MAEI know I shouldn't be asking this but I can't help but wonder if truly this isn't just about the punishment, I open my lips to speak but he places his finger on my lips to hush me. Without saying a word, he gets out of bed and gently lifts me, then carries me into the bathroom. He places me in the bathtub carefully before placing me in the tub. He helps me out of my undies and tosses it to the side before turning the water on in the tub. I look up at him confused by his action but he doesn't say a word, he just plants a soft kiss on my forehead before getting on his feet. He walks over to the shower and my gaze follows him as he begins to pull his shirt over his head, the motion is fluid, almost effortless.The shirt slips away revealing his body. My eyes trace the contours of his chest, down to his abs, and then to his arms. Then, my eyes catch something unexpected. On his arm, there's a tattoo. It's not just any tattoo, it's intricate, with lines that swirl and twist, forming
MAEI look up at him, and I can see the seriousness in his eyes, "What is it, Sin?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper."It's about your s..." He trails off as the sound of my phone ringing in the room interrupts him. The ringtone fills the room, and I recognize it as the one for Lily's call. I planned to call her earlier in the day but my aunt's call made it slip my mind. I glance at Sin, a silent question in my eyes, "I will get it," he replies standing from the tub. "I can -""Stay here," he orders walking out of the bathroom as I stare at his toned behind. I shake my head as the thought of him kissing me comes to my head and I try to focus on the situation at hand. After a few seconds, he returns to the bathroom, he has a towel tied around his waist and his expression is unreadable."It's Lily," he says, handing me the phone."Thank you," I say and take the phone picking up the call immediately "Hey, Lily," I say, trying to sound normal. Sin walks up to the mirror and touch
MAE"I understand the situation, but this is delicate. We can't just... Yes, I know the stakes," he continues, his voice now a mix of frustration and worry.The mention of informing me about something catches my full attention. My heart starts pounding harder, and questions swirling in my mind. What is it that he feels the need to tell me, and who is on the other end of that call pushing for a different approach?He sighs, "Fine, just make sure everything is set for when we get there. Mae shouldn't have to worry about anything else right now," he adds, his tone softening slightly, hinting at a concern for my well-being that feels both comforting and alarming.As he wraps up the call, "We'll discuss this later."I quickly step back, making a bit of noise to seem like I just arrived. I don't want him to know I've been eavesdropping, afraid it might upset him since the call sounded personal, but my heart is racing, filled with both dread and an aching need to know what's being hidden fro
MAE"I need to find out more before I can bring it to your attention, Mae," he explains. "Believe me it's better this way."My mind races as I process what he is saying, who could be trying to harm Lily? If anyone should be getting hurt it should be me and not her, she has been through so much over the past few months.The traffic light turns green, and the car accelerates, "Is that all you are not telling me?" I ask staring at him."For now, yes," he says."You said I should trust you but now I wonder if it is you who needs to trust me by telling me what is going on.""Take care of Lily, I will handle the rest and when the time is right we will discuss this."I kiss my teeth and look out the window realizing that he is not going to tell me what I need to know maybe he already has but I can't just accept that someone would want to harm Lily. Who could it be and why? What will they gain by hurting her? As we approach the hospital, he pulls the car into the hospital parking lot and tu
SIN"I can't believe you followed her to the hospital," Ethan chuckles, his voice laced with disbelief as I step into his office and sit down opposite him. I wouldn't be here if he had just kept his mouth shut and allowed me to handle the situation my way."So are you guys like an item now?" He asks, leaning back on his chair with a playful smirk on his face. "Or is this like a plot to revenge for what she did to you?" He adds."You said over the phone that you found out something," I say leaning back on my seat and avoiding his questions. My relationship with Mae isn't something I am ready to share with him, even though I can sense he knows what is going on. "Avoiding questions now huh? Well, first you left me at the meeting some hours back. Dad hasn't yet agreed to sign over the company to me, I think I deserve an explanation. Don't you think?" He raises an eyebrow at me. I sigh remembering I badge out of that darn meeting at the sight of Mae on my phone leaving the house, I didn'
SIN"I can't believe this," I growl.Ethan leans back in his chair, his expression unreadable. "I know how it looks but I think he deserves the chance to explain himself."I scoff, unable to believe a word he's saying. "Explain?" "For all we know Lily might have been in the wrong here," Ethan insists. "She clearly hates us for a reason.""And you think this is the reason?" I snort. "I don't believe that Dad has always been the one trying to destroy our family. He's a monster and this only now proves it.""He's our father," Ethan says, "We have to give him a chance to explain.""Explain what? He is only going to change the story and make himself the victim," I say slamming the file on the table. I stand up on my feet running my fingers through my hair, how could he do such a thing, and why? For goodness sake she is underaged. Even if she was of age, she is old enough to be his daughter. "Sin you need to calm down," Ethan pleads."He's a predator, Ethan. He needs to be stopped before
SIN"It was way back before you asked her out and afterward, " Ethan admits, his eyes avoiding mine. "We were both drunk and it was a mistake and the other time I just wanted to be sure she wasn't interested in me."I feel a rush of emotions flood through me. Betrayal, disappointment, hurt. How did I not see this? "You kissed Mae?" I ask my voice barely a whisper.Ethan nods, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, Sin. It was a mistake. I swear it never happened again after then."I clench my jaw, trying to process the news. I feel a mix of emotions swirling inside me. I want to yell at him, to punch him, but deep down, I know I can't blame him entirely. Mae is an irresistible force, drawing people to her with her charm and beauty.But still, the betrayal stings. I trusted Ethan, I confided in him back then about my feelings for Mae and he went behind my back and kissed the one woman I cared about.I stare at him in disbelief, does he still have any feelings for her? Is that why he is avoiding
MAE"How bad is it?" I ask Ethan as we walk down the hallway. "She should spend the time she has left doing what she loves rather than staying here in the hospital," he replies."I see," I sigh. I can't believe that after all the money I have spent, this is the final result, I had high hopes for her recovery, and I had plans for what we would do when she finally gets better but now..."Hey, hey," Ethan mutters reaching out to touch my shoulders as he stops me on the track. "I am sorry," I apologize, I didn't know when my emotions clouded me and the tears I have been holding back finally dropped from my eyes. "Hey, you don't need to apologize okay?" He says reaching out to wipe away the tears on my cheeks with his thumb. "If anyone should be apologizing, it should be the doctor who was in charge of Lily's treatment.""But isn't there a solution, like a treatment she can do," I sniff in trying hard to keep my emotions in check. "The doctor reassured me that the chemo would work and s
NOAH"Noah, I know what happened. I remember everything. And I know you saved my life. But that doesn't give you the right to leave me without a word. To break our engagement and walk away. You need to understand, I thought we had something real. Something worth fighting for," she says, her voice cracking with emotion.I nod, feeling a pang of regret. Of course, what we had was real, I sent her 500 million without batting an eye, all I wanted at that moment was her and it still is, but I..."Aria, I know I made a mistake. I owe you an explanation. I just... I don't want you to get hurt because of me, I don't want your parents to..." Aria closes the distance between us placing her hand on my cheeks, I feel the warmth of her hand zapping away the frustration and anger building up inside of me from what had happened that day and how things could have turned out worse."So, what? You are going to be a coward by allowing Melissa to get into your head.""She killed two women I was involved
NOAHI thought falling in love was complicated, no, it's loving them from a distance that is quite complicated, seeing them and being unable to hold them, touch them, or even talk to them.I've been away for two weeks, trying to clear my head and make sense of everything. The investigation, Melissa's arrest, Aria's coma... it's all been too much. I know I shouldn't have left without talking to Aria, but I couldn't bear the thought of hurting her more than I already have. I've been watching her from afar, making sure she's safe and recovering well. But now, as I'm back in town, I know I will need to face her soon. As I step towards my car at the airport, I'm bombarded by reporters. "Noah, how does it feel to be back?" "Noah, what's your response to the allegations?" "Noah, are you dating anyone new?" I ignore them and rush to my car, but one of their questions strikes a nerve in me, "Do you think Melissa will have the new person in your life killed?"I turn to stare at the reporter
ARIA"Where is Noah? Is this a joke because I do not find it funny," it's been one month, one fucking month, and the first thing he decides to do instead of being right here with me, holding my hands and comforting me is to run away and give them some stupid rule over what? "What did I do? If anyone should be keeping any distance, it should be me, his psycho friend tried to kill me," I yell."A lot of Noah's flings have all suffered their fair share, Melissa has been secretly fucking up their life. The moment she finds out they are involved with Noah," Arthur explains. "The investigation found out that two of the girls died, they were able to trace it back to Melissa," he adds.I feel a chill run down my spine as I process this information. Noah's flings? How many girls has he been involved with? Two of them are dead? And all this happened while I was in a coma.My mind is racing with questions, but before I can ask any of them, Arthur drops another bombshell."Melissa had the inten
ARIAThey say a near-death experience is different for everyone, I have read that some people wake up not remembering anything leading to their accident. The last thing I remember is seeing Noah's face before blacking out, but the memories are still sharp in my head.I wake up to the beeping of machines and the antiseptic smell of a hospital, which I hate. I try to sit up, but a sharp pain in my stomach makes me wince. I look down to see my stomach is bandaged, I look around, disoriented, and see my mother sitting in a chair beside my bed, her eyes red and puffy from lack of sleep.She gasps as she sees me awake and trying to sit up, "Aria, my child, you are awake, you are awake" she yells standing on her feet, relief washing over her face.I try to speak, but my voice is hoarse and barely audible. My mother rushes out of the room and I can hear her screaming at the top of her lungs for the doctors to come, she soon comes back in with not only the doctor but my dad and Arthur. "Ari,
NOAH"Can you make a reservation at the Haute Cuisine?" I ask, making a turn into the road leading to the cabin."Is it a business meeting, Sir?" Brian questions. "I can have it set for -""It's a date Brian, not a business meeting," I interrupt him, parking the car right in front of the cabin. For a second the phone goes silent on the other end, Brian probably wondering why I am having a date in an expensive restaurant downtown and canceling my schedule for the day."A d-date?" Brian finally says stuttering. "I mean yes Sir," he says and I am sure he is already scribbling away on his note. He has always had a thing with jotting every single word I say, well it has always been useful for him especially since I love my things done almost to perfection. "A date at Haute Cuisine tonight, what menu are we looking at?" "Do not place an order?" I am not sure what Aria would like, it will be best if she makes the order instead. Anything she orders is fine by me as long as I get to look at h
ARIAMelissa stands in the doorway, a stern expression on her face. "Well, what do we have here?" she says, her voice firm but polite. What the hell is she doing here and how did she get in? Did Noah not close the door? I am sure he wouldn't have made that mistake, to keep the door open."What the hell are you doing here and how did you get in?" I ask, my voice getting loud with each word.Melissa chuckles and walks into the room, her eyes scanning the space as if searching for something. "I have a spare key, what? Did you think you are the only one Noah has brought to this cabin?"Rolling my eyes, I kiss my teeth not answering her question, it doesn't matter who has been here before. Although, I am jealous of the idea of him sharing this space with another woman, but he has made it clear that I am all he needs in his life and that is enough for me. "Anyways," she continues. "I wanted to see Noah, I have been trying to reach him since last night but he wasn't picking up my calls."O
ARIA"This should fit just fine," Noah says handing me one of his T-shirts from the wardrobe, I don't know how he convinced me to spend the night in the cabin, if anything I should be heading home to be alone, and think about the proposal but I want to be here with him. Whenever I am with him, every other thing seems meaningless. Noah had suggested spending the night at his house first, but I was against it, at least for now. His mother would just have us married at sight, if anyone wants us paired together other than Noah, it's her.I put the towel on the hanger and wear the T-shirt over my head, the T-shirt fits like a dress, big and just above my knee. I check my face in the mirror, packing my hair into a ponytail before leaving the bathroom. I am not surprised when I find Noah in his pajamas standing by the door waiting patiently for me to come out. His eyes light up the moment I step out, his eyes falling from my face to his T-shirt on my body. "Noah, you're staring," I say, t
NOAHDammit!I have placed her in a spot, look at her eyes, I can see the desire to say yes, but also the confusion at how soon this is all happening. I knew I should have waited a bit, but I don't think I can.The thought of someone else and not me being her life is going to completely wreck me. I always have this ring, it has been in the family for ages, all I had to do was ask my mother for it. She was stunned when I asked, "Are you sure Noah? I mean I am happy you are finally asking for the ring, but are you sure you want it?" She asked."Aria, you don't have to say anything right now," I say, not wanting to get rejected. Her rejection will hurt more than her silence. "How about you think about it? I don't want to pressure you into anything okay?" I say holding her hand and placing the ring in her hand. "Y-You want me to think about it, while I hold on to the ring?" She stutters. "That's a lot of pressure Noah, and... And this ring looks like a family heirloom."Of course, she d
ARIA"So, what's it with you and this cabin?" I ask as he offers me a glass of wine before joining me on the couch. "Do you bring all your girlfriends here?" "Girlfriend?" He chuckles taking a sip from his wine glass. "I don't do girlfriends Aria, you are the first."First? I don't know if I should believe that or not. "The cabin is just a safe space for me, away from everyone," he continues."Well, the reason I wanted us to meet was because of my parents," I begin, taking a sip from my drink. He raises an eyebrow, " Your parents? Are they fine?""Yeah, they are but my dad suspects foul play, he thinks someone might be on to him and my mum. He said the accident was caused by the brake failure," I explain. "He wants his recovery with that of my mother hidden for now, he hopes this will hopefully lure out whoever is behind it."Noah takes a sip of his drink, nodding his head, "You want me to hide seeing him and your mother?""Yeah, for now of course," I say."You know, you could have