ISLA’S POV“Tessa!” I exclaimed, but like before, she didn’t respond to me.She had been eating sandwiches for two days straight, and now, it was beyond surprise. It was worry.For the first time in my life, I decided to use force on Tessa and went to where the tray was. It baffled me that the tray never got empty, no matter how many times she consumed the food on it.And it wasn’t just her. It was Tristan, too. But Tristan sometimes gave me a look before going back to munch on the food.I grabbed the tray and started to walk away when Tessa began to grumble, making me realize she had not said a single word to me.Before I knew it, she grabbed my leg and started to drag on my fabric while I struggled to hold the tray steady.“Tessa!” I shouted again and tried to get her away from me, but she was relentless as she began to cry.“Tessa! What’s the matter with you?” I asked her harshly, but she didn’t stop what she was doing until she climbed my leg and used my fabric to latch herself, a
AXEL’S POV“I feel like a bad mother,” Isla said, and the sadness in her eyes caused my heart to churn. The stern demeanor I had on dropped that instant.“The kids hate me. That’s why they are mad at me and why they’re not talking to me and rejecting my food. And things feel so weird.”“I think you’re overthinking it.” My voice sounded a bit edgy.“I’m not, Axel. I could feel that distance between us, and Stephanie also communicated their feelings to me.”“I understand,” I said, feeling her pain. “But you don’t need to let that bother you. I’m sure they would come around.”“How can I not? My own children hate me,” she continued speaking. “A mother is meant to be a role model to her kids, but I’m nothing of that much.”“You’re Isla. You have always been a role model to your kids.”“Well, I don’t think they feel so, and you’re only saying these words to make me feel better.” She sighed sadly, a sign I wasn’t doing an excellent job of helping her feel better.I wasn’t really good at coax
ISLA’S POVI headed to my room with joy spiraling in my heart. The fact that Axel had apologized made me so happy. I didn’t expect him to make that move, but I was glad he did, and the minute my eyes landed on my room door, a smile caressed my lips.I pulled it open quickly, walking in the direction of my wardrobe right away. I didn’t have any idea of what I was going to wear, and as I pulled open the wardrobe, I realized deciding what to wear would be a very difficult task.I took a deep breath before digging into the pile of clothes in my wardrobe, and I started with a black dress with a cute slit, but it didn’t look appealing when I tried it on, so I decided to try on another cloth with a similar design but a different color.When I stood in front of the mirror, I wasn’t very pleased with my appearance, so I removed the gown and sat on the bed.I hated this.I wondered why I was dressing up for Axel. I wanted to just try on something simple, but this was the first time Axel and I w
STEPHANIE’S POVI heard a knock on the door and stood up quickly, hoping it wasn’t Isla. My cheeks hurt from fake smiling all day and pretending I cared about her.I couldn’t wait for the hour when the sun would set so I could execute my plans, and I smirked just thinking about it, but the smirk left my lips the second I heard the knocking sound.I walked to the door and opened it gently, and the pissed look on my face faded after my eyes landed on Isla.As I questioned her, my cheeks were hurting from smiling, but I had to keep up the act.“Yes, how do I look?”I gave her a reply, and I watched her giggle like a happy little kid as she walked away. I couldn’t wait to wipe that smile off her face and watch her beg for mercy and the kids. How could I forget how I would make those little angels suffer?Isla and Axel would never know what hit them. It would be like a storm crashed into their life and wrecked it all.I laughed and shut the door behind me as I moved close to my bed and dro
STEPHANIE’S POVMy plans were working.The euphoric feeling pumping through my blood couldn’t go unnoticed, as every step I took away from Isla was rhythmic. The sad look on Isla’s face caught my eyes, and I felt very satisfied. I couldn’t wait for the final plan. The pain Isla was feeling couldn’t be compared to the pain she would feel once she discovered that her kids had been drowned.As for Axel, little did he know that his life had crumbled. The kids are gone, and Isla is about to have the shock of her life and die from a heart attack when she finds out about the death of her kids. Gosh! How much I loved how everything was playing out. I was having a good day, and it was only going to get better. I was going to see Axel, and I planned to visit him looking like Isla.Before heading out, I went to see Isla again. Her head was hung low when I entered, but she seemed to have heard my footsteps because she looked up, gnawing at me. “Hey! Hey!” I said, moving closer to her. “You do
TRISTIAN'S POVTristian watched as Stephanie grabbed his sister’s hair. He was frightened, but he knew his sister would get hurt if he didn’t intervene.“Let my sister go!” Tristan stood up from where he was and moved in Stephanie’s direction.As he got closer, his eyes reflected sternness, but the next thing that happened took him by surprise. He didn’t expect it and knew he couldn’t stop it.Stephanie grabbed him by the hair, and her fingers, or rather claws in Tristian’s description, dug into his skull. He felt pain radiate through his body at that point and yelled above his lungs.He wasn’t the only one yelling. His sister was also shouting and fussing, trying her best to free herself from Stephanie’s clutches.Tristian didn’t have it in him to kick, so he just kept yelling, increasing his tone every second, and he hoped someone would come to save them - probably his dad, mom, or some guard.In his six-year-old mind, he was hoping for a miracle. Actually, he was wishing for someth
AXEL'S POVI didn’t want Isla to find out that I was going in search of the children. I told her I had important things to do, and she seemed to have bought it because she didn’t question me.I was glad I didn’t tell her they were missing, as I could only imagine how she would have felt seeing her daughter in that state.As I pulled myself out of my thoughts, my eyes landed on my daughter’s body, which appeared so lifeless, and my heart ached so badly.I wrapped her in my hands, heading to the nearest hospital with my men and Tristian by my side.“Drive faster!” I shouted at the driver, and my hands, which were wrapped around my daughter, were quivering.He didn’t respond, but he increased the car's speed, and I kept staring at my daughter, pushing her hair backward.“You’re going to be fine!” I said as I continued to caress her hair. “Hang in there for me.”“Is she going to be okay, Daddy?” Tristan’s voice met my ears. He sounded afraid.“She’s going to be alright. You don’t have to
ISLA'S POVThe scene in front of me was devastating.I might have hated Stephanie for betraying me and pretending to be who she wasn’t, but I couldn't shake off the thought that she was once a friend as I turned to look at her.She had changed and didn’t look like the person I had known. Her features were different.“Throw her into the woods,” Axel instructed his guards, “And make sure you don’t leave until she’s eaten by some animal.”The guards nodded, carrying Stephanie away, and then Axel turned to face me. He moved closer, wrapping me into an embrace.“I’m so glad that you’re safe,” He murmured before placing a kiss on my head.It was the sweetest thing I had seen Axel do. Maybe the fact that he had almost lost me made him realize a lot of things.“How did you even find me?”“I used the mate haunt. I discovered you were missing after I sent Ray to inform you about the kids.”“The kids? What happened to the kids?”“Stephanie had tried to drown them,” he deadpanned.My face fell. “W