"The strongest drug that exists for a human is another human being."
-Ella Frank-
***
“What my luck.” Keith thought to himself. After following his sister’s advice of taking some time off and being alone in nature to clear up his thoughts about Eva, he thought he would actually get to get his mind off her.
Instead, he ended up meeting Eva and Stefan in the forest, the last place he thought he would ever see them.
A few minutes after Stefan and Eva headed to the lake, Keith who wanted to use the family’s forest arrived and the moment he saw Stefan’s car there, he quickly realized they were there and moved his car elsewhere they couldn’t see.
He wondered if the two of them were inside, but instead of checking the house, he thought about the lake because that was the place where Stefan used to spend a lot of his time when he was there and ended up meeting both of them at the same tim
"Nothing's beautiful from every point of view."-Horace-***Eva slowly fluttered her eyes open and when she tried moving her body, she found herself chained on the pole of an unknown room.Everything around her was made out of wood and you could see dust floating in the air everywhere in the room, as if no one had cleaned it in a long time.Eva had heard about scenarios like this a few times before, she had read it in stories and watched it on the movies, but she never thought she would actually experience it in person.“Where am I?” She muttered. She took some time to observe her surrounding and saw a window near the ceiling that allowed fresh air to come into the room so it wasn’t exactly as suffocating.The window was large enough for her size to escape, so if she could just get the chain off from her body, she would figure out a way to get out of there.“You’re finall
"Don't ignore the love you do have in your life by focusing on the love you don't."-Mandy Hale-***“What happened, sir?” Thomas and a few of Stefan’s other men arrived at the cottage and saw Stefan waiting there anxiously for them.“My woman is missing. I want you guys to search around the forest for Eva.” He ordered them.There were at least twelve men in there so they nodded and started scattering around. The only one left to stay by Stefan’s side was Thomas.“Did you bring my gun?” He asked and Thomas nodded before handing Stefan his gun.Stefan didn’t think he would need to use it that day since he only spent one day out with Eva, but he was wrong. He should have been more careful.“Okay, there is one place I am thinking about. Do you remember the farmhouse around this area?” He asked. Thomas was quiet for a few seconds before nodd
"Writing a story is like going on a date, you will spoil it if you're not living in the moment."-Pawan Mishra-***Nearly one week had passed by since the day of her brief abduction and Stefan pressed charges against Keith.Naturally, Keith’s family interfered with this and Stefan’s mother also came forward and tried to reason with him, saying it was a terrible thing to get your family member in jail because of a woman.Stefan ignored all of them and still decided to put Keith in jail.Since nothing major happened, he was sentenced to a year in prison, but Keith had more than enough money to pay fine to free himself from actually staying in prison.He would still have to maintain distance with Eva and if he was ever caught within 100 meter near Eva, he would have to face other legal consequences.Eva was relieved and frightened at the same time. Judging from the way Keith treated her befor
"Every rejected lover deserves a second chance, but with someone else."-Unknown-***It had been a long time since Stefan saw her. Ever since she hurt him a few years back, he decided to cut off all connections with her, knowing fully well that woman had no other intention but hurting him.His feelings had long faded for Natalie and he never even thought about her anymore. Yet after all these years, Natalie didn’t seem to forget him and this time, she was back.“Natalie.” He called her name through gritted teeth.“Ah, Stefan, you still remember me, huh? I am flattered. Looks like all these time you never truly forgot about me. I guess I am just that memorable.” She chuckled.“Get out of my sight, Natalie.” Stefan firmly spoke but she shook her head.“Oh, come on, I am just saying hello to an old friend. Why? Is it a crime?” She paused for a moment
"There is no worse evil than a bad woman and nothing has ever been produced better than a good one."-Euripides-***Natalie knocked on the door which she had visited once before in the past. It was Sheila’s home, Stefan’s old house where he used to invite her during one of their vacation back to Austin.After knocking a few times, she heard a response from the inside.“Yes, wait a minute.” A few moments later, Sheila opened the door and when she saw Natalie standing there, she looked a bit confused.“Do I know you?” Sheila asked and Natalie quickly handed over the gift of wine and chocolate that she brought there.“Hello Miss Sparrow, my name is Natalie, Natalie Lourde. Do you remember me? Stefan used to bring me once when he was still at the university.” Sheila was digging deep into her memory before her eyes lit up and she nodded.“Ah, yes, I rem
"Certainty is the calm before the storm."-Stewart Stafford-***Eva was getting ready to Stefan’s family gathering.She was wearing a red mermaid dress that hugged her curves really well and this time, she decided to try on a red lipstick just because she wanted to match the dress.“Wow, you look so beautiful.” Stefan walked toward her and hugged her from behind.Even though Eva have started to love these little physical touch he showered her, she was not in the mood to be affectionate at that time.Deep down, she still felt that uncomfortable feeling in her chest. She really didn’t want to go and her intuition was telling her that something was wrong with the gathering.“Stefan, for the last time, can I just stay at home? I really don’t want to go.” She whined.Throughout their relationship, Eva wasn’t the kind of woman who would whine and make t
"Poison is in everything and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy."-Paraceisus-***The dinner went on for a few minutes and through it all, Eva was feeling the pressure from all around her. She felt like that family gathering was just an excuse to corner her.She knew Stefan would never purposely harm her, but the people around him, they were some of the worst people she ever knew and she wanted nothing to do with them.“Oh, why are you so quiet, Eva? I am certain when we met each other last time, you had a lot to say for yourself.” Sheila started provoking Eva in the middle of the meal.“I have nothing to say or prove to you.” Eva replied briefly.“Of course you don’t. If it’s not because of my son, you wouldn’t even have anything going on for yourself in the first place. My son is the reason why you are able to enjoy su
"What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action."-Meister Eckhart-***Stefan watched as Eva was lying unconscious on the hospital’s bed. Two hours had passed since he rushed her to the hospital.He remember how panicked he was when he arrived. Eva was immediately handled and brought to the ER.She had her pulse and everything else checked and later on, after the situation calmed down a little, the doctor approached him.“She’s suffering from Arsenic poisoning. Thankfully, the dosage wasn’t too high and you were quick to bring her here so she could receive the right treatment on time. Otherwise, she might pass away. You should consider yourself lucky.” The doctor told him.Hearing that statement nearly crushed him. The thought that if he was just a bit late he might have lost her forever truly frightened him.Once her condition was cons
"Happily ever after is not a fairy tale, it's a choice."-Fawn Weaver-***It was twenty second of December. Eva and Stefan both took a first class flight from the US to Vienna and after nearly nine hour of flight, they arrived on the twenty third of December.The moment both of them stepped out from the airport, they could feel the cheery Christmas vibe in the air and as she expected, winter in Vienna, especially the Christmas season was truly something else.She had never experienced anything like that in the US and Eva was really looking forward to what was coming next.They were picked up by a luxurious car which was complimentary of the hotel they were staying in that evening.The hotel was one of the most luxurious hotel in the city and there were a lot of truly affluent people from all over the world staying in there during winter season, including Stefan.Eva had been going to a lot of affluent places ever since she started dating Stefan, however, none of them were quite as sp
"In the aftermath, we are because they were."-R.J Heller-***“Brother, do you think we’re doing the right thing?” Stefan and Monica met up at a restaurant and they booked a private room to have discussion about what had been happening recently.Monica was drinking her tea while looking absolutely devastated.Her eyes were red and puffy because she had been crying all night. Stefan felt a bit of sympathy for her but his determination was far more resolute.“We already knew that sooner or later something like this would happen.” Stefan took a bite out of his meal with a rather heavy sigh.“Her state hasn’t been stable in the recent years. I know she has been through so much and sacrificed a lot for the two of us.” He paused for a moment before continuing.“But right now, she has lost her mind so far that she’s willing to actively harm someone.
"Sometimes removing some people out of your life makes room for better people."-Unknown-***Natalie was going to walk out of her apartment since she had a meeting to attend when she suddenly heard the sound of ringing.She wondered who could be knocking on her door on such random hour and wondered if it was just the delivery guy.Without thinking much, she opened the door and at that moment, a pair of strong hand slammed her inside and closed the door.Natalie was taken aback by this gesture and looked up to see Stefan standing there with an angry expression.“Stefan, what the hell!?” She raised her voice but instead of answering right away, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her once more to the wall. The grip around her neck tightened and he was choking her at this point.“Why did you do that, Natalie? What did Eva ever do to you that you had the heart to poison her?” He
"It's never a done deal until it's a done deal."-Alexandra Daddario-***“Stefan, for the hundredth time, I told you already, I would be fine.” Eva was finally discharged from the hospital and on her way back home, Stefan told her that she wasn’t supposed to leave or go anywhere without his supervision for at least a month until Christmas day and Eva thought he was overreacting.“I know you are physically fine now but in the past two months alone, I nearly lost you a few times and I can’t risk losing you again. That’s why it’s better to be safe than sorry, at least for now.” Stefan told her.Eva wondered why he suddenly acted like this. The Stefan she knew wasn’t such an uptight man but ever since she got poisoned and almost lost her life, he had been acting so protective over her. “Fine, but at least let me go outside, it’s not like I am goin
"The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you."-David Foster Wallace-***Stefan didn’t want to waste any time. He wanted to figure out the truth as soon as possible, hence why he quickly opened his laptop and inserted the USB drive into it.There was a file containing CCTV recording from the restaurant that evening.“How did you manage to get this file?” Stefan raised his brow. Keith shrugged.“I have my ways. You’re not the only one with power and influence around here, you know.” He responded lazily. Stefan didn’t want to overthink it and checked on those recording one by one. Then, he saw something that shocked him.An hour before the supposed gathering time, Natalie already arrived there and Sheila arrived not long after that.He could see Natalie placing the arsenic bottle on Sheila’s back, which looked like a part of their pl
"What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action."-Meister Eckhart-***Stefan watched as Eva was lying unconscious on the hospital’s bed. Two hours had passed since he rushed her to the hospital.He remember how panicked he was when he arrived. Eva was immediately handled and brought to the ER.She had her pulse and everything else checked and later on, after the situation calmed down a little, the doctor approached him.“She’s suffering from Arsenic poisoning. Thankfully, the dosage wasn’t too high and you were quick to bring her here so she could receive the right treatment on time. Otherwise, she might pass away. You should consider yourself lucky.” The doctor told him.Hearing that statement nearly crushed him. The thought that if he was just a bit late he might have lost her forever truly frightened him.Once her condition was cons
"Poison is in everything and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy."-Paraceisus-***The dinner went on for a few minutes and through it all, Eva was feeling the pressure from all around her. She felt like that family gathering was just an excuse to corner her.She knew Stefan would never purposely harm her, but the people around him, they were some of the worst people she ever knew and she wanted nothing to do with them.“Oh, why are you so quiet, Eva? I am certain when we met each other last time, you had a lot to say for yourself.” Sheila started provoking Eva in the middle of the meal.“I have nothing to say or prove to you.” Eva replied briefly.“Of course you don’t. If it’s not because of my son, you wouldn’t even have anything going on for yourself in the first place. My son is the reason why you are able to enjoy su
"Certainty is the calm before the storm."-Stewart Stafford-***Eva was getting ready to Stefan’s family gathering.She was wearing a red mermaid dress that hugged her curves really well and this time, she decided to try on a red lipstick just because she wanted to match the dress.“Wow, you look so beautiful.” Stefan walked toward her and hugged her from behind.Even though Eva have started to love these little physical touch he showered her, she was not in the mood to be affectionate at that time.Deep down, she still felt that uncomfortable feeling in her chest. She really didn’t want to go and her intuition was telling her that something was wrong with the gathering.“Stefan, for the last time, can I just stay at home? I really don’t want to go.” She whined.Throughout their relationship, Eva wasn’t the kind of woman who would whine and make t
"There is no worse evil than a bad woman and nothing has ever been produced better than a good one."-Euripides-***Natalie knocked on the door which she had visited once before in the past. It was Sheila’s home, Stefan’s old house where he used to invite her during one of their vacation back to Austin.After knocking a few times, she heard a response from the inside.“Yes, wait a minute.” A few moments later, Sheila opened the door and when she saw Natalie standing there, she looked a bit confused.“Do I know you?” Sheila asked and Natalie quickly handed over the gift of wine and chocolate that she brought there.“Hello Miss Sparrow, my name is Natalie, Natalie Lourde. Do you remember me? Stefan used to bring me once when he was still at the university.” Sheila was digging deep into her memory before her eyes lit up and she nodded.“Ah, yes, I rem