Liam's POV.Just as we were about to climb into our separate cars, ready to head towards the station, my phone beeped with a message tone and I quickly pulled it from my pant pocket. I suddenly halted abruptly on my track as my eyes glanced through the message on my screen. "She is starving herself, she won't take any of the meals we serve her," It was a message from the officer that I had placed in charge of her. "Uhm.. I'll meet you guys at the station, I have to go somewhere immediately," I turned towards officer Lydia, making sure to avoid Adrian's gaze. "You can as well not return, your presence is not worth shit," he spat. I simply ignored him, nodding slightly at Lydia before climbing into my car and drove away. I totally understand his hatred towards me, anyone in his shoes will do exactly the same after what I did to him. I just really hope that he will eventually come in terms with everything and forgive me. It's definitely going to be a long time before he come aroun
Liam's POV.I ignored her and proceeded to walk out of the cell room.I was trying so hard to control my anger, she dared say Aria isn't mine?A child we produced together?Even though I rejected her initially, right now, I have come to love her beyond words, she was the only hope that kept me alive when things seemed to be going downhill just like it was right now. She is mine and she will remain with me until Nichole decides to speak the truth, even if it means telling Aria the truth about her mother."Get her some food and water, and make sure she takes it even if it means shoving it down her throat, I need her alive," I said to the nearby officers and stormed off.***I stood at a nearby distance, watching Adrian and Lydia bicker childishly, while a uniformed young man worked tirelessly on the computer in front of them.They will never stop bickering at each other, despite how critical the situation was. I wonder where they met or which situation made them this way, but it is pr
Emily's POV.I watched in horror as Elisha approached me with a sharp blade glistening in her hands."Now is the perfect time to end your misery, your two precious kings must be on their way to the location I sent them with the money I requested too, thinking they are finally going to see you again," she laughed hysterically. "But guess what? It's your last day on earth, and i will dump your body anywhere now and nobody will find it until birds have eaten it to dust, it's the moment I've been waiting for," "Elisha please..." I pleaded with tears running down my cheeks but that only seemed to excite him the more."Don't worry, I promise to make it less painful," she laughed out and next thing, she struck the sharp blade on my thighs, cutting through the fabric of my dress and pierced into my skin.A loud shrieking cry fled my lips as the pain stung me hard.She seemed to enjoy the painful sound of my cry as she laughed heartily. "I never wanted it to get to this," she ran her fingers
Emily's POV. Almost immediately, the hefty man who I had only seen his face when he came to sabotage my relationship with Adrian by telling him everything.He had a backpack crossed over his back and dark glasses on. "I'm leaving, our job together is done yeah? You said you could handle her from here?" He turned towards her. "One more thing though, I sent the location of the second warehouse to them, you can go ahead and take the money that I requested from them, I don't need it," she smiled devilishly. "You communicated with them?" He raised his brows at her, turning fully around to face her. "Yes, I called and requested for money, I needed to play them one more time," she shrugged. "Why did you do that without informing me huh? Do you know how risky it is? Your location could be tracked," his tone was beginning to get louder now."It's not a problem boy, those two men are too broken to do any of that, just go there, take the money from them and leave through the back route,"
Emily's POV. I felt a loud bang hit my forehead as I slowly slipped back to consciousness.I groaned in pain, as rays of sunlight hit my heavy eyelids.The discomfort prodded me to push my eyes open but as soon as I did, a sharp groan escaped my lips and I quickly squeezed them shut almost immediately as a heavy pound of pain hit me hard on the forehead.I slowly reached out to feel whatever I was lying on and it was a wooden furniture. It suddenly struck me, it was the chair that Elisha had tied me to at the warehouse. I was still in her grasp. Could it be that I had only dreamt of Adrian and Liam coming to my rescue? It was all an illusion in my head?"No!" I screamed out and forcefully sat up while trying to climb down and run for my dear life. The pain from the cut on my thighs nudged painfully at me but I ignored it. I needed to be out of here as fast as I could.Almost immediately, I heard footsteps approaching and next thing, I was pulled into a warm hug. "I'm here Emily, d
Liam's POV.I sat beside Emily watching her sleep peacefully.I had sneaked in last night when Adrian left to attend to the kids at home and I will make sure to be gone he returns or the situation could worsen.He hasn't allowed me see her since she was rescued, and honestly, at this point, I don't even know how to appeal to him anymore. All he wanted for peace to reign was Emily, but unfortunately, that is all I want too, and I can't let go just to appease him.I couldn't believe I had almost lost her.And to that unfortunate Lady, Elisha or whatever her name is. I couldn't believe she played her game right under our nose. If only the police wasn't involved, I would have loved to torture her to my satisfaction. The more I thought about it, the more incredibly angry it left me. I decided to push the thoughts to the back of my head and focus more on the fact that Emily was safe and back in my life. There was no need to worry more about her since she wasn't here anymore. He got exactl
Emily's POV. I stirred uncontrollably on the hospital bed, my head felt like the location of a band conference, different thoughts running through. I was torn between the two men in my life, wondering what could be the best possible decision at this point, I can't afford making a wrong choice and having to live with it for the rest of my life. Adrian meant so much to me, and I can't even deny the fact that I love him, and I wanted him in my life badly, it is safe to say that he is the best thing that has happened to me for the past few years and I really don't want to lose him.But then, Liam on the other hand has my soul, I have been shamelessly in love with him since the day I set my eyes on him and I'm not about to stop now, my body reacted to his touch or even mere presence the way it has never reacted to any man before.Why do I feel like I have made my choice already? And I have chosen Liam? This is no doubt the biggest choices I have to make in my entire life. I haven't ev
Adrian's POV. "More shots," I said to the waiter who now gazed at me with a deep look of concern on his face. It has been over an hour that I was there and I have absolutely no plans of leaving. A lot was going through my head and the more I tried to push it to the back of my head, the more intense it surfaced. "What are you doing still standing?" I casted him an irritated glare and he hurriedly filled up my glass yet again. I grabbed the tiny glass like a desperate predator clutching onto its prey and gulped down the shot of liquor down my throat in a flash, dropping the empty glass with a loud thud on the counter. "More!" I howled. He filled it up and I gobbled it all the way in again.The burning sensation right from my tongue, then throat, and right down to my stomach was all I needed to keep me as miserable as I needed to be at that moment. "Are you okay sir?" I heard the waiter suddenly ask."Just continue refilling the glass and I'll be okay," I mumbled passing the empty
The restaurant was warm, the golden lights casting a cozy glow over the sleek wooden tables. Soft jazz music played in the background, mingling with the murmurs of the other diners, the clinking of silverware against fine china.I sat by the window, stirring my drink absentmindedly as I watched the city move outside. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was alone. No responsibilities pressing on my shoulders, no demands clawing at my time. Just me, a beautifully plated meal, and the illusion of peace.I let out a long sigh, sinking into the plush chair, allowing myself to bask in the moment. Life had been... exhausting. For years, I had been running. Not literally, but emotionally, mentally. Running to fix things, to prove myself, to erase the shadows of the past. And on top of that, I had a daughter now—a beautiful, sweet little girl who meant everything to me. She had Ryan’s piercing eyes, his lips, but my face. Every time I looked at her, it was like seeing pieces of him
Aria's POV. It had been two years since everything changed... since the scandal that turned my world upside down. And then my parents had it fixed. Christie, Josh and I were done with highschool and now in our first year in college. And just like every other day, we were laughing about some stupid class project as we made our way down the sidewalk.Suddenly, my phone tucked in my pocket and I quickly fetched it from my pocket, I didn't recognize the number, but it was an unknown area code, and something about it made my stomach drop.“Hold on, guys,” I said to Christie and Josh before picking the call “Hello?” “Is this Aria Liam's?” a calm voice on the other end asked.“Yes,” I replied, getting confused now. “This is city hall hospital. We need you to come in immediately. Your presence is required.”My mind raced. The urgency in the voice sent a chill down my spine. “What happened? Is everything okay?”“I’m afraid I can’t give you any details over the phone,” she said. “But it’s
Aria's POV.I had never been so relieved to return to school. Two weeks off, two long weeks of hiding away in my room, avoiding the pitying stares from neighbors, and the whispers of strangers who thought they knew everything. But today, today I was going back. I wasn’t going alone either. My parents were walking beside me, I didn’t know exactly what they had planned, but I knew they were going to do something about the scandal. Something that would either make everything better.. or make it worse.I adjusted the strap of my bag, glancing at my parents as we walked through the front gate of the school. Mom was standing tall, shoulders squared, walking with a determined pace. Dad, on the other hand, had his hands jammed deep into his pockets. They looked like the same parents I had known my whole life, though today felt different. They were on a mission.The moment we stepped onto school grounds, I could feel the tension. The eyes. People were still talking about us.. about the scanda
Aria's POV.The moment I broke the hug, a strange sensation crawled through my body. It wasn’t pain, but something that felt like an overwhelming wave, an unsettling force pulling at my insides. My stomach twisted, and a sudden wave of nausea surged up through my chest, catching me off guard. My vision blurred, and I swayed, struggling to keep myself upright. I gripped the edge of the chair, my fingers digging into the hard surface in an attempt to ground myself. But her body wasn’t listening to me. It felt like it had betrayed me, as if it had no control of its own."Hey, Aria, what's wrong?" I heard distant voices but I couldn't make out who they belonged to.My head spun, the room seeming to tilt at an impossible angle. The world around me began to dissolve, the sounds muffled as if underwater. I gasped for air, trying to steady myself, but it was as though the air itself had become thick, too heavy for me to breathe. My chest tightened, and my pulse raced, the noise of my heartbea
Aria's POV.The days dragged on, each one stretching endlessly without Ryan. The grief was a living thing, wrapping around me, suffocating me. I missed him in ways that words could never capture. It wasn’t just his presence; it was the way he made me feel, the way he could make even the worst moments bearable. Now, everything was unbearable.I hadn’t left my room much, only stepping out when my body physically forced me to. I barely ate. I barely slept. When I did sleep, it was restless, haunted by dreams of Ryan... his voice, his touch, his warmth. Only to wake up to the cruel reality that he was gone.Christie and Josh had been my lifeline, visiting almost daily. They would knock, call my name softly, and even if I didn’t answer, they would sit outside my door for hours, talking about everything and nothing at all. I didn’t deserve them, but I needed them. Even if I could barely acknowledge it.It was a week of my suspension today, after spending hours lying in bed, staring blankly
Ryan's POV.It had been days. Days since Ryan had disappeared from my life, leaving nothing but an empty hole where my heart used to be. I could still feel the echoes of his presence, haunting the corners of the house, in the space where his laughter used to ring, in the quiet that used to be filled with his voice. But now, everything felt hollow. I hadn’t heard from him since that video, that live confession. And with every passing moment, the silence grew louder, consuming me more and more until I couldn’t tell where I ended and the emptiness began.I sat on the floor in the far corner of my room, my knees drawn up to my chest, arms wrapped tightly around them as if I could protect myself from the overwhelming emptiness that consumed me. The walls felt like they were closing in. The quiet, the stillness, it suffocated me. My mind wouldn’t let me escape the thoughts of him. Of what he said. Of what he did. Of what he could have done to escape this nightmare.My heart kept trying to
Aria's POV.I didn’t think. I just ran.My feet slammed against the cold floor of the hallway as I hurtled down the stairs, my heart racing, pounding in chaotic rhythm. It was as though my entire body was trying to escape the terror and helplessness that consumed me, trying to outrun the suffocating fear that had taken over my mind. My thoughts were a blur, a haze of desperate urgency, but they all had one single, overpowering focus: Ryan.I had to find him. I had to stop him.I absolutely don't know where he is or where to find him but one thing was sure, I will get him back.The words from his confession echoed in my head, over and over again: “I’m leaving. I’ll disappear.”No. He couldn’t. He couldn’t just leave me. Not after everything. Not after the bond we shared, the love, the years of quiet, stolen moments that had built up between us. Ryan was my everything. He was my protector, my constant, the one person who had never looked at me with judgment, never turned his back on me,
Aria’s POV. my heart pounded against my ribcage, each beat echoing in my ears like a warning. Something felt wrong... deeply wrong. I couldn't quite place it, but it clawed at my insides. The silence in the house was unnerving, oppressive, like the air itself had thickened. The usual heated house filled with laughter and happiness was absent since the day Ryan and I got outed, but today's emptiness felt different. It was as if the whole house had been drained of sound, leaving behind only an unsettling stillness.My eyes darted nervously over the hallway as I reached Ryan’s door. My hand trembled slightly as I pushed it open, the door creaked softly and I stepped inside, expecting to find him lounging on the bed, headphones in, oblivious to the world as he has been doing since the whole scandal. But when I looked around, my stomach sank.His room was completely… empty.The bed was made finely as though no one has laid on it for a while, the edges of the blanket smooth. The chair at h
Aria's POV.I laid lifelessly on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. I could tell my eyes has gotten swollen and red from crying, but no matter how much I tried, the tears wouldn’t stop threatening to spill over again. I curled up tightly under my blanket, trying to block out the whirlwind of emotions threatening to consume mr. It's the second day of my suspension and it felt like it had already lasted a lifetime, and the thought of enduring this for two weeks was unbearable.The silence in the house was oppressive, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioning. I have been replaying every moment of the ordeal in my mind, trying to understand how things had spiraled so far out of control. I wanted so desperately for things to go back to how they were, to have my parents' love and trust again, and for the world to stop feeling like it was closing in on me. Each time I thought I had run out of tears, a fresh wave of sorrow would crash over me, leaving me sobbing into my pill