Chapter 94 Elliot was gone by the time I had woken up. I reached for my phone to check the time when I noticed a new mail, I quickly tapped on the icon and read through the message. It was a request from the agency I'd just worked with concerning a contract for a weekend show they were running. I contemplated whether or not to reply to them and then decided against it. It would be better to let the firm know beforehand. I shook off the fatigue that was weighing me down as u rubbed my eyelids then I got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I draped a silk undergarment over my body before heading to the kitchen. The helpers had resumed work and there were a few of them cleaning and arranging as I walked down the stairs. They greeted me warmly and I nodded politely in response. As I reached the kitchen I found the cook chopping vegetables on the kitchen island. I decided to let her do the cooking that mlenkbg since I was still tired and Elliott was not around. I greeted her be
Chapter 95.I woke up once again in Elliott's arms, I had my head on his chest and he had his arm wrapped around his shoulder, I sighed as I wondered if it was going to become a habit.Not that I was complaining.I stayed like that for a little while before lifting myself off him and sitting up, I looked around for my phone as it was not on the bedside table where I usually kept it. I found it under my pillow and picked it up to check the time and for updates.I read through the message from my manager detailing the agreements of the contract and the percentage the firm was taking. It all seemed fair and I checked the time for the show to find that I only had a few hours left.I got off the bed quickly and headed downstairs to give the cook details on what to prepare for breakfast, after coming to a conclusion with her I ran back upstairs to prepare for work.Elliott woke up soon after and joined me to prepare for work, he didn't take much time to freshen up and get dressed and we wer
Chapter 96 My first week with Elliott had come to an end and I had just one week left before I would return to stay with Kathy. As I prepared a smoothie for that morning I made plans for the day. I decided it would be best if I spent quality time with my father as I had only been visiting briefly previously. Elliott came downstairs and kissed me on the cheek before taking a seat at the dining table. "Good morning babe," he greeted. "Good morning," I said as the blender went off and I made to fill two cups with its contents. "So, any plans for today?" He asked as he watched me carefully. I picked up the cups and walked to the table, then I handed him a cup before sitting down with mine. "Well, I'm going to be spending some time with my dad and then maybe head out a little, I'll most likely come back really late," I said. He nodded in understanding as he brought the cup from his lips and placed it on the table. "That's fine, I don't really have much planned today so maybe I'll visit
Chapter 97."So where is this special place we're going?" Kathy asked as she tried on the fiftieth dress. "Honestly, I don't know. I was thinking maybe we'd go to a bowling alley," I said.She gave me a side-eye. "You're still so horrible at planning events aren't you," She said and I scoffed. "How about you come up with something," I said. "Well, there's this new amusement Park that opened and it has a bowling alley in it too for boring people like you," She teased and I rolled my eyes. She picked up her phone and googled the address before handing it to me."Oh, it's not that far from here," I said as I studied the information on the phone. "Where would you be without me huh?" She said and I threw a pillow at her. "At this rate, we're going to spend all day finding what you'll wear," I scolded."Well, some of us don't have a high fashion sense and work in fashion industries so we prefer wearing everything till it looks good," She said defensively and I rolled my eyes.After she had
Chapter 98 My eyes followed Sharon as she sat down beside Kathy. She placed her bag on the table before shifting on her chair. She looked at both of us before turning to Kathy. "And who are you?" She asked skeptically, making me cock my eyebrows a bit. Kathy ignored the rudeness in her tone and gave her a warm smile. "I'm Kathy, Zora's friend," She said as she offered her hands for a handshake. Sharon glared at her hand spitefully before turning back to me. "What is this? Why are you walking around with charity cases leaching on you?" She asked scornfully. A sudden wave of shock at her words held me glued to her chair and I noticed Kathy's jaw drop from the side of my eyes. "What did you just ask me?" I spat stiffly and she chuckled. "Oh don't tell me I hurt your feelings, you mean to tell me after everything Elliott did to get you where you are right now, you're going to waste all of that on some backward lowlife," "Don't talk about my friend like that again if you want to kee
Chapter 99My eyelids fluttered open as scanty rails from the window fell on them. My sleepy eyes scanned the room and my foggy mind tried to piece the fragments of my environment together.The realization of where I was came flooding in with memories of the happenings of the night before and I felt like crying all over again. I shrugged it off, deciding that I had cried enough and had to prove myself from then on.Even if it was Elliott that was behind everything from the onset I still knew that I had what it took to be a professional model, and now that I had already started, I was sure as hell going to finish it.The bed beside me was empty and I quickly grabbed my phone to check the time. I sighed as I saw that I still had time to prepare. I pushed the sheets off my body and jumped out of bed then I headed for the bathroom. After my morning routine, I decided to make a quick meal before returning to take my bath and prepare for work. I walked downstairs to meet Kathy tidying up h
Chapter 100.I woke up early the next morning and rested in my bed for a bit before getting ready for work. My mind flashed back to the day before and the visit I paid to my dad.He had been engaged in a discussion with Linda when I came and was so excited to see me that he was ready to end their conversation but I declined and he offered that I join them instead.We sat together and talked about his health and how he'd been recuperating just fine over the past few weeks. He asked if that meant his weekly checkups were done with and we burst out laughing before Linda explained that he'd have to hold up just a while longer.We talked about other things before Linda went to make dinner, I joined hereinafter and we all ate together before I went back home. Being with them handy did much of a good job of keeping my mind from Elliott but I had to pretend in order not to get my father worried.I picked up my phone and turned it on, my eyes subconsciously searched the screen for a missed cal
Chapter 101 I stood frozen as ice, clinging to the door frame as my legs grew weak beneath me. I hated how helpless I felt. I wanted to scream, to rant, to run, or to breathe at least. But I just stood there watching them, his eyes opened and he stared at the woman onto him, his eyes were void of any emotion and it almost looked as though he'd been compelled to sleep with her. Then they met my eyes. Soon, his entire face was flooded with horror and fright as he shoved the woman off him. She yelped as she tried to catch herself before turning to see me at the door. She grabbed the sheets and wrapped them around her body. "Bloody hell, Zora," Elliott started as he reached for his briefs and jumped off the bed. In that instant, it was as though I was working on default and no longer had control over anything. I spun on my heels and raced to the stairs then continued my sprint through my descent. I keyed in the passcode of the door hastily as his steps scurried down the stairs the
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