Hana was on autopilot mode as she hit her father. The pentup anger, frustrations, and resentments was poured into each strike. She only snapped out of it when he fell to the floor with a thud loud enough to break her out of her reverie. There was blood. But she wasn’t sure whose. Her sister was also on the floor. She crouched, tapping Cara on the shoulder. Her back screamed with each move she made since she had taken most of the hits there. She shook Cara again, calling her name so she would wake up.
“Cara,” she whispered. “Cara?”
Cara was lying on her side, like she had curled into this position to protect herself from their father. Her hair was also stuck to her temple. Hana tried to pry it off to get a better look at her sister’s face but her fingers came off with blood. A scream stuck to her throat. Hana raised her head in her mother’s direction. Mama hadn’t moved from the couch, and the resentment she fel
Dinner was silent until Calvin cleared his throat. He had asked his siblings to stop by the house ahead of their usual Friday routine because he didn’t want to repeat the same news twice.His dad sat at the head of the table with his wife beside him. Camilla was by his side, and KJ on his mother’s left. When Kyle Sr raised his head, Calvin’s nerves took over.“I, I…” Calvin coughed as a mix of grey and brown eyes turned in his direction. No one stopped eating, but he noticed they weren’t eating with the same speed as before. “I have an important announcement to make.”They all grinned. KJ winked and gave him a thumbs-up. His dad stared between both sons and picked up his glass of water. KJ must have assumed he wanted to talk about the result of last week’s meeting, but it was something else. He couldn’t do this without the family’s blessing or awareness.“I’m gettin
Hana stood on her toes, her body shaking from hunger and tiredness. Her feet ached from making the long journey from the alley she slept in to Kyle’s company. Standing in front of Tech Valley for too long hadn’t also helped. Each day she came here hoping the result would be different, but it was the same.Security had refused to let her inside to see Mr Kyle McKenna. It must have been her dress or face that scared them. As much as she had tried to clean herself up in the hospital’s restroom before leaving that day, she could still feel dry blood on her dress. Her hair was also tangled from the many times she had run her fingers through it.She left her hair down to hide the bruise on her cheek. She didn’t know Baba could hit that hard. Now she understood why Mama always did everything to avoid another hit.Cars drove past the building, honking as they went. A few entered and drove out, but she didn’t recognise any to be Kyle’s
Calvin waited until Hana was snoring softly before sliding off the bed. His one-night experience with her made him able to tell if she was really asleep. Unlike that night, she was more relaxed. He pushed strands of her hair out of her face and placed a kiss on her temple. Before he could walk away, his eyes fell to her cheek.Someone hit her.Someone hit his angel.It wasn’t an accidental hit. It was deliberate and meant to leave marks. What was Angel into? His mum was right about him giving up so much for someone he didn’t know so well. What if she was involved in illegal dealings? Could he handle that? He ran a finger through his hair and grunted. KJ was in the living room waiting for him, but he didn’t look forward to that meeting. After one final kiss to her cheek, Calvin grabbed his phone and entered the kitchen.He needed a doctor to check Angel to be sure she didn’t have any internal injuries but he couldn’t ask their family doctor to show up. For now, he didn’t want to involv
It had been hours since the doctor left, but Hana could still feel his touch on her skin. He had applied some ointments to her back and given Kyle a list of other things he could get to make sure the marks didn’t leave any scar. All attempts from both of them to find out the source of the marks were futile.Two days ago, she had been too tired to do anything but sleep. And yesterday, they had spent the day indoors, eating pizza, getting a doctor to attend to her, enjoying each other’s company even if she didn’t say much. Kyle hadn’t picked up any of his calls and when she asked if they weren’t important, he told her she was his highest priority at the moment. Even now, the thought made her blush. Her cheeks were warm and her insides mushy with affection.She whimpered as Calvin’s arms tightened around her from behind. She didn’t know she could love sharing a bed with a man this much. She wanted it to be a permanent fixtur
The man scoffed, and the beautiful woman by his side held onto his arm to calm him.“The real question is, who are you?” Turning to his partner, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s bringing them to his house now.”Them? Who was them? Did Kyle make a habit of bringing different women to his place? The butterflies in her stomach dispersed. The man tried to walk past her, but she stretched out her arms, keeping both of them outside.“Where’s Calvin?” the woman asked.“Inside?” Hana coughed. “He’s inside.”“We need to see him,” she stated.Hana looked over her shoulder. If they were strangers, she couldn’t let them in. But she also didn’t want them to be uncomfortable in case they mattered to Kyle. She avoided the man’s harsh gaze and smiled at the lady.
As soon as Angel left, Calvin’s parents turned to him. “Why would she think we would hit you?” his father asked. Calvin shook his head while trying to process everything. He couldn’t get that image of a teary Angel out of his mind. “Did you tell her—”“No,” Calvin cut in. He didn’t know what his dad was about to say, but the answer was an automatic no. Angel’s reaction didn’t come from anything he had told her. It must be from her own trauma with another person. “I didn’t. I know you don’t support my decision, but I must go to her.”“You have my support,” his mum chirped.“Baby,” his father called, looking at his wife in shock. “We already talked about this.”“That was before we met her,” his mum said. Calvin’s shoulders sagged in relief. He had planned to leave so they would lock the door on the
Calvin was still pissed. No, he was furious, a volcano of anger waiting to erupt. What kind of father raised his hand on his child? That too, with a belt. Angel might have thought it okay, but it wasn’t, and he had to remember to tell her that. His phone rang, and Charles’ number showed on the screen, but he didn’t pick up. He waited until the phone stopped ringing and called Destinee.He had to be at work today after already missing two days. But he wasn’t looking forward to leaving Angel alone in the house. He hadn’t even wanted her to cook. He could do that himself. Plus, he had someone whose job was to cook for him.Walking back into his room, he placed a kiss on Angel’s temple and rushed into the bathroom for a quick bath. Angel was awake when he returned. She sat on the bed, her legs crossed as she watched him dry his hair with a towel. Another towel hung from his waist. When he caught her gaze trailing down, he winked. S
Hana twirled in the bathroom, her grin spreading from corner to corner. Camilla’s sundress was perfect for her. The length was slightly shorter than what she was used to, but she didn’t care. It was perfect for her and even had pockets. If at all she had any concerns, it would be with the bust area.But she could manage that.Calvin returned home late last night with a duffel bag filled with new clothes. Hana was convinced he went shopping on her behalf until he mentioned it was his sister who stopped by the office with it. She even added new underwear. But Hana didn’t put any of them on. It would restrict Kyle, and she wanted him to be free with her body.Speaking of Calvin, he was waiting for her in the room. This was the second dress she was testing out, and he wanted to see all of them. Today was a Tuesday, but he took this day off to be with her. They had all day to themselves. She pulled the square hem of the dress over her bo