A gentle breeze blew and lifted the bangs that covered my eyes. I looked over Oliver’s shoulder and saw Zach standing nearby. He was wearing a black coat and staring at us with his hands in his pockets.He was so close. He must have heard me say that I would rather marry a donkey than get back with him.Why was he here so early in the morning? Was it a coincidence, or was it on purpose?When Oliver let go of my hand, he saw Zach too. I could feel him clench his fist, so I patted him on the hand. “Let’s head to the clinic.”We continued walking while Zach followed us from a distance.After a few steps, Oliver could not take it in anymore. “What is he doing? Has he been following you around like this recently?”“The road is wide. We can’t be the only ones walking.”Zach had only fought with Cecilia the day before. I did not expect him to be following me today.I thought that he would be a drunk mess and passed out on the street.However, he looked fine. His clothes were neat
“Cassia, why don’t you come with me?”“Why would I go to college with you?”“You can sit in on the class, and I’ll introduce you to my classmate.”“Stop it.”In the end, I gave in and agreed to go to college with Oliver.Mr. Pepper drove us from the main gate, and Zach was standing on the roadside. As we passed him, the wind lifted the hem of his coat. Even though he was a grown man, he looked strangely beautiful in a sad way.Zach and I attended the same college, but I had not been on campus in years. We were always together from kindergarten through college.Sophie always said that I was completely oblivious in college. I did not know how many classmates I had or if they were male or female. All I cared about was Zach. When it came to my studies, I just went with the flow.She made it sound like I only lived for Zach until I turned twenty-five.I quietly followed Oliver into the lecture hall. Luckily, it was big enough for no one to notice me.Oliver studied law, but he d
At noon, Oliver took me to the cafeteria for lunch. After what just happened, he no longer introduced me to that classmate who had a crush on me.He had forgotten that I was pregnant and had probably overestimated my attractiveness.Besides that fool Hayden, no one would want to date a pregnant woman.Anyway, I got a taste of campus life again. After our meal, we walked around the sports field. When some people started playing basketball, Oliver got worried that a stray ball might hit me. As such, we stopped walking.When we got home, I lay in bed and watched a news video on my phone. I heard the reporter say, “Cecilia Wilson, the heiress of Wilson Corporation, gave an interview today. According to her, she wasn’t cheating. She and Zach Gordon had broken up, but Zach couldn’t accept it and kept bothering her.”I closed the video and put my phone on the bedside table.Zach’s feelings had gone to waste. Cecilia ended up dumping him.I wondered what Zach was thinking. He seemed fin
“Help me pack a few things,” I told Mrs. Anderson. “I’m going with Sophie.”Although I was incredibly pregnant, everyone knew that anything involving Sophie also involved me. No one could stop me.So, Mrs. Anderson went to gather my things in tears. I grabbed a small suitcase, and Oliver took it from me. “The rest of you should go to the hospital. I’ll head straight to Sophie’s place,” I told him.“Alright.”“Cassia.” My mom held my hand. “Be careful and look out for Sophie. I know you’re pregnant, and I’m worried about you, but…”“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, and I’ll make sure that we bring Bryce’s body home.”My mom started crying, but I did not. The bigger the crisis, the less I felt like crying. I had too much to focus on, and there was no time to cry.When I got to Sophie’s place, she had just finished packing a big suitcase. She had her back to me, and I saw her struggling to lift it.“Sophie,” I called out to her.She dragged the suitcase to me and took my hand.
Just then, Austin called, so I went back inside to pick up the phone.He asked, “Have you guys reached Malaysia?”“Yes, we have.”“I’ll come over later.”“It’s okay. Zach came with us. You can handle things at Sophie’s place.”Austin hesitated and asked, “Sophie… How is she?”I looked out through the glass door at the harbor lights. I could only see Sophie’s silhouette. She was sitting in a wicker chair and eating the bread slowly.“She’s okay for now.” That was all I could say.“She’ll be fine until Bryce’s funeral is over.”We both knew Sophie. It was not time for her to break down yet.“Do you want to talk to her?”“No, it’s okay.” Austin hung up.I went over to the glass door and observed Sophie from a distance.Right then, I saw the reflection of another person in the glass. It was Zach.He was standing and smoking on his room’s terrace.It was strange. My vision suddenly seemed clearer, and I could see the smoke from his cigarette.I wondered what he was thinking.
I stayed on the terrace until it was late at night. As the wind blew, Zach draped a shawl over my shoulders. He then stood to the side to watch me. I could tell that he was looking, but what for? In the past, he never paid attention to me, even when I looked my best.By the time I returned to the room, Sophie was asleep. The towel was still on her eyes, so I took it off.The front of the towel was dry from the air conditioning, but the side on her eyes was still wet.I lay down beside Sophie and held her arm as I rested my head on her shoulder.The next morning, Zach knocked on the door and woke me up. Sophie was still asleep when I opened it.Zach looked at me. “Why are your eyes swollen?”I touched my eyes, and they were indeed swollen. “It’s nothing,” I said. “Is the boat here?”“Yeah. We’re leaving at 9:30 a.m.”“I’ll wake Sophie up.”I closed the door softly and tapped Sophie gently to wake her up.She had never taken sleeping pills, so they worked well for her. It t
There was a large beach behind the tourist center. Many of the victims’ families were kneeling on the rocks. They were calling out to the sea and hoping for a miracle. Unfortunately, miracles did not always happen. No one on the ferry survived, not even the captain.Sophie leaned on me, and I held her trembling hand.We waited from day to night, and eventually, Bryce’s body was recovered.This time, I was the one who had to identify the body. Sophie had already used all her courage when she identified Luna’s body.Zach helped me slowly walk on the sand. It was very dark, and there was no power on the beach, only a few temporary shelters with lights and cooling from generators. The bodies could not be handled until the families identified them. The temperature in Melaka was very high.Inside the identification shelter, it was freezing cold, like being in a completely different world from the warm beach.The bodies were laid on mats, surrounded by large blocks of ice. Two powerfu
Zach came back and told me, “It won’t be possible with commercial flights. We’ll need to use a private plane to bring the bodies back.”“Whose plane?”“Mine.”I did not know Zach had a private plane. It must belong to the Gordon family, but was he not on bad terms with them?Never mind. This was not the time to think about that.“I’ve booked our flight. We’ll still take a commercial flight home.”Zach took care of the paperwork and claimed the bodies.The private plane landed in the early morning, and by then, all the bodies that could be recovered had been. The beach was mostly empty, with just a few families of the victims. The atmosphere was filled with quiet, painful cries, which made the whole scene feel eerie.They brought metal boxes to put the bodies in. The bodies had to be placed inside for transportation.The boxes were filled with ice. I helped Sophie stand on a rock, and we watched from a distance.I could see from far away that they were putting Bryce and Luna’s
I switched seats in the hall three times, but Cecilia stuck to me like glue. I could not get rid of her.By the time Zach finished his interview and came over, she was still challenging me. “Cassia, it doesn’t matter how much you do for Zach. Even if you give him everything, including your heart, he’ll come back to me as soon as I smile at him,” she said.Just then, Zach appeared next to our table. Cecilia kept going, as she was completely caught up in her own delusions.I looked up at Zach and said with a smile, “When did you become a butcher who took hearts?”Since he showed up, I took the chance to escape. I stood up and said, “Well, Zach’s here. Cecilia, why don’t you charm him and give him that smile you were talking about?”Then, I quickly slipped away. All evening, she had been annoying me like a fly. It totally ruined my appetite.I found a quiet spot and placed my food on the table. As soon as I sat down, Zach came over and sat across from me. I looked behind him and
When Zach saw Wilson Corporation’s bid, he tossed it aside. This meant that it had been eliminated.Wilson Corporation did not have enough funding, so they would not make it to the next round. If they could not keep up in terms of cash flow, it would delay the whole project.However, it would not be fun to eliminate them in the first round.I picked up Wilson Corporation’s bid again. Austin looked at me and asked, “What are you doing?”“Just having some fun.”Wilson Corporation would not make it to the final round anyway. At least, they could enjoy making it to the next round.When the names of the qualified companies were announced, Cecilia’s expression was strange. She looked both nervous and confident at the same time. It was like she had a split personality.The moment Zach read Wilson Corporation’s name, Cecilia quickly stood up and turned to me.I saw pride, satisfaction, and joy in her gaze.She raised her chin as she walked up to receive the bid from Zach. She was acti
There was nonstop clicking from the cameras, and their flashes were so bright that they almost made my eyes water.Just then, Zach handed me a pair of glasses. I put it on, and another reporter asked, “There’s a rumor that Zach was recently fired from Gordon Corporation’s board? Is it true?”Tyler laughed. He looked at Zach and then at me before he said, “You just said that it was a rumor, right?”I scanned the crowd and quickly spotted Cecilia. Her face was pale, and it looked like she was about to cry.At this point, she should realize that Zach had not been fired. He was not the nobody she thought he was.He was still the same Zach. In fact, he was even better. While he was away from the spotlight, Zach set Yonder Trading up for the next five years. Even without Gordon Corporation, he could still succeed in the business world with Yonder Trading.Cecilia was dumbfounded, but it did not seem like she could cry. It was almost funny.Her attitude had been completely different
Cecilia walked toward me in her high heels. “Cassia, you’re acting like a saint again. When Zach’s career fell apart four years ago, you stayed with him for three years. Now, you’re getting back with him again? You love him that much, huh? I’m telling you that Zach is a lost cause. No matter what you do, he’s not going to make a comeback unless you hand over Freeman Corporation to him. Other people date for fun, but you? You’re ready to risk everything for him.”“Cecilia.” I looked her straight in the eye. “That’s enough. No matter what, Zach used to be completely devoted to you. Not only have you dumped him, but you’re trash-talking him behind his back.”“Behind his back? I’d say the same thing to his face.” Cecilia raised her chin. “Sure, Zach loved me, but I don’t want some lovesick fool. It doesn’t matter that he turned against the Gordon family for me. Did I ask him to? If his life is a mess now, it’s his own fault.”“His fault is falling in love with you.”Cecilia smiled smug
The past few days had been particularly hectic. The signing of the Cameron Hill project was around the corner, and we were going to open for tender on the signing day. Once the project began, we would subcontract to many construction companies. We had a few construction companies under Freeman Corporation. However, it was going to be hard for us to tackle such a big project on our own. Hence, we needed to look for subcontractors. Doing both the signing and the tendering on the same day was a first in the industry. Actually, I did not want to rush things like that, but Austin wanted to be quick. He was afraid that his body would give up on him. Meanwhile, I was afraid that I would accidentally tell Sophie the truth one day. Sophie could not make it to the signing. She could not walk well, and she was basically resting. We had released the news about the tender a few days ago, and I had received tenders from many companies. Wilson Corporation was one of them. I glanced at the
While I was staring at Lucy’s photo, my father called me. He and my mother had been away for a really long trip. They left when it was winter, and it was already spring, but they were still not back. My father said, “The proposal that you sent me regarding Cameron Hill is very detailed. I think it’s a good project. You can sign on my behalf.” “Dad, are you guys not coming back yet?”“You’re good at your job. I feel at ease when you’re in charge.” “Dad, don’t forget that my baby’s due in two months.” “Well, aren’t there two months left, then?” I was speechless. My father was trying to make use of me until the day I gave birth. He seemed to be in a good mood. Yesterday, my mother called and told me that Aunt Lauren and her husband were feeling much better than before. It was especially so after they learned that Sophie had gotten into a relationship. Before I ended the call, my father gave me some encouraging words, “Oscar called me yesterday and praised you for being a
Rachel really liked the pastries that Kingston had bought. “I’ve never had such good food before,” she said.She was always surprised by our food, as she grew up overseas with a different type of cuisine. Zach had promised to finish building the castle with Rachel, so I sent her to Yonder Trading in the morning. I held her hand as we walked into his office. He had just finished laying the game mat on the floor. Rachel ran over to him happily. “Zach!” Zach immediately carried her and lifted her over his head. Rachel giggled. She was usually quite lonely, so she loved to spend time with us adults. After I dropped her off, Zach passed me a folder. “It’s about Lucy.” He was extremely quick in his investigation. I took the folder and only found a few pages inside.Lucy was not originally from West City. Instead, she came from East City. It turned out that she had taken her mother’s last name.Her mother was a lounge singer, and there were a few old photos of her in the
“Hush.” I held my finger up to my lips. “Stop being so noisy. He’s still sleeping.”“Cassia, can you add more people to your list of blacklisted guests? Austin, that dog—” “Shut up,” I chastised her before she could finish her sentence. However, Austin had already woken up and sat up from the sofa bed. He patted his numb arm as he said to Sophie, “At first, Lucy was sleeping here too, but your snores got too loud, so she went to the other room. I’m still here because I fell asleep. I wasn’t interested in staying up to listen to your snoring.” Sophie threw a throw pillow at him. She used too much force, so Austin toppled over after being hit. She laughed. “Austin, you’re such a loser. Are you made out of glass? Why are you falling over after such a light throw?” Austin slowly walked out of the room, and Sophie scowled as he left. Then, she lay down again. I picked up the throw pillow and tossed it back to her. “Can you be gentler next time?”“Why?”“I know you’re athletic
Rachel had already fallen asleep. So, I went downstairs for a glass of lemon water. Kingston happened to walk out of Sophie’s room too. He carefully shut the door, and I asked, “Is Sophie asleep?”“Yes.” Kingston laughed and said, “I was telling her a bedtime story, and she dozed off.”He had such patience to even tell Sophie a bedtime story. I could see how much he liked her. If Austin were not in the picture, I would be very happy to see their relationship progress. However, I was the one who had introduced Kingston to Sophie. Whenever I thought about Austin, I felt bad. “Have a safe drive home.”“Don’t worry. It’s just a short drive.” He kindly helped me down the stairs. “Oh, Sophie wants some pastries for breakfast tomorrow. What would you like to eat? I could buy some for you.” “She’s asking you to buy her breakfast? Don’t waste your energy. I can get the driver to buy it or just order delivery. You don’t have to trouble yourself.”“It’s no trouble at all. Sophie did