I have made my way into the office, trying not to think about Miranda’s words for now. Xavier seemed to have been waiting for me. Watching me come before him again made him smile. I had to force an uncomfortable smile on him, and I felt like he picked on it."You don’t look very pleased," he questioned, closing the file in front of him."I spoke to Zoe," I said, taking a seat and letting out a sigh."And I am assuming it didn’t go as you thought it would go," he asked, and I nodded."I wanted her to continue her study while taking support from us. But she told me she wants to get married to a rich guy who is willing to accept the baby and her. "It really didn’t sit right with me. I don’t know how one can survive like this.My mother married a man who was only after her wealth. Derrell didn’t even care about his own blood and left us to start over with his previous wife. Marriages that don’t start with love end in tragedy."Okay!" he said in exhaustion, dropping his hands to the side o
"Tell me, Jace! I am waiting for your answer," Xavier insisted.But what shocked me was when Jace took only three minutes to say, "sure. If that’s what you want. You know I’ll never let you down, Xave." I couldn’t hold back the shock I got. I was so wrong to think he would try to be a better person.I wasn’t angry that he was marrying my sister, but I was annoyed and scared for her future. This man had confessed his feelings for me, and now he was going to marry my sister.He is going to ruin her life."Wow, then it’s done. Jace weds Zoe," I said aloud, sarcasm dripping from my voice. Jace was surprised to see me behind him. That guy was either a coward or a liar. In both cases, he was awful. How could he say yes to that?"Phoe---" he stuttered, looking like he was going to pass out. Did he expect me to never find out about the marriage?"No! it’s okay. I mean, if it saves Zoe from getting strangled by the people of the town, why not?" I was so mad at him that I couldn’t break eye co
"Here is the father," Xavier announced with a wide, forced smile on his lips. He dragged the guy by his collar and pushed him inside the room. I heard Zoe jump down from the bed behind me. I, however, was a bit shocked to see Martin, the guy she was escaping with, standing in front of us. Then, everything started to make sense. Zoe already had an idea about her pregnancy. That’s why she was fleeing with this guy."He is the father of the baby. The same guy who used to have dates with her in my mansion. The two wanted to keep things secret, so they have asked me to arrange everything for them. It is really hard for me to say this, but I feel like a freaking pimp now," Xavier muttered through a clenched jaw, still smiling and making me aware of how angry he was.It all made sense.He was the guy I saw her with back when I thought she was with Xavier. But why was Xavier giving her so much leniency? I thought she was dating Xavier."Xavier," I tried to calm him down, but he shook his head
"So, what is going on now?" Mia sat down with me as I waited for Zoe to finish talking to Martin. Derrell left the house after he was basically told by Xavier not to interrupt. I could only imagine how terrible he felt when he realized he wasn’t allowed to interrupt us."I don’t know. I hope whatever decision she makes, she does it for herself and her baby. She doesn’t have to force herself into staying with anyone," I said, staring at the staircase."I am talking about you," Mia’s words shocked me into turning to her."I am not afraid of Zoe anymore. She had found a sister who would do anything for her. But what about you? What is going on with your life?" The way she smiled at me, I could see the guilt in her eyes for whatever happened to me and my mother."I am not traumatized, if that’s what you want to ask me. What happened that evening was horrible. But I am glad I had someone who helped me see that life is beautiful. I am not the wrong person here. Those who beat me up were at
Years Ago:I celebrated my birthday last week but haven’t had a perfect party with my friends yet. After turning 15, I really wanted to do this. Since I belonged to a rich family, I felt a competition with the others fellows. They all had amazing 15th birthdays, but I wanted to do something crazy. Of course, my idea of being crazy was different from what my mom had suggested. She asked me to rent a cruise and take my friends there with the guards, obviously. But that wouldn’t be crazy.Everybody will laugh at me for choosing the safest route."A cruise?" As expected, Mille looked disgusted when I pitched the idea after my mother’s constant insistence."I knew this would happen. I wish I hadn’t canceled on a bungee jumping trip with my cousins to Finland," Malaika sighed, munching hard on the packet of chips now that she was angry with me."Guys! It’s not something I suggested. That was my mother’s pitch." I had to instantly diffuse the fire before the word spreads that I am too afraid
Years Ago:"I find it very inappropriate whenever you ask me such questions, Uncle Morgan!" In order for him to remember what his relationship with me was, I called his name very clearly."I am sure kids these days talk about everything openly," he shrugged, showing no regret."My son is so open about things." He made me cringe when he mentioned his little son. He was younger than me, and this man over here was flexing about his son talking about adult stuff openly."Then he definitely needs better parents," I muttered, forcing a very cringe smile to let him know I wasn’t even joking."Ah! I don’t know about that. I am sure only I can take care of him. Let’s not talk about him. Tell me about yourself. When you start wearing bras?" He asked me, making my eyes jump out of their sockets in shock and disgust."Hey! I am your father’s age. And I am telling you, it is normal. People talk about these days openly." He instantly waved his hand to get me comfortable with him.A 15-year-old who
I started protesting to get out of his grasp. I threw my body back and released myself from his hand, only to find stupid Paul laughing at me."I scared you?" he clapped and then bit his tongue."How---," I frowned at him, making him touch his ears and apologize in his mouth."I climbed up your balcony. It was easy," he shrugged, roaming around my room as if he had never been here for. Actually, he had come here before, but with my mother’s permission."You scared me." I rolled my eyes and then watched him pass me a smile."What? I asked, frowning at him."Please come to the party tonight," he requested. It’s been a few days that I have only excused to every idea of the party he or the others have suggested."Paul! I don’t know," I sighed, sitting in front of my dresser to fix my getup. I didn’t want to be in a relationship with him, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t attracted to him. He was the typical bad boy of our school and I loved being his special one."Why not?" he asked sadly."M
I held my breath in and prayed. She peeked inside and then turned around to face me.“I can expla--,” I stopped when I saw that the closet was empty. I mean, Paul was not in there. I stopped shivering. Where did he go? Now I looked more curious than my mom.‘’What?’’ mom asked, following my stare.‘’Hm? oh nothing.’’ I shook my head quickly. ‘’you needed something?’’ I inquired.‘’No, I was just checking on you.’’ She said, walking over to my bed and sitting down.“Come sit with me,” she said, patting the empty spot with her. I sat down with her, wondering what was going on?“Uncle Morgan is only worried about you.” She started and I realized why she came upstairs. After I left the dining room, I bet they talked about me.“I have you to take care of me. When he acts like he is my fa—ther, I get angry,” I said in all honesty. I didn’t want any father figure.“I understand. However, if the whole partying thing is indeed true, then remember, you have broken my trust. I am not going to ar
"Are you guys okay? Did he hurt any of you?" Xavier’s voice was so calm for me. Maddox wanted to hug his father. I was craving it too, but Jace was only triggered now. "Daddy, I don’t like my uncle," Maddox said in a broken voice. A tear of fear slowly rolled down his cheek. "You scared my son," Xavier said, his eyes stuck on Maddox when he mumbled, slowly playing with his cuff-links. ‘’We can sort it out please,’’ I was not in danger of losing anyone. ‘’Let him decide that,’’ Jace smiled, looking at Xavier but this time Jace wasn’t so calm as well. "You have one choice, cousin, either save your beloved wife or your minion son," Jace said, pointing his gun at both of us one by one. "Resist, and both of them die," he added."Xavier, please save him," I mumbled, turning to look into his eyes from a distance. ‘’And let you die? Never,’’ he uttered in his mouth, his eyes on Jace. "C’mon, the clock is ticking, bro. Make up your mind,’’ Jace voiced, ‘’choose one.’’ "Xavier, please
My heart was racing inside my chest. I have more to worry about now. It wasn’t only I in the room but my son, my life: Maddox. I slowly turned my body around, shivering at the thought of seeing him again after so long. ‘’Ah! It almost felt like a decade," his voice has turned heavy, his messy beard and long hair were showing that he never aimed to start over and waited for this moment his entire life. To hold on to revenge for that long, I must say he has no other ambitions for himself."Jace!" I announced, looking at the gun being pointed at me."Oh! You still remember my name?" He mocked me, clicking his tongue and shaking his head in disapproval."Why are you here?" I asked in panic, gulping as he reached for Maddox."Let him go," I said, looking in the direction of my son, whom Jace was holding by his tiny arm. Even the thought of him hurting my son was killing me. I wished he had been caught long ago. Just when I was finally happy in my life, he had to come ruin it for me.‘’Di
We were in Paris for the past two days. It was amazing, and the boys were having a lot of fun together."Dad, why did you marry my mother?" Maddox mumbled, trying to reach for an ice-cream as we three sat on the table in a restaurant. "Your mother," Xavier whispered, bowing in Maddox’s ear, "completes me. She makes me laugh, forces me into doing the right thing, fights with me to do things her way, and you know what’s the best part? I actually listen to her. I end up doing whatever she says," Xavier’s eyes were at me, his beautiful hawk eyes digging holes in mine. ‘’Why?’’ Maddox was not the type to quit asking questions, even for once. He was a very talkative soul.Because I love her. And when you love someone, you just do everything to make them happy. Making her happy makes me happy," He slowly blinked his eyes, reminding me of the time when I first saw him. I vividly remember the first day I saw him. And whenever he forced me to do something, I ended up forcing him to do it my w
"I can’t move," I laid in my bed, holding a book in my lap, and resting my head on the soft pillow. I looked at Xavier from the corner of my eyes. He was staring at me blankly. ‘’what?’’ I annoyingly spoke. ‘’You need to eat something,’’ He put his hands on his waist like a baby and mumbled. I was not starving myself, but every time he forced me to eat something, I felt wonderful. It was just that the morning sickness was too much for me.‘’Really? I didn’t know that," I tried to hold back my laugh and buried my head back in the book. ‘’You are starving my baby,’’ he pointed his finger at my belly and rolled his eyes."So you don’t care about me, just about your baby?" I was being a little annoying. I was arguing about everything; it’s not like I haven’t done that before, but yeah! I was four months pregnant and extremely moody."No," he replied bluntly, and then a smile appeared on his lips, "Okay! jokes apart, get up and eat something," he ordered, narrowing his beautiful eyes my
"This is so unfair," I broke down in tears instantly. Zoe deserved justice, even though Derrell got his punishment, but I wanted the extreme limits of torture for him."I’m coming home, Phoenix; please, calm yourself down," his voice was so calming to my ears at that moment that I looked at him and he looked uneasy."It’s okay. Don’t rush, I’ll be fine," I said, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand. I had to be prepared to talk to him about stuff, and I've got news for him as well. At the moment, I had a feeling that he knew I had seen everything.I took a shower and changed into a tight, white, knee-length dress. After hearing about my pregnancy, so much had changed in me. I was getting over disasters pretty quickly.I waited for Xavier while watching TV. I don’t know but suddenly the hopeless life was full of meanings and charms.I saw Xavier coming with the guards. His sight was shooting into my eyes. But he didn’t look pleased."Why didn’t you call me instantly?" He voice
Phoenix’s POV:I watched the person crawl in my direction, but my heart was pounding with every little detail of this person.It was Morgan, my uncle Morgan. He crawled like a dog near me, his eyes were sewed shut and so were his lips from the sides only. His fingers were cut, and his body was naked with just shorts on. He had no hair; his eyebrows were shaved, as was his head. He somehow knew it was me. The pain was visible on his face. My eyes jumped out of their sockets at the sight before them. He kept coming towards me, and the state of shock was so intense that I couldn’t move.I had no idea when he crawled over me. I was still sitting, but his whole existence was so terrible. Suddenly, Hardie left Jace on the ground and ran in my direction. I screamed, looking away and hugging myself. It was horrible. Hardie approached and grabbed Morgan by his collar. He had a collar on. Hardie punched him in the back and pulled him inside the room, locking him quickly. I was still yelping and
Jace’s POV: A Few Hours Ago:"I don’t understand what Phoenix is up to," I was walking around restlessly, wondering what exactly was Phoenix planning to do now.I was waiting for her in the hallway after dinner, as I knew this was the only place where I could have a word with her. Once she goes into her room, she will not come out till morning.Some things were making me wonder if I was even doing the right thing by trusting her.As soon as I spotted her walking towards the room, I blocked her way to have a word with her."Jace! What are you doing?" She motioned for me to step aside."I'm here to get some answers from you," I stated anxiously. I swear I heard moans coming from their room several times."I don’t have time for this. We will talk some other time," she tried excusing, but I didn’t budge."No! I need to know what is going on. You said you didn’t want to be with him, then why are you marrying him?" I hissed at her, trying to keep my calm, but it was becoming impossible in t
That was pretty much a clue for me to check that room. But it was closed. I tried opening it or even pushing it, but it didn’t do anything. I looked at the code and thought to try it, but what if I tried it and it turned out to be wrong and an alarm blared in? I kept looking at it; I have to look at what was inside it. Taking a few steps further, I saw a room with *Sec* written over it. What if sec actually means se*? It could be second, or, wait, it's got to be security. Now all the rooms were locked to keep something from escaping, but this one was opened. I helped myself in. The biggest surprise that I got was that there were computers showing some footage. I was shocked when I saw there were cameras everywhere in his town, and this was the place where he used to watch everything. "That’s how he used to know what was happening around?" I was surprised but also intrigued.I sat on the chair and looked at the cameras. There was no footage from inside anyone’s house, so that meant th
"What are you looking at?" Xavier asked, watching me stare at the sky while we lay on the mattress on the rooftop."This will be our star," I giggled, drunk."You have drink too much, my love," He shifted his side toward me and planted a kiss on my shoulders."You make me happy," I babbled, laughing and kissing his hand, holding it to my chest."We both are each other’s paradise," he uttered, kissing my earlobe and making me giggle. "I love you, Xavier," I whispered happily."Maddox," he looked at the sky and mumbled out of the blue. I was the one drunk, but his words made me wonder if he was also wasted."What?" I asked. This time, I had my face turned toward him."I’ll name my first child Maddox, Maddox Charming," he said, a wide smile on his face. He tangled his fingers in mine and held my hand tightly. I was glad inside. Talking about children meant our relationship was growing. ‘’What if it is a girl?’’ I turned my face to him and watched him with love. He was looking at the st