The party was over and the last few of the guests were piling out of the restaurant. His father had long retired for the night, and Aaron Junior settled at one of the tables with a coffee in hand, he was drunk beyond limit, his head felt light and he could barely walk on his own.Everyone had left, except for the event planner who was helping the waiters to clean up. His mother could not have stayed longer than an hour, one minute she was there, and the next, she was gone. She had gone as far as switching hotels a few days before the party, that girl’s visit had left her unsettled. He could not wait for the day when they would no longer have to hide their relationship.“Mr McEnroe.”He lazily gazed up at the source of the voice and his lips quirked up. “Ms Simmons, Mr McEnroe is my father.”Anita Simmons smiled with a slight nod. “My apologies, Junior. Uhm… I just wanted to thank you for giving me this opportunity. It was truly an honour to work o
The cool autumn night felt like winter had made its mark, there was no telling whether it was just bad weather or if the coldness of death was making its way, tainting his soul to the core.Javier Mendoza sat outside his suite, at the balcony late after midnight. He sat on the straw armchair with his long legs parted, leaning back with his white shirt tucked out and the buttons open, leaving his chest bare. He looked as though he was sleeping as his eyes were shut tightly and he had one hand propped on the armrest with his head leaning steadily on the fist while his other hand rested on other armrest.He was not sleeping. He could not sleep, all he kept thinking about were his children and wife. Well, ex-wife, considering the fact that the only thing he had to worry about concerning his wife was the massive headache she would have in the morning due to her drinking habits. He was not even in the least mad or annoyed by Danielle, if anything, he was glad that she wa
By the time they woke up in the morning, MJ was more exhausted than the night before. She needed more sleep, but there was no time to rest. As soon as the clock hit 6a.m., their plane left the grounds of Amsterdam and they were on an eleven-hour long trip to Johannesburg.That was not a part of her plan, but Logan insisted that he had some business to take care of. They had breakfast on the plane, and it was not as bad as MJ had anticipated even if she said so herself.She slept the entire flight back home and only woke up when they landed at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. MJ quickly changed her outfit because she felt it was creased since she had been sleeping in the clothes she was previously wearing. Hopefully Logan would not mind accompanying her to do some shopping because she needed more clothes.Neither MJ nor Logan had been to Jo’burg since her birthday, not to mention that that had been the only time she visited the place since
She heard them talking on the phone. Once again MJ Billings had failed to show up for her brother.Sonya tried to understand the first time because even though she never left Jorge’s side, she was also scared. But what excuse did MJ have this time around?MJ could have at least called her, but she decided to call her sketchy bodyguard, Jackson, with instructions to keep a close eye on Jorge and not to allow the police to interrogate him. It seemed like everyone was suddenly pretending she was a nobody because Jorge did not remember her, but she still wore his ring on her finger, she was still his fiancee.She watched the guard as he disappeared to get himself more coffee. Sonya could not trust him, but he was the only one who had shown up since Jorge woke up, even Shannon had vanished. She did not even want to think about Lola, God knows she landed there by mistake the other day.She was startled by her phone blaring up, she took it out and saw th
For two hours straight, MJ sat in that flight wondering what could be so urgent that it could not wait until tomorrow. She could not get over the urgent note in Kyle’s voice when he called her. And when she finally landed in Cape Town, it felt like the time to face reality had arrived. She was afraid of whatever it was that awaited her outside this place.She remained seated there, refusing to lift even a muscle to unbuckle her seatbelt. She wished Logan was there with her, perhaps he would help her to face whatever monsters laid out there.MJ thought her problems would have to wait for another minute, but it seemed she did not even have to leave the plane to face them, just as she removed her seatbelt, Kyle entered the jet, and what made her blood run cold was the fact that he was not alone; four more people followed behind him.He sat opposite her, and Cameron joined him while Sasha, Demi, and Shaka sat on the other side of the jet.She opened h
It was approximately 11p.m. when Sonya Smith arrived outside her apartment building, she paid the Uber driver and stood on the pavement as she watched him drive away.She heaved a sigh, turning around to face the old rusty building in plight. It did not matter what time of the day it was, the building was always dull, its quietness intimidating. It was worse now that she was unemployed, just the thought of returning to this place every single day made her feel poor.In a way, Jorge’s hospitalisation had rescued her; Meneer Brown could hardly say she used up too much water or electricity, she was barely ever home; she bathed and ate at the hospital and only ever stopped by to get a change of clothes.No one had to know that she had not paid rent these past three months or that she had cancelled all her clothing accounts, all that was mundane as compared to her boyfriend’s life. It was sad that he had lost his memory and would be wheelchair-bound, but the wo
The entire place was ransacked, everything was a mess, and there was nothing him or his men could do. There was no trace of the kidnappers anywhere, there was no trail of their whereabouts.The damage in the suite was a clear indication that Sienna had put up a great fight before they took her. That was how he remembered her, she never went down without a fight. They must have been many if she could not get away from them.Javier threw his head back against the couch and covered his face with his hands, a groan erupting from his throat as he slowly tilted his head towards the laptop screen on the coffee table; and he sighed, leaning forward to click the replay button."Javier, se você está assistindo isso, quero que saiba que sinto muito. Lamento ter privado de uma vida familiar que você desejava. Mas espero que você entenda por que fiz isso agora. Era exatamente isso que eu temia! Eu me recuso a acreditar que você é uma maldição, Javier! Recuso-me a acred
The entire office floor was covered in papers, a crumbling sound filling the room as another paper was scrunched up and tossed away.Logan stared at the pile of the blank pages staring back at him without a clue.This was far worse than he had anticipated, it did not matter whether he came up with the best designs now or tomorrow, bringing those sketches to life was going to take months, and by then, his business would be over and done.He ran into a displeased client while in Gold Reef, the same time he received a text from Kyle, warning him about how he would be in hot waters if he returned with MJ, he also received an urgent email from a close companion and a client who happened to spot him, and they returned to Cape Town in the man's jet which was arranged to leave an hour after MJ took off.Logan had spoken too soon, his problems were far from over, he had only considered the goods that were supposed to leave the country and completely forgot
What was the definition of hell? Was it a place, a person, or was it reliving the same nightmare over and over again? For Javier Mendoza, it was all of the above.Javier Mendoza was forty-five this year, and in a few weeks, it would be thirty-two years since the massacre, thirty-two years since he lost his parents, and that was something that he would never heal from.Rodrigo and Reina Dos Santos. He could never forget those two names, they were the root of his nightmares, and for years, he had dreamt of the day he would exact his revenge against them for murdering his family. Since the night of Aaron McEnroe Senior's party, he had been reminiscing about how he was going to get back at MJ, he imagined all the ways he could punish her for everything she had done to him these past few days. However, it was nothing compared to what he felt when one of the girls, Naira, told him that they saw someone that resembled Reina Dos Santos at the hospital.He could not believe what he was hearin
She barely made it out the front door when a loud scream pierced through the night like a wounded beast on a full moon, pained, angry, and desperate.Her feet were like jelly as she leaned on the door, gathering her breath as her chest rose up and down laggardly. She stood up straight and exhaled, switching on her phone before striding to her car, where two of Logan's guards were standing."Will you be able to drive home by yourself, Miss?" One of them asked.MJ gave him a small smile. "I'll manage, thank you," she said, accepting her car keys from the second guard. "Drive safely, Miss," He said with a slight bow before they both walked away.MJ got into the car and released a deep breath, leaning back in her seat. Her phone vibrated on her lap, but she ignored it.She could not believe she confessed all that to him without falling apart, especially when that was the first time she ever shared her experience out loud with another person in years, not even her therapist. She was rel
He was falling deeper way too quickly, but for Logan Parker, this was nothing new to him as MJ made it out to be, it was like continuing from where they left off all those years ago. He loved her even more than he did back then, and he was prepared to love her even more each day.Name his second favourite thing in this world after design, and it would probably be her kisses. Well, he enjoyed kissing and just being in her presence. It scared him, but he loved it.Funny how he swore that he would never let a woman to get close enough and put himself in that position again, having someone holding all the power to either build or break you and he had given that power to MJ Billings did they he declared his love for her it was a cross he had to carry for eternity. He was afraid of losing himself to her but mostly and he was also afraid of losing her.So have we decided what we are going to cook yet? MJ look up from the magazine she was reading they were currently in the kitchen and Logan
There was a point back in the beginning of their relationship, where David had been eager for Lola to be a housewife, and became quite insistent after they got married and had their first child.Lola had thought about all the benefits of being a stay-at-home mom, but she had also thought about the freedom she would lose if she chose to sit at home and spend his money than making her own. Years later, when their relationship reached an all time blow, her decision to work turned out to be the best decision she could have ever made. David lost his way and gave in to the party life, friends, alcohol, women, spending money like he was eating candy on Halloween; and in the midst of it all, he forgot about his family.Now felt like the perfect time to take him up on his offer, there was something satisfying about watching someone doing everything around the house. Her mother-in-law had moved back with her husband, she had insisted on giving them space to bond. As if she could ever dream of
That was what she was, she was pathetic. Whatever made her think she could trust him again?MJ was embarrassed to say the least. Her mind was replaying Kyle's face like a broken record. He saw it, he realised where Logan was going and he was relieved when she asked him to stop the car on the side.She had also started to recognize the road signs and side buildings from the time she went to see Shannon, and she realised where they were headed. Or in particular, where Logan was speeding off to.He was going to see her, he was going to Lola's house.She did not want to jump to conclusions, but she could not help feeling like he was making a fool out of her again. She could not understand when she became so insecure, a part of her wanted to go home and forget this happened, but the bigger part of her wanted to know what he was going to do there.She hailed a cab and hopped in."Where to, Miss?" The driver asked. "I don't know the place that well. But just drive straight ahead, I'll direc
She was amazed at how she managed to stay calm throughout all these months, considering what a mess she was. Last night was the ultimate straw, everything Samantha had said was as if she was reading straight from Jorge's diary, except, he never had one.Sonya had dedicated all her life to him, she gave him everything even when she had nothing. For the first time in years, she was not ashamed to admit that she hoped marrying Jorge would save her from her pending poverty, even though she never loved him because of his wealth before. If anything, it was the only thing she hated about him since they met back in highschool because he attracted crowds, and especially, women. He had quite a streak when she met him, he was a badboy as many would put it, a heartbreaker, someone who slept around and toyed with girls' hearts. It was an instant turn off for Sonya, he chased after her for months while she continued giving him the cold shoulder, until eventually, he charmed his way to her heart, a
Kyle Davids paced back and forth as he waited for the nurse to report back on Jorge. There was no way he could have been discharged, MJ would have told them.And there was no way Jorge could have suddenly risen to his feet and run for the hills, Sasha was losing her mind.He thought they were over this whole story about her father, but clearly not, and Logan had given her yet another reason to keep looking.Jorge was a jerk, that was true, but he was not that devious.Kyle's eyes shot up when he saw the nurse returning with company - the doctor, a few residents, and another nurse."Doctor, is everything okay? Did something happen to Jorge?" He asked.Why had he not thought of that before? For all he knew, Jorge was in the morgue. The man was probably dead."Are you a family member?" The head doctor asked.Not really. Kyle wanted to say, but he thought against it. "Yes, Doctor, he is my brother-in-law. I'm engaged to his sister," he said instead, laughing internally at his blunt lie."
Cameron Parker had not expected to see Sonya Smith anytime soon that morning, but his bad cooking was all it took for her to finally leave the comforts of her room that morning after he had left a tray of food at her door. It could not have been more than fifteen minutes before she came down with the tray in hand and placed it on the kitchen counter.For Cameron, it was as if he was seeing her for the first time, her lean and slender body was adorned in a gray silky pair of pajamas, her shiny black hair laid down, and her flawless skin radiated even more when she gave him a faint smile,“Your cooking is terrible,” she had said in a soft voice, nodding at the untouched tray of food.He flashed her with a smile. “Oh, well, I guess I am lucky to be standing under the same kitchen with the greatest chef.” Sonya blushed, and he laughed. “You are always welcome to prepare something else,” he suggested.She shook her head. “I’d rather not. I’m not hungry.”“How are you feeling? Everyone’s be
Samantha was never a conscious sleeper. Which was ironic because she always slept so peacefully, not even bothered by the ghosts of the people she killed.She loved mornings too. Her days always started on such a great note. She had had such a beautiful dream, it left her beyond elated. She did not want to shift from the position she had assumed on the bed, she laid on her stomach with one knee in an angle as she replayed the dream in her head over and over again. It was a warm summer day, the sun felt soft and warm under her feet. There were flower petals everywhere, and she was adorned in a white dress that covered her feet and swept behind her as she walked down the aisle leading to where Jorge was standing next to a priest at the pedestal. If felt like she was in a fairytale, her Prince Charming was finally hers and he looked as handsome as ever in a black tuxedo, and he was wearing a huge smile as he watched her, tears glimmering in his eyes.Everything was perfect and even be