"I don't know, babe. I want to go as planned but...” Joyce trailed off for the umpteenth time she'd been on the phone. The display lights in her office shone on her beautiful face and dropped to the screen of her tab where she had been busy all day.Her eyes kept dropping with exhaustion and a single glance at her would tell the tired lines of her face. Amidst catering to her friends' needs and running her business, her plans were starting to crumble.“So, what do you want to do?” Nick's baritone smooth voice filtered in from the speakers and she sighed.“I guess I will just have to postpone till next weekend again.” She shrugged, shuffling one of her drawers open for a pen.“Maybe, ” Nick didn't sound cool with her response and Joyce knew it. “Look babe, these people are your friends. Friends. If you tell them you gotta go, they will understand. I know that you know that. This is your life we are talking about here.” Nick grumbled.“I know. I know.” She sighed and ran a hand through
Sophie knew that when she didn't get the call, there was a high chance that all the yelling and screaming would be done in person.It was why she wasn't surprised when her father barged into her office in the middle of a discussion with a client. Her gaze darted from that of the man seated in front of her with his assistant to her father who had just barged in. A single glance at him and Sophie could already see how livid he looked.He nearly had her door unhinged with how loudly he banged it shut. And there was that glimmer in his eyes. The dangerous fire glints that Sophie absolutely hated. She pursed her lips before lifting her gaze from him to her clients' stunned ones. The man could read the room and he definitely knew it was time to go.“I guess the meeting is adjourned. Thank you, I will be sure to get back to you.” Sophie's smile was grim and her hands were stiff when she shook the man's hand formally. Without sparing a glance at Kristen, she silently nudged that she saw th
Tyler's POV“Hold on, you did what?” Tyler almost screamed into the phone before he managed to collect himself, looking around the car park.“I called Mantha,” Gab said slowly, enunciating every word for Tyler to understand. His rich choice was filled with depth and something akin to frustrations boomed through the speakers.“Why?”Tyler was speechless not because his best friend of childhood days had gone ahead to call his cousin to ask her something as delicate as this but because he didn't think that they communicated at all.“Why, not?” Gab breathed. “Look man, I'm doing everything I can to find her. And if I can find her through Mantha, why not?” Gab spoke again.Tyler exhaled and glanced away from the ground to smooth the creases of his jeans jacket sleeves. He opened his mouth to say something when he saw Sophie coming in.Instantly without conscious of his activity, his lips drew into a small smile at her. She was walking toward him, taking her steps slow and steady while her
Sophie's POVHolding up the black dress, Sophie eyed it with a deep grimace before throwing it over the heap of clothes she had created. She took out another magenta dress and immediately decided against it.She wasn't going to wear that.Sophie was never the type to cry over dresses she was going to wear to a party or an event but she had completely forgotten about Gina's parent's anniversary. If she hadn't gotten the call from Gina hours earlier and a text from Tyler a few minutes ago, she wouldn't have stopped what she was doing on her laptop to dress up.Her hand tightened on the knots of her towel as she eyed the stacks still in the wardrobe. She had no idea how many more she had to go through. She didn't usually feel too drained like that but she had quit her job on impulse and was now regretting it.What was she thinking?She groaned before her eyes caught a glimpse of the teal-green dress in the closet. She reached for it and took it out, admiring the deep sweetheart neckline
Sophie's POVWhen Sophie walked into the party, she wasn't sure what scene it was that she was expecting but the neon bright lights and dazzling dresses filled up the void of her expectations. She stopped short, a bit breathless from the moment before that to glance around the place.There were a lot of people she knew around. A bunch of LA housewives who did nothing but spend their husbands' money and throw mind-blowing parties. Most of which Sophie was invited to.It was one of the reasons why Sophie had chosen to attend the party. Excluding the fact that she got to play the role and guard the public's eyes in gossip, she knew or had met Gina's parents more than twice at parties like that and she was more than thrilled to finally be attending theirs.A familiar cologne wafted into her nostrils as she felt an enormous presence behind her. Sophie's skin crawled with desire and she sucked in a deep breath when Tyler laid hands on her bare open back.“Breathless?” His mouth was directl
Tyler's POVTyler stared at Sophie to ensure that she wasn't watching before he gently strolled in the other direction, leading his insane guest away. Tyler didn't know exactly what Andy was willing to talk about but he was about ready to be done with it before it even started. To him, men like Andy should never be given the chance to speak in public.“I thought it was you I saw at the restaurant that day, ” Andy shoved his hands into his pants, his lips curved into a smirk.“Of course. Who else would have been proper to catch you in the middle of infidelity.” Tyler shot at him, his face a blank mask. “Your wife deserves someone better. I wonder why she sticks around.” He added, maintaining his glare.“Like you?” Andy was frowning deeply. “Someone better like you?” he cocked his head to the side to access him.Tyler smiled then.“You are finally acknowledging that I'm better than you. Nice.” He smirked.Andy's face flushed. “Fuck you, man, ” he spat.“I thought you'd be dead by now
Sophie's POVSophie felt like her head had been dropped into a small basket that had lots of thread sticking out of it till they were all in a tangled mess around her head.The way the exhaustion seemed to take over her when she walked away made it seem like it had been waiting right on hand to deal with her when she felt that way.First, it was meeting her college boyfriend whom she had not seen in a very long-time. Of all the years she had lived in LA, she had never for once met him by chance or mistake since they broke up.But as fate would have it, she just had to meet him on this awesome night and the chances were that the same lady he had cheated on her with was the same one he was married to.It was a huge blow to her face.The information had sucked up all her energy juice and had left her with nothing. It wasn't that she cared for Jasper, she would never blink an eyelid in his direction for he was a cheat.But she would never have imagined that he would settle with her. And
Tyler's POVTyler sighed and shoved his hands into the pocket of his gray joggers. His eyes were fixated on the white-haired lady laying on his bed with all her hair sprawled out around her.Tyler hated to think about what he could do with her hair when he was moving inside her and he looked to automatically clear the thoughts away.It was almost noon yet she was still asleep. He was expecting her to still be asleep anyway. She had woken up twice at night to drown herself in alcohol and it might be stupid but he was really upset with her for drinking.He bit down on his lower lip as he watched her chest rise and fall to her steady breaths. Suddenly, she was fighting with the covers and turning on the bed. He watched with silent adoration at the serene look her face was shaped in. She looked so peaceful, so at peace with herself and Tyler felt the memory of her like that would be ingrained in his memory. He was going to do something about it to thin the way it would keep flashing thro
Tyler was nervous. He had been since he saw her in that beautiful dress at the hospital. He had known it was her opening night at the gallery and even though she wouldn't want him there, Tyler had gone anyway. He was proud of her. He was proud of everything she had done and became with or without him.But he needed her now and more than ever.He wanted her now more than ever and he was going to get her.She had looked seemingly unaffected by his presence at the hospital the night before but he knew it had touched her as he had touched him too. He hoped she would wear that dress she wore for her gallery opening. He also wished that she wouldn't. He wished she would smile at him when she arrived but Tyler was close to losing his mind. It was an hour after the arranged time yet she wasn't here. He had refrained from texting her so as not to appear too pathetic. He wanted her but he also had to play his cards right.When his phone buzzed in his pocket, Tyler took it out to answer the cal
Kristen folded her arms against her chest as she stared at Sophie. She wasn't complaining about having her in her house but Sophie could be exhausting. Especially in moments when she was this stubborn. And she was done, she couldn't deal with this attitude of hers anymore.“Do you need me to call Willow because I will. Oh, I know. Joyce would get here quicker than Willow would.” She tsked, eyeing the woman in pajamas lying on the floor of the living room to Netflix and chill.“You wouldn't dare,” Sophie barely glanced away from the screen of the TV as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl in front of her and poured them into her mouth. She munched cheerfully like she didn't have a worry in the world.When in fact, she did. She had a lot running through her mind but she would never say it.It was only a day after the opening of her art gallery. A day after she met Tyler at the hospital. A day after Harper's birth to Baby Ivan. It was the date night Tyler had scheduled for her
Sophie didn't get a breathing space that night as she wandered about, talking to her guests and the families of her featured artists. She had almost let herself go into worry about Harper but Joyce had handed her a glass of non alcoholic wine that had put her at ease.So, with a glass in hand, Sophie had wandered around in her gallery and attended to guests. The number of people that had turned up were more than she had expected but she was glad that she had enough resources to handle them. She had just finished selling off a beautiful glass piece to a man when Joyce pulled her aside for a break."Heard anything from them yet?” she whispered as Joyce pulled her away from the scene to a corner.“Not yet,” Joyce whispered back with a hiss. She was equally very worried but that wasn't what she wanted to talk about.“Okay, so what's going on?” Sophie asked when she saw the look on her face.“I just saw Jasper and Olivia.” Joyce confessed trying to look past her friend's shoulders toward t
It had been exactly two weeks since the whole episode with her father. With the help of her friends, Sophie had gotten back on tracks with her dream art gallery. She had channeled all her emotions into setting up the perfect gallery she wanted.In two weeks, she had set up the podium and given the place the taste it deserved. Countless times, Joyce and the rest of the girls had dropped by to help her set up. And when she wasn't setting up, Sophie would lay down on the floors of the place and imagine what her future would be filled with.In everything she had pictured, there had been Tyler. It has been more than a while. Since the day she had ordered him out of her hospital room, she hadn't heard back from him. Although she felt extremely bad for treating him that way, she'd been hurting too. She hadn't wanted to see him. Now, she didn't know.She missed him. She missed everything about him but that wasn't the topic for the day. It was her gallery's opening night. Her friends had he
When Sophie got the call from Willow asking her to come to the police station the morning after the day she was released from the hospital, her mind had conjured up different thoughts that she didn't think were appropriate. Willow had sounded calm yet very worried. Like she was very close to killing someone off which had made her extremely worried.Kristen had driven her to the police station because she hadn't been strong enough to drive. Although she had been properly taken care of in the hospital, her wound hadn't completely healed off and her body still sometimes ached her. She still couldn't believe that someone had almost succeeded in killing her.The thought still paralyzed her whenever she thought if it. What if the bullet had gone straight to her heart? What would have become of her? So many if's and possibilities always left her paralyzed.“You are going to be fine,” Kristen had told her repeatedly before she walked into the police station. Everyone around her seemed to know
"Congratulations, Tyler.” Willow shook his hand when they stepped out from the court. His smile was wide, big yet very much incomplete. This had been his dream for the past few years; To put Manuel and Andy away for good.It had been simple yet very difficult.But Willow had made it happen. She had gathered all the obvious evidence she could find and made him set up a meeting with Adelaide on the guise of getting her to confess to what she had done alongside Manuel and Andy. His half-brothers were very smart and intelligent but one thing they all had in common was their pride at their winnings which always led them to gloat and talk about everything they weren't supposed to.All it had taken were a few bottles of drinks to get them put behind bars. Now, he had custody of the little girl he was starting to call his.“No, Willow. You made it happen,” he smiled genuinely at her and she smiled back with ease. Willow was a beast when she was in court and that much was apparent. She had pu
Joyce pushed past the crowd in front of her when she sighted Harper and Willow waiting ahead. She had almost lost her mind when she had gotten the call from Harper telling her that Sophie had been involved in an accident. Joyce had thought that Sophie had refused to pick her calls or answer any of her texts because she was trying to give them space.She knew Sophie and she wouldn't put that past her.But the call from Harper had almost destabilized her. Already, she and Nick were already planning on returning back to LA after being in New York for close to a month now but Harper's call had sped up the whole process.“Slow down, baby.” She heard Nick say behind her. She knew that if it wasn't for the bags he was juggling, he would have rushed toward her. Joyce finally got to where her friends were standing and without any warning of some sort, she plunged them into a hug. Well, that was if Harper's large baby bump allowed her to hug her properly.“Joyce,” Harper pouted as she struggle
Tyler hummed as he flipped the pancake on the pan. It was late into the afternoon yet he hadn't had anything to eat all day having been busy. Taking Adelaide and his half brothers down had been a lot harder than he thought and everything was messin with him more than he thought it would.He barely had any time for himself to breathe and do all the things he needed to do. As if that wasn't enough, Tyler had had to deal with Giovanni when he went to the office the other day for an official meeting. The beast of a man had barged until his office without knocking to talk to him, being all rude to everyone around.Tyler hadn't been surprised when he saw him. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Giovanni De Luca figured out who he was. He had played enough and to him, he thought that he had taken more than enough time to figure him out.Too slow.“Well, this is late,” he'd said when he walked in, leaning back into his chair as he gazed up at the man. “Let me guess, somebody tipp
When Sophie opened her eyes, everything seemed fuzzy and out of focus. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, but everything remained hazy and indistinct. Slowly, she became aware of a dull ache in her head, and she realized that she must have hit her head during the accident. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over her and she slumped back down onto the bed. Everything was a blur, both literally and figuratively. As she struggled to regain her senses, the memories of the accident began to come back to her in flashes. She remembered the screech of the tires, the sickening crunch of metal, and the blinding pain that had followed. It was all a blur, but slowly the details were starting to come into focus. She tried to sit up again, this time with more success. She took a deep breath and looked around, trying to get her bearings. Where was she?It wasn't until she finally registered the antiseptic smell that came with hospitals and the white walls that