Chapter 113I had it all under control. I had moved on. I had decided to be there for my brother and friends. I had started succeeding in ignoring the pain.So why?I sat on my bed dejected, depressed, and sullen. I felt like my body was an empty shell as there was practically nothing left out of my essence. I had lost weight drastically and my eyes had swollen and reddened from the nights I spent crying in my room.Everyone seemed to be getting tired of my shit, but I couldn't help it. I was in so much pain and guilt and I couldn't ignore the feelings any longer. In the end of it, it really was my fault.All I had to do was visit him frequently, that's all he wanted, to see my face a couple of hours every day, to talk to me, to laugh with me, to eat with me.That's all he wanted and I ignored that, giving him a big empty house instead and neglecting the poor old man to his own thoughts and look where that got him.I was a murderer. My father's blood stained my hands and I could do no
Chapter 114.I swung the door close behind me but Kathy pushed it back open. I turned to her in surprise as I wiped my eyes. I hadn't even noticed her running behind me. She stood there looking at me."Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked. "How long are you going to keep this up, Zora?" she asked, and I sat on the bed and looked away."You're making it sound like I'm doing this deliberately," I said defensively and she walked to me and slumped beside me. "Whether it's intentional or not is not what matters, what matters is that you've let your emotions drain the life out of you and now draining the life of the people you love," she said."But I can't help it, Kathy, do you think I like being like this? Do you think I don't know how tiring this is? I just can't look the other way and act like my hands are clean," I said."Except they are actually clean, you're just riding on some inexistent timeline where you murdered your father, you were going through so much at the time an
Chapter 115."Why can't we just drive straight to wherever this place is?" I groaned as we strolled through a decorated pathway. There were plenty of trees on either side of the pathway and all of them shed light petals that fell to the ground and sprawled all over the pathway."Because… the scenery Zora, this place has a peaceful aura to it, like a healing essence is just emitting from the trees," Kathy said as she turned to look at me. I offered her a smile and hoped the ingenuity of the smile wasn't obvious.She mirrored my smile before turning back to Aaron. "You think this is going to work?" she whispered. "I just hope it does," he replied in a similar tone. Kathy turned to me and I pretended as though I hadn't heard them.We continued to walk through the park and I soon got tired and bored of it all, there were other people around us. Families, couples, kids, friends, and they all had wide smiles plastered on their faces.I began to feel disgusted with all of them. Why were peo
Chapter 116. I sat on the table across from Bella and Derek the sun hit against my skin as I fiddled with my cup of coffee which was going cold. We sat in awkward silence as I tried to think of something to talk about. The last time I saw Bella was when the three of us sat in the kitchen of a restaurant discussing our plans for our lives and the next thing I knew I had moved on to the modeling agency and Derek moved on with his life. Bella had always talked about wanting to open a restaurant and I wondered if she had yet. Finally deciding upon what my conversation starter would be, I opened my mouth to speak when she interrupted suddenly. "So Zora how have you been? It has been a while,” she said softly. My mind began to panic at the thought of me being the center of the conversation. “Oh, I've been all right just here and there you know,” I said dismissively as I shrugged. "How about you? How's everything been?” I asked. "Oh well we've been here and there as well, still trying
Chapter 117.I almost tripped as I ran up to my room, anger still flowing through my veins. I was pissed and unsettled. It seemed like everyone knew what was best for me without actually asking me how I really feel and it irked me to no end. Why can't everyone just let me be?"F**k" I yelled, exasperated and tired of people telling me what to do. I knew I was being a little dramatic but I didn't care. I was tired of listening to what people had to say. I had a right to feel the way I did. I just lost my father for Christ's sake.Counting one to eight I let out a sigh and sat at the edge of my bed. I was feeling considerably better now. Deciding to call Elliott, I plucked my phone from my pocket. The light came on as I tapped on the screen. I typed in my password and tapped on the contact icon. Elliott was the first name on my call log. My finger hovered over his name.I wanted to call him to hear what he had to say after all he hadn't done anything wrong, all he had done was be there
Chapter 118. I took tentative steps into the agency. Everything looked just as I had left it and different at the same time. A wave of deja Vu hit me like I had experienced this moment before as I stepped into the lobby. With each step I took I could feel eyes following my every step. The whispers got progressively louder as I moved across the hallway. I had prepped myself for the stares and the whispers but nothing prepared me for how much I'd hate it. I tried to ignore them by putting a little pep in my step. They could say whatever they liked. I didn't care. A gust of wind escaped my lungs as I felt something like a brick wall hit me from behind. "What the hell?" I exclaimed.I heard Myra's voice before I could turn around."Oh my God, Zora it's you" she squealed, her voice laced with excitement. She sounded happy to see me."You are choking me, Myra…" I coughed "Shit, I'm sorry" Myra lets go of my neck abruptly and jumps to stand in front of me. She hugged me again and I smile
Chapter 119.It was exactly 5:30 pm when my alarm went off. It was time to go home. I stretched my hands tired from the day's work. Overall it was a good day if not for Sharon of course, it would have been a great day but I decided not to dwell on negativity. It only fueled unpleasant feelings and I was already getting over negative feelings after being stuck with nothing but them for months.Elliot had still not come to see me or called back all day and I felt a little hurt.I was hoping he'd come over so we could talk but I guess even he had tried. Deciding that I didn't have to wait around for him, I could just go see him. I made a decision to stop by his place. I didn't want to admit it just yet but I missed him and I wanted to be enveloped by his big arms once more. I picked up my phone and decided to call Kathy, to tell her I wouldn't be home tonight. She picked up on the second ring."Hey, Kathy," I chirped. "Hey, Zora," Kathy said, surprised but also happy to hear from me."
Chapter 120.I struck a pose as I stood in front of the cameraman making sure to keep my eyes away from the flash as it beamed brightly and the shutter sound filled the room. I held the lotion closer to my face as I struck another pose and waited for the bright flash of light again. The camera man smiled in satisfaction as he leaned down and reached for his camera.Myra sat in a corner while a makeup artist worked on her face. She was excited that we were working on the commercial together. She had always wanted to work with me and I was also glad to have a familiar person working with me. We had mutual interests and it made agreeing on certain conditions and corrections much easier than it would have been with a stranger.But that wasn’t the only thing that made me glad, it was everything else. From the way the lotion smelled as I held it close to my face to the way the air seemed to caress the exposed parts of my skin and to the way the silk gown I wore swayed as the fan blew at it.
Dear wonderful readers, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read my book! Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to me. Without you, book one could not have been the success that it is. I am grateful to have such amazing, dedicated readers like you. It thrills me to announce that there will be a book two! I am so excited to continue this journey with you and bring you more of the characters you have grown to love (and certainly some new ones too!). I promise to keep you on the edge of your seat with even more twists and turns. Again, thank you for all that you do. I appreciate every kind word, review, and recommendation. You are the reason why I write, and I cannot wait to share more of my stories with you. With love and gratitude, H.B Temilorun
EpilogueZora lost track of the fluorescent white bulbs that skipped past her as she lay on the stroller moving at a high speed. She had hoped that keeping count of them would be able to distract her from the pain that throbbed through her entire system. Her eyes were half shut and her throat hurt from screaming so much.She looked around her and studied the crowd of nurses that had gathered around her all pushing the stroller through the hallway of the hospital. She was pregnant, yes, but she knew she wasn’t that heavy so she couldn’t understand why there were so many people blocking her air.She inhaled loudly in a desperate attempt to take in all of the lavender and disinfectant-filled air into her lungs before letting it all out with a loud scream as a new surge of pain rippled through her. She wondered why it was taking them so long to get to the theatre.She reached for Kathy's palm which sat beside her pushing the stroller as well and she squeezed it tightly as the pain continu
Chapter 128.Aaron rolled my suitcase through the airport lounge as we went to check in, the queue wasn’t long so I was able to finish quickly and I dropped off my baggage and collected my boarding pass then he waited for me while we ran through passport control and security clearance and then I returned and we all headed to the waiting area.My flight announcement was called soon after and we all got up from our seats. “That’s our cue,” I said as I turned to Aaron and I could see he was biting back his pain. “Um, so take care you guys and be safe, oh and eat a lot of good food too…” he trailed off and pulled me into a tight hug immediately, I hugged him back and squeezed him gently.“Hey, it’s not even that long you don’t have to be a crybaby,” I teased. “I’m not crying,” he said, his voice cracking. We pulled out from the hug and then he hugged Kathy next.“What! That doesn’t make any sense,” my words flashed through my mind as I watched them. Kathy was already on the airline's we
Chapter 127.I could barely keep my legs straight as I looked at him and I was scared my knees would give in and I'd fall to the ground. I had gone to the wedding with all confidence hoping to say my mind with a straight face and walk out with explosions behind me like I was in some Tom Cruise movie.But as soon as I walked into that room I felt as though my backbone had split and I was leaning on a thin shard, if I wasn’t cautious I would crumble to the ground and it would be an absolute mess. But I knew better than that. I had already crumbled and there were no tears left to cry, but now that I had hit rock bottom I could only go up but I had to cut any strings holding me back for that to happen.And Elliott was a massive fucking chain.He was even more beautiful as he stood there in his black tuxedo and I couldn’t help the envy that crawled at the back of my neck. I would’ve given anything to be in Sharon’s place, but then again that’s not why I was there.I stood up straight as I
Chapter 126.I stood in front of the mirror with a small smile on my face as I dusted the bottom of my dress. Kathy stood propped at my door frame staring at me warily. I ignored her. I had made up my mind on what I was going to do and I was not interested in what anyone else had to say.If everyone was so bent on me moving on, then they should allow me to do it my way. “This is a crazy idea,” she blurted out, finding it hard to keep a cap on her thoughts any longer. “Kathy, we talked about this,” I said, my eyes still on the mirror.“I know we have but is there seriously no way to talk you out of this? I mean, everything about this is wrong,” she waived. I turned to her and rolled my eyes. “You promised you would respect my decision no matter what it was, saying it's wrong isn’t very respectful don’t you think,” I hissed. “Besides, I kept to my side of the deal. I’m going on the vacation aren’t I?” I added and she heaved a sigh as she rubbed her temples.She was worried and I unde
Chapter 125.I sat on the couch breathing in the coffee-filled air into my nostrils as I held the cup of freshly brewed coffee to my face. There was a calming effect coffee always seemed to have on me and I hated that I couldn’t drink it all the time. It wasn’t like there were any healthier alternatives.It was either that or alcohol.Aaron walked into the sitting room and sat beside me as I finally brought the mood to my lips and slurped loudly. I hummed inwardly as the bitter-sweet taste massaged my taste buds and the warmth reverberated through the walls of my mouth before sliding down my throat. I let out a satisfied breath as I closed my eyes. “Hey sis, can we talk?”Can’t I just have my damn coffee in peace?The past couple of days had been filled with countless pieces of advice and lectures, mostly on my little brother’s part. I knew he cared about me but I couldn’t understand why he was hell-bent on letting Elliott know about the baby and why he refused to understand why I jus
Chapter 124.I rounded up my chores for the day, dusting off surfaces and spraying air fresheners in the different rooms. I was just about to retire to my room and take a rest before heading for the shower when I heard a light tapping on my door. I froze for a moment as I wondered who it could be. Kathy and I hadn’t been getting visitors for a while so I wondered if it was a friend of Aarons.My chest began to beat harder as another possibility crossed my mind. Maybe Elliott had gotten tired of waiting for me to text back and had come to me himself. If that was the case then I was screwed. I wasn’t sure I would be able to successfully keep the truth about me having a baby from him if we got into a heated argument.I shrugged it off immediately, there was still tension in the media, and his marriage to Sharon was still being talked about everywhere. Elliott was a smart man, he wouldn’t risk coming to my place at such a time.Well, there was only one way to find out who was at the door.
Chapter 123.At this point in my life, I wasn’t sure I could handle another shocking news.It felt as though I was in a tragic slice-of-life drama and I was the main character. There was absolutely no other explanation as to why amid everything that was going on I stood at the hospital with results from a pregnancy test in my hands.And it read positive.I had gone to the hospital to get a prescription for nausea or fever at most but instead. I found out that there had been a living thing in me for two whole months. My mind flashed back to moments when I had felt dizziness and fatigue but I thought they were from work-related stress or at most the effect of mourning my father in an unhealthy manner for so long.Meanwhile, I was pregnant. I couldn’t even understand my emotions anymore as I stood frozen on a spot while the doctor explained the result with a wide smile on his face. Ordinarily, I would have been happy, no, I still should have been happy no matter the circumstance but the
Chapter 122.Time travel doesn’t exist. That statement felt like a hoax the following days after I met with Elliott. I felt as though I had been plunged right back into the past. A past I had struggled to crawl out from only a few months before, a past that left me devastated and locked up in my room was now replaying in the present.Only this time, there were no flowers or midnight texts, this time I was truly alone. I couldn’t see a future for myself anymore, part of me knew that there was still one for me but how on earth was I supposed to get there after all I’d been through?I’m only human and there’s only so much I could take so why on the earth was the world so unfair to me? Why was I being saddled with more weight than I could lift? What on earth had I ever done to be treated like this? Was it so wrong to fall in love?I missed the old me, strong, independent, self-willed, and determined, and whenever I thought about it I realized that the greatest mistake I had ever made was