LIAMI've never been this restless and unsettled. I guess it's because I always knew she was safe, but now being in the police station just crested this sense of hopelessness in me.“I shouldn't be this way, I have to get her out there and not mop around," I mumbled to myself as I got to the car.I feel all shades of useless right now, I can't wait to up my game in the business world and have enough power that speak volumes than ordinary words would.It was not for anything but for Shawna. I want to be useful to her, not just anyone who would be pushed away from her anytime something comes up.We've been through so much to still be suffering at the hands of people to not come out victorious. I honestly can't wait for both of us to be successful.But for now, I have to get out of there and make Eugene suffer for what happened today. I drove towards the penthouse and got there in no time.I entered the apartment to see Shawna's mother pacing the room. She rushed over to me the moment sh
DAMIENI heard some kind of commotion outside while I was inside, I tried to ignore it, but whoever it was still probably going away.But at this point, I had to just stand up. I told my security men at the gate to not let anyone in, I didn't just want to receive any visitors right now.But who could it be? All I just had to do was go downstairs and stand by the porch. I called the other guy at the gate over, leaving the other one to deal with the person.“What's going on there? What's causing the commotion?" I asked him."Someone is out there, he said he wants to see you. He refused to go away, saying it's very urgent.” He answered.A frown came up on my face at his explanation. I'm not expecting any visitors, most especially a male.“What's his name?" I asked him.“He didn't say, but he said it's concerning… Shawna I think.”That has to be that guy who's always with Shawna, it's no one else but him. Liam, that should be the name.“Let him in," I ordered him. He nodded briskly, runni
SHAWNA“Are you ready for your daily dose, bitch?" The man whose face I've come to be very familiar with said as he stepped into the cell.I no longer flinch at all, I've lost count of the number of times he has come into this place after Eugene left yesterday. My body is shredded all over with little or no spot left untouched.“What now? You can't talk again?" He taunted as he walked further into the room.“Just do what you want to do and get out already puppet," I said with a tone I almost didn't recognize. It was so cold, without any atom of emotion in it at all.“Did you just call me a puppet? What even gave you the audacity to talk back at me?” He asked me with anger bare in his voice, he lifted the whip in his hand immediately.The contact the whip made with my skin wasn't as hard as I expected it to be, maybe today's beating isn't really hard or I'm just getting tired of it already.I feel myself getting weaker each minute I'm awake. I was hungry and parched, I kept getting bea
DAMIENI left Shawna alone with frustration thrumming through me, I just don't understand why someone has to be that stubborn. I saw her friend's car pulling out of the premises too just in time.It's just so obvious right now that she isn't the heiress, yet she keeps insisting on being the heiress when she's not. The most infuriating part is how she prefers to stay there and suffer.The only reasonable explanation for this is if she's there's something more to this.Because the only thing I think is holding her back from what Eugene said she has to do is that she doesn't want to be the one who loses in the end.Appearing on live television and then apologizing for the same thing that has made her popular in the space of that time wouldn't be easy on her.I drove over to the house of the only person who could get her out of there. I hate to admit it, but technically, Eugene has more power than me currently.The Lancaster Empire isn't a small one at all, they're so big. The biggest in
EUGENE“Really? That's good news. Meet me at my house in an hour.” I told him with a normal voice, but a bright smile was plastered on my face. He ended the call immediately I said that and I immediately squealed out in excitement, I jumped up so high that I felt my legs ache immediately my legs met the ground again.This just feels like the best news I've received this year, I've been looking forward to this day. The day Damien would willingly accept to be with me.Well, technically he didn't willingly agree. He just didn't have any other choice, he wanted to help Shawna so badly. Thinking of her soiled my mood all over again.I honestly don't understand what he sees in her that's not in me, is it because he was married to her? Or has he found out that those children are his?No, it can't be. There's no way he'd find out that he's the father of her children and be this calm. Maybe he's just still attracted to her.“Well, that's bound to change once I get my time with him today, I'm
DAMIENI had raised my hand to knock on the door when I heard a familiar voice from inside, Shawna's mother.“Joseph, you aren't going to say anything? You'd just stand there and watch your daughter rot in jail because of your wife and other daughter?"That's her voice, what's she doing here? I pressed the doorbell just in time for the door to be opened. The same woman I was contemplating if she was the one who was pushed through the door.I caught her before she could fall, steadying her. I looked at her face and saw that she was okay before looking up at the devil's incarnate before me.Eugene looked more than shocked to me here.“Damien, I- I didn't know you'd gotten here. Come on in." She smiled.I looked at her with nothing but anger thrumming through me, I didn't say anything to her. I just led Shawna's mother outside, away from them.“Thank you for saving me, I'd have fallen so hard if you hadn't caught me. I appreciate it." She smiled sadly at me.“You're welcome. And I want y
SHAWNA I wouldn't even say I've lost hope in getting out of here, but it looks like I'm not getting out of here normally anymore. I've moved from just being in here to serving a term with prisoners. I now serve punishment with people who have gone through courts and are only serving their term. Since I was a child up until now, I never thought a life like this existed. It's so rougher than I even imagined. Waking up every morning before sunrise and then going back to sleep late at night with body pains because of working all night. I woke up this morning to cold liquid dumped on me, I had just slept one hour ago only to be woken up now. I opened my eyes to see an officer with a bucket in his hand, he just dumped it on me. “Wake up, criminal." He sneered. My whole body ached a lot, my head was banging so hard due to stress and lack of sleep. And to top it all, those scars are getting much worse, I've not even gotten any one of them treated. He dumped the remaining of the water o
EUGENEWaking up was euphoric, I felt the happiness in me before I woke up at all. Last night was just too blissful, it feels like a dream come through for me.With my closed eyes, I stretched out my hand and tried to feel his body but my hand met with the cold bed. My eyes flew open, did he leave already?I looked around the room to see him dressing up, he was almost done.“Are you leaving already? It's still so early." I yawned, my hand covering my mouth as I sat up on the bed.“You promised to let Shawna go after this, let's go there already.” He buttoned up his shirt and turned to me.Anger thrummed through me as he mentioned her name, it just served as a reminder that the only reason he's doing it is because of Shawna and not just willingly.Can't she just die already? Argh! I just want to squeeze the life out of her, watch life leave her body so she can just leave this earth and stop disturbing me.“Do we have to go now? Let's just do some more things before we leave.” I tried t
PHOEBERamon’s face was frozen like he’d seen a ghost.I couldn’t hold it in, I burst out laughing. “Oh my God, Ramon! You should see your face!”He blinked a few times, like he was trying to wake himself up from a dream. “Phoebe. This is not funny.”I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye, still giggling. “It is a little bit funny.”“No, it’s terrifying,” he said, wide-eyed. “Your parents hate me. Your siblings ignore me. I don’t even think your dog likes me.”I placed my hand gently on his arm. “Ramon, come on. It’s not that bad.”“It’s worse.” He looked serious now. “You’ve seen it. Your mom glares at me like I stole her favorite necklace. Your dad won’t even shake my hand properly. And your brothers, they act like I’m invisible.”“They’ve promised they’ll try,” I said softly, squeezing his arm. “They told me they’re going to make an effort. And I believe them.”He raised an eyebrow. “And we’re just supposed to walk in there like nothing’s happened?”“Yes,” I said, nodding. “We’r
SHAWNAI met up with Damien later that evening, just after the sun had started to dip below the trees. The sky was painted in soft oranges and purples, the kind of calming colors that made you want to slow down and breathe. The air was cooler now, the heat of the day finally giving way to a gentle breeze that brushed against my skin. I pulled my cardigan tighter around me as I walked toward the little park near our house. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a few benches, a narrow path, and a small patch of grass, but it was our place. Whenever things felt too loud or too heavy inside the house, this was where we came to talk.Damien was already there, sitting on one of the wooden benches under a tall oak tree. His head was bent over his phone, his fingers scrolling slowly. His expression was calm, focused, the soft glow of the screen lighting up his face.“Hey,” I called softly as I got closer.He looked up immediately, and when our eyes met, he smiled, that easy, warm smile that always m
SHAWNAI sat there in the kitchen, my fingers wrapped around the coffee mug, the warmth of it doing little to ease the cold feeling in my chest. I had been trying to push away the gnawing jealousy I felt, but it wasn’t easy. Phoebe had been so open with my mother, telling her everything, while I was left feeling on the outside. I couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d run to my mom whenever she had something on her mind. What about me? Why didn’t she come to me?I was frustrated, unsure of how to even approach the situation. Phoebe was my daughter, yet it felt like I was losing her bit by bit. I knew she was growing up, and I didn’t have any control over that. But it still stung.I stared out the window, the feeling of being left out creeping up on me again, until I heard the soft footsteps coming down the hall. I didn’t need to look up to know it was my mom. She’d always been able to sense when something was bothering me, even when I tried to hide it.“Shawna, you okay?” she asked, s
PHOEBEI couldn’t stop smiling.Mom actually said it. She said she’d give Ramon a chance. I didn’t even know what to say. I just hugged her, tighter than I ever had.“Thank you,” I whispered. “You have no idea what this means to me.”She smiled, but her eyes still looked cautious. “Don’t make me regret it, Phoebe.”“You won’t,” I promised, still holding onto her like I never wanted to let go.It felt like the air had shifted in our house lighter, warmer. All that tension between us, all the arguing and silence and stares, it felt like it cracked open into something soft again. Something hopeful.The first person I thought about next was Granny. I needed to tell her. She always understood me more than anyone. Not just listened, but understood, like she could feel what I felt without me even saying much. I had to tell her. I needed to see her face when she heard it.I grabbed my bag and headed straight to her place. As soon as I walked in, she was already at the door, like she knew.“Ba
SHAWNAI sighed and wrapped my hands around the warm mug, even though I wasn’t cold. "I know. I do. But this feels different, Damien. She's not picking up her phone. She's not even replying to texts. That’s not like her."Damien reached over and gently placed his hand over mine. "You have to breathe, Shawna. She's not a little girl anymore.""That's the problem," I said softly. "She’s growing up and pulling away, and I don’t know if I’m handling it right. What if we pushed too hard this time?"He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. "Maybe we did. But maybe... that’s what she needed to figure things out.""I don’t want her figuring things out in the arms of that boy," I muttered, staring into my tea like it would give me answers."That boy has a name. Ramon," he said gently. "And I don’t know much about him yet, but Phoebe’s not stupid. She sees something in him."I pressed my lips together, shaking my head. "But does she see it clearly? Or is she just rebelling against us? Agai
RAMONShe looked at me like I’d just ripped her world open. Those wide eyes, full of confusion and hurt, made something twist deep in my chest. And I hated myself for it, hated that I was the one who put that look on her face.But then she stepped closer.Soft. Careful. Like I was something fragile for once.“Ramon,” she whispered, voice barely there, “just shut up.”I barely had time to breathe before her hands were on my chest, sliding up to my neck, and her lips pressed against mine.God.It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t slow.It was everything I’d been holding back.Her mouth was soft, warm, but urgent. Like she needed this. Like she needed me.And I couldn’t stop myself.My hands gripped her waist, pulled her flush against me. I kissed her back harder, deeper, groaning into her mouth as all the tension from before snapped and turned into something else, something hotter, something real.Her fingers tangled in my hair. I pressed her back gently until her legs hit the edge of the bed. I
PHOEBEI stared at him, my heart pounding so hard it almost hurt. “So that’s it? You’re just going to ask me to leave? Just like that?”Ramon looked away, his jaw tight. “I didn’t ask you to leave. I said you could. If you wanted to.”My chest tightened. That stung more than I expected. “Wow,” I breathed, shaking my head slowly. “So cold. So distant. I thought… I thought you’d fight for me, Ramon. I thought you cared.”He turned his head back to me, eyes flashing. “Phoebe, what do you want me to do?” he snapped, his voice louder now. “You just said you might go. What am I supposed to say to that?”“Anything but that!” I shouted, my voice cracking. “You could’ve said, ‘stay.’ You could’ve said you need me. That you care. That you…”I stared at him, everything inside me going still. “That I love you?” he cut in, voice low and raw like he didn’t mean to say it, like it hurt just saying it out loud.I froze.The air felt heavy, like the moment had just changed everything. My heart thudded
RAMON“Get out.”“I’m not going anywhere.”“I said get out, Richard. And don’t come back here making plans behind my back. No more games. No more secrets. No more surprises.”“Watch yourself, Ramon. Don’t forget your place.”“My place? You think you still get to tell me what to do?”“I’m not telling. I’m reminding. You owe everything to me.”“I don’t owe you anything. Not anymore.”“You think just because you got a house and a little money you can run from the family? From who you are?”“I’ve built everything I have with my own hands. You didn’t do this. I did.”“I raised you.”“You controlled me.”Richard smirked. “Same thing.”“No. It’s not.”He stepped closer, eyes locked with mine. “You’re soft now. Letting that girl in here, messing with your head.”“You don’t get to talk about her.”“I’m just saying, don’t get too comfortable, nephew. This thing, it’s bigger than your feelings.”“This ‘thing’ you keep whispering about? Whatever it is, it’s not happening. Not with me. I’m done.”
RAMONThe moment I shut the bedroom door behind Phoebe, I turned back to Richard, my blood boiling. Heat crawled up my neck, my muscles tensed like a coiled spring, ready to snap. But Richard, he stood there, completely at ease, that smug little smirk still plastered on his face. As if he hadn’t just overstepped his boundaries. As if he hadn’t just dragged my past into the open like it was his story to tell.My hands clenched into fists at my sides. Every part of me burned with the need to wipe that expression off his face. To make him understand that he had no right. No right to bring up my mother. No right to stand in my home and act like he still had power over me.I didn’t bother lowering my voice. I wanted him to hear the fury in every syllable.“Get out.”Richard let out a low chuckle, a slow, deliberate sound that only fueled my rage. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even shift his weight. He just stood there, completely unfazed, watching me like he had been expecting this reaction.Li