November 15th10 pm.The despair finally got to me after one week, the drugs and treatment dissolving my resolve after much resistance and fights, and I actually started to see things in the very white and confined room I was in.The shadows that were always in the corner, mocking me and laughing.You are a failure.You fell for his trick.You are such a fool.I laughed hysterically, mocking myself too because I had seen the signs but ignored them.I had thought maybe I was just overthinking things, but here I was now, tied to a bed while they got to live my life forever."Ha ha ha ha ha," I laughed hysterically again, feeling myself start to go mad as the thoughts ran through my head again, and I scowled when a nurse came in to give me another dose of drug.I wondered what it was.A drug to make me actually feel better or a drug to make me mad.Probably the latter since that is what they want, right?I protested a little, feeling myself resist as she injected the liquid into my blood
Juliette One month to November 15th"Cinderella moves into the palace with the prince, and they live happily ever after.""Forever?"I glanced down at my three-year-old daughter, who was still very much awake, and smiled."Of course, you know how the story ends.""B-but what if the prince hates Cinderella or argues with her later? Will they still live happily together?"I pursed my lips. "Well, if they love each other sincerely, they can always find a way to work things out. That's what makes any relationship or love stronger.""So we can work things out with Dad..."I cocked my eyebrow. "What do you mean?""He doesn't like us again. That's why he doesn't read to us anymore or take us to bed."I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled, "He's just busy at work, honey. Daddy loves you, both of you."I glanced at the other bed in the room to see if her twin was still awake.Nope, he was fast asleep."Really?""Yes, of course."I kissed her forehead lightly and stood up after t
Juliette I woke up to an empty bed the next day, the sun shining in and my body well satiated. Fuck, he already left. I had been expecting it, but it didn't dull the disappointment either way. I missed when we always woke up to each other and had morning sex or just cuddled for a while. I stood up from the bed to check the time and almost screamed when I saw it to be eight. Fuck, I knew something wasn't right when my alarm didn't blast in my ears waking me up. The kids. School. I almost tripped on my way to their room to wake them up and paused when I didn't find them in their room. What? Then I heard the chatter. "Mummy, Daddy is making us a sandwich." Olivia said when I walked into the kitchen a minute later to see them crowding around my husband, I moved closer to them, confused. "Sandwich?" My husband moved away from the counter to place a light kiss on my lips, and he whispered when he pulled back, "Good morning, love." "Good morning. Don't you have to be at the c
Juliette Two weeks to Nov. 15thIt's my stepdad's birthday.One of the days I'd definitely not been looking forward to.No offense, but I wasn't close to him or my stepsister; I had only maintained acquaintance with them because he's the man my mother married.Something I wasn't sure was the right decision.I shook that thought out of my head as I tied my hair up into a messy bun, and I slipped a gold necklace around my neck before matching it with some gold earrings."Hmm, good." I said as I looked at myself in the mirror, and I smiled.The gold went well with the red dress, and the red dress would go well with the black suit I had brought out for James to wear.It wasn't a large event, but I'm sure my stepdad had invited the whole country, if not some paparazzi too.He liked the spotlight, so also Vanessa, my stepsister.I slipped on my heels and carried my bag, taking the steps one by one to the living room, and I did a double take when I saw my husband in a blue suit.Well, he wa
Juliette One week to November 15th"Do you think he even knows?"I raised my eyebrows and scoffed at Summer, who asked that question. "What do you mean, does he know? Of course he does; it's our fourth wedding anniversary.""Yes, but you're the one who said he's been getting distant. You've been saying it for weeks now.""It's because he's busy. The company and everything, it's possible to get distant.""Denial is a river in Egypt, my love. Hold that man accountable for his shortcomings and stop making excuses for him.""I'm not making excuses. I just need to get this dinner prepared and have a great night with him. You said you'll take the kids for me, right?"She nodded after a moment."Aw, thank you."She groaned and scrunched up her face when I tried to hug her. "Let's just go make this pasta or lasagna or whatever you call it."I rolled my eyes. "It's spaghetti and meatballs, and you know that."She shrugged and got out of the car, taking her bag with her."So what are we buying
Juliette Arghhh!! James... Harder..."I tried to will out those thoughts as I stumbled my way to the parking lot a few minutes later.He hadn't stopped.He hadn't even shown any remorse. Yes, he did show surprise after finding out about my presence by the threshold, but after that, they had gone so cold and blank, I could still feel the shiver running through my body.How could he...I mean, why...Why would he...I felt my hands tremble multiple times as I tried to start my car in the empty parking lot, but it just wasn't working.I had seen the signs...Those little things that made me question if what we really had was true, but I had defended him in my mind then.It couldn't be.He wouldn't do that.I was just overthinking it.Well, look at me now.I chuckled slightly just as the car finally started, and I drove out of there.Maybe I was imagining this too.I chuckled more at the thought.It was actually ridiculous.Vanessa and James.My stepsister and my husband.I tried to see
Juliette.The paparazzi did attempt to eat me alive using this accident as time went by but James managed to put it under control.The family of the driver was compensated, and I was discharged the day after that, making it exactly twenty-four hours that I spent in the hospital.During that time, I managed to convince myself that I needed therapy and had probably only imagined everything.There was no way this loving guy had done all that I saw.It must be my imagination.I smiled slightly at him and closed the door of the car with his help once we made it to his car outside.Mine was at the mechanics for repairs."Thanks."He shook his head and kissed my forehead after getting into the driver's seat."The kids will be so happy to see you."Well, I couldn't wait to see them too.Thankfully it was the weekend, so there wasn't the case of them needing to go to school."Yeah..."I smiled slightly when he slipped his hand around mine as he started the car and we drove like that in comfort
Juliette "Wow. She must be losing it, huh?"I slipped to the floor, still laughing while they both stared and watched me."I guess it'll just make things easier. Don't you think?"I had just about another minute of numbness and hysterical laughter before I felt a sting on my neck.The darkness after that was more than welcome.At least it'll shield me from the reality that was now my world.****I woke up to another ceiling hours later, maybe a day later; I wouldn't know, but what I knew for sure was that my whole body was sore.Fuck!Where was I?I tried to take in my surroundings and paused when I suddenly felt a restraint on my hands and legs.What?I tried to figure out what it was, pulling hard with both my hands and legs in an attempt to break free, but the struggle only made the leather bite into my skin more.What the fuck is going on?I paused in my attempt to break free when the only door in the room opened suddenly to reveal a man in a shirt and a doctor's coat.Behind him
DominicThe business plan was good, exceptionally good, to the extent that I actually wondered how James had convinced her to be a housewife."Dom." I picked up the papers she had proposed to me again and glanced at Luke, who walked into the study."How was it? What did she say?"I shrugged and handed him the papers. He looked through it."What is this?""A proposal. She wants me to invest in her company.""She does?""Yes. A real estate company with 10% returns for me. I think she's planning to square off with her—with James. You know, even the playground.""That's actually quite smart."I nodded. "And—"RingRing.Huh?We both turned surprised when the doorbell at the front door rang, indicating that someone was around, and I turned back to glance at Luke."Does anyone else know about this place?""No, except Miss Winchester and her friend who just left.""Shit. You don't think he knows about this place, do you?""Who? James?"I nodded, already placing the documents in a safe drawer
Juliette."Summer?""Summer..." I called quietly as I stepped into the house, probably an hour later. I couldn't tell the time since I had no means of checking it, coupled with the fact that it was dark."Sum—" I had no time to prepare myself in the dark before a body was attacking mine in a hug."Jules. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you or make you wary of me. I just thought...".I wrapped my arms around her and let myself settle into the hug. It was familiar, warm, and reassuring.God, I still couldn't believe I had accused her."No, I'm the one who is sorry. I wasn't thinking and had just been spiraling right before you came, so it kind of just overflowed."She pulled back in the still dark living room to peer at my face before pulling me into another tight hug."Oh! Summer...""I can't lose you. You can't lose you. The bad bitch we knew before that asshole came along. You can't lose that.""And I won't." She smiled when she pulled back again, and I noticed the streak of tear
Juliette"Ugh!"I threw the most recent paper I had cut out from the note beside me on the floor alongside the other ruffled papers I had tried to work on.God.I couldn't just think of something.Going public? Sure, that would probably cause a lot of damage and bring up a lot of questions he wouldn't want surfacing, but it could also go sideways real quick. I had to think of my kids, the plot of my revenge, and how deeply I wanted it to hurt—and I wanted it to hurt really badly.I had to think of the best way to hurt them.But to do that, I needed to know why he had done it. Why he had pretended for years...*"Your marriage was planned, meeting him was planned, everything was planned, even the amount of children you're meant to have. All of that was planned."*I mean, if it had been planned, why did he...I sucked in a breath and stood up to go get a bottle of wine from the cabinet before returning to the living room, where I gulped down half of its contents. I shouldn't be thinki
Dominic"What were you thinking?! Kidnapping the girls and bringing them here!""I was not the—oh." I shut my mouth and watched as my best friend's face—I wasn't even sure what relationship we had—the guy in black or Blade. We'll go with that for now."He was the one who said I should bring her to him if she's still alive.""I didn't—""Maybe, but not without her permission, and then you just had to add her friend!""Bro." I took a deep breath, watching as Blade stood up from the couch and advanced on Luke. At first he was intimidated, but then I saw the stubbornness in his eyes that was so familiar. I think Blade saw it too because he sighed and moved past him to the mini bar."Do you really think she would have been like, Oh, right, I remember you. You're the guy that almost assassinated me back at the "fake mental facility" where my husband and my stepsister confined me to because they wanted to take over my company and follow me?""That's not—""And for the friend, she was going t
Juliette Fuck!My head was aching, my eyes heavy, and my body sluggish when I came to a few hours later—at least that was what I was hoping for.God, where am I?The feeling of the ground beneath me made itself known at that moment, and the memories of what had actually happened came crashing in with it too.Oh my God.Did—was it James who had kidnapped—The question didn't complete itself in my brain before my vision finally cleared and I saw who it was in front of me.A guy.He looked familiar..."Juliette..." He said it like he was trying to see if I remembered him, and I did.Dominic Cole.I had seen him a few times on the news and in meetings back when I was the CEO, and... Oh my God, was he not the one who had come to look for me in Summer's house?The—Fuck! He was working for James, as I suspected.He didn't get whatever he was about to say next out of his mouth before I was lashing out at him and trying to get away, but...I did a double take and paused abruptly when I saw t
Dominic Just after a month of Juliette apparently getting admitted into a mental facility and then being announced dead due to suicide, guess who became the major shareholder of Winchester Properties.Yes, you guessed right.James Wright, her husband.The one person I really didn't want to associate with after my knowledge of everything he had done."Mr. Cole." I put on a smile anyway and shook his hand the next day after he was made the major shareholder and chairperson in Winchester Properties, looking like the grieving father and husband he apparently was.God, I was fuming, but ..."Mr. Wright." I maintained my smile and led him to the seat opposite my desk in the office after I pulled my hand away from his."So how are you doing?" He asked."Good, I guess, and you?""Well, as good as anyone who is still grieving the death of his wife." I smiled tightly and picked up a document to hide the scowl in them. I couldn't really hide after sitting down behind my desk."So... You said y
JuliettePresent day,God, it was cold.The air, my bones, and the thin top that was barely wrapped around my frame—it felt as if the cold was seeping slowly into my skin, then bones, like a nightmare of a drug."F-f-fu-c-ck." I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to stop the intense trembling of my teeth.I shouldn't dwell on that though—the cold. I had more important things to do, like looking for her. Olivia.I moved forward through the woods and tried to listen to her voice that I had heard about a minute ago.It was faint, but I had heard it distinctly—the desperate feel and the fear in it."Mum..."I whipped my head around and tried to wade through the darkness again."Mum...""Mia!""Mum!""Ethan!"My God, where were they?I couldn't see through the darkness, and the thorns weren't making it easy to wade through the forest."Mum!" I heard it again, but this time, very close to me and sharper. I turned around only for something to grab me and drag me down into an abyss of
Juliette Five years ago,His smile.Or should I say nervous smile.That was the first thing I had noticed in the tall—but not intimidatingly tall—dude when he handed me a napkin a few minutes after spilling his drink on me in front of everyone in the main hall.It had been an accident, obviously, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he had just caused a scene and embarrassed me at such an important event.Ugh, I couldn't believe it.I collected the napkin and turned away from his sorry face to clean myself, dabbing aggressively at the large stain on my white dress."I'm sorry. I didn't mean...""Of course I know you didn't mean it; you already said it like a million times, so you can go.""I...""This is the female restroom. In case you haven't noticed.""Oh."He glanced around the place like he was just realizing where he had followed me into, and he stepped away, flustered."Uhm... Sorry, I'll wait outside."I rolled my eyes and groaned again when he finally made it out, realizing
Dominic"And why would you think that?" I asked after a few moments of silence."The fact that it took you that long to say anything... among other things.""Other things? What other things?""You aren't denying it."Fuck.It was almost as if I was playing into his hands and doing exactly what he wanted. "I—""You also have quite the history with her. Friends as kids, or was it just the relationship between your parents that brought you guys together? The nerdy kid and popular girl, it must have been tough hiding your crush from everyone."Fuck! He was—he did do his research, didn't he?How did he even—I flinched and glanced down at the glass in my hand when he proceeded to pour out another glass of whiskey for me.What...I didn't even realize I had finished the first drink."What are you doing? Why are you doing all this?" He raised an eyebrow as I slid the now-filled glass of whiskey away from me. I just didn't like this feeling at all, the way things were going."What?""This—