WRITER'S POVMonica stepped down from her car and hesitated before entering the sitting room because she knew what everyone thought of her. Tim left Vera and went to hug his father too. Jack lifted him up into his arms and watched Monica as she walked into the parlor and sat down."Jack, I'm sorry for everything that has happened since you became sick. I have no better excuse for my actions, but I don't regret it anyway. These past years are the best moments of my life," Monica began, looking at both Vera and Jack."I just keep wondering what I did wrong, Monica. How you changed, why you are doing all of these things, what happened, I haven't stopped thinking, not once have I stopped thinking about it all," Jack shook his head.He sat down and carried Tim on his lap. Vera sat beside him and held his hand as they waited for her to explain her actions which they believed was what she was about to do."Tim, go to your room," Monica said, staring down at their entwined hands. "Okay, Mom
JACKSON'S POVI still don't understand why Monica would hide all these from me. Her revelation is the worst that I have ever heard and I don't know what to do about it.My mother knew and that explains her always standing by her and never spoken harshly to her no matter what she did or how much I complained to her about her behavior.If any other person ever revealed this to me, I would have redesigned that person's face and left that person toothless, but she's saying it herself and crying as she hugged me.Monica has many bad behaviors, but she can never joke about such a thing. She was the angel I used to love no matter what she did. I haven't gotten over the fact that she changed overnight and started clubbing instead of bringing her friends over as usual.She was supposed to be my queen. The only person that was gonna carry all of my kids and play with them in the garden inside our palace.I pulled her away from me and cupped her face when she has cried to her heart's content an
VERA'S POVI felt guilty watching Monica narrate the series of unfortunate events that had made her make a hasty decision in fear of the unknown and leaving her beloved ones.As Hannah drove us out of the compound which could have been hers to govern. All that Jack lost when he was in coma, he recovered all of it back for her and promised even more, but fate played a card on them.That card fate played on them was that they expected the head to stay up when they flipped it over, but it bounced back and they were greeted by the tail. Their dreams shattered and that brought me inbetween.I wouldn't have believed Monica, I wanted to cut her off at first and tell her to stop lying so much just for Jack's attention, but I could see how pale and sad she was.Jack kept his promise. He built that palace, added her favorite place where they would spend time together and bought practically everything she would have loved to have.He's that kind of man. He went extra miles to protect the people
VERA'S POV"Vera, can you please stop running? You are not too strong for that!" Jack's voice was all I heard as he kept telling me to stop. I didn't pause for a second to think, feel or wait. If he's close by and chose to follow right behind me, I didn't know that but his voice told me that he's not so far away from me.The weather is cool, late evening air swooshed my hair back after setting it free as I ran towards the road. All I have to do now is to get myself into a cab and go back to my apartment. I would have done just that if his strong hands hadn't grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his arms. "You know what that woman did to me and you let her come into your house! What were you all expecting? That I hug her and sing praises to her for burning my dreams?!" I sobbed silently.He didn't say anything. He stopped a cab and helped me get in, then he sat beside me and offered me his shoulder so I could cry all I wanted. And I did.When the driver pulled over in front of m
JACKSON'S POVI hesitated before closing Vera's door, then I entered Nathan's sitting room so I would have him look out for her. "You don't have to worry about her, that's why I came back, right?" Nathan assured me immediately I stepped into his room.He exited to the kitchen and came out seconds later with a cup of iced tea. I knew that was what he was going to do, and I needed it so I didn't stop him.I took the cup and drained the tea in one take before giving it back to him. He watched me skeptically."Is anything the matter?" He asked suspiciously."I'm going out of my mind trying to figure out what's going on in my life recently. Just one moment of happiness, then millions of problems surface!" I found it hard to open up to him."Hey man, it's one of those days when it seems the world is collapsing on our shoulders and everything bright turns dark. But you and I know it is just for a limited time," he said encouragingly."I don't think you understand. This one lingers on and I
VERA'S POVI was having lunch with Nathan on a Friday afternoon when Hannah came to my house and broke the news of Monica's deáth. We had to rush to Jack's house to be with them. She was right after all. It was such a horrible feeling to watch your own deáth come near.Monica endured a lot and sacrificed so much for the people she loved. She would be remembered by every heart that knows her.My heart bled for her, and my tears were uncontrollable for the people she left behind. She meant to make it easy for them to get over her absence, but she actually made it hard for everyone to do that.She's a hero of love. She dîed the most peaceful way and was laid to rest in the church where her father said she asked him to bury her.Those who knew about her illness and those who didn't know where present to show their last respect. If there were anyone that stayed back that day in the whole of Downtown, then no one noticed, I definitely didn't know.When the needful was done. Timothy clung
JACKSON'S POVWhen I woke up and found out that Vera and Timothy weren't in the house, I knew that she must've came up with an idea on how to make me open up to her.What she doesn't understand is that I am trying to help her and the only way to do that effectively without any further hindrance is to keep her safe and out of harm's way.She doesn't have to know what is going on because she would want to go out with me and that would put her in trouble again. It is not easy for me to do it my own way without giving her the quality attention that she deserves!I just don't want to get her in trouble while facing George Kenneth. She needs to be unaware of the battle for me to be able to think carefully and defeat the man without problems.When I called the office and she picked up, I knew at once that she was really serious about starting her work again. It's not like I don't want her by my side always, it is because Ken's men might be out there looking for her since she's the only bait
VERA'S POVI was dumbfounded as I listened to Jack explain the reason why he insisted I stayed home and how he avoided starting up a conversation with me just so I won't complicate things.I sighed and asked after listening to all he had to say, "Did the hard drive Monica gave to you contain the evidence of Ken's crîmés?""Yes, it is enough to send him to jail and if the judge does well, I expect to see him spend the rest of his useless life behind closed doors!" He clenched his jaw angrily."She's a hero. I must tell my grandchildren about her and everything she did." I shook my head sadly."Grandchildren? You should be talking about your current two sons, Timothy and Malone, and maybe the extra five more kids coming," he jested"Five what? Am I supposed to be a hen, lay all the eggs at once and hatch them? You must be crãzy, I tell you!" I laughed sarcastically."Why don't we start the process now!" "What process?" I asked with a frown."The baby making process. We need to start now
VERA'S POV If desperation was a person, it would be me as I came down from Jack's car, holding out my hands in front of me and careful not to miss a step and trip over. The fact that he had insisted on blindfolding and bringing me to God knows wherever he was taking me–claiming it was a surprise–sounded so cliche, but I couldn't stop my heart from fluttering in anticipation.It has been three months since our surreal kiss in the garden. The feeling that Monica was still alive–a. k. a. Monica had probably deceived us, or the man was trying to raise a false alarm, play with our emotions, and make money off Jack. Whatever it was–hung heavily over us. Malone's unacceptability still lingered; it hurt more to watch him become more of Kenneth than who I hoped he could become. Our fear of my capability to carry a child for nine months and birth without complications also made us restless. I sometimes find myself wallowing in self-doubt and trying to pretend I could do it since I had done i
JACKSON'S POV It was already late afternoon as I waited in my car at the park. I watched the figure walking toward my direction from the side mirror. The way he dressed and walked spoke volumes of someone who does dirty jobs for people for the money, the kind of man hired to go on deadly missions and trusted to do clean jobs without any trace back to his client.I have had my share of such men, but I work closely with only one private security company and have only used the company's cyber security and men. Though I do question their loyalty sometimes, that's what fuels my need to trust such people by risking it all or going through government agencies. And every businessman who has dangerous rivals knows which system always fails.I pressed a button beside the wheel to unlock the car doors for him to ease in. He looked around sharply before he folded himself into the passenger seat and lifted his black cap. He's dressed up in black from his cap to his shoes. With his long dark hair
WRITER'S POV Vera couldn't tell who trembled more, Hannah or herself, as she guided her into the house, and they sat on a leather-made bench in the kitchen. She had never seen her friend's house in disarray, no matter how determined her kids were at breaking, disarranging, and making a mess of things.Somehow, Hannah managed to be a good mother as she was a good wife who loved keeping everything tidy and in order. If the kids made a mess ten times, she cleaned it up twenty times without complaining about the stress but rather scolded them to be careful and not hurt themselves. What had gone wrong?When her sobs subsided, Vera heaved a sigh, and they both at the same time released each other. Their foreheads still pressed together, they looked at their hands and laughed at the realization that they were both shaking immensely. Vera's heart relaxed as their moods became lighter, her friend was still there, right behind her pain.Fifteen minutes later, they both sank into the couch in t
VERA'S POV I decided to drop by Hannah's house before heading to the hospital, but after I tried her phone too many times and she didn't answer, I had to go to the hospital first.She had never sounded so frantic before, and it chilled me to the bone that I couldn't contain the nauseous feeling as a form of reaction to my bewilderment.It was the first time Hannah and Oscar got in a fight. My favorite inspirational lovey-dovey couple fighting? It couldn't have been serious, but then, she wouldn't joke about such a thing!I called Dr Halmes office next and was certain that he was waiting for me before I made up my mind. I told Max to stay back and look after the boys, Timothy and Malone since Jack drove himself out and I didn't need a driver. My children meant more to me than my protection which Jack would have insisted upon, probably turned whiney, to make sure I allowed the driver to take me to wherever I wished to go.
JACKSON’S POVI rose to retrieve my phone from my pocket, partially relieved as I suddenly felt gawky in front of a lad. He is finding it hard to adapt and I wished that he would understand how much he was hurting his mother by acting in that manner. As I swiped my thumb across my phone's screen and saw the text that came in, I turned to look at Vera. There was no point reminding her that I still had to leave the house and not follow our plan for the day, so I told her that we would talk when I came back. Even though I had made up my mind to walk through the door and not stay for breakfast, her sickly face made my legs stay rooted to the floor.“You don't look well.” I reluctantly brushed strands of her hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear.“I'm going to be fine.” She turned away from me and went to the kitchen counter where canned juices waited.To say that she was going to be fine meant that she wasn't well, so I walked up to her and was about to get her to see the reason
VERA'S POV If I know Jack as much as I think I do the palms of my hands, then I know that he would be distracted and his train of thoughts would be shifted toward finding out if truly there is a Monica out there or not. How could he let himself be easily swayed by a mere random text from a stranger who, I might say, is supposedly looking for ways to fill his pocket after everything we have been through? How did I let myself think that it was over? Just when I thought that we had reached the pinnacle of happiness, a single text message from a strange number that kept calling his phone while we were screaming for release turned our world upside down again! Shattering every hope that I built in my dreams while in his arms! So much for a happy ending! “Yes, this is unbelievable! You're so unbelievable, Jack!” I climbed out of bed and hurriedly threw my robe on. The absurdity of the whole thing gave me a headache. Last night, my heart had flopped in pleasure, and this morning, in pa
WRITER'S POV Vera spent many nights brooding over her son. She didn't know how to make up for all the years wasted, but she wanted him to feel how much she loved him.He had accepted her and hugged her first but it was hard for him to start calling her Mummy.She felt the butterflies in her tummy come alive the first time he called her mummy following Timothy.She shared his room with him, and the first night he said he wanted to share Timothy's room instead was the night she finally went to spend the night with Jack, who seemed to have been suddenly forgotten by her."We'll have to rearrange the room for the boys if he's willing to share with Timothy." Jack offered happily after she told him."Thanks for everything, Jack. You made everything possible." She melted into his protective arms."I promise you that this profound happiness will never depart from your dazzling face again." He vowed, making her look into his eyes so he would see what he felt as he slid a ring into her finger
VERA'S POVJack agreed to stay in the hospital and complete his treatment until the doctor confirmed that he was healthy enough and good to go home.Natalie Bells was under detention in the police cell. Harry reported that she cried always and begged for forgiveness and freedom because she doesn't want to end up behind bars.Kenneth was awaiting trial and he's detained until the first hearing in court which I believe will send him to prison and he won't see the light of day ever again in his miserable life.The cops promised us that everything is under control and I shouldn't be afraid of moving and going about doing anything that I needed to do and my business.Jack wouldn't hear of me going back to stay in his mansion with Timothy. Even when his mother and sister offered to stay with us, he insisted that some policemen be sent to guard the building and also take us wherever we wanted to go.I understood his fears and I also felt safer being guarded even though it didn't seem neces
JACKSON'S POVThe first person I asked the nurse in my room about when I woke up and she helped me swallow some pàin kîllérs was Vera. When she told me that she hasn't checked up on me ever since the incident that happened at the parking lot, I instantly thought that she's very angry with me and won't ever want to see me again.When my mind got to how fast she reacts and acts up against me whenever I'm harsh towards her, especially her rash decisions and quick to get far away from me, I told the nurse that I wanted to see her."Your stubbornness is the next level. I already told you that she went to see Mr. Nathan and I know that she will come to you if she learns that you are awake." She shook her head."Are you taking these things off or should I help you do your job now? I'm not going to try to run this time, I just want to talk to her before she…" I stopped and blew out a breath."Okay, fine! Thank God the cops are right out there because I won't hesitate to have you tied to this