Chapter 54…Benji…Stella’s news of being pregnant takes me by surprise, under a different situation, this would have been one of the good news but not now, the only thought in my mind is if Zoey is going to survive until the baby is born,“you don’t look as happy as I thought you would be” Stella says looking away,I can see a hint of sadness on her face,“I am happy, just that, I talked to the doctor last time, Zoey wont live that long” Stella’s eyes begin to water as she looks at me, I hate to see that expression on her face, I have hurt her by telling her this,“how long does she have?” she asks as she wipes off the tears on her face,“I don’t know, just not long enough until the baby is born” if I tell her that Zoey has less than a month to live, she will be more heart broken and I don’t want her to feel that way.“am scared Benji, what should we do?” she asks, I pull her in for a hug,“just hope for a miracle to happen” only If it is possible for Ben to come to his senses and cha
PROLOGUE..STELLA..It must be the eyes, that shade of sky blue that stands out, I know my Ben, even if his face is covered in that ridiculous mask, I can easily point him out, that is how deep our connection is.Holding his gaze from across the room, I begin walking towards him, I know he has already recognized me too though I put in effort to ensure he doesn’t recognize me under the mask I have on my face but here we are, walking towards each other. Today happens to be Ben’s youngest sister’s birthday, Abby wanted a masked theme party. Ben and I made a bet on who would recognize the other first but lucky for us, the moment our eyes locked we both knew.Ben and I eventually met in the middle of the room, the loud music and the people dancing, all that doesn’t matter, its like we are in our own little perfect world, god I love this man, I cant wait for the week to end so I can finally marry him. Without saying a word, Ben holds my hand and leads me upstairs, I dont bother asking
STELLA“Honey, are you done with brushing your teeth?” I ask while parking Zoey’s clothes in a suitcase“almost done mama” she yells back from the bathroom. I close the suitcase and start heading to the bathroom to check on her when she walks in the bedroom, “am all done now” she says opening her mouth so I can see her teeth“good, now let me tack you in, we have a long day tomorrow” zoey quickly gets on the bed, I carefully tack her in and kiss her forehead“goodnight kiddo”“goodnight mama, I love you” I switch off the light and about to head to my room when she calls me back, “what is it honey?” I ask turning to look at her.“can I sleep with you tonight?” I go to her bed and open my arms making her jump on me“of course you can sleep with me anytime you want, you are my little angel” I carry zoey and quickly go to my room,“mama, you said we are going to see grandma and grandpa, will my daddy be there as well?” zoey’s innocent question instantly makes me upset but I manage to co
Chapter 2 ...Stella… “answer me Stella” Benji demands with a raised eyebrow when i dont say anything even after a few mintues “who do you think you huh?, why the hell did you send someone to forcefully pick me up?, did I tell you I needed help?” i ask back, the quickest way to avoid answering a question is being offensive and that’s what I do “your mom…” “I don’t have a mom” I say cutting him short “you are the last person I want to see or have a conversation with Benji, do me a favor and stay away from me” I can see the look of disappointment on his face, “am sorry Stella” Benji says but I grab my suitcase from his bodyguard and walk away. I manage to get a cab and shortly after reach the hotel, by then, Zoey is fast asleep, I put her on the bed when we reach our hotel room, I am about to go and take a shower when I hear a knock on the door, I wonder who it is since I didn’t call for room service. Upon opening the door, am surprised to see Benji standing there “you followed me
Chapter 3....STELLA...I am in a state of panic as I begin to run around the cemetery screaming Zoey’s name but she is nowhere to be seen, I spot my parents and Becky outside the cemetery and rush to them,“what do you want, didn’t I make myself clear five years ago, you are no longer part of this fmily, now that the funeral is over, go back wherever you came from” Dad says, I look at mom hoping she would stand up for me but am left disappointed when she hangs her head low“if you were smart enough, you should have had an abortion, I would have taken you back into the family but look at you now, you come to mom’s funeral with a child with no father “ I blink away tears knowing this isn’t the time to be emotional“ where did you take my daughter?” I ask him, am convinced he did something to Zoey after hearing how bitter he is“what the hell Stella!” mom asks“my daughter just disappeared, she couldn’t have gone anywhere on her own. Now, tell me where she is” I demand getting more fur
Chapter 4..STEELA..I stare at the ribbon in my hands, my heart is beating rapidly, surely Benji couldn’t do this to me, why would he even help take me to the police station when he is the one behind this? I let out a sign as I try to figure out what is happening and where the hell my baby is.I go to the kitchen but lose my appetite as soon as I see the food, how can I eat when I have no idea where my baby is or if she had anything to eat, I let out another sign and get a bottle of water and proceed to go through all the rooms in the house in hope of finding anything else that belonged to Zoey,I reach Benji’s master suite, above his bed is a big portrait of him and his late wife, I stare at the picture for a few seconds before looking around the room, when I don’t find anything, I go back to the living room and take a sit on the couch, I stare at my phone wishing who ever took zoey would call, eventually, I fall asleep.I am woken by someone tapping my shoulder, ‘Zoey?” I open my e
Chapter 5…STEELA…The officer assures me he would do everything to find Zoey, I leave his office and find Benji waiting for me,“we should go back home” he says,“I will get a cab and go to the hotel, I need something there” I say, I don’t want to go back to his house and pretend everything is okay when I felt the urge to hold him at knife point just to get him to tell me where my baby is.“I already asked one of the guards to move all your things to the penthouse” he says making me furious, how dare he do that without asking me first,Benji really did manage to get on my last nerves, “lets go” he says grabbing my hand and leading me to his car“why didn’t you ask before hand about moving my things to your house?” I ask as we enter his car, Benji doesn’t respond as he calls his daughter’s name“Daisy!” he yells, I open the backseat door and find it empty inside“where the hell did Daisy go?” Benji asks as he pulls out his phone, I look around the surrounding area but don’t find her,
Chapter 6 …STEELA… Benji holds me by my shoulders “tell me Steela, is that girl mine, all you have to do is say it” he says holding my gaze “I already told you she isn’t, do you want me to lie to you just so you can bring her back to me?” I ask, Benji’s eyes widen making me more convinced he really does know where my little girl is, “what are you talking about?” he tries to deny it “I know you know where Zoey is… stop it already Benji, my mind is exhausted, just tell me where she is” Benji looks away, I can see the guilt on his face “why the hell would I kidnap your daughter?” he askes letting go of my shoulders, “when I was disowned five years ago by my parents, I met someone and moved in with him, he is Zoey’s father” I explain lying through my teeth “I don’t see a ring on your finger” he says holding my left hand “we never got married” I lie. I know it seems absurd that I would have stayed with a man that long and have his child without marrying him but I don’t care, I can
Chapter 54…Benji…Stella’s news of being pregnant takes me by surprise, under a different situation, this would have been one of the good news but not now, the only thought in my mind is if Zoey is going to survive until the baby is born,“you don’t look as happy as I thought you would be” Stella says looking away,I can see a hint of sadness on her face,“I am happy, just that, I talked to the doctor last time, Zoey wont live that long” Stella’s eyes begin to water as she looks at me, I hate to see that expression on her face, I have hurt her by telling her this,“how long does she have?” she asks as she wipes off the tears on her face,“I don’t know, just not long enough until the baby is born” if I tell her that Zoey has less than a month to live, she will be more heart broken and I don’t want her to feel that way.“am scared Benji, what should we do?” she asks, I pull her in for a hug,“just hope for a miracle to happen” only If it is possible for Ben to come to his senses and cha
Chapter 53…STELLA…Benji is on his way back home, as I wait for him, am nervous, I couldn’t tell him I was pregnant the last time we talked, am nervous and anxious, the only thing putting my mind at easy is the fact that Zoey is doing a little better. Over the course of the week Benji has been away, his mother and Daisy visit almost everyday which is a huge relief,Maria doesn’t come much because of how busy she gets at the company, but since I told her I was pregnant, she no longer even calls, I understand she is upset with me because of how she feels about Benji so I let her be.There is a knock on the door, before I can answer, the door opens and Mario walks in with a bunch of flowers and some chocolates, I stand up meeting him half way the room with a hug,“hey” I say,“hey, I see our princess is still sleeping”, my eyes drift off to Zoey whom he is looking at,“yes, she was awake most of the night” I then lead him to the couch and we sit,“tell me the truth, where is Benji?” as
Chapter 52…BENJI…Its been two days, Ben is nowhere to be seen, Tan tells me he comes home very later and goes out very early, I know he is doing this on perhaps just to avoid me so this evening, I refuse to leave his house without talking to him,I miss home so much and cant help worrying about Zoey and Stella’s well being. I sit on the couch across the table with Tan on the other side, its past 8pm, the twins are already fast asleep.“are you sure you don’t want to lay down in the spare bedroom?” Tan asks, for what I have seen so far, Tan is a very good man, Ben didn’t derserve him,“I need to leave as soon as posibble but I cant do that If I don’t get Ben to come with me, my kid will die” I explain“am sorry that he is putting you through this, I tried to talk to him about it but you know how sturrborn your brother is” that I understand pretty well,“do you have any idea how can I convince him to help me?” I ask, Tan is quiet for a while,“there is nothing Ben cant do for money. S
Chapter 51…MARIA…“Dad, I think you should let mom out of the basement, she might die If you keep her there for long” I say to Dad while he is sitting in his office his eyes fixed on his computer“she is tougher than you think” he answers. I know but despite having no emotions for mom, she might really die if she stays there for long“I know but its been a week and some days now” Dad lets out a sign looking irriated,“I told her to apologize to you if she wants to be let out but she refuses” I let out a sign,“I already forgave her” I say,“fine, then get her out after work” he says. I smile at him and leave his office,When I get to my office, I receive a call from Mario and immediately answer the call,“hey fake girlfriend” he says in his usual jovial voice,“the phone might be on speaker for all you know, cut that fake girlfriend shit”, after the night we almost got arrested on our first date, Mario and I have been spending time together, mainly because we want to keep the impress
Chapter 50…BENJI…The next morning, Ben wakes me up with a knock on my hotel door, I open the door rubbing my sleepy eyes,“how the hell are you a self made Billionaire if you sleep in like this?” he asks, the only reason I overslept is because I had been tired the previous day, the twins where a handful though am not complaining, I had fun with them.“by staying sober and clean” a frown immediately on Ben’s face as he looks irriated with my response,“I don’t even know why I came here in the first place” he says,“am sorry but am only stating the truth” lying to him about the serious problems he has will only make him do eorse, Tan might be scared to point it to him but not me,“we need to go to the hospital, I have somewhere to go” I stare at the wall clock, it is already past eight,“I wont take long” I say as I head to the bathroom. I take a shower and dress up, in the next mintues, Ben and I are on our way to the hospital, when we get there, the doctor immediately comes to see u
Chapter 48 …BENJI… Mom and Daisy stay at the hospital for a while and talk with Stella, am glad to see her not crying anymore, as it turns out after my little confrontation with Maria, she probably thought it unwise to come and see Stella and went her way which is a huge relief, I cant stand her pretending to be good while she is planning to kill Stella Zoey was brought back a few hours ago and is yet to wake up since the surgery, am thinking of what to do next, on one hand, I want to save Zoey but am afraid of what Maria might do if am away, “what are you thinking about?” my mom’s question drives me out of my thoughts, “me?” I ask when I see she is looking my way, “of course you, you are the only one zoomed out” only if it was possible to tell her what I was thinking, for starters, she would kill me for all the lies, “just worried about Zoey” I say, “you remember my suggestion?” she asks and I immediately shut her up, “please mom, Don’t…” “what is your suggestion Mrs Edwards
Chapter 49…BENJI…After spending close to 48 hours in a plane, I finally land in hong kong,I have been here once or twice for work but never to see my dead brother, I figured he would refuse to see me if he knew so I decided to pay him a surprise visit,I rang the door of a little apartment, while standing there waiting for him to get the door, I cant help being disappointed at the lifestyle Ben had choosen for himself, he lived with mom who spoilt him with everything he can ever want and yet he left all that to end up in such a small apartment,When I hear footsteps approving, I take a step back, the door finally opens and a tall Asian man in his middle thirties Is standing there, I know his name is Tan and a lot more than I need to know though this is the first time we are meeting,“you must be Benji” he says looking surprised,“yes, is Ben in?” I ask,“yes, come in, excuse my staring but you look so much like Ben” he says, I do find his staring weird but I can only understand“I
Chapter 47…BENJI…The next morning, Zoey is awake and asks me to read her one of her favourite books, I happily do so but just before I get to the last part, a nurse enters the ward room,“the Doctor wants to see both of you” she says, Stella and I exchange worried looks,“I will go and see him while you stay with Zoey” I suggest,“okay” Stella says without me even insisting, I kiss Zoey’s cheek and follow the nurse out of the room, when I get to the doctor’s office and see the expression on his face, I already know he has some bad news, nevertheless, I take a sit.“you called for us Doctor, Stella is with Zoey and wont be able to join us” I say“yes Benji. I did more tests on Zoey, her disease is progressing at a rapid pase” he explains, I now understand why Stella didn’t want to come here, I can feel massive fear at the doctor’s words, however, I take a deep breath and look at him,‘and?”“am sorry to say this but she wont make it to the time her sibling will be born even if Stell
Chapter 46…BENJI…The loud ringing of my phone wakes me up, I quickly reach for it and silence the ringing and look at Zoey who is sound asleep, I also look at Stella who is sleeping on the couch and let out a sign of relief both of them didn’t wake up to the sound of my phone,I look at my phone screen and a frown forms on my face as I leave the room, when am in the hallway alone, I finally answer the call,“did you forget its 2am here?” I ask irriated,“no but this is urgent” the person on the call says,‘what is so urgent that you are calling huh?” I already know this is about money as every other conversation I have had with him before,“I need some cash right now” he says just as I thought“I gave you a huge sum of money a week ago” I say“I know but you told me to start up something and I did but this is really urgent” I let out a sign pinching the space between my eyes,“okay, what happened?” I ask,“one of my boys is sick, I need money for his treatment” he explains, from the