KAYLAEverything happened too fast. One second, they were just sitting there, tied to the chairs, scared but alive. The next, there was a deafening bang. Blood sprayed across the room, warm and sticky, splattering onto my face. My ears rang from the gunshots, my body frozen in place. My heart pounded so loudly that I could barely hear anything else.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.Ryan shot them.He actually shot them.The couple who had done nothing but beg for their lives. The couple who were supposed to only be actors in my plan. The couple who were never meant to die.But they were dead now. Just like that.Their bodies sat limp in the chairs, heads slumped forward, eyes lifeless. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. The sight of them, the blood pooling beneath their chairs, the way their fingers twitched slightly even though they were already gone, it was all burned into my mind. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.My plan was simple. Fool Naya, make her believe she had
NAYALeon looked disturbed, but even without saying a word, he was trying to comfort me. His arm was wrapped around me, his hand moving in slow, soothing circles on my back as Nick drove us home. Normally, his touch would have eased some of the ache in my chest, but not this time. This time, nothing couldI hated feeling like a burden, hated the way I kept making people worry. No matter how much I told myself to stay strong and to keep pushing forward, I couldn’t do it anymore. I had reached my limit. I had to make a choice. The same choice I ignored before, believing I could handle everything on my own. But I was wrong. I wasn’t strong enoughIf only I had done what they said. If only I had left when they told me to, without asking questions, without resisting. Those people, those poor couples, my parents, they would still be alive. Maybe they wouldn’t have found their child, but at least they would still have their lives.But I was stubborn. I thought I could fight back. And now, be
NAYAMy hands trembled as I gripped the paper, my eyes scanning the words over and over again, but they didn’t make sense. They couldn’t make sense. The test said we had no relation. The act was flawless so perfect that even now, I struggled to believe it had all been a lie. Every word, every tear, every touch, they had played their roles so well that, for a moment, I had let myself hope.But they weren’t my parents.They never were.My fingers tightened around the paper squeezing it tightly, the truth staring back at me in black and white, yet my mind refused to accept it. The weight of it all pressed down on me, suffocating. They were strangers. Strangers who had stepped into my life for reasons I might never fully understand. And now, they were dead. Had he hired them just to slaughter them when their usefulness ran out?The thought sent a sharp, piercing pain through my chest. I let out a small, shaky breath, my head spinning as I tried to process everything. They weren’t my pare
NAYAAll I always wished for was to be loved and cared for, it was my birthday once again but that wish never seems to be coming to pass. As I rubbed the surface of a tabletop lazily with my eyes fixated on a girl blowing out a candle and smiling from ear to ear. A pang of jealousy washed through me as I watched her, it was my birthday too but there I was wiping spilled drinks off a table.My life was more pathetic than it sounded most times I just wanted everything to end so I could feel free but I never got the courage to make the move, you could call me a coward.My eyes met with the girl sitting across the birthday girl making my cheek turn red in embarrassment she probably thought I was weird for staring like that, I quickly took my eyes away and focused on cleaning the invisible stain on the table“How long would it take you to clean that table they are customers waiting!” I heard my manager snap at meI lowered my head in shame and walked over to the counter to continue giving
Everyone including Kayla was present at the dining table, as I walked in slowly all I could hear was the clattering of cutlery on the glass dishes. Of course, they started dinner without me “Hello” I muttered under my breath waiting for the outlash that was coming “You are late” Mom snapped as I was about to take my sit making me freeze halfway “I’m sorry I-” “That is all you know how to do, you are always fucking sorry” she spat in my face before I could complete my sentence My blood boiled in anger as I watched Kayla giggle as I was been scolded at “That’s enough,” Dad said, not raising his head off his plate. I quietly sat down and dinner just carried on, I couldn’t bring myself to take a bite of the food in front of me. My heart was thumping so loud anxiously waiting to hear the reason I was summoned. “So,” Dad said dabbing the corner of his mouth, I immediately sat upright as his cold gaze landed on me, my throat immediately drying up as I waited to hear what he had to
I sat still at the dinner table. Mom kept on fixing my hair and dress repeatedly, I wanted to bolt out of that room with the speed of light but I felt trapped like I couldn't move a muscle. Everything was happening too fast, the more I thought about the more it didn't make sense to me.How did I get here? I was given no choice. Was this how I would throw my life away?They made it clear to me that if I didn't get married as it was said, Nyla wouldn't get the money she needed for her major surgery. The money they promised to pay now all of a sudden, it was an exchange, they knew I wouldn't have a choice but to agree to it and they were right. I didn't have a choice.I didn't have a say in anything that was going on, I was about to be shipped off to a man I knew nothing about. If we were left at the orphanage maybe just maybe my life would have been slightly better than this, maybe I would be happy. I couldn't answer that but one thing was sure whatever would have been the outcome of
The night was long and I couldn't seem to catch any sleep, I kept tossing and turning to no avail. I spent half of the night trying to find out who might be the person I was to get married to, with my research I found out that the man who came was the acting CEO of Valois Group, and the woman that was with him was his mother just as I thought.If he wasn’t the one I was to marry, who was it then? Part of me wanted to go ask Kayla. She knew exactly who the person was but she didn’t want to let me in on it.I decided to get out of the house, it was suffocating. I needed air, and being in that house made me feel trapped, I tiptoed down the stairs to sneak out of the house without being seen by anyone just to avoid unnecessary questions.Or should I run away? A question popped into my head as I went down but the issue with that was that I still needed them no matter how I hated it, it was the wicked truth. Nyla needed to get that surgery “And where would you be heading to by this time?”
Another day another dress-up, this one was way more exhausting than the other one. Mom put me in an uncomfortable dress that I could barely move in, it hugged every inch of my body barely giving me room to breathe. She insisted on putting my hair in a bun which I wasn't comfortable with but couldn't argue, I hated having my hair up it made my neck feel like they were exposed.It was the day I was to meet my husband to be apparently, I had gone through the family tree of the Valois and I still couldn't guess who it would be. Every part of me was nervous and anxious at the same time. I expected Mom to confront me about speaking back to Dad or being rude to him like she would love to call it but she didn't. I guess she didn't want anything to spoil the very important day.“We have to start going we can't keep them waiting!!” Dad shouted from downstairs“We would be down in a minute,” Mom said choking me with the hair spray for the thousandth time“Mom you need to help me do my hair,” Kay
NAYAMy hands trembled as I gripped the paper, my eyes scanning the words over and over again, but they didn’t make sense. They couldn’t make sense. The test said we had no relation. The act was flawless so perfect that even now, I struggled to believe it had all been a lie. Every word, every tear, every touch, they had played their roles so well that, for a moment, I had let myself hope.But they weren’t my parents.They never were.My fingers tightened around the paper squeezing it tightly, the truth staring back at me in black and white, yet my mind refused to accept it. The weight of it all pressed down on me, suffocating. They were strangers. Strangers who had stepped into my life for reasons I might never fully understand. And now, they were dead. Had he hired them just to slaughter them when their usefulness ran out?The thought sent a sharp, piercing pain through my chest. I let out a small, shaky breath, my head spinning as I tried to process everything. They weren’t my pare
NAYALeon looked disturbed, but even without saying a word, he was trying to comfort me. His arm was wrapped around me, his hand moving in slow, soothing circles on my back as Nick drove us home. Normally, his touch would have eased some of the ache in my chest, but not this time. This time, nothing couldI hated feeling like a burden, hated the way I kept making people worry. No matter how much I told myself to stay strong and to keep pushing forward, I couldn’t do it anymore. I had reached my limit. I had to make a choice. The same choice I ignored before, believing I could handle everything on my own. But I was wrong. I wasn’t strong enoughIf only I had done what they said. If only I had left when they told me to, without asking questions, without resisting. Those people, those poor couples, my parents, they would still be alive. Maybe they wouldn’t have found their child, but at least they would still have their lives.But I was stubborn. I thought I could fight back. And now, be
KAYLAEverything happened too fast. One second, they were just sitting there, tied to the chairs, scared but alive. The next, there was a deafening bang. Blood sprayed across the room, warm and sticky, splattering onto my face. My ears rang from the gunshots, my body frozen in place. My heart pounded so loudly that I could barely hear anything else.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.Ryan shot them.He actually shot them.The couple who had done nothing but beg for their lives. The couple who were supposed to only be actors in my plan. The couple who were never meant to die.But they were dead now. Just like that.Their bodies sat limp in the chairs, heads slumped forward, eyes lifeless. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. The sight of them, the blood pooling beneath their chairs, the way their fingers twitched slightly even though they were already gone, it was all burned into my mind. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.My plan was simple. Fool Naya, make her believe she had
We pulled up to the front of the building, and before the car had even come to a full stop, I flung the door open and sprinted inside. My heart was pounding so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts.The place was eerily quiet. No voices, no movement, nothing. It felt abandoned.But that wasn’t possible.Ryan always had his men with him. He never went anywhere alone. I expected to be met with resistance, maybe even a fight, but there was nothing. Just complete silence.Something was wrong.It felt like we were too late.“Should we have called the cops?” Nick asked from behind me, but I ignored him. There was no time to think about that now.All that mattered was finding Naya.My legs carried me through the house faster than I could process. My eyes darted around, scanning every corner, but all I saw was dust, cobwebs, and old furniture covered in sheets. It was exactly how I remembered it, an abandoned holiday home, untouched for years.“Naya!” I called out, my voice desperate, but
NAYAI rushed over to them, their body was hanging lifeless on the chair they were tied to. I shook their bodies violently begging them to wake up but they didn't bat an eyelid. I cried and screamed at the top of my lungs but it didn't change anything.Ryan was standing in the corner cleaning the gun in his hand with a handkerchief while Kayla panicked frantically wiping the blood that had splattered on her face when Ryan pulled the trigger.My heart couldn't take it anymore, it hurt so bad that I wanted to pass out. I just killed my parents I never knew existed in the first place, it shouldn't hurt as much as it did because I didn't know them at all, and just moments ago I was praying that the result came out negative but no it hurt as hell, I was broken, I wanted to go with them, there was no reason to stay alive.All they wanted was to be reunited with their child but they lost their lives in return all because of me. It seemed like everyone who was affiliated with me ended up havi
LEONI dialed her number again, pressing the phone so hard against my ear that I could hear my own heartbeat.Voicemail.I gritted my teeth and called again.Voicemail.A sick feeling settled in my stomach. Maybe she went for a walk to clear her head. Maybe she just needed some space. I tried to convince myself, but it wasn’t working. Something felt wrong, I could feel it. I pushed out of the room and made my way toward the front gates, my heart pounding. The security had to know something. Naya wouldn’t just leave without a word.The guard at the gate straightened when he saw me approaching. “Hello, sir.” He gave a small bow.“Do you have any idea where Naya went?” I asked, barely keeping my impatience in check.“Naya?” He frowned, looking confused.“My fucking wife,” I snapped, my patience wearing thin.His eyes widened slightly. “I’m sorry, sir. She drove out a few hours ago. She looked like she was in a hurry.”My chest tightened.“By herself?” I askedHe nodded. “Yes, sir.”“Did
LEONEverything happened so fast. Out of nowhere, they were claiming that Naya was their long-lost daughter. Their reason? They had a sketch made years ago, showing how their daughter would look after twenty years, and somehow, the drawing looked exactly like Naya.It seemed like the perfect lie, too perfect. There was something about their story that felt off, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it was. I didn’t believe anything that came out of their mouths, but it didn’t feel right to point it out like that, especially with how torn and confused Naya was feeling. She wanted to believe, and I could see it on her face.That’s why I suggested the DNA test. I thought that way, at least we would have the truth, one way or another. No guessing, no lies. Just the cold, hard facts.But if they were lying, then it meant someone had to know Naya well enough to pull it off. Someone who could easily trick her into believing it. And that’s where things got even more confusing.“T
NAYAI was in bed just lying down after our little trip to the hospital when my phone buzzed on the side table. I lazily turned and picked it up to see what the notification was about. I saw it was a video from an unknown number, I just assumed that it was a spam message and wanted to ignore it but I hesitantly pressed play and my breath hitched when the first thing that appeared on the screen was Ryan’s wearing a big smile. I increased the volume of the phone with shaky hands to hear what was being said.“Naya Genrey, I mean Valois” he chuckled“As you can see I have your parents” he continued panning the camera around and I saw both of them tied to a chair struggling to break free. My blood stilled and my heart began to beat frantically. I wanted to scream and let off all the frustration. I wasn't even done dealing with one and there was already an ocean ready to swallow me.What should I do?How do I do?“I would send you an address, come here now or they die. If you say a word to
RYANI was in my office, going over some reports when my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen, and a smirk pulled at my lips when I saw the caller ID. It was the fake parents, I already knew what it was about. They were panicking already. Just as I expected.I answered but didn’t speak. I let the silence stretch.“H-hello?” The woman’s voice was shaky, laced with fear.I leaned back in my chair, tapping my fingers against the desk. “What is it?” I asked, my voice calm, and controlled.“T-they suggested a DNA test,” she blurted out.I didn’t react. Of course, they did. I had already anticipated this. Naya had Leon and he wasn’t stupid. They would be suspicious from the start, and if I were in her position, I would have done the same.“We didn’t know what to say, so we agreed,” she continued. “What do we do now?” she askedI could hear the desperation in her voice. It almost made me laugh. Did she really think this was something I hadn’t planned for?“Relax,” I said smoothly. “I’ll