Sheena opened her eyes to bright blinding lights. She squinted trying to adjust her eyes to the lights, but shut them after an exhausting attempt. She let out a laborious breath so she could speak, but somehow, she didn't seem to find her voice. She felt parched, her throat overly dry and painful.She opened her eyes again, blinking severally to accommodate the light. After her success at it, she scanned the room. White pristine walls, huge beeping machines, a tray filled with medicines and needles. A hospital. It clicked. She was in the hospital.How did she get here? Memories of the previous day's event flood her mind as she wondered."Jake!" Was he okay? Did Damian shoot him too?Anxiety and fear hijacked every cell in her being. Her breathing hitched and she struggled to raise herself. The effects of the sedatives were still very much active, she felt dizzy but undeterred.'Hey! What are you trying to do?' The concerned voice filled the room as the intruder pushed the door hard,
Jake and Sheena exchanged confused looks. What was Mirabel talking about? Their minds shared similar questions.'I need to tell you something about my father's death.' Mirabel announced.'What about our father's death?' Jake asked. They had moved to the study where they could converse in private. Sheena and Jake kept expectant eyes peeled on Mirabel.'I … I.-' she inhaled sharply before she continued. 'I know I've not been the best of persons but I'm working on myself. Hating the one man who had taken me in and had shown mercy on a lowly young orphan. I know now the old man loved me, loved us, even if he never showed it much. He's human after all and bound to make mistakes.' Mirabel swallowed before she began speaking again. 'I had always wanted him dead. Now that he's dead, I regret not having more time with him… I never had the courage to kill him even though I would have loved to, but I wouldn't have stopped anyone wanting to. This was before I knew the truth.''Mirabel, do you k
‘No Dad, I won't marry Dominic Rollins. I won't!’ Sheena yelled at her father, her voice a mixture of anger and anguish.A few moments ago, her dad had called her and her sister, Elena, to his study to tell them what he called “mixed news" that could save their family from the deep sea of debt they were in.After ushering them to sit on the lone reading sofa at a corner of the study, he wasted no time in revealing the all-important “mixed news" to them.He had brokered an arranged marriage with the Rollins family, owners of Rollins Shipping World, the largest shipping company in London. According to him, it was a huge proposal that would unite both families and companies with their families benefiting most from the deal. For one, their multi-million dollar debt would be paid off, their house would be saved and their own shipping company W-shipping LTD would be fully operational again and restored to its former glory.Sheena immediately felt sorry for her elder sister, Elena, becaus
‘Hey Sheena, that's enough. You've had too many drinks already.’ Elena tried to grab the shot from Sheena's hand before she emptied its contents into her mouth.‘Leave me alone!’ Sheena protested, sloppily shifting her hand away from Elena's reach and pointing a warning index finger to her sister.‘You leave me the fuck alone. I'm getting married tomorrow to a man who's older than my father and today is my bachelorette party. My party! All mine! And I'll do as I please.’ She added.Sheena poured the contents of the glass into her mouth. The whiskey left a burning sensation in her throat as it traveled down the path to her stomach.Sheena had never been to a club. Despite her alluring looks, she was the nerdy, always-in-doors type whose idea of fun was getting lost in a good book or movie with a bowl of crispy buttered popcorn by her side.She had only had a small glass of whiskey one time during the secret night party her high school classmates had organized right after their prom. S
Sheena woke up feeling a strong, splitting headache with her mind completely fogged. It felt like her head was going to split into two unequal parts.She massaged her temple and tried to get out of the bed. She turned to sit up when her eyes caught the glass and vial of pills on the bedside table with a folded note beside it.She quickly grabbed the vial, took out two pills, and popped them into her mouth. She took the glass and washed the pills down with water.Almost instantly, Sheena felt the ache slowly relieve her with the fog in her mind gradually clearing.She picked up the note, hoping it would help her remember the events of last night and how she ended up in this very lovely and expensive-looking room. She opened it and read slowly:'Hey there, good morning.Here's a glass of water and painkillers, because I'm sure you'll need them when you wake up. I had an absolutely lovely time last night and while I do not regret it, I'm sorry for what we did. If I had known it was your
Jake recalled how he ushered Sheena into his car, a posh black GLK 350 Benz, as soon as they exited the club. The drive to the guest house was very short, so they barely had the time to talk - not that he wanted to anyway. The guest house was located at the other block, a short distance away from the nightclub.Jake had a room permanently reserved for him for days when he was too tired or very rarely drunk to drive the long distance home.He'd only just locked the room door when Sheena jumped on him, trying desperately to remove his suit and unbuckle his belt both at the same time. She looked drunk but hella sexy and cute, and while he had alcohol in his system, he was still well in control of his actions.Sheena's desperation to take off his clothes and hook up with him was naturally a red flag to him but he found himself turned on by her aggressiveness.He quickly assisted her in taking off his suit jacket, while at the same time taking her mouth in his. She tasted like a mixture o
Sheena arrived at the church premises 25 minutes before the appointed time for the wedding.Elena had called to tell her to come directly to the church as everything she would need for the wedding had been moved to the church. She had made the cab driver drive hastily towards St George's cathedral in no time.‘Sheena! Where the hell have you been? And what the hell are you wearing?’ Her father questioned irritatedly as soon as she got out of the cab and paid the driver.She didn't have the time to freshen up before hurriedly leaving the guest house earlier. She knew she looked like a hooker after a night's job, with her disheveled hair, extra short gown, and broken heels in hand.‘I’m so sorry Dad. I slept over at a friend's place where Elena dropped me off last night before we parted ways. I woke up late cos I wasn't feeling too well.’ Sheena offered the fabricated story Elena had told her over the phone when their father questioned her about both their whereabouts last night.Mr Woo
Jake Cross stood rooted at the entrance of the hall, unsure as to why he had changed his mind at the last minute, and decided to come to the church to witness the old man get married again - for the third time.He had ended his meeting hours ago and if he had left early enough, as soon as he was done with the meeting, he’d have arrived at the church on time, way before the ceremony started, but then, he chose to remain at the office pretending to work while thoughts of his mysterious blue-eyed goddess plagued his mind.After a while, he'd decided to go home but found himself driving toward Southwark where St George's cathedral was located and where his father's third wedding ceremony was taking place and most likely reaching the end.He parked his car at the church's parking lot. He sat there holding the steering wheel and brooding, contemplating if he should go into the church or just reverse his car and head back home.After a while though, longer than five minutes he decided on the