AUTHOR'S POV SYDNEY COULD FEEL her heart in her mouth when the taxi pulled to a stop in front of Montana Hotel. The only time Gavin had gone to Montana Hotel was when he needed time alone with Sydney. She paid the driver and walked into the hotel. When the receptionist saw her approaching, he pretended like he was talking over the telephone. " Oh, Mr. Rodney... Uh... Yes." Sydney wasn't a fool. She could tell he was pretending. " Clinton, Mr. Rodney is over there." She said and gestured towards Rodney who talking with some men in tuxedos. He chuckled nervously and dropped the telephone. Like he knew what Sydney came for, he said, " Mr. Reed is in room... 15 VVIP. " Her face became paler. She thanked Clinton and headed for the stairs giving herself enough time to pull herself together. Gavin was certainly with someone since he booked an erotic suite. When she reached the VVIP floor. Her head ached from the vermilion-lighted hallway. She stopped by the 15th door and slipped
AUTHORS POV SYDNEY STARED AT Gabriel in a daze. She tried to check from his facial expression whether he was kidding but he looked dead serious. " You are kidding aren't you?" She asked incredulously. He responded in a rigid tone. " No, Sydney, I'm not joking. You want to be in Arizona today, I'll fly you there." She was more confused. He was a lumberjack, not a pilot. If he wasn't a pilot, it meant he had a private plane, but how could he? He's not an elite. The elevator opened with people waiting outside impatiently. Sydney was still staring at Gabriel in confusion so, he grabbed her hand and walked out of the elevator. As they walked out of the hotel, his hand firmly holding hers, she asked. " Where are we going, Gabriel?" " I have a friend who owns a private jet. He lets me use it often. He wouldn't mind this time. I can fly a plane so I'll take you to Arizona." He explained, coherently.o " But, I can't let you go with me to Arizona. What about your job?" They stopped
AUTHOR'S POVSydney and Gabriel landed in Arizona before midnight. They hailed a taxi to the Morgans. Thirty minutes later, Sydney stood by the front door of the home she'd spent her treacherous childhood in with a man who wasn't her husband by her side. Her stomach was suddenly grumbling. She hoped Caleb was miles away from Arizona on a business trip.Releasing a breath, she turned to Gabriel and looked at him with grateful eyes. "You've done enough for me, Gabriel.""I could do more," he replied.She stretched out a hand to silence him. "It's been a long day. You need to rest." She reached into her purse. "I'll pay for you to sleep in a hotel tonight."He watched her as she searched her purse. He understood she didn't like being helped or assisted with something, but he knew that wasn't the reason she wanted him away. He was just some strange man she'd met in the worst circumstances. He wasn't her husband. He wasn't the man who made her heart skip a beat.Sydney raised a bundle of d
AUTHOR'S POV Caleb pushed Sydney away aggressively causing her to hit her forehead on the wooden bed frame. Ashley stared at her daughter helplessly, she couldn't raise a muscle without feeling immense pain. Guilt washed over Amaya's features. She had called Sydney earlier to inform her that her mother had cancer and needed urgent treatment but Caleb caught her trying to call Sydney. He hit her until she confessed to him. He couldn't care less about Ashley's alignment after all; he had been with her far more than he bargained. His business statistics have been descending ever since Sydney's supposed scandal and if nothing was done quickly, he'd be back to square one. So, he asked Amaya to call Sydney again, and he used Ashley as a tool to get Sydney to Arizona. Sydney sulked, blood was oozing from the top of her left eyebrow. She looked at Ashley, “ Why didn't you tell me this earlier?” “ I…was scared Sydney. I'm tired, I want to rest. “ Ashley choked out a response. Cale
Instinctively, Sydney's hand slid off Gabriel's after hearing his demand. She had a little faith he was an honest man. Why would he offer to fly her to Arizona if he wouldn't benefit from it? No wonder he wanted her to go into the house first. It had been his plan all along."Have you lost your mind!" Caleb barked. Over the past few weeks, he had lost a lot of money and incurred loads of debts. He barely had 50 million left, and this man wanted to rip him off. Gabriel seemed nonchalant. "Send me fifteen million, and I'll delete the video and leave you to do as you please with these women." Sydney couldn't hold it in anymore. She grabbed Gabriel's arm and forced him to look at her. "You are a disgusting man! How can you let someone die because of money? If you'd told me from the start money was your goddamn problem, I would have given it to you."Caleb jumped in. "Don't you dare emotionally blackmail him?" He turned to Gabriel and said, "Fine, I'll give you the money, but first
AUTHORS POV " You'll be fine, some people survive cancer." Sydney recited continuously as she sat next to Ashley, who was asleep. Ashley's test results revealed she had stage two cancer, which weakened her bones. The doctor advised Ashley to undergo palliative chemotherapy in the meantime and said there was an eighty percent chance she'd get paralyzed." It's just a phase you'll get out of it."Amaya walked into the ward, her eyes swollen from crying while Gabriel stopped by the door. They'd been in the hospital for almost three hours and no one had slept. " You need to rest, ma'am; you look ashen," Amaya advised in concern. " No, I'll stay here till my mother wakes up," Sydney said stubbornly. The bags under her eyes were very clear now. Gabriel wondered if she had even had anything to eat throughout the day." She is right; you need to rest, Sydney," Gabriel commented.Sydney looked at him with eagle eyes. " I'm not leaving here till she wakes up." Gabriel frowned at her. "
AUTHOR'S POV" Let me go! You are a crazy man!" The woman cuffed to the bed screamed at her husband standing before her.He sat next to her and shoved the red hair over her face away. " This is the only way I can protect you." His voice was barely above a whisper.The woman had returned from work, just to be ceased by he husband and handcuffed to the bed." Let me go. I don't want to be with you; I don't love you anymore; let me go!" She screamed but the man sitting next to her was beyond reasoning." It won't take long for him to turn his back on you."" He would never, he loves me. Not every man is like your mother's lover; grow up, Gabriel! This marriage can never work, let me go!"Gabriel ground his teeth angrily and got up from the bed. His eyes were blazing with intensity, and he looked at her. " I love you and I'm trying to protect you. The sooner you realize that, the sooner, I'd let you go."____________A week had gone by since Sydney arrived in Arizona. Ashley looked a lo
AUTHOR'S POV " Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or are you going to continue acting like a b**ch?" Aaron asked Avery who was putting on her earrings in front of the dresser. Minutes ago they were on the bed devouring each other. When Aaron hovered above her and was about to thrust into her, she pushed him away and got off the bed. " It's none of your business so stop asking." She said savagely and put on her flats. Aaron shot out of the bed and grabbed her before she could leave. Avery tried to disengage her arm from his grip but to no avail. " Let go of me, Aaron!" " Since when has your business not been mine? For goodness sake, I'm your boyfriend!" Her jaw clenched and she moved her face very close to his. He swallowed hard and his grip on her loosened. " If you want to hear it, fine. I don't love you, you are a pathetic man. I used you and I'm done now. So, I'm ending this stupid relationship." She pushed him away aggressively, and he fell to the ground. " I
GAVIN'S LEGS WERE MADE of ten pounds of steel. He was motionless. Deaf. All he could hear was the faint echo of Ethan's name on Alejandro's scarred lips.Sydney's eyes were like the moon as she ran behind Gavin, nearly knocking him off. " Ethan, are you okay? Jesus Christ what if it touched you." Sydney's arms were around Ethan's body, shaking. He was still screaming. He couldn't stop screaming.The bullet managed to pass through the space between the outline of his cheek and shoulder, making its way into the glass wall.By the time Gavin regained his ability to move, Christopher had poured out of the house, his eyes wide in matching shock. Mathilda was hiding behind a wall in case there'd be another gunshot.Christopher looked between the wall and Gavin. " Holy shit, how did this happen?"" Someone please call the police and an ambulance. He isn't moving." Sydney screamed.Gavin was stumbling as he walked to Ethan. He pulled Sydney gently away from him and grabbed Ethan's raised sho
THE SCENT OF ROAST CHICKEN consumed the whole of Gavin's smart house. Gavin had hired a few excellent chefs to cook up something for the feast since he knew barely anything about cooking and Avery refused to get out of her room.She'd been behaving uncanny for some weeks, his conscience pricked him to ask her what was wrong. When he did, it didn't end well. Gavin nearly had a knife in his heart. She kept on screaming it was his fault she was in this position and chased him around the house with a knife.He promised himself to stay at least ten feet away from her.He'd expected her to be locked up in her room during the feast but she was the first at the table.Sydney came in five minutes to the stipulated time. She mustered all the strength in her not to lose her composure. The house looked exactly how she'd left it but it felt a whole lot different. It was like a shallow pit sucking her into memories. Memories she so desperately wants to forget.Sydney looked at the couch. She reme
SYDNEY WATCHED THE waves form and crash. Her heart was colder than the snow falling, tighter than the pressure from the oxygenless point of the sea. Her heart wanted to split and burst.She had just wanted to look at the sea with a smile on her face and no care in the world before Gavin called.She wondered why she answered his call so quickly. There was something wrong somewhere, she felt it. It was like he was going to be wiped out of existence if she didn't take his call.She had a dream the previous night. Gavin was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mists. A phone was held to his ear. He was shaking. Saying something about Ethan. Then the phone dropped and so did his body. The mist turned red.Sydney was breathing a little too hard when she asked him how their kids were. He noticed it." You are breathing uneasily, what's wrong?" He sounded so genuine it made her stomach churn.She wanted to tell him. " Nothing." But she couldn't.Gavin sighed, " Th
" Why don't you sing a Christmas song for us, ehn friend?"Gabriel clutched the knife he used to cut into his turkey a little bit tighter. Gil had been getting on his nerves since he served Dinner and sat a couple distance away from him. " Oh, I forgot, you mix auto with tenor and soprano with bass." Gil chuckled on the glass of water placed in his mouth. " We don't want your bad voice ruining Christmas Eve."Sofia intervened quickly. She grabbed Gil's face in her palm and made him look at her " Why are you being such an a**hole? Stop it. "Gil didn't look at her. His eyes were fixated on Gabriel's angry ones. They looked like they were ready to jump on each other. No one spoke again. There was a foul aura around the dinette. It was like everyone had beef with each other except Gil and Sofia. Sydney made sure to avoid eye contact with Gabriel who wouldn't stop passing glances at her.She felt like a pile of rubbish after what she'd done. She didn't want her and Gabriel's friendshi
" It's sweet of Gabriel to cook up the meals. " Sofia remarked as she lay on a chaise lounge watching Gabriel cook. She moaned at the aroma of the turkey. It was freezing on the yacht, but Sofia and Sydney couldn't care less. They didn't want to miss the serene views of birds flying across the waters, waves crashing, and whatnot. Sydney hadn't felt any sense of relaxation since Gabriel professed his affection for her. She wanted to believe it was some sort of joke or dream. He must have been feeling lonely and needed a shoulder to lean on, and Sydney was there for him. Maybe that's why he confused their friendship for love. The heart is a tool the devil uses to ruin people's life. Ruin friendships. Ruin good relationships. She reckoned. The only source of relaxation she found was when she stepped into Blake's yacht. It was a good thing she'd accepted his offer. Ethan and Emily would love it here. She would have loved to bring them, but Gavin called and said he wanted them
AUTHOR'S POV " Your check is on the dining room table, pick it up when you are done. And don't you dare go into my wife's room; I don't want you looking through her closet." Sherwin Peters said disdainfully to Gil before picking up a coat and leaving. Gil sent two middle fingers to his back and growled, " Open your eyes, a**hole; your wife is cheating on you with a seventy-two-year-old horse rider." Gil sighed when he realized he was talking to himself. He raked his fingers through his hair and looked at the broken fence through the kitchen window. " I need to get myself a real job. Joseph would also have if he existed in the 21st century." He laughed at himself. He was a worthless piece of shit. He thought. He couldn't even hold one woman he'd like— lust for. " Don't think of her, Gil, she must be having an orgasm for that b**tard she was holding hands with. What man even paints his fingernails? He must have a really small— shut up Gil, that's enough." He groaned an
WHEN SYDNEY'S RETURNED, the house was silent. Gabriel's bike wasn't parked outside, so she wasn't sure he had returned yet. She hoped he was fine. Sydney was tired. Exhausted. Despite how much she didn't want Gavin to know where she lived, he still found out. There was no cab in sight, Sydney's legs were boneless from the roller coaster ride and Gavin offered her a ride she couldn't resist. Gavin was impressed with Gabriel's home. It fitted a psychotic hoi pol-loi like him. Despite being tired, Sydney read Ethan and Emily to sleep. When they fell asleep, she kissed their forehead and released a shudder. Hugging herself, she walked out of the room. It was like the temperature dropped every second. Sydney heard sounds coming from the television. With the hopes of seeing Gabriel in the living room, she went there but saw no one. The living room smelt like a turkey sandwich and tea. " Strange." She mouthed and turned off the television. Maybe he'd watched a movie and gone to bed.
The park was noisy, especially at night. As Christmas drew near, many people began to go out and get themselves into some recreative activities to kill off the tension the year had held.Businesses have been slow-paced since the beginning of December since most employees have been given a break from work to enjoy the holidays.The stars bathed the blanket of skies, the moon was full, the snow was falling, the air was chill, and the roller coaster was in full swing. Sydney's stomach was churning. It was a decoration of twisted spasms of knots.The night made her sick to the stomach because it held the most romantic view she'd ever seen. She stared at the rollercoaster and listened to the screams of fear and euphoria. She remembered riding on the roller coaster. She remembered twelve years ago.At the top, body pressed against Gavin's in fear. His hands wrapped around her protectively. The words he whispered in her ear. Sweet words. Avery on the seat behind them. Her tight-lipped sm
THE WOODEN FLOOR BOARD covering the whole floors of Gabriel's quaint house creaked as Gabriel walked down the small hallway. His jaw was tight. Fist clenched. Veins tight. Heart constricted. He heard the rush of girly excitement coming from the room he'd given to Ethan and Emily. He heard the groaning of Ethan telling her to keep quiet but she didn't. She was very happy. Gabriel heard her say she was excited for mommy to see daddy. Gabriel's breathing was uneven. Jaw tighter. Fists clenching and unclenching. Veins threatening to burst out of his skin. Heart tight like it was surrounded by pressing wires. He didn't stop by their room to ask them what they meant instead, he walked to the room Sydney stayed. The door was slightly open. He looked through it. She was in her underwear, her body wet, her towel lying carelessly on the edge of the bed. She was searching through the wooden chifforobe for clothes. She was immortally beautiful. She looked like an Egyptian goddess.