soothing my mind. The sun was shining brightly, casting a warm glow over the landscape. The vibrant colours of the flowers seemed to stretch on endlessly, creating a mesmerising sea of reds, pinks, and whites.It felt so good to be here. So damn good. I forgot all I was thinking about. I forget the sorrows that were now in my life. I forgot how things had been so bad. I was calm. I was content. I was enough. As I walked through the field, I felt a sense of peace and tranquillity washing over me. It made me feel like I was in heaven. This was a pleasure. Absolute pleasure. Amidst the sea of roses, I caught sight of a figure in the distance. This was supposed to be my world, my dream. As I approached the figure, I realised it was my mother, wear
SOFIABut then I had so many what ifs left in me…What if everything had not been like this? What if I had just not found out about the cottage and all? I guess Olivia would have killed me. She would surely win this time around and then she would put an end to the existence of the Griffins.If only Olivia hadn’t found out what really happened, if she didn’t know who our parents were and if nothing had ever even happened before. I sighed heavily. What would have become of my life and that of Olivia’s? I kept thinking about this and it kept playing in my head till I could no longer imagine what life would have been if everything hadn’t started from Olivia finding out that our parents were bloody murderers. I wanted to look up and gaze out the window at the world outside, but Alex was right beside me. He had this look of remorse and that was the last thing I needed right now. In that instant, I couldn’t help but ponder the age-old adage, “ignorance is bliss.” How true those words seeme
SOFIASomehow, a sad song came into my mind. I was humming the song and somehow, it made me feel so good. I then began to ask myself some questions. What if my parents were still alive? What if Jake hadn’t cheated on me? What if Olivia grew up nice and well groomed? What if? The answer was that I wouldn’t have met Alex. And before that, I wouldn’t know who Ronaldo was and my parents wouldn’t have been divorced. It was a whole lot to take in but I knew that I would heal. No matter how hard and difficult it was, I would heal. Nice and steady. I went back inside and saw Alex with the inspector. They were talking and I just went to my room. I needed some time alone, some time to sink all this in and know what next to do with my life right now. I could hear Alex talking with the inspector. “I will come by later. If you need anything, let me know.”“All right. Take care of her.” The inspector told him. “Yes.”‘Take care of her?’ I scoffed. How can I be fine with the devil? The real d
SOFIAI hadn’t wanted to keep crying when the police came but each word, sentence and action of Olivia kept replying in my head like a broken tape and the tears just wouldn’t stop. I then asked myself, how did we come to this? Olivia was a happy child, she was loved by happy parents, it got to the point of being jealous because of the way our parents favoured her over me. But then when I grew up and tried to relive those days, I saw that our parents loved us equally. Yes, they were murderers, and yes they were members of a notorious mafia mob that had killed a lot of people and destroyed so many lives. In that sense, they should be ruthless, in that sense they should have raised us with a knife taped to the tip of their tongues.With them, we were fed love on a silver spoon in a golden plate, we weren’t made to get love by licking it off knives. Not just any knife, a knife that wasn’t embroidered and was just insignificant to mankind. No, our parents fed us love and overfilled us
OLIVIAI watched them panic when I had reached for the only weapon I think could put an end to my misery. I planned to kill to myself and then kill Sofia and her boyfriend. She was asking too many questions that reminded me of the past. It reminded me of the faces of the murderers I referred to as my parents. Particularly seeing her. I haven’t looked at myself in the mirror in a while. I couldn’t dare to do that. I knew I would see the reflection of those terrible people in me, I hated them so much that if I saw them in my face, I would surely scar myself. It was better to die than to live with their imprint visible on my body. And then Sofia? She had everything good coming her way. Even though Ronaldo didn’t treat her well, he still thought about her and even went as far as wanting her to be married to a rich son of the mafia. No matter the maltreatment, I knew she would enjoy her married life. Ronaldo didn’t think of me when the son of the mafia came. He didn’t at all and damn,
ALEXI watched the two sisters battle words. All this while I was just looking at them, it felt like I wasn’t even in the room. They kept throwing words at each other and made me feel completely invisible. And thinking about this, I just couldn’t see Anthony and I having the same batter and swearing at each other like this. It was something I couldn’t ever picture. Not that I was scared, I stopped being afraid of Anthony when I left home and since then, there was nothing that would make me scared of him ever again. Anthony and I can’t even have a physical conversation, the last time we had talked, it was during a family dinner. That was the day my father had announced that he was giving the cartel to Anthony. I remembered that day like I was in it. I hadn’t wanted to come but I had no choice, I just had too. Ever since I left home, I just cut ties with them but then I had too. The dinner was scheduled a few days before my mother’s birthday. I just had to go. I told myself I would f
SOFIA “Why did everything change?”Tears continued to cascade down my cheeks, a testament to the shattered dreams and broken promises that plagued our relationship. The person I once knew had morphed into a stranger, driven by darkness and pain.Olivia had become a woman I used to know. She scared me now. Everything she had said was surprising, it made me feel stupid. I had thought she changed because of the death of our parents. Then she was withdrawn, she threw herself to Ronaldo like he was her saviour. And to me, she treated me like trash. I had thought she wanted to take away all the grief in her by being mean to me, but I was wrong, she had just been thinking of ways to extinguish me from the world she was creating. “When did everything change, Olivia?”“It will further change if you disappear.” She answered. “And then the very day I found out about what our parents were, I knew I couldn’t tell you, I just knew I had to carry out this mission myself.”I just looked at her, it