Ximena/Angela’s POV
“Your grandma is worse than the devil,” Aunt Sadie said.“Don’t talk to me. Weren’t you her accomplice?” Nevaeh snapped.“I never killed anybody,” Aunt Sadie defended herself.“Did anyone notice the video is finished, and we have found nothing important?” I asked, drawing their attention.“It’s not finished, Angela. It’s a compiled VHS. There are multiple episodes,” Aunt Sadie explained and started the next video.We watched as Miss White, Camila, stormed into Adeline’s room.“How dare you?” Camila growled, marching to Adeline’s side.“Watch your tone, young lady. What is it?” Adeline warned, glaring at her.“I heard everything, Adeline! You are planning to take everything from my husband. What kind of mother are you?” Camila reprimanded her.“This is a huge mistake. No one should ever confront Adeline,” I commented, speaking from experience.Tears streamed down NevXimena/Angela’s POVI broke down in tears, wailing. None of the women’s HLAs matched Tristan’s. What do I do? Where should I go from here? I can’t let my baby die. “God, please help me.”“What happened, ma’am?” Rita rushed over.“None of them matched, Rita. I’m losing my child,” I sobbed, feeling my heart pounding in my chest.“Don’t say that, ma’am. Nothing will happen to Tristan. I truly believe it,” she tried to comfort me, but her words couldn’t reach me.“Call any advertising agency. Tell them to find donors for me. Nothing must happen to Tristan, please.”“I will do that, but please stop crying. Remember the story you told me about Tristan’s birth? You said you had a terrible accident while pregnant with him, one that almost took your life. But nothing happened to the pregnancy. It was a miracle, ma’am. God saved Tristan back then, not to take him away now at five years old, but for him to grow into a great man. This is jus
Ximena/Angela’s POV He closed the distance between us, trapping me between the bed and himself. My hands rested on the bed behind me, supporting my leaning self while also trying to hold the bed from slipping off. “You can see me,” he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, cupping my face in his hands. I tried to avert my eyes from his, but his pull on them was enchanting, and I couldn’t look away. “I thought Nevaeh told you,” I said. “I’m glad you can.” He pecked my forehead before looking over my shoulder at Tristan. “He is a strong boy,” he said, moving away from me and grabbing Tristan’s hand. His thumb brushed the back of Tristan’s fingers, and a sad smile flickered on his face. “He will be fine,” he said more to himself than to me. “I pray so.” “Wait here, I will go see the doctor,” he said, his hand brushing mine as he walked past me to the door. I took a deep breath, sitting back in the chair. He didn’t comprehend
Ximena/Angela’s POV I was pressed against Hudson’s chest as we both landed on the ground with a thud. I struggled to catch my breath while Hudson tried to keep me close to him. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Angela?” he scolded me, breathing heavily. “Let me go,” I tried to scramble to my feet, but he had me caged between his arms. Some watched while some cared less about the state we sat near the road. “Stay here,” he pulled me back, possibly scared of losing me or something. “They are watching us,” I thrashed in his arms. “Let me go now.” He pushed me up while still holding my arm. “You will stay close to me,” he warned, not letting go. We both staggered to our feet, dusting ourselves off from the dirt. “Do you have the slightest idea what you almost did? You almost got hit by a car. What is wrong with you?” “Why were you after me? You should have just let me go; then I wouldn’t have been so scared to run into a car. If anything had happened to me, I would have blam
Ximena/Angela’s POV “So what? You want to claim my child?” I snapped. “To God who made me, Angela. If you make me run multiple tests at multiple hospitals before you admit the truth, you won’t like me,” he groaned, his voice laced with anger. “Take me away from here,” I cried. The ride back to his house was silent. The weight of the silence and Hudson’s fumes could suffocate me. I kept my chin on the side window, trying to be calm as the trees swept past us. Hudson shouldn’t know I am Ximena. That crazy doctor Andrew is responsible for this. He should have just kept his mouth shut and minded his business. Ugh! Speak of the devil, he started calling me. “What?” “Hudson is a match, Angela. The bone marrow transplant surgeon is around now. Hudson’s line is not reachable; we need him as soon as possible for the transplant,” he explained. “Thank God,” the stuffy cold feeling I was having earlier disap
Hudson’s POV As I watched Angela run off, something in me snapped, telling me to go after her. I hated seeing her the way I did. Maybe I should have just stayed in prison; it would be better than coming out to hurt others. The look in her eyes when she said she hated me haunted my mind, and it took the love of God for me to reach the hospital safely. I was truly going to donate my bone marrow; I just wanted her to tell me the truth, but I bet I went too far. “Doctor Andrew?” I called to the door where he was speaking with a nurse at the reception. He looked at me. “You are back,” he said. “The surgeon just left but promised to be back tomorrow. He also told me to tell you to take time to make up your mind.” “I have made up my mind, Doctor Andrew. Let me know when he is back tomorrow. And make sure nothing happens to Tristan, please,” I told him before leaving. My head was throbbing loudly when I entered the house. I clasped my h
Hudson’s POV Like a terrible joke, Angela didn’t show up all night. Raven kept everyone awake with her shrill cries. We ran out of formula, yet she wouldn’t just fall asleep. We took turns carrying her, but nobody’s arms seemed comfortable as she kept thrashing and her wailing grew louder. “Angela, where are you?” Nevaeh cried. We were all exhausted and frustrated. “I’m having a bad feeling about this. Miss Angela will never run away from her children. Something is amiss,” Rita said as she rocked Raven in her arms. “Do you think she is missing?” Nevaeh asked. “I’m not sure.” “We will have to call the police tomorrow,” I suggested. No one spoke afterward as Raven finally found solace in Rita’s arms and fell asleep. The thought of Angela being missing haunted me as I entered my room and lay on my bed, facing the ceiling. Did the enemies planning to kill me get to her? That was a freaking scary thought, but I
Ximena/Angela’s POV My head whipped aside as a large metal-like hand connected with my cheek, leaving it stinging with a sharp, burning sensation as a cry escaped my lips. My lower lip was cut, and I felt blood in my mouth. Tears filled my eyes as I tried to caress my cheek, but my hands and legs were tied to the chair I was seated on, and a collar was around my neck. “How does that feel?” Alberto smirked, sitting on a nearby chair and piercing his deep brown eyes into mine. I blinked away my tears. “That wasn’t necessary, scumbag,” I spat, my heart racing. “It feels good then. Want more?” he asked evilly, leaning closer to me. “What do you want from me?” I groaned, clenching my fists on the armrest. He didn’t reply. Instead, he stood up, moving to a wooden table in the corner. My eyes trailed his every movement. Looking around the room, it seemed like a basement. The room was dimly lit with blue bulbs. There were som
Ximena/Angela’s POVI jolted awake to the noise of things being flung to the floor. My eyes widened in bewilderment as I saw that Alberto had turned the room into trash. The whole place was disorganized; the old TV lay facedown on the floor. The counter he had his drinks on was smashed to the ground. Broken glass and liquid covered the floor, yet he was still smashing flower vases.Suddenly, he whipped his head to my side, and I gasped. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was trembling with anger. His muscles flexed as he dumped the next flower vase in his hand. My heart caught in my throat when he strode to my side.“It’s all your fault!” he growled, his hot breath fanning my face violently. I was almost flung from the chair with the amount of heat radiating from him. “If Hudson doesn’t listen to me, I will send your head to him,” he warned, then spun around. I gasped, my heart hammering in my ribcage. What did Hudson say to him that got him this angry? Oh, d
Ximena/Angela’s POVIt’s been a year since all the incidents. Life has become more peaceful ever since. To Hudson, Morris and Alexa were our last enemies. They had masterminded Hudson’s confiscated goods and his arrest.I lost my supposed father to liver cancer a few months ago. I thought I was going to hate him forever for what he did to my mom and aunt, but as he battled with his own life, I had to let it go. I showed him how much I cared about him being my father; I wanted him to die a peaceful and happy death.My siblings, Remi and Ryan, have been wonderfully sweet. They loved me like we had known each other since childhood. I bet their mother must be one of a kind. I know some stepmothers can be a pain in the ass; I’m glad she wasn’t, even though I never met her. As for Nevaeh, she went for her master's alongside Remi and Ryan. They have been moving on well ever since.I have never been so fulfilled in my life.“Be careful,” I told Tristan, who was supportin
Nevaeh’s POVI knocked on the door, and Alexa opened it, her eyes flashing with evil as usual. I was holding a baby. They had wanted me to bring Raven to them. They intended to use her as bait to get whatever they wanted from my dad. I believed everything they said, so I obeyed them.“Welcome, sweetheart,” she grinned, leading me inside. “I thought you weren’t going to do it,” she said.“She has the Miles Lucas blood flowing through her veins; she couldn’t have gone against what would benefit her,” Morris said, standing up and walking toward me.“You said I was adopted,” I said, stepping back from him. “How do I suddenly have the blood of Miles Lucas running through my veins?”“You were raised by Hudson, so you must have inherited something from him,” he smiled, reaching out to take the baby from me.I stepped back. “What do you want to do with her?” I asked, my chest heaving.“Give him the baby, Nevaeh!” Alexa demanded, her voice tightening.“Not unt
Ximena/Angela’s POVI paced back and forth in the living room, my heart pounding in my chest. Rita’s number wasn’t going through, and Raven was missing from the house. I strongly believed Rita didn’t go out with her; she had never done that, but others said she might have, so we’ve been waiting for her.“Just calm down, Ma’am. She’ll be back soon,” Penelope said.“For how long? She’s been out for almost an hour, and her line isn’t reachable. I hope it’s not what I’m thinking,” I said, both anger and fear exploding within me.“Mommy?” Tristan called, entering the living room. “What’s wrong?” he wrote on his tablet.“Nothing, baby. Just go freshen up and change,” I told him, and he nodded, running upstairs.“What’s the matter, Angela? You sounded so urgent,” Hudson said as he rushed into the house. I was so scared I had to call him.“My baby is missing, Hudson. Someone took my child.”“How is that possible? We have security men in the house. Who took he
Nevaeh’s POVI was driving to their place when a car swerved into my path. I pressed down on the brake abruptly, lunging forward. “Shit,” I muttered under my breath. I was ready to go scream the person’s head off when I saw Ryan stepping out of the car. He walked up to me, knocking on the window. I slid down the window, glaring at him.“Hey, psycho. What’s up?”“Have you lost your mind, scum?” I groaned.“I was looking forward to that,” he smiled, leaning on the window. “I was bored at home, so I decided to come have some fun with you. Can we go out?”“Get your bloody hands off my car!” I yelled.“Should we go in my car or yours?” he winked at me. “I promise it will be fun.”I clenched my fists, my chest heaving with anger. Zoe’s call came in at the same time. “He likes you, Nev, give him a chance,” Zoe said.“You set this up?”“If he betrays you, I will be the first to kill him. Have fun,” she said, hanging up.“Bar or park?” Ryan asked, maki
Nevaeh’s POV I stormed into my room, slamming the door. I grunted, swiping my makeup box off the vanity table. Everything he said was true. All they want to do is hurt me. How can she mingle with my enemy? How dare she? “I hate you all!” I yelled, kicking the bed. I was seated on the bed, my head in my palms when someone knocked on the door. “Can I come in, please?” Angela said. I didn’t answer, but she entered. “Can we talk, please?” she asked. “Get out of my room!” I snapped, lifting my bloodshot eyes to her. “Just listen to me, Nevaeh. I won’t take much of your time,” she said, moving closer. She came to sit beside me. “Uh, I know you don’t want to see me and my kids in your dad’s house; we have made plans to leave. You don’t even have to accept me as Ximena. Forget I ever told you that; you can see me as Angela only, nothing more. I just want you to return to being the loving Nevaeh I used to know. Remember that we all love you,
Ximena/Angela’s POVThe revelation of me being Ximena didn’t settle well with Nevaeh. Instead of being happy that she finally had me back, she chose to be scared of the possibility. It has been over a month now, but the more she looked at Ximena’s picture, the more she doubted the possibility of me being her.“Hey, girl. How was your night?” I asked, setting the table. “I prepared your favorite.”“Ximena never cooked,” she declared, heading out.“Nevaeh, please,” I hurried to block her path. “I didn’t tell you the story to distance yourself from me. I thought it was necessary for me to be transparent. Besides, my intention was for you to learn from my story; to know that you can forgive Fred and be happy again. If you don’t want us to stay, we will go. Just stop making it awkward,” I said.“Then leave,” she said coldly, brushing past me.I stood frozen, unable to believe my ears. I knew she had been acting weird for a while, and I thought it was because of he
Nevaeh’s POVI headed out of my room with Angela. I was going to see Zoe for our little discussion. “Don’t do anything you will regret, Nevaeh, please,” Angela said.“I’m already regretting a lot,” I replied.“Where are you headed?” my dad asked as he approached.“I’ll see you later, Angela,” I ignored my dad and walked out.“I’m talking to you, young lady. Why are you ignoring me?” he grabbed my hand, pulling me back.“Let go of me!” I groaned, pulling my hand away from him. “Everything is your fault. If you had allowed me to go with Fred to Australia, this wouldn’t have happened. You’re always ruining my happiness,” I confronted him angrily.“Don’t talk to your dad like that, Nevaeh,” Angela interjected.“The sooner you stop taking his side, the better for us,” I declared and stormed out of the house.***I met Zoe at her house. Her parents were out, and she was in the living room, watching TV and eating popcorn. I went straight to the bar, poured myself a glass of liquor, and retur
Nevaeh’s POV The moment Fred opened the door, my heart skipped a beat. It had been a while, and I still felt this way. Without thinking, I embraced him. “I missed you,” I said, my voice low and uncertain. He pulled away. “We need to talk,” he said coldly, walking back into the living room. I followed suit, my heart still beating faster. “I didn’t know you got a new house,” I said, sitting on the couch as he sat down too. “Without wasting much of your time, Nevaeh,” he began, my throat knotted. This wasn’t the same Fred I used to know. He would never speak coldly to me. “Won’t you at least offer me something? Is that how to welcome your girlfriend?” I asked, tilting my head. He tapped his foot for over a minute before standing up and returning with a glass of red wine. I collected it from him and took a sip. “I didn’t like the attitude you pulled out there, Nevaeh,” he said. “Why would you start a fight at someone’s birthday party? I was
Ximena/Angela’s POVI couldn’t believe Nevaeh could be this naïve and gullible. How could she trust that bastard so much to love him like this? After crying so much, she dozed off, and I returned to the living room. I didn’t find Hudson there, so I thought he had gone to bed. I turned off the TV and sank into the couch, relaxing my head against the headrest.“How is she?” Hudson asked suddenly, startling me. I gasped, looking at him. He sat beside me, holding out a glass of water.“Thank you,” I collected the water from him, taking a sip. “She’s asleep now,” I informed him.“Do you know who the guy is?” he asked, crossing his legs and facing me.“Of course. It’s the same Frederick, her childhood friend,” I replied.“Frederick Archer?” he asked, and I nodded.“Frederick has been away for so long. How could she still harbor feelings for him? Besides, they were just teenagers when they separated.”“Love doesn’t kno