James’s POVRosa closed her eyes again, and the sight of her body quaking made my heart race. The sedative they had made her take was still seeping too deep into her blood, and I inhaled the stench of terror around me. As her breaths shallow and heart raced, nothing could ease the queasiness twisting in my gut.I started to sense her slip away from me, and I simply could not lose Jani. Not now. Not when I had just rescued her from the edge of whatever sick game Brian was playing.I dialed the hospital, still shaking as I yanked my phone out of my pocket. After two rings, a breathless voice picked up."James, what's happening? Is Rosa okay?" It was her old head physician, Dr. Harris. He was even-toned, but could just as easily been anxious. Something inside of me needed to hear his voice."She's. Her voice trembling with anxiety I said, "No.. she is losing it" The tranquilizer… it’s spreading. What can I do?"The silence on the other end seemed to drag for decades. And then we heard Dr
Rosa's POVWhen I started finding my way back to consciousness, I became aware of James holding me close; slowly prying me from the clutches of darkness that was threatening to swallow me whole. It was such a gentle touch, tender at the same time soothing and each stroke of his hand across my back seemed to silence the erratic rhythm of my heart. The fear that had engulfed me, the dreams of Brian in my mind, and the residual effects of the drug slipped away all together when I found solace in his arms. His kisses were soft and calm against my forehead, my temple, my cheek, each one a silent assurance of safety, that I wasn’t alone.A steady, sure voice pulled me from the fog of my confused thoughts. “I’m here, love. You’re safe.”My body started to relax, the little tight ball of fear that was wrapped so tightly around inside me began to unravel. It was a simple, but impactful statement that I had not heard in far too long and relieved me to the point that I finally allowed myself to
James’s POVRosa was at the breaking point of Brian's sick little game. Here was the man I had trusted--the one whom I'd once considered a professional acquaintance; now nothing more than a predator, cloaked in charisma and fabrications. Ways that I had not even yet fully grasped he was using against little Rosa — until it was almost too late. The reality of what he had done settled on my chest, and the fire in my gut roared higher with each passing second.I couldn’t let this go. I would not let him fade away to hide in the dark and never have to pay for what he had done Not when it had almost taken me the girl I loved. Not after the price she had paid. He had gotten away with far too much and I would see to it that he would pay.Beside Rosa in the police station's small conference room, fingers intertwined, I could feel her heart racing beneath my palm. Her hand was warm, but I could still feel the shiver of terror hanging in her bones. She had long since expunged the sedative Brian
Rosa’s POVWeeks passed, and the chaotic series of events slowed down. The scars that remained from Brian still stung now and then, but James gave me the support I needed to find my way. He was always there—his love, an immoveable force that proved I was not alone. He made me feel safe, as if everything that had happened previously no longer mattered.But healing was not linear. But there were times when the darkness came to knock on my door without an invitation. The memories of being manipulated by Brian would come flooding back to me, and his lies felt like a weight pressing down on my chest. There were days, it would be so easy to think I was still broken. However, James was literally my anchor and constant reminder that I am no longer the woman who Brian sought to destroy.Therapy became my sanctuary. Digging up parts of myself from deep within the recesses of my mind was no easy task. There were sessions when I left empty, my heart heavy with the burden of rereading history. At
James’s POVThe courthouse stood in the distance, its imposing columns and chill stone façade echoing the weight of what they contained inside. It stood breathing the tension of the day and Rosa held my hand tightly as we walked up to the building. Normally, there was an unshakeable calm about her; as she spoke to me, I felt a flutter in her fingers.When I looked down, there were her green eyes. Shining with a combination of fear and venom. Today she was not simply entering a courtroom. Now, she was walking into the final confrontation with the one person who took too much from her.“Are you ready?” Whatever happened between you and him, I asked in a low voice.She nodded, her lips pinched together. “I have to be, she replied, her voice tinged with a vulnerability that rarely made itself known.We walked through the huge double doors and into a hive of activity. There were murmurs throughout the courtroom and papers rustling, the snap of a camera on occasion. Reporters stood in a bac
Rosa’s POVEven in retrospect, the days after Brian was convicted felt like a long-overdue deep breath. And finally, I allowed myself the belief that years from now would be a time without his shadow. James and I were finally starting to feel a rhythm, rebuilding what Brian had all but torn down with his mindfucks.But peace is a transient thing,It was just an ordinary evening when we heard the knock on our door. James and I shared a puzzled look; no one came to visit. He sauntered to the door, but when he opened it and said her name, I felt a shiver up my spine."Amanda."This woman was tall and stately as she stood with blonde hair perfectly set in place, eyes as cold as steel. While she was confident, there was a coldness to her manner that set me instantly on edge."What the hell are you doing here, Amanda?" James sounded strong, but I thought I detected just a hint of tension behind his voice.She advanced, not so much waiting for an invitation as she was entering his space, the
Amanda's POVI had been glowering at James and Rosa from a distance. I could see them there laughing like the rest of the world outside their little bubble didn’t exist. Every glance, every brush of the hand, James leaning down to whisper something to her, and I was there watching from my hiding place in the shadows. Rosa would lean her head back, laughing, her white teeth shining in the moonlight. It was infuriating. That was supposed to be me. Those were moments he told me about, whispers and chuckles just for my ears. Each smile they managed now felt like a slap in the face.How was it that he could just move on just like that? I felt my chest tighten, anger now brewing. My fists were balled so tight my fingernails dug into my hands as I made myself keep looking at them. The way their feet stepped together in rhythm, and the way he would melt into her hands for mere seconds were cements to my will.James had moved on. Just like that. Broken-hearted, so out of sight and out of mind
James's POVAmanda reminded me of an inauspicious past — a past I buried under three decades of achievement and hard work. Actually, seeing her was like being dragged back to a hurricane I escaped.The kind of book wrote about, was our college romance. Amanda drew you in as well; a magnetic personality that was hard not to notice and even harder to forget. She possessed this way of gaining attention very effortlessly, her intelligence Which she never flaunts, but still towers over everyone. Everyone gravitated towards her, including me.So, it seemed like fate when we crossed paths. Amanda had believed in me like no one else ever did. I was nothing more than a typical college kid with unrealistic aspirations, but Amanda made me feel as if those aspirations were not just possible they were a guarantee. We were best friends - going together like peaches and cream - pulling all-nighters, taking road trips on a whim.You can picture a future with her. We discussed it so frequently — what
James’s PovThere was a charged air, electricity hanging in the atmosphere — waiting for a spark. The energy in the room was palpable—anticipation, excitement, and disbelief. Rosa was pregnant with twins. Our twins. Years of love, toil and growth had built up to this moment, it was almost surreal in its enormity.I scanned the room to find our friends, family and colleagues filling up the venue for the grand opening of The Harden Family Foundation —the foundation we had worked so hard to build. This initiative was something we had both cooked up, helping young entrepreneurs and artists with the tools needed to build their dreams. This was the beginning of our next chapter, a one that would create an impact much larger than we ever could alone.Still, all of that felt secondary now to the fact that Rosa was mere hours away from delivering. Her body had been through so much already, the ability to carry this pregnancy now along with everything else—it was nothing short of a miracle. Yes
James’s PovWatching all those little kids in their funny caps and gowns from the back of the auditorium felt strange. It filled me with a combination of pride, nostalgia and disbelief. Emma, our daughter with the wobbly knees walking into her first day at school was long gone. She was at the threshold of something more—her life. And it was happening literally in front of me.Rosa was next to me with her hand resting lightly on my arm, staring at Emma as she stood in front of the podium. I could almost taste her tension, the pride and love she'd been brewing there for more years than I could count. The moment was not only for Emma. It was ours. We had forged this, together, following our lead, with us being there to support and love her through her trials, and victories. And here she was now, standing ready to address an auditorium full of people, preparing to tell the world what she needed them to hear.My heart raced with anxiety as Emma walked to the mic. She was steady, composed b
James’s PovThe day had been a long one. Too long, in fact. With the business problems, Bethel came back, and was still looking for whoever had started messing with Rosa's designs—my brain was like a one-person track team going around in circles. Through all those storms there had been one constant—Rosa. She was the peacekeeper, the nucleus of everything that revolved around it.That evening when she entered with a pale face, an absent look in her eyes, I knew something was wrong. I recognized the expression, my mind saying to keep it together baby girl as though something heavy was on her. Not that she needed to say anything. Not even for a moment did I doubt that always in the air, there was tension.“Hey, what’s wrong?” I said, putting down the coffee cup. Not waiting for an answer, I knew that she needed to talk and I was all ears.But what she would open her mouth and say next would leave me breathless.“I’m pregnant.”My initial reaction was disbelief. I found it hard to take in
Rosa’s PovThose next few weeks were a series of meetings, lack of sleep, and questioning. Bethel had returned to the family home for some time, looking for a sense of stability. Yet, she was merely rebuilding things in her life — There lay an ambiguous journey the next. The search didn't let up for whoever was leaking our designs and the business was feeling that heat. Yet all that remained unchanged, despite the ruckus swirling around us, was James and I locked in as teammates who would bounce forth whatever lurked next.But while the storm raged on we did something weird — something that felt like a cosmic nudge in my direction to say life was still happening literally throughout all this.I had missed a few periods. I initially presumed it was stress. I had hectic days behind me and felt a whole range of emotions. But as days passed, a subtle dread grew in the belly of my stomach.So I grabbed the phone, called my doctor's office. They were able to squeeze me in the next morning f
Rosa’s PovThe first days in the world after moving out of my family home, was like a strange kind of birth. I had reconciled my past and was okay with it, now I would get on with my life. The burden that held me down was finally removed. But as life likes to teach us, we donÕt get change without a fight.The first of many challenges hit James and me while we were sitting at our favorite restaurant, enjoying dinner together. Suddenly, there was a little buzz on the table where his phone was resting. His eyes scanned the words on it, narrowing as he read a message.“What’s wrong?” I half asked, my fork freezing in the air, the pleasant buzz of the restaurant dulled.James, with clipped vocals, replied: "It's about Bethel."I had put my fork down; I could hear the tension behind his voice. And his sister, Bethel, had always been the wild card of the Harden bunch—free-spirited, reckless and bold. Yet lately, she had been making more than a couple of bad choices.“What happened now?”"Of
Rosa’s PovAs we neared the house, which had once been my world, now a rundown old heap. The car came to a slow crawl. I had completely forgotten how much I missed that creak of the tires rolling on the gravel driveway. When I stepped out of the car, a surreal sense of nostalgia and unease washed over me. It was the first time for me back here in years, not since everything had changed. Not since the day I left in search of making a life for myself: so far away from here and all this history that hung around like an echo.“Are you sure about this?” Uh oh what happened James asked down beside me with concern in his voice.I shook my head, probably too fast and grinned at him with a tight smile that was only half reassuring. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”He gazed at me for a second, dark eyes roving over my face, the furrow between his brows growing deeper. He didn't follow up, but I could feel the question line hanging in the air. James had watched me go through hard times over and over,
James’s PovThe morning light was spilling through the blinds of my office, casting long shadows on the floor. While outside, the city hummed quietly in comparison to the storm in my brain. I had been expecting this. And I knew that after all we had done together Reginald would never let things like this slide. Defeat was not one of his words–not easily, anyway. So when I saw his name flash on my phone screen bright and early that morning, I knew it meant something.The door opened and Rosa, a placid but attractive figure of a woman always ready to chat broke into my thoughts. The question if she too had seen the message didn’t even need asking. There was already a heaviness between us.I said, and the words came out like an accusation — though I hadn't even finished speaking.Rosa’s gaze hardened. We knew that walking away quietly was not going to be an option for him. What does he want this time?”I sat back in my chair, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I pondered our choices. Such
Rosa’s POVOn a lazy Sunday afternoon, Emma surprised me with a question that caught me short. She had just finished her homework and was on the couch with her legs tucked under her, watching TV without really paying attention. Her innocent voice interrupted the soft hum of the house.Someday, at some point in our lives, one of us will ask the question — “Mom, why do you and Dad get married?”I paused, as the shock of words were more impactful than I had anticipated. Emma had never been dull — she always asked the kinds of questions that forced you to consider things in a way you never had before. I knew this day would come, but so early I didn't expect My thoughts were tumbling a bit as I tried to find the most appropriate words; how do you explain the mixed feelings behind our choice, or rather why the decision was not so simple for me or us?I looked at James, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper, with his back toward us. His eyes glanced at mine for a split sec
James’s POVIt was something I had always prided myself on: knowing where I came from; understanding the legacy of my family. I thought I knew everything about our wealth, our power, the empire we had created; that little part of my life which I imagined was mine. But when I sat across the table from my mom, her hands shaking a little as she passed me an envelope with a strange, faded insignia ironed on it, I knew just how little knowledge I had.“James,” her voice wavering, she continued “I have to tell you something. The family history around how we came by our money, I guess.I frowned and focused on my breathing. “What do you mean, Mom?”After some delay, she opened the envelope and took out a few creased yellowing sheets of paper. “Of course, I never wanted you to know this but today feels like it could be time. You have to know the real story about your father, about what it took to build the Harden dynasty.I leaned in, heart racing. Decades of effort, well-placed investments,