I wasn't in control of my feet anymore. I was walking toward the talking stranger with the determination to find the love of my life, hug him, and then slap him for abandoning me. I could vaguely hear someone call me but I paid them no heed. This was way more important. The woman he was with became aware of my coming presence and glared at me, wondering why I was walking to their table without emotions in my eyes. I didn't even want to know who she was or what she was doing with my Kayden. Everyone said he had moved on and I should too, but look what moving on had caused me. I needed to let him know we belonged together.So Davis had sent him to Michigan, all the way across the country. He could not keep me from seeing the true love of my life anymore because fate had other plans. My face broke out into a smile just before I ran into their table, excitement building up in me. I was going to be reunited with him. I practically bumped into him, but when the stranger turned to me wit
Cassie's POVAs I pressed my body against him, feeling the thump of his heartbeat and the familiar heat of his body, I couldn't be any happier. The emails, the ads, the job, it all made sense. Kayden wanted me back into his life. But some things didn't. Like how he suddenly owned a company a few months after leaving California with no recollection of anything and how it was already successful, like why he wanted me back into his life after apparently leaving my life for good. My hands fell limp at my sides as I moved back a little, giving him all my attention but deciding to see this through carefully. The manager had left, thank God. “Sissy, I know you have a lot of questions,” he began, placing my hand on his cheek. “I'll answer them in due time but one thing is for certain. I'm never leaving your side ever again.” The second part of his sentence should have given me some comfort, but I could only focus on the first part. He had called me Sissy. That was what he had always cal
Several minutes later, I still felt dizzy and even though I was some distance away from the club, the low hum of the music haunted me. I was alone in the car, closing and opening my eyes, waiting for Kayden to realize I wasn't beside him and come look for me. However, several minutes after with no sign of him, I began to grow impatient. All of this just felt weird. Kayden should know me better. I didn't understand any of it. I checked the time on my phone and sighed when I discovered it was almost midnight. Fuck it. If he wasn't ready to see me, then I'd find my way. I tried opening the door to leave but it didn't budge. I lifted the lock but it just went back down when I tugged on the handle. Looking up in confusion at the bodyguard, I realized he was glaring at me. He unlocked the same door I'd tried to unlock without ease from the outside. “Where to, my lady?” he asked me. “Back to the party?” Maybe I was tripping, but there was a glint in his eye when he called me my lady, li
There was silence in the room the next morning as Kayden and I faced each other. We were sitting like people who were ready for an interview and not former lovers that we were. “Does he have to be here?” I asked aloud so that his bodyguard would hear. The big man smiled and flashed his gun as if that would scare me. “Rufus, leave,” Kayden instructed the bodyguard, who eyed me a little before dragging himself out of the room. After he left, Kayden and I remained silent. I wanted him to speak first, to at least mutter an apology for how badly he had treated me but he didn't. He watched me just as carefully as I watched him, his mouth sealed shut. “We have a lot to discuss,” I said finally when the silence became too much to bear. He nodded as he poured himself some off-brand whiskey into a shot glass which had been brought in by one of his maids some minutes before. How could he still want to drink this morning after getting wasted yesterday? “Did you sleep well last night?” he a
I didn't know how to feel about the information I'd just received. Kayden had let himself be used as a human guinea pig on purpose, for something that was not bound to work, just so he could get some money. I was angry at him. “What drug was that? Who manufactured the drugs?” I asked. He shook his head. “I signed a non-disclosure agreement. I'm not allowed to say anything on the matter.”I rolled my eyes. I wondered how much they had spent on him to make him still want to protect them even though he had almost lost his life using their drugs.“So why didn't you use part of your compensation to treat yourself then?” I asked the next question that annoyed me when I asked it. “I didn't think my condition would become that terrible,” he explained. “I didn't know my heart would only keep getting worse. I thought it could be fixed until I became unconscious and when I woke up, I was told a generous donor had paid for my heart surgery. I owe you my life, Sissy.” “Can you just stop talk
Davis’s POV “Sir…” “Yes.” I looked up at my new PA, realizing I'd just zoned out again. I flicked my fountain pen around as I tried to look busy. I was going crazy. Since when did I care what my workers thought of me? I dropped the pen, but my hands began to search for something else to do. Then I realized it wasn't about the employee. I needed to convince myself I was busy. “I was asking about the patent for the new drug.”“What about it?” I asked impatiently. The PA looked at me like I was supposed to know what he was talking about. I didn't have the time for this. My mind was preoccupied with things it shouldn't be preoccupied with, but the more I tried to purge those things from my memory, the more they returned. I was sweating even in the air-conditioned room. I had no idea what he was talking about and something told me he had probably told me about this several times. “You know what,” I said to him, waving my hand as I tried to relax in my chair. “ Take the day off or so
Davis’s povI crossed my arms and gave Lisa an amused look as I thought about what to say back to her. Lisa had been my only friend since back at the orphanage as kids when I stood up to her bullies and return, she clung to me and began to indirectly bully me instead. Having her made me feel not so alone anymore but eventually she was adopted sometime later and not only did we lose all contact, but I went back to my brooding melancholy self. It was more than a relief when seven years later, I happened to run into her at a store and once again, she clung onto me like glue. Luckily, unlike other girls who clung to me, she was in no way attracted to me, we'd remained friends again ever since. Having Lisa as a friend had its up and down sides. The upside was that she wasn't afraid to speak to me anyhow she wanted and the downside was she wasn't afraid to speak to me anyhow she wanted, just like right now. “So fuck my business then,” I said drily.“Yes.” She nodded, unfazed. “A few weeks
Kayden's povAs I sat smoking a cigarette, I felt empty. All of this money, the men, the power, I had done it all for Cassie. She had always spoken about how she didn't care for any of it, but I thought I knew her better, and I was right. After all, she fucked that bastard barely three months after meeting him. I tossed the tray containing my whiskey to the ground, and the bodyguard, Rufus called a maid to come clear it up. She didn't react, because that was like the tenth time that morning she was clearing my mess. My hands were shaking so much I could commit murder. I had struggled to make all of this just so we could finally be together the way we were supposed to be and now it was all over. I couldn't possibly accept her after that. She hadn't even tried to deny that she had fucked him. I couldn't believe it. That bastard, Davis. He and that asshole father of hers had ruined my life over and over again before and now he wanted to take the only thing that mattered in my life; th
Five years later: Cassie’s POV:I stared into the glittering eyes of my baby girl as she struggled to make them stay open while I read her a bedtime story. She was just as stubborn as her father, fighting sleep even though that was what she needed. “And they lived happily ever after, the end,” I said. By the time I was done with the bedtime story, sleep had won. Although my daughter was asleep, I couldn’t stop watching her I rubbed her head and stared into her face, smiling when I saw the close resemblance she shared with her father. “You’re lucky I married a handsome man,” I whispered, still not ready to leave my baby girl’s side. “I love you,” I said and kissed her on her forehead, before turning to leave the room. “Jeez!” I gasped when I saw Davis standing by the door with his hands in his both pockets, smiling down at me. I turned back immediately to see if I had woken Ivory up, but luckily she was such a deep sleeper. “You scared me,” I whispered. “Come,” he said, stretchi
Davis’s POV:Do what’s right. I knew what that meant, and I didn’t like it. But she asked me to do it for her. How could I possibly say no to her? There was nothing I couldn’t do for her. I realized that now. The fact both warmed and scared me. Never had anyone had this much power over my choices but I had to admit it did feel strangely good. Here I was, driving down to meet Kayden, but this time with a different intention from what I would have liked to do. I was quite surprised to still see him there, sitting on the same swing bench he had been sitting on several hours ago when I found my wife next to him. This was going to be extremely difficult. I took a deep breath. I had to be really careful not to flip out and ruin the whole plan. “This is for you, baby,” I whispered to myself before leaving the car. Kayden flinched a little when he saw me approach, but when he saw there was nowhere to run, he remained where he was sitting and pretended to look unbothered by my presence
Davis’s POV: I don’t know how long I was passed out for, but when I woke up, I found myself alone in a big bland room that had no windows. It didn’t take long for everything to click into place. Even though my head was pounding like it was about to explode, I could still put the pieces together. I had been kidnapped. It was a bit embarrassing though. I was supposed to be experienced and intelligent. How could I have let myself be tricked so easily? I remained on the floor where I was and hoped my head would stop hurting so bad. What happened to using chloroform to make me unconscious? Why did my attacker have to go old school and knock me out with a blunt object? It felt personal, like whoever had done it, purposely wanted me to feel pain. I should have never underestimated him. Of course the timelines clicked in place. Why did I let Lisa come with me? He had cleverly used her to get to me. Now I was here, I wondered what he planned to do with me. He had almost taken my life the
Davis’s POV:Surprisingly, my relationship with Cassie changed for the better after my few hours stay in the hospital. She felt terrible for what she had done, but the action made her see how dangerous it was to believe one side alone. It was just as I suspected. Her father had gone ahead to change the contract entirely. It had nothing to do with money because I had given him more than enough money to start something for himself. He was not unreasonably wicked either, so it had to be something else. When I read the fake contract and found how Kayden’s greatest qualities were mentioned over and over, I knew who was responsible. Simply knowing with no proof though, was not enough. I had to teach that scoundrel a lesson or he would just disappear for a while and return again to be a thorn in our flesh. Fortunately, Cassie had been easy to convince. I think it because she felt terrible after sending me to a hospital, even after I assured her continually that it wasn’t her fault. I di
If I said I knew what I was doing, I would be lying. I was in the car with Rufus, who was taking me to only God knows where, and I had no idea where Davis was or how he was doing. After everything that had happened these past few days, I had disassociated a little from reality and this was proof of that fact. There was nothing I could do except sit and watch after all. Look where trying to act on my own had got me. “I just got off from a call with the boss,” Rufus said, swerving to the right. “He says I should take you to meet him at Palm Greens.” I turned away, distracting myself with the view of the palm trees and other cars we passed. I didn’t know where Palm Greens was. Maybe it was the place where he had captured Davis and the others. I didn’t want to think about it. I couldn’t bear to see my husband in that position again, or worse, Lisa. A feeling of dread washed over me as I began to realize just how serious this was. Kayden did not believe he had done anything wrong. I w
I waited until Rufus was completely out of the house before speaking. I didn’t have a plan yet, but I wasn’t dumb enough to follow him to meet Kayden. Who knew what that psychopath would do with me? “Leave, now,” I told my father as I untied Gloria from the chair. My father stood still as if he hadn’t heard me. I really didn’t have the time for this. “Why are you still standing there?” I asked him. “Hurry up so you both can leave while you still can.” “It can’t be that easy, Cass,” he said. “He’ll find us soon enough or Kayden will send someone else after us.” I groaned in frustration. “So what do you expect me to do? Follow him?”“I’m not saying that, but…”“You want to die!” I screamed, running my hand through my hair, a habit I had learned from Davis. “Isn’t it better to try than to just stand around and wait to be killed? I don’t know what you expect me to do, but I’m not following anyone anywhere. We’re all escaping one way or another and it’s fine if you don’t want to follo
As this was not the first time I had walked away from my father in anger, it neither felt good nor painful. I was just tired of the whole thing. I had no idea what was going on inside or what he was trying to hide, but at this point, I no longer wanted to find out. He was old enough to deal with his issues on his own and I was done being on the receiving end of his selfishness. He didn’t try to stop me and that was a clue that if he left the house, something bad would probably happen to him. Come to think of it, ever since I returned to California, I didn’t think he had ever left the house. I was tired of overthinking and watching my every step. I was tired of second-guessing my place in everybody’s life and wondering who was secretly a traitor and who wasn’t. I just wanted to live my life normally and peacefully, but my ex-boyfriend had made it his mission to make me keep looking over my shoulder. I wished Kayden could just disappear somehow. I didn’t care how, I just wished he an
Before I could say anything in response, my phone began to ring. I saw it was a call from Kayden and I froze. I let it ring and go to voicemail, because even though I was mad at him, I could still remember what he had done to me and I wasn’t sure I wasn't ready to face him yet. “Who was that?” my father asked, craning his head to look into my phone. “No one,” I said quickly, reducing the volume of my phone and placing it in my bag. “You asked how we can know for sure whether Kayden was the reason I lost my baby or not?” I asked him, giving him a chance to take back his words. He looked away. “It may not have been him. The baby may have already been weak…i don't know how these things work but…” “I just told you he kicked me repeatedly on the stomach and I started to bleed. You're telling me I should believe the kicking had nothing to do with me losing my baby?” I asked, now more disappointed than ever. Even if he was being forced to do this, what could be at stake for him to say su
“Cassie dear. I'm so happy you're here,” my father said, looking from side to side after I showed up at his door unexpectedly. “Come on in.” I took my steps in carefully, sucking in a breath to remind myself I needed to remain as calm as possible. “Sit down,” he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. “What would you like to drink?” “Nothing. Don't worry yourself.” He nodded and sat down facing me. I glanced around the room to ease some of the discomfort I was beginning to feel. “I see you cleaned this place up.” “Yeah, my…yes I did,” he said. “I'm sorry for your loss.” We sat in awkward silence for more moments as I tried to gather my thoughts. It had been three days since Davis was discharged from the hospital and the press had been on our necks ever since. I didn't know what they were talking about because I had blocked every single news outlet from my phone. That wasn't a lasting solution, but it was working for now. On the other hand, my father had probably been swall