More of this drama coming tomorrow! Stay tuned :)
[Clark]"Jenny," Matthew Madison scowls, his brow pinching as he looks between his wife and me. "Give the boy a break. He loves her too." Tilly's mother cracks her knuckles and I'm reminded so strongly of my fiance that I almost start crying. I won't crack in front of them. I need to stay strong for all of my girls. But it is hard facing off with her parents. I wish we were here on a happier occasion and on better terms. I think I'd have grown to like Jennifer Madison. My Tilly is very much like her mother. So much so that I'm certain that no amount of kindness will break through to her now. Her face is hard, unrelenting, as she condemns me with her eyes. I try to remind myself that she's hurting too but giving her that much grace is growing difficult as she spews hate and vengeance with her eyes. I understand that seeing her only child weak and unresponsive must be breaking her inside, but that doesn't mean I'll relent to give her what she wants. I won't let her cross my boundaries
[Cordelia]The helicopter's blades blasted wind into our faces, stealing our words, but the message was clear, even if Atlas couldn't exactly hear what I was trying to say. "Atlas, I'm leaving you."The way his face instantly fell, I could tell the message hit home. I am done competing with his "mother" for attention. I'm tired of having my words disregarded. As the helicopter lifted off, my best friend inside, I couldn't help but think about all the moments we have survived as a family. And now Tilly, who has held me together so many times, is falling apart and might need me more than ever. If only psychic abilities were real, as suggested by that woman pretending to be Susanna. I would place my hands on her and wish her well. I would wish so hard that she'd be holding her children right now. I can feel Atlas' eyes on me as I leave. He doesn't chase me, he knows that won't help. He is giving me space to think.Clark is a kind friend. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been
[Cordelia]Picking up the magazine, I bring it closer to my face. The nanny, a sweet girl named Catie, informs me that it is the latest issue. "Just dropped off this morning." How is this possible? "Are you sure?" I query, knowing that this photo can't be real. Angelica has been dead for several months now, and yet here she is wearing an orchid-colored satin dress standing next to Sydney along with Delilah whose dress is a slightly darker purple. "Maybe it's an actress, or another missing embryo," I make a guess. "Magnus is capable of anything."Including maybe cloning his favorite co-collaborator? No, if he could do that, he'd have replaced her the first time she "died."Setting it down I take a photo and text it to Clark. After a few minutes of waiting, I send it to Atlas and finally to Jude with the added message. "Tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing."I take several deep breaths as I wait for my replies. "I'm coming over now," Atlas texts back, not bothering to ask wh
[Jude]Angelica. I never thought I'd see her face again. She was supposed to be dead. "How many times will you die, my love, before you leave me forever," I know I cannot caress her face through the screen of my phone, but I try as I look at her image, standing peacefully next to my lover, Sydney. Turning off the phone, I use my fingernail to get between the front and the back plate. I see exactly what I need, hidden just below the outer shell. After making a few adjustments, I close it back up. Good as new. "I'm going to save you both," I announce, not that they can hear me.I had planned to rescue Sydney. But now that I know Magnus also has Angelica, I'll have to modify my plans. "There's no way around it," I mumble to myself. There is no other way."I can't choose between my son and my wife. If I had known Angelica was still alive, I'd have never fallen into Sydney's arms, but now that my baby is growing within her, there is no way I will let either one of those women remain un
[Jude]"You might as well take a seat," the blonde smirked. "Nobody will come for you for some time yet and we have things to discuss." She pats the seat on the bench next to her as she lifts the veil on her oversized hat and removes her sunglasses.She looks so much like Angelica at it burns. "Delilah," I smile at my unexpected savior, "I'm surprised your father let you out of his sight.""I didn't have a choice," she sighs, rubbing the space between her eyes. "After he cracked the cipher, we couldn't use our usual methods to communicate. And I have so much to say," she pauses, folding her sunglasses in her lap. "But not a lot of time. I'm wedding shopping," she nods to a spot just beyond a thick line of trees, and in the distance I see a black sedan. "The driver thinks I'm motion sick.""I'm listening," I say calmly although my heart is beating rapidly. I need to get to Angelica and Sydney. If it had been either of those sisters on this bench, we'd already be halfway to Fiji. "I'm
[Cordelia]Even while angry with him, this man still takes my breath away."Atlas," I take a step back, allowing him to enter. He steps forward, ignoring everything around me, and kisses me, wrapping his arms around me and our son, being gentle with us both while possessive of my mouth. The nanny coughs and asks if she should take Jasper to the infant center. "No," I answer automatically while Atlas answers "Yes," at the same time. She blinks. ""Yes," Atlas repeats. "Please," he gives me a heated look, "My wife and I need to talk." Everything inside me clenches with need and just the corner of his lip curls up in the faintest of smiles. Outwardly, his tone is completely professional, some might even think it is cold. But when he looks at me the way he is right now I can see past his masks to the passionate man underneath. I'm the only one to ever see that side of him. Catie comes forward and takes Jasper from me and Atlas hands her a $500 tip with the instruction to, "bring hi
[Cordelia]He looks so lost as I put distance between us. My words have hurt him deeper than I intended. "Cordelia," He looks down and I place my hand on his cheek. "I love you, Atlas. I always have." I confess. "And I'm not leaving you. I'm leaving all of this," I wave my hands around the room. "Between the illness, the search for the cure, Jude, Magnus, and Tilly...oh God, Tilly," I try not to weep but fail. "I need a break. Jasper needs a break. Come with us." "Come with you?" he raises an eyebrow. "But if I leave, who's going to continue trying to find the cure?""I don't know," I huff. "Since it's your mother's cure, maybe she should be the one to look. She created this treasure hunt to begin with, maybe having her go off in search of it will jog her memory."His head tilts to the side as he thinks about the situation. "But she's an old woman with memory issues. I'm not sure she should go alone." Atlas explains. "And Clark needs to stay by his wife. I got a call from him earlie
[Clark]The Madisons eventually left me and the girls alone with their mother, a stack of paperwork, and a heart full of doubts. They want to take my girls, all three of them, back to California. They've given me two options: I can go back with them and keep their granddaughters near so they can see them daily. Or I can hand over custody of my girls for the duration of my time abroad, or until Tilly wakes up, whichever comes first. At least I know they are going to give her the chance to wake up. "Of course, we won't kill our daughter," Jennifer Madison was appalled at the implication when I asked them honestly what their intentions were. "Even without an advance directive, we know that Tilly would want us to do everything we could to save her. She wants to be there to watch these girls grow up." When I insisted that I also wanted to be there, she turned her back on me."You say you're her husband in everything but name," she threw back at me with air quotes, her lip curled sardoni