ZORA'S POVAgain, I walked past the half-open door of the guest room as Derek got his things organized. It was still really early in the morning, but Derek looked like he had been up half the night. I supposed that my assumption was true. He probably couldn't wait to get far away from me. I had a sleeplessness night. Judging by the circles under his eyes, he hadn't slept much too, if at all. I had hurt him a lot. I knew that. But I still wished that we could part as friends, not enemies. This morning, he had not even spoken a word to me. He had completely ignored me, acting as though I wasn't there. I had apologized a lot of times, but he wasn't listening. I almost walked past. I hesitated and came into the room. Derek did not turn or stop what he was doing, but I saw him stiffen instantly. He folded a shirt and threw it with a little too much force into the suitcase. He reached for another. "Can I help you pack... or with anything at all?" I asked in a quiet voice. He said nothi
ZORA'S POVI was slowly sinking into depression. I knew it and yet there was nothing I could do about it. How else could I possibly handle all that had been going on in my life? I felt drained and miserable more than ninety percent of the time. I forced myself to mechanically perform my tasks day in and day out. It had been one whole week since I had broken up with Derek. One week since he had walked out of my front door without once looking back. He hadn't taken any of my calls or responded to any of the numerous voicemails I had sent him to apologize. I had lost a friend because I was too cowardly to draw the line in our relationship in the first place. Elliot, the reason I had left Derek, had suddenly picked this time to act like a complete asshole. The last time I was at his office, he had more or less thrown me out. He had not even called once to apologize for his behavior and now, I didn't think he would. I could not remember the last time he had been so cold, so frigid towa
ZORA'S POVAlmost as soon as I hung up, she barged into my office like a tornado, eyes flashing, fists clenched, apparently ready for a fight, verbal or otherwise. Her usually immaculate hairdo was messy, and her make-up was not properly applied. From the way she had sounded over the phone, I had sort of expected this. I remained seated. I was determined to conduct this interview or whatever the hell it was as peaceably as possible. "You bitch!" she yelled as soon as she set her eyes on me. "You slut! I thought you would continue hiding in here in your office, like a frightened little rabbit. I would have broken open the door of your office if that was what it took to see you.""If you would take a seat and state your business-" I began. "I wouldn't touch or handle anything that you have touched, even with a pole. The mere sight of you disgusts me.""Then why are you here?"She sneered. "Quit pretending already. You already know why I am here. You want to destroy my home. Your plan
ZORA'S POV"First of Zora, I would like to say a big, hearty congratulations to you. You won the award for the most talented female model this year and I must say, it is no mean feat." The interviewer grinned wryly. "Trust me, I know how hard one has to work in order to get that award. I was once among those who reviewed the criteria for the award. So once more, I say congratulations."I flashed what I hoped was a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much, Ciara, for your kind words.""I would like to also thank you for honoring our invitation to be here on ABC News." "The pleasure is all mine."Ciara faced the cameras. "For those of you just tuning in, we have live here on ABC news, the beautiful, phenomenal, Zora Walters, winner of the most talented female model award for this year and one of the most famous supermodels in America and I daresay the world." Ciara turned to me. She was a pretty, middle-aged platinum blonde with penetrating eyes that seemed to want to worm out the truth fr
ZORA'S POVElliot stared right back at me, saying nothing. His expression was unreadable. I could not tell if he was angry or pleased. I wondered briefly what had brought him here after telling me in clear terms that we should stay away from each other. Had Sharon told him of her visit to my office? Or had he already gotten wind of my just concluded interview? "Uhmm, hi," I said, fingering the door knob nervously. It did not occur to me to invite him into the house. "Hi," he replied. I licked my suddenly dry lips, not sure of what to say next. "Mum!" Freya yelled from somewhere in the house. "Is it the pizza Kathy promised us? Is it the delivery man?"I cleared my throat and was about to answer when the air was rent by cries of 'Pizza! Pizza!'It was Finn, chanting the words over and over again. His voice grew louder and I heard the patter of little feet as Finn and Freya ran to the door. I wanted to tell them to go back as I was not sure how I would react to whatever Elliot had
ZORA'S POVI walked back home in a daze, barely noticing where I was headed. I just let my feet automatically take me down the familiar path to my house. From time to time, my hands strayed to my lips and brushed them lightly. I had Elliot's lips on mine just a short while ago. He had kissed me and I still could not believe it. It was weird, how we had gone from not exchanging a word with each other to smooching in a park. My head spun as I tried to make sense of it all. Elliot had been very firm in his assertion that he wanted me back. I had let him talk when I found that my words were falling on deaf ears. But I had shown by my body language that I still was not in support of what he was saying.And then he had kissed me again. I had responded eagerly... again. All the logical reasons I had given for us not being able to be together had gone flying out of my head. I did not need to close my eyes to visualize the taste of his lips and the feel of his hands on my body. He had been
ELLIOT'S POV"They are mine," I said to myself as I drove home. My suspicions were confirmed as I had already seen what I had set out to see. There was no question of a mistake. Finn and Freya were mine. I had been such a blind fool not to have noticed it before. I had gone to the house just to see the kids and to clear my doubts. I had seen them several times before, of course. I was even physically closer to them than I had ever been when I had taken them home after they had been kidnapped. Then, I had mostly been in shock after getting information that I was a father and that I had barely given them much attention. This time, I had been calmer and more observant. I saw that they both had my thick dark hair and my blue eyes. When I squatted in front of Freya, I could see a ghost of my own smile on her lips. The timing was right too. Zora had given birth to them some months after we parted ways. The knowledge had hurt me more than I thought it would. I had not been present in th
ZORA'S POVMy eyes lighted on Elliot. Because of Katherine's manner, I had expected to see Drew, not Elliot. I stopped short, my eyes widening in surprise. What the hell was Elliot doing in my house? I wanted to ask him that but there were kids present, so I held my tongue. He sat sprawled on the couch, one arm thrown on the back of the sofa, legs crossed, shirt untucked. It looked like he had been here for some time, and it seemed he was with the kids too. My imagination went into overdrive as I thought of what his motives for being here might be. He had more or less told me at our last meeting that he would see me soon, but I did not expect him to just show up at my home uninvited. The man must have noticed my discomfort, but he just sat there and grinned at me like it was perfectly normal for me to walk in and find him there. "Hello, Zora," he said in a cheery tone. He tipped me a wink. "It is good to see you...again."I did not answer him. I looked reproachfully at Katherine w