The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the dull ache at the back of my head, I groaned and tried to sit up but my body did not cooperate. A particular gasp escaped my lips and I clenched unto the soft fabric within my grasp. I heard shuffling from beside me and I blinked. I glanced around the step white room before my eyes landed on my brown-haired misty-eyed mother. “You are awake!” Her voice was so Meade with emotion and I felt her trace her fingers on my hand.“Mom…” was the only thing I could say. “I was so worried, I thought I lost you!” She sobbed and held unto me.“I am… I am fine.” My voice was hoarse and my throat burned. My mother wiped her tears quickly and adjusted whatever she was sitting on so we could be closer. “H-how is Harvey?” I whispered and my eyelids almost closed out on me. “He is okay, he was really worried about you, and to be honest. I think something else is wrong, Alex took him through—““What?” I blinked away the weight from my eyelids.
“Thank you, Moore,” I whispered and liked away tiredly. “It’s nothing, Millie kept us sane throughout, we should thank her, she reminds me so much of you.” “M-Millie?l My ears perked up at his words and I glanced around the room but could not find anyone. “Who–”“It’s Christie,” My mother spoke softly and I snapped my head at her with a furrowed eyebrow. I had so many questions running through my mind at that moment but I bit hard on my tongue. “What do you mean?” my voice was low and soaked with confusion. “I don’t remember giving her that name,” I glanced between Moore and my mother. “You didn’t. Moore gave it to her, he wanted Christie to have a name like mine, you know... Mercedes...Millie,” She spoke in a lighthearted tone but I was not placed. “You cannot just change her name,” Ny's tone had an edge to it, “She already has a name,” I glared at Moore as I spoke. The dark-haired man sighed. “I didn’t change her name, Amber.” Moore clarified. “I just gave her a nice name,”“
I looked away and clenched the sheets. My sys stung with fresh tears. “Stop saying things like that...” I trialed off. “Amber...”“Don’t do this to me!” I snapped and turned to him. “Stop,” I demanded. “Stop feeding me and giving me invitations to a life that can never be! You are married to someone else, you have a son with her—”“But you are my wife! You are my wife!” He repeated and shot up from his seat. I blinked away tears and breathed. “I was your wife. Amber Scotland was your wife, but she is dead.” We made eye contact at my words. “She burnt in that fire that your second wife started.” I glared at him.“All that is theatrics.” Moore deadpanned and moved closer to me. “I love you, you love me—”“It’s not that simple.”“Why not?” Moore asked and waved his hands around frustratedly. “Why are you complicating things?!” He spat and breathed heavily. “Moore—”“Don’t Moore me!” He snapped and tears clouded his eyes. “What exactly am I being punished for Amber? What are we being pu
“Great!” Christie exclaimed and grabbed the book from me, before I could say or do anything else, Moore entered the room with the book in his hands. He had a small smile playing on his tips and his eyes sparkled with anticipation. I turned to Christie who immediately wheeled herself out of the room. “What are you trying to do?” I asked with a straight face. “Use Christie to get to me?”“Not everything I do is an agenda to get close to you,” Moore retorted and pulled a chair out of nowhere. I sat up on the bed and he sat down on the chair.Moore’s fringe hair was a mess. He had dark circles under his eyes. His perfect jawline ran just below his neck and He bit down on his plump lips as he scanned through the book I could not help myself from admitting that even though he looked more like the patient than I was, Alexander Moore was still as drop dead gorgeous as the first day we met. He raised his head suddenly and perfect blue orbs locked with mine, my breath caught in my throat. “Y
They froze in place and I parted my lips to speak again but at that point, I collapsed to the ground and everything went black. The next time I opened my eyes, Hayes was sitting in front of me holding the book I had chosen earlier in his hands. He had taken off his flannel and was now sporting a white shirt with a simple gold chain. “What are you doing here?” I whispered and stood up. “Well, after you collapsed, um, we brought you back in.” I paused and sighed. “But what about Belene?” “She stormed off, I guess she got the memo though,” a small smirk played on his lips as spoke.“She was furious after she heard you,” Moore paused and then continued softly. “I was too,” our eyes locked. “I guess I took your advice, the same way you took my mom’s,” I commented and his eyes widened. I knew it was mom who had told him about my insecurities.“She made the right choice though, I would have never —““Can we not do this right now?” I breathed. “Sure, um, we can read a book?” Moore waved
I frowned and forced myself to sit up when Moore walked back in. “You need to stop this,” my voice came out softer than I had intended. “What do you mean?” Moore furrowed his eyebrows and sat in the chair that was opposite me. “What you are doing with Christie, making her get close to you and —““What do you mean, Amber?” Moore raised his voice a bit, “Christie is my daughter you asked me to stay away and not her the truth, and I did so,” His jaw slacked for a few seconds and I realized he had run out of words. “If she is genuinely interested in getting to know her father, then why are you depriving her of that right?”“Because you are going to leave!” I snapped and tightened my grip on the sheets. The machines in the room started beeping, a sob escaped my lip and tears rolled down my cheeks. “Don’t go! Stay here! I am still talking!” I demanded in a sharp tone. Moore midway. He was about to get up from his chair when I spoke. “You won’t choose her!” I reminded him in a sharp tone
I sighed as I signed the discharge papers and headed toward the exit of the hospital, it had been a restless night, I had rolled throughout while I struggled with the memories of my past It was quite rare for me to deal with those memories, but something about being with Harvey made me relive those memories, I understood how he felt and the emotions that plagued him because I had felt that way before.I felt that way when my father died when Stefan jumped out of that window, and when I almost Moore, it was a deep void that continued to eat me up inside, and the mere thought that Harvey could be going through the same thing sent shivers down my spine. I ran my hands over my face and continues walking, I must have been so engrossed in my thoughts because I collided with something — or rather, someone. Someone very familiar.Her eyes lit up with rage and she clenched her fists. I could practically feel fumes coming from her nose and her brown orns were glazed over with tears. "This is
"This?" My eyes widened in confusion as I flipped the pages of the photo album we found in the envelope.Every page, every single page I turned had photos of Moore and.. me?My forehead creased in confusion before my stomach twisted in knots at the realization. The photos were raw and uncensored. It seemed like something that had been thrown out of a porn movie and a particular photo — the one that had gone viral years ago and practically cost me my license, stood out. One could see the way love in Moore's eyes from the way he looked at me in every single picture.I mean, everything would have been perfect if only I was the woman in the picture. But I wasn't. She looked exactly like me, But I knew it wasn't me.It was Louisa. Moore's Louisa.The realization struck me painfully and I felt my heart start to thud against the walls of my chest. My hands trembled as I reached out to turn more pages.The more pages I turned, the more intimate the pictures became till I couldn't bare it an
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER "Mom, do you think I'll do well today?" George asked, a touch of nervousness in his voice. I paused in adjusting the collar of his soccer jersey and turned around to look at him and myself in the mirror. I understood where his fears came from. George had a crucial tournament to play in, and he was the star player of his team. That came with a lot of expectations from people, which put a lot of responsibilities on his eighteen-year-old shoulders. I smiled warmly at him, making sure he saw years of love and support in my eyes that weren't going away for any reason. "You've trained hard, George. You'll go out there and give it your all. No matter the outcome, your father and I will always be proud of you." He grinned. "Thanks, Mom," he gave me a hasty kiss on the cheek and sat on the bed to put on his boots. The pride in my heart swelled as I watched him tie his shoelaces. "Hey Mom, how long does it take Dad to retrieve my soccer jacket? I'm almost finished
"Hey...you okay?" Moore asked softly, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I'm fine. I guess the spin on the beach has me a little dizzy. But I loved it." Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm bluish glow in the room. I sat on our bed, resting my back on a pile of pillows Moore had earlier stacked against the headboard. Moore lay beside me. His arms surrounded my swollen belly protectively, and his fingers made circular ticklish patterns. They made me giggle. We marveled at the miracle growing within me. Our baby, our little bundle of joy. "George is going to be such a lucky child," Moore's s voice held awe and tenderness. We had talked about naming him and agreed to name him George after my father. "And you, my love, will be an amazing mother. And you're an amazing psychologist. What do you think about practicing again after George is born?" I let out a soft sigh in agreement, but a hint of uncertainty lingered in my eyes. "I don't know, Moore. Pract
"Come on up, Amber. We have to head home." He rose and held out his hand towards me. I shook my head. "I can manage. You go and start the car. Get it running. I just need a moment to breathe," I uttered. I could barely recognize my voice. It was rusty, and I felt pains in the back of my throat when I spoke. Scrambling to my feet, I sighed. "Well. This is it. I'm only leaving this place, but you're forever in my heart." The scorching desert sun bore down on my weary shoulders as I stumbled towards the car. The weight of grief still sat heavy in my chest. All I wanted to do was escape the suffocating air of this wilderness. As I neared the car, my vision blurred, and the world around me swirled into an incoherent mess of colors. Darkness crept in, swallowing my consciousness, and I crumpled to the ground. "Amber!" I heard Moore's panicked cry a distance away, and the shuffling of his footfalls as he rushed to my side to gather my fragile form into his arms. "Amber, Amber are
"No, Moore," I replied, my voice heavy with determination. "She's cost me too much. We did the same with Louisa, and she only escaped. I won't let Alicia slip through our fingers again." "Amber, we will make sure the police do their job well if that's what you're afraid of. But we can't take the laws into our hands just like that. Let's follow due processes," Moore's voice pleaded with me from the driver's seat, his words laced with reason and the hope for justice. He tried to convince me that we should turn Alicia over to the police, and let them handle the consequences of her actions. But I couldn't bring myself to comply. Not this time. The weight of our past, the pain Alicia had inflicted upon me, resurfaced with every word. Forgiveness and love had always been one-sided, a futile attempt on my part to salvage what was lost. Now, it was time for me to take control of my destiny. And that will begin by making sure that nobody, starting with Alicia, could ever hurt me or my love
Moore was quiet. I couldn't blame him. My heart was too heavy, and what I was feeling could not be expressed in words. But his care, concern, and need to make me feel better warmed my heart. The door swung open, and the person responsible for our abduction finally stepped into the room. "It's about time you showed yourself, coward," Moore bit out at the approaching figure who didn't spare him a glance. She was focused on me. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes locked with familiar orbs. No way. This could not be. But it was: Alicia, my step-sister. The one who had torn our family and separated me from Moore all those years ago. The mix of anger and fear welled up inside me, but I held my ground, refusing to show any sign of weakness. "Well, well, well! We meet again, sister," she sneered and cackled, swinging a silver Swiss Army paring knife. I was sorely tempted to scream at her and wipe that smirk off her face, but I pulled myself together. Don't give her satisfaction. Alic
Mum and Christie… They were dead. How? Why? My heart pounded and a pool of tears found its way to the back of my eyes. They threatened to pour as I stared at Moore hastily driving towards the house. The tires screeched and he drove past other cars. With the way he drove, every other person could tell it was an emergency — an emergency because I needed to see him. I wasn't able to believe it. No, my dreaded thoughts couldn't have come to reality. Mum and Christie couldn't be dead. I'm sure the call was a prank call. I was excited yesterday — I was problem-free. It couldn't have happened. My Christie will be safe. But then it rang in my head again. If Christie was in danger, then it was my fault. I was probably the worst mother on earth. We left France in the morning. We took the next flight back here. I needed to be sure the call was fake; I needed Mum and Christie here with me. Thankfully, Moore's car came to a halt in our compound and I rushed out. I picked up my heels
I exhaled as I held onto the luggage. After Mum eavesdropped on the conversation, she offered to protect Christie. She insisted Moore and I went on a honeymoon A weird feeling tugged at my chest and worry filled my heart. Dreadful images filled my brain as I thought of it. Is it safe to leave Christie alone? I shut my eyes as I pondered on it. Of course, it was, my prolactin hormone was just at work. Christie will be safe. "Amber," Moore called and I opened my eyes. He gave me a warm smile and took the luggage from me while I turned to Christie. After this, I will make sure I get to spend time with her. "Christie" I called and bent down to her level. We were in front of the building about to leave but I had to make sure I talked to her. "Be fine, okay? Mum will come back soon. Take care okay?" Her giggle filled my ears and she pulled me into a hug which I reciprocated. I broke the hug and peppered her face with kisses which made her chortle. She was indeed a sweetheart! "Bye M
My chest fell and rose as I watched the police take Louisa. I couldn't believe she had escaped from the prison. I knew she wanted to harm me, she was desperate to cause me pain but I didn't expect her to break away from prison."No, you just can't —" Louisa's protest was cut short when the officers grabbed her arm as they led her to the van. The officer turned to me and I bit hard on my lip.My thoughts had begun to wander off. Will it keep happening over and over again? Did I deserve no peace? Why did Louisa cause me pain on things I didn't know about?I couldn't understand it. I whipped my head to Moore when I felt his soothing touch that caused my heart to pound. He pressed my hand softly and I looked up at him.His eyes held the warmest and softest expression I could read; I could read the hope and pain that hid behind his lids."Stop it. Stop it, Moore, you can't keep touching her that way. I hate it!" Louisa yelled as her eyes bore holes into my skin. Veins popped out on her for
I sucked in a sharp breath, the pressure pressed down on my neck made it hard for me to even breathe. My head was pressed back hard against the pillow beneath as the figure above me pressed down even harder than before.The darkness made it impossible for me to see who it was, I only felt cold palms grasped at my throat. My eyes flew open in both shock and panic, small ragged gasps escaped my throat as I felt the air start to leave me. My heart, once quickly beating slowed in tempo and my eyes widened in desperation.No, I couldn't die. I can't die just yet — at least not in this way. I couldn't let them kill me like this.Small coughs erupted from my lips, I wheezed, now desperate to survive, and used my last bit of strength to scream for help as I pushed the figure back with all my might.My push made the figure fall to the ground and I used that opportunity to reach for my light lamp as I coughed painfully, and gasped greedily for breath. The lamp came on, its light wasn't bright b