Gabriel's POV The hate Danielle had for Clara seemed to have reduced but you could easily tell that she was fighting some demons within her. "Uncle, why do we have to hide when someone comes to our house? We go to the mall with you and Mom most times," Ella asked behind me in my room. The three girls had been with me since the day Clara came. Danielle hasn't been in a good mood and she Instructed her kids to play with me for the time being. She is probably in her office, cooking up some work for her boss. I chuckled and poked her nose. "Ouch! What was that for?" "You are too clever. Your Mom makes you stay indoors because she values you. She doesn't want any harm to come your way. You see, you can't trust everyone you see around. That's why you should always obey her and stay away from people that come around." She nodded and went back to okay with Mila and Lila. I heard the sound of my phone ringing but I couldn't tell where it was ringing from. "U
Danielle's POV I sat by the window, brooding at the innate beauty of sunrise. The laughter and chuckles of my kids were the early music of the day. Like every other day, I was glad I had them. " You are at it again, Danielle," Gabriel's voice echoed through the room. Most of their things in my room had been moved to the kids' room. They were grown up now, no need to stick with me all the time. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The sun, the birds, the sky. Everything is so natural and neutral." "Just like you. I have good news." I felt the heat of his body against my back and took a step to the right. We have been doing fine without getting too close. I do not want to dig up feelings that have been buried. "We won a million-dollar deal?" He laughed and stood beside me by the window. " We will be having some visitors soon. And by soon, I mean today. You would enjoy their presence." I turned to him. "Did you invite someone over? Do I need to hide the kids?
Danielle's POV "Danielle, calm down," Aunt's voice called my attention in the room. Her voice boomed my anger. I refused to turn to her. "What do you expect me to say? You came back all of a sudden and you are telling me there's a guy that I have to get married to because of some shitty bargain." Perhaps that took me as an idiot, but I know what I am doing. I stick to my principles no matter the cost. "I told Pa Bruno to let you know. I thought you knew all about it already." "If you thought of it that way, you wouldn't have asked if I wanted to get married. I am not doing this and no one is going to force me to do it." Gramps entered the room, and so did Gabriel and Aunt Rose's husband. Even Gabriel has joined them in begging me to accept it. "Danielle, just a trial. If it doesn't work out, you can back out," Gabriel said. "They have succeeded in poisoning your mind too. What would happen to the family we have built together? I don't even wan
Danielle's POV Mark drove us to a bar that was scanty. I sat there by the counter with him. "Now what?" I asked. Now, I had calmed down and I had regained myself. My temperature was calm and my hands were stable. He gave me a drink which I left on the table. "I know you hate me, Danielle. First impression stuff. I didn't know I was coming to see you also. I had a huge fight with my mom before leaving the house and I have a girlfriend." I nodded. A strand of my hair fell across my face and I tried to blow it off. He reached out his hands and I flinched. "Woah woah. What were you trying to do?" "I was just trying to take off that…strand of hair…right there." He brushed it back and tucked it behind my ear, "And there you go…" "You were saying…you have a girlfriend. I am also not interested. Works for both of us, right?" "I had a girlfriend. Came out wrong the first time. I understand you do not want this marriage but I'll give you a chance. You can d
Danielle's POV I typed the digits on my phone and took a very deep breath before dialing. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of my cheeks. I choked on my breath and started to feel uncomfortable. Why was I this nervous? I hung up before the number could ring. Taking deep breaths, I counted…one…two…three. Then took one last breath to regulate myself. Phew, I can do this. I rested my back and dialed the number again. This time, I left it on the table and closed my eyes. I heard it ring and waited for the owner to pick it up. A common ringtone rang in the office, precisely Mr Smith's table. I didn't know he was using an iPhone. Every time I saw him, he was always with his Samsung fold. I shook my head and focused on what I was doing. The person I was calling wasn't picking up his call. Now I have to go through another process to put a call through again. If only he knew how hard it is to make a call, he'd just pick up at the first trial. I decided I would
Bryan' POV "Are you okay?" I asked her again. She nodded without looking at me and went back to her chamber like I call it. Maybe she's just having a bad day. I saw her walk backward, she had never done that before and she was the only one I allowed to turn her back on me. Now that she's done what I wanted from scratch, I feel a little uncomfortable with it. It's a sign that something was wrong. I closed my eyes and played with my long lashes. I shouldn't think about it if she has a problem, then she can solve it on her own. I don't need to ask her anymore. I went through the magazines she dropped and drooled over the pics that were on the front cover of most of the magazines. I am meant to be the one in these pictures, what was she getting all the game while I was gone? Oh, I was gone. I checked for Bell magazine and they were there. Did she succeed in working with Bell? I glanced at her but she was too focused on whatever she was doing. The owner
Bryan's POV I paced around my house, throwing whatever I could on the wall. My mind wasn't settled, I could barely breathe. Seeing Danielle with Mark…who would have thought? Fiancé? He would be a fool to get married to Danielle. She has no idea what he is capable of, she has no idea what he does and what he has done before. She needs saving and I was the only person that could do that for her. Now I wouldn't be seeing her for the rest of the week and today is just Tuesday. I shouldn't have given her the week off. Jack should have been here. I called him about an hour ago to do some finding for me. Why am I so worked up? Was it because Danielle was with Mark? Or because I hate seeing her with someone else? I do not hate seeing someone else, that wasn't my business. The person I was concerned about was Mark and how he found a way to seduce Danielle. There was no way he seduced her. Certainly no way. Danielle is a strong woman, she deserves someone bett
Danielle's POV For two days, I haven't been myself. No, I doubt I will ever be myself anymore. I have lost my appetite for every type of food. I spent all day with my kids in their room and seldom, I would walk out to the fresh air in the mini garden beside our house. My Aunt and her family were still around and I tried as much as possible to hide how I was feeling from them. No one just knows, I must move over it. I have to. I can never send all my kids to see Bryan. The respect for his name seems to have rotten. It wasn't his fault, that's what I said to myself every day. Even though Clara had made things better between us, she never came back. She was the one person that could help me in times like this. This is a very difficult one and there is no way out of it except I get married to Mark. The other day was a great show for Bryan. Of course, Mark and I didn't talk till I got home that day. I didn't want to talk to anyone at all. A bunch of ungrateful men.
Bryan’s POV The sound of a gunshot made me rush outside, Danielle was outside. I found Danielle’s lifeless body, swimming in her blood. I knelt and screamed so loud, I didn’t hear myself. The air, once familiar, became thick with an unbearable weight, and the pulse of grief pulsed through my veins with every beat of my heart. Emotions collided like storm-tossed waves — disbelief, anguish, and a profound sense of loss that threatened to consume me. I shook her body but she gave no response. “Danielle!” “Finally, goodbye Bryan. I’ll see you later.” I looked up and found Susan leaving. I thought she was dead. I lifted her and took her into the car, I could lose everything but not Danielle. I took her to the hospital where she was attended to immediately. They did all they could but I knew… I knew she was gone. She is the first treasure I had and now… I lost her. How careless of me.Every sound and strength drained in me. We had goals…we had things we wanted to do and…having her leave m
Danielle's POV I opened my eyes and finally, it was a new day with no worries and sorrow, although I would have to go and meet Pa Bruno and let him know all that happened. We all got in the car and went down to meet Pa Bruno. He welcomed us with a warm heart, he has always been that way. “What a lovely surprise,” he said when he opened the door. The kids rushed inside with their father.When I fit inside, I found Isabelle helping Mrs Helena with her hair. “Oh,” I said when I saw her.“Oh…”“I… what are you doing here?” I asked. “She volunteered to come and help us once in a while to pay for all the bad things she has done to you. She has been coming for a couple of months now,” Mrs Helena explained.I sat down beside her. “I um… I didn’t know you would be coming around. I should get going, I’ll see you all later.” She hurried and packed her bag. “Hey,” I laughed. “Where do you think you are going to? You can stay, you don’t need to leave.”“I want to stay but I need to leave, I’ll
Danielle's POV “Tell me it’s a lie,” I said to him but he didn’t answer me. I trusted him with my whole heart, he was like my best friend. What would the kids think? What of his family? Why!“Are you truly what they have called you out to be?” The judge asked him. “I am what they said I am. I give up. Yes, I killed Susan and yes, I framed Bryan for it. I wanted him to rot in hell and never come back. He took it all from me, everything.” Have looked at me, tears clouding his eyes. “I love you Danielle, you know I do. The kids… they used to be my kids. I was there where you were pregnant, when you gave birth and I also watched them grow up. Seeing Bryan take it all from me broke my heart and no matter how much I try to be there for you, you never see me. And that bitch, Susan. She deserved it. She was always after you so I didn’t want that. I figured there is no reason for me to lie when I am busted.”He turned to the judge. “You have heard it all.” Someone went to the judge and whispe
Danielle's POV ran out to the door and found the woman walking up the stairs. “Are you—”“Lead the way, quick!” The woman said and I led her to the court. It was the moment the judge was sentencing Bryan but he held it when he saw me come in with a lady. Everyone looked back and I took her to the panel. I winked at the defendant and he knew what to do. He stood up immediately. “My Lord, one and only witness, please,” he begged. All my oceans of despair were now replaced by a world of hope. The judge accepted it like he had been waiting for me to show up with someone.But sighed and went back to sit. The kids stretched their necks and waved from the far end of the row. I smiled and focused on the woman. She stepped in and took the oath. “My name is Margret and I will be telling you what exactly happened that night. This man,” she pointed to Bryan, “came in with a lady into my old house. He had asked me to lend it to him for a moment but I thought he was going to have sex or something
Danielle's POV I roamed about with the phone plugged into my ears. “Pick up, goddamit.” I have been trying this woman’s number for seven hours. It’s night time and there has been no response. I am starting to think it was all a lie. Maybe the woman doesn’t exist but Jack keeps putting me on.Eventually, I went to sleep with my phone in my ears.The next day, I woke up and found Jack making the call. I have not heard from Linda or Gabriel. I have tried all I can and it’s just a few hours to the trail. We have no evidence, nothing to prove him innocent. “I have an idea. The witness made mention of returning the instrument to the house. I would go and check the house out. There would be footage. Keep trying the woman, we will meet in the court.” He left with the Benz car. I feel like I am restraining him from doing a lot of things in his life and all he does now is go and look for evidence to prove his boos innocent. I sighed, I just have to keep trying. I kept calling the woman… duri
Danielle's POV “What did he say?” Jack asked in haste. “He has evidence. An old woman who takes care of the old house. He says he knows where she is but he wouldn’t tell me unless I come over to his house. He also said I should come alone.”“It’s a trap. He might not have any evidence. We need to find our means and besides, he might want to kill you. He’s unpredictable so I would not allow you to go alone.”I raised my brows. “I’m not taking any chances. I would go and I would go alone. I would be perfectly fine.” I took a small knife from the table. “Just in case he tries shit, I will stab him wherever I can. I would be fine, trust me. What if this is my best shot? What if this is the only thing that can help me get Bryan out of there? I am not letting it go just like that. I’ll be back. “Jack stood in front of me. “Then let me put a tracker on you.” He attached it to my phone. “You can go now.”I followed the map and went to the location Mark sent me. The road that led to the plac
Danielle's POV I didn’t get to see Bryan that day, not even the slightest chance. Jack, Linda, Gabriel and I have been looking for ways to get better evidence but it was to no avail. I made posters and shared it around for people to see if they could help. With the current way things are, the judge just bought me time to find a way to outrun what the prosecutor had in hand. Whatever they were planning, it’s not going to be good.I sighed and paced around my room. It felt as though a fog of shadows was blinding me from seeing what I should see, doing what I should do but I do know that somewhere out there, there is an answer to the problem I have at hand.I sighed. “What do you think we can do now? I mean, we have done everything we can,” I said to Jack who was also thinking of a way to get his boss out of his mess. The alarm rang and the phone rang as well. I ran to take the call. “Hello?”“Honey, it’s not nice to hear your sweet voice again.” I have waited for a long time to finally
Danielle's POV It was another opportunity for me to see Bryan again. I have been denied the right to visit him and this is just two weeks. I sat at the front as planned. Linda and Gabriel also sat beside me. When Bryan came in, his eyes dazzled around to look for something that was equally looking for him. I stood up and he saw me. Pain and sorrow waited in front of my chest to pierce my heart with its spares of hope. His lips curved upward as he sat down and took his eyes off me. All I wanted to do at that point was walk into the board, take my husband, and leave. A warm hand cooled my temper. I looked at Linda and she smiled. It helped me to get myself together. Then the trial started. The mass media were around, the jury, the prosecutor… defendant… everyone was gathered together once again. The prosecutor started. “My lord, may I?” He asked the judge and he gave him a go-ahead. “Some two weeks ago, the suspect, Mr Bryan Smith was charged with violence and was sentenced to a yea
Danielle’s POV I have gone to eighteen different paper companies to look for which would accept and publish my side of the story but they all turned me down and said they couldn’t help the wife of a criminal. Of course, I can’t let that stop me from trying other means. I wrote a lengthy article on my Instagram page and posted it. Settling in my office, I went through my Instagram page. I’m a rampage, all I read were hateful comments and speeches about how I and Bryan killed Susan. No…this isn’t going to work. The latest news now is about how Bryan would have to face the court again tomorrow. Fucking Jury, I did everything I could. “Linda, can you… can you help me work on the case? I need everything I can find but I can’t do this alone. I need you, I need everyone. Fuck!” I said to Linda in a hurry. I slammed my hand on the table and paced the room with my hand on my forehead. I needed to cool down, I needed to be calm in this time of bad luck.“You need to calm down, alright?”“I!”