For the first time in weeks, Andrea slept in complete serenity. Her head rested on the coolest side of the pillow. The blanket that covered her felt like warm clouds. And the expectation for tomorrow was bright and promising. Just one thing, or rather person, was missing.But even her subconscious provided it for her, even if it was just in the realm of her dreams.There, she was sent back to the shabby compartment her mother used to lock her in when she didn't follow her extreme instructions. But instead of the peeling walls with cockroaches crawling on them, the space was surprisingly clean. And when she slid the door open, Sebastian was there. And he was smiling. At her.“Honey, did you find what you were looking for?” He donned his usual work clothes, but on top was a pink apron hemmed with ruffles. His whole ensemble made her oddly blush.“Yes,” she replied and held a towel up.“Good, because our breakfast is ready.” Her husband had in his hands a plate of maple syrup-drizzled pa
Andrea thought that two more days would help in making her decision. But the short span of time further spiraled her into confusion. Her injury was now just an afterthought.She now found herself slowly picking the petals off her get-well flowers from her company, Elysian Pictures, and fans. One look at her bedroom and anyone would assume immediately that it was a florist shop with how the plants that varied in kinds and colors filled her room.“I tell Seb and ask him what to do,” Andrea mumbled as she pulled one rose petal. “Or I decide what to do.” She didn’t even have the strength to decide for herself whether to keep the pregnancy or not. But how could she?Who else do women go to when facing this kind of problem? The answer popped up in her mind. “Their mothers.” And it was as if she was punched in the gut.The person who gave birth to her got the right to be called ‘Mom’ for that sole reason. But the woman she truly considered her mother slowly aged in a hospital bed, oblivious
Ren looked around the apartment which felt emptier after her friend and his Grinch of a husband stepped out. She shrugged her shoulders at the neat state Andrea left her bedroom in. A few of the actress’ clothes were left in the closet, her foundation and face cream sat on top of the small vanity table, and the photos of everyone from her welcoming party.“Eh, might as well leave it the way it is.” Although Sebastian made a stand about Andrea never staying the night outside their home, she knew that wouldn’t last long.Ren sighed, “Jesus Christ, Andy. What did you get yourself into?” For a woman in her 20s working in the entertainment industry, getting pregnant was one of the worst things to happen to her. And Ren was familiar with how Andrea loved working.But she also knew all too well Andrea’s greatest weakness.The manager looked at Andrea’s schedule from next week until the end of the year. And although she left Josh’s movie, she still had a lot of engagements and public appeara
Andrea relished in the tranquil comfort she was in. Aside from not being able to move around like normal, there were no other concerns that troubled her. Mainly because she had finally sorted out how she was moving forward. Which would be for her husband and their child in her womb.“Please be patient in the meantime, dearie.” Andrea lovingly rubbed her stomach that had yet to show any symptoms of being pregnant. “Mommy has to find the right opportunity to tell Daddy about you.”Even if she had decided to keep the baby, the actress was still unsure how Sebastian was going to respond to all of this.But something gave her the idea that his reaction might not be all that bad.Andrea sighed as she closed her eyes. Her memory drifted to when Sebastian left this morning. How he put on his authentic smile. She knew that much because of the way the left corner of his lips was higher than the other. The only goofy look he’d ever had.And how he went out of his way to accommodate for her speci
“All the sacrifices I’ve made, just to see you waste them away,” Laura doubled down on her guilt-tripping, watching Andrea squirm in her seat. She let out a few more heavy sighs after each sip of her wine. Becca smirked beside her as she enjoyed the unfolding scene.Andrea cowered on instinct. While she live with her mother, her speeches about sacrifice and repayment were always followed by a few slaps or hits from a belt. She firmly hugged her lower abdomen.“Don’t act like a victim here, Andy,” her mother continued. The tremor in Laura’s voice let her know that she was getting irritated. “When it’s me, your mother, who’s about to suffer because you got lazy.” She pretentiously dabbed a tissue in her eye to wipe a tear.“I don’t know what to tell you, Mom,” Andrea replied in a hushed tone. “I can’t predict what will happen in the coming months.” Depending on Sebastian’s response, it would either be a blissful retirement, or a forceful and humiliating leave from the industry.“And I j
“That piece of work! She must have been bad-mouthing me to Andy!” Laura continued to rant even as they exited from the front gates of the Adams residence. “I knew that girl, Ren, is a bad influence on Andrea. See where she got herself into!”The mother turned to her daughter who had been strangely quiet the whole time. “Hey, Becca. Are you listening to me?” Laura slightly pushed her forward to get her attention.Becca, who had her arms crossed and her face frowning the whole time, exploded into a sudden shriek, “Agh! I hate her!”Laura halted in her tracks as she clung to her bag. Her fuming daughter continued to walk down the pathway, oblivious to her surroundings.“Rebecca Sout! You almost gave me a heart attack!” The mother quickly caught up with her and gave her backside a whack with her bag. “Ouch! Mom, that hurts!” Becca finally addressed Laura.“What’s gotten into you? Ever since we left Andrea’s house, you’ve been acting strange.”Becca stomped her feet and wailed like a child
Droves of maids went back and forth in the dining room as they served their employer’s dinner. The personal chef entered himself to bring the main course. “Herdwick lamb loin with Ramson leaves and flowers,” he announced while setting the plates.“Thank you, Manny. Everything is lovely as always,” Edgar Quinn said, taking in the smell and presentation of the dish with great pleasure. “Am I right, Lilith?” He looked at his daughter who was more interested in whatever was on her phone screen rather than the effort that their chef has put in for her visit to the Quinn estate.“Yeah, yeah,” she nonchalantly replied. Manny could only leave disappointed together with the rest of the staff while they leave the room as the Quinns dig in on their dinner.The faint sounds of silver utensils slicing through meat only lasted a few moments when Edgar said, “Why don’t you stay here with me? This is your house and I could only imagine what you eat while living in that condominium.”“Dad, it’s what I
“Let me read it, Andy,” Ren incessantly demanded. She held out her hand, waiting for Andrea to give her the tablet.“There’s really nothing, Ren. I swear.” Andrea gripped the device close to her chest. She knew very well how her friend was going to react after seeing what was on it. “Just let it be.”Her manager scoffed, “Nothing? Then why were you balling your eyes out before I got here? When we left you after that dinner, I thought everything was good.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Did he tell you to abort the baby? Is that it?” Ren was now huffing extensively.Her presumption made Andrea gasp, “You thought this is about Sebastian? It isn’t!” Her heart clenched just imagining her husband say those horrible words to her.“What?” Ren thought that this was finally the day he got to sucker punch that bastard. “Then why were you crying?”Having no other choice but to absolve Sebastian from Ren’s terrible judgment, Andrea gave her the tablet. “Here you go. But don’t take it to heart,
“This, so far, is what I’ve decided to put in my book. If you’re reading this right now, then that means that I finally chose to let the world know my story. You may or may not have heard of me. I’ve been introduced to many names. Cobbett, Scout, Adams, and Fray. But I don’t want to let any of those affiliations define who I am. What I choose to do after everything that happened to me is what I believe determines me.” “Andy! Darren just texted. He and his wife are almost here. We can't miss your second Oscar nomination together!” Sebastian called out from outside the study. It was funny how in the end, Darren became much closer to Sebastian that it made Andrea jealous rather than the other way around. “Coming!” Andrea answered as she contentedly sealed the paper and placed it on top of a hardbound, azure book. She looked at it for a few seconds, getting lost in every letter. “Momma! Auntie Wen said to come quick!” A small boy with curly hair and brown eyes with golden flecks grapple
They couldn’t fully put everything behind them as Lilith was still nowhere to be found, but Sebastian and Andrea knew that it was time to move on. Maybe it was true what other people said about her. Maybe Lilith had found a reason that made her leave her life.After more than a year of coming to terms with their tragic past, Sebastian once again popped the question. He had flown everyone to the private island in the Maldives that he had rented before.“You bought it?” Andrea almost screamed when she learned that Sebastian didn’t rent the island for their honeymoon. Instead, he made it seem like he just leased it.“Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything because you were so judgemental of rich people. I didn’t want your first impression of me as your husband to be that of someone who buys things excessively,” Sebastian fibbed.He had already talked to everyone about his proposal except of course with Andrea. Eugene immediately agreed while Madeline gave him a stern warning and advice.So t
Weeks turned to months and no sign of the wanted criminal had emerged. Despite all their efforts, she was too slick in evading and hiding from authorities.But finally, the Adams, Frays, and their loved ones had slowly started to build a semblance of a normal life.After her warrant was sent out, Sebastian had also released his statement regarding the matter. He explained to the public how and why this all went down. They decided to keep it vague, not wanting to share every small detail. But enough for the people to understand what happened.And in this duration, the same people who hurled hateful comments at the actress now give her support. As they began to understand that the information they’d been fed was lies, they turned against the source of these. Lilith Quinn.And now, Andrea Fray had the opportunity to tell her story in her own words.Sat on a powder blue couch and facing a whole group of lights and cameras from all angles, the actress recounted the stories that she chose t
“He’s a good man, Harris,” Sebastian told Andrea who was cuddling against his chest. The two sat in her yard, enjoying the light sea breeze that passed by.“I know, that’s why he became my friend, “ she replied. “Look at you, getting all warmed up with Darren.” He didn’t know but Andrea was ecstatic that her partner and her closest male friend would be on good terms.“I’m not,” Sebastian tried to deny. “It’s only because he told me about you going to Clayton by yourself and the other stuff he did for you.”“That’s why I wish he could find his own happiness.” Andrea looked up at the sky and coincidentally, found a shooting star. For a brief moment, she closed her eyes and made the exact wish.“Why didn’t you wish for yourself or for me?” Sebastian questioned her with a sulky expression.“Are you kidding? I’ve already found my happiness.” Andrea gestured at where they were and who they were with.In front of them was Anastasia. The toddler was so engrossed with the film that was playing
“You are not your fear, Andrea. You are not your trauma,” Andrea said her usual chant as she got out of her car and faced the menacing high, concrete walls of Fort Havenshaw.“I can do this, I chose to do this,” she whispered with eyes shut. The dread had finally caught up to her. Andrea’s bravado had waned the nearer she was to that person.When she told the hesitant Darren that she could do it, Andrea thought that she could. But now, she’s convinced that it was just false toughness.Andrea couldn’t feel the tip of her fingertips as her whole body had turned rigid. As opposed to the bright, sunny day that graced them, an unknown source of penetrating cold had entered her body. It didn’t plan to leave anytime soon.A part of her said, “It’s not too late to turn back. You still haven’t gotten inside the prison.”Andrea’s eyes went back and forth, from the fort entrance to her car handle. A drop of sweat had begun to roll down the side of her face. “Shit!” She exclaimed as Andrea reache
“You heard what Monique said. We can only secure Lilith’s conviction if we get a confession. I know it’s a shot in the dark. But if there’s a possibility of Alvis having a recording of Lilith, then it’s worth it,” Andrea firmly said.It made Darren sigh heavily. He scratched his nape, daunted by Andrea’s strategy. He asked, “And you’re not having any second thoughts about this?”She nodded her head sharply. “I’m a hundred percent sure. Sebastian could only hold off Lilith’s scheme on the wedding for so long.”“What does he think about this?”He noticed her flinch when he asked the question. “He doesn’t know,” Darren answered for himself.Andrea grimaced at the fact and said, “I’ll tell him once it’s done. That way, we could save ourselves the trouble.” She only confided with Darren about her plan because he was the most understanding of all her friends.“I’ll go with you,” Darren insisted. These past days of hanging out with just the two of them brought him back to the past. Back when
“The evidence you gave us is very good. But a confession from Quinn would solidify this case so that the jury doesn’t find reasonable doubt to convict her,” the counselors and detective working on Lilith’s case told Andrea’s group.“We can arrest her now on these grounds, but we’re very sure that she would clam up and call the best lawyers their money could buy. And we all know how that will turn out.”They became familiar with the process. Lilith’s lawyers would talk directly with the court that she was not being lawfully held despite the mounting evidence against her. She wouldn’t even spend a night in jail because of who she was. A millionaire heiress so of course, the judge would favor her. Then she’d get out and wreak havoc into their lives as if nothing happened.Their hearts sank after hearing that all their efforts could do was a small dent in Lilith's case.“There’s a possibility that we can win this case,” the lead prosecutor, Monique Perrin, informed them. “But her admittin
When Sebastian heard Andrea yell out, he was ready to attack the person and run amok in her house. But when she turned to see who it was, Andrea was already squeezing the guy with a bear hug. “Oh, it’s you! Gosh, I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t!” She blurted out, her chest still heaving at high speed. “I’m sorry, Andy. I was rushing because I thought I was late. They told me to be here hours ago, that’s why I just barged in like that. Sorry,” Darren replied, giving her a light, comforting pat on the back. Sebastian’s posture stiffened as the Simon couple eyed the three of them cautiously. Robert was about to get up from the couch to be beside his boss, in case worse came to worst. But Ren quickly pulled her down. “You disrupt this drama, I will go on a rampage,” she warned him. Still oblivious to the brittle atmosphere that was created by Darren’s sudden arrival, Andrea continued to face her friend while holding both his hands. She began to bombard him with apolog
“So I’m guessing you two are on good terms now, huh?” Ren mused after seeing Andrea and Sebastian share another glance that could only be described as coy. The billionaire was visiting the Fray house and at the moment was spending his after-work time with his daughter.“Put it on top. There. Not the owange one! It has to be bwue!“ Anastasia pointed and ordered Sebastian and Robert where to place the blocks as they assembled a building that replicated her father’s company.Andrea giggled at her daughter’s bossiness. Who else but her father would she get that kind of attitude from?She scoffed at her best friend, “Of course, we should be for Ana’s sake.” It had been days since they got back together again. Though the two chose to keep their relationship hidden for a while, at least until they’ve sorted out the Lilith issue.Ren rolled her eyes and sighed, “Oh please, Andy. Even a blind person would easily know that you two are on more than good terms. If you know what I’m saying.” She w