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
WRITER'S POVJackson took one last glance at Vera's face before he finally ran his tongue over one of her firm nipples. He smiled inwardly at the way she twitched her body as if she was being electrocuted.Vera sucked in a breath when his tongue touched her nipple. That single moment of glory sent sparks through her body and made her bite her finger in an attempt to stop herself from screaming out.As if he derived joy from teasing her like that, he repeated that same thing before he pinched her nipples with both hands at the same time. He didn't miss the plea in her eyes when he looked into them."Jack…""I'm gonna whip your ãss if you talk again." He cut her words off.She nodded, swallowed hard and clenched her teeth. Her hands tried to grasp something, just anything that would help her stop vibrating like a buzzing phone.When his fingers traveled slowly to her p*ssy, her breath caught in her throat as she tried not to make a noise. Her fingers flew up to grasp his hair.As he ins
JACKSON'S POVWhen I stepped out of my car and headed towards the hospital's passage, Nathan walked up to me and asked me first about Vera. He looked really worried and I can't blame him for being so affected by the investigator's sudden attack. He blocked my path to get answers to his questions before stepping aside as if he's a soldier on patrol."Why didn't she come with you since you said she's fine?" He asked again when I told him that she's safe."I locked her up in the safest place in the world," I replied, walking towards the waiting area."You are good for her because she's a very stubborn woman, I was wondering what would make Vera not come here before you!" Nathan heaved wearily and tapped my shoulder in a friendly way."Feels good to know that someone has accepted defeat. Where's the investigator now?" "Don't be too proud and ridiculous about it. Let's go, I will take you to him. The doctor said that he needs blood and we couldn't tell his family, especially his wife.""
JACKSON'S POVBefore I reached Vera's house after Nathan called me, the cops were already there with him. I met them in the parking lot as Nathan and a dark girl was taken into the ambulance.I wanted to rush back into my car and follow the ambulance to the hospital, but I must talk to the police and see what their camera was able to get. Harry, a huge boy with a shabby hair that makes people easily mistake him for a thug was told to show me what the camera caught in one of the police cars.He's a good boy that grew up on the bad side of the street, so the Sheriff decided to help him fix his life before he becomes a threàt to the county.He is just the best bait to catch the bad boys since he grew up in their midst and he's doing a very good job in the sheriff department. It is good for him since he accepted to be cleaned up.He was quick in opening the palmtop in the car as he tapped the play button. He handed it over to me and I looked keenly at the screen so I wouldn't miss anythi
VERA'S POVTimothy and I were already getting used to the silence when the gunshots stopped, then it seemed they were all waiting to refill their guns with more bullets as the gunshots became even more terrifying.That was when Jack called me back, but then I couldn't say anything to him when I picked up until he cut the call. I tried calling him again when I was able to calm Tim down, but he was already busy on another call and that got me thinking about what was really going on out there.I bit down on my lower lip to swallow a scream of fear. I can't simply give in to hysterics. No matter the cost, I had to be brave for Timothy's sake."Where's my daddy?!" He cried, pressing his small body to mine.I didn't blame him for being so horrified by the gunshots. It was as if they were shooting inside the room because the whole building shook. I felt people running around the hotel up there."He will come to us soon, Tim." Was all I could tell the little boy.Seconds later, it seemed the
JACKSON'S POVWhen I woke up again and didn't see Vera by my side like the last time, I wasn't happy with the nurse attending to me and I also needed to take care of a lot of things."I can't stay here." I said to the nurse as she checked my wound. "That bàstárd needs to be in héll already. He's very corny and I must see that he's locked up before I rest." I added mutely to myself."You would have to speak with the doctor. I would like to advise you to stay and take medications, then get discharged by the doctor." The nurse implored."I have many things to take care of and I am fine now. Call my doctor and he will understand." I said as I stood up from the bed. I clenched my teeth to suppress a wince as I felt the pain from the wounded part. I had to stand straight slowly before I looked at the nurse who was looking intently at me."O--kay," she stammered and quickly pressed a button beside the bed to alert the doctor."He will be with you shortly. Excuse me," she said, walking out o
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
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