“What’s wrong?” Mia asked her daughter after she returned from the grocery store. Julia looked away. “Nothing.” “Don’t start this, Julia. Just tell me what’s bothering you.” “I’m tired of working there, mom,” Julia said finally. “You said it would only be for a while. Why are we being punished for what Jonah did. It’s not fair.” Mia sighed and went into the kitchen to sort out the things they had bought. Julia followed closely behind. “As much as I would like to pin everything on your brother, that’s not entirely fair. Both of us, especially me are responsible for what we’re going through.” Julia frowned. Since when did her mother become such a wuss. The old Mia would have been concocting some genius, devious plan by now, but here she was, sadly recounting their pain. It had been close to three months since they started working in Xavier’s company. Scratch that- it was close to three months since Xavier had punished them by employing them in the most despised jobs possible. Jul
Private hummed a tune to himself as he unlocked the door of his apartment and entered. Working for Laura was one of the most infuriating jobs he had ever taken, but he had no choice. He took off his shoes and dropped the bag of groceries he had just purchased from the store on the table to sort them out later. Next, he switched on the light in the living room and screeched loudly when he found someone sitting on his couch. “Hello, Private,” Xavier greeted his PI with a smile and wave of hand. His legs were crossed over the other and he looked comfortable, like he hadn’t just been sitting in the dark for who knew how long. “How did you come…? How do you know where…?” Private stammered, pointing a finger at Xavier as he stepped back in fear. “How did I come into your apartment? How do I know where you live?” Xavier completed for him. “Well to answer your questions, first, it’s private and second, it’s private as well. Since we’re both keeping secrets from each other, why sho
After Charlotte got off the phone with her husband, she sighed deeply and tried to find a comfortable spot on the bed. She turned and turned for moments, but nothing felt quite right. Groaning, she got up into a sitting position and placed her face in her hands. Kate had been knocking for close to thirty minutes, begging her to come out so that they could speak until she gave up and left, but that wasn’t what bothered Charlotte. It wasn’t even the fact that Caleb could be in possible trouble or that someone had hacked her phone and probably had access to all her private business. No. What bothered Charlotte greatly was the fact that Xavier was in the lion’s den and anything could happen. Charlotte scoffed and pinched the side of her thigh until it burned and turned red. Once again, all of this was just another perfectly orchestrated plan of Laura to lure her husband where she could get him, and Xavier himself was too oblivious to realize it. She exhaled and tucked he
Meeting Kate’s children wasn’t something Charlotte ever thought she would be doing soon, but there she was, getting to know Kiki and Kyle, Kate’s four-year old daughter and son. “I’ve heard so much about you,” Kiki said, beaming from ear to ear. “Me too,” Kyle said, not wanting his sister to be the center of attention. “Mom tells us about you every single day. I can’t believe you’re here.” Charlotte smiled at them and hugged them again. She didn’t let the fact that her sister always talked about her make her forget what she had done. After all, she could have said anything, whether good or bad. “It’s so nice to see you too,” she beamed. “You’re both so big.” The children chuckled. “It’s cos dad lets us eat junk when mom isn’t looking,” Kiki said. “Don’t tattle or else mom won’t let us anymore,” Kyle attacked his sister. “Alright that’s enough,” their father said, speaking for the first time since he got to the house. “Let’s get you both settled in.” While they left,
“He’s not answering. I have to do something,” Charlotte said, standing up with an uneasy expression on her face. “Hey, relax. There’s probably a reasonable explanation,” Kate said to calm her sister down. “Reasonable explanation? Xavier would never ignore my calls on purpose. I’m sure she planned for him to end up in her house, Kate. All of this.” Charlotte sighed and started to pace from one area in the living room to the next. “She could have just removed the post I made of Caleb from my page without me knowing, but she showed up first to threaten me so that we would all know she was behind it. She wanted him to confront her and now that he’s there, he’s suddenly not answering. This is no coincidence, Kate and there’s no reasonable explanation. I have to go there and do something.” “Calm down, Charlotte. We have to think. Maybe what you said is true, but showing up at her house is not really going to solve anything. What do you even think happened?” “She could have him tied
“Ma’am, this is private property. You’re not permitted to be here,” the security guarding the gate to Laura’s house informed Charlotte and her sister when they tried to get into the compound. “My husband is in there. I want to see him!” Charlotte announced and tried to push her way through forcefully, but the man held her back. “You can’t come in unless you have an appointment with Mrs Roman,” he said. “If you don’t, you can just go home and do whatever it is you women do.” Charlotte’s brow shot up in question as she shared a look with her sister. “Mrs Roman?” She repeated to be sure she had heard right. “I’m Mrs Roman.” “Well, so is the lady of the house,” the guard said with a bored expression. “So the b*tch never changed her last name, huh,” Kate said with a click of her tongue. “This makes things a hundred times worse.” “Look, my husband is in there and he hasn’t been answering his calls. I know he’s there because he told me and all of a sudden, he hasn’t answ
“How is he doctor?” Charlotte asked the doctor who had been in the ward Xavier was rushed to. He sighed and adjusted his glasses, making Charlotte’s heart beat in fright. “You’re lucky you brought him when you did,” he said. “The drug overdose may have damaged his organs or even gone to his brain.” A chill ran down her spine. “Is it okay if I ask you some questions?” She nodded. “Do you have any idea how those drugs could have entered his system?” He asked. “She drugged him. Laura, his ex wife,” she said with a small voice, uncomfortable because she had to answer these questions again. “I see,” the man said and scribbled something in a notepad. “It has come to my knowledge that this ex wife of his was also brought to this hospital. Is that correct ?” “Yes,” she said quickly. She wanted to know how soon her husband could be cured, not talk about the same woman who had put his life in danger. “If she was the person that drugged him, why then did she have more traces of it in
“So you’re saying my husband and this woman poisoned themselves on purpose just so they can be on the news?” Charlotte asked in disbelief. “The public is already obsessed with him. Even when he breathes, news outlets all over the world post about it!” “I’m not saying anything,” the doctor argued, raising his hands in surrender. “I was just giving my opinion…” “Well your opinion is stupid,” Charlotte said without thinking. But it wasn’t as if she even regretted it. “Excuse me?” “What’s the point of what you’re saying?” Charlotte pressed. “My husband is in the hospital in critical care at the verge of losing an organ and you’re here telling me, his grieving wife that this is all a PR stunt? What kind of doctor are you? If this how you practice medicine, I wonder how you still have your license.” The man’s eye widened momentarily as the looming threat hung in the air. Someone like Charlotte, with the power and connections she had from simply being married to Xavier could get his lic