SOPHIESophie's hands were trembling as she turned off the ignition and pulled out her keys from the keyhole. Her rosy lips were set in a very thin line as she unlocked the door to her red Maserati and alighted from it. She slammed the door loudly, turned around hotly, and continued her journey into the large building.She was boiling.This was the seventh time in two weeks. The seventh time she had to sit down at dinner or lunch and deal with some narcissistic and arrogant asshole boasting about his money and nothing else. She was tired, tired of listening to their incessant talks about how beautiful she was and hearing nothing but how they so badly wanted to take care of her.Like she gave the impression that she wanted to be taken care of.She hissed loudly as she walked into the lobby, barely sparing the receptionist a glance. She was so mad and it was so obvious in the way she walked and huffed, tossing her white beautiful hair over her shoulders with each step she took forward.
TYLERTyler let out a low cuss when he realized that he had forgotten to pick up his keys again. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He didn't understand why he was so forgetful those days but it wasn't a good thing.He didn't deal with changes like that so much. Especially huge gratifying changes that turned his whole life around.Letting out a small exhale of reproach, he turned around and started to head back into the building. He didn't understand how he could have missed out on the key that was right there in his face. He had even placed it in the crystal bowl filled with mints just so he could pick it up when he wanted to fill his pocket with some of the candy. But he had forgotten to take the keys when the candy touched his tongue.He stepped into the elevator and hit the keypad. Taking out his phone from his pocket, he typed a quick text to his best friend, Gabriel who he was sure was already waiting for him as usual. He groaned. He hated making people wai
SOPHIE More than thirty minutes after Sophie found the roses, she was still shivering in fear. It was such a sight to see her shaken up, especially with how quick she always was to run her mouth. But with the earlier incident, she seemed to have run out of words and things to say. That was apparent when Joyce stepped into her apartment after the uneventful call. It wasn't that Sophie had called her to speak with her about the black roses she had found. Sophie hadn't hung up on Joyce during their call and Joyce had heard her scream which resulted in her dressing up and leaving her house to come for her. Joyce snapped the door shut before rushing toward Sophie who was seated on the couch, withdrawn and quiet. “Babe, what's wrong? I heard you scream and ran all the way here.” Joyce was panting but she didn't slow down as she crouched in front of a lost Sophie. When Sophie didn't say anything even after the concerned look on her face, Joyce moved to touch her to which she flinche
TYLER There was something called private for Tyler. It meant that the party was so small and probably only included one or few people. But that was not the case when Tyler walked into the large room where Gabby had insisted he was holding his unwanted birthday party. The music was so loud, he was forced to take a breather. The room was dimly lit but Tyler could still make out a few faces in the room which he knew. He was already making plans of avoiding them as soon as he saw them. “Tyler!” Gabby groaned as he walked up to him, a glass of wine in his hands. Before Tyler could protest with a hand raised upwards, Gabby was already pulling him into a hug. “How do you like your party man?” Gabby asked after he let him go, his hands hanging around his dude. Tyler was finding it hard not to yell but he knew he would have to with all the loud music turned up. “The women should have come easier. I didn't have to come here.” He seethed. “Of course, you didn't.” Gabby grinned, his amber o
Sophie's POVSophie let out a loud groan which was overshadowed by the loud music. She stomped her way toward the bar, grabbed a small stool positioned there, and took her seat. Anyone watching her could see how angry she was.She couldn't believe it. She didn't understand any of it. It wasn't that the sight of her next-door neighbor at a party irritated her or maybe it did. She only seemed to hate how he seemed to be in the same circle of friends as she. And not only did that irritate her, but she also hated the different women that crawled out of his room every morning. It said a lot about his character.“Vodka,” she gritted at the bartender who flashed her a small smile in return.“Sophie,” She heard her name being called but it didn't make her turn around toward Joyce. If anything, the way her name rolled out of Joyce's lips and the tone she was using only seemed to aggravate her. It was probably the only reason why after she had been served the drink, she took it down in one g
Sophie's POVSophie's eyes peeled open when the pound in her head intensified. She let out a loud groan, her voice coming out muffled and tired. A loud yawn burst through her lips and she had to place the back of her right palm over her mouth to muffle the sound.Squinting her hazy sight around the room, she jolted up at the black and red-themed room. Her eyes widened in confusion for a second. This was not her room. This was not her house.She could have started panicking right there and then if her eyes hadn't strayed toward the wall and recognized the large picture frame occupying a large part of one of the walls.It was a picture of Joyce with her.The picture was taken at one of the numerous parties they had gone on to when they finished college, so it was a few years old. They had been fresh into the world, wide and enthusiastic about everything. But even then, the duo had always loved parties. Anyone staring at the picture would see that parties worked out properly for them, es
Sophie's POVSophie stepped out of her car turning heads. Right from the moment she stepped out of her car, till she got into her private elevator that led her to the grand floor, she was all her employees were talking about.She never wore anything less of herself to work but each time her employees saw her, they always seemed to lose their shit. Most times it was more for other reasons than her beauty. They knew she was a party beast but when she stepped into her premises, she didn't joke around.That was the same mood Sophie had in when she stepped out of the private elevator into the grand foyer that beseeched her office. Her assistant was already seated at her desk and she sashayed past her, Kristen shot out of her seat to follow her into her office.“Is the board room set?” She asked as she pulled off her pants suit blazer and tucked it away, leaving the crisscross inner white wear she had on with her pants. “Yes, everything is set like you want. And here is your coffee,” Krist
Sophie's POVSophie managed to pick up her broken pieces after almost having a mental breakdown. She grabbed her laptop and delved herself into work, refusing to think of anything other than work. When she eventually cleared her table, she walked out and went around the company for an impromptu tour. Most of the workers who encountered her noticed how harsh she sounded and they immediately steered off her path. The ones who weren't smart enough got the brutal brunt of her harsh words.When she was satisfied with the tour, she returned to her office to grab her bag and other things. She was in the car driving home when a call came in from Joyce.“Babe,” Joyce's excited voice did nothing to aid the way Sophie was feeling and because she took too long to reply, Joyce picked up on the mood.“What's wrong? What happened?” Joyce asked in a rush, her voice expressing deep worry and concern.“He stopped by my office to see me,” Sophie divulged in a small voice. At that point, she didn't even
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