•ABIGAIL•"That piece of shit and old rag. Who does she think she is? I'm going to show her who I am and what I do to people who take me for granted and want to humiliate me in front of a crowd," I muttered under my breath as I headed to the third floor to Zara's bedroom in the morning. "She has started a war with me that she won't win. Oh, I am going to show her the devil in person. She doesn't know me. She will know me today," I muttered as I angrily banged outside her door. She pissed me off last night to the point where I couldn't sleep, thinking about her and the remarks she made about Elijah and that stupid bitch, Sonia. "Who is it? Do you want to break my door down?!" She asked outside the door. But when a man who could very much be Elijah's age showed up at the door, I was stunned and almost laughed. Zara pushed the guy from the door and stood at the entrance with her nightgown barely covering her body. "Abigail, what are you doing here so early in the morning? Don't you
•AMELIA•"I'm sorry, Amee. You and I had a good time, but I can't do this anymore. I've realized that I'm not cut out for a committed relationship. With my job and trying to get my first house, everything just feels overwhelming. I hope you understand." 'I hope you understand?' I internally scoffed as I looked at him. I couldn't believe that he used such a lame excuse to break up with me on my birthday. Of all days. "So, you decided to come to my house and tell me all that shit? Do you realize that today is my birthday and you just decided to come here and dump me? You couldn't have done it any other day?" I scolded him."Oh, I didn't know." He chuckled. "Happy birthday, babe!" He leaned forward to kiss me, but I pushed him and closed the front door on his face. I rolled my eyes, scoffed, and headed upstairs to my bedroom, and was about to call Darla when I thought that she probably had a lot going on and didn't have time to talk with me about another boy who broke up with me. But
•ELIJAH•After my morning run on Saturday morning, I signed the policy that Shane sent me and edited out the parts that I didn't want to be included in the policy anymore. I then called him after sending it to his email to confirm the changes that I had made."Shane, have you received my email? I edited the policy on some parts because I needed them removed and revised properly. I also want my mother to be informed of the changes so that she doesn't cause trouble for us." "I will go through the policy before submitting it to the policy provider, my guy. Thank you for submitting it on time before weekdays." "Yes. Do call me if I missed anything on that paper that needs my attention." "Alright, I'll do that." I hung up the call and went to take a shower. When I was done and preparing myself to go for a little shopping for shoes, my cell phone rang, and it was Abigail. I knew when she called me that it wasn't a good call. Instead, she shocked me when she informed me that my mother
•AMELIA•[9 YEARS AGO]"Yes, tell me about it!" We were laughing with my friends as we came out of the club around 5 AM. We were all drunk and couldn't even see where we were going. "Mh- mh. Guys, we can't drive like this. We have to request an Uber or just walk home. My parents would kill me if they found out that I ran my car into a ditch." Darla, being the mature one, commented. We all turned around and looked at her. "Come on," I groaned. "Just because we can't walk to our car doesn't mean that we won't be able to drive. We can clearly see, guys, right?" Everyone, except Darla, agreed with me and didn't see anything wrong with us driving home in our state. But Darla refused as she called for someone to pick us up. "Yes, Rowen. Yes, please. I honestly do not want to die because we kept insisting on driving ourselves. Alright. Yes, we are outside. It's just the four of us. Alright. Thank you." "Are you and Rowen dating?" I couldn't help but ask when remembered that it wasn't
•AMELIA•While I was eating my birthday cake, it suddenly struck me that I still hadn't told anyone, even my parents, that I was diabetic and taking insulin shots every day that had become a part of my normal life. I didn't want my parents to mourn my death before I actually died. I didn't want them to stop enjoying their lives because they now had to take care of me. I also didn't want to make Darla worried about me. I didn't want her and my parents to treat me like someone who was going to die at any point in their lives. I wanted every moment that I had left with them to be raw and not sugar-coated with pity for me. More than anything, I was scared that I was probably going to die without ever experiencing the kind of love that my parents shared. I was scared that I would fall in love with someone and see my entire life with them, only for me to die after a few months or weeks with them. All the dreams that I had about having a family were all lived through Darla. Dr. Young
•DARLA•As I took the elevator to our hotel suite, I kept thinking about Elijah and everything that he said. It felt a bit weird that he was suddenly respecting my relationship with Ethan and not seeking to destroy it. The time I spent with him, laughing and talking about silly things, felt like I was with an entirely different person. For the two years that we were married, I never knew that side of him existed. I felt cheated on a man who could've made my marriage a little more bearable, instead of the version of him that was cold and always out on business trips to have time to get to know me better. "Ethan?" I called out when I walked in to dimmed lights in the living room and kitchen. My mind quickly thought of Rachel when I saw the light setting and the fact that I had gone out and didn't specify to him when I was coming back. But when I walked inside the bathroom and found him just coming out of the shower alone, I cleared my throat from embarrassment and closed the door
•ABIGAIL•"Now they will all see that Sonia is nothing but a gold-digging bitch. She's probably here because she wants all the money that Elijah has, but it won't happen. Not on my watch."I went straight to the sitting room where I found Zara with Poppy and Harper. They were laughing and having a good time when I threw my cell phone on Zara's lap with the pictures of Sonia."Look at that and tell me if you still want that slut to marry your son instead of the mother of his child that he has been with for years!" I sneered. "Abigail, what's going on?" Poppy asked as she stood up from the couch and leaned toward me. "The woman that your mother planned to get her married to your brother turns out to be a street whore. As long as I'm in this house and carrying Elijah’s child, I will never allow another woman to exploit him. I won't let that whore to -" Zara laughed and interrupted me from finishing my sentence. I was shocked at what she was laughing at because it was crystal clear t
•DARLA•"Oh, fuck." I muttered as I got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth while I thought of what I was going to say to Sonia when I called her. I didn't want to get in the middle of Elijah's problems, but since he sounded desperate and wouldn't have asked for my help if he didn't need it, I felt like I owed it to him. When I was done brushing my teeth and taking a shower, I went to the living room and found Ethan's note in the living room informing me that he was coming back soon with a surprise.So, since I was alone, I took my cell phone and dialed Sonia's cell phone number, and she took a while to pick it up. When she did, I got up from my couch as the nerves started to kick in. I didn't want to make her an enemy by taking away her chance of being with the man that she wanted. I also didn't want to ruin our friendship over a man that I wasn't worried about who he dated and when. I didn't want it to bother me because I was happily married to Ethan. "H
•ELIJAH•'Fuck,' I muttered under my breath as I inspected my swelled eye in the bathroom.That motherfucker punched me right in the eye and it was just starting to hurt. I quickly looked for first aid in the bathroom cabinet so that I could treat it myself. I took antihistamine eye drops to reduce the discomfort and then went back to my bed to lie down just a bit. I hoped that the swelling would be a bit reduced in the morning since I had to go to my office.I was about to fall asleep when my cell rang next to me, and I quickly picked it up when I saw that it was Billy. "Yes?" I answered the call as I sat up on the bed."The hand is not real. It doesn't belong to Miss Harper or anyone. Just a mannequin hand with realistic makeup. I don't even think that Abigail knew that." I stood up to my feet and was flabbergasted. Harper was alive, and that meant that someone else took her. Either to save her since Abigail had left her to die or was going to ask for ransom before they could b
•DARLA•"Am I interrupting something?" Ethan asked as he walked inside the cabin restaurant, and I froze in my steps for a moment. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to say. I wondered for a second how he even found me and came at the moment when I couldn't even make up a lie for what he saw. "Ethan, hey." Elijah greeted him and extended his hand for a handshake. But he just looked at it and walked toward me.He looked pissed and I had no idea what he would do when he looked like that. "You said Amelia called and asked for you to come over to her place because her man was giving her some trouble. So, where is she?" He asked as he looked down at me. "Ethan, this is not what you think. I can explain. You don't have to be irrational," I answered as I tried to grab his hand, but he wouldn't take it. "Irrational?!" He snapped. "Bitch, I'm not the one lying so that I can go and see my ex behind your back! You left the kids with me just so that you can come here and dine with him,
•ABIGAIL•"Hey, where are you? I went to your place just a while ago and couldn't find you." Kathrine asked on the phone when I arrived at my hotel suite with Diego. "I just went for a short vacation. Is everything okay?" I asked as I changed into comfortable clothing. I didn't want to tell my sister that I was in Detroit to sort out my problem with Harper because she was obviously going to tell me that she told me so. "Jason came here to my bar asking for you. I didn't know what to say to him. Is there anything I need to know, Abi? You know that I'm your sister and can help you with anything. I just hate that someone from the police is busy going around asking about you.""Did he tell you what he wanted with me?" I sighed as I leaned against the dressing table. "He didn't say anything, but I'm sure we both know what he wanted. Elijah could be the one who sent him. I hope you made sure that nothing could lead to you. They can't ever find Harper's body." "I know, Kat." I groaned a
•ELIJAH•"Sir?" "Yes, Billy?" "I think I found her." "You did? Where is she? Is she okay?" I was so happy when he told me that he had found her. "I found a body." "What?" "I found a hand. I think it belongs to Miss Harper. Abigail and her bodyguard just left, and I decided to inspect the place. I think they left her here after they killed her. I'm not sure if it's her hand, but I'll take whatever I can get and do DNA tests." My whole world shattered, and I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how I was going to tell my Mom the news. They were going to break her apart. But since Billy wasn't even sure that the hand belonged to Harper, I was going to wait until DNA tests proved otherwise. I hung up the call and turned to Darla at the bench. I didn't want to leave her just yet, but it seemed like I didn't have a choice. "Seems like I have to be on my way home now." She got up from the bench and looked at me. "It's alright, I hope they will find your sister." "I think they'v
•DARLA•"Lily..." I whispered under my breath when I arrived at the orphanage center that Elijah had kindly turned around and made it a more comfortable home for the kids who weren't lucky enough to find their happily ever after home."Miss Darla!" She squealed as she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. "Did you come with Elijah? He told me that he'll be coming with you the next time he comes to visit."I sighed as we sat down on the grass at their park. It was easy to spot her since they were having a sports day. "You only got me, unfortunately," I chuckled as I pulled out a diary book for her from my handbag. "This is for you." "What is it?" She asked as she took the diary. "I had one when I was your age. It helps to write down the chaos in your head and keep them inside the book. That way, things don't get into you very easily. I know how chaotic things get when you're 15." She gave me a brief hug again. "Thank you, Miss Darla." I wrapped my arms around her and rested my
•DARLA•"Elijah, what are you doing here?" I closed my office door, and he walked to the table and sat down on the edge. "I didn't know where to go. I couldn't sleep or do anything. My mind is all over the place, Darla. I don't know what to think. I think I've lost my sense of direction in life." He vented as I walked toward him with my arms folded on my chest. "What's wrong?" I asked. I didn't want to throw him out. Not when he seemed like he needed to talk. He chuckled as he got up and walked toward me, and that's when I realized that he was fucking drunk. It was 10 in the morning, but his breath was reeking of alcohol. "Can you believe that my mother, the one person that I deemed to be perfect in everything that she does, cheated on my father and fell pregnant with my younger sister? The one who disappeared?" "Harper?" "She lied to us all our lives when she knew very well that my father died because of her. He died from a cardiac arrest because of her. I'm sure he couldn't ta
•ABIGAIL•"Who do you think you are?" I scolded. "You can't come here and threaten me in my house." "I just want to ask you a few questions, Abigail. You don't have to be so defensive." My goodness, I couldn't believe that Jason dared to come to my place and ask me useless things. Harper was probably dead wherever she was, but this guy was still bugging my ass about her. He texted and called me several times last night to ask me if I knew anything about Harper's disappearance, but despite telling him that I didn't know anything, he decided to come to my place and interrogate me.It was clear that he and Elijah were convinced that I was the one who kidnapped Harper. But fuck. I was the one who made him suspicious of me from the beginning when I threatened to hurt Harper because she ruined things for us and made me kill my child.But no, they weren't going to prove anything. "I'm not defensive." I scoffed. "How would you feel if I showed up at your house at this time of the day an
•ELIJAH•"I gave you an order to find my sister!" I punched Enzo in the face after Jason called me to his garage when he found him having a drink at the club and having fun. Jason had recommended him because he had good reviews about his competency in finding lost people. He was praised by many and had a lot of success cases. But when Jason found him slacking, we had to teach him a lesson. Every hour that he wasted by putting Harper's life at risk and anything could happen to her. It had been 4 days without any lead to her, and we were starting to be more worried and on edge. We couldn't afford any little mistake. "If you knew that you weren't capable of finding my sister, you would've declined the offer and stopped wasting time and my money!" I was angry and felt like beating him up just like they were beating up Harper on the video."I'm sorry, Sir, it will never happen again. I swear that I did my job and went to the club because I just wanted to clear my mind before resuming m
•ABIGAIL•"You will always belong to me, Elijah. No one is ever going to take you from me unless they want to deal with me." I looked at Sonia, who rolled her eyes at me."That's never going to happen." "Alright, if you say so." I looked at her and scoffed because she clearly had no idea what I was capable of, but she was about to find out."Listen here, and listen very carefully, Abigail," Sonia scolded as she closed the small gap between us. "If you know what's best for you, I would advise you to stay away from my business with Elijah. If he wanted to be with you, he would've made that clear by marrying you instead of breaking off your engagement." "Bitch, I still have his ring on my finger," I cocked my head to the side and smirked as I showed her the diamond ring. "So, as far as this is concerned," I pointed to the ring. "He's still mine." "Leave my house, you two, right now!" Elijah escorted us out of the house, and I didn't have a problem.When I got inside the car, Diego roa