Emily's POV."Mom, are you okay?" Ryan poked me as Hardin drove towards their school.I have resumed driving with them to school before heading to work since it made no difference now, Liam wasn't interested in pestering me anymore. It was almost like I have become invisible to him.At so many occasions that I ran into him at the kid's school, he would cheerfully greet the kids but would only nod at me with no trace of smile on his face or speak in a really professional manner. I would be lying if I said I wasn't losing it already. My head was torn in between the sadness of his sudden change of attitude towards me and the disgust I felt for myself for feeling the way I do. My head felt like the location of a band conference and there was nothing I could do to help myself. "I... I'm fine baby, it's just stress from work," I replied, trying so hard to put a smile on my face. I needed to find a way to have my troubled heart in check so as not to trouble them, they are exceptionally
Emily's POV. "Miss Emily, someone is here to see you," Kimberly blurted immediately I walked into the office. "This early?" I arched my brows at her and she shrugged in response. "I advised him to return later but he insisted on waiting for you," "Where is he?" "In your office ma'am, he wouldn't wait anywhere else," she replied. Why do I have an idea of who it might be?"It's fine, you can go back to your desk now, I will attend to him," "Alright ma'am," she smiled and headed back to her desk.Exhaling a deep breath, I pushed the door open and walked in.Of course, it was him who I had assumed. Liam.He had his eyes buried on his cellphone, though carefully looking at him, I could tell his attention was far from whatever he was staring at on his phone. He seemed rather deep in thought. I mean he didn't even notice someone walking into the office. I cleared my throat noisily and that seemed to snap him out of whatever world he had zoned off to. "Miss Emily," He quickly stood
Emily's POV."Yahhhh!"I watched in amusement as Ryan and Nadia jumped in excitement while I prepared them for the party. Mrs Johnson had specially come to the office to deliver the invitation herself. I badly wanted to reject the invitation, not just because of Liam but for myself as well, at this point, it was like I had no control over myself anymore, I can't trust myself close to Liam and the only solution was to stay as far from him as possible, despite how hard it was for me. But then again, the more I tried to stay away, the more closer to him I yearn to be and it was frustrating the hell out of me. If confusion was a person, then I'm certain, that would be me. "Mom, are you not in good terms with Aria's Mom?" Nadia suddenly blurted as I braided her hair. I suddenly paused, fixing my gaze on her. "Why do you ask?"She shrugged lightly. "It's just that she used to be so nice to us before she found out you are our mother, now she barely even responds to our greetings," I c
Emily's POV. I walked deeper into the hall, looking around to take in the environment.It was really a huge crowd.Well, I didn't expect less from such influential people as the Johnsons. The guests at the party were the most influential personalities of New York, the CEOs of big businesses and all... they all had powerful auras surrounding them. The workers from their company were already present. I had not set my eyes on Liam but I could feel his powerful presence even without seeing him."May I have a dance?" A handsome man suddenly approached me, his hands stretched out towards me. He was dressed in a well fitted suit. From all indications, he seemed to be one of the young CEOs of the big companies in New York, a dance with him won't hurt right? Especially when I'll be bagging a business deal with him at the end of it. I flashed him a warm smile, placing my hand on his and he led us to the dance floor. "Honestly, I must say, you look totally stunning tonight," he suddenly blu
Emily's POV. We entered Liam's room, I couldn't help but glance around the familiar surroundings, the images of my last time here came crashing through my mind, it felt just like yesterday, the day he had served me those divorce papers and I had it signed and left in tears. If only that was the only memory rushing through my head at this moment, it would have helped enhance my hatred towards Liam and I could find my way out of here real fast, but surprisingly, it was replaced with the memories of the night Liam came home drunk and made love to me, it was the most passionate night of my life, he touched all the right places. I brushed the memories away and focused on the best possible way to get myself out of here before I really lose control. He walked towards the mini bar cabinet in the room and grabbed a bottle of wine with a pair of glasses and set it on the center table motioning me to come closer. I went to sit on the couch and watched as he poured out the drink into the gla
Emily's POV.I pressed my lips on his, my tongue swiftly slid into his mouth as I moaned uncontrollably.His hand slowly crept to my waist, holding me tight and deepened the kiss.The silent room was filled with our kissing sound.He slowly broke the kiss and traced tender kisses all over my neck then back up to my lips, our lips met again and I opened up my mouth to him.He passionately grunted uncontrollably into my mouth, letting his tongue slide into my mouth exploring and entwining with mine as the kiss deepened gently and tenderly.Slowly, he pulled away, crouching down to scoop me into his arms and headed towards the bed. He laid carefully on the bed and came to lay ontop of me, reclaiming my lips in an intense kiss.All the while, I couldn't bring myself to resist any of his moves, instead, I yearned for more. I was lost in my world of ecstasy that I didn't realize him reaching for my panty and started pulling it down, slowly, he pulled it off my legs. He traced his hand ge
Emily's POV.I stirred slightly and let out a weary yawn as my eyes flew open weakly. The environment that I found myself in seemed to be quite strange, it looked nothing like my different from my room, and surprisingly, instead of a soft pillow, my head seemed to lay on a rather hard surface. I tried to sit up, but it seemed like I was been caged to whatever I was laying on. As soothing as it was, I needed to know where I was. Gradually, I struggled out of whatever grip on me. A loud screamed almost bubbles out of my mouth as my gaze suddenly landed on Liam's face, he was shirtless, his eyes squeezed shut as he slept soundly. "What the hell!" I couldn't hold it back anymore, as a loud growl escaped my mouth. That seemed to shake him up from his deep slumber, his eyes weakly fluttered open and landed on me and surprisingly, a wide smile broke out on his face. And whatever is funny? "Liam where the hell is this?" His eyes narrowed at me, followed by an amused chuckle. "This is
Emily's POV..I ran all the way downstairs, thankfully, I didn't run into any of the Johnsons, just a few of the house workers busy cleaning after the mess made from last night's party.I exhaled a deep breath as I successfully got to the parking lot, but my luck ran out as a black car pulled up beside me, the door creaked open and Nichole stepped down.Oh no!I really do not need this right now. "Well, if it isn't the most shameless woman to walk the earth." She taunted, her eyes filled with disgust and hatred and she walked up to me. "Came with her children and left them for a man, truly shameless," she snorted.If not for the few housekeepers around, someone's head would be rolling on the floor right now, and that person wouldn't have been me."I don't have time for this," I tried to move past her but she was swift to block me away from the door to my car. "Nichole, what is this?" I was beginning to fume in anger. "You disappeared with my husband last night and no one saw you b
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