Riley ~•~Throughout the ride to the hospital, my mind was racing with different thoughts. My parents wanted Rowan and me to stay back but we refused. I needed to be sure that Jason was okay. Why did anybody have to go after him? Everyone was panicking but my parents tried to keep it cool. Their composure was reassuring, but I could sense the worry beneath.One of the drivers always dropped Jason off at school and picked him up after because my father was meticulous about his security. Unlike us, Jason didn’t have a problem with the security. Yet, someone still managed to target their car. My heart sank at the thought. Why Jason? He was the last person who deserved this. The ride to the hospital was a short one but it felt like an eternity. As soon as my dad pulled up in the driveway, Rowan and I rushed out of the car. While growing up, we had no idea that Jason wasn’t actually my father’s biological son. But even when we found out about it, it didn’t change the fact that we lo
Mason Craig ~•~My friends always asked me what I saw in Riley. I know it’s cliche, but I’d say that it was love at first sight. The first day I set my eyes on her, I knew I wanted her in my life. I wasn’t the one to approach girls but I couldn’t help myself. It wasn’t just her beauty, though her long black hair and blue, confident eyes were enough to make anyone look twice. It was the way she moved—graceful, self-assured like the world couldn’t touch her. From the moment I saw her, I knew I couldn’t let her go. Father always said I needed a confident and strong woman by my side. She exuded the kind of presence my father always talked about. We only spoke in class, and even then, our conversations were brief, polite exchanges. I wanted more. I wanted to take her on a proper date and show her who I was beyond the lectures and group projects. But every time I tried, she brushed me off. I wanted that to change. It was even a hassle before she agreed to give me her phone number.
Riley~•~I had no idea how I had slept off the previous night. As soon as my eyes fluttered open, I climbed out of my bed and ran outside my room to Jason’s room. I wanted to check if he had returned from the hospital. But as I got there, his room was unlocked and there was nobody inside. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I went to check my parent's room and I still saw an empty room. Then, I decided to check Rowan’s room. I knocked on the door multiple times before he finally responded. “Hey.” He whispered in a slightly groggy voice as he opened the door. “Did you hear from Mama yesterday? Is Jason okay?” I asked, my voice laced with a mixture of fear and curiosity. “I had no idea when I slept off, I wanted to wait until they arrived.” Rowan let out a deep sigh, running his hands through his hair. “Jason is doing fine but he still needs to stay at the hospital for a while to undergo some treatment.” I let out a relieved sigh as I heard Rowan speak. “Mama called yesterday but you d
Riley~•~My brows knitted in a frown and my brother and mother noticed the uncomfortable shift in my expression. “Is everything alright?” My mother asked and I shrugged. “Someone sent me a text, saying that the dean wants to see me,” I responded, my mind racing with different thoughts. What had I done to attract the dean's attention? I have never been to the dean’s office since I started college. “Don’t be worried, maybe he just wants to talk about something. You haven’t done anything wrong, right?” My mother asked, raising a brow at me. I nodded my head. “Yes, I haven’t done anything wrong.” I tossed my phone back into my bag. “Maybe he wants to talk about the situation concerning the reporters.” Rowan, who had been quiet, finally chimed into the conversation. “Maybe. I just hope he would be reasonable about it and not end up making it your fault.” “I’m sorry you guys have to go through all these things.” My mother’s tone softened with sympathy. “I’m even surprised that they ar
Riley~•~As I walked into class, I held my head high. The stares started the moment I entered. Whispers buzzed around me but I pretended like I didn’t know. I ignored them. At least I tried. My eyes scanned around the classroom and I let out a relieved sigh when I saw Liam sitting at our usual spot. I clenched my jaw as I walked over to the seat near the window. “Hey,” I said as I settled down beside Liam. Liam was my friend I met on my first day of college. Most people didn’t like me because of my status but Liam made being in class bearable. Most of them still flashed fake smiles at me but I always heard the cruel things they always said about me. Either way, I didn’t care about them because I couldn’t let myself get bothered by the opinions of strangers who knew nothing about me. “I heard what happened yesterday, are you good?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.I nodded my head. “Sure, it’s not like it’s the first time I’m being harassed by the paparazzi,” I added
Mason ~•~ I was having car issues in the morning, so I ended up going late for my class. The professor had already started the lecture when I walked into the class. As I made my way to my usual spot, I scanned through the crowd to see if I could find Riley. My lips curled into a small smile when I saw her sitting close to the window. But my happiness was short-lived. Normally, Riley would smile, maybe even wave, when she saw me. But this time, she deliberately avoided eye contact with me, her gaze remained on her notebook as if I didn’t even exist. I felt a little bit hurt but I continued walking to my seat and acted like nothing happened. As I settled down in my seat, I tried to focus on the lecture but my thoughts were elsewhere. Had I made a mistake? Maybe she didn’t like the gifts I sent to her. I should’ve known better. Or maybe I should’ve thought of something else. Or nothing at all. I could only hope I hadn’t ruined my chances with her by sending her those g
Mason Craig ~•~I sat in the living room after dinner, waiting for my parents to arrive. I found it weird that they hadn’t returned from work because they always came back in time for dinner. The sound coming from the television was too loud and I had no idea when the front door creaked open. As I looked up, I saw that my parents were already back from work. “Did you end up fixing your car or did you drive a different car today?” My father asked as he settled down beside me. I turned down the volume of the television and turned to them. “I drove another one today,” I answered, my voice strained. “We had a long day today, I hope you enjoyed dinner without us.” My mother chimed into the conversation and I responded with a nod. I wanted to talk to them about something. I knew they were going to be defensive about it, but I couldn’t help but ask. “What’s the name of the company that you guys recently tried to sabotage?” I asked, raising a brow at them. Their brows knitted into a f
Riley ~•~“Hey, Riley. I haven’t seen you around in forever.” Brittany said as she strolled into the room. “Are you good?” She asked, tossing her bag on her bed. Brittany was barely around in the room, so we hardly saw each other since I was now attending classes from the house. “Yes, I’m good,” I responded, zipping my bag. “Are you good?” I asked, just to be polite. “Sure,” Brittany replied. Our conversation was brief, just like always. Brittany wasn’t the chatty type. I wasn’t the chatty type either. Unless it was with my close friends. Brittany had other friends outside our room, and she always left to meet them. We weren’t friends but we were cool. As usual, she just dropped something off and picked up something new, then she left the room. After she left, I turned over to Amelia and Harper who were assisting me in packing some of my stuff. “I forgot to mention, I agreed to go on a date with Mason, are you happy now?” Harper’s eyes lit up in excitement and Amelia squeale
Chapter 269Riley Burke ~•~I wanted everything to be perfect! For the past two weeks, I’ve been looking forward to this day. Mason and I were finally going on our date. I had no idea why I was nervous. It wasn’t like it was the first time I was going out with him. Maybe I was just having PTSD from our last date. But I knew I had nothing to be worried about. My father had assured me that he was okay with me being with Mason. He wanted me to be happy, even if my happiness included being with someone who had hurt us in the past. It wasn’t Mason who hurt us but I just didn’t focus on that part. As long as he was ready to move past the whole situation, I didn’t care to correct him anymore. “The makeup artist is here!” Rowan yelled loud enough for me to hear after knocking on my room door. Yes, I had to ask for a professional makeup artist because I was hellbent on making everything perfect. “I’ll be downstairs soon,” I replied as I wore my hair bonnet to protect my hair while getti
Chapter 268Mason Craig ~•~Ever since Riley’s father picked her up from the restaurant and interrupted our date, I had this lingering feeling of sadness inside me. But I acted like everything was fine and normal. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. I felt hurt because every day I woke up, I was reminded that she wasn’t my girl and could easily give another boy a chance. I didn’t want that to happen but at the same time, I didn’t have any control over it. Every day felt like torture but I was glad that it had finally come to an end. Riley’s father had finally approved of our relationship. A wave of excitement surged through me but I tried my best to remain calm when she told me about it. I would finally be able to be with the girl of my dreams. I had a feeling that he changed his mind because my father agreed to help when Riley had gone missing. I also had my father to thank. He finally fixed the mess he had caused earlier. Everything was finally going smoothly. I h
Chapter 267Olivia ~•~“Are you sure you don’t mind seeing them together?” I asked Alexander for the umpteenth time when he said he wanted to tell Riley that she could be with Mason. I didn’t want a situation where he would second guess his choice and regret his decision. Or a situation where he wouldn’t be nice to the boy later in the future. It wouldn’t be fair on Riley. Alexander nodded his head as he parked the car in the driveway. “Yes, I’m sure.” He assured me. “I shouldn’t be the one to take away my daughter’s chance at teenage love.” He added, smiling at me. I shrugged. “Okay, if you say so,” I replied as I loosened my seatbelt. “I hope you don’t have any secret animosity towards him that will reveal itself later.” Alexander laughed. “Don’t you trust me?” He asked, raising a brow at me. “I’m not holding anything against the boy. Not even his parents.” “Fine.” We stepped out of the car and made our way into the house. On our way back home, we stopped at the mall to get
Chapter 266Riley Burke ~•~It was fun having my friends over for the weekend. And it was a total flop trying to pretend like I was surprised when they first arrived. They saw right through my pretense. Even if we hadn’t been friends for so long, they knew me well enough. I barely even thought about what I had gone through while they were around. Having them around was a good distraction. I was sad that they had to leave. But I couldn’t do anything about it as I walked them to the car. During their stay, I realized that it was actually my mother’s idea to invite them over. Now it made sense why she was so welcoming. My mother didn’t usually like it when I had my friends over. I mean, my friends from high school. Our family was always under scrutiny, so she didn’t trust anybody. It was nice to see her giving my new friends a chance. The weekend was over and it was a new school week. I hadn’t completely healed but even when I assured my parents that I would be okay, they claime
Chapter 265Riley Burke ~•~As soon as my dad handed me a new phone, I found my friend's phone number and called them immediately. It was already noon and on the weekend, so I was confused about why none of them answered their phones. I mean, those girls were literally always with their phones. I really wanted to speak to them, but I guess I had to wait until later to try calling them again. Maybe they were busy with something. I spent most of my time inside my room and I was getting bored. Normally, my mother didn’t like it when l took my food upstairs but this time, she brought the food to my room by herself. I hadn’t gotten any reason to go downstairs. I needed a change of environment, so I decided to freshen up and head downstairs. I was pretty sure Rowan and Jason were playing video games in the living room. After spending about thirty minutes in the bathroom, I dressed up in my comfortable sweatshirt and shorts before making my way downstairs. “Hey,” Jason said as soon a
Chapter 264Olivia ~•~I wanted to accompany Alexander when he was going to see Maxim, but he refused. I knew that he didn’t want me to see him, but still, he said I was going to see him later. After helping Riley with dinner and giving her medication, I went back to the room to meet Alexander. I hadn’t talked to him since he came back from the station. “Hey, what happened at the station?” I asked him as I walked into the room. He was standing in front of the closet and searching through it. “I have something to tell you,” Alexander muttered under his breath. My interest became piqued. “I’m listening,” I responded as different thoughts ran through my head. Alexander sounded so serious and I couldn’t help but wonder what he wanted to say to me. He took a deep breath and turned around. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” He cleared his throat and continued. “You remember when you found out that Maxim was a fraud?” He asked and I nodded, anticipating what he had to say next. “Y
Chapter 263Riley Burke~•~When we finished at the restaurant, my father asked my mother to drive me back home. He wanted to go to the station to see Maxim and the other men who kept me hostage. My mother wanted to accompany him but he refused, saying she would see him later. As soon as my father left, I followed my mother to the car. I couldn’t wait to go back home and see my brothers. I was so excited to see everyone. Being free felt so good. “Riley, I’m inviting the doctor over, so she can do a checkup and give you the necessary treatments you need.” My mother said as I settled down on the passenger’s seat. I hated anything related to hospitals or medical care, but I couldn’t protest against it. I actually needed medication because I was still in pain. My legs and my head were still hurting and I needed the pain to stop. “Sure,” I responded with a smile and my mother nodded. A few minutes later, we arrived at the house. My heart leaped for joy as the security guards open
Chapter 262 Rowan Burke ~•~I loved my sister but I had no idea that her absence would affect me so badly. Ever since I realized she was missing, I couldn’t even focus on anything else. My mind was always racing with different thoughts. What if something bad had happened to her and my parents took so long to search for her? Everyone thought Riley had willingly disappeared but that wasn’t the case. My sister was missing. I couldn’t even talk to anyone or go anywhere. I shut everyone out, including my girlfriend, Belle. Until Riley was found, I was certain that I would be restless. While my parents were at the station, I kept on blowing their phones with constant calls. Most of the time, they didn’t respond. A part of me felt bad because I wanted to be kept in the loop, I wanted to know what was going on, or even if they had gotten a lead. But I knew that they were busy and my calls were distracting them from doing their work. When my mother finally answered her phone, she a
Chapter 261Olivia ~•~Different waves of emotions rushed through me as I saw Riley running in our direction. Relief, joy, and gratitude swirled together, overwhelming me.I was so happy to see her. For a moment, I thought we were at a dead end. I thought she had left the house or the men they caught were probably lying about her whereabouts. She looked so scared but also excited to see us. Before I could even move, Alexander rushed and pulled her in a tight hug. I was still in shock as I watched them reunite. After a few moments, I joined them, turning the hug into a group hug. “Oh my baby, um happy to see you.” I smiled at Riley as we broke the hug. Riley looked like she was struggling to hold back her tears. I could only imagine what she had gone through at the hands of those people. Alexander stepped aside to call the detectives. He wanted them to know that we had seen Riley. While he made the call, I led Riley to the car. As soon as we got into the car, I began asking her