Looks like Simon is getting closer. Who do you think is trying to frame Elena? Have you figured out what's going on yet? :) Thank you for reading this chapter and voting with gems, please keep the love coming :P
All hell broke loose for Richard when he heard of Cece’s death. For a minute, he almost refused to believe it. He thought that maybe, just maybe, there was some kind of misunderstanding. Because the last time he checked, his step-sister was missing not dead. But she was, and that made no sense at all. Fuck. “Richard,” his father sounded as if he was talking from under the water. He could barely understand what the older man was saying, but he made no move to tell him so because interrupting him now felt not only rude but also cruel. No matter how their family dynamics were to the outside world, there was no lie in the fact that his father adored his stepdaughter, so much so that he often put her before everything else. Richard always thought his father did that to appease Melinda, his second wife, but he could have been wrong. “Dad, I’ll be home as soon as possible. Please take care of yourself and mom.” Richard disconnected the call and put the phone aside, finally able to hear
Nina sat in the living room, letting the mild scent of freshly brewed coffee wash over her, right before one of the servants put the cup down on the glass table. Briefly, she tore her gaze from the magazine on her lap and thanked the man with a nod of her head. Once the servant left, she turned to face her younger son, having summoned him for something she needed to talk about. “Ben said you paid a visit to Simon,” she said to her son, not exactly a question but a statement, as if letting him know there was no point in lying or denying or ignoring even. It was better to come clean, instead of wasting both of their time. “Would you like to talk about it?” Derek rolled his eyes, not at his mother, but more at the question itself. “There’s nothing to talk about it.” He grunted. “Are you sure?” her question was almost instant, as if she was already prepared for his pointless attempt to brush her off. “Because the last time I checked, you weren’t a huge fan of Simon. Even the sight of
Elena looked out the window of the car and swallowed lightly, suddenly awfully nervous.“You don’t have to go, Elena, if you don’t wish to. Take rest, be with Caleb, it would help take your mind off things.”Elena knew Simon was right. But she also knew the moment she was in her house all by herself, she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about what had happened at the police station, about all those questions that the detective threw at her, and all those implications. She wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it at all.And she needed to stop thinking about it.If she was to have any hope of keeping a sane head about herself, then she needed to keep busy, and do something to keep her thoughts and emotions at bay.“I can’t,” she said with a sigh, as if to herself and not to him. “I sent him to school and it’s just, I don’t want him to see me like this.” She brushed her hand across her forehead and took in a deep breath. “It’s better this way. He wouldn’t even realize I was here the
Cortez woke up with a groan, warm rays too harsh on his face, the soft touch on his lips almost feeling like a dream, his brain foggy with the last dredges of sleep still hanging around him like a soft mist, clouding his thoughts and senses. It was the touch of that hand on his lips again, followed by a soft brush of fingers through his hair that he slowly woke up from the deep slumber, and felt the first hints of reality slip in, and a soft smile make its way to his lips. The sun was warm, the air in the room chilly and fresh, the light breeze of the air-conditioner brushing against the skin that was bare, and that touch… “Finally,” he heard the voice that had become way too familiar in the last few hours. “I thought I might have to give up, you were so peaceful like that, sleeping. It was almost a shame to wake you up.” Cortez almost chuckled but stopped himself just in time as he finally opened his eyes and faced Danika. His sharp gaze instantly took in what she was wearing, or
To say Simon was annoyed as he skimmed through the “hot” online article his assistant had handed him over a while ago would be an understatement. His jaw had clenched so tightly that he wondered if it might be possible to break a bone there. He sighed and closed the paper. “Is this her idea of distracting the media from the investigation?” His assistant who stood across the desk nodded. “Looks like it, sir. But if I have to be honest, it’s not a bad move either. It might actually work.” Simon tossed the tablet away and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew his brilliant assistant had a point, but at the same time, he felt a piercing impulse to put an end to this damn thing once and for all. He just couldn’t stand it, you know. The thought of Elena with that idiot Richard. Even though the rumours were as fake as they could be, and it was just for the media’s sake, he couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit possessive and territorial over the woman he had come to consider his own. But t
Elena was helping Caleb get ready for school when Betty Adams came rushing through the main door of the mansion and doubled over, panting, as if she had run a marathon to get to the place. “What’s wrong with you?” Elena asked, as she took one look at the assistant who was bent at her waist, breathing heavily, before looking at the butler who looked equally confused by the situation. Caleb, who always had been playful around Betty perked up from the table as soon as he heard her coming. “Bets! Bets! Look at me, look at what I’m eating!” But Betty, who seemed to have trouble breathing at that moment, shook her head at the excited little boy, a small smile appearing on her face, nonetheless. “Caleb, you look great and that looks, well, yummy,” she managed to say before looking at Elena. “Madam, I’m sorry, but there’s something that needs your immediate attention.” Elena could tell from the face of Betty that whatever had her worried enough to be so out of breath had to be big news. S
It was after a few hours spent brooding over the entire charade Simon had pulled that Elena realized things might not be as straightforward as she thought. Now that she had the time to think about it, to process the situation and understand how all of this was actually going to play out, she wasn’t so sure if Simon had done what he did to piss her off. Perhaps Betty was right. There was a reason, the one she had refused to see initially. Perhaps Simon did have an angle. Perhaps he was still doing what he did best. Make a game out of everything. And now that she had a reason to believe that Simon might have done something like that to actually take the heat of the media off her, she realized she wasn’t so furious anymore. Which, of course, made her wonder—why did she become so angry in the first place? As far as she could remember, it was Simon who had pursued her since the beginning, while all she had done was to reject him time and again. She had made it clear that she wasn’t look
“We’ve found something!” One of the uniforms yelled from upstairs, making Elena turn in his direction with a scowl on her face. She looked back at Cortez, who seemed just as surprised by the news.He immediately gestured to a couple of other men standing behind him.“You take it from there, I’ll handle this here,” he pointed at Elena before taking off towards the stairs and leaving her behind with the other uniformed man who seemed to be taking a bit of interest in the vase right beside him.A couple of minutes later, the sound of someone walking down the stairs echoed in the hallway and had Elena turning in the direction of the staircase just in time to see Cortez appearing with a plastic bag in his hand, something silvery and shiny.For a second, Elena thought about why these men were interested in her wardrobe instead of looking for clues or whatever the hell they were there for.But when she looked closely and thought deeply, that’s when it hit her.It wasn’t something she owned.I
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