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Chapter 23 - Waiting
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Competing for Love Chapter 24 - Waking Up
Natalia felt like she was lost in a dark place with no end and no beginning. Several times she had wanted to give up and let the darkness take her, but something always brought her back. It was a voice in the distance. She didn't know who it was, but it was calling to her. She kept trying to get to that voice, but something was holding her back. Every time she thought she was almost there, a fog came over her and sent her back to where she had started from. She was determined to make it; she was going to find the owner of that voice.___________ Natalia had been unconscious for five days. Each day she had a little more movement. Sometimes, her fingers or toes would move. Other times her eyelids fluttered like they were going to open, but they never did. Hayden hadn't left her bedside other than to use the restroom or freshen up. Patrice or Will would bring him clothes each day and sit with Natalia while he was away. The hospital staff kept him fed. He was grateful bec
Competing for Love Chapter 25 - How We Met
Shania had never been more scared than she was now. Jon refused to let her leave the hotel and made her perform every sex act he could think of. She had cried and begged him to kill her, but he said he wasn't done with her yet. She was lying on the bed crying while he was in the shower. He had her tied up to the headboard so she couldn't leave. She no longer cared about Natalia and Hayden; all she wanted to do was live. If that meant she spent the rest of her life in jail, so be it. Shania knew Jon planned to kill her when he finished with her. She tried to get her hands loose, but they wouldn't budge. When she was about to give up, she felt one of the ropes loosen. She could still hear the shower on in the bathroom, so she pulled and tugged with all her might. One of the ropes gave way and slipped off. She got one hand out and was able to untie the other hand. When she heard the water shut off, she jumped off the bed. She had no clothes on, so she grabbed the shee
Competing for Love Chapter 26 - First Kiss Redo
Natalia couldn't believe what Dennis had said. How did she ruin Jon's life? All she did was break up with him after he broke her heart. "I didn't ruin his life. He cheated on me, and I broke up with him. I don't understand why he's looking for me now." Natalia gripped Hayden's hand. Why were all these people trying to hurt her? Cliff, Cara, and now Jon. "Shania said he didn't get into specifics, but he said after you broke up with him, it ruined him and made him how he is now." Hayden could tell that Dennis was holding something back. "What are you not telling us? How did Shania get with him?" He looked into Natalia's eyes, and his heart ached for the fear he saw there. "According to Shania, he picked her up after Cara was arrested. He convinced her to go with him to his hotel, where he had held her hostage for the past five days. I won't get into the details of what they did, but she said he was sick and was planning on killing her after he was done with her. Sh
Competing for Love Chapter 27 - Revolving Door
Natalia was able to eat some chicken broth and pudding for dinner. They wanted to see how she did with both thin and thick liquids. Afterward, Dr. Carpenter returned to assess her and said she could transfer to a regular unit. Hayden texted Dennis to let him know that Natalia would no longer be on a locked unit. He wanted him to send officers to sit outside her room until Jon was found. He hadn't forgotten about Cliff either. Hayden didn't believe that Cliff would suddenly forget about him and Natalia. Linnette and another nurse pushed Natalia in the bed to the new unit, with Hayden following behind. He didn't like there being fewer restrictions than in the ICU, but Dennis assured him officers would be there to secure the room. When they got to the unit, Natalia was given a private room with a chair that could convert to a bed for Hayden. There was also a private bathroom, so he wouldn't have to leave the room for any reason. A nurse was waiting for them in the room. She wa
Competing for Love Chapter 28 - Going Home
Natalia spent a week in the hospital after changing rooms. The doctors said she was now ready to go home. Hayden had talked Linnette into retiring from her job at the hospital to stay with them full-time. In exchange, she would live with them, receiving double her salary until Natalia no longer needed a nurse. Hayden said he would give her enough money to retire comfortably and enjoy her grandchildren. Linnette had wanted to refuse, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity. Her body was tired, and it was getting harder and harder for her to be on her feet all day. She turned in her notice to the hospital effective immediately. Hayden arranged with Natalia's permission to have her desk and office furniture moved out of the second bedroom so they could set it up for Linnette. Patrice and Will oversaw everything, including meeting the furniture delivery people with the furniture they bought for Linnette. The nurse had moved in the day before and would be waiting when Hayden a
Competing for Love Chapter 29 - The Email
Natalia saw herself dressed in a long black sequined dress, and then suddenly, she was walking through a room with many people. She didn't remember how she got there, and there seemed to be a fog in the air. She could see everyone but couldn't hear anything. The next thing she knew, she saw Hayden standing near the bar. She tried to get to him, but something was holding her back. When she turned around, Cliff was holding her wrist, and they weren't with everyone else; they were in an office. He was pulling her to a couch while undoing his pants. "Natalia, Natalia, wake up, sweetheart." Hayden desperately tried to wake her. She had suddenly started yelling no over and over while swinging her arm. He could tell she was still sleeping and assumed she was having a nightmare. He saw eyes open, and they looked wild. He rubbed her cheek with his hand so she would focus on him. "Are you alright?" He asked softly. Natalia looked around and realized she had been dreaming. She relaxed, look
Competing for Love Chapter 30 - Going for a Walk
Natalia stared at the video of her getting hit as it played over and over. She was frozen as she watched it, wondering how she had survived. Who sent the email to her? It was clear they were threatening her. Hayden stopped the video from playing and hugged Natalia as she cried. "I'm going to forward this to Dennis. Maybe he can find out who sent it. Try not to think about that. You're alive and will be back to normal before you know it." Hayden was shaking with fury as he tried to comfort her. He assumed Jon sent it, but he didn't know for sure. "Why do so many people not only want to hurt me but want to kill me? What did I do to them? Shania was jealous of our relationship, so I know why she acted like she did, not that I condone it. What did I do to Cara besides lose touch with her? Jon cheated on me and broke my heart. I'm not to blame for whatever sick idiot he turned into." She was speaking in a whisper, unable to get the images out of her mind. Natalia kne
Competing for Love Chapter 31 - The Mysterious Man
Two weeks had passed since Natalia was released from the hospital. Hayden continued doing everything for her, not letting Linnette help her at all. She was healing well, and they said the cast on her arm would be able to come off soon, but she still had a while before the ones on her legs could be taken off. Dennis' team had come to the apartment and tried to find where the email was sent from. So far, there was nothing to find. The sender's email address was only active for that day and had been created with a phony name. They all believed it came from Jon, but there was no way to prove it. Some of Natalia's memory had come back in pieces. Most of them started as dreams, but eventually, she began remembering. She had gotten most of her time with Hayden back, making her love for him grow even more. The two of them had gotten back to work. Although they did most of it at home, they had made a few trips to the office accompanied by their bodyguards. They were on their way
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Competing for Love Chapter 75 - The Promise
Three Months Later Natalia finally had the casts off her legs and was working with her physical therapist, Hannah. She was able to take a couple of painful steps before having to sit back down. It was slow work, but it would be worth it in the end. Hayden came to every appointment with her, much to the delight of Hannah, who had an obvious crush on him. Hayden avoided her as much as possible while staying near Natalia. It made him uncomfortable each time Hannah accidentally touched him when there was no reason for her to do so. Natalia laughed it off, telling him he should be used to it by now with how handsome he was. However, Hayden was getting seriously annoyed and was close to saying something to her about it. "How soon before Natalia will be able to walk like she used to?" Hayden asked Hannah, rolling his eyes when her face turned red, and she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "It may be months. So you may have to come here for a while." She answered, pretending to accidenta
Competing for Love Chapter 74 - Taking Down the Hitman
Nick, Colby, Teo, and Kyle sat in the van across the street from the apartment building, waiting for Simon Allegri to show up for work. It was close to seven in the morning, so they expected him soon. They were upset about not being able to take out Jon before the authorities got him, so this was a way for them to redeem themselves. A few minutes before seven, they saw Simon walking toward the entrance. He was carrying a duffle bag they were sure had his gun hidden inside. They weren't going to make a move while he was in the apartment building. Instead, they would follow him when he left and take him off the street. It was time for the hunter to become the hunted. They didn't move all day while they waited. The four men got ready for quitting time so they could follow the hitman. When he walked out of the building, Teo and Colby hopped out of the van to follow him on foot while Nick and Kyle stayed in the van. As they followed him, the four men were conscientious, knowing Simon
Competing for Love Chapter 73 - The Two Simons
"I never thought they would sink that low to kill us because we got their daughter locked up. They have taken this too far." Hayden pulled out his phone, ready to call the Blacks but changed his mind. Natalia had been right. The pain medication was helping his pain, and now he could think clearly. "What do you think we should do?" Natalia asked, noticing that he was no longer grimacing with every move. "We need to talk this through. I was going to call Simon Black and give him a piece of my mind. However, I don't want him to know we're on to him. We need to make the hitman disappear and then give proof to the authorities of who hired him." Hayden looked toward Dorian, who was nodding in agreement. "We at least know he's got a job here in the building, and he starts tomorrow. We also know what he looks like, so I can have my men take care of him. Let me work on getting something to hand over to the police about Simon Black." Dorian sent a message to his men and aske
Competing for Love Chapter 72 - Who Hired the Hitman?
"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Who would hire a hitman to come after us?" Hayden said with fury coursing through his veins. Hadn't they been through enough? He looked at Natalia; her face was void of emotion, as though she couldn't process this information right now. "I don't know who, but I'll see what I can find out. In the meantime, he'll be working in the building, so we need to be on high alert. He'll find whatever way he can to get to his target." Dorian sometimes hated that he was so good at doing what he did because it made him the bearer of bad news more times than not. "Do you think Jon would go to these lengths?" Krista asked, looking around at everyone. "I think he's more hands-on. It's not about us being dead for him. He wants to experience the killing for himself." Natalia spoke in a monotone. She felt as though she was ready to break. Why would someone hire a hitman? Her life was turning into something of a bad movie that seemed never to hav
Competing for Love Chapter 71 - What Now?
Hayden and Krista helped Natalia into the restroom. Actually, Krista helped while Hayden supervised. He couldn't stop the nagging feeling as though someone was watching them when they went for their walk. When they returned to the living room, Hayden looked at Dorian. "Are you able to tap into the cameras outside the building?" He asked his cousin, who looked at him in confusion. "Yeah, were you looking for something specific?" Dorian asked as he turned on his laptop. Krista sat next to him, plastered to his side. It was their favorite way to sit together. He had never been in love before, but he knew that's what he felt for her. He just hadn't had the nerve to say it yet. They'd only been together for about a week. "When we were walking, I felt like someone was watching us. I may be paranoid, but I just want to be sure. We've had enough surprises." Hayden glanced toward Natalia, who was staring at him with concern. He hoped he was wrong. They had enough to worry
Competing for Love Chapter 70 - Hitman
Todd got comfortable across the street from Natalia and Hayden's building. Those who hired him originally only wanted Natalia to be killed. After seeing how connected she and Hayden were to each other, they decided it was better to get rid of both of them. Todd was a hired hitman, and the people that hired him had a lot of money. He didn't understand why they wanted this young couple dead. From what he'd read about them, they were decent people. However, they seemed to have someone constantly trying to tear them down. Todd didn't need to know his employer's motivation, but he liked to have the background of those he was hunting. He knew Natalia had no family and had built her business from the ground up. After being pushed in front of oncoming traffic, a serial killer started hunting her. Hayden was from a wealthy family whose business had been struggling until he took over. Neither of them seemed to have many close friends, only acquaintances. From what he found, neither had bee
Competing for Love Chapter 69 - Sofia's Downfall
Sofia was so sure that she was going to cause a scene that she crossed her arms and leaned back with a smirk. However, she saw Hayden and Natalia look at each other before they started laughing. "You thought that was going to be breaking news that caused Hayden to suddenly want you or something? First of all, I know Hayden has never spent all night with anyone besides me. Even if you did sleep together, I'm sure it was a one-and-done like every other woman he'd been with before me. You were obviously not good because he doesn't even remember you. So if you thought this would cause some type of conflict between us, you're mistaken. Hayden and I both have pasts, and we're not jealous of them. Unlike you, we look to the future." Natalia had a fire in her eyes, causing Sofia's face to turn red as though she'd been slapped. It was then that she realized Hayden was on the phone. "Hi Paul, this is Hayden Sumner. I need to talk with you regarding Sofia Spurling." Sofia felt sick as she
Competing for Love Chapter 68 - Sofia's Jealousy
Sofia looked between Hayden and Natalia wanting to bring up the fact that she was with him first. She wanted to break their happiness and have it for herself. However, the longer she waited, the more her nerve started to fade. Seeing how Hayden was with Natalia, she knew talking about their few minutes of sex that obviously meant nothing to him wouldn't matter to either of them. "What did you want to say?" Questioned Natalia with a small smile. "I just wanted to say that I am going to do everything I can to have Jon sentenced to death. He has killed too many people to skate by, with life in prison. I want his head on a platter." Sofia spoke with conviction as she pulled out a pad of paper from her briefcase. She was still going to get around reminding Hayden of who she was, but she decided it would be best done in private. Maybe he would see her out when she was leaving. Natalia looked at Sofia, not believing she was being completely honest. It felt as though she had
Competing for Love Chapter 67 - The Prosecutor
Jon sat in the interrogation room across from Andy and Dennis with a smirk on his face. He hadn't asked for an attorney yet, but he would eventually. He knew there really wasn't a point in having an attorney when he flaunted all of his crimes online and even bragged about them. "Do you have anything you'd like to say?" Dennis asked, letting his disdain for him be heard in every word. Jon shrugged. "What's there to say? I killed a lot of people. I think about killing people all the time because I get off on it. Think about the best orgasm you've ever had and multiply it by a thousand. That's how it feels when I cut those whores into little pieces. Although when I get out of here, I think I won't only kill women. I'll kill men, too. After all, blood is all the same color no matter who you are." He started laughing like a maniac as Dennis and Andy stared at him with disgust. "You were good at disguising yourself. Even walking right in front of several officers as a w
