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214|Follow The Sun
Last Updated:
2022-05-15 00:48:50
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Save Him 1|Her Only Reason
[Three Months Earlier...] 'Money or Fame?' 'Fame!' It was the same set of questions. Same two friends. Todd and Ben. The rules were still the same too. Two choices. Pick an answer. No wasting time. The only difference was they were now fifteen minutes away from their destination. The bus driver had just informed them of their ETA, pretty much the same way a pilot gives a weather update before making a descent. She wouldn't have ordered the ham and cheese sandwich if she knew how close they were. She wasn't hungry anymore. 'Batman or Superman?' Of course, now and then, they switched things up a bit and threw in a random question or two. It was the only way to pass the time without slitting each other's throats. Eight hours in a stiflingly hot bus was enough to turn anyone into a mass murderer. To stay sane, she'd spent her eight hours on the game between the two friends across the aisle and the serial killer paperback she'd picked up on a whim at the bus station. A hundred pages
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 2|The Call
[Present day...] "The results came back. It's just as we thought, Nat."These weren't the words Natalie Taylor wanted to hear, and it certainly wasn't the news she'd expected."Jamie's's gonna need that new kidney soon."She felt like a steam train had run her over, crushed her chest and squeezed all the air from her lungs as she struggled to breathe. Her fingers turned as rubbery as her legs, and her phone slipped out of her hands, whining as it crashed to the floor at her feet."Nat? Say something. Are you okay?"Her sister's disembodied voice sounded muffled, as though it came from some far-off place. Natalie leaned over to grab the phone, wincing at the huge spiderweb crack on the screen. So much for tempered glass!She brought the damaged iPhone to her ear, mumbling, "Sorry, I dropped my phone.""I thought you fainted," Amber replied. "I was so worried."Natalie ignored her concern as she swayed on her feet and held on to the wall to steady herself. She was very close to passing
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 3|Saints And Sinners
Saints was already buzzing with the usual Monday afternoon rowdiness when they arrived. The place was packed, and not just from their colleagues. The bar was a crowd-puller every day—except Sundays because it was closed—attracting an impressive number of patrons from the big five banks and several tech startups in the Central Business District. Natalie clutched Emily's hand, squeezing through the mass of sweaty but smartly-dressed drunken bodies as they made their way to a miraculously free corner booth near the restrooms. "What do you want to drink?" Emily yelled over the blaring music, a catchy tune from last summer but still played to death on all the radio stations. "I'll have a margarita!" Natalie shouted back. Emily said something about hopping over to the bar to get their drinks. Natalie waved her off and checked her emails but quickly closed them when she saw too many zeros in the quote from Amber. There was no way she could afford that on her salary. To her relief, Lennie
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 4|Dreams
Levi Van Holt ran on autopilot for fourteen hours, fuelled by the strongest coffee he could find at various layovers. But he crashed almost immediately under a wave of exhaustion when he reached his office.For a minute or maybe longer, he remained in his seat in the back of the Uber, unable to move, dreading the night ahead."Sir, are we at the right place?" Eyebrow raised, the driver turned in his seat."Yes. Thank you," Levi said as he gathered his messenger bag and luggage and gave the man a generous tip before he slipped out of the car.The ground floor was ablaze with lights, but the rest of the building sat in darkness.Levi trudged to the entrance, his eyes droopy, his shoulders sagged. If someone told him they'd hidden a body in his duffel bag, he'd believe them. But nothing in there would interest law enforcement other than several outfits and shoes. So he couldn't understand why it was so heavy.He stopped to chat with the security guard in the lobby.The older man beamed wi
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 5|One Job
The dreaded phone call turned into one of their ugliest fights when Levi informed his parents he had nothing new to report."What do you mean you didn't find her? What the hell were you doing for the last three months? No doubt fucking random whores in shady hotels. You were always irresponsible. You only had one job, Levi—to find your sister!" Charles Leviticus Van Holt Senior went berserk on him, accusing him of all sorts of crazy things, including being the most incompetent son in the world.Levi couldn't say he was surprised. Colleen was always the favourite child. A true daddy's little girl who could do no wrong in their father's eyes.She was the impulsive and reckless one of the two of them. But for some inexplicable reason, her disappearances always fell squarely on Levi's shoulders.Cynthia Strauss, his mom, tried to defend him, but Leviticus quickly shot her down, not giving her a chance to get a word in edgewise. Nobody could talk any sense into him when he was in one of his
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 6|Colleen
Mildly drunk and dog-tired, Levi was tempted to sleep in his office after the phone call with his parents.The idea of spending the night on a couch that wasn't as comfortable as his king-size bed, though, did not make business sense, whichever way he looked at it. So he threw on his jacket, grabbed his bags and headed out.Dozing off in the lobby in one of Mark's new fancy chairs, Sol jerked awake at the sound of his footsteps, smiling sleepily. "Mr Van Holt, are you off, sir?""Yes. See you later, Sol!" Levi waved goodbye, pushed the emergency exit door and ran down the two flights of stairs to his reserved parking spot in the basement.His Porsche Cayenne didn't look too bad for a car parked in a dusty basement for over three months, but stopping by the car wash one of the days wouldn't hurt.Twenty minutes later, Levi was at his penthouse in Green Point, a plush neighbourhood north of Rock Castle.He hadn't been home in a while, but the place looked as pristine as he'd left it mont
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 7|Tempted
Plagued by worry for her brother and tempted by Emily's offer, sleep didn't come easy for Natalie that night.She wriggled about in her bed for a while, trying to get into a comfortable position before giving up any illusions she had about getting a peaceful night's rest.She sat up, turned on the light on her nightstand, and reached for her phone, her heart bleeding a little at the massive crack on the screen. She still had eighteen months of payments left on the contract, and now with Jamie's medical expenses, it would be a while before she could get it fixed.The group chat with all her friends back home was dead. Nothing new in Sparrow Beach. No salacious gossip or groundbreaking scandals.Disappointed, Natalie scrolled through the Hot Connexions App.Only one of the eight 'connexion' suggestions was her type. Swiping left on her screen, she turned down the seven and focused all her attention on Lucas Southey.Not his real name, of course.They never used their real names.But he t
Last Updated : 2022-05-11Save Him 8|Aunty Viv
Recruitment exceeded Natalie's expectations with their turnaround time.The owner of Dreams personally called her from an undisclosed phone number hours after she sent through her application. But thinking it was a sales consultant trying to sell her life insurance she couldn't afford, Natalie ignored the three consecutive calls and poured all her energy into the graphs and pie charts in her report.Around midday, as she was about to head to the staff canteen on the ground floor to grab something to eat, her phone rang again.This time she picked up, and she wasn't very nice. "No, I don't want any life insurance, and I don't have any friends I can refer you to. So can you please stop badgering me with all these calls?""I like your fire, doll!" A breathy voice purred on the other end of the line. "This is Aunty Viv. I've tried three times this morning to reach you.""Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I thought it was the telemarketers," Natalie apologised, convinced she'd blown her chances
Last Updated : 2022-05-11
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Save Him 214|Follow The Sun
"Something's different," Natalie murmured as she flicked her gaze through the room.Levi gave her a back hug and kissed the top of her head. "I installed shutters.""Why?""This is our second home, Nat, and I wanted you to feel safe and comfortable.""Thank you," she turned around and hugged him, resting her head on his chest. "The windows don't look as scary and frightening as they did when I first stayed over.""That was the plan. To make them look less frightening." He tapped her nose and asked, "are you hungry?""For something else.""I was hoping you'd say that!" he replied and promptly threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he carried her to their bedroom."You sexy brute!" Natalie scolded him. "Put me down. The housekeepers will see us!"But he paid her no mind and only set her down once they were in their room."Say it again," he commanded as he moved over her on the bed and nibbled her lower lip. "Tell me all the filthy things you want me to do to you."Natalie
Save Him 213|Precious Love
Natalie had to blink a few times at the picturesque scene before her. It was hard to believe this place, decorated splendidly in ivory and silver motifs, was the same town hall used by Sparrow Beach's residence association to host their weekly meetings."This is amazing," she whispered as she swept her gaze through the room, at all the tiny details, the little things she would never have thought of if she was left to her own devices. Cynthia and the wedding planners had done an incredible job transforming it into a venue fit for a grand wedding reception. Natalie couldn't pry her eyes away from string fairy lights draping the ceiling. But the smell of white lilies permeating the room transported her back to her balcony at The Empress the night Levi proposed to her, and she turned him down. It felt like a lifetime ago, and as she gave him a sidelong glance and caught him looking at her, she couldn't help but be glad he never gave up on her, and she had the sense to say yes on his sixth
Save Him 212|Runaway Bride
At the altar, Seth and Mark seemed to be way more nervous than Levi."Are you sure about this?" Mark asked for the hundredth time, and Levi gritted his teeth for the hundredth time."How many times should I tell you? I love Nat, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.""Well, I'm just saying marriage is forever, you know." Mark dabbed his forehead with his handkerchief."Why are you sweating? It's not even your wedding," Seth said as he pulled out his own handkerchief and patted his face."Can I have some water?" Liam asked. "God, I need some water. What did that crazy Russian do to me last night?""You fell for his dare again," Mark tried to fill in the blanks for him. "He made you a Russian fuck bomb—that's what he called it. Still don't know what was in it. But you were a goner after you drank that shit, and we had to help Eden carry you back to your room at the B&B.""No wonder she's mad as fuck at me," Liam whispered. "Is she looking at me right now? Guys, I can feel he
Save Him 211|Heart Is At Ease
The weatherman had predicted strong winds and heavy rain. But Natalie's big day dawned bright and sunny. The sky was as blue as the ocean behind her house, with no cloud in sight. Amber and Colleen thought it was a good omen, and Emily, not a believer of anything really, agreed with them."You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen," Amber said for what felt like the hundredth time since Natalie had stepped into her wedding dress.They were in one of the smaller administration rooms on the chapel's grounds, and the stylists had turned it into a makeshift dressing room."What are you talking about? I'm the only bride you've ever seen!" Natalie teased, but she really was overwhelmed by all the love her sister and friends had shown her, and she was trying so hard not to cry and ruin her makeup."Just accept the compliment already," Colleen scolded her as she fussed over the hem of Natalie's dress."Yeah, Nat, you need to learn to work on accepting compliments graciously," Emily agre
Save Him 210|Cold Feet
"Is everything okay with you two?" Colleen approached him. "I'm sensing a weird vibe. Are you guys getting cold feet?""I don't know about Nat, but I'm not," Levi replied and pushed his hands in his pockets. "How was she today? I don't know…These last two weeks, she's been so calm.""And how is that a bad thing?""Because I know Nat. A wedding is a huge, life-altering event, and she doesn't do life-altering events well. Her knee-jerk reaction is to run. I'm just scared that—Never mind.""No," Colleen refused to let him leave her with half the info. "You're scared of what?""She's too calm, Leeny. The last time she was this way was when she threw you the welcome party. The very next day, she made a run for it without telling me about the twins.""That was months ago!" Colleen reminded him. "You're overthinking this. I've seen the way Nat looks at you. She's crazy about you and your babies. She won't leave you in the lurch! Besides, where would she run to? This is her home town."Right,
Save Him 209|Midnight Rendezvous
Julian and Andrei took it upon themselves to throw Levi the biggest and craziest bachelor party Sparrow Beach had ever seen.And Levi was only happy to blame Mark for everything."What did I do? I followed your 'no bachelor party' rule to the T." His best friend held up his hands as they watched Liam, Jaxon and Matthew try to outdrink each other over a beer pong game."That's exactly why it's your fault. You didn't enforce the rule hard enough," Levi replied, his attention stolen away briefly by Julian and Andrei sipping champagne from the navel of one of the three models-slash-strippers they'd flown in for the occasion.The said model was laid out on the pool table, her half-naked body out on display for everyone to see, and Levi wondered just how Joe had allowed this debauchery to carry on at his family-friendly establishment."Seriously, Mark, as my best man, how do you think Natalie will feel about all this crap?"Ten—maybe even two years ago—this was totally his scene. But now, a
Save Him 208|One Thing Right At Least
In theory, the idea of having twins had sounded fun and appealing. But the reality was far from it, as Natalie and Levi soon learned over the next few weeks.Indeed, it was double the blessing, double the fun, and double the joy. But it was also double the work, and it didn't help that the first week after they brought them home, Juno and Mars decided to go on different sleep schedules.If she and Levi didn't have a strong support system to rely on, Natalie knew they would have lost their minds in those first few weeks.Mrs Ackerman semi-moved in with them, splitting her time between the Blue Mountains and Green Point. It was nice having her around; she was a pro at the never-ending laundry of tiny-sized human clothes and the general upkeep of the house.Levi suggested hiring a nanny full time, but Natalie wasn't sold on the idea. She wanted to be hands-on and involved in the twins' upbringing."Love, it's not working," he said after one particularly difficult night. They were running
Save Him 207|Life's Little Moments
Natalie received a clean bill of health five days after the twins' arrival, and two days later, they were all finally allowed to leave the hospital.After months of being cooped up in bed and eating terrible hospital food, she couldn't get home fast enough.She couldn't stop raving about all the stuff she'd do when they got home, like taking an actual shower and sleeping in her own bed—all the things she used to take for granted before her bed rest.Zachary and Carlos picked them up, and they spent a few minutes gazing at the twins in their double infant stroller, trying to decide who they resembled the most."I really can't tell who they look like," Carlos admitted at last."Neither can we," Levi said with a smile as he covered the twins with a light blanket and turned to Natalie. "Ready to go?"She took one last look around the ward, ensuring they had all their stuff. Satisfied everything was packed away, she nodded. "Yep, let's go home."She hooked her arm around Levi's, and he pus
Save Him 206|Juno and Mars
Levi called his assistant on his way back to the hospital and cancelled all his meetings for the week."Sir," Angela said before they could hang up. "We are all thinking of you. Norah and Natalie's team are beside themselves with worry. But she's a fighter. She'll be out of the hospital in no time.""Thank you," he smiled into the phone, praying with all his heart she was right. He'd lose his mind if anything had to happen to Natalie and their twins. They'd come too far for him to lose her now, especially after everything they'd been through.After he hung up from Angela, he called Amber. She was hysterical, and it took him a long time to calm her down and assure her Natalie, and their babies were fine, and there was no need for them to drive down to Rock Union.He was immensely relieved when he found Natalie sitting up, chatting with his folks and her bestie.Now that he was back, his parents and Emily excused themselves, promising to return later to relieve him."See, I told you I'l
