SINI rub my cheek, feeling the sting of her slap. "M-my child," she stutters realization hitting her. She places her hand on my cheek gently, her expression softening. "I-I didn't mean to... But you must understand, that these are serious accusations. We can't just throw words like that around without proof. Your father has his faults, but this... this is something else."I pull away from her touch, the hurt not just from the slap but from the years of neglect, of being second to whatever image my father wanted to project to the world. "Proof?" I scoff, the word bitter in my mouth. "You want proof?" I reach into my pocket bringing out my phone to show them the video. Ethan, who had been silent, finally speaks up, his voice tentative. "Sin, maybe we should discuss this calmly. There could be a misunderstanding.""A misunderstanding?" I repeat, incredulous. My gaze shifts between Ethan and my parents, seeing the family facade for what it really is—a sham. "You think someone would mi
MAEMy eyes flutter open a mixture of confusion and concern washing over me as the muffled sounds of an argument penetrate the quiet of my room. I look at the time on the wall clock, it's just 1:00 am. I listen closely, wondering if I was dreaming, I hear a female voice this time and I recognize one of the voices as Lily's. Is she alright? I get out of bed quickly slipping into my robe, the soft fabric gliding over my skin as I move with urgency. The cool air of the night brushes against my face, heightening my senses as I step out of my bedroom.I make my way towards the living room, drawn by the sound of Lily's voice. The arguing grows louder as I approach, a mix of voices now, but Lily stands out, tinged with frustration and something else... fear? My heart beats faster, concern for her well-being pushing me forward.As I round the corner, the scene before me brings me to a halt. Two police officers stand near the entrance, their expressions serious, as Lily faces them, her body
MAE"I can't believe this is happening," I mutter, feeling a deep sense of sadness for Lily, for Sin, for the entire situation. My mind is reeling, trying to process the gravity of what has just been revealed to me.We have always kept our distance from the Hayes, so how did this happen? and why? Of all the women in town, why did he choose my sister? He has enough money to pay any woman to do his bidding, why Lily?My head throbs and I can't help but wonder if there is any truth to the rumors that have been circulating about his father for years. Rumors of illegal dealings, bribes, and even murder.Sin reaches out to me, placing his hand on mine. "Mae, I am sorry you had to find out this way. But please, trust me when I say that I will do everything in my power to make sure my father pays for what he did to Lily."His words are sincere and I can see the pain he is holding back behind his stoic facade. I nod, trying to compose myself from breaking down as I wrap my head around the enor
SIN"I hope you both slept well," I ask Mae and Lily as they step into the living room, they barely look like they have gotten much sleep."Good morning Ma'am," Victoria greets Mae bowing her head slightly as she places a tray on the dining table. Last night Mae had joined Lily in her room, I checked on them later in the night to find them cuddled up in bed sound asleep. I was worried they wouldn't get any sleep since I could hear they still talking in the room for a while."Yeah, I did," Mae replies. "Morning Victoria."They walk over and join me taking their seat quietly as an image on the television catches my attention, "could you turn the volume up Victoria?""Yes Sir," she nods, reaches for the remote on the table, and quickly increases the volume on the TV."Breaking news," the news reporter begins, "The renowned billionaire, Mr. Robert Hayes, has been formally arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, including the rape of Lily Winchester, the daughter of t
SIN"Lily was just talking about going back to our house in the estate to get the car key of my father's car since Aunt Margaret is trying to get us back into the family but I was explaining to her that it isn't a good idea," Mae replies avoiding my eyes, a clear sign that she is hiding something. I narrow my eyes at her, sensing that she's not being entirely truthful. "Your dad's car key?" I raise an eyebrow at her."It's our right, it was our father's she can't deny us his car," Lily adds looking at me. Seems she is a better liar than Mae, if I didn't know better I would find this a good reason but Mae has never been materialistic, and even if she is a car? Are they kidding me? They could have come up with a better lie."Mae, what is it that you're not telling me?" I press, my tone firm. "We both know a car is the least of your problems right now."Mae hesitates, her hands trembling slightly as she packs the item into the bag before she finally sighs and meets my gaze. "There's som
MAE"We'll be waiting," I reply. Maybe it's not a bad idea to let him in on our plan, the more people we have on our side the better. We pack up Lily's things and head to the ground floor. As we reach the ground floor, Ryder opens the back door of the car for us, Lily gets inside while I follow suit but I am stopped halfway by Sin, he grabs me by my arm pulling me back slowly. "No goodbye kiss," he raises an eyebrow. "What?" I stare at him with a puzzled look. He leans in closer planting a kiss on my lips. It's a quick, soft peck but it sends a shiver down my spine. As his lips slowly leave mine, I am left standing there frozen in place. He plants another kiss on my cheeks and this time he whispers into my ear, "Be a good girl, I will be back soon before you know it.""Um- yes," I nod still in shock by the public display of affection from him, I never imagined him to be someone like that or maybe he is and I am just starting to see the affectionate side of him.With a nod, I get
SINI walk into my office to find the senator sitting down waiting patiently for me with his bodyguard standing on his side. He has been trying to reach me for a while, but I intentionally kept him on hold. A strategy I use quite well to build up desperation and looking at him now I can see it written all over his face."Good morning Senator," I greet extending my hand for a handshake. He stands up from his seat taking my hand. "Sin Hayes," he nods. "Was wondering if I will be kept on hold yet again today?" I smile as I gesture for him to take a seat in front of my desk. "I apologize for the delay, Senator. I've been quite busy with some urgent matters."He nods, taking a seat and motioning for his bodyguard to stand back. "I understand, it's no news that your father was arrested this morning for a rape charge I believe.""Yes," I nod taking my seat. "I assume that's not the reason why you are here this morning.""As much as I would love to find out what happened, that's the least
MAE"He really said that?" I chuckle out loud sinking back into my chair and struggling to stop myself from laughing.After Ryder dropped us back home, me and Lily decided to catch up on things we hadn't been able to do due to her illness and always being at the hospital. After Lunch, Lily began to tell me all about the hilarious moments she had encountered in the hospital. I am not certain I have laughed this hard in a while. It feels good to just be normal again, even if it's just for a little while."Yeah, it was the craziest thing," Lily says with a grin. "I couldn't believe it either.""Feels like you had fun than I imagined, here I was thinking you spent most of the day in your bed," I chuckle. "Well, I did spend a lot of time in bed, but I also made sure to have some fun whenever I could," Lily replies, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You know I am thinking of creating a to-do list, things I want to do before you know."I pause, my lips curling into a flat line. I know Ethan
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