EdrickI was passing by Ella’s room when I overheard Moana and Ella talking, and my heart sank a little when I heard Ella’s question.“Um… Do you think that you and my daddy really will get married one day?” she asked, no doubt because of the children at the orphanage thinking that Moana and I were engaged.There was a long pause; I almost considered going in there and talking to Ella myself as I wasn’t quite sure how well Moana would handle it, especially after how upset she’d been that morning, but it turned out that I didn’t need to.“Sometimes things just don’t work out that way,” Moana finally replied. Her voice was soft and gentle.“Well… Why not?” Ella asked. “In all of my fairytales and princess movies, the boy and the girl always fall in love and get married and live happily ever after.”Another pause.“Real life just isn’t always like your fairytales or princess movies,” Moana said after several long moments. “But that’s okay. I promise that we’ll all still have our happily
MoanaA few days passed after that. I had a hard time getting over what Edrick said to me in my room that night: that he couldn’t stop thinking about me. Was that true? Why, then, did he try to sleep with another woman? If he really couldn’t stop thinking about me in the same way that I couldn’t stop thinking about him, why couldn’t we just admit our feelings to one another and be done with it? Even if we couldn’t be public with our relationship, part of me still wanted to see if we could make it work in a private setting.Eventually, the day of the banquet came. While there was still a large part of me that just wanted to make an excuse to not go and hide in the penthouse instead, I knew that I had to be there for Ella.On the morning of the banquet, I came out of my room to find that Selina had already prepared a large breakfast for Ella and me. Ella was already sitting at the table, happily shoveling pancakes into her mouth, while Selina poured my coffee for me.“Wow,” I said as I
Edrick“There’s my favorite girls,” I said with a smile.I didn’t even think about it before I said it, but I knew as soon as it came out of my mouth that I’d made a mistake. Ella didn’t seem to notice, but Moana sure did. Her green eyes, which looked even more beautiful with the small amount of gold eyeshadow around them, widened.“Ha,” I said, feigning surprise at myself in the feeble hope that I could get away without Moana dwelling on this too much, “slip of the tongue. Are you two ready?”…When we arrived at the banquet, the party had already begun. The end of summer banquet was a long-standing Morgan family tradition. The banquet that I had taken Moana and Ella to earlier that summer was solely for more immediate family and close friends, but this banquet was different. Each summer, practically every single member of the entire Morgan clan, from immediate family to cousins several times removed and all of their own friends and extended families through marriage would come from
MoanaAs I watched Edrick and Kelly walk away together, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Not only that, but she was wearing the exact same dress as I was! Even Verona did a double take when she saw Kelly walk up to us.When they were gone, Verona quickly came over to me and took my hand.“Don’t worry about it, dear,” she said gently, giving my hand a squeeze. “Kelly… Well, she's not a bad girl, really, but she’s always had a bit of an infatuation with Edrick. She’ll get bored eventually and stop pestering you.”“It’s alright,” I replied with a smile, even though I couldn’t help but feel bad. “It’s just a dress.”Verona gave me a sad look. I felt as though I would cry and ruin my makeup if I kept standing here, so I quickly excused myself under the guise of performing my job duties as a nanny and went to look for Ella. After several minutes of walking around and weaving my way through the growing crowd, I finally spotted Ella over by the snack bar with her friends. As childre
MoanaI was so utterly, unbelievably stunned by Michael’s cruel ‘proposition’ and his rough mannerisms during our dance that I was frozen to my spot. Even as he walked away and disappeared into the crowd, I still felt as though my heart would beat straight out of my chest. I could already feel the vomit bubbling up in my throat from the fear, which was the only thing that got me moving.I quickly ran to the bathroom, which was thankfully empty. Tears welled up in my eyes as I burst into one of the stalls and doubled over.Nothing came up, thankfully. I gagged a bit, but that was it, so I took a deep breath and walked over to the sink to splash some cold water on my neck and try to calm down.Surely, Michael’s threat meant nothing. Edrick would certainly handle this; I didn’t need to worry. I would tell him after the banquet so as not to ruin his fun, and for now I would just try to have some fun of my own and not think about what Michael said. I just needed some fresh air, and then ev
Edrick I was too taken aback by Kelly’s proposition to even speak. Was she the one who paid off the tabloid to keep the photo up, just so she could manipulate me into having a fake relationship with her? Or did someone else put her up to it… Like my father? “Well?” she said, batting her eyelashes in front of me. “What do you say?” “I…” I paused, blinking incredulously as my head reeled. “I need a drink.” Without another word, I turned on my heel and headed back toward the door to the banquet hall. “At least think about it!” Kelly called after me in a sing-song tone of voice. “I’ll be waiting to hear your decision!” I sighed as I stepped back into the banquet hall, letting the music and the noise of the guests wash over me. Why couldn’t I just enjoy the banquet? Why did it seem as though these sorts of things always had some sort of political connotations behind them? As I headed over to the bar, I tried to push my conversation with Kelly into the back of my mind. She was already
MoanaI was still staring into the fountain, utterly taken aback by Ethan’s sudden decision to kiss me when I just needed a friend to confide in, when I suddenly heard the sound of heels clicking across stone.My heart dropped when I looked up and saw who was headed straight for me: Kelly.She had a devious smirk on her face that told me everything I needed to know. She was up to something. I would have tried to get up and walk away, but she clearly saw me already and it was too late.“Hey, Kelly,” I said, forcing a faint smile. “How are you?” I tried to be polite and ignore the fact that she was clearly wearing the exact same dress as I was, even though it made me uncomfortable to see her like that. I kept telling myself that maybe it was just a coincidence, as the store that Edrick took me to did seem expensive and popular, but I knew Kelly just enough to sense that it was completely intentional on her part. She clearly even had the dress altered to sit more tightly on her abdomen,
Moana With my face still burning from Kelly’s slap, I needed to get away from the banquet before anyone saw me and started gossiping even more. If anyone saw me crying, I knew that Kelly would be satisfied as well, and I didn’t want that. As I gathered what little dignity I had left and started making my way through the gardens, the sound of the music and the partygoers talking and laughing slowly began to fade, replaced by the sound of the crickets chirping and the sound of the fountains. I eventually found a quiet garden not too far away with a fountain in the center and rows of peach trees circling the perimeter, their sweet fragrance filling the air. I leaned against one of these trees and bowed my head, finally letting the tears flow now that I knew I was completely alone. All my life, I only ever wanted to create a beautiful family of my own. After spending my childhood in an orphanage, I always wanted to bring a child into the world with two loving parents who would never l
MoanaI couldn’t help but laugh as I thought back on the beginning of our relationship.To think that, just a year prior, I was just Edrick’s one night stand who also became his nanny… And now, here I was, standing in front of the mirror in my wedding dress.The dress that I picked out was beautiful. We planned to have a late summer wedding to commemorate our meeting,six months after little Daisy was born. My dress was a blush pink color. It was soft and flowy with a beautiful floral embroidered pattern, and sleeves that fluttered in the breeze. It hugged my waist in all of the right places and made me feel more beautiful than ever.Daisy was six months old now, and Ella often mentioned how she no longer looked like a squished little grape. Ella had just turned nine, and thought that she was a grown-up, although she still liked to
MoanaAfter ten hours of intense and grueling labor, little Daisy was born.“She’s so tiny,” I whispered as I held the little crying bundle in my arms. The doctor weighed her at just six pounds and twelve ounces, but she was as healthy as an ox.Edrick, who hadn’t left my side throughout the entire delivery, leaned over my shoulder with a wide grin on his face and held his hand out to touch her cheek. Almost instantly, Daisy’s little hand shot out and gripped his index finger with a relentless force for such a little thing.Her eyes were squeezed shut, and yet she still had an instinct to keep her father’s finger in a vice grip.I couldn’t help but laugh, but I also wanted to cry.When I was on the cliff with Michael, I saw my parents at my birth. I did the same thing to my father, and I also wouldn&
MoanaThe time between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were such a whirlwind of activity that the months practically flew by.Ethan and Kelly wound up being transferred to a mental health facility. I think that was better for them in the long run, as the things that they did were ultimately the result of Michael’s brainwashing. I didn’t hold any grudges against them; in fact, Edrick and I visited them on a monthly basis, and the medication and therapy that they went through seemed to be helping a bit.Of course, Kelly could never get over her obsession with Edrick. Nor could Ethan get over his obsession with me. It was very likely that they would spend years in that place, but at least we could have somewhat normal conversations with them when we went to visit.Michael, however, had no visitors and I didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. Verona ev
MoanaThe months in between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were a whirlwind of emotions and unexpected turns. After the incident with Michael, where he was sentenced to prison for his attempt on my life, my world took another astonishing twist.The news outlets revealed a shocking revelation: Moana, the seemingly ordinary girl who was raised in an orphanage, was, in fact, the legendary Golden Wolf.I never imagined my life could become so entangled in a web of fame and attention.Suddenly, everyone wanted a piece of me. All sorts of brands and non-governmental organizations bombarded me with invitations and tempting monetary offers. It was overwhelming, to say the least. My inbox was flooded with messages from high-profile companies and influential figures, all hoping to capitalize on my newfound fame.It felt like the world had changed overnigh
EdrickWithin an hour, Moana and I were nervously walking up the front steps to my parents’ mansion.We left Ella with Selina just in case we walked in on anything sinister. The house was mostly dark, which was out of the ordinary. As I slowly opened the front door, I felt my heart catch in my throat.“Hello?” I called out, holding Moana’s hand as I stepped into the large foyer. “Mom?”There was no answer. Moana and I exchanged nervous glances and walked in a little further.“Verona?” Moana called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice travel further. “Are you there?!”Still no answer. We decided to head into the sitting room, where my mother often liked to be during her free time, but it was dark and empty. At this point, I was starting to get even more nervous.
MoanaA little while later, Edrick and I were standing in the front doorway of the mansion and looking out at the scene before us.The security guards were leading Michael, who was cuffed, over to the car. His nose was still clotted with blood from Edrick’s punch, but something about it was satisfying to see. I enjoyed seeing Michael finally face some consequences for his actions, and I especially enjoyed watching Selina scold him like a child.What was even more satisfying, though, was seeing him being shoved into the back of the car to be driven down to the police station.Kat was found by the guards, too. Not long after Edrick punched Michael in the face, Kat was found hiding in the woods. As it turned out, Michael paid her a pretty penny to get close to me and lead me off into the forest to get lost so that he could kill me. She looked ashamed as the guards cuffed her, and
EdrickI hated to say it, but Moana looked more beautiful than ever as she practically assaulted my evil father on the back lawn.“He’s no threat,” she said as she released her grip on his shirt and let him fall back to the ground, then turned and walked back to meet me. “The knife is gone. He’s just an angry old man now and nothing more.”Moana was right; the knife was indeed gone. It shattered when Michael tried to stab her with it.During those moments when the knife was plunged into her belly, it felt as though my heart stopped. I watched in horror as the knife disappeared into her belly. When my father pulled it out, it was covered in blood and he had a maniacal grin on his face.But something happened then. She became enveloped in that golden light again, only this time it was even brighter and more blinding than before.
MoanaEveryone froze and stared at each other with wide eyes as the sound of the groaning and shuffling came closer.“Daddy?” Ella whimpered. “Who is there?”Edrick slowly sat Ella down, then walked toward the door. He gestured to the security guards, but before anything could be done, the last person we expected walked into the doorway.“Thought you could kill me, huh?”Michael stood in the doorway with an evil smirk on his face. Selina, the maids and I all let out a collective gasp. Selina suddenly grabbed Ella by the arm and shoved her behind us to keep her protected.“Michael,” I said, taking a step forward, “you were dead.”Michael just laughed. “I was indeed,” he said. “But not for long. I guess you didn’t realize that I was waking
Moana“Can you trust me to take care of him?” I asked.Ella began to sob, but I somehow knew exactly what to do. It all felt so natural now… I didn’t even really need to think about it. I just knew to wrap my arms around Ella and comfort her, although whether it was my abilities or simply my nurturing instincts, I couldn’t be entirely sure.Suddenly, Ella stopped crying.“Okay,” she whimpered after a moment, stepping back and wiping her tears out of her eyes. “I trust you. Please take good care of my daddy.”I managed a weak smile and nodded at Ella, taking her little hands in mine. “I will take good care of him,” I whispered as I looked into her eyes, still using my pacifying ability to keep her calm. “Don’t you worry.”Ella nodded and stepped away, allowin