Taking a deep breath, Alexandre ran a hand through his hair. He was sitting in his office, going through some documents. He was tired and he had a pounding headache. Leaning back on his chair, he closed his eyes and began to rub his temples. There was a knock on the door. Exasperated, he frowned at the door. "Come in" he said, tiredness lacing his voice.
The door opened and Vivienne, his secretary walked in. "Sir, there's a lady at the reception desk. She's starting to cause a nuisance. She said she wants to see you" She said.Dre sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose."Bring her here" he said.
She gave him a sharp nod and left his office. Frustrated, he ran his palms down his face.The door opened few minutes later and the first thing he heard was the sharp clicks made as a result of Nadine's high heeled boots hitting the floor."Did I interrupt something?" She asked, her tone cocky."What do you want tA week had passed since Ellise visited Jade. She dreaded confronting her husband and discovering that what Jade had said was true. But at the moment, Ellise couldn't bear the tension. She decided to talk to him. Ellise hesitated at the front of the door to her husband's office. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to his study."Dre-"She sighed when she saw that he was resting his head on his desk and was clearly asleep."Oh, I guess I'll just have to come back" she muttered. She turned away to leave but halted in her steps just as she heard him call her name. She slowly turned to face him. He sat up slowly, letting out a long sigh."Sorry I woke you up" she said, feeling bad that she'd interrupted his sleep because it was clear that he hasn't been getting any sleep."It's okay, I was just starting to fall asleep" he sighed."I wanted to talk to you" she said and he nodded, gesturing to
"I think I'm not the only one here who thinks my brothers looks like shit" Xanthis said as he lowered himself onto a chair in Dre's office. They had just finished having a board meeting and Xanthis was about to begin his ranting. Valentino gave him a dry look, his lips pursed."Come on, Dmitri....Tell them how horrible they look. Have you guys been getting any sleep at all? What's wrong?" He pressed further."He's right, though. You guys look horrible" Dmitri said, giving Dre a pointed look."I've just been a lot stressed up lately, that's all" Dre said."I'm not buying that, Dre. You know I'm not satisfied with that answer" Xanthis said and he glared at him."It's none of your business" Dre droned."Woah, someone is PMSing" Xanthis whistled and Dre sighed, running a hand through his hair."Have you seen Dominic yet? He has a nagging pregnant wife, yet he doesn't look as horrible as you do. So, tell me. Is this about Ellise?
Ellise slowly opened her eyes, groggily. She blinked, a smile tugging at her lips as her gaze rested on the sight of her husband asleep with her in his arms. Gently, she moved his arm away from her body and put on a robe over her night dress. She brushed his hair away from his forehead and pressed a lingering kiss to the top of his head. "I love you" she whispered softly in order to avoid waking him up. Sparing him one more glance, she stepped into the bathroom. After she'd taken her bath and gotten dressed, She quietly left the bedroom.She didn't want to wake him up since he hadn't been getting any sleep lately. As soon as she stepped into the sitting room, she found Nadine sitting on the couch with a scowl on her face."I know what you did" she spat, rising to her feet."I know what you did, yesterday" she growled.Ellise's eyes went blank and she stared at her, feigning ignorance."I don't know
Ellise arrived at the hospital and hurried through the entrance. There in the waiting room, sat Elvis. She had never seen him look so dejected and heartbroken."You're here" he breathed when his gaze found hers."Yes, I am. How is she?" She asked.He sighed, covering his face with his hands."She's in a horrible condition. She's badly hurt and she's on life support" he croaked.Ellise slowly placed a hand over his hand and squeezed gently."Let's hope for the best" she said and he gave her a weak smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I don't know how- but maybe she knew it was going to happen. She kept telling me not to go to the office. She kept telling me that she wanted me to stay at home with her, but I never listened. I would've gone with her to wherever she was going. It was all my fault. I should've stayed. I shouldn't-""Stop beating yourself up like this. You know that this isn't your fault. Don't loose hope yet" Ell
"Ellise, he's going to be okay-" Dre said but was sharply interrupted by her."You don't know that! My mother is in a bloody coma! What if she never wakes up again?! I'm so tired of it! I thought you could handle this but, look! My own mother has been dragged into this mess!" She yelled at Dre in the hospital waiting room, making other people to give him weird stares. It was embarrassing."Ellise-" he said, reaching out to hold her hand but she shrugged him off, her blood shot eyes glaring at him accusingly."You know that this is not my fault-""Is it then my fault?! You started keeping secrets from me. Your ugly secrets has finally landed my mum in the hospital, thanks to you" she spat and stormed out of the waiting room. He stood there, frozen.Ellise had never snapped at him before. What suddenly changed? The other people in the waiting room were staring at him now. Some of them looked at him with pity, others looked at him with dis
"I have to go" Ellise said to Elvis who sighed."Alright, don't be hard on yourself, okay? Sara's in a better place now" she said and he nodded."Thank you" he whispered, kissing the back of her hand before walking away.She heaved a sigh and turned to walk away. Then, she found herself staring at a familiar face. She groaned inwardly. She was sure he'd seen her with Elvis. She could tell just by the look on his face."I don't know if you're actually doing this because you want to punish me or because you think I deserve this. Haven't you punished me enough already? I don't understand, make me understand" he said, hurt replacing the cold look in his eyes.Ellise's gaze wandered around the parking lot. She couldn't bear to look into his eyes and see the pain she'd caused him. But, she didn't want to feel guilty."Are you just going to ignore me?" He asked."I don't know what you think
Alexandre was shocked.Not because Ellise could do such a thing but because Nadine could go through such an extreme length to make everyone dance to her tune. He knew that Ellise wouldn't do such a thing. That was why he why he didn't believe a word Nadine had said. He turned to look at Ellise who looked really pale. She looked sick."Dre, you believe her, don't you?" She said, furiously."No, I don't" he said, shaking his head. Ellise frowned at him.'Doesn't she trust me?' he thought."Alex, listen to me. She's the one responsible. I heard her and decided to record it. Maybe she saw me there too and she sent some men to beat me up. Look at me!" Nadine cried, moving her hair away from her face. The left side of her face that was previously covered by her hair was bruised and bloody. There was another bruise on her right cheek. Dre wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. She had to be lying. He knew that she was a psychopath, but with t
Three months later, Xanthis steadied Dre as he helped him to the car. Dre stared blankly at the space in front of him when he settled down beside the driver seat. Xanthis sighed and got into the driver seat, jamming the door shut. "You doing okay?" He asked, although he knew his brother wasn't okay. Dre remained silent, his glassy eyes staring in front of him."I need to find Ellise" he finally said with a hoarse voice. Xanthis cringed, feeling sympathy for him. He couldn't believe had Ellise actually left when her husband needed her the most. It was a miracle that he'd survived his near death experience. Xanthis was worried about his brother's wellbeing. He just had an appointment with the doctor because he wasn't feeling well. The doctor had given Dre new medications because his heart condition was worsening. Valentino had been discharged from the hospital a month ago and he was upset whe
NOELLE "Hey, mum" I turned to look at my thirteen year old daughter as she sauntered into the kitchen, dressed in a pink dress and a bow tie on her hair. "Hey, sweetie" I said as I closed the cupboards."Dad isn't home yet" she said, leaning on the counter.I shrugged."He'll be home soon. Hope you remember that we're heading to your grandparents' home for Thanksgiving dinner?" I said and she beamed."Nope, I haven't forgotten. Rick is being such a lazy boy. He wouldn't get ready for dinner" she frowned."I'm not being a lazy boy, Hayden. You're just being insensitive" Richardo, my eleven year old son said as he strolled into the kitchen wearing a pair of dark blue jeans."Mum! Richardo just called me insensitive!" Hayden exclaimed."Rick! That's not a nice thing to say to your elder sister!" I scolded.He frowned, staring at the floor."Apologize to her" I said."But-""I said, apologize to her""I'm s
Ellise let out a sigh, leaning against the wall as she watched different people move around in a lively manner. The whole place was nicely decorated. Men and women of high class moved about with glasses of champagne in their hands.She sighted Valentino in the far corner of the hall. He didn't look happy despite the fact that a celebration was going on. Noelle was standing beside him with her head on his shoulder as she talking to him. Ellise watched him sigh and embrace her, his eyes slipping close. She felt a painful jolt in her heart watching them embrace. She could picture herself in Noelle's position with her Dre replacing Val. It was so hard to look at her husband's brothers and not break down. At the other end of the hall stood Xanthis, he looked just as gloomy as Valentino. Tasha had embraced him from behind, whispering something in his ear. Flashbacks of her doing the same to Dre appeared in her mind and she bit her lips trying to stop the tears. A strang
Dre's knees buckled and Ellise went down with him, cradling his head in her arms."El-""Sh, save your strength" she said, tears filling her eyes.He shook his head, more blood pouring out from his mouth."I'm s-sorry. It isn't supposed to end like this" he rasped, tears filling his eyes."Stop saying that!" She cried, trying to stop the bleeding."Y-you don't understand... I don't think I c-can survive this" he wheezed.She was sobbing at this point.Xanthis hurried to Dre's side, his face paling at the sight of his brother.Valentino had dialled 911.Dre coughed again, more blood staining his lips and chin."B-but I want you to know that- none of this is your fault. I-I might never see my kids again b-but I want you to raise them like the good mother you are-"He gasped, his eyelids slipping close. "T-tell them that I love them" he croaked, his bloody hand weakly grasping he
Ellie had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched Zack and his brother pull out guns. All she could think of was the possibility of loosing Dre tonight. She tried to take her mind of it but it wasn't working. Some other men walked into the room, fully armed. The fight had begun. She wasn't scared.She was purely terrified.She hugged her arms to herself as the cold air hit her skin. The thin hospital dress did nothing to warm her up. The temperature in the room had dropped considerably, she was shivering. Through the rising fog, she tried to find Dre to make sure that he was safe.All she could think of was his safety.She needed him alive.She needed him safe.She grimaced at the sounds of pained groans and moans coming from the room. She nearly gagged as the unmistakable metallic scent of blood hit her nostrils.The fog was clearing and she could see the number of bodies lying on the floor, unconscious.
"We were wrong, Dre. We were so wrong. Look, Fletcher had three sons. They were fucking triplets! The names.... It was just to confuse us, they were three different people! Their supposed last names seemed different because they were only using their first names and middle names! There was no accident. Zack is Zack. He didn't have a face transplant. As I'm speaking to you right now, we've got two of them with some psycho men, trying to barge into the base. I don't know where the last one is but I have a bad feeling that something isn't right. Are you still at the hospital?" Xanthis asked through the phone."Yeah" Dre replied, distantly. He turned away from the exit, changing his mind completely. He needed to get back to Ellise."Go back to Ellie, mate. Things are pretty much unstable right now""I know, but you sure you guys are okay down there?" Dre asked, hurrying towards the ward."Yeah, for now. They are psychos for real. This is harder th
'Okay, breathe Ellie.You can do this' Ellise thought as she stifled another scream. She'd woken up from a nap, only to find her sweatpants wet. The babies were coming and she was so scared. The contractions were increasing and it hurt so bad."Oh God, I can't even walk" she muttered, picking up her phone to call her husband. She bit her lower lip, her eyes glassy. When she dialled his number, he picked the call."Ellie?""Dre...oh thank God. I think the babies are coming" she croaked, sniffling weakly."Oh shit" Dre cursed under his breath. "It hurts, Dre" she whispered."Keep breathing, honey. I'll be right there in a few minutes. You can do this" he said and she nodded frantically, placing a hand on her stomach."Please, keep talking to me. I'm... scared" she whispered."I'm right here, baby. You're going to be a wonderful mother. You're going to make me a proud father. You're okay. You're doing great" he said.
"Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?" Val asked, gazing into Noelle's eyes. She smiled, giddily."No?""Then, I'm saying it now. Your eyes are stunning, Elle" he whispered.She blushed hard."Your eyes are beautiful too, Val" she said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "But, yours are more beautiful" he winked. "I'm not having an argument with you" she pouted.He laughed."Well, we've been dating for months but I feel like I've known you far more than that. I- I just.... I don't deserve you, you know. With everything that-"His voice was shaky with emotion, her heart ached for him. She stroked the scarred side of his face. "No, don't say that. You deserve even more than me, Val. You're a great guy. You have a big heart and you're so sweet. I couldn't have asked for anything less. You're perfect" she said, caressing his face. Tears filled his eyes and a tear rolled down his left cheek. "Don't cr
"I don't get it. How is this happening right now? How did I not recognize him? I dated him for nearly a year but..... Elvis.... This is giving me a headache" Ellise frowned, pacing back and forth as she rubbed her temple."Hey, hey. You have to calm down. Stress isn't good for the baby. I'm sure there must be an explanation for all of this. Why would your ex do something like this?" Alex said, sitting her down on the couch. She frowned, biting her lower lip."Why would he send Cornelia? Why would he send her to do his dirty job for him and why did she do it?" She said."It just doesn't make sense. Cornelia has been ranting about her wanting to avenge Gomez's death. What does it have to do with him?""I guess we're about to find out" Valentino said walking in with a file. Dre stood up, giving him a puzzled look."What's in there?" Ellise asked."Information. Everything you need to know about Zack Thompson is here"Dr
Shocked to silence, Ellise stared at her husband who was showing her the dark part of him for the first time since she'd married him.He seemed to have become a different person entirely. He looked so relaxed and he had a very evil smirk on his face even while he was bleeding a lot. Ellise found it rather scary.Cornelia cried out in pain when another knife lodged itself on her right thigh."How does it feel? Tell me, do you like it? It's called pain. The pain you caused me can't be compared to this. I know you're insane but I'll punish you. I warned you, didn't I?" Dre said, plunging the blade of another knife into fire until it became red hot. "Please" Cornelia whimpered."What did you say?" He whispered, mockingly.She remained silent, tears rolling down her cheeks.Ellise almost felt sympathy for her but when she remembered what she'd done to her family, how she'd almost killed her husband, she felt no remorse, n