ZORA'S POV I was frozen in place. I could barely even breathe, let alone move. I felt that if I did, I would make a complete ass of myself like I had done the other night. What riled me the most was that Elliot was so aware of the power he held over my treacherous body. I could not suppress the shiver of pleasure that rocked my entire frame as he whispered into my ears. I barely paid attention to his words, just the subtle nuances of his words, the feel of his hot breath on my skin, and the heady smell of his perfume. Ever so slowly, having delivered his speech, as he had said, he withdrew. "And I will get you back, Zora, by any means necessary even if it is the last thing I do." We looked each other in the eye. I wanted to tell him how I never wanted to set my eyes on him again, and how I would not have given him the time of day if I were in Georgia and he had come there. But the words seemed to be stuck in my throat. I suddenly felt his hands grip my waist, holding it in plac
ZORA'S POV "Calm down, Zora," Katherine yelled in a quavering voice. She was far from calm herself. I could see the naked fear in her eyes which I knew was a thousand times amplified in mine. I was shaking uncontrollably and had been in that state since Katherine told me my kids were missing. I had the presence of mind to take a cab here. My teeth chattered, my feet wobbled. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to get myself under control. Thankfully, there was a chair directly behind me. I took a few steps back and sank into it. I probably would have fallen if it wasn't there. My phone kept slipping out of my grasp. I let it fall onto the seat beside me. "He isn't picking up. He isn't picking up," I kept muttering to myself over and over again. That sentence played over and over in my head, eclipsing every other thought. That was the central point of my fear. The driver was not picking up his calls and I was literally falling apart at the seams. "Where could he have ta
ELLIOT'S POV I alternated between regularly glancing at Zora and the road before me. It broke my heart to see her like this. She rarely ever was so broken and devastated as she was now, no matter the challenges she faced. The last time I had seen this broken version of her was when her father had died six years ago. She had completely gone to pieces and grieved in such a way that I began to fear for her physical health. I had done my best to stand by her, to offer the comfort she needed, but she had pushed me and everyone away. That was the beginning of the end of our relationship. I was forced to watch until she became a mere shadow of her former sunny self. After that, the communication gap between us kept widening until it became a chasm that none of us could get through. I turned a corner and once more glanced at Zora. Even though she was asleep, a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, taking some black stuff that was probably mascara along with it. It fell, leaving a da
ZORA'S POV "Zora? Zora!" Derek called over the phone. I took deep breaths- or at least I tried to, as I fought to get myself under some semblance of control. "Are you there, Zora?" "Yes," I managed to reply in a shaky voice. "I can hear you." "I want you to be calm," he continued. "Please, do it for me." I shut my eyes tightly, wondering why everyone kept telling me to be calm. How could anyone be calm in this kind of situation? "I know it's hard-," he went on as if reading my thoughts. "-but you have to try to pull yourself together. No news yet, huh?" I shook my head, realized he could not see me, and then muttered a 'yes.' "They will be found. Trust me." I heard the sound of a closing door and it sounded like he was moving around. "This is er- ten- fifteen. Good. I will be on time to catch the next flight to New York. Hang in there, love. I will be with you even before you know it." I sniffed, put the phone away a bit, and blew my nose. "It's fine, Derek. I know that you
ZORA'S POV In a thrice, Elliot was in his car and the next moment, he had driven off. I went back to the twins, led them into the house with my hands on the small of their backs. The moment they got in, they both climbed tiredly onto the sofa. I felt my heart wrench at that, seeing their stooped little shoulders and their weary look. Usually, Finn and Freya would not sit still unless asked to. This brought back my concerns about their physical well being. They had said they were okay, but I wanted to be doubly sure so I would know if one or all of them needed medical attention. "Tell me kids," I said, looking at them closely. "Do you hurt anywhere? Think carefully before you answer. I want to be sure you are okay so I will know what to do. Did the driver touch any of you anywhere he wasn't supposed to?" As one, they shook their heads. Freya had a thoughtful expression on. Then she said, "No, he didn't but I remember that he slapped Finn... hard." I sucked in a breath. "He d
ZORA'S POVKatherine and Drew froze and pulled apart at once. Katherine, who was facing me, was wide-eyed with surprise when she saw the kids and I standing there. The kids were giggling and trying to get my hands off their faces. Katherine laughed nervously, walked away from Drew, and sat heavily on the couch."Hey kids," she cried. "Are you two back already?"I rolled my eyes at her and let go of the kids. As soon as I did, they ran to her and she hugged them tightly. "I missed you both so much," she said, after planting kisses on both their cheeks. "But we have only been gone for some hours," Freya said, looking up at her and giggling. "Doesn't matter," she returned. Drew had turned, was standing in the corner and smiling wryly, and I daresay a little shamefacedly at being caught smooching Katherine in my living room. I nodded in greeting. "Hi, Zora. After all that has happened, I have to ask. How are you really?""I am okay. The moment the kids came home, all my worries disap
ELLIOT'S POV"Yes, Drew. I'm here," I said in response to Drew asking why I was silent for so long. "Good," he continued. He paused, trying to get back his train of thought. "Yes. So, I got there and it was no surprise that I first encountered Katherine. She told me Zora and the kids went to the hospital, so a doctor could have a look at the kids to be sure they were okay. Kathy kept me company while I hung around, waiting for them to return... Hello? Are you still there?""Still here," I muttered. Still here, I had said. That was a laugh. I honestly wasn't. My thoughts were miles and miles away and I was just barely holding everything in with a tremendous effort. I had sent Drew to Zora after all, and I figured it was my duty to at least hear what he had to report. And so I reined in my emotions and lied that I was still here. "...came in, looking radiant." Drew continued. In my abstraction, I had missed some of what Drew said, but I didn't bother telling him to repeat it as I a
ZORA'S POV"Are you going to eat that?" Derek asked. Without waiting for a reply, he used his fork to spear a large portion of beef from my plate. He made sure I was looking, then popped it into his mouth and grinned. Because it seemed to be what was expected of me, I playfully swatted his arm. "I didn't say you could have it, you hog," I said. He winked and resumed eating his food. "You can't blame me," he said. "Finn and Freya wore me out today. Taking you out on this date is like killing two birds with a stone as I am famished."I smiled distractedly. A waiter came to refill our diminished glasses of wine. Derek had been here for three days now. He was to leave tomorrow, a Monday. He had promised to take me out on a proper date before he left because in his words 'Having dinner alone with you at home is nice, but doesn't quite cut it.'The twins had other plans for him though. They had insisted that he took them to the park, shopping for clothes and toys, scouring the eateries
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