ZORA'S POV I was so shocked that I could not even pull away. A part of me was wondering what had brought this on. A larger part of me was thrilled at the prospect of rediscovering the taste and feel of Elliot's lips. His tongue probed my lips, urging them to open and let him in. I tried to remind myself of where we were and why we shouldn't be doing this. He was married and I was a model who had just been in the news for the wrong reasons. But the more I tried, the more my objections to returning his kiss flew out the window. Elliot had a trick of flicking his tongue across my lips when kissing. As soon as he did that, I was lost. Someone moaned and seconds later I realized it was me. My hands of their own volition crept up and fisted themselves in his hair. I massaged his scalp and drew him even closer. His scent filled my nostrils, leaving me feeling light-headed. My response seemed to be the signal Elliot had been waiting for. He deepened the kiss and continued with such inten
ZORA'S POV I looked up at Cheryl. She quickly averted her eyes. She looked at my chair, the ceiling, out the window, everywhere but at me. Her recent attitude was undoubtedly occasioned by the scene with Elliot that she had witnessed. I knew she was nervous and didn't know how to act around me now. If I were in her shoes, I would have acted the same way. But her attitude was actually ruining my day at work as Cheryl was the one I worked most closely with. Once again, I cussed myself for letting my hormones get the better of me. If Elliot had only kissed me and I had not responded, Cheryl and I would have been laughing about the incident by now. I sighed, sank further into my seat and slowly massaged my temples where I could feel a headache gradually building. Damn, Elliot for putting me in this sort of situation with the world, and with Cheryl who I had so far had an easy working relationship with! Wearily, I gestured toward the chair right in front of me. She hesitated. Walki
ELLIOT'S POV I groaned and shut my eyes in frustration, wishing that I would open them and the woman standing in front of me would disappear. I had no such luck. I had known this day was coming, right from the moment I saw the pictures of Zora and I in the papers. I had dreaded this conversation and now here it was, rapidly spiraling out of control. As usual, Sharon had barged into my office, totally ignoring the protests of my secretary. My secretary had barely left the office before she had started on me. Thankfully, she had not started creating a scene before she got in. Her fist slammed on the table again, ruffling some sheets of paper there. "Are you even listening to what I have been saying? Answer me, dammit!" Sharon demanded. Sharon was like a hound when she wanted something. She would gladly go to the ends of the earth to get whatever it is she wanted. I didn't care where she went. All I wanted was for her to leave me alone. "I am not in the mood for this," I mutte
ZORA'S POV My heartbeat was so loud that I wondered briefly if Elliot could not hear it. That was a secondary consideration, however. What I was more concerned about was how my traitorous body would react if Elliot touched me any further. All the protests I wanted to make went straight out of my head. I could feel goosebumps forming at the spot where he had brushed my hair back from my face. He was so close to me that I could see the stubble on his chin and could smell his musky perfume. The proximity reminded me of the times we had been together. It was all I could do to stop myself from reaching out and touching him. I swallowed nervously. Those penetrating blue eyes of his followed every nuance of my expression. He had just told me that he would win me back no matter what it took. I was supposed to tell him to go to hell, to tell him that would never happen and that I would have nothing to do with him. The words seemed to have gotten stuck in my throat. I literally felt my h
ZORA'S POV From the glass window of the restaurant, I could see that there were very few customers in the place. I felt myself relax a little. The place was just what I needed. I was not in the mood to be in the midst of a whole lot of people just yet. Before we got out of the car, I looked around and arranged the shawl across my face. "We are here at one of my favorite spots," I said, turning to Cheryl and smiling. "You will like the food here, I promise." "At this point, I could eat anything." As we stepped through the door, a waiter, in the crisp white shirt and black bow tie of the establishment, darted forward to usher us to a table. "Good day, ladies," he said. "Please, step right this way." As though he could read my mind, he led us to a table at the rear of the restaurant, a little away from the see-through windows. When we sat down, he handed us two menus and whipped out a notebook and pen from his back pocket. "What would you ladies like to have?" he asked. I ord
ZORA'S POV "Wait up!" Cheryl called from behind me. I wasn't aware when I had broken into a run. There was a tense moment when I couldn't find my car keys in my purse. I wiped my eyes which were becoming blurry with tears and tried again. Finally, my fingers closed on the keys. I started the car and was about to drive off when Cheryl slid into the passenger seat. With a squeal of tires, I sped off. Trey stood at the entrance of the building, watching us go, confusion etched on his features. My clammy hands gripped the steering wheel as I drove. I whipped the car in and out of traffic, shooting recklessly across intersections. I heard as if from far away the cursing of some motorists whom I almost had a collision with, the honking of horns and Cheryl's inquiries as to where we were going. Cheryl held on to her seat and kept whimpering in fright. She winced each time I got dangerously close to a car. When I nearly drove onto the culvert, Cheryl screamed. She turned to me, her ey
ZORA'S POV The very next day, the stress I had gone through the previous day hit. I was exhausted in every possible way- not just physically. The thought of going to work and bustling about literally made me cringe. I still had not gotten over the scare from yesterday. Though Freya's fainting spells had become more frequent over the last few months, each episode struck fear deep into my heart. The doctor's reassurances did nothing to make me calmer. I could not get used to my little girl collapsing frequently. After putting all these things into consideration, there was nothing for it but to decide to stay home. A day away from work would not kill me after all. I knew that Trey would want me to at least show up for work briefly, but I was sure that he would understand my decision to stay away today. Cheryl must have filled him in about Freya's incident at school. Though he was a stickler for work, I was sure that he would emphasize. I purposely had not woken Freya up early bec
ZORA'S POV I groaned and shut my eyes in frustration. It seemed that whenever I tackled a problem, several more cropped up in its place. A few days ago, the rave of the moment was pictures of Elliot and I. And now this! "Hey," Trey lowered himself into a chair and snapped his fingers in my face. I opened my eyes and fixed them on him. "Don't be that way, Zora. Calm down a bit. Who cares about a few videos circulating on the internet? We have seen worse, haven't we? The most important thing, and the thing you should concentrate on, is the fact that Freya is okay." "It's not that easy," I complained. "Why does this always have to happen anyway?" Trey spread his hands helplessly. He had just shown me a viral video of Cheryl and I rushing Freya to the hospital. I could have sworn that there was no one around us at the time, but I guessed the luck of these wannabe reporters was still running. Someone had posted a video, capturing my panic-stricken face and Freya's immobile one. I woul
ZORA'S POVTEN YEARS LATER"Freya! Freya!" I called repeatedly as I walked towards her room.I did not hold much hopes of her answering though. It was a few minutes to 7 in the morning, and if I knew my daughter very well, she would still be in bed and fast asleep at this time."Fre-" I threw open the door to her room and stopped short.She was not in bed as usual. She was up, and appeared to have been up for some hours. She was already dressed and was sitting in front of the mirror, applying some lip gloss. My eyes narrowed at this. I could not remember when I had seen Freya interested in anything that had to do with makeup. As a mum that was a model, I had half been expecting Freya over the years to have shown some interest in the cosmetics lining my dressing table. But she had been completely indifferent to them. I hadn't minded her indifference though. I had sort of welcomed it."A mother that knows all about fashion, and a daughter that has no interest in it whatsoever," Elliot u
ZORA'S POV"And how is your vacation going?" Katherine asked almost as soon as I picked the call.This question was followed by a giggle. I narrowed my eyes at that. It seemed there was a hidden meaning underlying Katherine's question."And why did you laugh after asking that, Kathy?" I asked her."Oh, don't mind me. It's just that my imagination went into overdrive for a minute. What I actually wanted to ask if if Finn and Freya's presence there has given you and Elliot some much needed smooching time, if you know what I mean.""Kathy!" I exclaimed and blushed when the meaning of her question became plain. "You are something else, you know that, right?""I know. I know. I'm picturing the blush on your cheeks right now." We laughed. "Seriously though, how is everything going over there?"I stretched languidly in bed and transferred the phone to my other ear. "It's going better than I had imagined. We are all having lots of fun. This resort is so beautiful. I can spend hours and hours w
ZORA'S POV"What do you think? That I'm serious about this, or joking?" I asked Elliot with a grin.Elliot traced patterns with his fingers all across my collarbone."You tell me, Zora," he murmured softly. "I can't seem to think straight right now. But I know something that will help improve my thinking faculties right now.""Oh. And er- what could that be?""This." In one fluid movement, Elliot pulled himself up and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue moved across my lips several times, then withdrew. He continued kissing me a few moments longer before pulling away. I was breathless by then and could barely speak. He smirked at the effect he knew he had on me."Now I can think again," he said. "Now where were we? Let me see. Ah. I remember. We were talking about what you just told me-"I pouted. "It's not fair at all. We were having a serious conversation, then you kissed me and sent my thoughts going here and there." I reached for him. "Come back here and finish what you started."
ZORA'S POVUnder the lights, Katherine's diamond ring sparkled and glinted like there were a thousand fireflies caught in it."I still can't believe it," she gushed. "I'm engaged to the man I love-" She gave Drew, who sat beside her a doe eyed look. He gave her one right back. The sparks flying between the two of them were almost visible. "-and that was after several tortuous days in which I died several times over. I just can't believe it everything turned out so well.""I can't either," I said and groaned, rubbed my forehead. All eyes turned towards me. "I can't believe that you finally proposed to Katherine. I think that at this point, I am happier than Kathy here. She almost drove me out of mind by worrying so much about you, talking on stop about you and forcing me to listen to her do so."This stirred up laughter. A chuckling Elliot put up his hand. "I'm a witness to this. Whenever Zora's phone rang when I was with her, it was Katherine calling more than ninety-nine percent of
ZORA'S POVElliot turned to Finn who he held in the crook of one arm."And how has school been for you lately, Finn?""It's been good. My teacher says I'm smart, and I always do my work at school myself. I do my homework too. Mummy knows that.""Good. I'm impressed with you. By the way, have you been drawing any more of those beautiful pictures?"Finn nodded eagerly. "Uh huh. I've drawn lots and lots of them, but they are at school now. I will get them next time, so you will see them.""I would like that very much.""Aren't you going to ask Freya about how school is too?" Finn questioned.There was a twinkle in Elliot's eyes as he looked over at Freya who he held in the crook of the other arm. She was busily engaged in licking a lollipop from various angles."Freya has told me all about her time at school. She gives me a dialy report every single day." Elliot tipped me a wink.I hid a grin. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Whenever I went to pick the kids from school, Freya w
ZORA'S POVDrew goggled at me. The expression on his face was almost comical. I tried my hardest to keep the laughter in, and to keep my qexpression deadpan."Are you being serious, Zora?""Uh huh. Don't I look serious?"Drew groaned. "Why are you and Elliot being such a pain in the ass today? It's almost like you two had it all planned." He looked at me sharply. "Elliot didn't call you to tell you that I was coming here, did he?"I rolled my eyes at that. "Of course not.""Then why won't both of you help me? You are sort of like my last resort, you know? Who else am I going to ask for ideas?""I don't know, honestly. Like I told you before, I am fresh out of ideas, but I am sure that you will figure something out. You always do. Whatever you eventually come up with will be... adequate."He gasped. "Adequate? Did you say adequate? This is a once in a lifetime event, and I want to get it exactly right for Kathy. Not right even. I want it to be perfect. Adequate won't do at all.""Ah. I
ELLIOT'S POVI looked through the pile of documents on my desk as I waited for my secretary. Seconds later, the door to my office opened, admitting her."Here they are sir," she said as she handed some more files over to me."Okay. Thank you."She resumed her seat, restarted her computer and began to work. I quickly glanced through the files, noted some information on the notepad in front of me."What about the progress reports on that account we just got?' I asked her after a while."I didn't include it because it was not completely ready yet, sir.""Okay... but it is essential for me to have that in order to properly make sense of the bulk of these reports you just gave to me."She quickly made a note and nodded. "Alright. I will get the person in charge of sending the progress report to speed things up.""Good. Now how about the project the company is working on outside the state? I haven't been able to travel to er- oversee it myself. How is it coming along? ""Oh, very well, sir.
ZORA'S POV"Are you quite busy?" Trey said a couple of minutes after he had come into my office and stood around, watching me work.I placed a finger on the place I was reading and looked up at him. "You gave me this files through Cheryl to work on, so I'm saying yes, I'm quite busy."I meant this as a joke, grinned at him, but he did not return the smile. He looked like a man with a lot on his mind. I shut the file folder, and sat up, giving him my attention."Okay. Tell me. What's on your mind?"As though he had been waiting for me to say that all along, Trey quickly seated himself."What's on my mind is a question. When is Elliot making it official?"I had an inkling of where Trey was headed with this already. Katherine had asked me this very question a while ago too. I just wished they would all give it a rest already, at least for now. I was still sorting out myself. I didn't know if I was ready yet for that commitment.I raised a brow. "I am guessing you are insinuating that Ell
ZORA'S POVI watched Finn and excitedly tear off another gift wrap. I winced a little at the squeal of delight that they let out at the same time. My ears still buzzed from the last one."Mum, mum, look. He got me another doll," cried Freya as she held out a realistic looking dolly still in it's plastic wrap.I grinned. "Yes, sweetie. I can see that. You new doll is pretty. What are we going to call her?""Let me see," Finn said, and tried to take the doll from Freya.She immediately held it out of his reach."It's not yours," Freya said.Finn gestured to the pile of unwrapped toys beside him. "I let you see my own toys. Why can't I see your doll?"I felt it was time to intervene now. It was the twins birthday and they had been happily unboxing Elliot's gifts for the past hour. They had gotten through a pile and still had about half a pile more to go."Why don't we go on with opening your presents?" I suggested. "I'm curious to know what is in all those pretty boxes. Aren't you?'S