Chapter 71"Babe, you're done?" Connor asked with a smile on her face when Janice walked back inside, but he was stunned when she quickly grabbed her purse."We need to leave, Connor. I don't want to stay here again," Janice said with a trace of fear in her as she looked around the restaurant like she was being chased by someone."Are you OK, Sunshine? What happened? Why are you sweating?" Connor stood with confusion written all over his face as he looked around too."Did you cry? What's wrong, babe?" He became even more worried and tried to touch her, but she stepped away from him and he raised his eyebrows in shock. She was fine just now before she left, so what the heck happened in the restroom that made her like this? Connor wondered confusingly."I will just take a cab home if you're not ready to leave yet," she said hurriedly then hurried off to the door and stormed out of the restaurant before Connor could process everything that was happening."Wh... what's going on?" Connor m
Chapter 72'Let's meet tomorrow evening' As evening slowly approached, I couldn't help the fear that was living in me and didn't want to go no matter how much I tried to chase it off. I was scared of what that man had in store for me, I was scared when I saw him and going to see him again was like a nightmare and as much as I didn't want to go see him, I didn't have a choice.It was finally about thirty minutes to the time that he asked us to meet, so I got dressed and left my room. Connor was seated on one of the couches in the living room when I arrived downstairs."Babe..." He paused and gave me a long confusing stare."Are you going out?" He asked and I nodded."Yes. I need to step out for a moment. I'll be back shortly," I said to him, hoping he wouldn't ask me questions because that was the last thing I needed at this point. I wasn't in the mood for it."Oh... Where to? It's past 6pm, and you don't even know anyone here. Where are you going, babe?" He finally put his laptop away
Chapter 73"Ugh! You know you're driving me nuts right now, babe... You need to talk to me, OK? Who was that man?" Connor asked, rubbing his fingers gently on his forehead while trying to be cool. He was burning inside, his blood felt as though it was set on fire, and he was finding it difficult to wrap his head around the shit that was happening, but still, he wanted to believe that Janice wasn't cheating on him. That was the last thing he would believe, but how sure was he?"Babe, talk to me," he held her shoulders and shook slightly as if trying to force words out of her mouth, but his jaw dropped when she yanked his hands off and stepped away from him."Why are you following me? Why the heck are you here?" She snapped at him even though she knew she was wrong. "What!" He exclaimed, his face laced with shock and confusion. Of course, that was not what he was expecting to hear from her."Yes! Why the fuck were you following me? The fact that we are together doesn't give you the rig
Chapter 74Janice POV'Let's get back together when you get to LA' I read the text with a heavy heart and tears brimmed in my eyes. We had just gotten to the airport, ready to go back to LA and Connor had excused himself to go to the dining room.'What if I don't want to?' I had texted him back, and his reply broke every ounce of confidence in me. If I refused to do what he wanted from me, then Connor would have to pay with his life, and that was the last thing I wanted.I heard Connor's footsteps, so I quickly deleted the text and held the phone firmly in my hand after I wiped my tears. I had to pretend everything was fine because I didn't want him to suspect anything."Are you ok?" He asked as he say beside me on the waiting bench and held my hand. Even though I've been treating him badly lately, distancing myself from him and hurting him emotionally, he still cared about me and never got mad at me. More reason I've been dying slowly in guilt. "Hmm... I'm fine," I replied to him ca
Chapter 75Janice POV "What would you like to have? You can order anything. Bills on me," I watched as he puffed smoke from his mouth. The Carl I used to know was not a smoker, but now he was. He reclined on the chair, his eyes not leaving me as though he was monitoring me with his gaze. "Nothing. I'm not here to eat. What do you want from me, Carl?" I asked him even though he already warned me to stop calling him that. Well, you weren't expecting me to start calling him the name I didn't know him by, right?"I told you to stop calling me that, wife...""Point of correction, Carl. We were never married, so you can't call me that," I cut him off, and he took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. Silence assumed the atmosphere for the next few minutes and I wondered what he was thinking. I had many questions to ask him. What happened that day? How come he was alive? Where he had been all this while, and how he turned out like this. I was curious to know the answers to my questions, but
Chapter 76Janice POVMy vision was blurry, my eyes were covered with tears that wouldn't stop coming no matter how much I tried to stop them. My legs felt so weak that they could barely carry me, but still, I managed to walk to the spot where I parked earlier. I helped myself into the car and drove off the premises.My heart was burdened, it felt like the weight of the whole world was being placed on my shoulders, but one thing I knew was that I needed to get home no matter what. My life was already messed up yet I couldn't die. My parents and brother were going to live the rest of their lives in pain if anything should happen to me. It's as if Mom knew that I was in pain because my phone started to ring at that moment and when I checked it, I saw Mom's name displayed on the screen. I pulled over at the side of the road then reached for the phone and slid the answer button."Janice, dear," Her sweet and ever-calming voice sounded from the other end, and as if it triggered my pain, m
Chapter 77"Why didn't you call me when she was leaving? This would've been avoided if you had called me. What if something happened to her over there?" Connor yelled at Chase angrily."I'm sorry. I tried to stop her, but...""That is why you have a car. You should've followed her or called me immediately. How could you allow her to leave just like that?" Connor tried to lower his voice this time because it was partially not Chase's fault. Janice was an adult too and Chase couldn't have treated her like a kid by questioning her whereabouts."I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just... confused," Connor apologized to Chase as he crashed against the couch in the living room and ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly. He hasn't gotten a good sleep since the previous day that Janice has been missing. How was he supposed to be at rest when his woman was missing?"We should report to the police. I think they'll be able to help," Chase suggested."It's not yet twenty-four hours, so tha
Chapter 78Claire POVIt's been over one week since I left Khan's house that day, and guess what? He hasn't called me since then after he was sure that I moved back in with my parents. It's been killing me slowly, especially whenever I thought about the sex I had with him, but then, it was all my fault. I mean, I seduced him, so I shouldn't have expected less from him.It was a Friday night and my last day of being in this house for a while because I would be starting college on Monday, so I needed to leave tomorrow for my school which was in California. "Are you done packing your things?" Mom walked into my room and asked, but I shook my head."Not yet, Mom," I replied to her as she say beside me on the bed, and she rolled he eyes."What am I going to do with you? You are such a lazy ass. You were waiting for me to come help you do it, right?" She scoffed as she reached for my clothes which were on the bed, and started to fold them one after the other."Are you ok? You don't look fi
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