I'm meeting her parents tomorrow. I let out a laugh as I paced across my room, trying to figure out a way to escape it but I couldn't come up with anything. It was bound to happen soon, but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon—but it only makes sense considering the daughter they thought was dead suddenly came back. I went through everything Curtis had told me about Marcella. Although he said I shouldn't try to act like Marcella and just be me, it sounded like advice I shouldn't take. We're talking about family. If there's anything who'd immediately point me out as a fake? It was them.What would I say when we met? How was I supposed to react? Was I supposed to hug them or be hesitant? A knock on the door broke me out of my spiraling thoughts. I hurriedly rushed over to open the door. “Curtis. Thank—” My words caught in my throat and the colour drained from my face. “Simon…” I chuckled nervously, contemplating shutting the door in his face
“I mean, that outfit? The wig? The pop socks? It's a crime against fashion itself.” She arched a brow at my expression. “Oh? Don't tell me you haven't seen the group chat yet.” She's talking about the picture? As if just realizing something, she gently tapped her forehead. “How could I forget? You're not in there.” I squinted my eyes at her suspiciously, unable to tell if she was being truthful or not. But there was no point dwelling on it now—I couldn't confront her and I didn't want to ruin the mood. I let out a short breath, forcing a tight smile as my heart continued to hammer. “The family group chat has long been dead. Other than the reminder for the ‘last week of the month's gathering mum sends, nothing is ever said there. It's pointless formality,” Cole said, munching on a chip. I held a laughter when I saw Annie storm over to him, giving him a knock on his head. “Pointless formality?” She fumed,
I exhaled sharply, twisting just in time to dodge the instructor’s punch aimed at my ribs before throwing a punch aimed at her face, but I missed. Too slow. Again. She didn't even look impressed. I couldn't tell what she was thinking anyway. I clenched my jaw, shifting my weight. If speed wasn’t working, maybe unpredictability would. I feinted left before throwing a sharp kick toward her side. But before my foot even got close, she caught my ankle mid-air and threw me to the floor. “Too slow.” Her voice was like her face—devoid of any emotion. I groaned, staring at the ceiling. “If you keep throwing me around, I’ll never learn how to actually win a fight.” “Then stop being easy to throw,” she said, completely unbothered. I exhaled through my nose. This lady was impossible. I thought learning to fight would be fun, but after three weeks of being thrown around like some toy, it didn't seem so fun anymore. Worse still, it didn't look like I'd improved at all and it made me an
CURTIS“How long do I have to spend there before leaving without seeming rude?” I turned to face Jenna.She let out a light chuckle. “About two to three hours-”“So two hours.” I was just about to step into my car when I turned back to face her. “Will you be attending?”“You said it's not compulsory, so no. I should maximize whatever free time I get,” she said, batting her lashes innocently.“Wow. You make me sound like such a terrible boss.”She shrugged. “My review might change if you give me more days off.”I chuckled, shaking my head. “You're already pushing it.”She grinned. “Hey, can't blame a girl for trying.”“See you tomorrow morning,” I said, emphasizing each word.“Sure. I guess this is my fate,” She wiped the nonexistent tears on her cheek. As if recalling something, her expression became serious. “How’s Amber holding up?” She asked, her voice filled with concern.My mind went blank for a while—not because the question was shocking but because I had no answer at all. Sinc
Amber A scream, escaped my throat at the intense pain I was feeling between my legs. Beads of perspiration adorned my face while the nurses encouraged me to push. “Push miss…you are almost there.” They’d scream at me and I was trying. I was trying to do as instructed but I could feel my strength slipping from me, every passing minute. “Push!” The pain… was something I’d never felt before. I wish the baby would come out sooner or I fear I may not be able to push any further. I could feel my hole tear to let the baby’s head through and a nurse confirmed it. “You are almost there.” She encouraged me while the rest parted my legs even further. I can’t…I can’t do this. The pain, it’s extreme and it’s something I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone. My pain. “Open your damn eyes and push! Don’t be lazy!” Clint, my husband growled at me. My heart skipped a bit as he glared down at me. “I swear Amber, if you lose the baby, we are over!” I could feel his grip on me, tightening. His nails d
I strolled into the company, all eyes following my every move, as I walked. Where was I headed? His office.I was going to return a favor back to my devil of a husband. I did everything for him…I worshiped the ground he walked and I was repaid with not only a divorce, but with the evidence of his sexual relationship with my best-friend.My heart felt numb. I felt like nothing. All I wanted was to get done with this and be freed. My lips parted as I mumbled but not even I, could grasp my own words.“Hello ma’am.” A soothing, yet authoritative voice cut me short, gaining my attention. Blue eyes stared back at mine, belonging to a lady on blonde. “Who are you looking for?” She asked, standing up from behind the counter.“I’m looking for your boss,” my eyes fell down at the tag on her shirt. “Cora.” “Who are you? Do you have an appointment with him?” She asked, her eyes falling down at the system as her fingers hovered above the keyboard.“I’m his wife and no, I don’t. I can’t see my hus
“You are fired!” Was what my last employer had said to me, after I had messed up again, during orders. It’s been two months since the divorce and though I managed to get some jobs, keeping them seemed way harder. I had run into Clint and Astrid a few times as well. They were doing well together and they’d feel relieved knowing that I was struggling all on my own. My family were also upset and had severed their ties with me, because of the decision I had taken.My phone rang, and I dipped my hand within my purse to retrieve it. My friend, belle, displayed on the caller Id and I took it.“Girl, how was the interview?” “I’m not there yet.”I was currently on a hunt for another job, at a company. I was going to apply as a cleaner as I heard they had a spot left. A cleaner’s job is not that bad and besides, I heard the manager was generous with paying his employees.“Please call me, after the interview. I hope you kill it.” A subtle chuckle escaped my lips. An interview for a cleaner’s
I stood frozen in place, my heart pounding relentlessly in my chest. Confusion and frustration swirled inside me, tightening my throat and making it hard to breathe. I had never felt so utterly out of place before, and the sensation gnawed at me. What is this? Some kind of twisted joke? Was this stranger following me around because he thought I was an amusing toy? My hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms, but even the sharp sting didn’t pull me back to reality. “Daddy... you’ve found mummy.” The boy’s words echoed in my mind, pulling my focus to the small child still clutching at my waist. His innocent face radiated joy, but his declaration left me reeling. Mummy?Who was he referring to? My pulse quickened, the sound of my own heartbeat roaring in my ears as I turned my gaze back to the man at the entrance. His piercing eyes softened as they locked onto mine, and for a moment, I thought I saw relief wash over his features. He glanced between the boy in my
CURTIS“How long do I have to spend there before leaving without seeming rude?” I turned to face Jenna.She let out a light chuckle. “About two to three hours-”“So two hours.” I was just about to step into my car when I turned back to face her. “Will you be attending?”“You said it's not compulsory, so no. I should maximize whatever free time I get,” she said, batting her lashes innocently.“Wow. You make me sound like such a terrible boss.”She shrugged. “My review might change if you give me more days off.”I chuckled, shaking my head. “You're already pushing it.”She grinned. “Hey, can't blame a girl for trying.”“See you tomorrow morning,” I said, emphasizing each word.“Sure. I guess this is my fate,” She wiped the nonexistent tears on her cheek. As if recalling something, her expression became serious. “How’s Amber holding up?” She asked, her voice filled with concern.My mind went blank for a while—not because the question was shocking but because I had no answer at all. Sinc
I exhaled sharply, twisting just in time to dodge the instructor’s punch aimed at my ribs before throwing a punch aimed at her face, but I missed. Too slow. Again. She didn't even look impressed. I couldn't tell what she was thinking anyway. I clenched my jaw, shifting my weight. If speed wasn’t working, maybe unpredictability would. I feinted left before throwing a sharp kick toward her side. But before my foot even got close, she caught my ankle mid-air and threw me to the floor. “Too slow.” Her voice was like her face—devoid of any emotion. I groaned, staring at the ceiling. “If you keep throwing me around, I’ll never learn how to actually win a fight.” “Then stop being easy to throw,” she said, completely unbothered. I exhaled through my nose. This lady was impossible. I thought learning to fight would be fun, but after three weeks of being thrown around like some toy, it didn't seem so fun anymore. Worse still, it didn't look like I'd improved at all and it made me an
“I mean, that outfit? The wig? The pop socks? It's a crime against fashion itself.” She arched a brow at my expression. “Oh? Don't tell me you haven't seen the group chat yet.” She's talking about the picture? As if just realizing something, she gently tapped her forehead. “How could I forget? You're not in there.” I squinted my eyes at her suspiciously, unable to tell if she was being truthful or not. But there was no point dwelling on it now—I couldn't confront her and I didn't want to ruin the mood. I let out a short breath, forcing a tight smile as my heart continued to hammer. “The family group chat has long been dead. Other than the reminder for the ‘last week of the month's gathering mum sends, nothing is ever said there. It's pointless formality,” Cole said, munching on a chip. I held a laughter when I saw Annie storm over to him, giving him a knock on his head. “Pointless formality?” She fumed,
I'm meeting her parents tomorrow. I let out a laugh as I paced across my room, trying to figure out a way to escape it but I couldn't come up with anything. It was bound to happen soon, but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon—but it only makes sense considering the daughter they thought was dead suddenly came back. I went through everything Curtis had told me about Marcella. Although he said I shouldn't try to act like Marcella and just be me, it sounded like advice I shouldn't take. We're talking about family. If there's anything who'd immediately point me out as a fake? It was them.What would I say when we met? How was I supposed to react? Was I supposed to hug them or be hesitant? A knock on the door broke me out of my spiraling thoughts. I hurriedly rushed over to open the door. “Curtis. Thank—” My words caught in my throat and the colour drained from my face. “Simon…” I chuckled nervously, contemplating shutting the door in his face
“What is going on?” Astrid's voice came from behind me. Ignoring her, I continued looking through the box Infront of me. “How is this fucking possible?” I yelled. I threw the papers in my hand on the floor and stomped on them—venting my anger and frustration. “Talk to me, baby. What happened?” Astrid asked, her voice soothing. She placed her hands on my shoulder, giving it a light massage, but it didn't help a bit. It was all gone. I shrugged her hands off, turning to her with suspicion. “Where’s the copy of my marraige and divorce certificate with Amber? What did you do with it?” Fear flashed through her eyes and she stumbled backwards. “You’re scaring me, Clint. And how would I know? I've never touched your boxes.” As if realizing something, anger replaced the fear in her eyes. “Did you wreck our room just because of that?” That was when I noticed the mess I'd made in the room. Drawers and closets were wide open. Clothes and papers littered everywhere—there was eve
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Belle comforted me. “Honestly, I'm not surprised by their actions. Why didn't you send someone in your stead when you already expected that?” I sniffed, blowing my nose—now red from blowing it all morning. “I wanted to see it to the end, and… I hoped they had changed. Anyway, that's enough about them.” I sat up, facing her, my expression shifting to a more serious one. “I didn't come here to cry about them.” “Okay… this sounds really serious. Did something else happen?” Her voice was filled with worry. I shook my head, unsure of how to bring it up. “It has to do with yours and Curtis' plans, right?” I nodded slowly, playing with my fingers. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why do I feel like it has to do with me?” “Well. It does…” I paused. “You can always refuse it though… except the bodyguard! I won't be at rest knowing someone—” “Hold up!” She held up a finger. “A bodyguard? For me?” She arched her brow. “Yes! For you. And i
I stood in front of the apartment where most of my childhood had unfolded, my feet refusing to move. The air felt heavier at the thought of facing the very people who abandoned me. It wasn't just about facing them—it was the fear that they'd be exactly as I expected. I swallowed, my hand hovering over the doorbell, but I couldn't bring myself to push the button. “You can do this, Amber,” I muttered, summoning all the strength I had to push the button. I waited a few seconds and then heard the clacking of heels behind the door. The door creaked open as a familiar face stepped out, all dressed up. The smile on her face fell when she saw me and she immediately backed into the house, shutting the door. I reacted instantly, holding the door open. “I won't take much of your time.” I said, my tone edged with quiet anger. I didn't expect them to be happy to see or welcome me back, regretful of their actions towards me—but I sure didn't expect
The door swung open with force as Simon stormed out. His eyes locked on me and he grabbed my wrist, eyes burning with anger. “You were listening?” My mind raced. With how pissed he sounded at Sierra and how I'm connected to Curtis who he has clear issues with, the truth wouldn't save me. Sierra would probably try to bail me out, but that would only cause more problems between them, and I didn't want to be responsible for that. Swallowing my pride, I decided to do the only thing I could think of. I went limp, my eyes glazing over as I swayed from side-to-side. “Water… water…” I mumbled. Simon froze, his brows knitted together in bewilderment. “Is she…?” Sierra trailed. I dragged my feet, leaving the room as I mumbled words incoherent to myself, mimicking the sluggish steps of a sleepwalker. I was nearly at the door when I heard Simon's heavy footsteps behind me. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Curtis pulled up in front of the house, and I stepped out smoothly, keeping my pace even. But inside, my heart was racing with excitement. We finally had a real plan. The chances of it falling apart was high, but it was still something. “Marcella.” He called. It took a few seconds before my brain registered he was addressing me. I still wasn't used to being called Marcella, especially not by him. I spun on my heels to face him, only to come face-to-face with a box of… caramel sweets? Eyes twinkling, I met his gaze, a wide smile on my face. “Is this for me?” The answer was obvious, but one could never be too careful. I wouldn't want to assume only to find out it was meant for Dustin—the sheer embarrassment alone would take me out before whoever was after me. “Yes. Dustin said you liked it.” He shook it lightly, urging me to collect it. “It’s a way to say thank you for the date. It was relaxing and different…” he trailed off, his tone te