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17 // Heartbeat
Last Updated:
2023-08-22 11:32:36Related chapters
Love Bites 18 // Shared Dreams
"Are you scared?" I told Silas about my run-in with Gift earlier, he was puzzled when he saw me runnimg to the car earlier and begged him to drive. I had no other choice but to confess about my arrangement with Gift and what transpired at the wedding venue in my absence. "I am terrified! I can't stop thinking about his reaction, he's probably going to tell his parents and they're going to interrogate my family and the next thing they are going to start spreading rumours about us, they will shame us to make themselves look better after the whole scandal at the church," I said breathlessly. "My mom will never forgive me for this." I called her earlier before my appointment, and she hung up on me. And when I called on my dad's phone and asked him to tell her that I would be going on my first check up today and that I'd like her to be there, she refused. I could not bring myself to feel anything besides fear and sadness while at the hospital, beca
Last Updated : 2023-08-22Love Bites 19 // Embracing Love
I was woken from a beautiful dream by someone calling my name. I pried my eyes open and struggled to keep them open for a full minute before I rolled out of bed, my feet tangled up in the blankie. I'd decided to take a nap sometime after working on the painting for a few hours. It sucked not having a phone because I couldn't check the time or set an alarm. Tossing the blanket aside, I staggered to the bathroom and washed my face, scowling at the paint stains on my dress. I needed to get an apron as soon as possible. "YVONNE!" Esra's urgent voice had me hurrying out of my room. "Esra?" I called as I neared the stairs. Esra stood at the bottom of the stairs and held out her phone. "There's a call for you?" "Who?" I mouthed as I took the phone from her. "It's Cas. I'll just finish setting the table and then I'll join you for dinner after showering. I hope you don't mind?" She said, looking uncomfortable. "But you can go ahead and eat if you are too hungry." I gave her an awkward
Last Updated : 2023-08-23Love Bites 20 // It's A Date
Perhaps I should have taken Esra up on her offer to patch me up, otherwise, I wouldn't have woken up in the middle of the night feeling like there was something trying to rip through my back at the slightest movement. Now I regretted going to Silas' room, it would have been easier to wake her up while right next to her. I wanted to go to her room but then remembered that she had bought hot spray after waking up with a stiff neck a few days ago. The only problem, I had to go all the way down to the kitchen. I had to take care of this before Silas noticed that something is wrong. The last thing I wanted was to cause a rift between the two siblings. I took my time going to the kitchen, thanks to my back. I felt like an elderly lady with back problems. Can I tell you a secret? This house is kinda creepy at night. It somehow always felt bigger and a lot emptier, and the silence felt like the calm before the storm. And what made it worse was the fact that they did not turn off the lig
Last Updated : 2023-08-23Love Bites 21 // All The Way
No one ever told me how holy it was to truly be loved, it was amazing, I felt amazing! My heart felt like an air balloon, as if there was something keeping the warm feeling inside. It felt like I'd just woken up from an amazing dream, as though last night had not been real. But I remember every single moment, Silas had said that he loves me. I could still feel his arms enveloping me as if he was afraid I would break if he let me go. I slept like a baby, and clearly he slept through the night too, but he was more alert than he was when he slept during the day. At some point during the night he even refused to let me go to pee. I gently removed his arm around my waist, and he groaned and shifted closer. "Sy, I'm pressed." There were no protests this time, his arm fell limply where I'd been sleeping as soon as I was out of bed. I kissed him on the head, earning a sleepy smile from him, and then I tiptoed out of his room and made my way back to my own. I quickly washed my face befor
Last Updated : 2023-08-23Love Bites 22 // Seeking Clarity
If I could choose to have one superpower, it would be to interpret dreams, to understand the things I see and why I see them. I would want to remember every single detail in the morning so that I leave no stone unturned. Maybe I would even win the lotto and become a millionaire, but that was beside the point. I've been having this recurring dreams for the past two days, and they are becoming more vivid each time, and what terrified me is how real they felt. I'm in a dense forest and I keep looking over my shoulder as I run from an unknown force, and it always feels like they are at an arm's reach and I can't get far enough from them. As I keep running, the sky-high trees ahead begin to close up and it feels like the forest is swallowing him, and the last thing I hear before I wake up are my own screams and a baby's shrilling cry. It did not help that I slept alone, or that I struggled to sleep these days. I couldn't wait to get the restaurant up and ru
Last Updated : 2023-08-23Love Bites 23 // Date Night
When you decide to visit a sangoma, in most cases, prepare yourself to come back with more questions that answers. I heard everything she said even though my mind was a bit jumbled up, but the biggest question right now remained - what did Silas’ family have anything to do with my family? It did not make sense, from the moment I met both Silas and Esra, it was clear that we were from two different worlds. The possibility of there being bad blood between our families seemed far-fetched. I didn’t even know what to ask, what if I asked Esra and my father, and it backfired and caused more problems? The only thing I wanted was to enjoy my pregnancy and relationship with Silas, and now I just learnt that the entire universe was against us. The phone died before I could request an Uber, and my sister did not wait to see whether I’d requested a ride or not, she took a taxi back home while I was forced to take a taxi to town. Taxis to our suburb were quite scarce, and the ones that passed
Last Updated : 2023-08-23Love Bites 24 // Nowhere To Run
We barely slept, and no, it had nothing to do with our love-making session. Silas was turning and tossing all night, and even woke up screaming at some point. I tried to soothe him, but it was not working, and he was shaking and sweating profusely, and he was breathing heavily. "He's here, he's here," he mumbled while fighting sleep. I felt so helpless, and I didn't know what to do. Esra did not return home from work last night, she sent a text while we were at the mall, saying she was working a double shift. His mood the following morning did not help, he was sullen and walked around like a zombie. He did not say a single word to me, not even a simple greeting, neither did he touch the breakfast I prepared for him. I kept checking his phone for the time and for any sort of communication from Esra, I don't know what was taking her so long when he shift ended at 6a.m., which was three and a half hours ago. There was no network,
Last Updated : 2023-08-23Love Bites 25 // Daddy's Home
I couldn’t stop staring at his face. The bruises on Silas’ face faded with just a sip of blood as if he had not been injured less than an hour ago. I cleaned up the remaining blood spots on his cheek and plopped on the chair next to his. “I don’t understand, how could I have missed this?” He asked while scrolling through the messages from Mpumi. My blood ran cold whenever the picture of her dead body popped in my head. “Well, considering how you were acting earlier, I doubt we would have found out about this if I didn’t have your phone.” “And Zamani wouldn’t have discovered Cas if it weren’t for you!” Esra barged into the kitchen, her nose flaring as her scorching gaze focused on me. “This is all your fault.” “Zamani would have found his way here with or without Yvonne, it was just a coincidence.” Silas looked up from his phone, tossing it on the table. “Babe, are you certain that she was killed by a vampire?” He asked, his eyes on me. I nodded. “I’m positive.” It all still fe
Last Updated : 2023-08-23
Latest chapter
Love Bites 46 // Eternal
Everything was perfect. The food, the decor, my traditional attire. It was everything I'd dreamed of, and more.Nonetheless, not even that could stop the nerves from gnawing at my stomach."Will you stop looking out the window, Silas already said they were on the way," Ivy scolded.I had the urge to chew at my fingernails, a habit I acquired after we were discharged from the hospital, but my sister had saved the day with these uncomfortable fake nails. "What's taking them so long? What if he changed his mind?"Karabo scoffed. "Come on, who are you fooling? We all know Sy is head over heels in love with you, and he has been dreaming of this day for months now," she said, strolling into the room with my baby cushioned on her protruding belly. "Now, sit and feed my godson, will you?" I closed the curtain with a sigh and plopped on the bed. Karabo placed a now seven months old Mpilo in my arms, and he wiggled his arms and legs when he saw me, his happy face bringing a smile t
Love Bites 45 // Now, Forever, & Always
If someone had told me this would be my life a year ago, I would have probably thought they were mocking me. I felt like I lived through a lot, experienced so much, and just felt a lot.My stay at the hospital was bittersweet, I've had some scary moments. Turns out being a mother takes a lot more than just caring a baby in your womb, these past two weeks proved that there was a lot that went into parenting. I was officially initiated into motherhood.The trauma of seeing him being rushed to the emergency room for suctioning on a few occasions because the food came out through his nose, to witnessing the mother next door devastated because her baby was rushed back to ICU and realising that I was on a thin ice. Coming to understand and interpret Mpilo’s different cries and learning how to act in every situation. Nonetheless, I learned to appreciate the good that came with the bad. My heart filled with warmth at the rate he was growing. Maggie's secret did the trick, Sy gave Mpi
Love Bites 44 // A Light Through The Tunnel
There was a certain time in my life where I feared that we would receive a call that my father was shot and killed while at work.I think then it would have been expected, it would have been easier because he was a reckless cop during the peak of his career. Death was inevitable in his field of work, if he had died on duty, his death would have been much easier to accept.But that was not the case.His death was haunting.It was so strange and funny how my father had brought death to many people as if he would live forever.He received a state funeral, a burial worthy of a president. He was seen as a state hero.Tributes were pouring in every second of the day as people continued singing him praises.The measures the vampire council was willing to take to protect their kind was beyond me. News had spread so fast about how my father had died a hero in a quest to capture the notorious Esra Yildiz and the thug in police uniform, Zamani Mamba.They pinned all the crimes
Love Bites 43 // All Or Nothing
Esra's head snapped to the side, and she pinned Zamani with crazed eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, there is no such thing!" He broke into a humourless chortle. "Do you think vampires are a thing of yesterday? There's a damn village full of them, and they have a damn council running the country from the shadows. The SASIU is only sent out for severe cases, and they only have one single goal and instruction – shoot to kill." "Is that so?" Esra challenged. "Well, I'd like to see them try." "Esra, what... we should be getting out of here, drop this entire thing!" Esra tipped her chin in defiance. "Go if you want to, I won't stop you." The vampire's hold on me had loosened, however, he made no attempt to completely let me go. More people stepped out from the shadows, cladded in black cargo pants and military boots, gray t-shirts, black bulletproof vests, masking their identitities with black balaclavas. They carried advanced specialised weapons evidently exclusive to their departments
Love Bites 42 // Echo
A silhouette crept out from the darkness of the forest; tall, lean, with a slightly bent-over posture, his steps wide and precise like a soldier on a march. I would recognise him even with my eyes closed. Cassilas Yildiz. I did not want to believe it was him, until he spoke, and his voice tickled all my senses, and not in a pleasant way. Silas did not deserve to be here, he shouldn't be here. "Esra." A sharp piercing pain struck my knee as I collided with the rocky ground beneath me as I felt all the air rush out of my lungs, a numb feeling settling in its place. "Cas, how nice of you to finally join us! My darling little brother, I would have been disappointed if you didn't come. Wouldn't you call this the perfect family reunion?" His red globes never left his mother's face, no one said anything, they both left their eyes to do the talking. I could see they were dying to embrace each other, but the situation did not allow; nonetheless, that did not stop Sy from taking anot
Love Bites 41 // Silver Linings
My hand dropped to my side as if pried off by a sudden shock of electricity, my chest heaving up and down heavily. I felt cold inside, a sense of numbness I could not decipher. No matter what excuse my mind tried to produce, there was nothing I could say to my father’s defense. Normally, I would be filled with feelings of doubt at the dubious accusations, but there was no ounce of doubt in me. The fact that he did not try to argue or defend himself told me that it was true - my father was indeed responsible for my aunt’s death. "What was it you said, again? A blood sacrifice." "Yeah, that's right!" Zamani chimed. "The blood of the person who turned you into a monster, would reverse the curse." But my aunt did not turn my father into a vampire, and I doubt she knew he was one. "But of course, he couldn't murder the son of his dearest friend. I could never understand such blind loyalty, I mean, the guy is already dead and buried." "Watch it," Esra warned coyly, silencing Zamani wi
Love Bites 40 // No Rest For The Wicked
It was sunset when we finally arrived at the village, and Papa asked Theo to pull up on the side. "We will walk from here, thank you," he said, taking out his wallet. "How much is it going to be for the trip?" Theo showed him the price on the screen, and my father gladly accepted, adding extra on top of the charged amount. "Thanks for the ride," I said to Theo before joining my dad on the side of the road, and we both watched as he drove back in the direction we came from. Papa took off his shades, his eyes following Theo's car as it vanished in the distance. "Do you think he connected the dots when he heard Esra's name on the radio?" He asked. I somehow understood where this conversation was going. "Even if he did, Papa, what can we do? Are you going to kill him too?" He responded with a roll of his eyes, but he didn't seem offended. "Let's go." He turned around, and I trailed behind him as he paved the way farther into the village. The closer we got to the homesteads, the slow
Love Bites 39 // The Devil's Trap
The tension in the room was so thick that not even a knife could cut through it.I couldn't tear my eyes away from my father, how was this the man who raised me? He looked pale, and I had no idea whether it was the shock or his natural state.My eyes moved between him and my brother, Vuyo was evidently a vampire, however, nothing about my father pointed to him being the monster everyone spoke about.At least not to the naked eye. On closer inspection, after everything I'd discovered, I came to realise that this was his mask, a facade. I don't know how he managed to deceive us all these years, but he succeeded. Judging by the horror on Vuyo's face, there was no tiptoeing around whether my father was a monster or not. He was a monster that turned his son into a vampire and held him captive for years. He was a monster that used his teenage son to lure people out so that he could feed on them. He was a monster that was willing to ruin his daughter's relationship and was prepare
Love Bites 38 // Monster
I was woken up from a peaceful sleep by a ringing phone. Still a bit disoriented, it was a while before I located the phone, and I was even more piqued at the realisation that it was Sy's phone.He was sound asleep, his clothes lost somewhere in the room as he held me in his bare chest.His ringing phone bothered me, he should not be that accessible considering the fact that he was a fugitive. I slipped out of his arms and bed and quickly put on my clothes before I grabbed both our phones and snuck out of the room.I had every reason to not answer his phone, but I couldn't ignore it, especially when Karabo's name popped on the screen. Why would she be calling him?I accepted the call, but before I could even answer, she blabbered away. "Cas, what is wrong with you? I've been calling you since last night, but you don't answer my calls. Listen, I've given you more than enough time, if you can't tell your girlfriend the truth, then she's gonna have to find out the hard way.
