•DARLA•"What are you doing here?" She asked after closing the door behind her and walked toward me. I quickly got up from the bed and hid the doctor's report behind me, trying to calm my racing heart from making it obvious that I was snooping around. "I'm sorry, Mom," I cleared my throat and pretended to wipe my eye with my free hand. "I was looking at Dad's pictures, and I kind of lost track of time. I'm sorry." She arched her eyebrows, clearly not convinced by my answer or perhaps suspecting that I was hiding something behind me. "Get out of my bedroom before I call security on you." She pointed her finger at me. "If I ever see you again in my house, I will make sure that you rot in jail. Do you hear me?" I frowned at her statement because even though she couldn't hide the fact that she hated me and everything that had to do with me, I was still Benjamin's daughter and had every right to come to his house. "But this is my father's house, and as far as I am concerned," I close
•ELIJAH•"Miss Hayes!" The doctor squealed when we walked inside his office and sat down. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Is this the new father?" He asked as he looked at me. Abigail's smile almost reached her ears as she grabbed my hand and caressed her lower belly with her other free hand. "Yes. This is my fiance." "It's a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Houston." And so he knew me. "I am sure that Miss Hayes was very kind to speak well of my services and how I am very dedicated to making sure that you both bring a healthy child into this world." I smiled at the doctor as I gently slipped my hand from Abigail's hand, irritated by the fact that she always wanted to display a happy union to people when she knew that I was no longer interested in making our relationship work. "Thank you, Dr. Jones. We are here for Abigail's check-up and to make sure that the baby is well." "Of course, let me take you guys to the ultrasound room to have a look at your baby." When we got to the
•DARLA•Early in the morning, I woke up and prepared myself for my meeting with Dr. Jones, who had promised to get my father's report from the hospital, so that we could find out what might have happened to him. I was willing to pay him any amount of money that he wanted just for me to get to the bottom of what happened to him. Even though I wasn't close to my father before his death, he was still my father, and he and I were very close before Belinda got between us and poisoned the relationship that we had.After getting out of the shower, my cell phone rang and I rushed to pick it up, thinking that it was Dr. Jones, but it was Ethan. I rolled my eyes and released an exhausted sigh as I answered the call. "Yes?""Darla, my love. How are you?" 'My love?' I scoffed. "I'm fine, Ethan. How are you?" "I miss you. It's been two days now, and I'm getting very anxious about what's happening between us. I honestly do not want to lose you over anyone. It took me so long to gather the cour
•ABIGAIL•"Hey, bestie." "Hey, you!" Alec squealed as he got up from his chair and embraced me. When he pulled away, I sat down on my chair and looked around the new lunch spot that he had invited me to. There was a river nearby, and the place was breathtaking."Look at you, all glowing and stuff." "Stop, you're making me blush." I giggled as I took the menu pad on the table and looked for something to drink.Alec and I had known each other for 10 years, and he was my best friend. He and I met while we were in college and have been in contact ever since."So, how are things going with you and Elijah? Your sister told me that you guys are still planning for a wedding. Come on, it's been 4 years now. What is he waiting for?" Ugh, Kathrine couldn't help but mind her own business. She always had something to say even when she didn't even have to bother herself to say anything, especially to Alec. I sighed as I put down the menu pad on the table. With Alec, I couldn't pretend. He knew
•ELIJAH•"Darla!" I screamed in horror as I ran to push her from the road when I saw a car rushing toward her. I felt like my whole world was flashing right before my eyes, and it sent shivers throughout my body, and my heart raced, threatening to stop if anything happened before I got to her. I breathed in relief when I grabbed her waist and pulled her from the road, causing her to land on top of me. "Elijah..." She breathed when she opened her eyes and saw me underneath her."Are you okay?" I asked as I released a sigh of relief that nothing happened to her. The car didn't even stop, but that didn't matter because she was right here with me, and well. I knew right at that moment that I couldn't live without her. She made my heart race, and the thought of losing her forever caused me chest pains. I didn't even know what I had to do to win her over, but since I had sworn to do anything to get her back, no matter the cost, I decided to talk with her again. "I'm fine. Thank you f
•DARLA• "I have someone inside who can help us with getting your father's file. I hope you have enough money because it won't be cheap." I knew that I was putting Dr. Jones's license at risk, but I didn't have a choice. I had to know what happened to my father and get him justice. "Money won't be a problem. I want to know what happened to my father. You can name your price and hers, and I will pay it." "Alright. Please wait here while I go and have a word with her inside. If she agrees to the deal, I'll come with her to meet you before she retrieves the file for us." I nodded as he hopped out of the car and headed inside the hospital. I sighed as I leaned my head against the steering wheel and wondered if I was doing the right thing or not. "I told you that it was a mistake! If I knew that she was pregnant when I left, I would've asked her to get rid of the pregnancy. But it was already too late when she called and told me that she was going to give birth." "You were suppo
•DARLA•"What is she doing here? Is this some kind of a twisted joke?" Belinda complained to the lawyer as soon as she saw me walking inside the sitting room. "She can't be part of my husband's will!""She is the one person who has to be here, Mrs. Miller. So please, let's not waste each other's time and cooperate." The lawyer responded as I sat down on the single couch facing them. Belinda looked at me with contempt, and I felt my stomach sinking. She couldn't pretend that she found my presence to be an inconvenience in her life. She looked at me closely as the lawyer took out the will to read it to us. Anthony also kept glancing at me, his shady look reminding me that he still hadn't accepted me as his little sister. "To my beloved wife, Belinda Miller -" The lawyer started reading the will, and Belinda's face beamed. "I give full title deed to our house which she has cherished and made a home for the past 43 years we have been married." "Just like he had to," Belinda exclaimed.
•DARLA•When I got inside my car, I closed all the tainted windows, leaned my head against the steering wheel, and cried. I didn't know what to do after hearing the will and everything that my father had left me. Even though I was as much his child as Anthony was, I never thought that he would do something like that for me. I was his bastard child and grew up knowing very well that I was not entitled to anything that he owned because I was the product of his one-time infidelity with a woman he met when he was away on a business trip. But as I was pondering what I was going to do, someone knocked on my window, startling me back to earth, and I rolled down the window and saw Anthony. "Anthony?" I breathed. I was tired and almost knew what he was going to say. He hated me, and I knew that fact and accepted it while growing up. "What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be on your way to celebrate for how you've embarrassed my mother and taken everything that belonged to us? Aren'
•ELIJAH•"Elijah, can we talk?"I groaned when I heard my mother's voice behind me. I was on my way to work in the morning when she stopped me right in my footsteps in the hallway. "I just want to make sure that you and I are good. I can't bear the thought of being in a bad place with one of my kids after laying one of them to rest forever. I can't take it anymore, Elijah, please. I am very sorry for everything that happened. But you are my son, and what happened between me and your father was never meant to reach your ears." I scoffed as I turned around and looked at her. "I'm not mad at you because you had an affair when you were with my father and had Harper. What pisses me off more than anything is your affair with a man young enough to be your son. Actually, I don't think I would've had a problem if that man wasn't my children's uncle." "I know, baby. I know that I messed up," she leaned closer. "But what happened between Anthony and I was nothing, but something that was meant
•DARLA•Elijah kept snickering next to me in the car while I was trying to act all serious and avoid him. We were on our way to the airport, and I already didn't want to see him. I just wanted to be home with my kids and pretend for a moment that everything that happened didn't happen. "Are you really not going to say anything to me?" He broke the silence, and I rolled my eyes, folded my arms on my chest, and looked away from him. "Come on, I won't tell the kids until you're ready to tell them yourself. You know that I want what's best for them," he added.When we got to the airport, we boarded our plane and I was relieved when we didn't get seats next to each other. After a few hours on the plane, we finally arrived in Atlanta, and Elijah hurried to help me and the twins out. I then told the twins to go inside our car and wait for me while I had a word with Elijah. He just smirked when I pulled him to the side. "Listen, I don't like this tension between us, especially about my
•DARLA•"You can't take my kids from me, Elijah. I don't care that you feel as if I kept them from you for years, but you're the one who abandoned me when I was carrying them. Those kids are mine," I seethed as we got inside a taxi in Montana."It's because you kept them from me that I think I should stay with them for a while. They deserve to know their father and be close to him." I shook my head as I looked out of the window. "We are getting my kids, and until I'm sure that they're safe, I'm not letting them off my sight.""They're mine as well." God, I regretted ever telling him the truth. He was going to use that line against me every time he wanted to have his way and take my kids from me. I didn't say anything to him until we arrived at the station. I hopped out of the car and rushed inside the building, eager to see my kids and make sure that they weren't harmed. When an officer came to assist me, I told him about the twins, and he didn't hesitate as he took me straight t
•ABIGAIL•"Fuck," I cursed under my breath as I took a hoodie and covered my face. I stood in front of a tall building and released an exhausted sigh. I was in Chicago, and I was sure as hell that I would be caught soon. I hesitated to walk inside the building and find the person that Kathrine said would be able to help me until all the chaos had settled. I took a deep breath as I walked up the stairs and asked for Caleb from the receptionist. She gave me a stern look before she directed me to his office."Hold on for a minute," he suggested as he was on a phone call.I impatiently sat down on the chair in front of his desk and tapped my foot on the floor. I knew that Elijah wouldn't give up searching for me until he had found me. Now that it turned out that Harper survived, I had nowhere else to hide anymore. "Kathrine's sister?" Caleb asked after getting off his call. I took off the hoodie that covered my face and nodded. "Yes. She said you'll be able to help me with getting a
•ELIJAH•"I'm going to the house right now, Harper called and told me that she had arrived. I just wanted to pass by the restaurant and get something to eat and avoid my mother for a while." "You still mad at her about Harper's biological father?" Jason asked as I was heading back home. "And that she was sleeping with Darla's brother. I couldn't believe it when Abigail revealed it before she disappeared. My mother even had the guts to admit it to me without showing any remorse or shame." "Fuck. That's pretty messed up, bro. What is she going to do when she finds out that the twins are yours?" "She knows that. I told her. I wanted to see her reaction when I told her. What baffles me is that she was the one who kept pressuring me to get DNA tests after she met the twins. I don't know if she didn't think that her relationship with Anthony was going to be jeopardized." "It's okay, bro. I hope you and your Mom manage to find a common ground and fix things. The twins deserve a family r
•ETHAN•"Ethan, please tell me that the kids aren't with you. You're going to be in serious trouble if you're caught by the police with them on the road." Chris said on the phone when he called me again the following morning. I hung up his call yesterday because I was afraid that he was going to tell the police that I was the one who took the twins, especially since he was the one that I talked to. "Yes, Chris, the twins are with me. But you should know that they're perfectly safe with me. I've been their father since day one, and nothing has changed. I have the right to be with them now.""You just don't get it, do you?" He released a low growl on the phone. "The twins are everywhere on the news. The moment they see them with you, you'll be in trouble." "You and I know that you're the one who thought this would be a good idea to get Darla back to her senses. You don't think that's a good idea anymore?" "I never said you should kidnap the damn kids! Elijah's looking for them, and
•DARLA•"Elijah knows about the kids being his?" Daphne asked as I laid my head down on her lap as we were sitting in her living room. "I just found myself blurting it out because I was upset. I don't know, but my mind was all over the place, and maybe I felt guilty that the kids went missing, and he still didn't know they were his children." "How did he react?" I sighed. "I just left him there and went to my car. I couldn't even go home and decided to spend a night here. I didn't want him to come knocking outside my door." "So, you're avoiding him?" She asked as she looked down at me with a smirk. "That's not what I'm saying!" I defended myself as I straightened up from the couch and looked at her. "I just don't want us to talk about my pregnancy. Not while my kids are still out there and not found yet." "Are you sure that's why you're avoiding him? You told me that something happened between you two when you were suspecting that Ethan was cheating on you, remember?" I sighed
•SONIA• "Now that the boy is mourning his sister, I want you to be there for him. Be his shoulder to lean on and create a safe space for his vulnerability. It's time you show this family gratitude for everything that we've done for you." "Yes, Daddy." I bowed my head a little and nodded as a tear slipped down from my eye. "Are you crying?" "No!" I exclaimed as I quickly wiped the tear from my eye and looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Dad." My father sighed as he got up from the couch across from me and looked at me. "We'll talk when you come back home." He then walked out of the living room and went to his study. I closed my mouth and released the tears that I was holding behind my eyes. I was so scared of failing my father and our family. More than anything, I was scared of losing Philip, the only man who loved me for me. My father never approved of him because he didn't come from a good family background. His family was poor, and he earned an average salary. "Miss -"
•ELIJAH• "The twins are your children." Her voice kept ringing in my head, and I didn't know what to do with myself. It was Poppy's funeral day, but the only thing I was thinking about was Darla's confession. I was so angry yet sad that she had to do everything on her own when she found out that she was pregnant with my kids. I felt robbed of a chance to be there for them and know them. At the same time, I knew at the back of my mind that I deserved it. I broke Darla's heart and filed for divorce because I thought that I was expecting a child with Abigail and thought that I would raise the child with her as a couple. "Elijah, can I come in?" My mother asked outside the door. She and I haven't been talking for a few days now, and though I opened the door for her, I didn't know how to react to seeing her. "Yes?" "I just wanted -" She walked inside my room and sighed. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being such a disappointing mother. I didn't know that you would find ou