Ethan’s POV
Violet looked weak, and I held her hands.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll beat sedar at every turn, and he won’t be able to harm any one of us again”, Violet replied with a smile.
Violet’s words of encouragement burned inside me, and I knew I had to protect her by all means. The doctor came in to do some checkups, and I stayed till the doctor finished.
“When would Violet get discharged?” I asked
“Tomorrow morning is fine”, the doctor replied
“Okay, thank you so much”, I said, shaking the doctor.
“You are welcome, Mr Crawford, do see my secretary to sort out any paperwork left unattended”, the doctor said and walked out of the ward.
I looked at Violet, and she smiled at me weakly. I thought of h
Ethan’s POVLayla was persistent, and I was not too fond of it. It was like she had access to my head and could get anything out whenever she wanted to.“I don’t know what you are talking about, Layla”, I said, lying with a straight face.Unable to hide the shock, Layla gasped, and I knew I couldn’t hide the truth or lie anymore.“I’m serious,” I said, still trying to cover up.I was determined to stand my ground and not let Layla get to me.“But you were the one who entered looking all gloomy,” Layla stated, putting her hands on her hips.“I was just tired, Layla”, I replied, and Layla shook her headLayla was just too stubborn, and it wasn’t looking cute this time around.“I know you, Et
Layla’s POVI rushed out of the house with my laptop.Layla,” Ethan called, trying to stop me, but I ignored him like I didn’t hear anything.I didn’t wait and went into the car, waiting for them to come out. Ethan came out and entered the car, and Richard helped Bridget place the luggage in the vehicle. After futile attempts, Ethan had to come out of the car to assist them.I waited for them to come into the car while adjusting my hair. Bridget came into the car, leaving Richard and Ethan outside.I checked through the mirror and could see Richard and Ethan having a conversation.Ethan came into the car, and Richard entered.“What took you so long?” I asked, frowning at Ethan.“I’m sorry about it”, Ethan said, turning on the ignition&nb
Layla’s POV“Alright, just make me a sandwich,” Violet said“I’ll be back soon”, I replied, getting up from the couch.I made my way to the kitchen and started to prepare the meal for Violet. I picked up a bottle of juice from the fridge and went to give it to Violet while she waited for the food.I came back to the kitchen and checked the cabinet for ingredients to use and realised Violet was out of stock.“Ethan”, I called out from the kitchen, and Ethan ran to me.“What is it? Did something happen?” Ethan asked, looking all around.“Nothing happened. I just found out there are no ingredients to make the meal for Violet,” I announced“Okay, what are the things we need? I can go get them,” Ethan offered
Ethan’s POVI dialled Lucas's line, hoping that he would pick it up this time around. Lucas chose the call, and I packed by the road.“Hello, Lucas”, I said.“I’m so sorry, Ethan, I had an emergency,” Lucas said over the phone“I’ve been trying to reach you for a while, but never mind that I need you to send four guards to the hospital now”, I said, ignoring the apology.“Don’t you feel four guards would be too much for Violet, and would she be comfortable with them?” Lucas asked“Yes, get the four guards and stop asking me questions” I answered“Alright, I’ll send them over to the hospital” Lucas let out“Thank you, I’ll be expecting”, I replied, ending the ca
Ethan’s POVI started to chop the vegetables, and Layla stayed back, watching me. I passed the chopped vegetables when I was done and waited till she was done.The sandwich was ready, and I danced joyfully.Take yours first”, Layla said, handing the food over to me.“What about Violet’s food?” I asked“This is it with me”, Ethan replied, showing me the plate.I remembered that Layla had not eaten that morning.“What about yours?” I asked, and Layla pointed to the extra sandwich on another plate.“Alright, I’ll help you take Violet’s food to her”, I volunteered, and Layla carried my plate following me.“Thank you so much”, Violet said as I dropped the plate in front.&nbs
Layla’s POVI woke up the next morning and couldn’t find Ethan anywhere. I checked the rooms and went downstairs. Annabeth came out of her room yawning.“Good morning, Annabeth. Have you seen Ethan today?” I asked“No, I didn’t see him”, Annabeth replied“What about the children?” I inquired“They should be upstairs. I slept very late yesterday, and I checked on them before going to bed”, Annabeth answered“Let me check on them”, I stated, returning upstairs.I entered the children's room and saw that Aria and Cho were still asleep. I remembered Violet asked to see Aria, so I took her today.Annabeth entered the room to check the children, and I left her with them. I entered the kitchen and prepared a meal for
Ethan’s POVViolet allowed me to think about my decision, and I sat down in the living room, thinking about my decision. Violet came into the living room to check on me.“Are you done thinking about it?” Violet said“I have one condition”, I began, and Violet nodded“You always have to let me know of your movements and carry me along”, I continued, and Violet agreed“I can do that; I need all the information you have on sedar”, Violet replied“I’ll ask Lucas to send you the information we have on Sedar,” I said“Okay, I’ll work on it immediately and let you know what I get”, Violet stated“Okay, I trust you” I replied“I need to go and check on t
Layla’s POV I followed Ethan to the business meeting, and Aria cooperated with me. Ethan introduced me to the stakeholders in the meeting, and they greeted me well. I watched as Ethan attended to them and solved every question. One of the stakeholders asked about my partnership with the company, and Ethan signalled that I answered the question. I answered the question confidently, and the stakeholders commended me. Ethan shook hands with them, and they left. “You did well”, Ethan said, and I smiled Aria looked up at Ethan, and he commended her for not making a fuss. I rubbed Aria’s head. “Let’s go”, Ethan said, and I nodded. We left the restaurant and headed for home. The ride home was smooth and quiet. I got inside the house and went upstairs to change my dress. My phone started to ring, and I picked it up. “Hello, it’s Bridget,” Bridget said “Bridget, I’m so sorry I haven’t called yet. How is Charlie?” I asked “Charlie is doing fine. I called to inform you that there is
Ethan's POV Layla held Aria's hand as they walked through the toys section of the mall, happily grabbing everything that caught Aria's eyes. It was good to be free again, to not be watching over our backs. It had been two months since Sedar was finally caught and even know it still felt unreal. He was such a nuisance for so long it was weird with him gone. All the drama we went through because of him. I remember Layla suggesting we go to Nicole out of desperation and frustration and to be honest I was about to give in but I knew good would come of exchanging oke devil for another. We decided to not go that far and I was grateful we didn't, unfortunately even if we wanted to it was too late. Layla got a call from a family about two weeks later that Nicole had ended her own life. The warden said she was constantly screaming to be let out and that someone should call me or Layla but they didn't because that was unreasonable. A while after she hung herself. Layla was frozen to t
Layal's POV"Okay." Annabeth's weak response came from the other side of the phone. Thank heavens maybe my little speech had knocked some sense into her."Okay? so you'll come stay here right?" "Not yet, I'll stay with a friend for a while. I want to stay with you guys but I can't risk messing up your lives even more." she sounded tired and I decided to let this matter rest for now. "Which friend?, where's Derek?", he had taken her home but he never called back so I guessed he was still with her."He left a while ago."He left?! Could he be any more of an asshole. He comes, drops a bomb like that leaves the two of us in a mess and then just drops her at home to be by herself. What was all the love talk about if this was all he could do. "He left you like this?" I was really starting to direct the anger i fel towards Derek, which obviously wouldn't end well. "It's not like that, i asked him to leave me alone. He kept apologizing when he wasn't at fault and I knew letting him see me
Layla's POV Watching Annabeth leave felt like my world came crashing down on me. I couldn't believe my eyes when Derek showed me that picture, immediately my mind clicked and made the connection it was like my brain just went into autopilot. It felt like the cinema all over again, realizing that Sedar had been so close to me again, I had been so close to death. I was thankful for Ethan who caught me before I fell, God knows him being there was what helped me calm myself down. Then Annabeth had started her meltdown, I had expected a shocked reaction but not something of that intensity, she looked like we just told her, her entire life was a lie. "Annabeth wait." When I had tried to grab her when she dashed upstairs she basically pushed me away and snatched Cho. My reaction to that was slow, what had I done wrong? I was in as much shock and disorientation she was feeling so why was I the one getting this reaction from her. To be honest I was disappointed that Ethan just stood ther
Ethan's POVI watched silent as Annabeth took a pause from her episode took a breathe and look at us, she seemed more composed but still rattled up. "I've got to leave." She said I shot off up the stairs"Why? Where are you going?" Layla called after her and follow her up.I turned to Derek, in less than a minute he'd wreak absolutely havoc on us all. This is why I didn't involve Layla in my conversation with Lucas, I didn't see her as weak, no but I also knew that certain matters are delicate so they should be handled delicately. "When did you figure it out?" "Last night. I was going to tell you guys first but..." I raised a hand to cut him off, it didn't matter if he wanted to tell us earlier or not what did matter was that we had found Sedar and he was awfully closer than we thought, this entire time."Wait, just wait." The sound of a door shutting and hurried steps called out attention. Annabeth was basically running down the steps with Cho is her arms, she was leaving with h
Ethan's POVI could hear the noise increasing slowly from downstairs, I had warned Layla this would happen. I tried to ignore it at first but then they had to be shouting for me to be hearing them this clearly. I put my laptop aside, stretched my limbs and walked downstairs. I got there to find Layla, Derek and Annabeth sitting round the dinner table, Layla's eyes were already in my direction by the time I reached them. She had most likely heard me coming. The discomfort they were putting her through was very evident on her face. I was already pretty much irritated, trying to work and being disturb by meaningless quarrel was very annoying. "I warned you." I said in my head as I looked at Layla, I was definitely going to rub this in her face later."You two know you're in another man's house right? A man who's trying to get work done and who has kids upstairs." They both shut and sat frozen with their eyes fixed on me. Personally I would have just kicked them out there and then. I
Layla's POV"It's nothing really, I just felt like maybe he was right" she waved her hand dismissively."Who?" "Derek", shit what had he said again"What did he say again?" I felt my fist instinctively clench, I was starting to feel like Annabeth was actually right in this. "Again, nah he said it when he brought you over to my place. That you had issues too and I was acting like my man drama was the center of the world." She looked to the side, it was obvious she was hurt by it.That was too much, this had gotten way too much. "Give me a second." I grabbed my phone and marched upstairs."Where are you going?" "I'll be right back." I barged into the room and Ethan looked at me confused."What's gotten into you?" "I'm going to interfere. I'm calling Derek to come over right now so I can settle whatever this is that they have going on." His eyes widened in shock and he shook his head, "Don't Layla. You sure you want to be in the cross hairs of whatever it is they have going on?"
Layla's POVThe house had been on lockdown for the past two days, yes, because of Sedar and also because Ethan was an overly protective person. Did I like being locked up in here all day? No. Could I do anything about it? Also no. All that could be done was wait it out and pray it needed soon. Ethan also worked from home to keep me company and lessen the agony of my situation. I told him numerous times that he could go to work and I'd just ask Annabeth to come over but I guess he saw through that lie. I was just looking for a way to get him out of the house so I could sneak out. His maid, America brought us all of the groceries and supplies we needed so there was no way to use needing to go shopping as an excuse. It was nice to be cared for but this was pretty much the same feeling that made me move out in the first place, unfortunately this time that wasn't an option."What is on your mind?" Ethan asked, this question snapped me back into the reality, I looked around, yep still stu
Ethan's POVI watched her step into Derek's car and drive off, I didn't exactly like the idea of her being out in the open after seeing Sedar stalking us but there was no winning an argument with Layla, the best I could do was give her a curfew to be back home. I called Lucas when she left, she was right about us needing to find the leak in our whereabouts that Sedar was tracking is with. "Didn't we just get off the phone?" He said sarcastically."I'm calling about Sedar. Again." "Did he show up again?" "No, but you remember how we talked about finding out how he knew where we were. Well Layla has a theory about it, she thinks it has something to do with Annabeth. Apparently all the times Sedar has showed up unexpectedly were when she went to places she'd already told Annabeth she was going to." "Was Annabeth the only one she told? That's a pretty wild assumption." He sounded skeptical, which was reasonable. Even I thought it was a shaky suspicion."No but she's the only common p
Layla's POV "What do you want me to say. Oh hey don't date whoever that creep is. I love you. Is that it?" I just stared at him, what the heck was that? So what he loved her now?. He stared back at me like a moron and then his expression softened and I took as a sign he realized he'd just lashed out at the wrong person."I am sorry." He did his puppy dog eyes look."I'd love to say it's fine but it's nothing, you two really need to take a minute and sit down to talk." The rest of the ride was absolutely silence, he walked me to the door and kept apologizing for the way he acted but all I did was nod. "What happened between you two?" Ethan saw the look on my face when I stepped in."More like what the heck is happening between two of them" I threw my bag on the couch and fell into his arms "Who are we talking about right now?" "Derek and Annabeth." "Oh, those two. Wait, they're still at it? I thought it would be over by now. Aren't they taken it a bit too far?" Even Ethan notice