After confronting Andrew today, Maria decided to tell Jackson. No matter how messy the truth came out, she had to make him understand, if Andrew reached him before she did, then everything was at stake, their relationship was at stake. Maria was seated on the couch, shaking her feet and gnawing at her fingernails as she waited for Jackson to be back. The anxiety was overwhelming and her every attempt to make a speech or a sample scenario in her head ended terribly. Was she confident? No.Was she having doubts? Yes, a whole lot of them. It wasn't the right time to table the matter, not with the situation with his mother, he was already disoriented, and as hard as he tried to hide it, she knew. Maria could only hope that things go well with Jackson and his mother, that at least, he'd feel a bit of happiness before she ruined it by mentioning Andrew.It was late evening already and he'd be home soon, he replied after she texted him earlier and gave her an estimated time at which he'd
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hold your seahorses! Before getting to the secret-revealy part, hehe. *inserts smug grin emoji* I'd like to include Harry's POV. That dude is ALWAYS plotting something! So, enjoy.Also, thank you so much for reading.~~Bewilderment was such a small word to describe how I felt as I watched her walk through the door, the memories of it plagued me, even though it was already hours later. I knew Maria was obstinate and strong but this — this one on a level I didn't quite understand. I had pictured, even before the meeting, how terrorized I was going to make her feel, how broken she'd be before as she begged to be forgiven because I remained her only chance at redemption. Without me, everything will break apart, I know it. I am what makes her complete, what defines her!How could she not see that? How blind was she to realize that this wasn't our home?! Everything and everyone were fleeting, they were merely a passage of time in our everlasting journey. No matter how many t
This was the easiest her heart had gone in a while, her fears had begun to liven right before her eyes. She watched him stare confused at his screen as he asked that question. Maria was bummed. What did he say? Most importantly, what had Andrew done?"W-what? No, I mean yes, but that's- that's what I was trying to explain, it is messy...but why? Why do you ask?" His hands were shaking, and so was every other thing she'd laid on the line for this."There's a weird...picture of you and..." His stare grew more intent, "I don't understand what's going on, Maria..." He flashed the screen before her face, "there's something weird about this...I got an attachment from an email address and it contains pictures of you and Andrew...my double....there's also an audio file."Maria looked at the screen, one of the pictures was of her and Andrew at woodscreak, it was taken from behind her where she sat before him and his hand was on her hair. It must have been from the brief moment he tried to touc
But she loved me, right? Jackson questioned as he drove. Even though her intentions weren't exactly the best at the beginning, a part of her must love him, right? Jackson had been left stupefied, but even with the cloud of emotions, he still wanted her, to be with her. He felt stupid for defending her. It was his feelings at stake her, he had been used!Was that her plan all along? Was falling in love with her the exact thing she wanted? It was frightening to think about it that way, but the stories added up. Who better to approach if you want to be in a limelight than someone who was already in the limelight? The pain in his heart was physical—it ached, so bad. Every thought of her felt like a similar pierced through his chest. People could really be deceptive, people could really be liars and you'd swim in their lies without figuring it out, till the truth found its way out—like this.She must have known Andrew was trying to contact him, that was why she chose to open up. The per
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry I keep doing this, phew. So, I figured I should make this chapter Harry's. I have never done this but it's the only way I can truly voice his feelings. Thank you for reading! ~~I heard him the first time, but I wasn't sure if I heard right. Sister? Where was coming from? It was hard to comprehend, I was already bumped by the fact that she was around. No, she had been snooping around trying to find me, the security officials that patrol my area had shown the CCTV footage of an elderly lady loitering before my apartment, almost every day. She would have been arrested and interrogated, or worse if I hadn't confirmed known her— or so I think. I had been shocked beyond reason while watching that footage. I wasn't going crazy after all when I told Maria I saw her. Her presence had been a heavy weight sitting on my shoulder. Why was she back? It's been so long already, why now? Her presence in my life overall had been seasonal, a sight here, an absence there. I'v
It took more than a day to 'not feel sad.' It took more than just a few hours to get rid of that ache in your chest as though it meant nothing, and you wear a pretty smile because it was better than looking like half of the earth had crumbled on your shoulder. That was why Jackson's facade was always intact because it was safer and more powerful to look happy than sad. It had been quite a while since he woke up with his heart feeling so heavy, the weight caused him to walk slower than usual. He couldn't shake the pain off, it was impossible. His world was suddenly in a blurry grey, maybe it always had been, but for a while there, there was an exciting shade of black and white that made life more meaningful. That shade could have been an illusion, something he made up and clung to because he had been in the grey for so long.All through the night, his bed had been nothing but discomfort. No position made him feel better and he took the pleasure of rolling on both sides as he wondered i
He beat her. That son of a bitch. That good for nothing laid in his hands her. The anger that Jackson thought had dissipated was beginning to take form — hard and fast. It sounded like the most absurd thing he has heard all year long. The woman he loves experienced the same thing as his mother whom he had been so naive, too small to lend a helping hand. It was beyond anger—what he felt, it was rage, a good amount of it directed at himself. Why hadn't he noticed? When he saw how shaken up she was by his presence, why didn't he think of all this? He had been bummed when she opened up about everything, it was impossible to voice her struggles adequately but she did a good job at it. It made him wonder what he'd have done if he had woken up and found himself in an orphanage with a couple of other kids, all ordinary. Would he have tried to be different like she did? Even when she fought for her dreams, she still suffered for them at the hands of someone like Andrew. He didn't know
*HARRY*It hasn't exactly been the best day for me, especially with the conflicting emotions, especially when I saw Maria this morning, I thought I was over her. I thought it would hurt less but every piece of advice I gave Jackson was half-minded. Being selfless was hard. I was doing the exact opposite of what I had threatened to do, it was funny how in between a split second I dropped from wanting their relationship in ruins into wanting them to work. Emotions were the most unstable thing I know.There was so much paperwork to be attended to and Higgins wasn't exactly helpful, not with the stunt that Jackson had pulled, everywhere and everyone was in chaos, it still seemed as though Sean was shrinking, it must be the stress. Maybe I was too, but how could I tell? Managing a personality such as Jackson's was a six-man work, and I had to handle it all alone.Enough of these thoughts, I cautioned in my head. I was driving and half the time, the road seemed blurry and I've had other dri