EUGENEI picked up my phone immediately after Kyle left, dialing my assistant. I put her in charge of that man and I expect to hear about it if there's any update on him at least.“Good afternoon ma'am." She said as soon as she picked up the call.“What's the update on Bryan Lancaster?"There was silence on the other end of the call immediately, I even heard a sharp breath, like a gasp.“Ma, I can explain." Those words just meant that what Kyle said was right. He's gone.“You better do, and don't you dare tell me that you can't find him, I won't take it lightly with you if you tell me that.”“He disappeared, he left the hospital without any traces and he hasn't been found since then. I wanted to find him myself before telling you that he was gone." She rushed out the words as if she didn't want me to interrupt her.Lines of profanities left my mouth as she said that, I was fervently hoping that it wasn't true and she still knew where he was.“What you're trying to say in essence is th
SHAWNAIt's today, the wedding ceremony and anniversary that I've been anticipating for so long. The hall used has been decorated so well since it serves two purposes and it's meant to work for both.As Eugene's maid of honor, I'm meant to be with her before she goes up, though I'm currently on my way there. She already sent the room number to me, so I'm on my way there.On a normal day, we should do all the planning and dressing up together. But things between me and Eugene are never normal.She sent the dress to me yesterday, and I didn't even bother to wear it, I went for the one Liam and I later went to check yesterday, and he said I couldn't wear the one I picked two days ago.I opened the room with the pin she sent to me, stepping in to see her all ready and dressed up even though there were a lot of people in the room with her.“Why are you dressed this way? You aren't the one getting married here? And why did you not wear the dress I sent over yesterday? It's way prettier than
SHAWNAThe door to the hall was opened and my grandfather stepped in. The way he walked in made everyone look back, a lot of people let out shocked gasps.Eugene looked like she wanted to jump into the nearest well or something. She just looks so ashamed and shocked at the same time.Grandfather walked majestically to the front, stopping by the board members who occupied the front seat. They all just looked more than shocked to see him.“Okay, I think I like this kind of surprise, you all look so shocked to see me that it's funny." He chuckled dryly, definitely not humorously.“And that makes me wonder if it's because of the things that are going on in the company currently or basically how you all have let me down?”He didn't even need a microphone for his voice to be heard, the hall was quiet enough for that. I watched as they all shrunk back into their seat, each of them trying so hard to not look at Grandfather in the face."You all really disappointed me, I won't even lie. I made
EUGENE“I swear that I've seen this face somewhere before I was locked up before." One of the ladies walking past me said.What she just said made the other girls walking with her stop too. I just ignored them, going back to scratching my legs.The air around here and everything here was just so different from what I'm used to. I've not tasted water or anything since I came here.“Same here, I recognize her. You know I was telling you this same thing yesterday.” The other one said.They walked closer to me, all with their eyes trained on me. I just hope they go their way because there's no way I'm letting them go if they insult you."Hey, the loner. What's your name?” The one at the front asked me."Just go away," I said, gesturing at them to go away with my hand too.“Even the voice sounds familiar, it sounds like that of someone I hear on the news. What's your name? What do you do normally?” The other one asked."Wait, is this Eugene Brown?” The third girl that haven't said anything
SHAWNA“Good morning, ma'am." My new assistant, Cara said to me as I got to the floor. She smiled professionally at me, walking into the office with me.I've changed everything around here, to the extent of changing the office room design, it's just like this is a brand new building once again."Good morning, Cara. What do you have for me this morning?” I asked her, returning the smile and energy she gave me.“Nothing much, you don't have any physical meetings today, they're all just physical meetings." She replied, going over the iPad she had in her hand.I settled on my seat and looked up at her. I rested against the chair, turning around a bit. I changed every bit of equipment in this office.I don't know, but it feels like using the same things she used when she was still here made it feel like I'm doing the wrong thing.Even if the assistant has been changed, there's just no way I'll let that girl work with me again. I just had to let her go while I employed another person.And i
SHAWNAI couldn't stay at the prison for long. Eugene wasn't even willing to talk to me again. I left with the promise of visiting her more often, that didn't sit well with her, of course.Just as I got out of the station, my phone started ringing. When I saw that it was Damien, a smile came up on my face. My entire face was warm.“Is someone missing me?” I teased as I answered the call."I think so, and we can meet right now if you'll meet me at our favorite spot,” he said."Really? Are you there right now?” I asked him, pausing by my car.“Yes, I'm waiting for you, come over." He said.He doesn't even have to say that twice. I was already thinking of what to do for the rest of the day since I've closed for the day, I'm done with all I have to do already.“I'll be with you shortly, stay right there," I told him.“I'll always wait for you." He said, his face very calm and soft.“Okay then, I guess I'll see you soon," I said then ended the call.I got into my car and drove towards the
SHAWNADamien looked back at the voice, he stood up immediately he saw the person who called his name. I didn't see his face very well, but it looked like was smiling.“Stacey, it's been years!" He exclaimed. They both hugged and laughed like they'd been away for years and they were just reconciling, which they were.“It has been years indeed. I didn't know I'd see you here though, I just knew that voice and the back view looked familiar." She giggled.I badly wanted to butt in there, she didn't look like someone who didn't know he was here when she was coming here, she walked straight to him without an iota of doubt in her.“Really? What are you doing here though? Both in the country and this place, you traveled out years ago." He asked her.I just sat down on the blanket while they talked away. It felt like I wasn't even there at all.“I did travel out to relocate. But I'm back here finally now, I made some mistakes years ago that I'm back to correct and start life all over again."
SHAWNAIs she mentally deranged or what? Because I can't just seem to understand why she'd say something like that. Damien is not a kid or toy that should be claimed that way.The fact that she walked away before I could give her a response was even more annoying, I was too stunned to say anything to her.Since we were almost at my car before she said that, I just got in. I drove off with my head filled with different thoughts. I didn't want to think too much about what just happened, I didn't want to be sad so soon already.I just started getting happy, there's no way I'll let anyone soil my happiness with her delusions. Damien doesn't have anything to do with her again, right? She just came out of her hiding ten years ago.I drove home, playing my favorite song on the car's speaker. I'm trying so hard to not let anything make me sad at all. She's not just enough to bring up that emotion in me.On getting home, I saw only my mom up. The kids and their grandfather were fast asleep, th
RAMONI couldn’t stop thinking about her.Phoebe.Her smile, her voice, the way her fingers touched mine so gently, like she was scared I’d disappear. The way she looked at me last night, I wasn’t just some guy with a messed-up plan and a fake relationship. No, she looked at me like I mattered. Like I was someone worth trusting.I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to focus on anything else. But her face kept flashing in my mind. Her laugh. The way her lips felt on mine. The way she pulled me close like she didn’t want to let go.God, I didn’t want to let go either.“I’m glad we made up,” I whispered to no one. “I really am.”My phone was on my chest, and I kept picking it up every two seconds just to look at her texts from last night. She’d sent a smiley face and a “get home safe,” and for some reason, that meant the world to me. It wasn’t much, but it felt real. Everything about last night felt real.But still… my uncle’s warning kept gnawing at the back of my mind
PHOEBEI walked through the front door, trying to act normal. But I couldn’t hide the smile tugging at my lips, or the way my body felt light, like I was floating. I hadn’t felt this… happy in a long time.Billy and Jasper were on the couch playing video games, but the second they saw me, they both paused the game and turned their heads slowly.“Well, well, well,” Billy said, grinning. “Look who’s glowing.”Jasper leaned forward and squinted at me. “You’re smiling way too much for someone who just got back from grocery shopping.”I rolled my eyes. “Mind your business.”Billy stood and crossed his arms like he was interrogating me. “We didn’t mind our business. That’s exactly why you’re blushing like that.”“I’m not blushing,” I said quickly, covering my cheeks even though I totally was. I could feel the heat rising, and that only made it worse.Jasper laughed and nudged Billy. “You totally are. And we know why.”I narrowed my eyes at both of them. “What are you two talking about?”Bil
RAMONI stared at the screen for a long time after the call ended. Phoebe’s dad? Golf? What was that even about? The man barely looked at me when I was dating his daughter. Why now?I paced the room, trying to make sense of it. Was it a trap? A test? Did he know something?I grabbed my phone, heart thumping. My fingers hovered over Phoebe’s contact."Don’t do it," I whispered to myself. "She doesn’t want to talk to you."Still, my thumb hit the call button.It rang.And rang.I was about to hang up when her voice came through, sharp and cold.“What do you want, Ramon?”I hesitated. “I…I know you don’t want to hear from me, and I get that. I just... I thought you should know something.”“What?”“Your dad. He called me. He invited me to golf with him tomorrow evening.”There was silence on the other end.“You’re kidding,” she said finally.“I’m not. I don’t even know what to make of it.”“That’s... weird,” she admitted. “But you should go.”I blinked. “Really?”“Yes. He’s not the type t
RAMONHis face was tight with anger, every muscle in his jaw flexing like he was holding himself back from exploding.“You’ve disappointed me, Ramon,” he said, voice cold and sharp. “You’ve truly disappointed me.”I stayed silent, standing stiff, hands clenched at my sides.He shook his head slowly, eyes filled with disgust. “I should’ve known. I should’ve known you weren’t ready for this. That you weren’t cut out for anything that required real strength or discipline.”I swallowed hard but didn’t speak. I knew better. I’d learned over the years that interrupting him when he got like this only made it worse.“You’re not worthy,” he spat. “I never should’ve put my trust in you. You were supposed to finish this. You were supposed to be the one who handled it all without catching feelings like a weak little boy.”He stepped closer, jabbing a finger in my chest. “But no. You let a girl unravel everything. One spoiled, privileged girl and suddenly your loyalty goes out the window? Are you
RAMONI leaned against the wall, arms still crossed as I watched Billy and Jasper circle my living room like they were on some episode of a home makeover show gone wrong. Their snide comments still echoed in my ears, but what hurt more wasn’t the jokes, it was the reason they were here. Phoebe.I exhaled slowly and finally said, “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”Billy paused, turning back to face me. “Yeah? Could’ve fooled us.”Jasper added, “She cried, man. You know how hard it is to make Phoebe cry? That girl could watch a sad movie and still hold it together.”“I didn’t try to hurt her,” I said, louder this time. My chest tightened. “Things got messed up. I made mistakes, yeah. But I never meant for it to end like this.”Billy folded his arms. “So, what? It just happened? You just ‘accidentally’ broke her heart?”Before I could even defend myself, that familiar, smug voice chimed in from behind me.“Alright, that’s enough.”I flinched.My uncle stepped forward, arms folded across his ch
RAMONI slammed the door behind me and let out a heavy sigh. The silence in the house was louder than ever. My shoes echoed on the floor as I walked into the living room. Everything felt tight in my chest. My throat burned, and I kept replaying her face in my mind…Phoebe was hurt, angry, her eyes watery like she was holding everything back.“Idiot,” I muttered to myself. “You really messed that one up.”I pulled off my jacket and tossed it on the couch. “You told her to walk away. Like some fool. Like she meant nothing.”I paced the room, dragging both hands down my face. “She told you to leave and you actually listened? What the hell, man? Who does that? Who actually walks out on someone they…” I stopped short, heart pounding. “Someone they…”I didn’t finish the sentence. Couldn’t. Saying it out loud would make everything worse. Realer.I clenched my fists, frustrated. “You just hurt the only woman who gave a damn about you. Congratulations.”Then, out of nowhere, I heard a creak beh
PHOEBEThe shoe flew faster than I expected. I was aiming for Billy, but the timing was just bad, really bad. The door opened right as I let go, and instead of hitting one of my annoying brothers, it smacked right into my assistant’s face.“Oh my God!” I gasped, rushing toward her. “Maya! I didn’t…I wasn’t…oh my God, I’m so sorry!”She just stood there, frozen, one hand on her cheek, eyes wide like she was still trying to figure out what just happened. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.“That… really hurt,” she finally said, her voice small.“I know, I know,” I said quickly, flustered. “I’m such a mess right now. I swear I didn’t mean to hit you. It was meant for that idiot over there!” I pointed at Billy, who had now crouched behind the chair like he was in the middle of a war zone.“I was just walking in,” Maya muttered, still stunned. “I didn’t even say anything yet…”“I know!” I said again, practically tripping over my words. “And now your cheek is red, and I’m the
PHOEBEI couldn’t believe it. I actually couldn’t believe it.One second he was standing there in my office, all quiet and acting like everything was done and final, and the next, he was gone. Just like that. Gone.I stood in the middle of the room, staring at the spot where Ramon had stood minutes ago, and my chest felt like it was being crushed.And then the anger came.I grabbed the pen holder from my desk and hurled it across the room. Pens scattered everywhere. I didn’t care.He was supposed to fight for me.I picked up a stack of files and flung them on the floor. Papers floated in the air like leaves. Still didn’t care.“He was supposed to fight,” I mumbled under my breath, kicking the side of my chair.Then I reached for the mug he got me last week, the stupid one that said ‘Don’t Talk to Me Until I’ve Had Coffee’ and smashed it against the wall. The crash made me feel slightly better. Only slightly.The door creaked open.“Phoebe?” Billy’s voice.“No,” I said quickly, not tur
RAMONI stood in front of her, feeling like I’d stepped into a storm I wasn’t ready for.Phoebe looked at me with her arms crossed, her eyes sharp and guarded. Not like before. Not soft. Not kind. Just cold.“What are you doing here?” she asked. Her voice was sharp. Distant.I swallowed hard. “I came to pick up my things.”Her face changed for a second. Hurt, I think. But she blinked it away. “So you’re really leaving then?”I shifted on my feet. “Phoebe… you asked me to leave. I’m just respecting that.”She scoffed and looked away, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So that’s it? You’re just walking away like a coward?”My chest tightened. “It’s not like that.”She turned back to me fast. “Then what is it like, Ramon? Huh? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you just gave up on me.”I took a step forward. “I didn’t give up.”“Then what are you doing?” she snapped. “I was angry. I was hurt. But I still expected you to… I don’t know, fight a li