“Welcome back Mrs Winters!” Pepper shouted in delight the moment Daniel and Jane stepped through the office elevator the next morning. As usual, Daniel shot Pepper a scowl before he placed a protective hand on Jane’s waist, ushering her and baby Timmy to head to his office.
But to his surprise, Jane ignored his prompting and stepped aside to hug an absolutely delighted Pepper. “It’s good to see you, Pepper,” she said with a smile. Timmy, caught between two women’s bosom gurgled in delight. The boy had a taste for fine things.
Scowl as he might, Daniel was secretly very happy today. Even more so the night before when he watched Jane drift off to sleep in his arms. She was his, she was truly his! And he intended to keep it that way. Now if only he could just find the time to tell Jane of his intent to make the contract an indefinite one. One that would ensure the two of them became lawful wedded husband and wife for the rest of eternity. Perhaps he would tell her of hi
Marie, Jane’s stepmother had been summoned to the meeting. In she stepped into the meeting room looking very much like fish out of water. Her eyes bulged as she took in the foreign faces in the room and Marie swallowed a lump in her throat when all eyes fell on her. Even that weird looking pup with pink ears was staring at her. It was Marie’s first time ever in a board meeting and boy did everyone look intimidating! Especially that son in law of hers.She peered at Daniel Winters as she tiptoed past his towering figure, careful not to make a sound. A phone call earlier that morning had her rushing to Winters Architecture with a promise of getting a limited edition Hermes bag if she would ‘just sit in the meeting’ and to answer ‘yes’ to everything she was asked of. And boy was she going to say ‘yes’ to everything. A yes to a brand new bag, a yes to some extra cash and a yes to whatever goodies they threw her way. Oh yes, she was
“Marie! Why did you come here?” Jane demanded the moment she dragged her stepmother into the elevator. She could not believe that Marie had the nerve to step into Winters Architecture, especially not after all that drama about severing their family ties a month ago. Marie almost ruined everything for Daniel!Fuming, she pressed the ‘L’ button on the floor indicator repeatedly to bring them down to the lobby. Anything to get the woman out of the way. She could not afford to have Marie rushing back into the meeting room to cause any more damage than she already did.Her stepmother inspected her wrist and feigned a hurt look before pouting her lips. “Oh, Jane…I came because I was worried about you. You can’t imagine the surprise I got this morning when Portia called. She told me that your marriage is a sham. Of course, I did not believe it, but as your mother…”Jane shot a look at Marie and her stepmother clea
Daniel stopped breathing.She almost bled to death during labour?His eyes flew to a panicked Jane who was still trying to shield him with her tiny frame and at that moment, Daniel realized that there were many things about Jane he did not know. Just what kind of life did she endure during those nine harrowing months? At the back of his mind, Daniel decided to ramp up his search for the elusive bastard who dared defy his woman. After one month of searching and still, there were no leads. Damnit!It didn’t matter that he had just been slapped by Jane’s father. It didn’t matter that he was taking the rap for the son of a bitch. The only thing that crossed his mind at that moment was how much Jane must have suffered all those long months in shame and fear. But now was not the time to dwell on that. Deep down, he knew how much Jane loved her old man. And if Jane loved her father so much, he would too. He would treat John McKa
When Jane awoke, it was still dark. She let out a yawn and stretched her arms out from underneath the soft warm quilt. Daybreak would come soon and she needed to pump milk for little Timmy. She sat up and stared at the magnificent cityscape that laid out before her through Daniel's wall to ceiling window. A light blue tint peeked out from the skyline, signifying the dawn of a beautiful new day.Daniel was still curled up fast asleep beside her and Jane gently brushed his cheek. It was bruising a little from where her Pa had struck him the night before and she felt extremely guilty that he had to bear the wrath of her father for a sin he did not commit.“I’m sorry Daniel,” she whispered and leaned in to kiss his earlobe. He stirred a little and mumbled something in his sleep before turning to the other side and fell into a deeper slumber. Pure joy lifted her lips and she tucked his naked torso under the cover to keep him warm.Then quietly, she
“Pepper.” Jane propped her elbows against Pepper’s stack of files and the PA almost fell from her seat. “Mrs Winters!” Pepper exclaimed, her voice creaking like hinges of a rusty iron gate. She pushed the cat framed glasses up the bridge of her nose and patted herself repeatedly on the chest to calm her nerves. Pepper fretted over the tiniest things, but it was what made her excel in her job, save for the fact that she somehow unintentionally kept annoying Daniel to no end. “You frightened me!” “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Jane apologized and glanced in the direction at which Daniel had just exited. She had waited patiently for him to leave his office the whole morning and now that he was gone, Jane became exasperated. A part of her desperately needed to talk to Pepper and yet, deep down, all she wanted to do was hide in a corner and pretend she had never laid eyes on the photo in the first place. She was scared, angry and confused; but in a sense, the feeling was
Daniel Winters could not believe his eyes. Sitting right before him on the leather couch was his cousin and wife. Make that fake wife. Well, soon to be real wife. Whatever, but the fact was, Jane was in Wayne’s arm! Like what the fuck!Seething, he marched over and yanked Jane roughly by her wrist, pulling her up and out of Wayne’s grasp. His cousin's eyes narrowed slightly before he too stood up and straightened his jacket. Cool emerald eyes met his dark piercing ones as Daniel immediately placed a possessive arm around Jane.“Daniel!” Jane called out, sounding both confused and shocked at the same time. He frowned as he looked at her, colour had drained from her face and she looked as if she was about to faint. From the corner of his eye, he saw Pepper step in through the entrance and glowered at her.“PEPPER!”His PA almost tripped and spill her tray of coffee all over the floor.“Y…yes Mr Winters
Pepper paced nervously in front of Jane, walking back and forth so much that Jane feared she would wear out the carpet in Daniel’s office.“Pepper.”Pepper paid no heed, repeatedly biting at her already chipped nails and mumbling incoherently to herself. “This is no good…this is no good,” she kept muttering under her breath.“Pepper!” Jane stood up from Daniel’s chair and waved her hands wildly at the PA.“What? Yes, Mrs Winters…are you alright? Do you feel dizzy?” Pepper’s worried face contorted into panic and she quickly ran over to Jane, her fingers fumbling clumsily all over Jane like an overly protective parent.“Are you running a fever? Any shortness of breath? Oh God, do you have a heart attack??” Jane gently pried Pepper’s hands away and patted them softly, studying the PA’s face. Pepper looked like she was the one who was a
Sleep eluded everyone that night. Daniel and Jane had awkwardly bid each other good night, climbed into bed and turned away from one another, each pretending to fall into a deep slumber.But the curtain to Jane’s eyes refused to close and her mind obsessively replayed the image from the torn photo. She was sure of it, the man who defiled her was the same person who sent the photo, how else could she explain the Bobby McFerrin song? She had been heavily drugged the night of the fraternity but there was no denying the tune she heard when the jerk soiled her.Please don’t let any harm come to little Timmy…she prayed, biting her lips and willing herself not to tremble.Laying with his back towards her was Daniel, all curled up with eyes wide open. He too was having a sleepless night. He scoffed slightly under the cover of his blanket; it was absurd but he, Daniel Winters, the dashing billionaire playboy whom all women adored had fallen in
Daniel Winter’s heart was a vortex of confusion and complex emotions. There was fear, sorrow, grief and anger all coming together at once and in many respects, it was like a roller coaster ride through a darkened tunnel. The mourning and grieving were great, and the fear of living a life without Jane was very pronounced. Then there was pain…so much pain that it felt as if his heart had been pierced with a poisoned sword a hundred times over. Through his tears, Daniel gently lowered Jane onto the ground and shifted his gaze at the man, to the enemy who had preyed on Jane and took everything that he loved from him. “You….YOU!” Daniel roared and leapt into the air, lashing out at Logan with a hammerlike claw. He landed a blow, smashing the side of Logan’s head and brought a string of stars to the man’s vision. Logan tumbled backwards and hit the apartment’s wall with such an incredible force he collapsed to the floor. “YOU BASTARD!” Daniel climbed on top of Loga
Daniel slipped Jane’s phone into his pocket. It was then he noticed an odd odour that smelt like a cross between burnt plastic and flowers at the same time. The smell was extremely nauseating and giddy.Quickly he made his way out the apartment and into the corridor and was trying to locate Jane while warding off a strange scent when suddenly, the blast of a gun shot louder than the rolling thunder rang through the darkened halls.The sound was deafening, and instinctively, Daniel brought both hands to his ears. His eyes widened in both surprise and fear. What the heck was that? And the first persons that came to his mind were both Jane and little Timmy.“Jane! Timmy!’ he shouted, whirling around trying to identify the source from which the blast had come from. Behind him, the door next to Jane's unit opened and an old lady with frizzy permed hair and extremely thick glasses popped her head out.“What the fuck is that? Is it Word W
MOMENTS BEFORE THE ROAR OF THE THUNDER…The gods must have heard Jane’s cry for mercy that day, for right before Logan could pop the button of her jacket, his very own phone began to ring to what else? Bobby McFerrin's ‘Don’t worry, be Happy’ tune of course.“Hey, Milo! Yeah man, I was just about to call you. I’ve got the money.” He rubbed at his nose again and scratched the base of his throat as if it irritated him. “So you’d better give me my nose candy soon. I’m running low on my stock.”Jane’s eyes widened.He’s on crack cocaine! No wonder he smelt so strange! The man’s a junkie!“Yeah…I got me a big fish,” Logan continued and chuckled. He got up from his crouching position, seemingly having lost his interest in the pursuit of physical pleasures and walked out of the room, leaving Jane lying on the stone-cold floo
Daniel blinked as he stared at the phone and took a few deep breaths. If that Philip Summers or Logan or whatever his bloody name was dared to harm even one strand of Jane’s hair, he would personally wring the guy’s neck himself. But what consumed Daniel was not anger, rather it was a gutwrenching fear. It latched upon him the moment he heard Jane’s muffled screams through the phone. God, please let her and Timmy be okay. The taxi driver peered at Daniel through the rearview mirror and cleared his throat. “Sir…are we still heading towards Mangrove Apartment? Shouldn’t we get you to the hospital instead? Your hand’s kinda mangled.” Daniel looked at his bloodied fist. Blood dripped onto the upholstery and his mind started to play tricks on him. It was his fault, if only he hadn’t pushed her away, if only he had kept her safe! What if the bastard bled her like how his hand bled? Stop thinking nonsense! He groaned and sh
Jane opened her eyes to darkness, pitch black darkness and the first thought that crossed her mind was her child.“Mmph! MMMPH!!!!!”Both her hands and ankles were bound to the back of some wooden chair with what felt like cable ties and she was gagged with a piece of damp smelly cloth in dire need of a good wash. It was pointless to struggle, but she did so anyway, cutting her own skin in the process.Where was Timmy? Was he alright? The thought of her child consumed her every thought as she continued in her relentless struggle to free herself. As she did, her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, allowing her to see the outline of the room and the furniture around her. A long desk filled with trays, plastic bottles and silhouettes of strange-looking machinery took form as her irises familiarized themselves with the darkness.The darkroom! I’m in his apartment!Jane rocked the chair left to right in an attempt to topple
Daniel stepped out of his office building just as the clock struck nine and stepped into his car only to realize that his cousin, Wayne had hijacked the driver’s seat.“What? Did your new business venture go bust? Are you driving for a living now?” Daniel could not help but shoot sarcasm at the man behind the wheel. Wayne turned around, resting his elbow on the armrest and sighed. He looked tired too with dark rings behind his glasses. Not that Daniel fared any better, they both looked like pandas right now. Sexy hot pandas with six-packs.Wayne cleared his throat. “I came to apologize.”Daniel leaned against the backseat, crossing his arms. “Oh wow, confession of the century. I’m impressed.”Another sigh came from the front and Wayne revved the engine. Frowning, Daniel asked, “Where are we going?”“To Jane’s apartment.”“The heck we are.”&ldquo
Everything fell into place. The apartment, the darkroom, the photos… Jane stared at Logan as he continued smiling with a look that made him seem like he wanted to eat her alive. If sadism had a face, then Logan Summers would be the perfect poster boy for it. “Hello Logan,” Jane greeted him back in a steady voice but deep inside, she wanted to kick herself for not recognizing him. How could she have missed those icy blue eyes? They were the same as Timmy’s! Her heart hammered in her chest and she held her child tighter. “Come, come. The food is turning cold. We must eat them while they are still warm. Logan, I made you your favourite pie.” Jane’s eyes flew from Mrs Woolworths to Logan as he shut the door behind him with a kick of his leg. The old woman was obviously unaware of her nephew’s hideous crimes and started to usher them both to her tiny dining table by the window. Jane took in a deep shaky breath and forced a smile at the older woman. “Mrs Wo
Jane buttoned up her coat and was just about to carry little Timmy from his cot when the doorbell rang. Her eyes fell on the door and her eyebrows knitted together. Surely it wasn’t Wayne Winters? She did not want to see his face ever again.But her feet had a mind of their own and soon, Jane found herself standing in front of her own door and peering through the peephole. It was the old lady from next door. With a huge exhalation of pent up breath, she quickly unbolted her door.“Hello Mrs Woolworths,” Jane greeted the ageing widow. They had spoken a few times before and Jane had found the old lady warm and friendly. Mrs Woolworths looked up from her extremely bent posture and flashed Jane a toothy grin through her thick-rimmed glasses. Years of osteoporosis and arthritis had shrivelled her like a withering plant but her megawatt smile brought a much needed warmth to Jane’s heart and she welcomed the old lady into her humble abode.&ldqu
Daniel threw his phone at the wall, smashing his latest gadget against the plagues and flooded his office with an explosion of expletives. “Calm down Mr Winters. Anger won’t serve to help you in any way,” came the voice of a woman in her late forties. She leaned back against her seat and crossed her arms, tilting her head towards the plagues that thudded to the floor. With a sigh, Daniel slumped back into his swivel chair and slammed his fists against the table. The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Mr Winters, I did not come here to see you throw a tantrum.” She tapped at his desk with a large brown envelope. “And I believe you should have listened to your wife on the phone. She sounded desperate.” Daniel felt a stab of anger. “Mind your own business.” “You were the one who sought for my aid Mr Winters, not the other way around. I helped you answer the phone and am merely relaying my observation to you. Anyways, I’ve brought the info