"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."
~Voltaire"Excuse me," I tell Joey and Elizabeth and I am about to head towards where Keffi stands with her hand rubbing Eli's arm in a flirty manner when my phone begins to ring in my purse and I quickly take it out and glancing at the caller ID I realise it is Anna. I sigh and make my way out to the guest bathroom where there is privacy to answer the call.
When I get there I answer the call and place it to my ear once in the bathroom.
"Hello, Anna."
The call ends almost immediately and after waiting for a callback and not getting one, I dial back and place the phone to my ear while it rings. After its third ring, the call is picked up but instead of Anna's voice, a masculine voice comes through.
"Hello, who's this?"
"I need to speak to Anna, s
..
"There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose."~Sabaa TahirA knock comes to my door and I don't need to be told to know who it is. It's Eli, probably here to ask why I ran away from his birthday party which I had taken the time to organise for him. He's probably here to ask questions I am not ready to answer, he's here to see reason and probably agree with whatever excuse I give because that's the type of man that he is. He's a good man and after everything I have discovered for myself, I don't think I can keep the charades up anymore.My loyalty is with Anna because she is in charge of my life until tomorrow when this is all over, but I can't help but think about the man who is being treated like a fool for loving so much. The man I keep lying to and treating like a fool even though he's d
"I make it easier for people to leave by making them hate me a little."~Cecelia AhernThe next morning I woke up with the mission in mind, playing my part until two p.m. then leaving for the railroad so I can be on time for the final switch. I took my bath and put on a purple gown so I can join Joey and Eli for breakfast one last time.After the talk I had with Eli last night, I couldn't sleep, not like I have been having good sleep in the last three week either and I'm sure the guilt of what I've done is going to hunt me many months from now.I wish I could judge Anna and expose her for what she really was, but I couldn't do that, no matter what, she still had the upper hand and telling Eli the truth would only risk Luke getting harmed and most likely killed and me getting thrown into prison by Eli and his family.A place exists
"I hated myself for going, why couldn't I be the kind of person who stays?"~Jonathan Safran FoerEli's POVI carry Anna up the stairs while she clings to my neck for balance even as her eyes remain close. I have a lot of questions running through my head right now and at this point, I think that she can sense it but I am not sure she is ready to answer them.Whatever happened outside there must have shaken her to the point where she had not much strength to move or even talk and throughout the ride back home, she remained silent and when we got home a few minutes ago, she couldn't get out of the car so I took her into my arms."What happened to her?" Rosalina asks with worried eyes as she sees us.I don't know the answer to give her, because I honestly do
"I was always holding onto people,and they were always leaving."~Lili St. CrowA lot has changed between Anna and me in the last couple of days she was able to come out of the shell she was in and back to her old self.On Saturday, we stayed in bed almost all day, getting off to bathe and take a walk in the garden and on Sunday she agreed to come with me and grandma to church and then back to Grandma's place after the service was over, she also helped grandma out with gardening and the two women talked and laughed about God knows what. We returned home and she finally allowed me to see some of the sketches she'd made for gowns she would want to someday design. They all looked amazing and the more she let me in the more amazed I got at who she was.With my suggestion, she took the week off from work so she could stay home and Rosalina seemed
"I wonder if this is how people always get close: They heal each other's wounds; they repair the broken skin."~Lauren OliverAnna is fast asleep in my arms and though I slept earlier, I've been awake for quite a while. This intimacy has been one of the things I've missed between us and I'm glad that it is finally back. I run my hand lightly through her hair and she softly moans before turning around, her eyes flutter open and her beautiful brown eyes settle on me.A shy smile comes into her face and she buries her face into my chest, "Why are your eyes on me the first thing I see when waking up?" she demands with a cute groan and covered her face.I pull the hands away, "Because you're too beautiful to look away," I answer and I feel her shudder against me causing me to chuckle."We shouldn't be in bed at this time," she says sitting up and the bedshe
"The fear of missing out was a powerful deterrent." ~John CarreyrouQuynn's POVI didn't think I was going to find them, Anna biological parents without having to search the whole town. Eli suggestion to meet Anna's parents was the worse idea ever and yes it would have been a reasonable suggestion if he was giving it to Anna but he wasn't and I was trapped with saying no and making him more suspicious of me and saying yes and throwing myself under the bus.Since the night he brought me home he has been very careful and suspicious and I can't blame him, it's was all Anna's fault and every day I can't help cursing her for ruining my life. This week is a week I didn't plan for and I feel like I'm leaving on borrowed time and I can't even pray that this end with me being free, that was last week prayer and God answered that
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."~Oscar Wilde"What?""Your mother was pregnant we went to the hospital for delivery but unlike the ultrasound predicted, we ended up with two babies. When the doctors came to me with the news I was happy and joyful we have been trying to have kids for years," he laces his finger in Maria's as he speaks. "Your mother went into coma after delivery and so we couldn't leave after the both of you were born, so you were kept on the hospital's new born baby's ward. I went to visit you guys everyday that your mother was in that coma and that was the most painful and joyous moment of my life. I was happy that you two were in our lives, but the doctor's couldn't ascertain that your mother was going to come out of the coma and I couldn't raise you two alone."The fourth day of my visit, I saw a man in the baby's ward, holding onto your
"Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood."~George OrwellColdness breaks out onto my skin and my throat runs dry as I stare at Anna's parents in awe. "You are not our Anna.""How did you know?" my brow narrowing is the only expression my face gives even though I am tumbling on the inside.Maria steps forward and gently takes my hand, "We were Anna's parent for fifteen years and we could tell you weren't her the minute you spoke. And indeed it has been long, but we raised Anna and we know what's unlike her. We believe that you are Cara Wilson our long lost daughter." Her eyes are glassy and filled with much hope and happiness.I turn to look at Eli who is far away and unable to hear what we're saying, "Then why didn't you say anything?""Because it doesn't look like you have a choice in wha
"There are many who don't wish to sleep for fear of nightmares. Sadly, there are many who don't wish to wake for the same fear."Richelle Goodrich~ Third POV Quynn's eyes open and in the first few seconds, everything around her is a white picture, but as the seconds pass, the blurriness clears and she realised that she's in a white painted room. There is a window to the side, which somehow the sun manages to penetrate through even with the curtain acting as a barrier. The sunlight as well as the brightness makes her eyes sting and she wince and shuts them for a while and she mentally tries to adjust to this alternate reality. She cannot remember the last thing that happens and she tries to carefully rethink and understand her situation better. After coming up fuzzy and blank, she sighs in defeat and her eyes open again but unlike t
"The truth hurts. And much more than love, kindness, or any of these warm feelings you’re so fond of, truth is beauty, and the thing that will set you free."A.D. Aliwat I follow behind her like a sheep being led to the slaughter without a word to say and she lead me to one of the three cars parked at the entrance of the hotel which was a Toyota. This is the end, this is my end, the end I have dreaded since the beginning of this mess. My whole body trembles and cold grips me to the core and I am panicking and dreadful of what lies ahead. My eyes grow blurry but I blink them back because tears are the last things that I need right now. My breath grows laboured and hard and my quivering hands become sweaty as she hands me the keys to the car and I confusedly collect it. "You're going to drive this car to the Chapel where Eli still is and you're going to go to him and
"There is an ocean of silence between us… and I am drowning in it." ~Ranata SuzukiShe's wearing a red blouse, a black pencil skirt and a red bag, her curly hair neatly tied into a bun and her face holding little to no makeup on it.My heart drops and panic rises within me as my eyes meet hers and she sees it too because she scoffs and enters further into the room even without being invited, carrying the same arrogance and loathe she always had around me.Why is she here? Is she following me? How's the wedding? Shit, she was uninvited to the wedding.What does she want? Because this isn't keeping a low key like Anna instructed or wanted. Someone has discovered my hiding place and I fear for the worst."What are you doing here?" I demand and slowly I turn to look at her, my voice fighting to stay firm. "How did you find me?"
"When it's gone, you'll know what a gift love was. You'll suffer like this. So go back and fight to keep it."Ian McEwan~Quynn POV A few days ago I would have been happier with the news of the finding of my bag because that meant I could get my phone and most likely get in touch with Anna, but I have called the number given to me by the stranger earlier and it there was no answer.If all was okay with Anna why didn't she come for the switch? Why isn't she here planning her own wedding? Is she even looking forward to her wedding? If yes, why is she MIA on this very important week?Questions that can't be answered run through my head and I shake them out to retain composure and I make downstairs to meet Eli after I heard the sound of his car in the driveway. The front door opens and he steps into the parlour he's wearing a grey long sleeve
"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."~Joe KlaasEli's POV Amade said he would be in my office as soon as he finishes with his assignments as well and when I told him that Anna gave us permission for the bachelor party, he was thrilled and promised that it would be a blast then I told him Anna was going to have his head on a stake if he didn't bring me back home in one piece. That wasn't what Anna said but I'd like my use of words for better emphasis.I am almost done with the last document when the door opens and Keffi walks into the office.She's wearing a green blouse and a plain black trousers, her hair is in a pony tail and her face having her usual natural make-up with a red lipstick sealing the deal. She looks like she's going out on a date and whoever the man is, good for him.Keffi has alw
"If you come from a family where there is no struggle to outshine one another, give thanks to God."~Michael Bassey JohnsonQuynn's POVI feel like everything is falling apart before my very eyes and I cannot help pacing around and thinking about what I just did and said back there. I have no idea what in God's name came over me. Jumai has never been a fan of Anna and it wasn't news, but I should have held it together at least for Eli's sake. Now, I succeeded in proving what Jumai have always said about me is true pacing beside the car and when she sees me. I see Eli approaching me and I stops and walks up to him with apologetic eyes."I'm sorry I said all that to your mom, I just lost it and I don't make the wisest choices in my moments of anger. Just lately things are not going the way I expected and I'm losing it and I didn't mean for you to see that s
"Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood."~George OrwellColdness breaks out onto my skin and my throat runs dry as I stare at Anna's parents in awe. "You are not our Anna.""How did you know?" my brow narrowing is the only expression my face gives even though I am tumbling on the inside.Maria steps forward and gently takes my hand, "We were Anna's parent for fifteen years and we could tell you weren't her the minute you spoke. And indeed it has been long, but we raised Anna and we know what's unlike her. We believe that you are Cara Wilson our long lost daughter." Her eyes are glassy and filled with much hope and happiness.I turn to look at Eli who is far away and unable to hear what we're saying, "Then why didn't you say anything?""Because it doesn't look like you have a choice in wha
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."~Oscar Wilde"What?""Your mother was pregnant we went to the hospital for delivery but unlike the ultrasound predicted, we ended up with two babies. When the doctors came to me with the news I was happy and joyful we have been trying to have kids for years," he laces his finger in Maria's as he speaks. "Your mother went into coma after delivery and so we couldn't leave after the both of you were born, so you were kept on the hospital's new born baby's ward. I went to visit you guys everyday that your mother was in that coma and that was the most painful and joyous moment of my life. I was happy that you two were in our lives, but the doctor's couldn't ascertain that your mother was going to come out of the coma and I couldn't raise you two alone."The fourth day of my visit, I saw a man in the baby's ward, holding onto your
"The fear of missing out was a powerful deterrent." ~John CarreyrouQuynn's POVI didn't think I was going to find them, Anna biological parents without having to search the whole town. Eli suggestion to meet Anna's parents was the worse idea ever and yes it would have been a reasonable suggestion if he was giving it to Anna but he wasn't and I was trapped with saying no and making him more suspicious of me and saying yes and throwing myself under the bus.Since the night he brought me home he has been very careful and suspicious and I can't blame him, it's was all Anna's fault and every day I can't help cursing her for ruining my life. This week is a week I didn't plan for and I feel like I'm leaving on borrowed time and I can't even pray that this end with me being free, that was last week prayer and God answered that