“You didn’t have to follow me into the bathroom,” Pen grumbled and Thea sighed.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to push you like that,” Thea answered as she leaned against the door stall.“I know. I was being prickly. But I’m not ready to talk about being part of a sick experiment that might or might not have tampered with my brain irrevocably,” Pen answered honestly and Thea stiffened,“For someone uncomfortable talking about it, you sure know how to explain it. I wouldn’t know when to start if I was to explain it to someone,” She trailed off and Pen looked at her.“Are you going to tell Lucian?” She asked and Thea nodded.There was no doubt in her mind about this, she was going to tell him one day. She just needed time to come up with the best way to face him with the truth. And before that, she needed to talk to his father.“Unlike you. I don’t see this as something that I should hide. In fact, if my relationship with him was as forward as yours I would have told him. It would have explained
Thea made her way down the stairs slowly lifting her dress as she walked. She didn’t know how long she had been under the care of Mrs Kyle but she was one firm believer that Mrs Kyle was a mirable maker.There was no way that Thea was going to produce the same results even if she went to the best care in the city. It felt like something she would get addicted to.She felt refreshed and light her shoulders relaxed and her skin had never been this smooth. Her hair was pulled back in a stylish updo and a few long locks slid across the skin over her shoulders reminding her that her hair was still long. It was a strange comforting feeling which she liked.The long black dress was rather simple in design but the amber motif matched with the amber jewelry and hair accessories she had on making it look even more stylish and colorful.As she stepped down on the last step, she found Lucian already standing there waiting for her holding something in his hand as he watched the street from the win
As soon as they stepped into the party venue, they were greeted by an extremely cheerful James who was grinning at them from ear to ear walking in his usual jacket draped over his shoulders.He looked much livelier and more healthy than she’d ever seen him. She felt Lucian sigh in exasperation as he put his hand on the small of her back and walked toward his father.“I’m so glad to see you here, you two. I was wondering if you weren’t going to come,” He said as he stood before them.“As expected of my daughter-in-law. You look beautiful,” He said with a smile and Thea smiled at him.“Thank you, James although I would have preferred more time to get ready for such an important event,” She retorted and he laughed.“As blunt as always. Sorry, I will make sure you have enough heads up for the wedding,” He answered and Thea shook her head hopelessly.The man didn’t even seem sorry about this.“More importantly, father. You shouldn’t be walking around like this, what did the doctor say abou
“Thea, let me introduce you, this is Sofia. Father’s close friend,” Lucian said introducing Thea to a woman in her early fifties.She had shining black hair, a tall frame that made even the best models lower their heads in envy, and deep blue eyes that pierced through the onlookers making her look like an invincible warrior from those legends. Stunning despite their ferocity.“Sofia, this is my fiance, Thea Keaton,” Lucian concluded and Thea reached out a hand to the woman with a small smile.“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting us to this party,” Thea said waiting for the woman to shake her hand.Sofia looked at Thea for a moment with an asserting gaze and Thea realized that the woman was sizing her up. After a few beats, Thea was starting to think that the woman wouldn’t shake her hand back when she smiled at her and reached out her hand.“Nice to finally meet you, Thea. I heard so much about you from James,” She said warmly.“I don’t know what father could have said about
“...more importantly, I want to know. What was going on between you and my parents?” Thea asked watching James’ expression carefully as he looked at her with a blank face.Then the man smiled chuckling at that and shaking his head. As expected he was too perceptive to be shaken by something this predictable from her.“So you’re finally asking me this question,” He trailed off looking down at his linked hands as if he was readying himself to be questioned by her.“Since the moment you told me about my father, you expected me to come ask you,” She said and he nodded.“I told you fully prepared for you to come asking about the past. I have nothing to hide about this. But it’s going to be a story you know very well,” he warned and she nodded.She already suspected what kind of truth was behind this mysterious encounter.“Before you were born your father and I used to be lab
Thea's eyes fluttered open, greeted by a nightmarish scene of chaos. Wreckage surrounded her, and a fiery inferno raged just beyond the shattered window. In the dim light, she could make out the silhouettes of her parents, slumped and motionless."Mom? Dad?" Her voice barely escaped her throat, stifled by the pain coursing through her body. She strained to call out to them, but her hazy mind struggled to stay focused. Every movement was agony, and she winced, fighting to keep her eyes open.Outside, voices called urgently, and then a figure leaned into the window."Over here! Someone's still conscious!" The rescuer's voice pierced the chaos, and strong hands pulled Thea from the backseat, her body protesting in pain.Just as she was about to beg them to save her parents, a deafening explosion erupted, throwing her back. When her eyes cleared, she saw the car engulfed in flames, her parents trapped inside."Mom! Dad!" Her anguished cry filled the ai
“Hello, Thea? This is Sofia…”Thea had a hard time keeping her expression neutral as she looked up at Mrs. Kyle. But there was no fooling the woman.“Oh, hello. How may I help you?” Thea asked and Mrs. Kyle made a sign about putting the call on speaker. Thea Ignored her, there was no need for Mrs. Kyle to hear what she had to say. She still didn’t know whether to trust her or not too.“I, uh… I wanted to apologize for last night,” She said slowly.“Oh? This is unexpected…” Thea trailed off wondering why the woman sounded so remorseful about everything. She didn’t seem like she would be regretting anything she did last night.“I acted impulsively and was kind of aggressive,” Sofia said calmly.“Yes, you did. Which is making me less inclined to believe that you would feel remorseful from last night to today,” She said wondering if there was someone behind this attitude.“I heard some disturbing information about you and kind of believed it, I didn’t mean to treat you like that. I talked
Thea fixed Lucian with a stern, yet conflicted gaze as he leaned against the door, a sheepish smile playing on his lips."You can't keep being mad at me like this. Come on..." he prodded, flashing his endearing, boyish smile that, much to her chagrin, only accentuated his handsomeness."I can, and I will. I can't believe I did that in front of Mrs. Kyle," she lamented, her voice tinged with a mix of frustration and embarrassment. He cautiously stepped closer, reaching out for her arms."But she left the room before we did anything. You saw it too," he pointed out, trying to alleviate her embarrassment.She had indeed noticed Mrs. Kyle's exit, but Thea couldn't shake the mortification of letting herself be drawn into that impulsive kiss. Her cheeks burned with a rosy hue, and she sighed, her gaze dropping to the floor."Still, it doesn't make it any less embarrassing," she mumbled, and he tenderly took her arms in his hands, his fingers tracing slow circles on her skin.Her gaze lifted
“Oh lord…” Thea mumbled as she closed her eyes looking down at the book in her hands barely seeing the words.“Did you say something?” Lucian asked as he leaned forward on the kitchen counter to look at her.“No, nothing,” she said with a smile, and he nodded, going back to preparing whatever it is that he was preparing.Thea stole another glance at him, feeling her heartbeat faster at the sight of him in his unbuttoned shirt and waistcoat hugging his muscles in a perfect fit that made her almost swoon. It had been like this since she got back from the hospital, so much that it had gotten unbearable.At first, Lucian was simply more attentive, especially since she was having trouble dealing with the pain from moving around. He had been adamant about not leaving her alone to the point of intending to sleep on the chair bestie her!In the end, he slept the whole night on the bed beside her on top of the covers when she insisted that he shouldn’t sleep on the chair. He didn’t touch her n
For a while, it was quiet. An absolute quietness that was both peaceful and disturbing. There were moments like flashes when voices would reach her sometimes calling her name and sometimes talking amongst each other. But she was never able to pull through long enough to truly know what was going on.It was by the time that her awareness grew more alert when she heard them. The two distinct voices she knew so well.“How could you let this happen?! How could you when she was right beside you?!”“When are you going to stop blaming others for your own problems? You lost Thea because you acted like you could control her. Stop trying to blame me and start trying to figure out how to redeem yourself!”These words were followed by the distinct sound of a slap. And even in her sleep, Thea would later realize what truly went on that day.“…”“Are you alright?” Another voice asked.“Yeah… can you go check on him?”The silence that followed after that was deafening. Thea tried shifting her hand a
“You didn’t answer my question,” Lucian said in the same calm tone as if this man hadn’t just threatened to violate her in front of him. “Who. Is. Behind. You” Lucian enunciated each word coming out of his mouth.Thea’s eyes moved away from the sight before her to look at Lucian’s hands. They were clenched in tight fists that she could distinguish through the darkness. She didn’t need to doubt whether or not Lucian was provoked by this man’s words. Because she could feel the rage coursing through his tight muscles ready to spring out at a moment’s notice.The man paused looking at Lucian with a blank face, the smile completely gone as he looked at him. Thea thought for a moment that he was going to turn violent when he simply asked.“Why? Are you going to pay me more than them?” He asked.Thea felt instant relief when the man said that, if he could be convinced with money, then…“If we can reach a deal,” Lucian answered, and the man smirked.Something was wrong, seriously wrong. His e
Thea's head felt as if it was going to split in pain as she began to regain her consciousness. She groaned and tried to shift wondering why she was having another hangover when she didn't even remember drinking. That's when the memory of her last moment of consciousness hit her brutally like a slap.Thea opened her eyes frantically looking around her. In a panicked move that did nothing but kick her back to the concrete ground with a hard thud as her hands remained tied behind her back unable to do anything to block the impact.The air got knocked from her lungs and she gritted her teeth looking around her trying to distinguish where she was only to hear a voice from near her."Hey... It's okay, don't move abruptly,"Thea turned around and felt her eyes well up with tears as she looked into the blue eyes she had been trying so hard to avoid for more than a month."What happened?" She asked as she tried to sit up this time succeeding as she maneuvered herself up."We were kidnapped. I
"What the hell did you just do?" Thea looked back at her friend to find her looking at her with a deep frown as she held her phone in her hand mid-gesture as if she was too shocked to continue what she was doing."I asked him to leave..." Thea answered simply and Pen sighed."I know. I was there. But why would you do this? He came all the way here from his meeting and raised hell because they took you in like this,""Well. that's all pretense. We're supposed to be a loving couple after all. I just don't want him involved too much in my problems," Thea stated as she turned around intending to walk outside."Are you okay with this?" Pen asked."Of course. This is for the best," She stated feeling a pang in her chest at the words she uttered.Somehow, she could see Lucian's blue gaze as it filled with hurt when she asked him to leave. His face as he looked up at her on the stairs telling her that he wanted to be with her. "Are you sure you're okay with this? Didn't you go a bit too far
Everything was a lie… Every single thing. Every moment, every word, and every touch. Even the sincere moments of consolation that drew out her strength, and the silly fights over small things. It was all a well-orchestrated scheme to make her hopelessly fall in love. How ridiculous is that? Just how much effort did it have to take to make her believe this? A pang rang through Thea’s chest as she felt the moment of realization she had been avoiding for more than a month draw near. “Did you hear what I just said, Professor Keaton?” The detective asked and Thea looked at him a bit out of it trying to gather her thoughts. “Sorry, can you repeat that?” She asked as she looked at him. “I was asking if you knew something about the money. Your uncle keeps insisting that you used it for illegal activities and we can’t find any trace of it in your accounts,” the detective said making Thea sigh. “As I said for the fifth time. There are no unusual activities and the money went to charity,” s
"Professor... Professor Keaton!" Thea was startled as she looked back at her student who was looking at her with a worried expression on her face."Yes... Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment there," She said with a soft smile."You seem more tired after coming from your honeymoon, Professor. Are you sure that you're okay?" She insisted and Thea smiled at the young woman and nodded."Of course, I was just thinking about something. did you want something?" She asked."Oh, yes. There was another bouquet for you from your husband. I left it in your new office, and the data from last week's tests are out," She said with a sly smile as she handed her the results printed on a document.As she looked down at it to find a little envelope on top."This is.." She began only to find her student already walking away with a grin."Came with the flowers!" She announced as she disappeared into the other side of the lab.She lifted the envelope to find her name written on it with the distinct
Lucian woke up with a start as his hand slipped from the edge of the table making him lose his equilibrium. Looking around him, he sighed when he realized that he was still sitting in the kitchen with the lights on waiting before his silent phone.He had returned home that evening from work eager to try and have dinner with Thea, knowing that she should be home before him. As he waited and waited, he realized that Thea was probably dining outside and had his meal in lonely silence mulling over how to win her over again.Walking through the house, he sighed at the unfamiliarity of the place. It was a new house even for him. A place he had been hoping to live in with her. Now that he was, he realized that just living with her was never going to be enough. Because even though she was by his side, she felt farther away than when she disappeared last month.Reaching for his phone, he took a deep breath and tapped the screen calling her phone. The call went straight to voicemail. Worry star
Thea walked into the coffee shop looking around for her friend. She waved at her from across the room, and as she was walking toward her, she could see that she wasn't alone.Thea paused giving an exasperated sigh as she glared at the grinning, other person, who wasn't supposed to be there. Instead of looking guilty or even bothered, he smiled at her and lifted his cup in greeting.Thea looked at the door ready to walk outside, but the sight of the mint tea waiting for her on the table made her hesitate. Making a split-moment decision, she gave in to temptation and sat down reaching for the cup and inhaling the fresh herbal scent."Told you that the tea would be a good bait..." Peter said with a smirk and Pen sighed."Sorry. He insisted on coming as soon as he knew that we were meeting," She said.Thea took a sip from her tea and savored it completely ignoring the two."Well, she's not answering my calls and she's never in her office when I visit. If I go to her house, Lucian will pro