Chapter 35 Janice POV The sting I felt in my heart when he told me to stop meddling in his affair was a feeling I couldn't push out of my head. It felt strange, very strange that I couldn't fathom what the hell was happening or wrong with me. We weren't in love, so why would I care what he choose to do with his life? "When everything is over, you should get a life for yourself, Janice," I whispered, tucking the strands of hair on my face to my ear, leaning over the rail afterward. I was looking forward to getting a divorce and staying away from this freak forever, but I didn't want anything more than to keep working here even after the divorce. No other company pays more than this, and you know how much money means to me. 'Carl' A part of my heart stung as that name played in my head, and I asked myself again what the heck happened between him and Connor that he could never forgive. I was still living in the dark and really wanted to know what transpired between them, but I didn't
Chapter 36 Janice POV Being in Texas feels so great and I wished I could take a walk around and feed my eyes with things here. But sadly, we came here for work purposes, and there's no way Connor would allow me to tour the city like that. I stood on the balcony of our room and fed my eyes with the beautiful view from here. From up here I could see the outline of the house, the outdoor swimming pool, the beautiful garden downstairs, and everything. The house looked like one of those I've seen in movies. "What are you thinking about?" I heard Connor's voice, so I turned to look at him. My heart skipped when I saw him walking into the balcony, shirtless. I swallowed nothing. "Nothing," I said almost in a whisper, turning my face away afterward. He came to stand beside me, leaning over the rail and staring at the sky. It was a beautiful and cozy evening, but the house wasn't too dark because of the light. "Hmm," He nodded his head. Again, I looked at him. He looked like he had a lot
Chapter 37 Janice POV I checked myself out in the reflection one more time and tucked my hair behind my ear before walking out of the room, and heading downstairs. The short blue gown fitted me perfectly as if it was tailored for me, and packing my hair up in a ponytail and leaving some strands was a breathtaking style I loved when I saw it. I spot him sitting in the dining room as I descended the staircase. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked him as I pulled out the chair and sat down. "Hmm. Morning," He replied to me as he raised his gaze to look at me, smiling at me. "Did you sleep well?" He asked, and I scoffed. "What if I say no, hmm?" I rolled my eyes, and he scoffed. "Why? What happened?" "I think you should ask yourself. How could I have slept well when you left me to sleep in there all by myself?" I rolled my eyes at him, and he slowly nodded. "The meeting has been postponed till tomorrow. Do you have anything in mind you want to do? Just take this as your t
Chapter 38 Connor POV Three days later I thought we were going to spend just three days here, but it has been four good days and there was no hope of us leaving anytime soon. The appointment I came for kept getting postponed. Janice has been ignoring me for the last three days, and I guess it's because of what happened a few days ago. I had no idea why she was suddenly being like that, why she wanted us to start having sex, but one thing I was sure of is that I won't agree to do that with her for her sake. She would end up hating giving this a chance and she may end up hating me for the rest of her life if she gets infected. You wouldn't want to know the infection I'm talking about, trust me. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and watching the beautiful blooming flowers in the garden felt so good and relaxing. I checked my phone and saw the number Claire used to call me the other day, the urge to call her and hear her voice, but I felt keeping my distance from her and the family
Chapter 39 Janice POV I desperately wanted him to have me, but too bad that when he finally decided to, I was on my period. Last night felt like a long night, but thankfully it was morning now and a new day to do nothing. I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen when I tried to stand up from the bed, so I lay down hoping for it to relieve me first, but it only got worse. "Ugh! Not again, please," I whined, clutching my abdomen and squeezing my face painfully. Cramps is one of the sickness I hate the most, and something that affects me often on my period days. It's driving me nuts. I tried to leave the bed again, but I couldn't move a finger, so I just remained there. It felt like my abdomen was being cut with a sharp knife, and the pain only got worsened with each second that clicked. The door opened and Connor who had gone outside earlier for a morning workout, walked inside. I heard his footsteps stopped. "Are you ok? Why are you still in bed? It's unlike you," He asked, but I could
Chapter 40 Connor POV "Where are you going to?" Janice asked as she followed me downstairs. "Just stepping out a bit. I'll be back late, so don't wait up for me," I replied to her after I checked my wristwatch, and she scoffed. "Are you kidding me? It's past 7pm, where the hell are you going at this time of the night?" She shrieked like a possessive wife, and I felt like I was going to lose my mind if she would continue like this. "I'll see you," I said to her and headed toward the door, leaving the house even as she kept yelling after me. I drove off and headed straight to the clubhouse. It has been a while since I last went clubbing, and it wouldn't hurt to try it out today, yeah? I soon got to the clubhouse and parked at the garage, and the smell of alcohol and the horrible smell of cigarettes welcomed me as soon as I walked inside the thick dark crowded club with dim light. I could barely see anyone, and the ear-piercing buzzing music was soothing and at the same time dist
Chapter 41 Connor Hughes "The fuck! What is she doing here?" I mumbled and scoffed unbelievably. I told her before I left that she shouldn't wait up for me, so how come she's still here? "Is she crazy or what?" Again, I mumbled and shook my head before I went to wake her up. "Where are you coming from?" Her voice was filled with rage as soon as she was sober, and I had to ask myself if she wasn't the same person who was sleeping deeply here just now. "I went out. Why are you here? I told you I was going to come back home late. Why did you wait up for me?" I was a bit mad at her for being this stupid. "Where the hell did you go to and didn't even think that it was time for you to come back home?" She snapped at me, her eyes filled with rage, and I flinched. "Hey! What's up with that..." "You went to hang out with your numerous flings, yeah?" She scoffed and bit her bottom lip. Every action 9f hers confuses me so much and always leaves me asking myself several questions. "Jani
Chapter 42 Claire POV Sitting outside in the middle of the night with the cold piercing through my bones, birds chirping and making terrifying noise, I couldn't help the tears that streamed down my cheeks. It felt like the last days of my life, or maybe I was already dead and alone in my grave. I know they said the grave is more terrifying, but at the moment, I didn't think there would be anything more terrifying than staying alone at home in the whole dark house without a single light. My phone beeped, and I checked to see that it was a warning that it was going to power off. At that moment, the only light that had been helping me went off immediately as my phone switched off, leaving me in thick darkness. I couldn't even get a glimpse of my surroundings. Yesterday, my parents left in the morning on a business trip, leaving me alone here. Well, they asked me to move in with my Mom's friend, but I refused so they were left with no choice but to leave me behind. Maybe they thought w
Chapter 103Janice POVI walked in on Carl smoking in his room, and I scoffed unbelievably. How could he still smoke in this situation?"Carl...""I want to be left alone," He cut me off without even allowing me to say anything, and I scoffed and rolled my eyes. At first, I was sympathetic toward him, but after hearing about everything that transpired between them in the past, I couldn't help the disgust I felt toward him at this moment. I understand how miserable Connor must've felt, the trauma he must've been through when he found them like that, and to think that he never felt remorseful about his actions. I didn't know what could be more cruel and disgusting."Why did you do that? Why your brother's wife of all women out there?" I asked him, trying to be calm. I was so disgusted with him that I couldn't even stand the sight of him. "I told you I want to be alone, Janice," He looked at me as he puffed smoke from his nose and mouth, his eyes were red and filled with anger. I was sup
Chapter 102Connor's jaw dropped to the ground as he stared back at Carl. For a moment, this felt like a dream to him. This couldn't be true, right? This person wasn't his brother who passed away months ago, right?"Why do you look so shocked to see me? You probably thought I was dead, didn't you? Are you disappointed?" Carl asked as he walked over to stand in front of Connor, but he was still too shocked to say anything.Connor opened his mouth to talk, but words failed him as the only thing he could do was stare at Carl from his head to his toes. When their eyes met, he took his time to check out his eyes which was said to have been destroyed the other time. It almost seemed like nothing happened to the eye. Was this really Carl or was someone impersonating him?"It's good to see you again. Are you as happy as I am?" The corner of Carl's lips twitched up into a smirk as he stared back at Connor. Although he wasn't prepared for them to meet now, he needed some more time to prepare hi
Chapter 101Connor POV'Carl is alive' Those words kept replaying in my head as I drove restlessly down the road. I had to confirm this myself because no way I was going to believe it without doing confirmation."Can you calm down, please? You are going to get the two of us killed," Chase uttered as he held on tightly to the seatbelt, but the only thing on my mind was to get to that house and confirm this.Thirty minutes later, I finally pulled over in front of the gate and stepped out of the car. I banged the bar gate impatiently while waiting for whoever was around to come and get the door, and after a few minutes, I saw a guy of about the same age as Claire, stepped out of the house."Who are you?" He asked as he strode down toward the gate where we were waiting."How may I help you?" He asked as he finally got to the gate."Where is Janice?" I asked him restlessly, and he gave me a long confusing stare."Why do you want to see my sister?" He asked me, and my jaw dropped to the gro
Chapter 100"What did you say you wanted to talk to me about Janice?" Connor asked desperately as soon as Chase pulled the car over in front of the restaurant."Why are you being so desperate, Connor? I'm not going to tell you, not until we have lunch together," Chase replied to him as he removed his seatbelt and stepped out of the car."If you tricked me into coming here, then I'm going to be so mad at you, Chase," He reminded Chase as they both walked toward the entrance door of the restaurant."I'm not trying to play you, trust me," Chase assured him, but deep inside him, he knew there was nothing to talk about. He only wanted to get him out of the office so he could eat good food even if it was just for the day. He hadn't been eating well, and he was just being like this as a concerned brother.Chase ordered food for both of them, but Connor could barely eat his food as he was being eaten up by his curiosity, dying to know what his brother brought him out here to discuss."Trust m
Chapter 99"I'm sorry, Sir... It was a mistake," The video editor, a young slim lady quickly apologized to Connor as a different image from the presentation they were having that day at the office, popped up.It was on a Monday morning, and Connor's company was doing a presentation for the new product he was about to release, but the video editor who was in charge of the presentation seemed to have messed things up."What is the meaning of this?" Connor lost it, so he slammed his hands on the table and rose to his feet."What is the meaning of this nonsense?" He yelled at the lady, not minding his business partners around. This was something he could've handled carefully and calmly, but fuck it! He had a lot on his mind already and had no patience left in him to do this carefully."I'm sorry, Sir... I didn't mean to...""Were you blind or something? You were fucking paid for this, so what happened?" He thundered at the lady again, and she panicked."Sir, you need to calm down, please.
Chapter 98Janice POVMrs. Hughes didn't deserve any of the pain she was being through, and seeing her earlier broke my heart. She was a nice woman who never deserved the treatment she was given. I could understand how eager she must've been upon realizing that her son whom she had been mourning for months was alive, and the heartbreak she must've suffered when he pretended not to know her.The sound of the knock on the door pulled my attention."Who is there?" I asked."It's me. Can I come in?" My heart missed a beat and I rose to my feet when I heard Carl's voice from outside. I swallowed nothing, my heart hammered hard against my chest and I fondled with my fingers. I couldn't stop him from coming inside the room and I couldn't also send him away."Can I come in?" He asked again, and this time, I was left with the only choice of letting him in. The door opened, and he walked inside. As usual, he was wearing a pair of black short trousers and a black casual shirt."I've been home ov
Chapter 97"What are you saying, Chase?" Mrs. Hughes' eyes narrowed in shock after Chase told her about what happened back at Carl's house."Mom... I...I...I saw Carl... I saw Carl... I really saw him," Chase stuttered, his heart pounding hard against his chest, his lips quivered fearfully. "Stop joking around with me, son... How is that possible? Your brother is dead... Carl is fucking dead!" Mrs. Hughes felt like she was losing her mind, this was hard to believe because the last time she checked, her son was dead. He had died months ago and it couldn't be possible that he was the one Chase saw, but Chase was sure of what he saw. He was sure that person was his brother whom they thought was dead."Mom, why are you not believing me?" Chase ran his fingers through his hair crazily like he was about to lose his mind. Apparently, he had already lost his mind and thought he was going crazy that moment that he saw Carl."How am I supposed to believe you, Chase? How am I supposed to believ
Chapter 96Janice POV"Sweetheart, let's go inside," Carl faced me and smiled at me, but that smile meant something else and if I could do anything, I would start running right away from here.Chase was too shocked to talk, so he just stared wordlessly. I had expected that reaction, anyway. I mean, this dude was believed to have been dead, and popping out of nowhere now was really shocking."Come on," My heart missed a beat when he placed his hand gently around my shoulder like the gentleman he never was, and I was left with only one choice, and it was to follow him.I wished I could disappear at that moment as he led me back into the house. My heart pounded hard against my chest, my breath hitched momentarily and I felt suffocated as the thought of the hell that awaited me behind those closed doors hit me hard.Nobody was in the living room when we got there, so he led me to the room, and as soon as we got inside his room, he slammed the door close and locked it."Ca... Carl... I did
Chapter 95Janice POVCarl called me about an hour ago to inform me that he was on his way, and I didn't wish for anything more than for him to not make it here. Of course, I knew this was extreme, but what was I supposed to wish for when he had made my life into a living hell?After breakfast with my parents and Jeff, I returned to my room since I couldn't go anywhere else aside from being here.Sitting on my bed and just staring into space while wallowing in my own thoughts, a knock sounded on my door, and when I ushered whoever was at the door inside as I was too lazy to go open it myself, the door opened and Jeff walked inside."Jeff?" I called surprisingly."Someone is here to see you, sis," My heart skipped when he said that, and immediately, many thoughts came parading my mind. Who could that be? Could it be that it was Connor that came back again? I asked myself and swallowed nothing."Who is it?" I asked curiously as I stood from the bed."He is outside the gate. I was on my