Elena wasn’t sure why her life couldn’t be any easier. Why couldn’t she just find happiness without having to deal with all these complications? She sighed heavily, dropping her purse on the couch and kicking off her shoes before collapsing face-first onto the soft cushions. After she left Simon’s place, she asked her driver to take her home. That was the only place where she felt safe, where she could hide from everything and everyone. Here, she didn’t have to think about her problems. Here, she didn’t have to worry about Richard or Simon. But unfortunately, Elena couldn’t escape forever. Because the moment she stepped inside her house, she was reminded of Josh and everything that happened. Her brother was in a coma. She could even hear the beep of machines coming from upstairs. She closed her eyes tightly, burying her face deeper into the pillows. “Why do you have to make me so miserable, Josh? Why?” She mumbled under her breath, wrapping her arms around herself. She wished he wo
Nina Pestova made plans to visit Simon again.The little get-together she had planned had not gone according to the plan. She knew he was mad at her, angry about how his father—George Walsh—and she decided to carry on their relationship. Or better yet, affair.Nina was still married to Ian when George came into her life, but she fell in love with him anyway. He was a handsome man, smart and cunning, a powerful businessman. There was something dangerous about him, in his dark green eyes, that drew Nina in like a moth to a flame.They started having an affair behind her husband’s back. But Ian found out, and Nina had to choose between the two men she had grown to love. She chose Ian in the end and gave up the child born out of her affair with George. That child was Simon.George, on the other hand, couldn’t give up on what they had. He was a stubborn man and he refused to let Nina go so easily. But hurting Nina or destroying her peaceful world was something he couldn’t bear. So he decid
“Caleb, here!” Elena shouted from outside the school gates, waving her hand frantically to attract Caleb’s attention. He spotted her immediately and ran towards her with a huge smile on his face, throwing himself in Elena’s arms. “Auntie Elena! Auntie Elena! I’m back!” He squealed excitedly, hugging her with all his little might. Elena chuckled, ruffling his hair affectionately. “Yes, I know. Did you miss me?” “Yes, yes, yes! I missed you so much and I have so much to tell you.” Elena laughed, kissing his forehead lovingly. “Tell me everything, baby boy. But let’s do that while we drive back home. Okay, sweetie?” She took Caleb’s backpack from him and handed it to the driver, before lifting Caleb up and settling him down in the backseat of her car. “Okay!” Caleb replied happily. Elena climbed inside after him, buckling both their seatbelts securely. Then she instructed the driver to start driving, as Caleb began telling her stories about his adventures during his summer camp. El
Simon watched Elena stomp down the stairs of her mansion with a small grin on his face. He had never seen her so furious before.“What are you doing here?” She hissed the moment she reached him. Simon raised his eyebrow in amusement, taking in her appearance. She looked beautiful even when she was angry. She wore a black blouse, matching pants and high heels. Her hair was tied back neatly into a low bun and her face was free of makeup, except for some lip gloss. Simon licked his lips unconsciously, imagining how those plump pink lips would taste like.“Are you even listening to me?” She snapped impatiently, snapping him out of his thoughts.Simon cleared his throat, pushing away his dirty fantasies to the back of his mind. “Sorry, darling. Got distracted there for a moment.”Elena crossed her arms over her chest, looking unimpressed. Simon chuckled, opening the passenger door of his car and gesturing for her to get inside. But Elena wasn’t about to move until she knew what the hell w
During the entire ride back home, Elena stayed quiet. Her gaze remained fixed outside the passing scenery while Simon tried to give her the time and space she needed. Or so she hoped. She couldn’t get the image of the man in the cemetery out of her mind. Even though she couldn’t see his face because of how dark it was, she thought she knew him. She just couldn’t…place him. Strange, wasn’t it? Who was he and what did he have to do with Shelly? Was he a friend of hers and Josh? A family friend maybe? Who the hell was he? He had to be someone close, right? Why else would he bring Shelly flowers? Elena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was driving her insane. Simon must have noticed her distress, because he spoke up then, “Don’t think too hard about it. You’ll ruin your pretty little brain.” Elena rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat to glare at him. “Do you really have to be so annoying all the time?” Simon chuckled, his eyes never leaving the road. “It’s my natural ta
“I’m so sorry, I’m late,” Danika said hurriedly, as she rushed towards the table where Detective Cortez sat, waiting for her. “The shoot went longer than expected, and traffic was terrible.” Cortez waved her off, smiling kindly. “It’s fine, Miss Carter. I understand. Being famous must be exhausting sometimes.” Danika slid into the chair, but couldn’t hide her surprise. “You know my last name.” Detective Cortez shrugged nonchalantly. “I do my homework. It helps when you want to build a rapport with someone. Anyway,” he smiled, and Danika could only admire how handsome he looked with that smile. It didn’t help that he was dressed impeccably either. “Let’s get down to business. Shall we?” “Of course.” She agreed, folding her hands neatly in front of her, smiling. “I thought you’d be offended when I cancelled the lunch and suggested dinner instead. I hope you don’t mind.” Cortez shook his head. “Not at all. I understand completely. I’m sure you have a very busy schedule to keep up wi
There were too many cameras.The annual charity gala was a gathering place for celebrities, influencers, models, businessmen and women, politicians, philanthropists, artists, and others to flaunt their wealth and success. Every year, it was held in a luxurious mansion belonging to one of the organizers, who was always eager to show off their riches.This year, it was the turn of the famous Hollywood actress, Jasmine Milano, to host the gala. Jasmine was one of Elena’s idols, someone she had looked up to ever since she was a teenager. Aware of her obsession with the older actress, her father once launched a product in collaboration with Jasmine, and Elena was ecstatic when he invited her to the launch party. But she was sixteen at the time, too shy and awkward to talk to her idol, so she stayed hidden behind her mother and didn’t dare to approach Jasmine.However, now Elena had grown into a beautiful woman herself, and she wasn’t the same naive teenager anymore. She had moved past seek
Elena stormed back inside, her chest so tight she could almost not breathe.It was only when she reentered the room among the faces, which were nothing but a blur to her blindingly troubled mind, that she felt somewhat safe.She knew there were chances for Richard or any other member of the McDowells to show up at the Gala, but what she had not expected was to be dragged away by her ex-husband, as if she had no will of her own.The thought that he still had the audacity to treat her as if she were his to control made her angry. It made her want to push him away until he disappeared from her sight. It made her want to slap him so hard he would know better than to even think he had that kind of right over her.Because he didn’t.It took a cheating husband, a quick and greased divorce, and months of crying in her room at night for her to understand that she deserved so much more than a man as self-centred and as much of an asshole as him. That she deserved someone who did not make her fee
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