“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for our winners tonight,” the principal hyped and the crowd cheered. “Hello, Arielle. Jared,” Mr. Langley smiled as he hung the medal over Maverick’s neck. “Hey, big guy. Congratulations,” he shook Maverick’s hand. “Babe,” Tiana reached up to hug Jared and peck hi
(ARIELLE’S POV.) I sat in my office for the first time since the hospital incident, and I had to keep a hard fight to keep my mental energy flying high. I couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the mountain of work that welcomed me on my first day. Jared and Dwayne had insisted that I let thin
“It’s from the international food expo,” I noticed. “Yes,” Rebecca nodded enthusiastically with a wide smile. “Where’s Stephen?” I asked as I tote the envelope open. “He’s in the locker room. Don’t worry He’s not going to miss anything,” Rebecca said. “Miss what?” Stephen asked with a confused f
(JARED’S POV.) I stopped by a flower shop on my way to the restaurant. Thankfully, the storekeeper was a friendly middle-aged lady. She took me through the large shop, showing me different flowers sticking out of fancy flowerpots. The place was designed to have an infinity garden theme—it felt like
“Yeah, I did. He’s doing pretty well. Even made a new friend at school. Codey or something, I think,” Arielle said. “That’s some good news,” I nodded. I felt a burning need to let out the words sitting at the bottom of my heart. Arielle’s fingers were clicking away rapidly on the keyboard. I had to
(JARED'S POV) I helped her up, and gathered her belongings in one arm, while I gently steered her forward with the other. We walked down the hallway, the sound of our footsteps the only sound in the building. As we turned a corner, I spotted a figure standing in the hallway. On closer inspection,
(ARIELLE'S POV) I sat in the car, my eyes fixed on the direction Jared and Big Joe had left in. I was restless, my mind racing with all sorts of thoughts of which none was good. I considered getting out of the car and following them, but the doors were locked, and I didn't want to leave the safety
After breakfast, I grabbed my bag and heated out the door, giving Maverick a quick kiss on the cheek. “Have a great day, baby. I'll see you later.” At work, I went straight to my office and began tackling the tasks I had left unfinished the previous day. The morning flew by in a blue of meetings a
(DWAYNE’S POV.) Arielle walked up to the entrance of the bar and stopped, her face etched with uncertainty. We held each other’s gazes in silence. The wind whipped her hair up to her face and she held it away from her eyes. I fought the urge to reach out and pull her under the shade of the building
(DWAYNE’S POV.) For moments after Arielle spoke I remained silent, clenching and unclenching my fists in fury. I gritted my teeth so hardly they might have turned into fine power under the pressure. Nothing made sense. Jared opened his mouth to speak and closed it. Arielle remained silent herself,
(DWAYNE'S POV)I strode into the room, my eyes locking onto Jared. The anger burned low in my gut, rising with every step, threatening to snap its leash. I had known. My instincts had screamed at me, warning me that something was off. And of course, Brown had tipped me off just in time—restless, pacing, sensing an intruder before I even stepped onto the property. Jared. I knew he would do this. Bypass me. Come straight to Arielle. Because he knew exactly what he wanted—to take her away. To convince her to take the risk. Arielle stood calm, as if she had already processed the weight of the conversation before my arrival. She turned to me, her voice measured. *“We were… discussing a possible new treatment.”* A treatment. Right. That’s what he was selling. I barely kept my expression neutral as I shifted my gaze back to Jared. “We already heard the diagnosis, Jared. And you were there when the doctors said it—Arielle’s body isn’t in any condition for experimental procedure
(ARIELLE'S POV) In Flåm, a small town in Norway, I experienced the most peaceful autumn and early winter of my life. When I first arrived with Dwayne, the country was bathed in autumn colors—burnt orange, deep crimson, and golden leaves that drifted lazily through the crisp air. There was a stillness here, a kind of quiet that softened the weight pressing on my soul. I had forgotten what it felt like to breathe without pain, to exist without the ache of memories gnawing at my mind. Three months passed. Winter arrived, blanketing the town in a hushed white serenity. The air grew sharper, filled with the scent of frost, and the world around me slowed. The cold should have bitten into my skin, but strangely, I felt nothing—neither the chill nor the warmth of the crackling fireplace inside my little ranch. My heart had been numb for so long, it didn’t know how to thaw. Dwayne wasn’t by my side all the time. In fact, our one-on-one moments were so rare I could count them on one hand
Regaining my composure, I exchanged a concerned glance with Mrs. Meyers before following Maverick. My heart pounded in my chest, a terrible weight pressing down on me with each step toward Arielle’s room. We found him there—his small arms wrapped so tightly around his mother that his little fingers turned white from the force of his grip. He buried his face into her, as if holding her close could somehow fix everything, as if his warmth could pull her back from the abyss she was slipping into. But Arielle didn’t react. She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge the desperate embrace of the little boy who loved her more than anything in this world. She just sat there. Silent. This was what I had been trying to avoid, I wanted to shield Maverick from this, from watching his mother fade away in front of his eyes. But it seemed I was doing a bad job. I stood there, helpless. I wanted to pull Maverick away, tell him that everything was going to be okay, that I would fix this so
(JARED'S POV)I remained in that position, rocking Arielle gently, until her trembling subsided and she fell asleep in my arms. I gently laid her down on the bed, making sure not to disturb her. As I stepped back, the door went open and Mrs Meyers stepped in.“What happened?” She asked, her eyes bearing concern as they landed on the scattered remains of the herbal tea package on the floor.I hesitated, conflicted about my response. “It's nothing,” I said finally, trying to wave it aside. “It just slipped from my hand.” I didn't want to hurt her but telling her the truth.Her eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief, but she didn't press the issue. Instead, she nodded and said, “Alright, I'll have it cleaned up.”I tried to protest, but she waved me off. “Was there any progress?” Her gaze drifted to Arielle, who was still sleeping peacefully.I shook my head, feeling bad about being the bearer of the bad news. “Not much.”She nodded, but I saw her eyes cloud over with disappointment. I felt
She turned to me, eyes burning with rage and something deeper—something more painful. Something I had never seen before. “I do not need your pity or acts of charity. Do you think I don't know how you see me now? You think I'm a broken and useless woman, don't you?” I was momentarily tongue tied as I gaped at her in shock. “Arielle, I–” “Do you think throwing money at this will fix it?” Her voice cracked, but the fire in it was unrelenting. “Do you think you can just buy back the part of me that’s already dead?”I took a step forward, my hands held out in a placating gesture. “I'll find a solution, I promise I will, Arielle, please...” “You don’t get it.” She took a shaky breath, hands curling into fists. “I don’t care about expensive ingredients. I don’t care about world-class chefs. I don’t care about any of it because none of it matters anymore!”She was screaming now, and it made my chest ache. She never yelled. Not like this. I tried to steady my voice, to hold on to reason, be
(Jared's POV) I stepped out of my car and into the familiar driveway. I paused, looking up at Arielle's house, a sense of trepidation gripping my chest. It was ironic how visiting here used to give me flutters in my chest, but now it gives me dread. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, not my company, not the countless business deals, just Arielle. And whenever I visited, I wished it was under a different circumstance and things were different. As I approached the front door, it swung open, revealing Mrs Meyers. Her eyes, once bright and vibrant, now looked sunken. Poor woman. The weight of her daughter's struggles had taken a toll on her, and my heart went out to her. “Jared,” she called, her voice barely a whisper as she stepped aside to let me in. “Hi, Mrs Meyers. How are you doing?’ I asked, trying to sound cheerful despite how gloomy I was. She waved her hand dismissively, a faint smile on her lips. “I'm fine, Jared. Don't worry about me. She's upstairs,” she said pointing a
He came round the back of the house, his hands in his pockets, while his face was set in a solemn smile. I didn’t need to look up to see the pity in his eyes. I felt like a patient with a terminal disease, one tick of the clock away from my grave.“You’ve been almost non-existent for awhile now,” he began.I remained silent, my eyes still fixed on the empty nothingness before me.“I just thought the longer I waited to tell you this… I’m afraid for you, Arielle. I’m bot saying you won’t survive this. It’s just… You deserve to know the truth at least before…”“Before I die?” I’d asked with a bitter smile. And he went silent for moments afterwards.“I was going to say before anything happens..,” Michael’s voice was cut short by mother’s.“What do you want here? Have you come to do more damage than we already have to live with?” she cried with the righteous fury of a mother hen warding off a predator from her chick.What ensued was a long and heated argument between the two, with one party claimi