“A few things are stolen. Get here soon.” Once Liam ended the call with the police, he turned to Ella who stood behind him and informed. “They’ll be here in no time. You need somewhere to stay in the meantime. If you have nowhere, my house is open for you.”Ella shook her head immediately. He’d done enough for her even more than she could imagine in this lifetime. Never in a million years did she think that Liam would show up when she needed him, console her, and help her call the police. If it wasn’t for him, she didn’t know what she would have done. She’d been confused as hell. “It’s fine. I can’t inconvenience you.”“You won’t. Besides, it’s just until this gets sorted out. I don’t mind.”“I can stay in a hotel in the meantime. It will be better.”“And who says you’re safe in a hotel? What if this isn’t an ordinary robbery and there is someone out there trying to harm you? You’re not safe anywhere else but my home.”“You don’t mind?” Throughout their friendship, Liam had never bro
Ella bit her lips nervously as Liam walked out of the room and into his room which was astride hers. Buying the opportunity, she stepped deeper into the room, her eyes scanning the beauty of the room. She stepped to the bedside table, running her hands through the sparkling surface. She sat on the end, bouncing on it lightly and a smile rode up her lips as she felt the soft surface against her butt.“This is so soft,” she commented, still feeling the soft surface of the bed. The beddings too were exactly her type, soft and cozy. She quickly sprang up from the bed as Liam stepped back into the room with a few clothes in his hand. He walked up to her and handed the clothes in his hand. “Those are the smallest I could find. I hope you like them.”Ella's heart fluttered as she stared at the clothes in her hand, the scent immediately getting to her nose. She hugged them to her chest. “Thank you. I’ll take care of them very well.”“You’re comfortable here, are you not?”“I am. This room is
Feather-light kisses fluttering around her naked back and neck woke Eve up after a stressful previous night. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she turned, her eyes coming in contact with the man above her. She groaned and managed to sit up on the bed, her hair falling around her shoulder and naked chest. She massaged the sides of her head before bringing her attention to the man. “You didn’t have to wake me up, Noah. I felt exhausted last night. My head hurt like crazy.”He stepped out of the bed and walked around her, helping her massage her temple. “Forgive me. Though I’m not sorry.”She slapped his hands away from her head and used the blanket to cover her body before letting out a loud yawn. “I still want to sleep some more. Don’t wake me up again.”She intended to return back to her position on the bed but before her head could hit the pillow again, he grabbed her arms and pulled her forward. “Enough sleep for the day, wifey. Go get dressed.”“It’s still early.”Noah grabbed hi
“Don’t worry about me.” Eve pulled away from the man and looked him over from his head downward. “Is she treating you well? I should end her miserable life now that I’m aware you’re on my side. Do you know what she did? She changed the interiors of your office and replaced it with something cringy like it’s a club. I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t listen.”“Relax, you’ll get yourself worked up,” Mr Gray said amid laughter. He held her at shoulder length and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “We’ll fight through this and come out victorious, okay?”Eve shook her head, her tears perhaps on a mission to create a dam. “Father, I was so scared,” she cried. “I…I thought that you hated me and that…that you disowned me. I thought…”He cut her off, his voice firm and gentle. “That would never happen. I’ll never disown you, never. Come here.” He pulled her into his embrace and let her cry on his chest, patting her hair without a single word. It was only after a few minutes of sobs that Eve f
In hindsight, accepting Liam’s invitation to occupy a part of his space was the worst mistake Ella ever made. Because right outside the room she occupied was the man that she had unrequited feelings for. With a loud groan, she roughly scratched her head, her hair falling over her face and back as she sat on the bed. She’d barely had a wink of sleep all throughout the night. It was way too loud outside even though Liam barely made any noise. But every footstep and every phone call of his were noticed by her. The little movements were enough to have her heart race a marathon. And the smell of his shirt that she wore? Lord, it had assaulted her nose throughout. It had been so overbearing that she had to take the shirt off her and throw it across the room. “Fuck, I need to find a solution to this,” she groaned, muffling her scream as she ruffled her hair with her fingers again. She needed a solution to the undying love, to the obsession, she needed a remedy. “I need to fucking think.”
With her hands on her chest, Ella raced to Liam’s private garage. Once she got to her car, she flung the door open and threw herself in, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. As usual, she’d run off from Liam after he handed her key over. Why did he have to be so thoughtful? She wondered. It would be so hard to get over him if he continuously acts so thoughtful. He brought in her car knowing that she would need it to go around the city and it would be inconvenient if she took a cab. Worse, her betrayal of an heart and body were reacting even more to it. It was like in her attempt to fall out of love, she fell deeper in love with him. Her pounding heart and throbbing pussy whenever he was around her were enough evidence. “Get a grip of yourself, Ella,” she scolded herself. She couldn’t believe how easily she lost herself whenever Liam was around. Every single time. It was terrifying. And she was scared that she might lose herself fully if this unrequited love of hers continu
“You always know how to change the topic whenever we’re speaking about you, Ella.” Eve rolled her eyes and scolded. “I know you’re hurt, I can see it in your eyes.”With a chuckle, Ella closed her palms around her eyes. “What do you mean? Is it written all over me?” She joked while taking her hands off her eyes and digging into the food before them. “Not to others but to me. If you like him, don’t let anything stop you from getting him. Go for him.”“How can you say that? What if he loves someone else?” She asked. Eve didn’t mean to but she threw her head backward again and let out her laughter. “Liam? Love someone else?” She pondered. “All throughout the year, I’ve not seen him smile at a single lady. I don’t think he’s in love with someone else. Besides, you never know unless you try.”“You know nothing, Eve.” She looked away, hiding the sadness in her eyes. ‘He’s in love with you. He’s been in love with you for as long as I can remember,’ she wanted to spill it out to her friend
The scent of tobacco, secrets, and food hung thick in the restaurant. Outside the door, voices of lovers, business conversations, and the smooching sounds of one-night standers could be heard but the only thing that Ella could hear was the blaring sound of her phone and the warning ring of her ears as her eyes remained fixated on the phone. “Ella?” She sucked in a deep breath at Eve’s yell, her eyes snapping to Eve. “Ye…yeah?” She stuttered. “Yeah? Your phone is ringing for the third time. Third means important.”“Ye…yeah. That’s right.”“Who is it?”She glanced at the caller ID again and raised her head to reply. “It’s him. My stepfather. “What?” Eve couldn’t help the amusement from curling her lips. “Your stepfather? After abandoning you for ages? Impressive.”“The truth is that I've been sending money home for a year.”“What?”She closed her forefinger around her mouth, gesturing for Eve to stay silent while she picked up the phone. “I’ll be back. I’ll explain everything.”She
Eve’s anger burned over. The room suddenly became twice as cold as usual from the glare that the two parties passed each other. She slammed her hand on the table and rose, her eyes glaring daggers at the girl. “No, you didn’t get deceived. You deceived us and we’re here to have you pay for it.”“Wait.” Genevieve chuckled but there was no hint of amusement on her face. She had a panicked expression as she shook her head from side to side. “You mean that everything was a lie? That you’re not on the same page as me? Yesterday you told me.”“Yeah yeah, I deceived you. But that was little compared to the lie that you told. Unfortunately for you, you’ve been busted. Right there is the proof that you fixed your face to look like my father’s and of course, you have someone behind you, directing you and ordering you around like a fucking puppet.”“I’m not a puppet,” the girl screamed. “I told you I’m not a puppet and you’re lying. I’d never fix my face…”Ella cut her off. “I think it’s high ti
A day later, Ella and Eve parked their car in the same spot that they did the previous day. They both had a veil and thick sunglasses on their eyes and their gazes were fixated on the entrance of the company. “How did you get in yesterday?” Ella couldn’t help but ask about the tight security of the company. “By using the pass father gave me.”“They’re not going to question our attire?”“They won’t. They wouldn’t dare question people sent by their boss. Come on, let’s leave. Is everything ready?”“Never been more ready. Although, yesterday, I almost lost the envelope.”Eve’s eyes widened and her head whipped to Ella. “What? Where is it now?”“Relax,” Ella laughed. “I found it at the bottom of Liam’s passenger’s seat after finding it for minutes. It’s a miracle.” If Liam hadn’t sighted the envelope under her chair and picked it up for her, she wondered what she’d have done considering that the success of the operation lies in it. Eve would’ve nagged her to death. Eve let out a breath
A few minutes later, the girls strode hand in hand into the top floor of Noah’s company. As they drew closer, Adam’s eyes rose from his desk and they widened when they fell on them. “Mrs Hank,” he greeted.“Adam. There is no need to give him a call. He knows.”“Sure, please go in.”As they stepped into the office, their eyes fell on Noah who had his back to them. His right hand was dipped into his pocket and the other held his phone to his ears as he stared down at the city from the floor-to-ceiling window. At the click of the door shutting close, he looked behind him and his lips stretched into a smile at the sight of Eve.“I’ll give you a call when the file is ready,” he spoke into the phone before retracting it from his ear and throwing it to the desk. He sidestepped the table and walked to stand before her. “How was it?” His words were followed with a kiss on her neck that rode up to her cheek and he acknowledged Ella with a nod. “Superb. I told you I’m going to be fine. We suc
“A truce. We’re done being enemies. Why don’t we be friends and work together?”In Genevieve’s moment of shock, Eve sidestepped her and walked to the table, leaning against it with her hands squeezing together under her breast. She picked up the new nameplate on the table and ran her hand through it. “Pink is quite pretty for you, you know.”Her words made the girl snap out of her daze. She stormed toward Eve and snatched the nameplate from her. “I’m quite particular about my belongings. I suggest that you don’t touch anything here.”“Don’t worry. I won’t steal anything. Like I said, I’m here for peace. I want us to reconcile.”“Reconcile? Don’t be daft. You offended me by stealing my identity. I can never be friends with you.”Eve clicked her tongue severally and pushed away from the table, her eyes on Genevieve. “You know, it’s the opposite. Look around you.” She stretched her hands around the office, Genevieve’s eyes following every move. “Just look around. Everything here is mine
Two hours later, their car stopped before the building of the Gray Corporation. Eve wore a face mask on her lower face with a scarf around her hair and turned to Ella who sat behind the wheel. “I’m ready,” she announced. “Great. I’ll be waiting here. You got what we practiced, right?”“One hundred percent.”Simultaneously, their lips curled into a smile and after clapping their hands together in a high-five motion, Eve stepped out of the car. “I’ll be back real quick.”“Good luck, babe.”Eve nodded and continued her journey into the company. As she was about to step into the main building, the security man at the door stood before her. He was way tall and huge and he was a new face in the company. “You are?” He eyed her suspiciously. “Me? Here.” She dipped her hand into her purse and handed him a card. It was a free pass that her father had gotten her to get into the company freely. “I’m Mr Gray’s messenger. I need to deliver something to the CEO.”At the sight of the card, the secu
The dim morning sun seeping from the windows assaulted Ella’s eyes and pulled her from sleep. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, a small yawn escaping her lips. She tried to raise her head from the slightly uncomfortable position that she was in only to find a strong force holding her down. She gasped when she fully woke from the daze of sleep, realizing that she was not laying her head on her pillow as she’d imagined but in fact, her head was on a hard surface. Liam’s shoulder. The smell of lavender and mint aftershave assaulted her nose and she felt her heart immediately skip a beat as always. She glanced back at his hand that was around her upper back, keeping her close to him with a blue blanket around them. Slowly and gently, she held his hand and pulled it away from herself before retracting her head off his shoulder. Ella grunted at the pounding headache that hit her when her eyes fell on the dozens of beer cans on the table and floor before them, the memories of the previou
After slamming those words to Matthew’s face, Ella got into her car and drove out of the impoverished compound and then the town. By the time she arrived back in the city, it was already night’s time and she made her way to Liam’s apartment. Speaking about Liam. Ella’s eyes fell on her phone on the phone stand beside her in the car. She’d purposely switched it off after she arrived at the town days ago and she knew there would be bunches of calls that she missed. Did he call? She wondered, considering that he never called her except when he needed to ask about Eve. Her week had taken a toll on her and she knew she wasn’t in the right state of mind to think of Liam with other issues that she had. Her mother needed surgery and at least for Jaden’s sake, she needed to provide for her surgery. She wouldn’t want the child to go through something like the death of a parent at such an early age. Finally, she arrived at the garage and parked, a deep sigh escaping her lips. Was she in the
“Why can’t I come with you, big sister? I promise I’ll be good.”Ella looked down at the boy beneath her. He fisted her tailored pants with his small fist and looked up at her in pleading glossy eyes. He was way skinnier than the last time she saw him a few months ago. Her younger brother was barely nine years old yet he had to see how fucked up things were with their family. As she stared at his dark wet eyes, she suddenly had the urge to pull him into her embrace and take him away from the toxic household. Fuck, she wanted to do that more than anything. She wanted to take him away and make sure that he lived a better life than she did. But she was in no good position to have him. She didn’t have a good place or a stable job and her mental health was something else. But one day though. One day. She could still remember when the little boy was born nine years ago. Might she add, out of accident? They neglected him. Their parents. And they didn’t care to give him a name or celebrat
“Noah, where the hell are you taking me,” Eve demanded as he led her away from the garden into the mansion. “Adventure, darling. You’re not tired of socializing yet?”“I’m not. Let go of me. We’re not in a talking situation.”“You’re my wife. You can’t avoid me.”“Where are we even going? It’s someone else’s house.”“Don’t know.”She realized he didn’t know the way around the house when he looked twice before turning in a hallway, his grip on her wrist tightening. She sighed and let him pull her. Well, she was due for an adventure after all, and right, it’s sucked to socialize with old friends and guests that looked at her with cold judgy eyes. She could tell that they had the scandal in mind and they regarded her as a shameless imposter. She’d rather be away from them.“You better don’t get caught and accused of being a spy or a thief.”“Thief?” He chuckled. “I could buy everything in this house for you.”“Yeah yeah, you don’t have to boast about your wealth.”“Shh.” Suddenly, he pu