Despite the sun being crazy hot, she walked down the steps and headed down the pebbled path. Her feet were bare, but she didn’t really feel the stones underneath her soles.The front lawn of the beach house was a garden, with roses and orchids and so many other plants and flowers that Elena didn’t know the name for, not all of them, not yet at least.Her mind was already too cloudy and dark and all she could feel was a sort of dull, numbing pain spreading throughout her body.She didn’t know for how long she walked, or how far. It was only when she heard the honk of a car, she stopped and turned to glance over her shoulder. She noticed that she had walked way past the gardens, way past the hedges and the manicured bushes.She looked down and realized she was standing on a cemented road of sorts, stretched from the beach house to far away, leading somewhere she did not know of.A black Mercedes rolled towards her at a very slow pace. Elena watched as it got closer, and closer, and then
Elena stiffed at his words.His tone was teasing and playful, and yet it made her feel as if those words were full of mockery.She halted her steps and whirled around, staring at him dead in the eyes.She hated what he was doing to her. She hated how her heart always stuttered and fluttered under the effect of his presence. She hated that she was never in control of anything whenever he was around, but more so, she hated that she couldn’t control what he made her feel.But that had to change, because what he had was not only unforgivable but also something they would never be able to come back from. They could have been something, sooner or later, she could have accepted him with all his flaws and all, but not anymore.“Well, you’re not getting her, that’s for sure,” she replied in a calm voice, keeping her eyes on him, her chin up high, her shoulders set straight, her whole body screaming authority. “And if you think this,” she held up her hand and showed him the ring, “if you think t
Elena glared at her reflection in the mirror and hated that the dress picked by the fucking Walsh was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.The dress was made of white satin, and it felt so light and soft against her skin that she almost felt as if she wasn’t wearing anything at all. But she was, and it looked gorgeous with its boned corset and silk lining, its diagonal front split skirt, and its asymmetrical strap.Elena sighed and pushed some loose hair out of her face.Given the forced nature of the task at hand, Elena obviously had no plans to do anything that remotely pleased him. If it were up to her, she would have grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt and called it a day. But it was his demand that she get ready and take her time with it. And even though she had no interest in sitting through the entire torture, Simon had made sure to send the maids to drag her out of bed and make her dance to their tune.For now, she had no choice but to do as he wished, mostly because sh
“Where are we going?” She asked once the driver had gotten in as well.Not because she was interested in anything he had in mind, but because if she knew beforehand, she could find ways to keep him away from her.“The location is a secret, but you can try your luck with me if you want,” he grinned and the bastard had the nerve to actually reach over and run his hand across the soft material of her dress. As if he couldn’t get enough of it, as if he was too proud of having picked the dress that fit her so perfectly.Elena glared at him as if she was going to rip his hand off her leg, but Simon didn’t budge and neither did his hand. She tried to push him off her knee, but it was almost impossible to get his touch off her bare skin, not when his grip only tightened in response to her efforts.Simon leaned forward as his hand sneaked up her leg.“I like how soft and silky you are to the touch.”He ran the tip of his forefinger down the skin of her thighs.“So very smooth and milky white, l
Once they reached the tent, she could feel her heart in her throat, her whole body feeling a little breathless at what she was about to enter. The whole thing was starting to feel so real, as if this man next to her truly was the husband who was taking her out on their first date, or the second one if she was to think about all the time they had spent together in the past.He held the flap open for her. “After you, my darling,” he said as his lips stretched wider.Elena stared at him, almost too tempted to roll her eyes, but the warmth and the playfulness in his eyes did things to her insides that were far more…wrong.She swallowed before she took a deep breath and walked in.But then, she stopped again.A million words tried to form in her head but somehow they all disappeared in a matter of seconds and her eyes stung with the most unfamiliar of feelings, her whole body frozen in place.Inside the tent, the floor was covered by a thick mat of rose petals and there was a circular table
That did it.Whatever patience she had been trying to keep with this man, whatever anger she had been trying so hard to suppress deep inside her, burst out like a raging volcano.Elena stood with a jolt, and before he knew what was happening, she grabbed her glass of wine and splashed it all over him, feeling her chest heaving and her whole body trembling with so much rage that she was unable to form words to respond to him.The red wine dripped off his face before seeping into his clothes, soaking the entire front of his suit. Simon’s eyes were filled with disbelief before they were replaced with anger as his lips pursed together.Elena leaned forward, grabbing hold of his tux and bringing him close. She could hear the wine dripping to the ground, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.“If you think I’m ever going to let you touch me again, you must be out of your mind.”With a shove, she released his collar and started to walk away from the tent, knowing that she wasn’t going to be
Simon was still.But Elena was breathing hard and the sound of her heart beating was loud against her own ears. She felt him move but she couldn’t take her eyes away from his face as she watched his fingers rub the reddened area on his cheek, where her palm had just met with his skin.It felt good to have some satisfaction but then she was filled with another feeling.Dread.He was looking at her as if he had murder in mind.Something inside her told her to run, to get away from him before something worse happened.But She couldn’t. Her feet were as if nailed to the sand, sunk so deep she couldn’t get them out, not in time, at least.She opened her mouth to say something, not really sure what she could possibly say to him to calm the storm in his eyes. But before she could even blink, he grabbed her by the nape and yanked her towards him, his lips slamming down on hers in a kiss so harsh and filled with anger that she couldn’t find a way out of it, no matter how hard she tried.His arm
Betty Adams sat next to her boss’s older brother—the brother who hadn’t batted an eye since the night of the accident—and wondered what the hell she was supposed to do.Two days had passed, and she had heard nothing from Elena Matthews. Which, if one thought about it, was kind of strange. At least, according to Betty, it was. Since the day Madam Matthews took over the business, she rarely ever disappeared like that.In fact, now that she thought about it, she never—and she meant NEVER—disappeared in the first place. Which, again, was so odd for her boss to do now that everything had started to go back to normal.“Are you sure she left a note?” she asked, for the tenth time maybe?Anyway, not that it mattered. Her boss had never been the careless type. Elena Matthews might not have known what she was doing when she took over the business two years ago—I mean, who did? Her father had done his best to keep her out of the family business, and she had no reason to even think of the word “bu
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