My mother didn’t back down. "I kind of thought you were marrying him for the money too, but even after you married him, there was no money there to see, and I don’t think there was ever any love between you two. Did you really ever love him?"I was fighting to hold myself together, what the hell was she even saying? "I loved him, Mom, okay?" I snapped back. "I loved him. I loved Eric. He was my whole world. I was working hard for him in everything. I worked hard at home. I worked hard at work. I did his work for him. I worked hard to get pregnant, and I never was….. I…..““ And that was such a blessing." My mother interrupted with a smile.I paused, my throat tightening. "It was such a blessing because when your sister started seeing him, she was happy. Eric was happy. They got pregnant even without trying so hard, the way you were doing with injections and all those tests and the therapies. They just got pregnant naturally, when they weren’t even looking to have a baby. They were
I looked at my mother, and then I found myself looking at her again. The way she was acting towards me—it wasn’t the way a mother should have acted, especially during a heart-to-heart talk like this. She was telling me hard things to digest, things that cut deep, things that felt too raw to be spoken aloud. And yet, she was speaking them without hesitation, without care.I expected something different. Maybe I was asking for too much from my family, but I couldn’t help it. The words left my mouth before I could stop them."Why haven’t you ever loved me?"She froze. Her lips parted slightly, her body stiffening. She stuttered, unprepared for the question. I had caught her off guard again tonight. She hadn’t been expecting it.Neither had I.I had thought about it before—late at night, in quiet moments when I was alone with my thoughts. Mostly as a kid growing up. But I had never said it out loud. Not to her. Not even to myself. But now, standing here, with all the painful truths she h
I walked up the stairs slowly, and deliberately, giving her time to catch up to me. And she did. Fast. I guess she still got it.Just as my foot hovered over the third step, her hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.I spun to face her, glaring at her."What?" I snapped."Do not go up those stairs." Her voice was low, "Get out of my house."I scoffed. "This is my home."Her lips curled. "Well, I just denounced you as my daughter a few minutes ago. Or did you forget?"I felt something in me crack, but I didn’t let her see it."So, since you have chosen everything over your family," she continued, "I am denouncing you as my daughter. From now on, you no longer have a mother. So get the hell out of my house."I crossed my arms. "I’m going into my old room. There are things I left that I want to take with me.""Since you left? When was the last time you were even in this house?" she demanded. "Ever since you got married to Eric, you never came here.""Of course, I did," I argued. "I ca
I saw the flicker of shock cross my mother's face, the way her lips parted slightly like she was about to say something. But I didn’t give her the chance."I’m done," I told her. "I will never look for you. I will never call you. You’ve never done the same, so I expect nothing from you."I took a step back, looking at the house around me one last time."Do whatever you want. Redecorate, tear it down, erase every trace of me and my father—whatever makes you feel better. You can take this house, take your life, take Rita and everything else. But you can’t take my happiness."I let out a breath, "Guess what? I am happy. And I’m going to stay happy. I don’t need your negativity in my life anymore."I turned toward the door, my hands curling into fists."Goodbye, Mother."I glanced at her one last time."You’re dead to me."And with that, I walked away.She didn’t move.She didn’t say a word.She just stood there, frozen, watching me as I opened the door—And walked out.The moment I step
EmmersonI come home at six in the evening, quite early for my usual time. I wanted to be back earlier, but today has been a long, exhausting day at work. Whenever I wanted to pop out One thing after another kept piling up, and to top it all off, Eric tried to pull some stunt—thinking he could take control of the Flagler project just because Mina didn’t come in to work today. I had to set him straight, but the situation left me more irritated than I already was. My conversations with Eric nowadays always had him throwing a tantrum like a three-year-old child. I literally had to take a painkiller after our talk.And then there’s Mina.I don’t understand her. I’m trying to, but I don’t. She locked me out last night. She chose to sleep in the guest room, closing the door on me, and shutting me out completely. And then, this morning, she left without a word. I had no idea where she went, and that didn’t sit right with me.When I found out she was gone, I cursed myself for not thinking ah
I press my lips to her throat and suck, deliberately avoiding her lips. I had to maintain some kind of control over this, over us and over myself. She wasn't going to get a kiss today, just plain raw, dirty sex. Yes. That was going to do it.Her breath stutters and her lashes flutter shut as if she’s already lost to me. Her lips part, waiting, wanting.I grip both of her wrists, pinning them above her head. I want to take her hard and fast, rough and raw until she’s screaming my name, her body wrung out, her mind wiped of everything but me. I want to fuck her until there’s nothing left between us but tangled sheets and breathless silence.But I can’t.That’s not what we need right now. I am so messed up when I am with her. I can't think straight.Still, there are a million ways I want to have her.On her knees.Bent over the goddamn kitchen island.Straddling me, her perfect tits bouncing with every movement, until she’s screaming my name like a damn porn star.But not now.This is a
I wake up to find Mina already wide awake, watching me. I don’t know if it’s just me, but something seems to be wrong. I don’t like how she’s looking at me right now. There’s a shift—something different in her, in us—but I can’t quite put my finger on it.I choose to ignore it.I smile at her. And as I do, I can see it aggravates her. The tight smile she had before vanished, replaced by something sharper. She’s angry. Visibly angry.Without a word, she suddenly stands up and starts throwing on her clothes.I sit up in bed, using the sheets to cover half of my body, just watching her. She moves quickly, pulling on her panties, then her pants. By the time she’s fastening her bra, she snaps."Stop smiling at me."I raise an eyebrow. "Why?""Because," she says through clenched teeth, "I don’t like it."I smirk, leaning back against the headboard. "Well, I do. I like looking at you. And I don’t think you can control how I react to you."She exhales sharply as if my words make her even ang
Mina“Wait, wait, wait. Just wait a minute.”Emerson’s voice is sharp, filled with a tension that makes me press my lips together. The mattress shifts as he sits down at the edge of the bed, and I keep my gaze fixed on the floor. I can’t look at him right now.“What did you say?” He asks, too calmlyI can’t believe I said it either. The words tumbled out before I could catch them, but they were out there now, hanging heavy between us. There’s no taking them back.“I don’t think we should be getting married right now.” The words are quieter this time but no less firm. “I really think that we should just stop.”The silence that follows is thick, and suffocating. I can feel the weight of his stare, the building storm in his eyes. He’s mad—he has to be. And I don’t blame him. Everything is so... twisted, so tangled in my head right now.“Mina.”“Yes?”His voice is strained like he’s holding back a million things he wants to say. “Would you look at me, please?”I swallow hard.“I don’t
Mina I was in the delivery room about to bring my baby into this world, and who knew it hurt like hell? Mmh! I was very lucky and very grateful to have my husband here with me. He kept holding my hand, telling me sweet things, and encouraging me when the doctors told me to push. He pushed with me, breathed with me. It was kind of crazy. I don't know, maybe after I was done here I would think about this moment and laugh about it. It was a moment in my life when I really needed him, and I was so, so happy and so grateful to have him here beside me. The two doctors that Mr. Emerson insisted on having here were top in their fields. He didn’t care, he had to fly one in as long as I got everything and I was in great hands. The doctors were great, they were encouraging. I just wanted this moment to be over and for my baby to come into this world so I could hear their cry. We were still in the dark; we didn’t know if we were having a girl or a boy. I was just waiting for that moment wh
EmmersonThe next morning, I decided to handle things myself. I know Mina’s already been through enough trauma with her family, so I don’t want to involve her in this. She’s still asleep, and I slip out quietly to deal with Eric.I find him at the hotel, slumped over, still asleep. I nudge him with the toe of my shoe, the force making him stir. Slowly, his eyes flicker open, and the haze of sleep and alcohol makes him groggy. He rises, blinking and groaning, his hand clutching his head."Wake up, Eric," I tell him as I open the curtains, letting the bright light flood the room. He immediately shields his eyes, groaning louder."My head... hurts," he mutters, his voice thick with a hangover. He grabs the bottle of water on the bedside table and gulps down a large portion in one go."Last night," he laments, "I didn't like how your men dragged me out of that nightclub.""You call that a nightclub? It was a strip
EmmersonOh yeah?” Mina’s voice is a little high-pitched.And then Rita says something that makes my blood cold.“Of course,” she replies, her voice dripping with arrogance. “I mean if I could take Eric from you so easily before… When you weren’t this heavily pregnant, and we weren’t even living in the same house. Just think how simple it would be to take his father from you now.”Her voice is low and suggestive. Mina scoffs, maybe out of shock, but Rita doesn’t stop.“I mean, look at you,” she continues, mockingly. “You’re pregnant. You can’t even walk properly without someone holding you. You have to be carried just to get around.” She chuckles,“And me?” she adds. “I’m just getting started. The exercises I’ll do, the maintenance I’ll keep up… You know I won't be breastfeeding, right? This baby is feeding from the bottle. Nothing is messing up this....hot body.”In my mind, I can already picture her motioning to her bo
Emmerson By nightfall, the police have already paid us a visit. It’s all over the news. Madeline had a little accident on the highway. Her car hit the side of a bridge and went down under. She suffocated. But I know the truth. Let her feel what it’s like to lose air. Anyway, the point is—she’s dead. The police came because, after her attack on Mina, there was already a record of her actions. They were just here to deliver the report. To tell us that she was gone. That also settled the issue with Rose. Mina had never been convinced that Rose was behind it, and now that Madeline was out of the picture, it was clear she had been wrongfully accused. Mina was shocked with the news, I never thought she would actually be upset after everything. Even though there’s still sadness in her eyes, I can see the difference. She’s no
EmmersonAfter I had taken Mina home, I gave her a bath, making sure she was okay and taken Care of. She was reluctant to eat at first, but I insisted. “You need nutrition,” I reminded her. “I know you don't want to but do it for the baby. You’re pregnant, you're doing it for our baby.”She sighed, but eventually gave in, taking small sips of the warm soup I had prepared. I watched her closely, ensuring she had everything she needed. Then, I sat her down and gently caressed her hair.I kept talking as I did it—about everything and nothing at the same time. Just filling the silence, making sure she felt covered and safe. My voice was low and comforting. I caressed her head, feeling the softness of her scalp, letting her know she wasn’t alone.And then, she fell asleep.Once I was sure she was deep in rest, I finally allowed myself to feel it all—the anger, the frustration, the overwhelming sense of failure.How could I h
As Emerson's voice continued on the phone, offering words of comfort, trying to calm me, I felt my tears flow faster. I couldn't hear him clearly anymore over the noise in my head, the panic, the certainty that I was going to die. I just listened to him, letting his voice be a thread tying me to something.Then, the banging stopped.I hadn't even realized it.Instead, a knock. A soft, reassuring knock."Mina, Mina, come on, open the door," Emerson's voice came through the phone, clearer now.I still didn’t understand what was happening. My mind was so clouded by fear, but hearing his voice… it soothed me in ways I couldn’t explain. I was barely aware of his words, just the sound of him calling my name, telling me it was okay."Emerson, is that you?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper."Yes, it's me. Open the door, Mina."The reality of it hit me. I had been trapped in a nightmare, my heart frozen with terror, bu
I started scribbling on the piece of paper.[I can't do this anymore. I'm going to kill myself.]I set the pen down and exhaled. "Okay, I'm done."Madeline narrowed her eyes. "What did you write so fast?"She stalked toward me, snatched the paper out of my hands, and read it. Her expression darkened, and before I could brace myself, she slapped me hard across the face. The force nearly knocked me out of the chair.A sharp sting spread across my cheek, my vision blurred for a second. My entire face tingled from the impact, and I gritted my teeth, refusing to let a single tear fall.Who knew I would ever be in this situation? Kidnapped at gunpoint. Forced to write my own suicide letter.Madeline took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Then she smirked."You're smart, Mina. We can argue about a lot of things, but not that. You're a smart little thing, a devious little thing. That’s how you got Emerson i
Madeline’s grip on my arm became almost painful. I could feel the gun on my side, like a silent, invisible threat.I forced a laugh, shaking my head. "Oh, you know... My condition." I gestured vaguely at myself. "It’s still hard for me to get up, takes a while to get out of bed. I was sleeping."Tom stared at me, his eyes searching my face as if he was trying to read through my words.Then, finally, he gave a slow nod. "Okay."But he still didn’t leave."Can I come in?" he asked. "I can give you some company.""No!" The word shot out of my mouth too fast, too loud, too desperate.Madeline pressed the gun against my side, a silent threat, a warning that made my blood turn cold.Tom’s frown deepened.I forced another smile, shaking my head quickly. "I mean—no, it’s okay. I was sleeping. I don’t need company right now."I gave an awkward laugh, motioning toward the inside of the apartment. "If you came in, you’d just be sitting alone because I’m going back to bed."Tom didn’t look conv
"I'm sorry, Madeline, I swear I didn’t—""Just tell me why!" she shouted to my face, her voice filled with frustration.I was shaking, my throat dry, my mind running a mile a minute. "I don't know, okay? Maybe because he was there. He was nice. He was understanding, and he made me feel safe. He made me happy. He made me feel like I could be the person I wanted to be." My voice cracked, and I rushed to explain, desperate for her to believe me. "It was never about his age, Madeline. I always thought he was cute, you know? I always thought he was really handsome. And then when we slept together, I realized I could have everything I ever wanted with him, okay? I'm sorry. I really didn’t know—"She let out a cold laugh, cutting me off. "You're not sorry. Stop trying to act like some innocent girl who thought he was ‘the one.’"Her voice was mocking, twisting my words into something dirty."You don’t even love him. Not really. You love the things he represents." She took a step closer, he