I take a sip of my margarita and lie back down on the beach chair by Tamara's pool. Sighing, I remember what she told me a few days ago. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Jacob will be married soon. Just the thought is hard for me to handle. It's enough to make me want to drink, which is why I had to come over to Tamara's, so I could do it without Dad eyeing me. I've been drinking more lately, and he worries."There's something I need to tell you," Tamara says as she steps out of the pool."I'm listening," I say, putting my drink down and sitting up."Harvey finally found out why Jacob is behaving so strangely toward you.""Really?" I ask, hope fluttering in my heart. Things might start making sense now.Tamara nods and looks at me with pity in her eyes.I wonder why, isn't this good news? "What did he say?""He hates you.""What?" I ask, shocked."Jacob hates you, and Harvey says Jenny is responsible for it.""I don't understand.""After Jacob was discharged from the ho
"What are you reading over there?" Charles asks. It's been a few hours since we took off. Charles apparently doesn't care that I'm his sister's enemy and has been talking to me for most of the flight. I think it's because he has an interest in me, but I might be wrong."A romance novel," I reply, switching off my phone screen and turning to face him."You're a romance fan?""Yes, I am.""So, you must be waiting for your prince charming to rescue you then?""No, I'm not.""But you're a romance fan?""Yes.""I'm confused," he chuckles.I laugh before speaking. "I love romance novels, but not the typical kind you might be familiar with.""Hmm, let me guess, you're into dark romance," Charles says, smirking."Yes, I am." I smile. "How did you know?""Once you said it's not the typical type of romance, dark romance was the next thing that came to my head.So, tell me your favorite book and why it's your favorite.""I don't have just one favorite. I love too many.""What if you had to choos
Standing up from my chair and walking to the window with a cup of coffee, I look out and take in the scene before me. Many cars are trying to beat traffic and make it to work in the city of Austin. A crowd of people swarms the sidewalk heading towards the various buildings in the centre of the city. I take a deep breath as the morning sun shines on my face. A ring sounds, snapping me out of my thoughts. Setting my coffee mug on the table, I pick up my phone. The caller ID reads Daddy with a crown emoji beside it."Hello, Dad," I say, answering the phone."How are you, Sarah? Are we still on for lunch today?""You saw me before I went to work this morning," I replied, shaking my head and smiling. I can't believe he's worried about how I'm doing."It doesn't matter. A lot can happen in an hour or two.""Really, Dad?" He's nothing if not protective. If the man had his way, I wouldn't work at all, but it hasn't always been like this. We only became close after my mom died and I moved to t
I pace up and down my office, thinking about ways to murder Jacob. It felt so surreal seeing him after all this time. The nerve of him to show up today as an investor. Did he expect me to smile and welcome him? He must be on something to think I would forget what he did to me. Seven years have passed, but it doesn't mean I would open my arms wide and welcome him as if nothing had happened. It's going to take longer than that for me to forgive him. "Sarah, you need to calm down. You look like you're about to kill someone," Rebecca says, sounding worried as she watches me. "That's because I want to, or rather I need to." I say, fuming with anger. "I'm very sorry I invited him. I swear if I knew it was the same Jacob who broke your heart years ago. I would've never picked him to be our investor. I'm so sorry." Jacob and I started dating when I was sixteen and broke up before I went to college, so Rebecca never met him. But she'd heard the stories. "I know. You don't have to apologi
TWO WEEKS LATER"Morning, Sarah," Rebecca says when I enter her office, her gaze staying focused on the papers in front of her."How did you know it was me without taking your eyes off the papers in front of you?" I sit on one of the chairs in front of her desk."You are the only person in this building who would enter my office before I say, 'come in'.""Oh." I knocked but didn't wait for her to let me in."I know why you're here, but unfortunately, I don't have good news." She finally tears her eyes away from the pile of papers in front of her, taking off her glasses. The look in her eyes only increases my worry tenfold."Why is it suddenly so hard to find an investor?" I ask, exasperated. Rebecca has been trying for the past two weeks to find someone other than Jacob to invest in our company, but so far, she has had no luck. I know it was hard to find Jacob originally, but I don't understand why it seems more challenging to find someone else this time around."I don't know, but I h
I ask the waiter to refill my glass again while waiting for Jacob to arrive at the restaurant. It's been 30 minutes since I got here and there is no trace of Jacob yet. I'm starting to think he's not coming, but I also don't think he would pass up the opportunity to have dinner with me. I'm confident that my threat will work, and Jacob will back off because of where I'm from. I was born and spent some of my youth in Nigeria. His mother always hated me because of the colour of my skin and didn't try to hide it. She looks down on Africans. If the bitch had her way, Africans would still be her slaves.I watch as the clock in the restaurant strikes nine o'clock, which means an hour has passed and still no sign of Jacob. I can't believe he's standing me up."Ma'am, would you like to order now?" The waiter asks for-if I'm not wrong-the tenth time tonight."No, but I would like a bottle of whatever you have been filling my glass with.""Alright, ma'am."The anger I'm feeling is all consumin
SARAH I move closer to the intoxicating scent around me. It smells so familiar, but I can't place where I've smelled it before. It smells so good that I don't even want to open my eyes to check where it's coming from. It calms my heart and makes me want to spend the whole day wrapped around it. I let out a sigh and feel my breath bounce back against my face. That's odd; why did that happen? I slowly open my eyes to find out what's wrong. My eyes widen as I come face to face with a rock-hard chest. I quickly check my body to ensure I didn't do what I think I might have done. I know I drank a lot last night, but I am not one to have a drunken one-night stand. A breath of relief escapes me once I see I am fully clothed. Thank God, I didn't have a one-night stand.I tear my eyes away from my body and look up to see the owner of the magnificent chest in front of me. Every finger is itching to rub my hands all over this beautiful man's chest, but I stop myself because I need to know who it
"Sarah, what are you doing here so early?" Tamara asks once she opens the front door. "Where do I start?" I walk past her into the house. "Maybe you can start by explaining why you are wearing a dinner dress so early in the morning." "I spent the night out." I sink into one of the couches in her living room. "You spent the night out! Oh my God, it's been so long. I have to ask, with whom?" Tamara asks, getting more excited by the minute. I didn't date much after Jacob, so it is no surprise that Tamara is eager to hear about a date. "Jacob." "You had sex with Jacob?" Tamara asks, wide-eyed. "Of course not; I just spent the night over at his place." "How did that happen?" "I don't know, but I guess he was called to the restaurant after I passed out." "You passed out at a restaurant?" "Yeah," I say, staring at Tamara's TV screen. "Why are you looking at the TV? It's switched off. Is something on your mind?" "Jacob kissed me." "He did what?" "He kissed me." My hands automat
"What are you reading over there?" Charles asks. It's been a few hours since we took off. Charles apparently doesn't care that I'm his sister's enemy and has been talking to me for most of the flight. I think it's because he has an interest in me, but I might be wrong."A romance novel," I reply, switching off my phone screen and turning to face him."You're a romance fan?""Yes, I am.""So, you must be waiting for your prince charming to rescue you then?""No, I'm not.""But you're a romance fan?""Yes.""I'm confused," he chuckles.I laugh before speaking. "I love romance novels, but not the typical kind you might be familiar with.""Hmm, let me guess, you're into dark romance," Charles says, smirking."Yes, I am." I smile. "How did you know?""Once you said it's not the typical type of romance, dark romance was the next thing that came to my head.So, tell me your favorite book and why it's your favorite.""I don't have just one favorite. I love too many.""What if you had to choos
I take a sip of my margarita and lie back down on the beach chair by Tamara's pool. Sighing, I remember what she told me a few days ago. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Jacob will be married soon. Just the thought is hard for me to handle. It's enough to make me want to drink, which is why I had to come over to Tamara's, so I could do it without Dad eyeing me. I've been drinking more lately, and he worries."There's something I need to tell you," Tamara says as she steps out of the pool."I'm listening," I say, putting my drink down and sitting up."Harvey finally found out why Jacob is behaving so strangely toward you.""Really?" I ask, hope fluttering in my heart. Things might start making sense now.Tamara nods and looks at me with pity in her eyes.I wonder why, isn't this good news? "What did he say?""He hates you.""What?" I ask, shocked."Jacob hates you, and Harvey says Jenny is responsible for it.""I don't understand.""After Jacob was discharged from the ho
Catching up with him before he walks back into the ballroom, I move to grab his arm, but he yanks out of my grip."Jacob, please tell me you didn't just say the word 'fiancée'?" I ask, my heart beating hard against my chest.He's about to reply, but someone beats him to it. My already cracked heart shatters into a million pieces once I hear her voice."There you are, my love," Hannah says from behind me. I hear her approaching, but before she can get to us, Jacob walks up to her. I turn around, and what I see breaks my heart even more. Tears fill my eyes as Jacob captures her lips in a kiss. My shattered heart squeezes in my chest and suddenly breathing is difficult. Jacob doesn't close his eyes as he kisses her; instead, he stares at me. I bite my lip to stop it from trembling and try my best to contain my tears, but I can't. My knees weaken, so I lean against the wall to prevent myself from falling.I can't believe he's kissing her. Does Jacob truly not love me anymore? When he said
Throwing the blanket off my body, I sit up and drop my feet over the side of the bed. Glancing at my phone, I see there's a few important messages that I'll need to reply to while at work. At first, it was hard going back into the office after everything that happened, but as the days have passed, I've been grateful for the distraction.It's been months since my child was taken from me. I can't believe how time flies. A part of me is grateful for how quickly it's passed because it makes it less painful that it's been a month since I last saw Jacob. His mother made sure the day we found out about his amnesia was the last time I stepped foot in that hospital.Not even Yennefer could help me.Not being able to be there for him at such a critical point in his life breaks my heart. I bet he still doesn't even know who I am. I'm certain his mother has made sure of that.Tears sting the back of my eyes, and I throw my head back, trying to blink them away. My heart breaks every time I think a
SARAHI bite my nails and pace the room, waiting for news of Jacob's rescue. Harvey came an hour ago and told me they were able to figure out where the gang was holding him, and that they were going to get him back. I have barely eaten or slept since I found out Jacob had been taken. I can't even think straight. The thought of losing Jacob and how much that will destroy me is all I can think about.The Smiths didn't report Jacob missing to the authorities. They feared the gang would have harmed him more in retaliation if they did. Instead, Edward hired a mercenary group to find him. But I also suspect Edward didn't want to get the cops involved, so the gang members wouldn't tell them about the kidnapping he had hired them for. I disagreed with their decision to not to go to the cops, but I honestly don't care as long as they find Jacob. Someone bursts into the room, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look at Tamara, wondering why the hell she came in like that."They found him!" Tamara
I wake up to the sound of someone calling my name. The first thing I see as I open my eyes is a dark brown ceiling. Someone touches my arm, and I turn."Thank God, you woke up. I was worried sick." Tamara gets up from the chair she'd been sitting in and pulls me into her arms."Tamara?" I don't return her embrace, confused about where we are and what happened. "What's going on?" I ask as she pulls away from me."You don't remember?" Tamara's eyes widen.Closing my eyes, I try to force my brain to recall what happened. Tears flow down my cheeks as I remember. It wasn't just a horrible nightmare. It's true. I open my eyes and face Tamara, just as Harvey walks in."Harvey, please tell me Jenny was lying," I plead, begging him to tell me the words I wish to hear."Sarah..." His eyes are filled with sadness."Please say it." More tears stream down my face. Tamara grabs my hand and gives it a small squeeze."I wish I could."I swallow and force myself to ask a question that I'm not sure I w
Later that night, I wake up to the feeling of something wet and soft on my forehead. I don't open my eyes because I know who it is. Jacob is here for his nightly visit. I don't know how he gets in this late, but he's come to see me every single night even though I asked him to stay away. I won't lie; a part of me is happy he didn't listen, because I look forward to this nighttime ritual. I lay as still as possible, pretending to be asleep."How are you doing today, my love?" Jacob whispers. "I'm here to visit like I promised I would. I hope you're doing better."I want to answer, and say yes, I am doing better and tell him there's nothing to worry about, but I don't. His voice tells me how concerned he is, and I wish I could ease his worries, but I can't. He'll stop coming once I acknowledge his visits, and I don't want that. I need this time with him.Tears sting the back of my eyes. Knowing these are the only moments I'll ever have with him makes my heart ache. I truly wish things c
Jacob sleeps soundly close to my lap. It's been a few hours since I woke up. I went back to sleep after our conversation. Exhaustion from all the crying I had done and the injuries I had sustained took hold of me. I gently stroke Jacob's hair while he sleeps. Lifting my hand away from his head for a second, I wipe away the teardrop falling from my eyes. I've been doing some thinking. And what I'm thinking about makes me tear up. I sniffle a little, and the sound causes Jacob to wake up."You're crying," he says, seeing the tears in my eyes."No, I'm not," I lie, wiping the evidence from my face. "I need to talk to you.""What is it, mon amour?"A bullet tears through my heart hearing him call me that. His love. Placing a hand on his face, I try to memorize every detail. This is the last time I'll ever be close to him, so I take my time admiring his handsome face. He is about to place his hand over mine, but I draw away before he can. I adjust a little on the bed and clear my throat be
Once I arrive at the abandoned building, I rush inside. My heart racing harder with every step. I'm praying it's not too late. I can't imagine my life without Sarah. The guilt of causing her death would ruin me. I pray I won't have to face such an existence. I kick open the first door I come across. The man in the room jumps up from the couch as the door falls off its hinges."What the fuck!" He shouts, the joint he'd been smoking tumbling to the ground. The whole place reeks of weed, I could smell it even before I walked in.I don't care to give him a second glance, instead scanning the whole room for Sarah. I don't have to search long. The blood trail coming from the room's right side is enough to tell me where she is.The man who'd been sitting on the couch walks toward me. "Who the fuck are you?" he growls, but I don't answer and push him out of the way.Dropping to the floor, I take Sarah's head in my lap once I get to her. All the anger I felt as I drove here vanishes as I hold