“Done”Nita stared at the word on her phone, her heart thundered in her chest, but before she could process it, someone grabbed her arm, and she found herself yanked towards the emergency stairs. The elevator were packed with people trying to escape, or was it people pressing the button and not giving it time to open before pressing again. When she looked up to see who was holding her, it was Nick. He held her with one hand and Nate with the other. At the side of her eyes, she saw Jimmy running after them as they pushed through the throngs of panicked people.It wasn’t the time for talking; it was the time to escape whatever had happened at the lower level of the hotel. They had come out of the hotel through the back door, and numerous occupants were also there. Some were scantily dressed, while some still have soap in their hair as if they had ran out of the bathroom in an urgent. Most of the hotel was fine, but a single room looked thoroughly burnt. It was as if the room was purpo
The silence in the car stretched on like a shadow, swallowing words neither Nita nor Nick seemed willing to utter; especially not in Nate’s presence. Nate lay quietly in her lap, his eyes closed but his breaths shallow, a rhythm that betrayed the fear still gripping him. They were supposed to go home, but then… the explosion. Every time the image flashed in his mind, he squeezes his mother’s hand a little tighter, as if she were his only anchor in the swirling chaos.Nita’s gaze flickered back to her phone, while her hand rubbed Nate’s hair softly. The single word stared up at her from a message received earlier. Whatever happened now, the threat was over. Yet she couldn’t shake the unease, especially since she had no idea how it had been handled. But she trusted her contact; he had always been competent, almost eerily so. He had been working for her ever since she started receiving strange text, and he had never disappointed. Nita watched as the car rolled into the estate, her breat
Nick had never realized how much fun it could be to spend time with a child, especially his own son. Maybe it was because he’d never spared children much of his time before, or maybe it was because this particular child was his blood. Either way, he found himself enjoying every small moment with Nate. And, as a bonus, the boy was happily sharing tidbits about his mother – information Nick knew he’d never get from Nita herself. “So, you mean that man isn’t your mother’s husband?” Nick asked, trying to sound casual as they walked together.Nate narrowed his eyes in confusion, “Which man?”“The one who’s always with you,” Nick replied, his voice softeningNate laughed at the suggestion, looking up with an innocence that made Nick’s heart clench. “That’s my mother’s personal assistant. Don’t be silly.”Nick stopped dead in his tracks.He had been stopping himself from getting closer to Nita because of her personal assistant. He had really thought she had moved on, but it seemed they were
It was a bold move, one that warranted a smirk from Nick as he stared at her with that look that sent shivers down her spine. “I thought I already said I want you back.”Nita scoffed, trying to keep her voice steady, “If I remember clearly, you were the one eager for a divorce then.”“A mistake I am ready to rectify.” His voice was ever steady and clear. “I can show you what I mean,” he trailed his hand down her arm making her breath seize. Nita held her breath; she was going to pretend as if whatever he did wouldn't affect her. He no longer affects her like he wanted.But his hand moved lower than her arm, straying towards her leg. Nita pulled back, cutting off every link between them, “I don’t care what you mean. All I want is a divorce.”He stared at her as if he was trying to read her soul and know every little thing going on in her mind, “Well, it’s a pity we all don’t get what we want.”He moved further in and dropped on the bed. Nita stared between him and the door; she wasn’t
She hated him. She hated him with all her being. If he thought he could waltz in and out of their lives at his own convenience, then he must be joking. She ignored Nate’s pleading and waited for Jimmy’s message. The moment her phone beeped with an address, she grabbed her suitcase. “Let’s go, Nate.”Nate frowned, “I thought we were staying with Uncle Nick, mummy.” His face fell into that puppy look that had always gotten Nita to do anything for him. But this time, she wouldn’t fall for it - not when Nick was involved.“No! We can’t impose on a stranger, Nate.”Nick stood there, arms crossed, smirking like he had the upper hand, “So, you are just going to run away again. You’re going to run like five years ago.”She stopped, turned towards him and said with clenched teeth, “I’m not running. I’m just doing what I think is right.”Nick nodded, stepping closer. “And that’s avoiding what you are supposed to do?”Their eyes locked, the air between them thick with unspoken words. Nate clea
“He doesn’t eat carrot.” Nita said, picking out the orange pieces in Nate’s food.Nick chuckled as he opened his own plate. “I don’t eat carrot either.” He showed his food to Nita and she scowled.“I thought vegetables were good for his growth, which was why I asked them to add some to his.”Nita frowned. She had learned too late that Nate was allergic to carrots. She didn’t have allergies, so she had wondered why her son had one – until she was able to learn that he took after his father. That sucked. The last thing she wanted was to acknowledge Nick as his father not to talk of inheriting anything from him.Nick smiled, “I’ll ring one of the maids to bring another meal for him. You don’t have to remove the carrots.” Before she could protest, he was already on the phone. Nita hated how quickly things happened at his command. More than that, she hated that he was making an effort to look good in front of their son.What happened to his carefree attitude?What happened to when he prefe
“I’m done!” The words were so familiar to her, yet so strange coming from her husband’s mouth. They had been married for less than six months, and although it was an arranged marriage, Nita thought her husband was starting to develop feelings for her, so what could have gone wrong?She found it hard to process his words, so she stuttered confused, “Nick…”She wanted to ask more questions, but he was done listening to her. He pushed a brown envelop towards her, “This is the divorce agreement, sign it and the necessary alimony would be sent to your account. Isn’t that why you married me? For money”Nita had never felt that low in her life. Yes, she was from a poor family, and their marriage was an arranged one, but she had never once thought about the wealth that comes from being Nick’s wife. She had gotten married for her grandfather’s sake and now she had developed feelings for Nick.When she didn’t say any word, Nick continued, “I’ll leave this house for you as part of your alimon
Nick sat upright and sighed. When the security had called that his wife was in the estate, Nick had made arrangement with two of his workers to dress in a provocative manner and to act that way; he needed to make sure that Nita had no reason to come back to him. He knew she wasn’t going to give up unless he did something drastic.When he first met Nita, he already knew he might end up developing feelings for his wife, but he never knew it was going to be that extreme. So, when the doctor told him about his illness and the possibility of dying young, he decided it was better to break Nita’s heart now than watch her watch him die. “You can go.” He told the maids that scurried off the bed immediately. He got up and dressed up before calling his personal assistant. “Make sure there’s someone always following my wife from a distance and always give me report of her where about? I want to know everything going on with her.”Joel, his personal assistant answered affirmatively. He had no i
“He doesn’t eat carrot.” Nita said, picking out the orange pieces in Nate’s food.Nick chuckled as he opened his own plate. “I don’t eat carrot either.” He showed his food to Nita and she scowled.“I thought vegetables were good for his growth, which was why I asked them to add some to his.”Nita frowned. She had learned too late that Nate was allergic to carrots. She didn’t have allergies, so she had wondered why her son had one – until she was able to learn that he took after his father. That sucked. The last thing she wanted was to acknowledge Nick as his father not to talk of inheriting anything from him.Nick smiled, “I’ll ring one of the maids to bring another meal for him. You don’t have to remove the carrots.” Before she could protest, he was already on the phone. Nita hated how quickly things happened at his command. More than that, she hated that he was making an effort to look good in front of their son.What happened to his carefree attitude?What happened to when he prefe
She hated him. She hated him with all her being. If he thought he could waltz in and out of their lives at his own convenience, then he must be joking. She ignored Nate’s pleading and waited for Jimmy’s message. The moment her phone beeped with an address, she grabbed her suitcase. “Let’s go, Nate.”Nate frowned, “I thought we were staying with Uncle Nick, mummy.” His face fell into that puppy look that had always gotten Nita to do anything for him. But this time, she wouldn’t fall for it - not when Nick was involved.“No! We can’t impose on a stranger, Nate.”Nick stood there, arms crossed, smirking like he had the upper hand, “So, you are just going to run away again. You’re going to run like five years ago.”She stopped, turned towards him and said with clenched teeth, “I’m not running. I’m just doing what I think is right.”Nick nodded, stepping closer. “And that’s avoiding what you are supposed to do?”Their eyes locked, the air between them thick with unspoken words. Nate clea
It was a bold move, one that warranted a smirk from Nick as he stared at her with that look that sent shivers down her spine. “I thought I already said I want you back.”Nita scoffed, trying to keep her voice steady, “If I remember clearly, you were the one eager for a divorce then.”“A mistake I am ready to rectify.” His voice was ever steady and clear. “I can show you what I mean,” he trailed his hand down her arm making her breath seize. Nita held her breath; she was going to pretend as if whatever he did wouldn't affect her. He no longer affects her like he wanted.But his hand moved lower than her arm, straying towards her leg. Nita pulled back, cutting off every link between them, “I don’t care what you mean. All I want is a divorce.”He stared at her as if he was trying to read her soul and know every little thing going on in her mind, “Well, it’s a pity we all don’t get what we want.”He moved further in and dropped on the bed. Nita stared between him and the door; she wasn’t
Nick had never realized how much fun it could be to spend time with a child, especially his own son. Maybe it was because he’d never spared children much of his time before, or maybe it was because this particular child was his blood. Either way, he found himself enjoying every small moment with Nate. And, as a bonus, the boy was happily sharing tidbits about his mother – information Nick knew he’d never get from Nita herself. “So, you mean that man isn’t your mother’s husband?” Nick asked, trying to sound casual as they walked together.Nate narrowed his eyes in confusion, “Which man?”“The one who’s always with you,” Nick replied, his voice softeningNate laughed at the suggestion, looking up with an innocence that made Nick’s heart clench. “That’s my mother’s personal assistant. Don’t be silly.”Nick stopped dead in his tracks.He had been stopping himself from getting closer to Nita because of her personal assistant. He had really thought she had moved on, but it seemed they were
The silence in the car stretched on like a shadow, swallowing words neither Nita nor Nick seemed willing to utter; especially not in Nate’s presence. Nate lay quietly in her lap, his eyes closed but his breaths shallow, a rhythm that betrayed the fear still gripping him. They were supposed to go home, but then… the explosion. Every time the image flashed in his mind, he squeezes his mother’s hand a little tighter, as if she were his only anchor in the swirling chaos.Nita’s gaze flickered back to her phone, while her hand rubbed Nate’s hair softly. The single word stared up at her from a message received earlier. Whatever happened now, the threat was over. Yet she couldn’t shake the unease, especially since she had no idea how it had been handled. But she trusted her contact; he had always been competent, almost eerily so. He had been working for her ever since she started receiving strange text, and he had never disappointed. Nita watched as the car rolled into the estate, her breat
“Done”Nita stared at the word on her phone, her heart thundered in her chest, but before she could process it, someone grabbed her arm, and she found herself yanked towards the emergency stairs. The elevator were packed with people trying to escape, or was it people pressing the button and not giving it time to open before pressing again. When she looked up to see who was holding her, it was Nick. He held her with one hand and Nate with the other. At the side of her eyes, she saw Jimmy running after them as they pushed through the throngs of panicked people.It wasn’t the time for talking; it was the time to escape whatever had happened at the lower level of the hotel. They had come out of the hotel through the back door, and numerous occupants were also there. Some were scantily dressed, while some still have soap in their hair as if they had ran out of the bathroom in an urgent. Most of the hotel was fine, but a single room looked thoroughly burnt. It was as if the room was purpo
“Where are we going?” Nate stood at the edge of the bed as he glanced at his mother. A suitcase lay open in front of her, and she was busy depositing every of their belongings into it. She paused for a moment, and directed her gaze towards Nate. “Don’t you want to go back home? Don’t you want to see Aunty Mia and Aunty Fiona?”Her son looked down at the suitcase. Leaving the state meant he wouldn’t be able to search for his father, and also he won’t be able to meet ‘Chocolate man’ again. Uncle Jimmy already promised to help with the search, but for some reason, he hadn’t made any progress. “Why? Can’t we stay few more days?” He needed to say his goodbye to chocolate man. Nita narrowed her eyes at him, “And why do we need to do that? We’re done with what we came here for? I promise you won’t miss anything here.”He frowned, not deeming that a response. He left the room in a hurry, and Nita focused on arranging the bags. She had booked an urgent flight, and informed Mia she was retu
Nita’s breath caught in her throat. ‘My son’ The words echoed in her head, bouncing around in the pit of her stomach like a ticking bomb. There was no way he could have found out? There was no way he could have known that Nate was his son. She had done everything within her power to keep it secret and top classified, protected from the Grimm family’s influence. And now he was here, claiming he wanted to see, ‘his son’“You came here to visit your son.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she asked. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him. She had to stay calm, so she could easily refute his claim. She couldn’t suddenly lose control now – not when the stakes were so highShe knew if Nate heard even a hint about his father, he would hold unto that sliver of information’ squeezing until he bled her dry to tell him everything.And what happens to her years of sacrifice?Gone. Gone down the drain in the blink of an eye. Nick leaned against the kitchen counter, his eyes never leaving
The deep voice sent shivers down her spine, “Good day, wife.” Nita intended to slam the door back on his face, but he swiftly placed his leg behind the door, preventing her from taking any further action.“Who is that?” a low voice drifted from within the room, prompting them to look back. Nita cursed silently as Nate approached the door, unwittingly granting Nick access.The moment he saw Nick, his eyes widened. “Chocolate Man!” A bright smile took residence on his face, erasing any signs of the previous anger he felt because of Sam.Nick’s face mirrored his, and he lifted Nate up while Nita followed them behind. “How did you know my place?” Nate asked, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.Nick glanced at Nita before responding with a sly smile, “Your mother told me.” Nita bit her lower teeth; the last thing she wanted was Nate thinking she had a close relationship with Nick, but knowing Nick, he might try to escalate the matter if she tried denying it. So, she closed her mouth and jus