James arrived at Mariana's celebration party, and Mariana’s drunk colleagues made him down three glasses of wine as punishment.As far as they all knew, James was Mariana’s doting boyfriend. Ordinarily, they would not have dared to jest with him, but drunk, they had the confidence.Being called Mariana’s doting boyfriend, James was delighted and followed through. But Mariana, who had supposedly gone to the washroom, was still missing.James wondered if she had an allergic reaction again and dashed inside the Ladies' room, causing quite a commotion.He saw Mariana holding on to a sink and splashing herself with water. She was biting her lips and was bleeding already.She had almost entirely soaked her upper body, and her lingerie was visible.James felt his body react to the scenery, but he pushed it away and slowly approached her.She reacted violently and told him to step away.James saw her hooded eyes, how her nipples had stiffened, the goosebumps on her arms when he touched her, a
Liam woke up with a start.The night before, he had arrived at the private club after Mariana’s call. But he was too late.James had taken Mariana to a room.He was unsure of their dynamics, but he knew James was not thoughtful enough to take his intrusion kindly.The one to get hurt would be Mariana ultimately.Liam thought of leaving, but he saw the woman Alice, who was supposedly James’s ex-girlfriend or current fling - he was unsure. She was talking to some reporters, and that alarmed him.Hence, he decided to wait and see if Mariana needed him. As such, he booked the room next to theirs and stayed overnight.The rooms were soundproof. He left his door ajar and slept close to the door in case of an emergency.In the morning, he woke up with a start when James banged the adjacent door close.Liam decided to check and went out in time to see a fuming James leaving their room without even closing the door properly.Liam went inside and found a crying Mariana.He hugged her until she
James stormed out of the private room and smoked three cigarettes - back to back.Only then did he calm down.He banged his fist on the wall and cursed.James was not sure what was wrong with him. He liked Mariana a lot. He didn’t know if his feelings were love or something else, but he enjoyed being with her and cared for her a great deal.He wanted to make her happy and see her cheeky smiling face all day.But every time they were together, they ended up fighting.He would say something hurtful and humiliating. He could not understand what was wrong with him.He could not bring himself to leave her. At the same time, he just seemed unable to make her happy.They had made love last night. It was amazing. She was not a virgin, he could not feel any barrier, but she was very clearly inexperienced.He was slightly annoyed that she had a man that she had liked and trusted enough to get intimate with, but at the same time, he was also happy that she had not lost her virginity while on dru
Five days later, there was an uproar in P city again.National Media Station had fired one of their senior employees, who had been with them for more than ten years and had become a minor shareholder.It was an unprecedented action that took everyone by surprise.Moreover, National Media Station also did a feature on him, which was truly unexpected.The fired employee, Steven Bryce, had been one of the specially recruited employees after his many commendable works.The feature highlighted notable columns that Steven had run throughout his career.A feature on the challenges of the construction workers on the outskirts of P city.Highlights on the red-light district.A leak on the underground drug cartel. It had put Steven’s life at risk.The rescue project where he had outed a bunch of abusive pet owners.And on and on. Steven’s work was commendable.Steven had been one of the most prolific reporters of his time. More than ten years ago, when Steven had joined National Media Station,
While Alice and her family were in shambles, James was busy trying to find out who had drugged Mariana.They had found out that Alice had called the media, but they were trying to find out who had drugged Mariana.If it was Alice, James vowed to bankrupt their business.But Mariana and Liliana saw things differently. Irrespective of who had drugged Mariana, Alice was wrong.Alice used James and her family’s connections with the Millers as a shield to escape punishment.James’s family, the Millers, had a good connection with Alice’s parents, the Mosses.Alice had gone to them crying about misunderstanding Mariana and creating trouble the same day.At his mother’s insistence, James acquiesced to letting Alice off. It bound Liliana’s hands.Mariana and Liliana had assured Mer’s parents that everything was under control.Mer stayed in Lil’s house for a week dealing with her emotions.Liam was busy tracking the source of recreational drugs. Recreational drugs were illegal in P city.Someon
Liliana remarked, “This works well for both of us. If you succeed, you get more money. At the same time, the hospital does not lose much in case you don’t.”Henry cocked his brow, “I did not say it was unfair! Just more demanding.”Jennifer echoed, “Yeah, your new rules will keep everyone on their toes. I am not complaining. A strict merit-based system is a blessing for people like me who don’t have a powerful backing.”Mariana chided her in fake anger, “How can you be called someone with no background?”Liliana smiled, “That was my intent anyway.”Jennifer explained, “I got demoted, but I am still a senior nurse. I just lost some management rights, which works in my favor. I was not handling it well, and that dragged my overall performance. My pay also included a lot of variable entities, depending on my time in OT v/s ER v/s research. Overall, I am quite satisfied. It works well for me.”Liliana heaved a sigh. “As long as you guys are fine.”They chatted for a while until a maid cam
Jessi maintained a polite smile and calm facade though she was seething from within.‘How could a random nobody like Liliana be worthy of Jonathan Smith? Only someone as capable and noble as her could stand by his side.’Realizing she was not a part of their banter, she coughed to get her attention and asked.“I have been meaning to ask - how old are you, Lil? You look quite young for someone who has two kids.” Jessi asked, hoping to dig at Liliana’s age and highlight her youth.Liliana had enough of her antics and could no longer bear her hypocrisy.“Please call me Mrs. Liliana or Mrs. Smith, Miss Jessi. We are not that close for you to be calling me by my pet name. I would hate to drag you down with me by claiming an acquaintance we do not share.”In Jessi’s eyes, Liliana had humbled herself, but everyone else could see the sarcasm in her words.Jessi could barely contain her disdain as she apologized, “I am sorry, Mrs. Liliana. I didn't mean to offend you.”Liliana waved her hand,
James reached out to Mariana two weeks after that fateful event.Mariana avoided him, but as usual, James cornered her.“I am so sorry, Mer. I swear, I did not mean a thing I said last time. I regretted it the moment I misspoke.”“I like you so much. Please give me one last chance. I swear to make it up to you. I am so sorry. Please, Mer.”“Please, give me one last chance. I know I messed up before. I will make things right this time around. Please!”James uttered his most sincere apology.He had been tracking down the waiter who had spiked Mariana’s drink. He had finally found him abroad and laid all the cards to force him back to P city.Only then did James muster the courage to confront Mariana and apologize.Unfortunately, what Mariana heard was that even after everything that had happened, James was not ready to end the farce between them.Perhaps, because they had both been on the opposite spectrum from the beginning of their relationship, they never saw things the same way.Mar
Liam finished his narrative and went close to Kyle.He knelt beside his half-brother and said, “Kyle, you are my brother by blood. But in my heart, you have always been my son.”“I will do anything and everything for you. Not because I feel obligated or you were a responsibility thrust onto me, or because my mother ruined your mother’s life. But because I love you from the bottom of my heart. If anything happens to you, I will lose my mind.”“What happened to previous generations is their karma and their lives. What we do defines our life and our karma.”“You are my son and will remain so until you return to P City Military as the Colonel. Until then, you mustn’t tell anyone about it.”“I never told you about your mother because I have immense respect and compassion for her. I did not want to lie to you or gloss over her story. I wanted to tell you when you are older, so you can appreciate her sacrifices.”“Nevertheless, you will always be my son and my highest priority. I love you so
Liam took a while before he braced himself for the next part.“My mother thought my father was cheating on her with Aunty Keira.”“My father kept everything about Aunty Keira a secret because he hadn’t identified all the people on the inside who worked for him. So for her safety, he dealt with everything directly. He had created a fake ID and passport for her for an emergency. If she ran into any trouble, or if he died, then she could flee and settle down abroad.”“My mother thought he was planning to elope with her. She went after him when he had sneaked out, and she took photos. The next day, she posted all those photos in the newspaper calling Aunty Keira a bad person for flirting with a married army man and ruining a military marriage.”“Naturally, everyone found out, and the bad people captured and bullied Aunt Keira.”“The plan was almost complete. As per military protocols, my father had to prioritize the mission. My father had the last bits of information in place. So he hasti
Liliana began when Liam stalled for time.“Kyle, your mother comes from a long line of military spies. You know what a spy is, right?”Kyle nodded.“Traditionally, only men are sent as spies because women are physically more vulnerable and comparatively more emotional. However, during your mother’s time, there was a very powerful mafia in Z city. He was extending his terror in P city. He had bribed and coerced many people at higher positions - so he would not get caught. Someone inside the Military betrayed us, and he found our spies.”Liam added, “He killed 25 of our most trained and skilled spies within a week. It left the P City Military in a very vulnerable position. My father was the Army Commander at that time. My Grandfather was in a higher position, and the mafia approached my grandfather for something. When he refused, he killed him.”“Among the 25 spies, three were from your mother’s family. Apart from them, almost 100 people from the force - Police and Military - lost their
Liliana walked up to them and hugged them.She checked them from head to toe, much to the boy’s embarrassment. When she was satisfied that they were unharmed, she spanked them.Li looked at his mother incredulously, but she glared back at him.“How dare you run away? Didn’t you know the address of your home? If you encounter something you can’t handle, you come to me. Is that such a difficult concept to grasp?”“Look at how filthy you have become! Is this how you plan to set an example for your siblings?”Kyle hugged her and sobbed, “I am sorry, Mommy.”Li did the same, and Liliana hugged the two children close.Liliana exclaimed, “Ah! It reminds me of when we had just returned to P city. Jo - that traitor, left me for her father. I had the two of you to hug.”She led them to the ensuite bathroom and asked them to clean up. She sat them down and asked them to drink water and eat the pies she had made that afternoon.After the kids were well-fed and hydrated, she sat on the couch with
One day after the divorce, Mariana took the twins to see grandma Preston.Kyle was supposed to leave with her but changed the plans last minute when Nathaniel called, saying he had something to discuss with Kyle.On the other hand, James had taken Jacob’s twins out with him.Jacob did not realize that Kyle and Nathaniel were at home.He turned on Netflix and beer and enjoyed the rare me-time.Liam unexpectedly came back, and upon gathering that they were alone at home, they locked the doors and windows and started making out.Their time together was always short. They had to act like they were just friends.It was tiring, and Liam always felt sorry for Jacob. The man had left everything and followed him to P City, but he kept him away like a dirty secret.Their noise had attracted the two kids who were deep in discussion in Kyle’s room. They thought it was a thief and tiptoed to find him.Unexpectedly, they witnessed something not appropriate for their age.They hid behind the curtain
Liliana, Jonathan, and all their friends lived a non-gossipy, uneventful life in the next few years.Jennifer got married to Junior Doctor Cox.Jacob’s company got listed.Leonardo stabilized his business and left to complete his studies.Vincent and Alice McDraw tied the knot.Henry had a whirlwind romance with a difficult patient, and they ended up in a shotgun wedding.Henry collaborated with his cousin Amelia to perform some of the miraculous medical feats which brought the Qazi family to the forefront of the Medical industry as they had been for generations. Terry Draw ended up with his assistant’s sister. Surprisingly, that was the most challenging match as his assistant accused him of betraying him. He took a long time to accept the truth.Terry completed the Green Field orphanage within the stipulated time. His achievements were widely renowned, and he ended up as the spokesperson for Green Living.He would go on to collaborate with several charities and manage most of the no
James remained unperturbed and laughed.He added when he had calmed down.“Jacob said he kissed Mariana and realized that he was gay.”Jonathan was speechless. He hadn’t expected that twist.James ignored his friend’s expressions and slurred, “He said they were best friends and sort of dating. But the vibe between them was closer to cousins than lovers. When they kissed, he realized how much he never wanted to kiss any girl in his life ever again.”Jonathan had to stifle his laugh.‘Good for Jacob!’‘Poor Mariana lost her first kiss like that. Tch! Tch!’James continued his ramble.“Then they became even closer. Which may have been why Mariana never dated anyone.”Jonathan thought about it and added, “Makes sense! She wouldn’t have needed to look for a relationship, and others would have assumed she wasn’t available.”James continued, “Jacob once took her horse riding. She fell and had a fracture. Her hymen tore when she fell. Then I slept with her and shouted at her for making a fuss
The next four months went by uneventfully, except for Liam being missing for that long and the Preston family members trying and failing to get any benefits from Mariana.Finally, a series of good news came one after the other.Liliana was pregnant. The couple had wanted to keep it a secret until the first trimester ended well. Then when the doctor confirmed everything was alright, they made the big announcement to their friends and family members.Liam came back after completing two different massive projects.He had ended Bronsson Mcclory’s illegal business completely and had apprehended him.Jeffery Cruise kept Mcclory in strict custody until the courts sentenced him to life imprisonment. Then he was sent to a high-security prison that held long-term inmates.Mcclory’s entire business, all networks, all partners and associates, clientele - the police had nabbed all of them.Consequently, Liam worked with several different authorities to arrest everyone from the criminal underground
Jonathan and Liliana stopped talking and embraced each other while lying quietly on the bed.Jonathan was about to drift asleep when Liliana spoke.“Do you still want to have another child?”He was stunned and sat up immediately.“What do you mean?”She turned around and asked, “Well, you never brought it up since we talked about it half a year ago.”He couldn’t understand what she was getting at. He asked, “So?”She mumbled, “I just think it is the right time, and maybe we should try. I will turn thirty soon, and it might cause complications.”He asked, “I still don’t know what you are trying to say.”She rolled her eyes and asked, “I want to know if you still want another child. It’s been half a year since we started living together. What do you think? Are you ready? Do you think having Li and Jo is enough?”He lay down and turned her towards him.“This half a year is the best half year of my life. I love you very much and would love to spend the rest of my life with you. Jo and Li