JACKSON'S POVI could say that I barged into Hannah's house because I was knocking and I felt the door shift inside, I simply pushed it open wide and got inside before she came out to meet me.I saw the surprise in her eyes before it disappeared. I know that she would know Vera's whereabouts and that's why she flinched when she saw me."Jack…" she trailed off."I figured she would tell you. Where did she go?" I asked, managing a weary smile.I placed my hand on the counter in her kitchen, ignoring her obvious invitation to come into the living room and sit down. I leaned over the counter and shrugged when furrowed her brows inquisitively."New Orleans. I really wanted to tell you, but I gave her my word. Jack, I think Vera is confused and afraid. The best thing for you to do is give her some time to really discover what she wants and come back to get it," Hannah empathized."I didn't know that everything would get to this point. I don't even know if I can make that promise to you righ
VERA'S POVI thanked my neighbor in New Orleans for finding a place for me on request. She offered a drink at her house, but I turned her down with the excuse of unpacking while I didn't even take any of my belongings.I lay down on my bed and looked around me in a lost gaze when she finally left me alone. This house holds nothing meaningful for me, just loneliness and emptiness. Did I make a mistake by coming here? I thought I had lost my child before, but this time, I felt pain in my bone marrow. I truly lost a baby this time and it's his fault! It's Jack's fault!!If he had talked to his ex-wife and made her leave, what happened shouldn't have happened and I would still have my baby waiting for the due date of delivery.It's disheartening to leave without saying goodbye to him and Tim, but I wouldn't have been able to leave if I had waited to say goodbye to them.The only thing I care about now is taking my child back from Prince Kenneth and going far away from everyone with my so
JACKSON'S POVI know that it's a useless thing to do, but I went to the plantation to make an inquiry regarding Monica and Timothy.Monica never liked coming to the plantation, so nothing would have made her come there. I sat down on top of a fallen tree and watched the laborers do their job. I have asked everyone of them if they saw her or my son, but they all said the same thing that no one else apart from the people I am seeing came to the farm.I remembered coming here with Vera and Tim and how I had been thinking of bringing her here with two more sons in the future. The future has been cut short and I don't see any reason why I should keep living. Why is it always like this for me? Whenever I thought I was going to be happy, something creeps up my sleeve and bites my neck and I would find it hard to laugh again.Look at these people working in this hot sun and laughing loudly, cracking dirty jokes and playing, at the same time working hard to meet the deadline and get their f
WRITER'S POVJack knew there was a time in his life when he faced loneliness. That time he was sleeping peacefully at the hospital while fighting for his life.There was also the time he woke up and there was no one beside him, expecting him to wake up and never fall asleep again if possible.He thought that was the kind of loneliness that was heart ripping until the past few days. Time they say waits for nobody, but Jack noticed that time was going slower than before.It seemed to be intentionally irritating him and mocking him for letting his life shatter again because of one single mistake that he could have avoided if he hadn't been too considerate.Going to work, trying to read, jogging and visiting the plantation were all measures to get over Vera. There was a vast emptiness in his heart that he felt it would burst one day and he would go back to sleep.He has never spent a New Year's night alone. No matter what happened, someone would come or call, and there's Tim who has alway
JACKSON'S POVI was awakened by a terrible dream that sent me panting and sweating profusely even though it was cold in my bedroom.I swiftly switched the bedside light on and sat up to look around my bedroom. When I heard my phone beep, I knew that it's morning already because I set a six o'clock alarm.I quickly went to open the blinds so that daylight would take away the vast dark and loneliness in the room, the one in my heart can only be taken away by Vera's presence.I stood by the window and looked down at the garden where we had made love for hours. It felt just like yesterday. It will last forever."Vera…" I whispered her name. She's in danger. I know, I understand the dream that I had. I saw her in my dream, happy at first and cheerful as ever. Then there was this masked person that appeared from behind and bit her before she could escape. I was supposed to run towards her and save her, but it felt as if my legs were rooted to the ground and I watched her scream for help
VERA'S POVI was dreaming about myself being chained up and thrown into a very deep hole when I sprang up, panting and sweating.I looked around and saw that I wasn't in my house. I'm in a familiar bed and the awful aura of the place I was has never left me ever since my last experience with the boss of the house and that made me become afraid.I rushed to the door and pushed it open. I still didn't feel a sense of freedom at all when I saw that nothing had changed about Kenneth's house.The memories of what happened last night came, but I don't remember what happened next after the person bent closer to me or how I ended up inside Ken's house.I concluded that they must've found me this morning and had given me first aid which seemed too generous for a man like Ken who doesn't care about anyone else's welfare.I knew better than to make the guards look at me with their horrible and scrutinizing eyes. I sneaked back inside, but left the door slightly open so I could see whoever decide
JACKSON'S POVI was going to ignore the news. I would have done that without minding the way people looked at me as I walked to the elevator.My workers and clients weren't left out. Some of them actually forget what they are supposed to be doing and only gape at me all day.The new year ended and things died down and life started moving at a slow and steady pace as if nothing was ever celebrated in just a matter of ten days.So the company is flooded with my workers, clients, and people looking for jobs. Of course it's the eleventh day of January and many applications have been submitted.I wasn't bothered by all of the changes at all. I was more concerned about the fact that I haven't heard from Vera and the cops have no good news about Monica and Timothy. I always stay idle, but my head is full because it's always occupied with so many thoughts. I would wonder if they are doing well and blame myself for everything that had happened.Many times, I jumped whenever my phone rang, expe
VERA'S POVI believed that Jack would comply with Kenneth to see that I am safe and sound, but I didn't know that he would actually appear in front of me.When I heard voices from the room I was locked in, I stood up and went to see what was going on outside through the keyhole.It took me a great deal to realize that Jack was the one pushing through over sixty armed men and yelling at them. My heart raced. What exactly was he thinking when he made the decision to come to the house of the prince of Wales, unarmed, reckless and untamed? For Pete's sake, it doesn't even look like he came with someone! Does he have plans to live again? Does he think that he could buy his life if he loses it or what? I did not realize I was crying until Monica opened the back door and came in to talk to me."What did you do to Jack? He's…" her voice trailed off as she shook her head in disbelief."He shouldn't have come here! He shouldn't comply so easily with Ken! He should be looking for us and not y
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