When Mackenzie's eyes opened, a familiar pair of overt hazel eyes were staring down at her, audible sounds of remorse escaping his lips. The sight, although blurry, she could note the familiar lines of wrinkles around his eyes.With a strangled breath, she uttered, "Pops?"Although she wasn't certain if that possibility was correct, who among her in-laws had bushy gray hair and deep wrinkles on their face with a generous amount of white hair around their mustache and jawline? Not only that, this man smelt a lot like natural strawberries and grapes, something only a fruit farmer like her father would smell like.The sob of the man halted on hearing her voice, and when he stared down at her face, he broke down into another round of sobs."Mackenzie! My daughter!" The next thing she knew, he leaned in, hugging her gently, his tears dropping onto her face.Mackenzie was surprised.The voice really sounded like her father. She'd recognize that gruff voice anywhere.But…The last thing she
TWO MONTHS LATER***"What symptoms did you say you were having again, Mrs. Axford?" Doctor Paul asked.Across the table was Mackenzie who was sitting with a nervous expression on her face. Next to her was her father who had a hopeful expression, in contrast to hers. "The same as the last time doctor Paul, I felt lightheaded and weak when I didn't eat on time, and kept puking after I ate.""Have you been taking your medications on time, Mrs. Axford?""Yes," Mackenzie said with a bit of tenseness? in her voice. Her emotions were playing with her again and her mind was coming up with the worst possible scenarios that could happen to her. Ever since the surgery she had the previous month, she had a bit of anxiety about her health. "That's weird," Doctor Paul said, "We've just done an MRI scan to check your brain. There's no recurrent tumor. You're healing at a fast pace. You saw it yourself too.""Are you sure?" Mackenzie asked nervously."Yes, I'm sure." Doctor Paul said confidently.
Chase opened the door to his penthouse and saw his father and wife eating pizza in the living room while laughing over something they watching on the TV. They didn't notice him until he got inside and closed the door.Was this why his father made him abandon his work and hurry over like something serious was happening?"There you are!" Chase's father said, his face still round with laughter from what he was watching with Selene a few moments ago.Richard was dressed in a brown and black camouflage t-shirt and black belted trousers with a pair of black leather shoes. His face looked incredibly pink and brightened up, like a healthy man.His wife, Selene, on the other hand, was dressed in a hot pink dress with a pair of red Gucci slippers and she was wearing full-face makeup.Holding back an annoyed grunt, he moved further into the room and Selene got up from the sofa next to his father to hug him, to prove to his father that she and Chase were a very 'happy' couple.Chase caved into he
"ONETWOTHREEAND… ACTION!"The camera started rolling and the Interviewer started the show with a friendly introduction.Then he gently introduced Chase and Selene to the show.Indigo magazines could not believe their luck when the wealthiest and hottest CEO in the country, Chase Axford agreed to an interview after sending him countless invitations and even going numerous times to see him. An interview with them was the dreams of many famous celebrities but only Chase Axford could ever turned them down. "So, Mr. Chase Axford, you've achieved quite a lot of success at a very young age of 26. You started, at the age of 18, working in your father's business in the management department before eventually working your way up as CEO.""That is correct. I started as an intern in one of our subsidiaries at the age of 18 with no experience. Sure, I'd read a lot of books about managing resources and people but they were nothing compared to the real world, however the process thought me a lot
"I want to have a try first,""No! Me first!""Arggh you two are grown adults yet you act like children!""No, we don't!"Mackenzie looked in front of her with a smile while watching her two best friends fight for who should first taste the food Miss Beatrice had made to celebrate her recovery."Anyway, Mackenzie is to taste the food first. I made all of these for her.""But she can't possibly eat them all now, can she? Besides, she has recovered; you should care about us too!""Oh don't be jealous now you two. If any of you happen to fall ill, I'll make you food you can try first.""That's not cool, Miss Beatrice."A slightly tall woman with a gigantic frame stood in front of Mackenzie, handing her a plate filled with fish sticks. "Please have a taste, Mackenzie,""Thank you," Mackenzie grabbed a fish stick and took a bite. As she did, her eyes lighted up and her lips curved upwards into a smile."It's great isn't it?" Beatrice asked with a content smile."Yeah, it is," Mackenzie ans
Mackenzie was humming to herself in the kitchen while washing potatoes. The potatoes were given to her and her father by the caring neighbors as a gift.Many of the neighbors had farms so it was not rare in Noose Hage village to exchange farm harvests.As Mackenzie enjoyed the feel of the cold tap water as she poured the impurities of the potatoes into the sink, she heard panicked voices outside.Curious as to what could be causing all the ruckus, she rinsed her hands and dried them with the washcloth before opening the door and looking outside. However, what she saw next was not what she was expecting."Father!" She shouted, watching with shaky eyes as her father was being carried by two hardy men with a trail of blood gushing from his right leg behind them."Mackenzie," Maverick said with an exasperated expression."Uncle Maverick, Teddy!" She cried as she raced towards them, her eyes glued to her father's bloody foot. "What happened?""He accidentally hurt himself while plowing the
"Sorry Mackenzie, I don't have any money right now. I spent all of my savings to promote my e-tube channel,""I understand, totally, Fel""Sorry, Kenzie.""It's fine, I'll find another way… somehow."Mackenzie ended the call and sighed.She had called both of her best friends to loan her money to pay her father's hospital bills but…Charlotte barely made enough as a teacher at Noose Hage elementary school so she already spent all her money on the magazines she bought the last time.As for Felicity, she had an e-tube channel where she shared awareness with people on the importance of trees and plants. She also shared tips on how to heal injuries using specific plants. She'd spent all her savings on promoting that content.Mackenzie didn't know what to do. She didn't have other friends to call.So she just sat on a bench, stranded and depressed.She stared at the darkening sky and sighed. It was getting dark and she hadn't found a solution yet. Was her father okay? She was worried, but
FOUR YEARS LATER“I hereby pronounce you, husband and wife…” The officiator announced. “…and you may kiss the bride.”Mackenzie’s father flashed a big smile at Beatrice, who returned the smile with a tender one of her own. They moved closer, and leaned in to share a kiss.Before their lips could touch, Mackenzie covered both of her twins’ eyes with her palms, like the overprotective mother that she was. Calista, her baby girl, leaned closer into Mackenzie’s dress, clutching the ring case assigned to her as the ring bearer.Unlike his sister, Cameron, the more hyper-energetic of the two, squirmed against Mackenzie’s palm, trying to see what was going on.Once the kiss was over, the guests erupted in cheers and claps, and Mackenzie removed her hands from their small faces with a fond smile. Now free, they both ran off before their sight was taken away again.She laughed, then looked back at her father, and his bride. She had never seen her father this happy.He almost looked young again
EPILOGUECameron felt nostalgic, sitting down in the same seat he had been sitting—six months ago—when he met the woman of his dreams. She had walked on the stage with a grace only a swan could possess and she had captivated his attention and stolen his heart not long after. But compared to Cameron's first visit to the bar, he noticed how empty the bar was. It was heavily decorated—surprisingly—but also unoccupied. Cameron's eyes swept over the room, taking in every decoration that seemed to have been done with precision. Balloons, ribbons, candles, everything felt strangely comforting.He was still sweeping over the area with his eyes when the lights suddenly went out, leaving him in the dark. "Hey, is anyone here?!" He called out into the darkness, hoping someone would hear and come to his aid. It was odd that he heard no noise at all but what felt even more odd to him was the fact that he had agreed to go over to the bar in the first place.Calista had caller earlier and said some
"Don't you think it would be better to just ask her stuff about them? We know them individually but Liza knows them personally." Emily said to her knucklehead sister, knowing she had just found a solution to their six hour long problem but another one was secretly embedded in Calista seeing her suggestion as a good approach to things or if she wouldn't. Luckily for both of them, Calista bought the idea. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?" She asked no one in particular as she flashed a huge smile at her little sister, wondering how their parents had given birth to such a brilliant child. It wasn't like Calista and her twin brother, Cameron, were a disaster, it was just that, Emily was, well, better.But smart or not, Calista was in the middle of planning for the best proposal ever and she wanted everything to be perfect. Cameron had—unsurprisingly—entrusted her with the task of making sure everything went well with his proposal to Liza and Emily had just given Calista a stepping sto
Turns out reconciliation wasn't as hard as Chad had assumed it to be. It was just surprising how easily his family had accepted him back, as if he had not walked out on them over ten years ago. How could they be so loving after everything he had put them through? Chad couldn't wrap his head around the whole situation at all. But that wasn't all he was battling in as he stood at the balcony of his new apartment, looking down at the street just opposite his place. From where he was, Chad could see different people moving around in pairs and some, even in groups.Anyone could clearly see how different they all were, occupied in their little worlds, without any knowledge of what was to come next for any of them. But still, they kept moving, defying the odds over and over again and just basically living life the way they pleased. It was scary but very admirable. The strangers reminded him so much of Calista, the artist that had woven her way into his heart as unexpectedly as the rain wou
"I don't think we should be doing this every morning, Annie. I will be late for work and Calista wouldn't like you coming in late either. Do you want to upset your coach? I thought you adored her, it seems like I was wrong." Liza knew the best way to get her eight year old out of the house was by emotional blackmailing and at the moment, it was working perfectly.In no time, Annie raced down the stairs, carrying her carrier along with her. Liza found herself staring at her daughter and thinking about how things had changed so much in just two months. It felt surreal but then, change had always been a scary thing for her, this time wasn't an exception. "Are you ready, mum?" Annie asked with an accusing glare fixed on her face. Liza felt she was ready but according to Annie's standards of being ready, she was far from it. Her hair wasn't yet in its usual ponytail and Liza's bag was somewhere in the apartment, instead of her arm. But how could she get her bag as quickly as Annie wanted?
Waking up didn't seem as tiresome as it used to be anymore for Chad, infact, the start of a new day excited him–especially this day. It was the day he was finally going back home but that wasn't what was exciting to him. Just the thought of introducing a woman like Calista Axford to his family was thrilling. There was a chance that his enthusiasm would be shared but Chad was past caring. Calista was his and that was all that mattered to him. His father had always been a critically judgemental man and if anyone could thaw his ice cold heart, Chad was sure Calista was the perfect candidate for the job. Wasn't he proof enough of her skills?Chad couldn't believe he had walked into a random gallery and had met tye woman or his dreams. It was even more dreamy because he had never envisioned the kind of life he was now getting accustomed to. In his case, seeing really was believing. Calista's love was something he had to experience to believe it could happen to him. Standing up with a sm
“Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you to the hospital? It does'nt seem like thats the only place you'd be visiting today, though.” Emily spoke under her breath, watching her sister turn the wardrobe in and out, looking for an outfit to wear to her doctor's appointment. No, it wasn't weird at all that Calista suddenly wanted to put an effort into her choice of clothing. Weird was not the word, surprising was. Emily felt something was going on with her sister but she wanted Calista to spill the beans herself. It didn't make waiting for the reveal an easy task.Calista could barely see her sister's suspicious stare, her head had been in the wardrobe for what seemed like an eternity. Pulling herself out for a second, she shot Emily a blank stare, “What do you mean by that?” her question was as confused as the look she had plastered on her face.“I am not a child, Cali,” Emily retorted, moving towards the wardrobe. “I know something is up with you, something sweet and most like
Driving to Liza's place, Cameron found himself entertaining the same thoughts as Chad. Forever didn't look bad at all but how was he going to get there? How was he going to show this defensive single mother that he was ready to lend her a helping hand for a long time?Cameron was brainstorming when his phone started ringing, snatching his attention back to the present. He quickly turned off the radio—that no one was actually listening to—and picked up the call. Stephanie's voice echoed in the car, claiming even Annie's attention.“Good day, Sir,” she greeted politely, “I wanted to let you know that the contract has been drawn out for the deal but it requires your signature, sir.” there was urgency in her voice, it made Cameron feel uneasy. Usually, deals of this magnitude didn't require much stress.“Didn't we already do that in the meeting?” he inquired flatly, flashing Annie a quick smile. For some unknown reason, he felt she could sense his unease. “Alright then,” he said in resign
Chad's first thought was to kill Jason for going behind his back and selling off the painting but when he had been told who the purchaser was, he had wanted to kill himself instead. There was no other way around it, he just had to get to Calista first.As Chad rode his bike to the gallery, he realized he had no idea what to say to her. His initial plan had been to show her the portrait at the exhibition and then have her take it home as a present. But that would have been after Chad had revealed his identity as her anonymous artist.It was a simple plan, it should have worked. Only that it didn't work at all. Infact, it had gone terribly wrong. They had been too occupied—kissing in the balcony—and Calista had ended up leaving without seeing the portrait. Then, the potrait had ended up in Cameron's possession.I will just have to let her know that I am Hell's Demon and apologize for not telling her sooner, Chad concluded in his head as he pulled into the street that led to the gallery.
Motherhood, they say, always came with some exciting changes but to Liza, they were more terrifying than fun. She couldn't deny the fact that she used to enjoy it but with Annie growing older with each passing day, Liza found herself questioning her sanity, along with a good number of things.“Mum, you know the bus leaves in ten minutes, right?!” Annie called out to her mum as she hurriedly packed up her paintings. They never went early to anything at all and even though Liza detested tardiness, she had unconsciously become an ambassador of it.Breathlessly, Liza rushed into the living room, hauling her purse along with Annie's art equipments. That was the name for Annie's art supplies because she felt 'supplies' was a mundane word. The eight year old had put up quite a lengthy explanation —afterwards—and Liza had been forced to go along with it.Ignoring her very sweaty mother, Annie quickly grabbed the materials from Liza and started stuffing them into her carrier. The school had od