Isabelle stepped out of Jennifer's room and angrily stormed away from that vicinity. She didn't know where exactly to go since Josh and his mother were still having their conversation in the bedroom so she found a spot at the top of the stairs and sat there."I can't believe that I just did that," Isabelle said to herself and put her palms over her face.She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry because she was feeling multiple things at the same time. She had always been a rational person and didn't really like conflict or confrontation but she forgot all about that when it came to fighting for Josh. She started to realize that there was something about him that made her...more passionate about him and anything related to him. There was this fire in the pit of her stomach, put there by Josh and that fire was calm for now but it was threatening to take control and engulf anyone who tried to split her and Josh apart. She was in love with him and it didn't feel like any regular kind of l
855 ADIt had been a year since Hannah and Garin had found the baby in the river and taken him in as their child.The year had been the best year they'd had since they were cast from home to live on Earth as mortals. The baby had brought so much joy to their lives that they never knew existed. He was their everything and they had grown to love and cherish him for he was their greatest treasure and had carried a message of happiness into their whole world which was why they named him Herald.Hannah really loved being a mom. She loved holding Herald and rocking him in her arms to get him to sleep whenever he was agitated. She loved feeding him and she loved looking into his soulful eyes, she loved it when he grabbed her finger and would squeeze it so tight, she loved bathing him and singing to him at night. She loved being his mother maybe even more than she loved being an angel.Garin also loved being a father. It was the most exciting thing he'd ever done and he loved doing it. He lov
Isabelle wasn't sure if she had heard right. Josh couldn't have just said what she thought she heard him say. Why did he say her name? Was he dreaming about her? Was it a good dream? Why was Jennifer in his subconscious that he would dream about her? All these questions flooded her mind and Isabelle couldn't find an answer for them.She thought back to her confrontation with Jennifer earlier tonight and remembered when she said that she was in Josh's mind already and judging from the evidence she had sleeping beside her, it was true.Isabelle wanted to wake him up and speak to him about why he was calling Jennifer's name in his sleep but it didn't seem like a good idea because she was feeling very emotional. What was she supposed to ask him? "Why are you dreaming about your assistant?" Well, he works with the woman so it's only normal that she's on his mind sometimes but it didn't mean anything more than that, right? Isabelle didn't know for sure.Nevertheless, something needed to be
“Did we do it? Did we just break the love chain?” Gabriel asked Fawn because the way they interpreted Josh and Isabelle’s conversation was that they’d broken up.“I think so,” Fawn replied.“Oh, would you two get over yourselves?” Zarif said to the angels.“You weakened the love chain but it hasn’t been broken. Thank you for making our work a lot easier. A couple more tugs at the chain and it’ll finally break and the Devil will be victorious,” Gentel said.“If the chain were to break, victory will be God’s, not Lucifer’s,” Fawn argued.“It seems these two don’t remember what the bet was. Care to remind them, Zarif?” Gentel said.“With pleasure, sister. The bet was to see who can break the love chain and end it forever, not just weaken it. End it! End it so that Garin and Hannah would not be reborn into the next generation, end it so their love would not be rekindled in the next life, and if you think that an ordinary break-up is going to do that then you’re a lot more stupid than we t
856 AD . . .A year after Herald was murdered by the demon Kari, Garin and Hannah were at a point in their marriage where they did not communicate with each other as much as they normally would.They were sad and depressed and they barely spoke to each other at that time because they both didn’t know what to say. They were both ashamed that they weren’t able to protect their child and they were also angry that God and The Devil, their fathers, did this to them.Was being cast to Earth not punishment enough? Why give them a child if all they intended to do was take him away? The couple was angry. They were filled with rage and hatred especially Hannah and the fact that she used to be an angel did not quell her anger. She felt betrayed by God, she felt let down by him and her renouncement of him was even stronger now that she felt the loss of Herald more deeply because she could compare the entire year she had him and the entire year she didn’t.Garin was in a dark place inside his o
An entire week went by and Josh and Isabelle didn’t speak throughout. Well, Isabelle didn’t speak to Josh and not the other way around because he called her several times but she wouldn’t take his calls.He wanted to fix things with her and get back together but she wasn’t giving him a chance to. He even went over to her apartment but she would always never open up her door. Her constant rejection made him feel so bad that he decided to just give her some time to evaluate her feelings and calm down. He was sure that if she felt for him the same way he felt for her, they would find a way to get over this hurdle.Josh decided to also try and get his mind off Isabelle as well because it was hard to get anything done with him constantly pining over her.He focused a lot of his time and energy on his work and spent a lot more hours in the office which Jennifer didn’t seem to mind as she was always there with him even after it was the end of the day. Sometimes he’d have to forcefully send h
“What are we doing here, Chris? Why did you even invite me to this? You know I don’t like poetry,” Josh complained as they arrived inside the poetry house.“A good friend of mine invited me to come and said I could bring a friend so I decided to bring you because I know you’ve been feeling down lately and nothing motivates better than some heartfelt words, right? Besides, it’s better than sitting at home, pining over Isabelle. You need this, man!” Chris said to him as they took their seats.“Maybe for you, I don’t want to be here. Why didn’t you tell me that this was where you were taking me?” Josh whined.“Because I knew you’d say no,” Chris said with a smile and forced Josh into his seat.The large room was packed with a handful of people who were all taking their seats and there was a little stage just a few paces in front because Chris had taken Josh to a poetry recital.A well-dressed woman walked over to their table with a charming smile on her face directed at Chris.“Chris, da
Josh was sparring in the gym with Chris and Frank, trying to blow off some steam because of his last conversation with Isabelle. He needed to get his mind off her or he was sure he’d go crazy. His pent-up rage was starting to resurface, the rage he had since he was a kid but didn’t know why, rage inherited Garin after he was reincarnated in him but Josh didn’t know this so he struggled with understanding where his anger came from.He was in the boxing ring with Chris while Frank was outside the ring, pumping him up with words of encouragement. He had his gloves on while Chris wore the protective padding suit so Josh could hammer away his anger on him.“Come on, Josh. Let’s see what you got,” Chris said.“Yeah, get him, Josh,” Frank said from outside the ring.Josh moved closer to Chris and began to offload a flurry of punches on his torso. He was completely focused and hit as hard as he could and Chris was lucky to have been wearing the protective gear otherwise he would have crashed
Jennifer went back to her desk and her hands were shaking from anger. She had just calmed herself only a few moments ago and now, she was even angrier than before because the message she had just read from Isabelle could have meant anything. HEY, BABE! CAN’T WAIT FOR TONIGHT – “What’s tonight?” Jennifer asked herself. She began to imagine all sorts of things about what tonight could be like. Were they going to have sex? She wondered. Even if they were going to have sex, it wouldn’t be the first time and Jennifer knew it so why was she so bothered about it? What if it wasn’t sex? What if it was something worse like an announcement…of their engagement? She thought. He proposed to her and tonight, they were going to tell their families. “No, that can’t be it. They just got back together so it can’t be that,” She muttered to herself. She was so lost in her maniacal thoughts that she didn’t notice when Josh walked past her and back into his office. She finally snapped out of it when sh
865 A.D ...A few years passed after Hannah and Garin made it to the peninsula after the storm that almost claimed their lives and the new life they had built there was shaping up to be the best they had ever had since they began living on Earth. When they first arrived, they were strangers in this new land. They didn’t know anyone and didn’t have anything except their ship and the clothes on their back. The peninsula was located at the coast of the North Pacific and it was a beautiful piece of land, surrounded by nature, rich and fertile and inhabited by a group of settlers who had begun their community there for more than two centuries since their ancestors discovered the land. They were a progressive people and they called themselves “Amans” and their land was called “Amania” which was derived from their native language and when translated to English meant “Paradise”. Hannah and Garin were foreigners in this new land and they were welcome with open arms and love. English was
“The bet has to change, Lucifer,” God told him.“What do you mean the bet has to change? Change to what?” Lucifer asked.“You cannot tamper with man’s free will the same way I can’t. Josh and Isabelle know the truth and despite that, they are willing to continue their relationship. That simply means the love chain cannot be broken, maybe it can be with the next reincarnation but not with them,” God told him.“Then, what do we bet on or are you going to call everything off?” Lucifer asked, thinking his Father would use this opportunity to call off the bet entirely.The thought did cross God’s mind. He had put everything on the line before and had risked it all; his kingdom, his angels, his creation, everything. Now, he had a chance to make sure they wouldn’t be at risk anymore but the idea of getting rid of Lucifer’s hold on humanity was too good to miss out on.Since creation, Lucifer had dedicated his entire existence to poisoning the minds of humans, turning them against God and lea
Isabelle slowly backed away from Gentel who was coming at her with the worst of intentions. She scanned around for something she could use to defend herself but there was nothing in sight. “Don’t even bother, you weakling! Nothing can save you from me,” Gentel said menacingly and moved closer to her.“What do you want from me?” Isabelle asked with shaky breaths, fear overwhelming her senses. “I want you to suffer, the same way I have because of you and lover boy over there,” The demon looked over at Josh who was still reeling in pain on the ground. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Isabelle said to her. “Don’t worry, you’re about to find out,” Gentel raised her dagger. Josh got a hold of himself again and looked up to see that Gentel was about to hurt Isabelle so he mustered up the strength to stand. He saw an iron rod on the sidewalk and picked it up. He ran up behind the demon and ran the rod into the back of her head with so much force, it became all mangled up. “It s
Several minutes after Josh passed out on the wheel, he slowly woke up and found himself sitting in a slightly dark room. He was a bit woozy and couldn’t see quite clearly but he looked around and his vision slowly became clearer.He wasn’t sure where he was or what was happening and then, he remembered that he was in the car. He instinctively raised his hands to grab the steering wheel but there was no steering wheel in front of him. Instead, there was a table and sitting on the other side of that table was Isabelle and she looked just as confused and clueless as Josh did.“Josh? What are you doing in my room? How did you get in here and why is there a table in the middle of my room?” Isabelle asked.She was also slightly woozy and didn’t understand what was happening. The last thing she remembered was going to bed and now this was happening! She was so confused.“I don’t know how I got here. One minute I was driving home from work and the next, I wound up here,” Josh told her, “Maybe
862 A.D . . . The heat from the scorching sun burned the surface of the ocean’s waters, sending heat from every direction and it sizzled the skin of both Hannah and Garin as their ship floated across the still water in the middle of the ocean. It had been an entire week since they set sail off the Island and in all that time, they were yet to find refuge or a new place to settle. It was almost like all the land in the world didn’t exist anymore as all they could see on the horizon was an endless body of water. The fact that they were still alive was a miracle because within the one week since they got on the ocean, they were bombarded by burning heat, freezing cold and powerful storms that threatened to end their lives. Their food and resources ran out quick and they had to hunt for fish in the ocean to stay fed. Their resilience and will to live made it possible for them to survive but they wouldn’t last out here forever and desperately needed a way to get out of their predicam
Isabelle found herself in the nexus of her mind but she had no idea that that was where she was because rather than looking like an endless void or a different dimension, she was inside a small cottage and the house felt like home to her although she had never been in this house in her entire life. “Isabelle? Isabelle, can you hear me?” Dr Felicia asked.“Yes, I can,” Isabelle answered as she walked around inside the cottage. “Where are you right now?” The doctor asked. “I’m in a wooden house but I don’t know whose house this is,” She answered. “Okay, now listen to me. I want you to walk around the house until you find the front door. When you do, I want you to step out of it and go outside. Do you understand?” She asked. “Yes, I understand,” Isabelle answered and began looking for the door. Her mind was in the house but her physical body was still in Doctor Felicia’s office, lying on her couch. She was fully hypnotized and was on a journey of self-discovery even though it didn’
“Ok, Isabelle. This is what we’re going to do. I’m going to need you to lay back on the couch and look up, alright?” Doctor Felicia Greene instructed.Isabelle did as the doctor had asked. She lay on the couch and faced up and as much as she tried to hide her nervousness from the doctor, she couldn’t.“It’s going to be alright, Isabelle. I’ve done this a hundred times before so you don’t have to worry,” She assured her.“Ok, doc,” Isabelle said.But she did worry because she knew how serious this was and was afraid that she could lose herself and have this other part of her completely take over. It wouldn’t exactly be great for her life or her career if she wasn’t herself anymore.And her mother! How would she feel if anything happened to her only child? She was already worried that Isabelle left the house this morning without telling her where she was going, she was worried that Isabelle wasn’t looking too healthy and was also worried about so many other things and adding this to the
Isabelle walked out of the ladies’ room, shaken and terrified about what had just happened to her. She went to her table and immediately Josh saw her, he knew something was wrong.“I want to leave,” Isabelle told him.“What? Why?” Josh asked her.“I need to leave now, Josh. Don’t ask me why. Just…just get me out of here,”“But your mother will…” Josh wanted to protest but he could see that Isabelle was very upset and she was also shaking so he decided to do what she was asking.“Okay, we can go,” He told her.He got up from his seat and put his coat around her because of how much she was shaking. He held her hand and they both walked toward the exit but Josh led her to her mother’s table so he could tell her that they were leaving.“Rita, Isabelle and I have to leave,” He said.“What? Why?” Rita wanted to understand.“I’m all of a sudden not feeling good and she wants to drive me home and make sure I’m alright. I’m really sorry we can’t stay till the end,” Josh apologized.“That’s oka