“What is…” she mumbled as she scanned her surroundings. She's realized that she is now inside a hospital ward, getting an infusion. She tried to get up from the bed but her body was so weak that she gave up. Then, memories about what happened before she blacked out surfaced. She remembered how Aster left her to talk to the boys who wanted to invite her out. And she also remembered how Aster's face was mostly covered in blood. Just recalling Aster's condition earlier gave Phyllis a goosebump. Her breathing suddenly became heavy and her hands instinctively tightened at the thought of the crimson red blood dripping down Aster's face. She tried to keep that image away from her mind by tightly shutting her eyes. Aside from the horrific sight of blood, she couldn't help but think of Aster's situation and blame herself for what happened to him. No matter how much she tried to keep the scene from her head, it just kept on coming back like a loop. Her arms felt like jelly and
Zacharias hid behind the wall near Phyllis and Aster, frozen as he listen to their conversation. “So… Do you like me?” he heard Phyllis ask. It was a question that made his heart jump—still hanging in the air in suspense. “Yes, I do. I like you ever since we were in high school.” “All I wanted is to own all of you…” Every word Aster spoke of was like a nail hammered into Zacharias' heart. If he has an extra one percent of courage, he'd go and push Aster away from Phyllis. But… But he wanted to know how Phyllis feels about this old friend of hers. He wanted to hear her response… “Aster…” THUMP THUMP “...can you back off a little? You're making me feel uncomfortable, so don't whisper in my ear.” “It's weird,” she continued. With a sassy tone, she readily expressed her dislike for Aster. She did not hold back and told him what was making her uncomfortable. Even though Phyllis kept a friendly distance between her and Aster, he couldn't seem to get a hint. And now,
“It looks like this was from a strong grip. Did that auntie hold you tightly?” Rui asked as she examined the purplish bruise on her son's arm. The kid weakly nodded. Rui pursed her lips and patted the ice pack wrapped in a towel on Eon's arm. She forced a smile on her son and said, “It's fine, it will heal.” Rui and Chase arrived at the hotel welcomed by Phyllis and Zacharias' guilty faces. They were ashamed to let the couple see the way Eon ended up after they were entrusted to take care of the child. Babysitting Eon means that they need to make sure that the kid never experiences something like this. Of course, a bruise would heal. But the kid was visibly upset. Eon sat on Chase's lap, leaning on his chest while he stroked his son's hair. “If my son got this by playing with another kid, I would definitely understand. But since he said it was from an auntie, it's a different story.” Zacharias understood what Chase meant. He needs to find the person responsible for what happene
“You mean—” Phyllis' pressed her index finger on his lips and smiled. “Yes, I'm ready now.” Zacharias' face flushed, crestfallen with Phylis' straightforward approach. She did not beat around the bush and directly told him how she felt. Now, he admired her more. He realized that she has this decisive attitude that made him feel secure. It made him feel that this marriage is finally progressing. For more than a month, he stayed away from Phyllis to give her time to think. But during those times apart, he never missed a day of telling her about his daily activities. He wanted Phyllis to miss him. He wanted her to always think of him. And to do that, a simple text message and a brief call never hurt. He diligently texted his way to her heart and allowed her to sort her feelings. He was confident that he'd eventually get her heart. He is her husband anyway. He has a lot of time. Plus, she is legally bound to him. Nothing can separate them. So, he took his time. He then res
After freshening up, Phyllis went out of the balcony to look at the view. The breeze from the sea and roaring waves from the sea replaced the turbulent emotions messing inside her mind. This trip made her realize her feelings. Of course, she was attracted to Zacharias. Not only because of her being his fan but because of his personality that she observed during the course of their marriage. She was aware that one won't get to know someone well over the phone. But for a short period of time when they slept beside each other, she somehow felt right. Being with him just felt right… And him being away for more than a month made her miss him more. With each day that passed, she only thought of him. Thoughts about how he was eating or what he was doing filled her mind. Being a fan just involved gushing over his looks and talents. Her love for good music was what drew her to his group. She loved their music, their group, and their fandom. But of course, it was a different kind o
R-18 content ahead! Zacharias bit Phyllis' neck in excitement upon getting her signal. His lips lingered on the lower part of her left ear, licking the area he just bit. Soon, it went down, tracing her slim neck with his sweet small kisses. “Ahh!” she moaned with her back arched, feeling all the tingly sensation all over her body. Phylis felt so hot. As if she was burning with hunger. Each passing second was an agony for her. Her sensitive body reacted to each of his strokes. Every touch has this rugged gentleness to it. And she can feel his thirst for her–madly so. As she let him do his own bidding, she inched herself closer, wanting to feel more of his heat. Her hands slowly crawled their way to his back before grasping it tightly. If not for his silk nightshirt, then her sharp nails would've scratched his back. His kisses went back to her lips while his hands slipped inside her shirt. He caressed her waist softly with his rough fingers. It went sideways to her navel up
KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK Phyllis was awoken by the three loud knocks that she heard from her door. Still half asleep, she decided to ignore it. KNOCK Another knock was heard but after a few minutes, it went quiet again. Phyllis was again fast asleep as if she was not bothered by the noise earlier. Since she did not need to worry about her nephew, she was able to sleep peacefully. Or perhaps she was just so tired that she did not have the energy to get up. Nonetheless, she did not want to move from her spot. Beep! The sound of the door being unlocked resounded. But it was not so loud to wake the sleeping beauty up. “You're so tired that you did not bother to get up for lunch, my dear?” she mumbled as she walked up to the bed. She stopped at the corner of the bed and pulled the sheets. The image of Phylis in neat pajamas hugging the pillow intimately did not surprise her. Phyllis sleeping like a baby is a usual sight for her friends. She can fall asleep on any flat surface as long
Phyllis and Rui entered the private dining room in a rush and found their husbands talking seriously. Zacharias and Chase were reviewing something on the tablet while Eon was busy playing with his tablet. “That girl—see! She held Eon's arms and then turned to him to smile. After that, she left Eon to go back with the other girls!” Zacharias frowned. “That can't be… She won't do such a thing…” Phyllis' ears perked as soon as she heard Zacharias. “Who? Who won't do what?” Chase pointed at the screen of the tablet. “This lady.” Her eyes squinted as she tried to study the woman in question. The image of a slender girl holding Eon's arms appeared on the screen. Her hands, which were gripping the child's arms, were hidden behind her back as she squatted. She was posing in front of a staff member taking a picture of her with Eon. She acted sweetly with Eon as if they were really close. After the picture was taken, she turned to Eon and whispered something. Then, as if nothing happe
Zacharias remembered the moment when his childhood playmate, Phyllis, developed a fear of blood because of an incident when they were young. After that incident, he limited his visits to her as she was attending therapy. He felt guilty for what happened to her. If they did not play in their house on that day, then perhaps, none of it would have happened. Now that 15 years have passed since that incident, the memories still remain vivid. But thankfully, it's only him that remembered, not Phyllis. Seated comfortably in a coffee shop in East City, he sipped his coffee as he waited for Hill, his online friend that he impulsively invited for a coffee. 'He said he'll wear the Grand Monster hoodie that we bought online…' He looked around and saw no one who wore the same hoodie that he was wearing. Cling-ring! The sound of the door chime ringing prompted Zacharias to look at the entrance. There he saw a person wearing the Grand Monster hoodie. But… That person is not someone who
On a sunny day in the Lohr family's mansion, two little kids were playing in the garden. Zacharias was happily playing with the three years old Phyllis, who was the daughter of the family next door. “Aiash, hide and sheek! Hide and sheek!” The little Phyllis yelled as she ran around the garden with Zacharias chasing behind her. “I'm coming to get you!” he teased as he grabbed her arms. Phyllis playfully giggled as she shook her arms away from Zacharias. “Hahaha! No more tag! Hide and sheek now!” she requested from her playmate. “Okay, okay. Let's rest first.” He then led her to lean against the tree. “Aiash, let's play more games when Lian gets home!” CRASH! The loud sound startled the little girl which prompted her to hold onto Zacharias' shirt. “Aiash, Aiash,” she nervously gripped his shirt. “WINSTON I HATE YOU!” CRASH! CRASH! “Stop it Victoria! Zach will hear you!” Screams from the inside of the house can be heard from the garden. Zacharias, who was so us
“You…” her voice quivered as her hands started to loosen her grip on the handle.She lightly opened the door, enough for him to enter. But because of her fear of confrontation, she still hid behind the door. Her eyes were shut, still nervous about meeting him again after how many days. She knows it’s him. She knows him by his voice. She knows him by his scent. She knows him by heart. THUMPTHUMPTHUMPHis clean scent smelled like home is getting stronger. ‘He’s near…’‘He’s here…’Her heart thumped violently as the excitement, happiness, guilt, fear, sadness, and anxiety fill her in. She felt everything all at once. But it did not feel suffocating for her. Rather, she felt so comfortable, like she was in her safest place.“I’m here now,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. ‘I… I’m home…’She gripped his shirt tightly as she guiltily shed tears. “I’m sorry…”“I’m sorry for leaving, Aias… I’m sorry…” she said in between her cries. Zacharias hugged her tightly and said
“Phyllis, where are you?! Your husband went here and told us what happened! Why did you suddenly leave?!” The moment that Phyllis settled in her hotel room, the loud voice of her mom reached her ears. “Mom, calm down…” “Calm down?! You did not tell us that you're going out of the country and you expect me to calm down?! You did not even answer all of my calls earlier! We were so worried!” “Zacharias told me you wanted to get away from the press and we understand that… But you have to at least inform us so we can make necessary arrangements for you!” Phyllis held her phone tightly as she braced herself for her mother's scolding. “Mom…” “You're not a teenager anymore, you're an adult! You don't have to tell us everything that you do but you have to at least not make us worry!” Phyllis sat at the edge of the bed and quietly listened to her mom speak. She did not have the heart to respond to her, especially if she knows that she was in the wrong. “Phyllis, I know you're stres
"Sir, we've already cleared them off.” Zacharias peeked through the window to see if there were still some people from the press. They were quite easy to spot. They're usually wearing face masks and caps with huge cameras in tow. Seeing that there was none, he turned to Phyllis, who was busy packing his stuff. “Good. Please get the car ready, we're going down now,” he said on the phone. He then tucked his phone inside his pocket and approached Phyllis. “Is there anything else we need to pack, babe?” Phyllis just shook her head and said, “Nope, I got it, babe.” Just as she was about to head out while carrying the tote bag, she was hugged by Zacharias from her back. His strong arms embraced her dainty shoulders and whispered, “I miss you…” Phyllis, who was still not over with the commotion from earlier, dismissed him with a tap on his arms. “Don't be ridiculous, we're literally together. How can you miss me?” He inched his body closer to hers, letting her feel the warmth of
With all the controversy about the Klein family, they were completely mobbed by reporters, trying to get a statement from them. In just a matter of two days, the kind-hearted mayor disappeared from the public. Soon after the various documents that were reported, another video went viral. It was a video of Mayor Klein mocking the poor victims of a fire that destroyed a small neighborhood in the city. The area was small and a little cramped and so firetrucks had a hard time killing the fire until it ate the majority of the houses. In the video, the mayor was smiling to the public and promised to help them as much as he can as he helped with the distribution of basic necessities like food and clothing. But the next clip showed him mocking the victims because they were dirtying his beautiful city. His statement instantly gained critics. His image as the kind and caring mayor of Lieren City was crushed in a matter of seconds. No one likes a politician who looks down on his people. “
A large amount of Rohypnol content was found in his lab results. And contrary to what Phyllis suspected, the drug was not laced in the microchip but on the needle itself. Zacharias woke up after three long hours and is currently resting. He's just waiting for the drug to leave his body. The microchip was also taken out of his arm per his request and Phyllis' insistence. “Babe, please stop crying… The chip is already taken out…” Zacharias consoled Phyllis, who was sitting beside his bed. She has been taking care of him earnestly and has not taken a good sleep since the incident. He gently patted her back to comfort her. “I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry… We were researching microchips, babe…” “Hick—and the person who made that was a colleague of mine… If only I did not introduce this technology to him,” she said in between her sobs. She felt incredibly guilty about what happened to Zacharias. “Babe, it's not your fault. It's all on Tiffany who orchestrated all this, okay? It'
The ambulance rushed to the hospital with the unconscious Zacharias, Phyllis, and Leila cramped inside. Now that Phyllis got Zacharias to safety, everything that went down earlier started to finally sink in. When she attacked the bulky man with her heels, it did not cross her mind that some of the blood would squirt on her face. Her hands started to tremble at the sight of blood on her cheeks. She then tapped Leila and murmured in her shaking voice, “Blood…” Noticing the few streaks of blood on Phyllis' face, she hurriedly wiped them off with her blouse. “Shh, it's gone now…” She held Phyllis' hands and gently massaged them. “Okay, breathe with me…” “Inhale…” “Exhale…” “Inhale…” “Exhale…” Leila guided Phyllis with her breathing exercise. Rui taught everyone in their circle how to properly assist Phyllis in case she was triggered. Physical manifestations such as trembling, trouble breathing, and fainting were seen when Phyllis was last triggered. They continued with the bre
A loud thud resounded inside the men's comfort room as Zacharias fell to the floor. His consciousness slowly faded as he tried to reach out for his phone in his pocket. Soon after, a small red light blinked from his right arm. A girl inside a luxurious hotel room tapped the screen on her tablet, revealing a location in Dixon City. “Hurry and bring him up,” she said on the phone. “Got it, miss.” Satisfied with the turn of events, she took a good sip of her pink moscato. “I'll have to thank Auntie Vic for revealing the group's location for tonight.” She giggled as she browsed Phyllis' Ninstagram account. The simple photos posted made Tiffany sneer. She hated Phyllis' perfect life. She despised how Phyllis was cherished by her rich family. She envied how she was surrounded by a successful group of friends. She detested how she excelled academically and in her work. Above all, she hated how she got her crush just because she was his childhood friend. After getting humiliated