MAEI tilt my head slowly to the side feeling a weight on my body as I open my eyes slowly to find Sin sleeping on my bare chest. His breathing is steady and calm, his arm wrapped protectively around me. I run my fingers through his hair, feeling the soft strands against my skin.I can't help but smile at the sight of him so peaceful and vulnerable in sleep. I have never seen him like this before, I extend my hand slowly not wanting to wake him up from his sleep. He must be exhausted from working last night on all those paperwork and the events of last night the passion, the desire, the connection we shared. I never expected things to escalate so quickly, but I have no regrets.I lean down brushing his hair to the side and press a soft kiss to the top of his head, why do I feel so peaceful wrapped up in his embrace? I watch him for a few more moments before gently slipping out from under him, careful not to disturb his slumber. I pull on my robe over my naked body and tiptoe out of
MAEMrs. Hayes scoffs, "Of course, she's gone. She's probably off to seduce another man for her gain. That girl is nothing but trouble. Didn't I tell you not to trust them? Not to believe their lies. We are all over the news, they are making a mockery of not only your father but Hayes Tech."Sin looks at me, his eyes filled with disbelief and hurt. "Did she tell you about this? Did she tell you what she did?"I shake my head, the tears starting to blur my vision. Lily would never do something like this, even though the video was clear, I still can't bring myself to believe that Lily would do something like this. "She didn't tell me anything. I don't understand, Sin. I don't know what to believe."He takes a deep breath, his jaw clenched in anger. "Where the hell is she?" He yells.Mrs. Hayes watches us with a look of triumph on her face, satisfied by the current shift of behavior from Sin towards me. "I-I don't know, last night we were...." I trail off knowing it will be awkward to
SIN"Sinclair," my mother smiles as I step into the mansion, I have been overwhelmed with so much emotion on my drive here. I am still in disbelief at what I watched on my mother's phone. Ryder had been trying to reach me but I was fast asleep with Mae to hear the phone ring. It made me wonder if she was on this whole plot with her sister, was last night a distraction to keep me away from noticing her sister running away or does she truly have no idea of what her sister did? "Were you able to find her?" My mother questions holding my hand as we walk into the living room to find my Dad, Ethan, and our family lawyer sitting and discussing. They raise their head at the sight of me but they don't say a word, I don't miss the look of resentment on my father's face. To think I had him arrested and made my lawyer have him spend the night in jail without bail. I sit down on the couch as my mother sits beside me holding my hand and offering me a bit of comfort, "Ryder is still out looking
MAEI look outside my room window and back at the wall clock, it's been three hours, and still no sign of Sin or Lily calling me back. I have called her over and over again, dropped close to ten voice mail, and still no response.What could be happening? Are they going to be arrested? Is she in trouble? And why the hell did she take the darn flash drive? What is she up to? Why did she do all of this? I run my finger through my hair feeling a migraine coming from all the questions in my head. My attention suddenly diverts from the window to the door as I hear the door knob open slowly, I expect Sin to step in but to my surprise, it's Ethan."Ethan?""Hey! Sin was skeptical about letting you out but I thought it best to come speak to you," he explains. "Where is he? Was he able to find Lily?" I ask."We found her.""Where is she? Is she alright? I hope she is not in any danger?" Ethan shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Mae. Lily is currently with your Aunt."My heart drops at his words. "M
MAEAfter Sin leaves, Ethan tries to talk me into following them and I soon agree to it not because of Sin, but because I want to meet Lily, to understand her side of the story in all of this, and to know why she did what she did. Why did she take the flash drive and go to Aunt Margaret?I freshen up and change into a clean pair of clothes as Ethan and I join Sin on the ground floor. The ride to the mansion is quiet, so quiet that it feels suffocating. I throw secret glances at Sin, his hand tightens on the steering wheel as he makes a turn, his jaw flexes, and his eyes flicker as he grinds his teeth. I wonder what he is thinking about.I kiss my teeth remembering how rudely he spoke to me earlier, why am I even bothering about what he might be thinking? I look outside the window upset at him, at Lily, and the entire situation. As we pull up to the imposing gates of the mansion, my heart pounds in anticipation and unease. I don't know what to expect from Lily or my aunt. Sin looks
MAE"I said what is going on here?" Aunt Margaret questions again after getting no response from any of us."I believe that you know why we are here," Ethan speaks up."If this is about the flash drive, I am their aunt and it is in their best interest that the flash drive stays with me. Like I mentioned to Lily earlier Mae can move in," Aunt Margaret replies but there is something about her tone that doesn't sit right with me."Sin could you excuse us for a moment?" I ask not wanting this conversation to escalate."Yeah I think that's a good idea," Ethan agrees pulling Sin to the side, I see the reluctance in Sin's eyes but he follows Ethan as they walk back to the car leaning on the side."Just come stay with us Mae, you don't need to rely on him," Lily adds diverting my attention back to them, she reaches out to hold my hand. "I cannot believe that you believe her Lily, I understand that she is our Aunt but after everything she has done to us," I try to reason with Lily, how naive
MAEMy jaw drops, and I stare at Aunt Margaret incredulously. "What?" I exclaim."You heard me," Aunt Margaret replies, her eyes unwavering. "Lily and Sin will get engaged. And in return, we'll make an apology video."Lily's face is pale, and she looks terrified. I look back at Ethan and Sin waiting patiently by the car, Sin's expression is grim and I don't know if it's what Ethan is telling him or maybe he just heard what my aunt said. "That's ridiculous!" I protest. "You can't just force them to get engaged!""Force? No one is forcing anyone into this," Aunt Margaret says calmly. "They are both adults.""Sin will not agree to it, so come up with something else," I protest."And why won't Sin agree to it?" Lily asks placing her hand on her waist, she looks at me with a puzzled look waiting patiently for my answer."He won't, we already talked about this Lily you know-""I told you I liked Sin and you took him away from me, the least you can do now is actually allow us to get engaged
SIN"Why am I getting locked up again?" She yells at me, her eyes widened in surprise and anger. "Ryder," I call out to him wondering why it's taking him too long to grab her inside. Ryder also looks confused by my order but he closes the distance between him and Mae."Please Ma'am, don't make this difficult," Ryder pleads with her motioning her to step into the elevator. She rolls her eyes at Ryder and then at me before taking a step back, "You can't lock me up, I am not some pet," She cries out. She takes another step and this time she makes a run for it.She doesn't get far when Ryder catches up to her quickly. He is fast and knows how to handle situations like this. As he grabs her arm gently, Mae tries to pull away. But Ryder is strong and doesn't let her go. "Please, Ma'am, I don't want to hurt you," he says in a calm voice. She looks at him, scared and angry at the same time. She stops trying to escape as though the realization has hit her that she can't escape from me or th