"Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient."
-Jordan B. Peterson-
***
“What is this?” Karina was taking a walk in front of her house when a guard approached her with a letter in his hand.
“This is an invitation from Madam Libel.” He told her. Eden was at work that morning so he thought it was best to give the letter to Karina instead. She took it and thanked the guard before going back inside the house to see what the letter was all about.
“Dear Eden and Karina,
Leo has been requesting to meet you again since you parted. Therefore, as a good mother, I would like to fulfill my son’s wish. I would like to invite you over to my place for dinner tomorrow evening. Please inform me if you are available.
With love and kisses, Lobelia Libel.” The letter was incredibly short and she could easily send the message over through a phone call. Instead, she chose to do it the
"Don't say 'wife'. I'm your mistress. Wife's such an ugly word. Your 'permanent mistress' is so much more tangible and desirable."-F. Scott Fitzgerald-***After an hour ride, Karina and Eden eventually arrived at Lobelia’s house. However, it would sound too humble to call the place a mere house because it was definitely a mansion. No, in fact, it was more than just a mansion.The place looked like it came straight out of a fairytale, a palace. The location of the house was also quite far from the city, similar to Eden, she chose a secluded area to reside in. That one aunt of Eden was truly no ordinary woman.“I did not think there is a house of this size in New Hampshire. Is it even on the google map?” She questioned. Eden chuckled at her remark. It was truly normal.Anyone who saw the place would assume the same thing. Since Eden grow up in similar environment, he was used to it. For an ordinary
"A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be curious, to fight tirelessly for something."-Paulo Coelho-***“Ah, you are still the same, Eden. Always get straight to the point. Then, I will tell you what I want.” She smiled and steeped her fingers together.“I need your men to search for someone for me.” She stated. Eden’s expression remained flat. He did not seem surprised by the request at all. It was the opposite, he seemed to be expecting it.“Aunt Lobelia, you have all of these men here and yet none of them could do the job for you?” He sarcastically remarked.“Unfortunately yes. It’s just none of my men are as skilled in the detective play as yours. I could hire a private detective but doing the business with you would be a lot safer for me. We’re relatives, after all. Surely, you would help out this aunt of yours
"The manner of giving is worth more than the gift."-Pierre Corneille-***“Good morning Karina.” The blinding light of the room woke her up along with a woman’s gentle voice. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Lobelia standing there in Leo’s bedroom.Yes, she ended up sleeping in the same bed as Leo because the little boy refused the let her out of his sight. Lobelia was not wearing any makeup at the moment.When she was all natural without her usual flamboyant appearance like that, she looked a little bit more normal, she almost couldn’t recognize her.For a woman her age, Lobelia was still beautiful since she took care of her skin well, but having makeup on reduced even more years off her.“Lobelia, good morning.” She greeted her as she rubbed her eyes together. She turned around and saw Leo sleeping peacefully beside her.“Don’t worry, his perso
"Always trust your first gut instinct. If you genuinely feel in your heart and soul that something is wrong, it usually is."-Unknown-***The day everyone was waiting for had finally arrived. It was Eden’s birthday and they decided after a long talk to hold it in New York since it was the perfect spot for everyone to gather around.A day before the birthday, Eden had brought Karina to New York in advance to check on the preparation. This time, they brought their luggage for a three days stay as well since they planned on walking around New York as well while they were there.The birthday banquet was held at a different hotel from where the auction was held. They stayed over at the hotel and Karina did not know it costed them a few thousand dollars per night just to stay there.Eden would not tell her about it though, he just wanted them to have a good time. The night before the birthday was held, Eden went th
"Dance like no one's watching, live everyday like it's your last day and love like you've never been hurt."-Mark Twain-***Eden’s birthday party went on really well. After he was done giving his speech, he went back to his seat and joined Karina to have dinner together before he had to visit each table and entertained all of the guests.It was not easy for them to just head over to New York for the party so he had to greet them personally one by one.“I’m going to accompany you later to entertain the guest.” Karina offered as she was eating. Eden was slightly startled by her sudden offer because Karina was not exactly the most social woman.She was not a loner or anything but she would prefer to keep to herself and did not like to engage with people she did not know all too often.He was quite happy about it though because he thought she was starting to open up to him and his communi
"If you want respect for your past, it means that you have a problem with your present and even more with your future."-Karl Lagerfeld-***After he was done with the after party business, Eden returned back to his room expecting to see Karina there. However, as soon as he opened the door, she was nowhere to be found.Eden began to panic because he knew there was no way she would stroll around the hotel since he saw how tired she was. Karina was supposed to be sleeping or at least doing something in the room.He checked the bathroom but she was also not there. Eden did not waste time before he went to speak with the hotel’s security guards and manager to ask if they saw Karina anywhere.However, none of them knew where she was and they swore they did not see them at all. If she left the building, the security in the lobby should have seen her.“Dammit!” Eden was getting frustrated. He sent
"An obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more."-Mark Barrowcliffe-***“Why is everything so dark?” Karina was slowly gaining her consciousness after God knew how long. She tried to open her eyes but there was nothing but darkness. She tried moving her hand as well but soon realized they were both tied up.She was in a state of panic but since it was not her first time in that kind of circumstance, she was a little bit more relaxed than before. She took a deep breath and tried to recall what was happening.The last memory Karina had was walking back to her room after Eden’s birthday party. Then someone grabbed her from the back and covered her mouth and nose with sedative. She was losing her consciousness and ended up there.“Not many clue to begin with. What am I supposed to do now?” She asked herself. Karina wondered why she always ended up getting kidnapped? As
"The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you."-David Foster Wallace-***Eden jumped on his private jet and made his way toward Karina. It took him and his team of investigators roughly forty-eight hours after finding out that Michelle Langdon was the woman behind Karina’s kidnapping.They had to go through all of her connection list and tried to find out where she was at the moment because she clearly was not in New Hampshire. They even went to her father, Malcolm Langdon to see if he knew about his daughter’s wherebout.However, the man had admitted that he had no idea where his daughter was and they gave him a lie detector test on the spot and he passed.It seemed like a dead end at first but he was not giving up.He tried contacting all of his acquaintances and associates in the airport and line department to see if any of them had any passenger named Michelle Langdon a
"The universe brought us back together this time, I'm never letting go."-Unknown-***It was known throughout history that when a man loved a woman, he would do anything for her. Eden Black was no different. Three years has passed since the last time Eden saw Karina in person.Thanks to technology, he was able to see her everyday through the monitor but it was not enough. How he had long to see her in person.That morning before the sun even rose, he had sent over a car to pick her up, because he wanted her arrival to be special. If he picked her up himself, he would just ruin the surprise.Karina on the other side was feeling the same. She had not seen Eden in years and her heart was beating rapidly.How strange it was to finally see her husband again after all these time. She had her three years old son Zion sitting beside her on the car.Throughout the three years, he often saw Eden and stayed in h
"Happy trails to you, until we meet again."-Dale Evans-***With a heavy heart, Eden watched Karina entered the car with their baby. He did not even get to kiss her goodbye. Only a hug that would not suffice for three years. Truly, it was a horrible experience. He actually cried as he watched her drove away.It would be painful, to be unable to touch her for that long, but he knew everything would be fine. His love for her was strong and he was sure with time, she could learn to love him again.Besides, Karina was going to a house he had prepared for her, meaning, he could see her through the hidden cameras he had placed all over the house.He would still be able to see her, just not in person. It would at least be enough to cover his longing for her and reminded himself that even though she was away, Karina was still his.On her way there, Karina felt a million emotions. The memory of Eden’s warmth fr
"For the most important decisions in your life, trust your intuition and then work with everything you have to prove it right."-Tim Cook-***It was one of the most nerve-wrecking sit down Eden ever had in his life. As a businessman. He had been through several of those sit downs and none of them had ever intimidated him. However, for a particular reason, the one held that evening made him feel so nervous.Karina, Eden, Declan and two lawyers from each side were going to finally have their closure on the matter. After going back and forth on the terms, they decided to settle for a few things, which was decided definitively by Karina and Karina alone.It was all the terms and conditions she had talked with Declan and prepared in advance if she was going to fix her relationship with Eden. It was the only solution for the two of them to maintain their marriage without having to have a divorce. They settled it the familial wa
"The extreme form of passionate love is secret love."-Japanese Proverb-***Eden was in a deep slumber. He did not know how long he had been sleeping for. His body was savoring each second of rest it needed.He barely did anything in the past three days. The other family members had come to visit him, but the person he wanted to see the most was not there and it prevented him from recovering.“What’s the point of living anymore if I couldn’t have her?” He questioned. There was a point in his life where he thought everything was perfect and it was when Karina was by his side. The time he spent together with her was always the happiest time in his life. After experiencing such joy, how could he settle for anything else?“Eden, wake up.” He heard a voice calling his name. The voice was Declan’s. Eden could hear it, but he was not in the mood to open his eyes. Sleeping would be
"I'm sick of love but I'm in the thick of it."-Bob Dylan-***It has been nearly two months since Karina left and even with the best force he had, Eden still couldn’t find her. The desperation was driving him crazy.Slowly, it began to take a toll on his health. Eden Black was a man who was rarely sick. He had the immune of a bull. However, even rain could break down concrete given time and so was he.That day started out just like any normal day. Eden woke up that morning after sleeping like the dead thanks to his sleeping pills and went to make his morning coffee. Afterward, he headed to the shower and got dressed.Each time he stood in the mirror he still remembered the day when she was also standing there with him. The image of her doing his tie for him kept on getting replayed over and over again.“Karina, just where are you?” He wondered. None of the efforts he had made in these past
"People who care about each other enjoy doing things for one another."-Ann Landers-***“Karina? Are you still up? I’m home.” Declan asked as he stepped into the house. There was an answer coming from the kitchen.“Yes, I’m still up, I’m here.” She replied. Declan followed the sound of her voice and saw her there about to make some instant noodle.“I forgot to get some grocery earlier so now there’s nothing to eat and I haven’t had dinner, so I thought I’d make something quick.” She told him but Declan threw the package to the trash and placed the meal he brought on the table instead.“I won’t let you eat that junk, Karina. Here, I got you dinner. You are a pregnant woman, you need to eat properly.” Karina walked over to open up the meal and she drooled when she saw a perfectly tender piece of steak in the box.A smile
"Desperate times breed desperate measures."-William Shakespeare-***Eden was drowning himself in his sorrow. He lost count of how many days he had not slept. The only thing he could do beside work was drinking. Actually, he could barely work at all because of how messed up his mind was.His secretary Andreas had to take an even bigger load of work because Eden was not on his right mind, but he was the CEO so they could not just fire him easily.All of his friends and employee noticed something was different with him, but nobody knew what was actually going on except for Jacob who had been accompanying him this entire time because he was afraid that his friend would do anything stupid or crazy again because of his feelings.That evening, Jacob arrived at Eden’s mansion like he did these past three days since Karina went missing just to check on his best friend.The guard already knew who he was since h
"The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely place." -Roald Dahl- *** A day after she was hospitalized, Karina got the permission to go back home. Eden texted her so early in the morning saying that he would pick her up at the hospital so they could go home together. However, there was no answer from her. Eden felt like something was wrong. He knew she was upset but apparently her phone was not active either. So that afternoon, right after lunch, Eden drove to the hospital to drive Karina. He headed over to her room but much to his surprise, Karina was not there. She was gone. So was her bag which contained her passport and everything. Eden panic and he quickly went to the front desk and asked about his wife. The staff there told him that she had left around half an hour ago and she was seen leaving the hospital by a taxi. Since it was on the spot, nobody knew where the taxi brought her
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."-Norman Cousins-****Trigger Warning: chapter contains scene of suicide.*Malcolm Langdon was staying at home, worried for his daughter. He had not heard from her at all. Even though he had tried calling her several times, but there she did not pick it up. He also had no idea where she went since she did not tell him anything.He was afraid something terrible had happened to her. Worse, she seemed to be getting herself involved with Eden Black. He was one of the few people you absolutely should not get yourself involved with.Even Malcolm who was older by the man for over two decades still preferred to keep to himself and avoided him as much as possible. Not necessarily because he was afraid of him, he just tried to avoid any kind of trouble.As he was thinking about it, there was suddenly a kno