VERA'S POVHannah is such a darling, she helped me clean up the mess in my kitchen and parlor. She got me a cleaning service at her husband's agency, I had to do it since that was the only available office.I buried myself in the job, leaving my house as early as five in the morning and returning home late in the night. I would rather let others dump their shifts on me than think about him.For eight days, I didn't see Nathan, his door was shut and Hannah told me that his office was also locked. I thought that he must've realized that he's wasting his time and accepted his mistake and left.Ever since then, I haven't seen anything like lily flowers or letters in a red envelope. But it was hard to concentrate at work and sleep peacefully at night. I did well not to cry myself to sleep every night.It's his fault! He should be blamed for pretending to care while he was only trying to satisfy himself! What does he take me for? Whatever he thinks he is, I will surely get over him and live
JACKSON'S POVI can do it, I kept reminding myself. If I was able to do it in the past and a few days after she left, I can still do it and I won't have anything to do with any woman again.It wasn't going to be easy to talk Tim out of mentioning her, but I will also try my best. I just have to make sure he doesn't see her ever again and he will surely get over her.I focused on going back to my old self. Start each morning by getting Tim ready for school, preparing for work as well, dropping him off on my way to work and spending my non-work days with him in the plantation.As expected, Tim stopped mentioning her as always after a few weeks had passed. I was able to survive those days. Monica never left, but she didn't exist to us. We totally ignored her and she is too busy hanging out with her friends to notice.I woke up to a brand new day, week and month one morning to take Tim and his pet for a walk. We were ready to leave when the front door was pushed open.The face I saw shock
VERA'S POV"Terminate the pregnancy? Vera, are you alright?" Hannah asked, blocking my door."Hannah, you and I know what happened to the last pregnancy I kept. What did I get after suffering for nine months and delivering in pain? I don't want to go through that again!" I blinked back my tears.I went back inside and sat down. I know that Jackson has won her heart, and there's no way she was going to give me a go ahead to abort the pregnancy, so I didn't tell her about it, but she found out.If she had come five seconds later, I would have been at the hospital by now going through the abortion process. I might invite someone to sign for me and do it before she knows what's happening.Right now, I don't have a say because she came right on time and blocked my way. She insisted that I keep the pregnancy while she knows that I vowed never to make that terrible mistake again."I think Jack is different," she said sweetly and sat down beside me."You don't know him, all of them are the sa
JACKSON'S POVI had thought that Vera wouldn't come back to my house when she left this morning after spending some seconds convincing Tim that she would come back.I felt happy when I opened the door and saw her standing at the entrance. She looked adorable in a green gown. Her furry jacket on her arm.I took it from her and gave her enough space to enter inside. I couldn't get my eyes off her hips and long legs. I stood watching her as if I was in a trance."Hey, baby!" She kissed Tim's little fingers.I can't believe I felt jealous of my own son. I remembered to close the door. I folded my hands and kept watching them."Are you going to leave again?" Tim asked sadly."I… I… Tim…" her voice broke off. She hugged him passionately.For someone who wants to abort a child, I still wonder why she would do that sort of thing while she loves children and they always get attached to her."Let's get going!" She said, and walked around me to enter my car."Alright," I opened the door for them
VERA'S POVI couldn't stop crying no matter how much Jack tried to console me. My heart was heavy and unforgiving towards whoever that has been haunting me like that.That thought brought my mind back to Nathan. I haven't seen him since the day I told him that he's the one that has been sending those letters and flowers to me.Now I don't know if my assumptions were right or wrong. I'm not crying because I am scared, I already made preparations to leave Downtown, but there's Jackson.I don't know how I was able to live all those years that I haven't met him, but I will definitely wet my pillow every night if I stay far away from him.I took the milk he gave to me, swallowed it in one gulp and told him that I wanted to be left alone.Tim has always been a good and understanding kid, he ran into his room immediately after he came down from the car. He woke up in the car when I was sobbing on the drive to the mansion.He looked worried, but I know that he would only ask his father what h
JACKSON'S POVWhen I left my mansion last night, I was confused. I didn't know what I should be doing or saying to Vera. I am angry at myself because I know that I love her so much already and living without her would be the worst that could ever happen to me.I should be mad at her for coming into my life, turning it upside down, changing who I am and wanting to leave me craving and missing her everyday, but no, I feel like commiting suicide.It's late when I opened the gate and headed to the plantation. I walked there, fearlessly and eager to run away from what I would have done.I can make her stay. Yes, if I was determined last night, I would have done what my mind told me to do and made her swear never to step an inch away from me.If she hadn't taught me how to hold back or suppress my feelings, we would be lying naked in bed now, talking about how much we want to stay by each other's side.Damnit! I changed for her, I'm willing to do anything to make sure she sees me as the man
VERA'S POV"You don't have any right to lecture me!" I pointed a warning finger at her face."I'm glad there's someone as stubborn as you!" I turned sharply as the door opened and the owner of the familiar voice stood in the doorway, chuckling. I opened my mouth to throw all the questions I have in store for Hannah at her, only to close it when her little soldiers ran inside."There's no escape, sweetheart. They've missed you and I don't want to keep telling them that someone who's never coming to visit them is coming!" Hannah laughed as her husband came in too."Hello, dear. It's been a while!" Oscar, her husband greeted me."You came too? Wow! Now I have a full house. Did you all gang up against me?" I asked, hugging him.He pecked me and laughed. "No, they keep asking about you and… we just had no choice. I would be leaving now," The two soldiers, Tasha and Rowley rushed over to hug me. I carried each one of them and kissed each of their cheeks. They giggled and started telling m
VERA'S POVNo, you are not wrong. You are absolutely right and I hate you for dictating that to me! Damn you, Jackson! Fuck you!!"Why are you suddenly… mean?" I asked him, sniffing.The tears that have been fighting to flow out started streaming down my cheeks. I noticed his facial expression changing to worry, then it disappeared like it was never there."Because I am Jackson Taylor, I get what I want at any cost. You will keep my baby and that means you are not leaving Downtown. I'm taking you home with me," he said coldly."Don't you think I have a choice here?""Do you want us to take this to Court? Do you want to be an enemy to Mr. Jackson Taylor? Oh, maybe you plan to escape! I'm not gonna give you any chance to do any of these things I have mentioned!!" "I'm not going anywhere with you!" I flamed up, pushed my door open and ran inside my kitchen."We will do it the hard way if that's what you want!" He insisted, following me hurriedly.He caught me before I made it to the sta
AUTHOR'S POV “Kill her, Malone!” Ken thundered when the boy stiffened.“No!” Hannah shook her head vigorously as Malone lifted the gun to Vera’s face. “He is trying to destroy you, Malone.”“You can't pull the trigger on our mother. Can't you…” “Don't fucking tell me what to do! Our mother you say? Hey, grab a cloth and clean your mouth!” Malone's roar reverberated in Vera's ears and made Tim wash down the rest of his sentence with his saliva. She stood and watched, speechless, as she knew that they were all trapped and Ken had never played fair games.“Stop this madness, Prince Kenneth. Are you willing to turn your son into a monster like yourself? Are you ready to live proudly with yourself after doing this?” She demanded, shaking her head in disgust.“Your petty tricks won't work on me. Have you forgotten who I am? You thought it was easy for me to be locked up? I have people! And I can still buy more people with my money! There's nothing like justice because the system is rotte
VERA'S POV It started raining heavily that evening as we drove home. Jack and Nathan went to search for Malone, but he was still not found until it was too dark for us to keep waiting for them in the graveyard. By the time we were headed home, a police report had already been made in case it got out of hand. I do not know how to describe the pain that I felt. I could say that it was deafening because Hannah was speaking to me, but her voice was an added noise to my rumbling ears.From the very moment she announced Malone's disappearance, I had felt nauseous, and a persistent pain rose below my stomach, so I folded myself in the backseat, and my jaw dropped to my knees. Hannah was sitting beside me, trying to soothe me and also not wake up her sleeping child. Timothy sat quietly in Jessica's lap in the front seat, their sad eyes monitoring me through the mirror.When Max pulled the car into the driveway of my home, I had to blink countless times to focus my eyes and carefully come dow
VERA'S POV It was a cool evening when she was laid to rest. I stood numbly beside her grave, not in any way understanding how I felt about her death. She might not have been the best mother, but she was still someone who would say bless you when you sneeze beside her. How she was able to watch me suffer at the hands of her boyfriend has always made me doubt that I was her daughter, but I still didn't wish for her life to end so soon.We were good and have been trying to become friends. At least, she cared so much about Jessica even though she was more distant than ever. She hadn't shown any sign of sickness and wasn't the type of person that would commit suicide. But then, she died in a peaceful way and place. According to Jessica, she slept beside her and didn't wake up the next morning. Thanks to Jack who helped us make up. But I expected more from her. One would think she would not only ask for forgiveness but also mend her ways. She should have tried to make up for lost time and
AUTHOR'S POV“Stop right there, Malone! Don't walk out on me when I'm still talking to you!” Vera's eyes were a set of fury as she glared at her son's turned back.They had rushed together to the police station after Jack disclosed Max's news to both her and Maureen. Sensing how frantic she looked, Maureen had offered her support to go with them and try to calm her down while Jack drove them there. Having no energy to explain to people how she is Monica's twin sister and not his wife's ghost, he told her to go and not worry about them. She wished them luck and watched them drive away.They arrived at the police station early before Malone was sent to the detention cell.Jack took care of speaking to the Police Chief and getting some paperwork done with the young recruited police officer, Harry, who had helped in solving their recent incident with Vera's stalker and Ken's arrest. Afterward, he was allowed to take Malone home. While they were in the car, Vera tried to speak to the boy,
JACK'S POV I felt Vera shiver beside me and I turned my head slowly to look at her frenzied face. When I turned to Maureen again, she was already standing and blowing smoke into the air. “What do you mean? I met Monica first, she was the one I have always known. I have never even heard about you. I used to visit her Dom room and her roommate was a man, gay to be precise.” My forehead wrinkled in deep thought as I traveled through the memory lane.“We met at our school parking lot. You tried to park your white pickup truck and it crashed into my black BMW. You came about apologizing and promised insistently to fix it, but I ignored you and punctured your tires because I had a bad day.” Maureen turned to face us, backing the glass window now and her lips curved in a wistful smile.“And I said to you, ‘We are even now, so no hard feelings’ and we looked at each other and started laughing. We had both cars towed to the nearest repair shop and waited for them to be fixed over pizza and i
VERA'S POV I let Jack hold my hand as he led us into the clubhouse. I have heard about the place, popular among the local folks. I watched with disgust, hating how jealousy ate deep into my skull when a random masked lady walked up to Jack and called his name. When I came Downtown, I heard a lot of gossip about the clubs, the top hotels, and the sex workers, but nobody told me that they were rude and aggressive. Or am I just putting too much meaning into the fact that a bitch is trying to get the attention of a man that is holding his woman? She wants to rub it on my face that he knows her, period!“Jackson Taylor, I believe you still remember me. I didn't expect to see you here again.” She continued, lifting her thin mask off her face to reveal a pretty oval face.“I'm here strictly for business. Excuse me.” He gently pushed her aside and sidestepped into an enclosed booth by the far end of the rowdy room, dragging me gently behind him.“You shouldn't treat her like that. She was b
JACK'S POVIt was time to have an actual conversation. We haven't talked since the time at the garden, and we promised to always tell each other the truth about everything. When our guests left, we were alone in the kitchen, doing the dishes. Malone had gulped a cup of coffee and went upstairs while Timothy left with Hannah's family. He had become quick friends with Tasha. “I went to meet Monica's father to confirm something, and you'd be surprised by what he told me,” I answered her question half an hour later after rinsing the last plate.“I was worried. You shouldn't leave the house like that without telling me.” She said, turning to face me while leaning on the washbasin. “You haven't asked me what I found out. And you don't seem surprised.” I placed the last plate in the dish rack and cleaned my hands with a small blue towel, then hung it back on its rack.“I saw Monica last night. She has come back into our lives and I understand that you must be doing everything possible to m
VERA'S POV I didn't know when Jack left the house, I woke up to find myself alone in the bed, cuddling my pillow. I rolled out of bed when I heard voices from downstairs. I almost forgot I was in a new house, and Jack had bought me expensive cars for me to choose from, hence the blissful sex in the underground garage. I was hopping downstairs in pajamas and flip-flops when I recalled the woman I saw when I came out to get wine last night in front of the house by the carport. How could I forget Monica's taunting face as she silently challenged me to a duel? How could she lie to everyone like that and why in God's name can't she just remain dead? Why come back now? What does she want?“Good morning, dear hostess!” Hannah greeted ironically as she watched her husband and Nathan take out the trash.“She's winning the best hostess of this season, all right!” Jessica laughed, placing full plates of fried rice, chicken salad, and french fries on the dining table.“I love how that smells,”
WRITER'S POV Jack threw on his clothes and kissed Vera on the forehead before exiting their bedroom while she murmured something in her sleep behind him. If she woke up afterward, he had no idea because he didn't look back and couldn't wait to check up on the boys before he left the house. It was still early, so the living room was still a mess: empty bottles of different drinks, foils, and containers of leftovers, cartons, and wrappers of some kid’s packaged gifts brought in, and wine glasses dropped off at every corner. So much for a new home. Jack ignored all that as he opened the door and walked down the front steps, welcoming the cold that came with light drops of water splattering the carport’s canopy and wondering if Hannah and her family, or even Nathan and Jessica, had gone home last night or they're occupying the guest rooms.He had only the priest in mind. He had paid a visit to Reverend Israel, Monica's father twice since her funeral, so it wouldn't feel somehow for him