Just about ten minutes later, dressed fully in a suit and long deep blue coat, Mason comes down the staircase, stopping to see the trio in the living room."Good afternoon. Hi Mum..." He comes in and pecks Martha on the forehead."Can't you have just one day off? You're always off to work."Mason chuckles and shrugs. "What can I say? You gave birth to a man who's a doctor and is a capable boss at the same time, so he's pretty busy." He sends a slight wink to Bethany and then his eyes land on Arthur.Arthur, equally, looks right back at him as well. His lips turned up in a small smile and his eyes daring him to do or say something out of turn."Good afternoon, Mr Worth.""Good afternoon, Mr Campbell. How are you doing today?"Both women exchange glances, feeling the chill in the air."I am quite alright. Ah, I have been meaning to invite you to get a glass of coffee with me, how does that sound with you?"Arthur shrugs, his smile deepening. "Sounds good. You just let me know when and w
Outside the tall medical building, John gives a small whoop as he calls his driver to come pick him up out front.He turns around and admires the glowing name out front. "Who would have known he was such a chill person?" He mutters to himself. His phone vibrates in his pocket and he picks it out."Hello?""How did it go?" The caller asks immediately, slight excitement in the voice."It went really well. With all of the rumors about how wicked and cruel he can be, he was actually pretty cool headed with me.""That's exciting news. So where are you headed now?""I don't have plans, how about we meet over some food, and then I can go shopping for the missus with your help.""You know I could never turn you down even when you bring up your wife."John rolls his eyes, a lilting smile on his lips. "Come on, it's a happy day, don't be moody. Should we meet at Eclipse?""Give me an hour.""I'll be waiting." He hangs up just as the car comes around, his exuberance is visible to everyone that h
The next morning, Bethany joins them down at breakfast, a bit disgruntled. "You two are so against me. Why would you two make breakfast?"Arthur looks up while taking off the apron. "What breakfast?"Bethany cocks her head to the side. "Really?" She shakes her head in the direction of the apron that he only just discarded."Oh that? I was just helping to cut veggies."Martha rolls her eyes. "Fine then, if you're angry with being left out, help us set the table.""Finally, something to do."Martha and Arthur watch her go."She still hasn't gotten over feeling responsible for everything and every work that should be done?""I think that one will take a while. The first week of us living together, she woke up four am every morning without fail. She'd go cleaning, washing, mopping, makes breakfast and then I'll wake up to see all of that. I have staff to do all those things but she did it without fail.""Wow. That's as a result of...""When you do that for two to three years, it's bound t
The late morning brings Bethany into the office, drove in by Arthur's car.He kisses her on the forehead before sending her off. "I don't know why you all like to do that.""The meaning behind a kiss on the forehead is... I'll tell you some other time. Go on in."She groans lightly and gets off. She stops and raises her hand with the intention to wave but then, she stops herself and just sends him off with a smile of her own.She turns around and looks up and down at the building once again, still a little bit feeling like a dream to her. She walks to the doors and pushes it open.The few employees loitering about or going about their business notice her and do small bows immediately.Bethany musters a smile for them and takes the elevator up, simple and not announcing her presence so a bunch of well built security men will accompany her up.Nope.The doors to the elevator opens and closes just as Jade exits her office through the glass double doors."Ma'am." Her eyes light up ever s
John Worth arrives at his home, leaving the chauffeur to handle all the mountain of bags that are buried in the trunk. As he walks up the patio steps, he glances back to see the middle aged man reeling under the bags and just turns away to enter the house, completely looking over him.Daisy is waiting in the living room already. She might have been there all night, waiting.John struggles not to sigha and roll his eyes but he draws closer to her and kisses her on the cheeks. "Good afternoon honey. Why are you here?""Where else would I be?" She retorts, searching his face."Well, you know that is not what I meant. Why are you up this early?""Where were you all night? I had so many things to tell you but you just disappeared and did not pick all of your calls all night. Do you think that is fair? Can't I just go out too and disappear for the whole night? Bye because I am catering for your daughter, you think you can just waltz in and out of here and come back whenever you like? I tota
Alexa drives from Platonic to the Worth family house. She had been there about two to three times before, although not long visits.The first was when Charles had taken her there to announce that he loves her and will be marrying her in secret, second had been on their honeymoon.She had spent her honeymoon with a married man who had another woman waiting for him at home that night, in the man's family house.In hindsight, Alexa is regretting her decisions already but she's not going to admit it just yet. Their home is a bit far from her former location but since it sounded a bit urgent on the phone, she decided to drive there immediately.On arrival, the gates are opened for her and she drives in. She makes her way to the door and knocks.A maid opens the door for her and the girl greets her politely before walking off to the side she's come to know as the way to the large kitchen.Alexa walks to the living room herself where she sees Daisy in the middle of the room, swamped by boxes
Over dinner that night, Bethany lays in front of the duo two plates, both filled with Chinese fried rice on one side and a tomato sauce on the other. She drops the first two and goes to pick up the other two, putting them in front of herself.Arthur inhales and closes his eyes. "These smell so good. I'm pretty sure I can't measure up to you."Bethany chuckles. "Don't worry your head about that, you can't. So don't bother trying. I'll just manage to live by the one you cook."Arthur laughs. "So you can be a little self absorbed too? Hats off."She chuckles. "Please eat."After a while of eating and silence, Arthur breaks the silence. "So... How was work today?"Bethany looks up and chuckles. "It was fun?""Fun? Is work supposed to be fun? I'm pretty sure my employees are not calling their work fun outside."Bethany laughs. "You're quite the boss. I can tell you're the type they won't invite to weddings or dinners because they are scared you'll reduce their pay."Arthur laughs, setting
The officer rudely pushes Charles into the large station and then into a chair in front of him.He removes his jacket and drapes it behind his chair before sitting down. He turns on the computer in front of him and looks at Charles who is momentarily distracted by the hubbub of activities going on."Hey Mr, look here." The officer calls him, slamming a book on the table to grab his attention. "What's your name?""Charles. Charles Worth.""What's the name of the man you had been beating?""Anthony Moore."The officer types it down. "So, what were you doing at Platonic?""We have a small hangout. We were on the same football team in college so it was like a small get together.""So, what happened? Why did you beat him unconscious?"Charles grits his teeth, massaging his wrists from the ache, noting the dried blood on his fists. "Well?""He made a comment about my wife... Hell, ex wife."The officer glances up at him and then looks back down, typing away on the computer what Charles is
The moment the plane touches down on the sun drenched tarmac of the Maldives airport, Bethany leans her head against the window and sighs, just waking up as a result of the announcement. Arthur already awoke but he did not wake her up knowing she would need the rest.It’s a new day already.They had been in the air for more than half of a day and coupled with the time difference of nine hours, its already the next day when they arrive, morning, sun shining brightly.She smiles again before sighing, coating the glass with vapor.Not the exhausted kind of sigh. The finally, I’m free, I’m ready to be happy kind. She can already see the pretty blue ocean in the near distance and her lips curve up into a soft smile.Arthur, sitting beside her, watches her instead of the view. “That’s the most relaxed I’ve seen you in months,” he murmurs running a finger over her shoulders in sort of a soft massage.Bethany turns to him, her smile deepening. “It’s the most relaxed I’ve felt in months. Who w
While the pretty silvered plane flies by overhead, a certain couple on the way to their much looked forward to honeymoon, below…The living room reeks of sweat, liquor, and dirty, smelly and rotten food.The morning’s calm is shattered by loud voices, yelling words back and forth between one another. Then suddenly, there is silence, and then that short moment of quietness is broken by a sudden, cracking slap.WHACK!Oh, no.SLAP!Then something shatters, something glass and fragile, a shard is picked up from the shattered glass and then the one piece of glass is picked up from it, used to aggressively cut the other person across the cheek, connecting with the tear caused by the earlier shattered glass.Alexa hits the floor, her body limp, her head smacking against the sharp corner of the center table. The sound is sickening, the kind that sticks in a person’s memory but her assailant does not worry about that, what he looks forward to, is the aftermath, the ecstasy that comes after. Bl
Morning arrives fast...That is how it happens on days you expect so much.The bright morning skies are a soft blue and the air, surprisingly cool for an April morning. The Campbell residence is unusually quiet, except for the muffled sound of footsteps and the occasional whirr of bag wheels being drawn.Arthur stands by the foot of the stairs, dressed casually in a light linen shirt and sleek black pants, overseeing the last of the suitcases being carried out. The driver, uniformed and slightly drawn in the face, loads their luggage into the trunk of the sleek black SUV parked outside.Bethany emerges from the top of the stairs in a matching light outfit, her white blouse tucked into wide legged beige pants, a pair of sunglasses perched on her head and a genuine smile lighting up her face as soon as she sights Arthur waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.Martha and Mason wait for them in the living room, both sipping coffee, the morning sun pouring in behind them.“Someone’s glow
Charles doesn’t remember when the rage began, only that it grew over time, like a parasite feeding off everything he had left of humanity.He stares blankly at the GPS mounted in the Falcon Rental’s Audi R8, sleek, black, expensive, and utterly soulless. Just like him tonight. The false name he gave at the rental office, Reeds Whitby, echoes in his mind as he swerves through the streets.He doesn’t want to think too hard. The bottle of tequila he downed earlier made sure of that. He still has more of it in the deep pocket just if he needs some more liquid courage to protect his family.He punches a code into an app he’d installed on his family’s phones during the Quinn scare, a parental tracking tool he’d masked as a ‘security protocol.’ Now it pulses on the screen, blinking with one word.John.His father’s signal is floating dangerously close to the outskirts of the state. There is no other place she could be staying that is not where the blue dot is currently tapping.“She really ha
The bottle is empty. Charles drops it onto the passenger seat, the final drop of tequila long gone down his throat. His vision swims a little, but his mind is sharp, sharper than it’s been in days.Rage does that.It slices through fog, even the kind caused by alcohol.Simpler to call it a drunken sober state.He adjusts the black cap over his head and slides the dark cloth mask up over his face. It’s not paranoia. It’s protection. He isn’t supposed to be seen. Not today.Not when he’s decided how this ends.The Falcon Rental lot is dim, even in daylight. He parks his actual car on the next street over, then walks across the sidewalk like any other customer. The ID he hands over is fake, the accent he puts on convincing enough. “Reeds Whitby,” he says with a light chuckle. “Just in town for a few days. Business and... pleasure.”The clerk barely looks at him. All that matters is the money.And he gives the guy a lot of it.Keys change hands.Minutes later, Charles is behind the wheel o
Many weeks before...Charles stands on the front steps of the hospital, the early afternoon sun beaming down on him like a spotlight exposing every ugly thought in his mind, shining brightly on every single evil thing he has ever done and said... The conversation with Arthur that he had just some minutes earlier before Arthur had gone up to possibly smack John had ensued, plays on loop in his headaccusations, disgust, disappointment. And the worst part? Arthur did have a point no matter how much he has tried to deny it and say it's a lie.No matter how much he had tried to say he isn't like his father... Deep down, he knew he was like him.And control of himself was slipping right through his fingers.He drags a hand through his hair, chest heaving as he pulls out his phone. His fingers hover for a second before he finally dials the number.The same number he had dialed just before and Arthur had overheard the whole conversation.Sienna picks up on the second ring, her voice light a
Contented sigh.The morning sun peeks softly through the curtains, its light spilling gently over the cream sheets of the master bedroom where our couple have been staying and where the stay would soon come to an end since it's all over anyway. Arthur stirs first, slipping out of bed quietly so as not to wake Bethany. A few minutes later, he returns with two steaming mugs in hand. He knows what his wife needs anyway, and he'll give it to her, knowing what time she wakes up on her and even if it's not near, the coffee will damn near wake her up with it's 'rejuvenating' scent as she calls it.Bethany blinks awake just in time to see him walk in, dressed in his robe and soft slippers on his leg. He hands her one of the mugs and sits on the edge of the bed, watching her with amusement.She accepts it gratefully, taking a sip. “Mmm. You make a mean cup of coffee,” she says sleepily, sitting up straighter as the warmth spreads through her hands, waking her fully.Arthur raises a brow. “Goo
POVGood riddance to bad trash.The glass in front of me is already half empty, but I hold it like it’s the only thing anchoring me to the planet. My fingers tremble around the rim, knuckles pale and tight. Whiskey burns my throat as I knock the rest of it back in one go, but I barely flinch.Who flinches at a burn of alcohol after seeing a dead body’s flinching in death? Its nothing compared to one another, simply fleeting and yet stays with you… When you see the eyes of a dead person closing for the last time.Or the last blink? The last sigh? The last finger twitch? Exhilarating to see and alcohol seems to be the closes thing to feeling that lovely twinge in your back again.The bartender’s eyes flick toward me from the end of the counter.He's used to me now. I’ve been coming here every other night, ordering the same thing, pretty expensive whiskey, no ice, no chaser, the perfect feeling it gives me gives me no other choice but to drink it raw.I don’t need comfort.I need focus an
After they drive away from the police station, the long ride to Daisy’s house is a bit quiet, unlike the previous night. Not heavy at all like the last time, but quiet enough to let the silence settle between them without awkwardness.Its just sad in there.A woman lost her husband to justice, rightfully, a daughter said bye to her father and family has to watch it all happen while he pays his respects, sort of.And now the date of the hearing is just a few days away… Must be hard.Daisy steps out of the vehicle with Quinn by her side just as Arthur pulls into the driveway. They both help one another when they get off from the car, and Bethany is the first to step out from the front. Quinn breaks into a small whimper and manages a small, hurtful smile towards Bethany.Not because Bethany is the one who hurt her but because Beth has been there all along and now there is no reason to hide emotions from her anymore.“I’m really glad you came with us,” Daisy says softly, walking up beside