51About an hour after Alita reached her apartment, she heard the doorbell ring, so she hopped through her clothes on the ground until she reached the door. She slightly opened the door and peeped through. She didn't see anybody but a basket of pretty flowers and a note inside. She smiled, knowing who it came from. She had only just left him and he sent her flowers already.She pushed the door farther open, picked up the bouquet, and closed the door. She peeled the card open and dropped the basket on the couch. She jumped on the bed, raising the card to her face.Go out with me, Alita. I want to get to know you more. I want to listen to you talk with a glass of overpriced wine in your hand as you pick at fries. I want to be on the other side of the table, saying horrible jokes in a poor attempt to make you laugh, but then you still laugh because you somehow think I am funny. Text me one day this week. Her heart raced and her eyes bulged as she read it. It was all happening too fast.
Sarah couldn’t wait for Alita to wake up so she could get the weight off her chest. She wanted to talk to her about the case and the investigation the police were carrying out on Benson. If somehow he was found guilty, it would affect all of them.Once it was 7 a.m., Sarah tapped Alita to wake her. She kept tapping until Alita began moaning angrily as she woke up. It took some time for Alita to wake up, but Sarah was patient enough, so she just blinked at Alita until her eyes finally opened to the heavy face she had on.“Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?” Alita whined as soon as her face met Sarah’s. She was startled by the big eyeballs staring her down as she stretched before finally sitting up and leaning her back on the wall. The frown on her face gradually turned into worry as she studied Sarah. “What?” She said, wiping her hands over her face and yawning afterward.Sarah mumbled, “Its Mr. Astor and the police.” Her jaw tightened. “They are trying to rub dirt on him ag
53Benson hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. He was awake for most of the night, till morning. He just couldn’t close his eyes to the possibility that all he had worked for could crumble. He kept thinking about who would want him to go down so badly that they would go to such desperate measures twice just to see him crash and burn.Yes, he knew that being at the top would require taking hard blows and still standing, but this scared him to his bones, though he wouldn’t show it. He wasn’t just scared that the police could nail a solid on him and pin him down to nothing, he was terrified that Alita would find out that he had sex with the dead girl and that would wreck what they had going. He wouldn’t know what to do when she found out.It had haunted him for the past few days, and now it seemed inevitable that he would have to confess that he had only had sex with her to buttress his innocence.He had had the bar in his mind for hours before the break of dawn. He had been able
54.The girl’s body was transferred from Australia back to LA because her roots were traced back to Beverly Hills. It was then handed over to the police in Bel Air on the note of the current investigations into her death being allegedly tied to Benson.It just so happened that the hospital was the same one that Alita’s mother was being treated at, so if things went south, she would hide under the umbrella of coming there to see her. Alita wanted to know everything that had been injected into her after nearly dying, so she made friends with a nurse who taught her how to test a blood sample during the few months she had to stay at the hospital under study, until every last bit of the drugs she had been injected with had flushed out of her system. She was a quick study, so she started testing her blood by herself under the supervision of her nurse friend.That, plus the little chemistry she learnt back at Richie’s drug lab, where they increased or reduced the effects of the drugs they p
55Benson woke up with an excruciating headache. He screwed his face and massaged his temples to calm the pain. He sat there until he could see clearly. He tried to get up and then lazily fell back onto the couch.He blinked numerous times and yawned. He heard his phone ring, so he looked around for it. He found it on the bar’s counter. He hissed as he rolled his hands into fists and pressed them into the couch, flexing his biceps to help get him up to reach for his phone.He picked up the call after seeing that it was Luke that was buzzing him.“What’s up Luke?” He tightened his jaw and prepared to take whatever Luke would throw at him.“Good afternoon, sir,” Luke muttered.“Come on, talk to me,” Benson said, crossing his hand over his chest and pacing back and forth.“They dug her up and found she had been involved in so much underground drug trafficking shit,” Luke said, with a heaviness growing in his voice. “Now, they are trying to draw lines that shouldn’t exists to you. She was
56.She didn't know why but the way car engines roared always gave her chills. She would close her eyes and savor the feeling. She always felt powerful behind the wheels of a fast car. She just couldn't shake it off. It followed her from her childhood up till now. Benson watched her with a mix of amazement and confusion as she closed her eyes for a moment with her fingers slightly touching her lower lip and her breathing slowed down. As she opened her eyes, a smirk crept onto her face. She put her other hand on the wheel and jerked her head in his direction. She tugged her shoulders at him, saying, "You still have time now. It's not too late to surrender.""An Astor never quits because we are always exceptionally superficial," he said looking straight into her eyes. "Are you running a cold feet already?" he cocked his head and raised a brow at her."You are so cocky," she sneered at him and then drove them out of the garage. Benson was thrilled at her blood rush as she drove. He c
Benson felt her soft lips intertwined in his. He loved it. It was like he was becoming aware of life in a different way. He calmed and savored every moment he habitually neglected in the past. He was like a baby growing up and experiencing things for the first time except he wasn't. Everything Alita does, everything about her cuts deeper than the surface. She took him tenderly as they kissed. It was deeper than just their lips touching, it was thousands of words spoken in tiny fractures of time. Her tongue searched his. He was willing to be found. It took longer than he had expected as Alita let her longing for him, the same that he had for her, overtake her. She let it all loose on him and he was overwhelmed.An amazing trait of Benson is that he always thinks ahead of time, so in the heat of their passionate kissing, her let down the front seats until they were lying flat.Alita smiled amidst kissing him and immediately left her seat and pushed him down to cross her legs over him
58.Benson wrapped his hand around Alita's waist and pressed her against his body. He thought to remove her bra so it would be out of his way for what he had in mind. She was still regaining her grip on her body but she helped him remove the bra completely.His hand went back to her waist, grabbing her hip this time. She yelped when he tightened his grip and rammed his stud deep inside her. She pressed her lips against her teeth as she raised her face to his. Her body was shaking. She placed her trembling hands on both his abs so she could feel his muscles while he fucked her. He studied her face while slowly thrusting in and out of her. She was still biting on her lips, her brows were knitted, and her eyes were almost closed but he could see her beautiful eyes. Her face twisted the more whenever he was inside her, just before he would slip out and go back out. He could see her longing for him to go faster on her face. She looked at him and then jerked her head upward and began slowl
It took a few days for things to come back to normal between Alita and Benson. It almost felt like the getting-to-know each other phase of their relationship just with serious sexing and less conversations, and she was sleeping on the same bed with him, yet.Alita had changed a bit in about a month they were separated. She had gatherer enough money to start her dream styling firm to incorporate her into the fashion industry, where she had always believed she belonged, which meant she had no time for nannying, although it wasn't all that necessary because she was used to taking Julie with her already. The problem was that Benson missed her presence more at home.They managed and in no time, came back to full connectivity.Benson kept his break up with Alita away from his mother. He couldn't afford her drama. And she was going to scold him for letting Alita go.Alita too didn't tell anyone. Sarah thought her disappearance was because Benson impregnated his ex-wife. She was shocked when
Benson stayed in his house almost emptying his bar. He switched his phone off so nobody would disturb him. He was devastated. He had been living a lie all the while. Many times, Sarah and Luke came to look for but he never came out. It didn’t look like he was in the house.He just had to call off their engagement. She went too far and he couldn’t live with it. He couldn’t help but imagine how his life would have been if Alita came out and told him she Julie was his flesh and blood.It was unbelievable. Chris had assured him that he was impotent and that they had tried everything but nothing worked. He had to know for sure and the only way to that is to go back to the beginning.For the first time ever since that day, Benson went out of the house. He went to the hospital to meet and confront Chris about what Alita had told. There had been too many lies and falsehood around his life in the recent days and knowing this one truth or lie, whichever it would turn out to be, would be liberat
“I was scared you would leave me if I told so I didn’t. This is me as I am, covetous. I don’t regret keeping this away from you but I am sorry I did. I mean it when I say I would do anything to keep you with me forever, and this—this was something I thought I had to do. I love you and I don’t want to lose you,” he peered into her eyes. “Please don’t hate me. Don’t stop loving me. I there were many times I wanted to tell you but how does a man walk up to his dear love and tell her to forget about any dream of ever having her own children?”“I knew, Benson,” Alita looked down as she pressed her lips together. “I knew if I stayed with you, I wouldn’t have any children but it didn’t matter to me because I love you so I stayed. I got so wrapped up in my mind with jealousy and contempt that it escaped my mind. I felt threatened and intimidated by her that I let her get in my head with her selfish words,” she leaned of the wall and held her hands in front of her.“You knew. How?” Benson’s br
The moment long waited for was there, and Alita wore a smile that evening as Charity stated she was leaving. It felt unreal that the whole ominous atmosphere was clearing already.“It is nice having you,” Alita waved her hand at Charity. “You can pop and high any time you want,” she lied.I don’t want to ever see you here again.As the door slid open, Alita shut her eyes and drew in a long breath, absorbing the relief in the air. She had missed the feeling. Her joy was cut short when she heard Charity’s voice.Haven’t you left?“I can’t go like this,” CHarity exclaimed, shaking her head as she shut her eyes. “I wanted to keep it to myself, but I just can’t,” she sniffled.Alita glanced at Benson, and he bobbed his head. “What are you talking about?” she held her hand to her chest.“He knows,” Charity pointed at Benson.Alita turned to Benson and batted her lashes numerously at him.“Know what exactly? Where are you driving?” Benson inclined his head and folded his hands across his che
Alita was shocked to see the door slide open. Benson just walked to his room, and they were the only two people that could open the door.She balled her fist, waiting to see the figure standing in front of the door. She couldn’t see the face of the woman but as the door slid wider, she recognized who it was.Freaking Charity!Charity was the least of people she could expect to see. Many questions raged through Alita’s mind but the most outstanding was how she could open the door.“Benson,” Alita Bellowed crossing her hands on her chest as she jotted her hips, giving Charity a once over.“Yeah, babe,” Benson answered from his room.“You have a visitor,” Alita pushed her lips forward as she swayed her body from side to side.“I don’t have plans to—“Hi there,” Charity flickered her fingers in the air, smiling excessively as she looked over at Benson. “I let myself in,” her eyes went round. She looked around and observed the living room. “Things have changed here, haven’t they?” she snic
At Sarah’s wedding, Alita wasn't the only one wishing to enjoy the bliss of a wedding day and, after it, the certainty that comes with elevating their commitment to a more permanent situation.Benson had the intention to propose to Alita the day he came back and met her in a pool of blood. He had planned it all head in his head. The band, everyone involved.He wanted it to be a prestigious surprise. She had always said she wished she was a princess, and he wanted to make her feel more than that. She was his queen, and he wanted to show her that she deserved to have everything she wanted.Benson felt he was ready to move forward with their relationship. She was perfect for him, and he needed to ensure that she remained his till the end of time.Before the morning he had intended to propose to her, he had planned how everything would go with everyone he thought necessary to involve. He would ask her out for a date and then surprise her when she got out of the house with her favorite ban
"Let's go on a date," Benson said pouring wine into two glasses form them. "We haven't gone anywhere, we haven't gone out ever since…" his eyes snapped close as memories of almost losing Alita to the jaw of death flashed through his mind–not sonething you wouldn't want to remember, not even randomly. "What do you think?" He asked.Alita's face lit up and she giggled sharply. "Are you serious right now?" She squinted at him as she extended her hand and collected her drink. She gingerly whirled the glass before a sip and moaning to the taste that surprised her. "This is amazing," she nodded and took another sip. "What in God's name do I say to that?" She pursed her lips and raised her chin, playfully scowling at him."I don't know," he laughed softly, looking the other way as set himself on the arm of the chair she was seated on."You must be high," Alita jabbed her finger into his side and he yelped moving away. "Should you when ask me about it? You could have surprised me," she scrunc
126Julie was Alita's only company as the days went by. As expected, everyone around her was distant. She would sit on the bed in Julie's room and talk to her, even though she knew Julie wouldn't understand what she was saying, it was comforting that she could talk to someone about the burden in her heart and how everyone all her loved ones were avoiding her.Sarah blocked Alita and cut all contacts from her. Alita went to their apartment and saw that Sarah had changed the lock. She went to Luke's house but didn't find anybody at home. It was while walking back to Benson's place that she realized they would have gone for their honeymoon.They say no mother could hate her own but it wasn’t looking like it for Alita. She hadn’t heard from her mother ever since her confession. He called but got no answer, texted but got no reply. She tried to go and see her at Chris’s apartment but couldn’t. One time, she was standing right in front of the door but froze when she raised her hand to knock
Dumbfounded and dwindling between anger and confusion, Benson cleared his throat. The place went absolutely silent. “Why didn’t you say anything about it? You could have told me. I feel betrayed right now,” he face-palmed. “I just want to go home,” he breathed heavily. “I can’t believe it at all. I just can’t believe our friendship was built on lies all this while. We promised to…” Sarah whined and cried. “All this while, Alita, I thought we were best friends. I told you everything and I thought you did the same,” she turned and wrapped her hands around Luke, looked up at him, and muttered, “please take me out of here.”“Please don’t leave me like this,” Alita extended her hand as she moaned. Her throat patched as she watched Luke lead Sarah out of the room. She was too weak to move and she couldn’t possibly follow after Sarah when Benson was there also preparing to leave.“Let’s go home,” Benson looked at Alita with pain in his eyes. She wiped her face and dragged herself up.Ivy sa