My breath caught in my throat and almost choked me but I swallowed the lump and maintained composure.“R-rosa…” I swallowed hard as the woman eyed me suspiciously. “I…”“I knew you only came here to steal our money!” She nearly stabbed my face with her index finger. “What have you got in there huh? You've taken all the jewelry haven't you? You've taken all his watched and diamond cufflinks, right?”“What? No!” I frowned. “I didn't steal anything.”“Then what's in the bag?”“Trust me, Rosa, you don't want to get involved,” I warned and tried to walk around the woman but her reflexes were quick, perhaps a little too quick for a fifty five year old woman and with her large size.“You steal my son's property and try to run away and you tell me not to get involved? You're the biggest clown I've ever seen! Now open the bag, you thief!” I pursed my lip and looked down at her.“I just want to leave, Rosa. I don't want to cause any trouble. You and I both know that you'd be happier with me go
ROWAN'S POVPerhaps there were some dots missing.Either that or a part of my memory must have been erased.The sound of plane was unmistakable now and I quickly let go of Maya and started for the door.“Are you alright, Rowan?” Camille asked me but I was more interested in knowing what all the sound on my lawn was to pay any attention to her.She barked my name again but my eyes focused on the half dozen men who trooped out of the private plane in an orderly fashion, all in crisp black suits, black bowtie and matching sunglasses.“What's going on, Rowan? Who the hell are these people?” My mother asked shakily behind me.“I have it under control,” I assured her with my eyes still on the six men.“We're here to take Miss Maya back home,” one of them said.“You just trespassed on my property, the least you can offer me is an introduction,” I replied firmly.From the corner of my eye, I could see that two of my guards already had a gun pointed in their direction so any suspicious movemen
The interior of the plane was just as I remembered and it brought back memories that had long been bottled up for years.When I was younger, the plane was used for all our vacations and I always gladly hopped on them until I had grown old enough to realize my family's source of wealth.The sight of many guards distraughted me but I forced myself to calm down. It reminded me of my high school years when they were literally always around me. Father said they had to protect me because he had people who didn't like him very much and would not hesitate to take his family down, but I reasoned that he would not be so bothered if he hadn't chosen such a dangerous, life threatening path. It had taken the privacy away from my life and I remember being so pissed I slapped one of them, hoping he would get mad and pick a fight with me or something. Nothing happened. And it felt like he was even eager to turn the other cheek.And so, ever since I left high school, I decided to do things as it pleas
I could almost feel the heat of my father's wrath even though I was still frozen in the plush velvety seat of the plane, staring out the small window.The two shiny Rolls Royce in the driveway with a golden crown that took up the place for a license plate assured me that he was indeed present in the house and my meeting him was unavoidable.After the many years that I had strong-headedly rebelled against him, the least I expected was to be able to stand up to him with even more boldness now as a full grown adult but oh well, I guess boldness doesn't increase with age afterall.“I'm not sure about this,” I confessed to Leo in a shaky voice. He was already standing up and tugging on his bow tie with an uncomfortable frown. “Well neither am I,” he replied and gulped down another shot of his Cognac. I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed and I unconsciously took a second to reflect on how beautiful he was. All my brothers were indeed very hot and handsome—the kind of handsome
It was not until Lucas and I got to the door of father's office that I realized he wasn't going to come in with me.I stared up at him with pleading eyes and I saw that he also would have loved to come in with me, but something held him back.“He asked to see you, alone. I tried to change his mind but he wouldn't budge,” Lucas said, confirming my unsaid questions. There was genuine sympathy in his eyes and all I wanted to do at that moment was to squash myself into his large body, my safe haven.“You shouldn't keep him waiting. It's gonna be fine, trust me,” he assured and smoothened my hair.“Of course,” I forced out a smile. “What's the worst that could happen?”I tilted my chin up and squared my shoulders as I turned to face the office door.“He still loves you,” Lucas assured me, and I almost wanted to believe it. If I were in my father's shoes, I didn't think I'd still reserve a space in my heart for a child as rebellious as I was.I pushed the door open and for a few seconds, al
ROWAN'S POVSo I was right about one thing. Alex was actually banging the wife of a Minister, but he was not in Vegas.He had replied to my text about his promiscuous lifestyle with ten annoying laughing emojis but had flown down to New York as quickly as he could, knowing I wasn't one whose patience lasted for long.We both sat in the bar of The Capital, an exclusive clubhouse that I was sure made hundreds of thousands of dollars every week considering the exorbitant price range of their drinks and foods. They served the best though, so I ended up coming back time and again.Alex and I were taking our time to down glasses of rich white wine before we got into the main purpose for the meeting.“How's the shipment coming along?” I asked him as I stared into the thin air.“It'll be delivered before Friday and my men will be there to install them.”I nodded with satisfaction.Alex owned ProTech, a thriving security company and I was expecting a change of our CCTV cameras in the office.
The assiduous chauffeur was more than eager to take the keys from me and park my car properly. It was no surprise. Anyone earning the figures he was would be just as eager to perform his duty and do everything possible to keep his job. I liked my workers to have that mentality and so I ensured that they were handsomely paid. If they ever tried to do anything silly, they would remember what they could be risking and then make a U-turn. I noticed the presence of my grandmother's limo as I walked to the front door. “Rowan!” Shit! How did I forget about her so soon? I turned to face a broadly smiling Camille. “I didn't expect that you'd be back so late. I made some peanut butter cheesecake…well not me of course, but the chef.” That was satisfying to hear. I could already tell that Camille was not one who knew how to cook so if she made a cheesecake, following recipe or not, it could as well be considered as poison. “The cake tastes like heaven, Ro, and I'm not even exaggerating! I
Do you know what it feels like to be disowned? It's scary. It felt like I was almost invisible to my father even though my brothers still treated me normally. I had not always done things to please him but that didn't mean that I did not want him to be proud of me and of whatever I did. Three days later, I began actively job hunting and my eyes felt weary from staring at the screen of my computer for way too long. The money in my trust fund money was now running low because I had given almost half of it to an orphanage home I saw. With some of the remaining money, I rented a small but comfortable apartment downtown and then proceeded to renew my license to practice psychotherapy. That also left a visible dent in my account but the joy I felt for having my own space made up for the loss, quite. The house was already equipped and even had a small alcove that I converted to a study area. It was a sunny morning and I stared at my computer screen, reading the new mail about the upcomin
Do you know what it feels like to be disowned? It's scary. It felt like I was almost invisible to my father even though my brothers still treated me normally. I had not always done things to please him but that didn't mean that I did not want him to be proud of me and of whatever I did. Three days later, I began actively job hunting and my eyes felt weary from staring at the screen of my computer for way too long. The money in my trust fund money was now running low because I had given almost half of it to an orphanage home I saw. With some of the remaining money, I rented a small but comfortable apartment downtown and then proceeded to renew my license to practice psychotherapy. That also left a visible dent in my account but the joy I felt for having my own space made up for the loss, quite. The house was already equipped and even had a small alcove that I converted to a study area. It was a sunny morning and I stared at my computer screen, reading the new mail about the upcomin
The assiduous chauffeur was more than eager to take the keys from me and park my car properly. It was no surprise. Anyone earning the figures he was would be just as eager to perform his duty and do everything possible to keep his job. I liked my workers to have that mentality and so I ensured that they were handsomely paid. If they ever tried to do anything silly, they would remember what they could be risking and then make a U-turn. I noticed the presence of my grandmother's limo as I walked to the front door. “Rowan!” Shit! How did I forget about her so soon? I turned to face a broadly smiling Camille. “I didn't expect that you'd be back so late. I made some peanut butter cheesecake…well not me of course, but the chef.” That was satisfying to hear. I could already tell that Camille was not one who knew how to cook so if she made a cheesecake, following recipe or not, it could as well be considered as poison. “The cake tastes like heaven, Ro, and I'm not even exaggerating! I
ROWAN'S POVSo I was right about one thing. Alex was actually banging the wife of a Minister, but he was not in Vegas.He had replied to my text about his promiscuous lifestyle with ten annoying laughing emojis but had flown down to New York as quickly as he could, knowing I wasn't one whose patience lasted for long.We both sat in the bar of The Capital, an exclusive clubhouse that I was sure made hundreds of thousands of dollars every week considering the exorbitant price range of their drinks and foods. They served the best though, so I ended up coming back time and again.Alex and I were taking our time to down glasses of rich white wine before we got into the main purpose for the meeting.“How's the shipment coming along?” I asked him as I stared into the thin air.“It'll be delivered before Friday and my men will be there to install them.”I nodded with satisfaction.Alex owned ProTech, a thriving security company and I was expecting a change of our CCTV cameras in the office.
It was not until Lucas and I got to the door of father's office that I realized he wasn't going to come in with me.I stared up at him with pleading eyes and I saw that he also would have loved to come in with me, but something held him back.“He asked to see you, alone. I tried to change his mind but he wouldn't budge,” Lucas said, confirming my unsaid questions. There was genuine sympathy in his eyes and all I wanted to do at that moment was to squash myself into his large body, my safe haven.“You shouldn't keep him waiting. It's gonna be fine, trust me,” he assured and smoothened my hair.“Of course,” I forced out a smile. “What's the worst that could happen?”I tilted my chin up and squared my shoulders as I turned to face the office door.“He still loves you,” Lucas assured me, and I almost wanted to believe it. If I were in my father's shoes, I didn't think I'd still reserve a space in my heart for a child as rebellious as I was.I pushed the door open and for a few seconds, al
I could almost feel the heat of my father's wrath even though I was still frozen in the plush velvety seat of the plane, staring out the small window.The two shiny Rolls Royce in the driveway with a golden crown that took up the place for a license plate assured me that he was indeed present in the house and my meeting him was unavoidable.After the many years that I had strong-headedly rebelled against him, the least I expected was to be able to stand up to him with even more boldness now as a full grown adult but oh well, I guess boldness doesn't increase with age afterall.“I'm not sure about this,” I confessed to Leo in a shaky voice. He was already standing up and tugging on his bow tie with an uncomfortable frown. “Well neither am I,” he replied and gulped down another shot of his Cognac. I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed and I unconsciously took a second to reflect on how beautiful he was. All my brothers were indeed very hot and handsome—the kind of handsome
The interior of the plane was just as I remembered and it brought back memories that had long been bottled up for years.When I was younger, the plane was used for all our vacations and I always gladly hopped on them until I had grown old enough to realize my family's source of wealth.The sight of many guards distraughted me but I forced myself to calm down. It reminded me of my high school years when they were literally always around me. Father said they had to protect me because he had people who didn't like him very much and would not hesitate to take his family down, but I reasoned that he would not be so bothered if he hadn't chosen such a dangerous, life threatening path. It had taken the privacy away from my life and I remember being so pissed I slapped one of them, hoping he would get mad and pick a fight with me or something. Nothing happened. And it felt like he was even eager to turn the other cheek.And so, ever since I left high school, I decided to do things as it pleas
ROWAN'S POVPerhaps there were some dots missing.Either that or a part of my memory must have been erased.The sound of plane was unmistakable now and I quickly let go of Maya and started for the door.“Are you alright, Rowan?” Camille asked me but I was more interested in knowing what all the sound on my lawn was to pay any attention to her.She barked my name again but my eyes focused on the half dozen men who trooped out of the private plane in an orderly fashion, all in crisp black suits, black bowtie and matching sunglasses.“What's going on, Rowan? Who the hell are these people?” My mother asked shakily behind me.“I have it under control,” I assured her with my eyes still on the six men.“We're here to take Miss Maya back home,” one of them said.“You just trespassed on my property, the least you can offer me is an introduction,” I replied firmly.From the corner of my eye, I could see that two of my guards already had a gun pointed in their direction so any suspicious movemen
My breath caught in my throat and almost choked me but I swallowed the lump and maintained composure.“R-rosa…” I swallowed hard as the woman eyed me suspiciously. “I…”“I knew you only came here to steal our money!” She nearly stabbed my face with her index finger. “What have you got in there huh? You've taken all the jewelry haven't you? You've taken all his watched and diamond cufflinks, right?”“What? No!” I frowned. “I didn't steal anything.”“Then what's in the bag?”“Trust me, Rosa, you don't want to get involved,” I warned and tried to walk around the woman but her reflexes were quick, perhaps a little too quick for a fifty five year old woman and with her large size.“You steal my son's property and try to run away and you tell me not to get involved? You're the biggest clown I've ever seen! Now open the bag, you thief!” I pursed my lip and looked down at her.“I just want to leave, Rosa. I don't want to cause any trouble. You and I both know that you'd be happier with me go
ROWAN'S POVI closed the door shut but still held on to the handle for a few more seconds.*From this moment on, we're done.*I chuckled humorlessly to myself as I repeated those words in my head.It wasn't a matter of whether or not she was fed up. She was stuck with me, and I with her. There was no way she would turn her back on our marriage, especially not with my grandmother's notice.Just one call from my grandmother to her and she'll be on her knees, begging to sleep on the same bed with me once again.“Are you sure everything's alright?”Camille's voice reminded me of where I was.I turned to look at her and was immediately overcome with sympathy.There is only so much that a desperate woman can do and I refused to excuse Maya's behavior just because our trip had clashed with Camille and I meeting each other again.“Everything's fine,” I smiled to Camille as I walked back to the side of the bed.“Oh, dear! I hope you weren't too harsh on her. Is she mad at me? I'm so sorry, I fr