Michael found Amelia in the kitchen when he came down from his room. It was still relatively early, the yellow rays of the morning sun filling the house with a light ambience. Unfortunately, that did not do much to relieve the tension that was still pressing down on the two cohabitants of the house. The man paused at the staircase for a moment, just a few steps above the floor as he leaned on the railing to think. After what had happened between him and Amelia a couple of days ago, his first thought had been that she was the one who had followed him and taken those pictures. But Michael had discarded that idea after a period of consideration. The reason was simple; such a thing just was not Amelia's style. Even though there was no doubt that the young woman had changed incredibly after her time overseas, Michael still knew a great deal about the way Amelia reasoned. The woman was not a person that would be willing to get down and dirty in order to get something. Amelia had never been
It did not get any easier to live in the same house as Michael while contemplating the plans on her mind, no matter what Amelia told herself. After their disastrous encounter in the kitchen the other day, Amelia had barely spoken to Michael. That was not just because she did not want to talk to him, although that was also a factor, but it was mainly because she took to spending most of her time locked away in her room. As mad and terribly pissed off at Michael as she was, Amelia also knew that once the heat of everything died down enough, Michael was bound to start asking her some difficult questions that she was sure she would have the guts to answer. She knew that Lisa had most probably sent this pictures, the same ones that Amelia herself had received from the woman, to Noah. Knowing the rich bastard, he would have definitely made a big deal out of it. If Michael and Olivia were still seeing each other, then she would have told him about it too. So there was no doubt on Amelia's m
Throughout his drive home, Michael continued to replay the events he had witnessed just some minutes ago. And no matter how much he tried, he still could not make much sense out of it. Amelia's actions were undoubtedly suspicious, but he just could not find a connection. First it looked as if she was heading towards the airport, then suddenly she seemingly changed her mind and drove all the way to some abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. To do what? Meet with a couple of nobodies? It just did not make sense. But still Michael could not shake the gut feeling he was having that these things were more than they seemed. It was giving him a hard time already, having to divide his attention between his thoughts and keeping his car on the road. Deciding to focus on the one that would not get him killed or seriously injured, Michael tried to shelf the numerous thoughts running wild in his head until he finally got to his house. The first thing he noticed was the absence of Amelia'
After their explosive fallout yesterday, Michael was not surprised in the least when he failed to find Amelia outside her room the next morning. That was her only move whenever the two of them would have an argument; to simply shut herself away from everyone and everything until she felt otherwise. Michael did not really care though. As far as he was concerned, she could do whatever she wanted as long as it did not involve him or Olivia. Besides, Amelia was still the source of the unrelenting headache that had plagued him throughout the night until he finally found solace in sleep. Michael decided to take a couple of minutes to make a quick breakfast, making sure to leave something out for Amelia. That did not mean that he had forgiven her though. It was simply a spur of the moment decision, or at least that was what he was willing to tell himself. Traffic in the city was abhorrent, as was normal for commuters trying to get around on the middle hours of the morning. But still, Micha
He sighed but still went on to tell her anyway. "It's just that ever since we got those pictures, I decided to keep a closer eye on Amelia. Even though I actually don't think she was the one who followed us and did all of that, I still had a gut feeling that there was something up with her." "And? Did you find anything?" Olivia asked. "I can't really tell..." He replied. "I mean, yesterday, she just left the house for no reason. I decided to go after her to see what she was up to. At first I thought she was headed to the airport, which was weird because she never said anything about leaving. Then she suddenly changed directions and went to the old warehouse district at the edge of town." Olivia frowned a little at that point. "What could she be looking for there? That place has been abandoned for years." "I thought the same thing," said Michael. "I lost sight of her for a bit, then I saw her walk into one of the warehouses. A few minutes later, she left the place but before I can
"You did not just ask me that question Olivia," Michael said with a shake of his head, as he pushed his way into his office.The woman followed right behind him, closing the door behind her as her smile fell a little. She knew that Michael only used her full name when he was very serious about something. "Talk to me Michael," she pleaded as she stepped closer to him. "What's wrong?""I told you before that I did not trust Lisa," Michael reminded her."She's my best friend.""And she might also be working with Noah," he countered with a voice that was deceptively calm, a sharp contrast to the turmoil present within him at the moment. "I know it sounds absurd, but remember that we can't exactly trust anyone at this point. You remember what happened with Damian, don't you?"Olivia's body slowly went still as flashes of memories streaked through her mind of the time she had been held captive all those weeks ago. Those memories were ones that she had subconsciously tried to repress, so th
"I know a perfect spot just around the corner, they're good, I'm sure you'll love it!" Lisa cried out just before Olivia had the chance to drive towards the route that led to one of her favorite restaurants. She had been here a couple of times before, and she hadn't heard of another restaurants around the corner."Another restaurant? I haven't heard about it—""They're new, so you wouldn't know about them. They're literally perfect, I swear." Lisa urged without letting Olivia finish with her words. Olivia let a weary smile light up her face before turning the car around. She doubted that there was any new restaurants around the area, but then again she had no reason not to believe her best friend. Lisa had no reason to lie to her, especially not about something as silly as a restaurant. "They better live up to your hype, because now I've gotten excited." Olivia remarked as she pressed down on the acceleration pedal. Lisa on the other hand kept a very convincing smile on her face, o
From the corner of her eyes Lisa could see that it was Michael who Olivia had just finished speaking with. Though she still planned to ask her friend who the person was, it was nice to make quick observations. With Michael here, their plan was certain to fail. Olivia had probably told him about everything, and Lisa feared that she would not be able to fully convince anybody that Olivia's kidnapping and death would be an accident. Why would only Olivia be taken anyway?With a sigh she rolled her eyes and waited patiently for her friend to come back. "Who was that?" Lisa asked the moment Olivia was within earshot. She raised a curious brow, feigning ignorance to the fact that she already knew it was Michael."Michael, it seems he's not a fan of the restaurant." Olivia lied, a perfect excuse for her to completely avoid entering the place."I'm not feeling it anymore, I think I might have lost my appetite." Lisa replied with a nervous chuckle. "We should just go home."Olivia’s brow furr
First it was Michael, then Noah, and now Damian? Olivia had gotten scared, and now she could barely focus on the work in front of her. They had all told her to steer clear of her best friend, yet neither of them had given her enough reason to do that, nor had Lisa done anything bad enough for her to just cut ties with her. It was ridiculous, and the worst part of it all was the fact that she had let it get to her and her head. Now she couldn't sleep or close her eyes without imagining a scene where Lisa betrays her. Letting out a deep sigh, Olivia rose from her desk and proceeded towards the door. She needed a break, a quick one to clear her head from all the nonsense that was swirling round in there. Outside, she took a step towards Michael's office but stopped almost immediately. He hadn't spoken to her since she sent him away, and she doubted he would have the time and patience to tolerate her if she tried to speak on the Lisa matter again. Turning around, she made her way towa
First it was Michael, then Noah, and now Damian? Olivia had gotten scared, and now she could barely focus on the work in front of her. They had all told her to steer clear of her best friend, yet neither of them had given her enough reason to do that, nor had Lisa done anything bad enough for her to just cut ties with her. It was ridiculous, and the worst part of it all was the fact that she had let it get to her and her head. Now she couldn't sleep or close her eyes without imagining a scene where Lisa betrays her. Letting out a deep sigh, Olivia rose from her desk and proceeded towards the door. She needed a break, a quick one to clear her head from all the nonsense that was swirling round in there. Outside, she took a step towards Michael's office but stopped almost immediately. He hadn't spoken to her since she sent him away, and she doubted he would have the time and patience to tolerate her if she tried to speak on the Lisa matter again. Turning around, she made her way toward
Lisa bit her lips hard, this was the worst possible outcome of what she had intended. Getting rejected wasn't the problem, the problem was the fact that she had just revealed her intentions to Damian and had gotten rejected. Even though she doubted Damian and Olivia were on good terms, it didn't negate the fact that Damian could go and spill her plans to someone else."What's wrong?" Amelia inquired sharply after noticing the panic and fear in Lisa's eyes. "He refused." Lisa answered subtly, her voice a direct contrast to the war she was fighting internally now. What if Damian said a word to Olivia? What if Olivia believed him? Worse, what if Damian told Noah?!She bit her lips even harder until they were at the verge of bleeding. "That bastard! He better not say a word about this to anybody." Lisa through gritted teeth and curled fists. "You don't think he'll say a word to anybody, do you?" Amelia inquired, panic surging through her. Her and Michael might have found love once again
Lisa was the last person Damian expected to receive a call from. She knew the lady back when Olivia was married to Noah ten years ago, and he knew that she used to flirt around with his brother despite being Olivia's best friend. They never really interacted with each other, so receiving a call from her had been very surprising."What do you want?" He demanded coldly. As someone who used to be obsessed with Noah back in the days, Damian had already concluded that Lisa was an ally of her brother, probably sent by Noah to distract him or do something that would make him lose."There's no need to get so hostile all of a sudden, Damian. For now, I'm on your side." Lisa replied, but Damian wasn't particularly listening to what she had to say.Damian pinched the bridge of his nose as Lisa’s overly sweet voice grated on his nerves. “Cut with the weird suspense, if you have something to say, get on with it.”Lisa sighed dramatically, and even though Damian couldn't see her face he was more th
Amelia rushed towards Lisa's apartment with an urgency she had never felt before. After what happened last night, she wanted nothing more than to get rid of Olivia. She needed to preserve what she had as much as she could, and at the moment, Olivia was the only person who could potentially ruin everything for her.Without caring to knock, she barged into the house to meet Lisa tangled up in the arms of a man she couldn't quite recognize. The sudden intrusion had the poor man up on his feet and scrambling to get dressed as quickly as he could. Lisa rolled her eyes tiredly before sliding a couple of notes towards the man who hurriedly ran out of the house. "You're living the life, aren't you?" Amelia teased as she locked the door behind the semi naked stranger. "A girl is gonna do what she gotta do." Lisa replied before throwing a coat over her naked body. She poured herself and Amelia two glasses of wine before returning to the living room. "What brings you here? And why did you ha
The last thing Olivia expected in the early mornings of work that day was to find out that her best friend was secretly associated with Amelia. It could mean nothing, but with the suspicions circling Amelia at the moment, Olivia had very high doubts about this completely meaning nothing. No, she didn't think it meant nothing. Amelia and Lisa didn't know each other as far as she was concerned, which meant that Lisa's contact info was saved on Amelia's phone for a reason.Olivia stared at the phone in front of her, unsure of what to make of it. She didn't want to believe that her own best friend was friends with someone who clearly despised her very existence. "Maybe it's just a little coincidence." She argued even though it was clear she was lying to herself. From the call log, Lisa was clearly one of Amelia's frequently contacted numbers. That couldn’t be a coincidence. "You're joking right? You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Michael asked, hoping that Olivia was genuinely p
His words had taken Amelia completely by surprise, but the sex had left her completely flabbergasted. She had questions at first, but after the good time she had just had, she had completely lost the strength to question him. But this had been unexpected, and she was still trying to wrap her head around everything. What happened to Michael? Why did he change all of a sudden?She laid on his chest, drawing imaginary figures on his abdomen while her mind rampaged with thoughts and speculations. "You're not playing me, Michael, are you?" Amelia asked softly, her attention still focused on the imaginary figures she was drawing on his body. She wanted to keep quiet, to enjoy this moment as much as she could. But her mind wouldn't just let her rest, there was no way she would be at peace without asking him that question."And what do I have to gain by playing you, Amy?" Michael returned, his tone equally calm. He threw his arms around her back and gently stroked her scattered hair. "I have
Michael got home to Amelia screaming at someone over the phone. At first, he planned on ignoring her, it was always the best way to avoid more problems. But after a while of listening in on the conversation, he had become intrigued and had decided to pay her some bit of attention."What do you mean it couldn't work out?! Do you know how much I paid for those people to come here? You better be playing a prank on me!" Amelia yelled at whoever she was speaking to on the phone. Michael remained hidden, piecing together every bit of information he could from the little sentences he heard. Could the people she was talking about be the ones he had spotted before? What was their purpose here? And what had Amelia paid them to do? And above all, who was she speaking to on the phone?"Don't give me that! I've done my part like you requested, the rest is up to you! I won't take any more risks because of your incompetence!" Amelia's voice pulled Michael out of his thoughts and back to the convers
Noah's legs remained steady on the acceleration pedal until he began to fear for his own safety. It was crucial that he got things done with Lisa before Olivia was done resting. She seemed to be suspicious of him already, the last thing he wanted was for her to wake up and discover that he was gone. Sure, he had a plethora of excuses he could give her, but after their last conversation he doubted she would believe any of them even if they were true. The normal twenty five minutes ride to Lisa's took only fifteen minutes, and Noah wasted no time in barging through the door. "Noah—" Lisa hadn't finished when Noah restrained her against the wall, his eyes red with fury, while his whole body trembled with rage. "What did I tell you about staying away from Olivia?" Noah thundered, his hands gradually tightening around Lisa's throat. "You're hurting me Noah! Stop!" Was all Lisa could say as she struggled to free herself from Noah's grip. She kicked, scratched and pushed, and although he