Josh was in the guest room—the one he had been occupying ever since he woke up from the coma—when he heard something crash outside his room.His heart leapt into his throat, and blame it on the deeply seated paranoia in his bones, before he could help himself, his brain was flipping through the worst-case scenarios.In seconds, he had thrown open the doors and seemed ready to save or tackle whatever it was.To his surprise, it wasn’t either Caleb or Elena who needed the help, it was Kelsey.And to his absolute horror, she was lying on the floor with her back to the wall, broken pieces of a vase scattered all around her.Before Josh could come to a conclusion about what the hell he was witnessing, the sister of his dead wife hiccuped.“Josh!” she practically sang his name, her eyes a little droopy. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t…” she wiped her face with the back of her hand. “…I didn’t see the vase. Who the hell keeps a decorative right in the middle of a hallway though?” She tried to get up but
Josh stormed back into the room, feeling like breaking someone’s face.Goddammit! Who the fuck did she think she was to sputter such nonsense like that? And about her own sister? Who the fuck did that? And why? What did she think she would gain from it? Why did she try to stain the name of his wife?God, he was pissed off.Shaking his head, he went to his study and took a bottle from the small bar in the corner. He poured himself a tumbler full of whiskey and gulped it down without pause. He winced, his throat burning with a sensation that almost hurt.But he held it in. He slammed the empty tumbler back on the table before making himself another round.Shit.The last time he wanted to get drunk this badly was a long time ago.But now, he just wanted to keep drinking until everything that dumb bitch had said about his wife was drowned by the alcohol. He just wanted to forget about it, forget it in a way that he never remembered the conversation ever happened.Could he do that? Was it p
Simon kissed the sleeping Elena one last time before rolling out of bed and changing into a fresh pair of shirt and pants. On his way out, he made sure to turn off the lights and close the door as gently as possible.Once downstairs, he lit a cigarette and headed out, gesturing to one of the guards standing outside to bring him the car Elena and he drove back to his home.The guard did as he was told, and soon enough a sleek black car was rolling down in front of him and the driver was stepping out, walking back to the boot of the car, and opening it.Simon breathed out a puff of white smoke and looked inside, humming gently as he watched a tied and gagged Richard McDowell aka his nephew (for some reason, thinking of which gave him unwanted shudders—he just hated that they were related. If only he could do something to stop his father from adopting his mother in the first place. Oh wait, he couldn’t have. He wasn’t born then.) lying in the boot.Fuck, he really hoped this bastard heard
Josh was sitting in his office the next morning when Hudson strolled into his cabin, looking worried. Josh dropped whatever he was doing on his laptop and leaned back. “What’s wrong?”“Mrs. Pestova is here to see you.”Well, that certainly made sense. Josh nodded, capping the pen he had been holding. “Let her in.”“As you say, sir.”Hudson went out and soon enough returned with a very annoyed Nina Pestova in tow. Hudson chose to stand behind Josh while Nina grabbed the chair Josh pointed at.“This is ridiculous, Josh. You’re being very unreasonable, and you know that,” she gritted out lowly as she crossed her legs and glared hard.Josh did not rise to the bait. He stayed calm, blinking. “Care to elaborate? The lack of context is making my head hurt.”“You know very well what I’m talking about here. Ever since you came back, you have been avoiding us like the plague. What, Josh? Are we not friends anymore? Have you forgotten everything my family and I have done for you? How could you ju
“I’m getting late, Simon,” Elena whined as she pushed against him, her palms flat on his hard chest, her eyes wide and up, staring at the ceiling.Simon continued kissing her neck, grunting and growling, pinning her hands behind her on the table, trying his best to make her stay.They were currently in his home office right now. She had come to say goodbye so she could leave for her shoot and then home, but ended up being thrown on his desk and ravished. Not that she was complaining. She loved the attention he showered on her, but she did have to leave.And she was getting late.Simon didn’t listen to her; he was too lost in her scent, the feel of her skin, and the sound of her moans and whimpers. He loved it when she moaned his name so sexily. He loved it when she couldn’t control her lust but fought against it anyway. He loved it when she tried to break free but ended up giving in to him, again and again.Elena bit her lower lip to stop herself from moaning when he tugged her earlobe
The drive to the hospital was fast and yet so damn painful.Elena couldn’t sit still even for a second, her chest tightening at the thought of Caleb being hurt, crying and asking for his mom who could no longer hear his calls. Her heart broke for the millionth time, knowing no one would ever be able to fill that void inside him.As soon as the car came to a halt at the driveway, she bolted for the glass doors.Simon didn’t try to stop her; he knew this was important. But he didn’t try to follow her either. He knew Josh was inside and he would not appreciate him tagging along with his sister, no matter the circumstances.Normally, Simon wouldn’t have cared about his feelings, but for Elena… he would do that for her. He would stay away and let her handle this on her own, putting his trust in her, hoping she would make all the right choices, hoping she would take care of herself and everyone.Elena reached the elevator and punched the buttons anxiously, hating everything and everyone when
“I’m sorry, Miss Adams, but I really can’t do anything. The pressure from the board members is too much for me to even try to convince them otherwise,” the principal said, looking distressed, more miserable than Angelina herself, whom he had just fired for negligence.“Besides,” he continued, sighing deeply, “there’s no point in making your case. They have made up their minds, and nothing you or I do will change that. Trust me, I have already tried.”Angie sagged back in her chair, scowling at the desk. “Did you tell them what actually happened?”“I did,” the man said, not hiding his sympathy for her. He was a good man, after all. That much she knew. She couldn’t even blame him or throw a fit at him; she knew he must have tried his hardest to make them understand. “But they are not ready to listen. To be honest, I know they are under terrible pressure too.”That made Angie frown. “Who can pressure the board members? And all of them, at that?” It sounded like a terrible joke, but seeing
Josh was at home in his office when one of the maids knocked on his door.“Sir, someone is here to see you,” she announced.Josh looked up, unsure who could be visiting at this hour. It wasn’t late, but it wasn’t office hours either. Besides, he hadn’t called anyone. He intended to keep the house quiet so Caleb could get all the rest he needed.And yet, someone had come.He nodded at the maid. “Bring them in, but make sure Caleb isn’t disturbed.”“As you say, sir,” the maid replied.She hurried out, and Josh returned to his work. After a few minutes, another knock interrupted him. With his back to the door, Josh was focused on finding a file on the shelf behind his desk.“Come in,” he said, reaching forward to grab the file once he found it, then settling back into his chair.But as he turned, his gaze fell on a woman standing a few feet away from his desk. The surprise on her face mirrored his own astonishment.If Josh’s memory served him right, she was the same woman who had insulted
Hey lovely readers,First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you if you’ve made it to the end. It wasn’t an easy journey, I know, but you stayed, and that means everything to me. :)Secondly, let me get straight to what I said I would be talking about in this note.I know a lot of you (probably all of you) must be wondering what happens with Josh next, and what about Angelina, Betty, Caleb, and the other kids.No worries—the reason I decided not to continue their stories here is that I’ll be exploring that story arc in a new book. It will probably be published soon (I’ll do my best, I promise). I realized that Josh’s story needed its own space because there was so much I wanted to write for him, and that couldn’t happen alongside Simon and Elena, who were obviously nearing their happy ending.But yes, it’s impossible to write about Josh without Elena, so Elena and Simon will be making appearances in the new book as well. Maybe sometimes more than I intend, because God knows I lov
After their little party was over and everyone went back to the guest rooms to rest, Elena laid their sleeping daughter in her crib and tucked her nicely.A pair of warm hands slid around her waist from behind, a kiss landed on her shoulder. “Thank you for today. How long have you been planning all this? And how the hell did you manage to invite Josh? I didn’t take him for a party person. Not these days.” He whispered into her ear, making her skin tingle.“You have to ask me how I got your brother to attend? I have my ways of making people do what I want.” She grinned as she turned in his arms and looped hers around his neck.He grinned as well. “Is that right? Do those ways include threatening? Do I want to know the details?” He said jokingly, knowing how Elena is, and she was very much the kind of person who’d go out of her way to make the things that were important to her, happen.“Oh, I think you don’t really want to know. But, I just had to do it for you.”She gave him a light kis
Simon woke up in the middle of the night, his heart racing.He looked around himself, patting his hand around in search of the person he was hoping to find. But to his dismay, there was no one else on the bed with him.“Elena?” he said out loud, frowning at the darkness.His hand patted the sheets and pillow again, trying to feel for her body, but he found nothing. Where was she? Where did she go?“Elena?”No response.He was starting to worry now. Where was she? He could feel a sense of dread slowly filling up inside him. He needed to find her. He needed to know if she was okay.Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from outside his room. He quickly got out of bed, put on his sweatpants and a t-shirt and opened the door.There was no one in the hallway. It was eerily quiet.He frowned, he could swear he heard someone walk by just now.“Elena, are you here? Please say something, darling. It’s me.” He said as he walked slowly to the end of the hallway, bare feet.Just when he thought he
Elena stood outside the doors, clutching the bouquet tightly in her hands. She was shaking, and she knew that anyone who could see her right now would notice, including her brother, Josh.“You’re not a very confident bride, are you?” he teased.She rolled her eyes, wanting to punch him but refraining from causing any casualties at her wedding.“I’m just nervous, that’s all.”“Understandable,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Trust me, you’re not the only one.”She looked up at him, unsure of what he meant. “What do you mean?”“Simon probably feels way worse. I mean, did you see him before he went into that room with his friends? He was sweating bullets.”She shook her head. “You’re making that up.”“I’m not, I swear!” He chuckled. “He’s just as scared as you are, if not more. And that’s a sight I never thought I’d see in my life.”She smiled a little. “I guess you’re right. He is pretty intimidating.”“Exactly. So you have nothing to worry about.” He patted her shoulder. “You’ve got thi
Richard whistled, and Danika watched as Greg, standing outside the room, appeared and uncuffed him.“What the fuck?” Danika was shocked. “How did you… How did you do that?” She turned to face Greg. “You… you work for me, not him! Cuff him back to the door, you giant imbecile!”“Sorry, miss,” Greg said in a deep voice, “I don’t think I will. Mr. McDowell here paid me a lot more money than you to change sides.”“What?!”“That’s right.” Richard stood up, rubbing his wrists. “This is over for you, Danika. Let’s just end this before anyone gets hurt.”Shocked and now furious, Danika was not someone who would give up so easily. Her fingers tightened around the scalpel in her hand. She would fight. She would not go down without a fight.“You think you can win, Richard? You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Well, you’re wrong. I’m not going anywhere. If I can’t have Elena, then no one can.”Without warning, she lunged at Elena, swinging the scalpel towards her throat. But before she could eve
“Is everything set up?” the first man who carried the unconscious bride asked.“Yes,” Greg, who stood outside the operating theater, nodded. “The room is ready. All the equipment is working fine. Just leave her inside, and that woman will handle the rest.”“Sounds good to me,” the other man said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.“Yeah, me too. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I don’t want to be here for too long. My wife and daughter have been going on and on about this wedding, and if they come to know I was part of it, they’ll never let me hear the end of it,” the first one said.“Don’t worry. You’ll be paid handsomely,” Greg assured, opening the door for them. “I’ll make sure of that. We just need to do our jobs and get out of here. Simple as that.”“Fine,” the two men said in unison.Danika was waiting for them next to the table, a smile on her face. “Ah, there you are. Any trouble?”“No. Everything’s fine.”“Excellent. Place her on the table, please.”They
Danika was so damn ready for the final stage of her revenge.She had planned everything meticulously, and now all her efforts were coming to fruition. She was smiling to herself when the phone rang, and she picked it up, already aware of what she was about to hear.“We got her,” the man with the deep voice said. “On our way now. Will be there in twenty.”“Perfect. See you then.”She hung up, unable to stop the grin from forming on her face. Everything was going according to plan. And it was just getting started.She looked around. She was standing right in the middle of an abandoned hospital, the perfect place to host her little celebration. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Simon’s face once he realized his bride was gone. And this time, for good. He would be devastated, broken, destroyed. The thought alone was enough to make her laugh.“What’s so funny?” Richard asked as he walked into what looked like an operating theatre.“Just imagining Simon’s face once he realizes I’ve taken
Simon was pacing outside the bridal suite, restless and nervous. One of the servers had informed him that Elena wasn’t feeling well, and he had dropped everything he was doing to rush over and see if she was okay, or if they needed to cancel the wedding. Because he totally could. Nothing was more important to him than his soon-to-be wife’s well-being.“Come on, open the fucking door! Let me in. Just once. I swear, I won’t even say a word.”“Not yet, Simon,” came the familiar voice of Diana. “We talked about this. You can’t see the bride before the wedding.”“Fuck that. This is a fucking emergency. She’s not answering the phone. What if something’s wrong?”“Relax. She’s fine. She just needs a few minutes alone. The excitement is getting to her. But she’ll be out soon. Don’t worry.”“Diana, I swear to God, if you don’t open the door right now, I’m breaking it down. I don’t care if I have to chop the entire thing down.”“Go away, Simon. Or I’m going to tell Elena what you did the other da
And while celebrations and laughter were being shared in one part of the world, in another corner, a different kind of gathering was being planned—a more sinister, dark, and twisted celebration.“I knew I’d find you here,” a familiar voice whispered in his ear. Richard glanced over his shoulder, frowning at the face he hadn’t seen in a while. But there was no mistaking it. The woman was actually here, and the first thing he wanted to do upon recognizing her was to wrap his fingers around her throat and squeeze until she stopped breathing.“What do you want?” he growled, turning back to his drink as he sat at the bar of one of the elite clubs.“Why? No welcome? Where are your manners, Richie?”He hated it when she called him that.“What are you doing here, Danika? I thought I made it clear you were not to contact me again.”“And I thought I made it clear that I have no intention of backing off until you realize that we both have the same enemy. Until you agree to work with me.”“You are