My eyes snapped open by the buzzer of my phone, and I rose up, leaning on my elbow to grab the phone from the nightstand. It was a message from Brooke. The insurance company had agreed to cover the surgery and ICU cost, but there were still some other expenses that had to be borne by us, or more like by Montero, because he was in possession of all our money.
Setting aside the blanket, I fully got up and scanned my eyes around. Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. I tip-toed out of the room towards the kitchen and sure enough, found him there, filleting a salmon with the utmost concentration and skill. My clutch tightened around my phone, and I whispered, "Please, forgive me."
Skulking back inside his bedroom, I closed the door, so no sound could escape outside and found myself in front of the floor-to-ceiling shelf, my breathing bursting in and out. Lifting my foot, I let it hit the floor beside the couch as Dimitri did before, an
I pushed the file on the table like it was something poisonous and glared at Nina. "Have you lost your mind? I will never do it.""But this is sir's order." She enunciated each word clearly as if talking to a child."Screw him! I have done enough on his fucking orders. This-" I pointed an accusing finger at the manilla folder, containing the ominous papers that I had to trick Dimitri into singing, "-is beyond the boundaries now."She sighed dramatically and glanced up at Ryan who stood right beside her with his hands shoved into his pockets. His lips pulled up into a smirk, and he drew out his hands along with his phone."We knew you would be a pain in the ass as always," he spoke, tapping something on his phone and extending it to me. "So we came prepared."Frowning, I eyed it, a new sense of fear gripping my heart. "What?""Talk."
"I feel like kidnapping you to take you with me." I chuckled, staring at his intoxicating greys, my heart heavy with guilt and grief. We stood at the airport, in front of his private jet, bidding goodbyes for the journey. It had been five minutes already, yet we latched onto each other like siamese twins. "When will you come back?" I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper. "I'm not sure yet." He pressed his forehead against mine, sighing. "Maybe the day after tomorrow." His voice was uncertain and low like he hated the fact as well. I looked down, biting my lip. I already knew what the future had in store for me, and it would not be something pleasant. For the record, this might just be our last time together. The mere thought of it shattered my heart into a million pieces, making me feel suffocated. My eyes stung at the corners. "Hey, look at me." His hand grabbed my chin,
"What did you do?" Blake shouted, his eyes rounded. "Calm down, okay. I had to." Nearing me, he held my shoulders and jerked. "Smurfette, do you have any idea where this can land you? That man, when he finds out, do you think he will let you off? No, Haze. He didn't forgive his own mother for God's sake." "Will you stop with that? I told you he had other reasons," I hollered back. "Shh, guys. Keep it down if you don't wanna get kicked out of the hospital," Brooke interrupted, walking out of Joseph's room and glaring at us both. She was right. My eyes scanned around the hallway. People were looking at us like we had grown three extra brainless heads. Closing my eyes, I let out a loud breath while Blake released me, calming himself down as well. "I'm sorry, but you should have asked me, Smurfette," saying, he ran
"I'm here." Montero sat in his red chesterfield lounge with one hand spread over the top and the other holding a glass of amber liquid as usual. He arched an eyebrow in question. "Well?" "My demands first. I want to see them," I told him. I would be a fool if I trusted him blindly, because I very well knew he would not even think before stabbing me in the back. His eyes moved to his assistant Nina, standing by his side and motioned her. Nodding, she picked up the small briefcase that was resting on the coffee table, clicked it open and splayed it before us. Sure enough, there was the money as well as Sunshine Retirement's property documents. "The signature?" I asked, and she turned the corners of the pages, showing me the bright, fresh signatures in the required sections. I took a step towards it when his voice stopped me.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, making me jolt up to a sitting position. Pain shot through the side of my neck, and my hand rose, rubbing the spot. I didn't even know when I fell asleep. My eyes fell on Joseph who peacefully snored on the bed, and I hurried out my phone to silence it only to be silent myself. Even my breathing stopped as I gulped at the caller ID. Dimitri was calling. He was coming back today. I looked at the time, and my eyes widened even more. He was already here. Silencing the vibration, I put the phone on the bedside table and turned away in my chair. Every fiber in my body constricted from guilt, and the ache in my heart reopened. I could feel my face growing warm and eyes stinging. Placing both palms over my face, I leaned back on the edge of the bed and let out a silent cry. Gosh... how was I to face him? I was so not ready to take his wrath, his hate. I did not even go to work today. I could not prete
It was as if the ground from beneath my feet was snatched away, and a tremor ran through my heart. "Wh-What do you mean?" His jaw clenched, and eyes closed as he jerked a hand in the air. "Drop it already!" he snapped, making me jump in my heels. "Smurfette," Blake called, squirming in those guys' clutches, "What are you doing here? Leave. Go." I shook my head, taking a step towards Dimitri when his jaw hardened, giving me a look that could melt ice faster than laser, and I stopped, retreating two steps. "D-Dimitri-" "Leave," saying, he turned away, his hands balled into tight fists, and it stabbed me in the heart with a burning arrow. If I felt this much pain just by seeing him like this, then I could not even imagine the extent of hurt he was going through, knowing about my deception. But all that he chose to show was ang
White sheets covered the body from head to toe, and a familiar wrinkly hand, so pale and lifeless, dangled from the side. The next few seconds went in a blur as I felt a bulb inside me suddenly going off like my world just stopped functioning or came to an end. There was no more pain, no panic, no worries like they were numbed and long forgotten. The stretcher passed by me, and I kept staring until they pushed it inside a staff elevator. I didn't even know if I blinked or breathed or even was alive in the first place to begin with, but I surely couldn't feel my soul neither my heart nor myself. I was simply gone. Like a tv when turned off, a candle when extinguished or a flower when dried. "Hazel!" a distant voice called as I felt myself being shook. My head turned to the source, and saw Brooke observing me with wide, puffy, red eyes, conce
My eyes opened from the silky, warm rays of the morning sun, gracing my face and moved to my hand, dangling from the edge. White strips embraced my palm and fingers diagonally. I frowned, running my other hand through my hair and pressing it over my skull. My head throbbed like someone hammered it with utter hatred. Sitting upright, I looked back at my injured hand, inspecting it. What happened to me? My mind was blank. I couldn't remember a thing. Dragging myself out of the bed, I stood up, only to fall back down as the room began to spin. Groaning, I stayed put for another minute till the phase passed and got back to my feet. "Brooke?" I called, but no sound came out as my throat felt excessively sored, like someone had been rubbing sandpaper over it for days. Exiting my room, I looked around, spotting no one in sight. "Brooke?" I tried to call again, and a series of dry coughs left me. Careenin