As expected, Richard was discharged from the hospital the next day. He returned to meet the children, Mackenzie and Chase at home. Mackenzie had prepared lunch just in time for his arrival, and had made sure to prepare his favorite dish; lasagna. She was happy, for the first time in forever, her family was together, and she could be sure that she was safe. The children spent a greater part of their day helping their father and other stewards arrange their room. This time, Chase made sure Calista and Cameron got separate beds and wardrobes, enough room for all their things. While Cameron picked out a blue bed frame, and wanted his part of the room painted blue and furnished with blue furniture, Calista picked the color white for everything. Chase was happy to join in the painting, so the kids had to stay in the new play room while waiting for their walls to dry. At noon, Chase drove to the hospital to pick up his father and West. He was seated at the back seat of his car when he go
The last few hours had been nothing but pure bliss for Mackenzie. She had never thought - not in ten light years - that she would be under the same roof with both her children, and the man she loved with everything, Chase, and they would be regarded as one…a family. She had always dreamed of it, but had given herself a million reasons to believe it could never happen. This time was different. This time, she was going to wallow in all the love she could get, because she absolutely deserved it all. As she sat on the stool and dapped her cheeks with her powder, she glanced over to her side and watched the video playing on her screen. It was from a local news tabloid, saying Selene had been arrested in her penthouse that morning, with charges of kidnap, arson and other criminal activities. She shook her head and looked back at her beautiful face. The glamourous emerald pendant that rested on her neck helped to highlight the hazel brown of her eyes, and Mackenzie found herself lost in h
TWO YEARS LATER~•~ "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New year!" Calista and Cameron screamed at the top of their lungs, jumping and huggoing each other while bursting with excitement. Chase and Mackenzie were not left out of the celebration. Chase hugged Mackenzie tight as they stood on the balcony of their cottage - the family's latest property in North Dakota - watching the fire works light up the sky. Little baby Emily cried in Mackenzie's arms. Mackenzie looked down at her daughter's dark eyes and blew her kisses. Soon, the baby started to smile. "Mummy, do you think Emily would have loved to scream with us?" Calista asked, tiptoeing just so she could see her little sister. Cameron turned to look at everyone, and stood beside his father. The more he grew, the more he turned into a spitting image of Chase. His father had often joked that by the time Cameron was Chase's present age, they wouldn't be able to tell their pictures apart. Emily was the only one who had resemblanc
TWENTY YEARS LATER “Since when is a club the best place to discuss business?” Cameron admonished his best friend, Kail who was playing with the buttons of his car radio nonstop. “You’ll see but for God’s sake, do you only listen to all this opera shit?” The soft classical music playing within his car fizzled into the background as Cameron parked his car. He got down from his car, closely followed by Kail. They had been friends since their college days and now did business with each other from time to time. Once in, Kail took the lead, weaving his way through the many bodies into the building. Loud speakers were stationed at every dollar, blasting loud trendy dance music. Cameron was mindful of the clingy strippers, frowning at anyone who got too close. “Now what?” he tackled Kail when they were at the bar. The bartender, a bulky man with a dyed goatee spun around at the sound of new customers, holding a bottle and a shaker in each hand. “Now, we have a drink. The usual, Steve
Calista sat in front of the great doors of her art gallery, hesitant to use the doorknob. It had been a while since she had touched a paintbrush m, talk more of going to work. Cameron and her little sister, Emily were constantly at her neck to move on with her life and this was her trying. Grief had eaten her up for two years and she felt guilty to put it all in the past. Moving on was like saying that the accident that had claimed her fiance’s life hadn’t happened, that she had not lost the two most important people in her life. To distract herself from those dark emotions, she checked the time on her phone. Belfer, her grandfather’s driver, had dropped her off more than thirty minutes but she could not gather the courage she needed to start all over again. “You can do this, damn it,” she scolded herself and pushed the doors open. She had forbidden anyone from pushing her wheelchair after she had recovered from the physical injuries. She had sustained a dislocation in her arm and
“Do you need some help, sis?” Emily asked as if she had not asked just a minute ago. Calista was ready to fight her off with a saucepan. She could bloody well cook if she wanted to without everyone breathing down on her neck. Spaghetti could not be that hard to prepare.Her little sister was not so little anymore at twenty and Cameron had interrupted her interesting conversation earlier in the day to inform her that Emily was coming home for a school break. She was studying Photography and Media Coverage as a mini course in NYU and was in her final year. Where was Cameron? It was his idea to have a family dinner at the house they had all grown up in as a way of welcoming Emily back home. Calista would have been content with soaking up in her French double bath tub but family came first and she missed her grandfather. The old man practically lived alone except you counted the number of servants at his beck and call. Calista was about to add to her list of unreplied texts to he
“The bus is here, sweetie. Aren’t you ready yet?” Liz called from the bottom of the stairs. She had a ton of chores to do afterwards but she didn’t want to think about them at the moment. “One sec!” Anna, her daughter replied, running down the stairs with a flyer in her hand. “Good morning, Mom.” “Morning, baby. Trust you had a good night?” They embraced, Liz running her fingers into her daughter’s auburn corkscrew curls. She still could not believe she had ever thought to doing away with her precious gift. Shane may have ruined her life when he abandoned her to raise their daughter alone but he had given her someone to love as well. The bus honked outside again and broke through her trip down memory lane. “I did. I also did all my homework while I was waiting for you at May’s house. I forgot to give you this though.” She transferred the flyer to her mother and waited in anticipation. Liz sat on a kitchen stool, skimming through the many details on the rectangular piece of pape
It was the last day of the working week and despite how much Cameron admired the work his company, he couldn’t wait to kick back, put up his feet and welcome the weekend. It would have been more satisfying if he had someone to share it with. A woman specifically. A special woman in particular. Those hazel eyes were the last things he thought of for two nights now before going to bed. They were hot, heavy and direct at him like an arrow. He tried not to think of the singer who had seduced him with her voice and her luscious body. It was easier said than done. However, whenever he remembered that she was a mother and possibly someone else’s wife, his desire cooled. Of all the women in the world he could develop an attraction to, it just had to be a married woman. He cursed his bad luck and checked the time on his wristwatch. It was few minutes past three. Lunchtime. Finally. His secretary worked silently in her corner, paying no attention to him as he walked past her. She was a p
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