Yes, who is ready? Let the games begin
"What the fuck?" "Babe..." Sabrina started only to be cut off. "Get her out. We'll talk after she's out of that stinking place" "She's not going anywhere" "Don't mess with me, Adler. Not when it comes to my nieces" "Lincoln, please" "Please what, Sabrina?" He glowered at her, his voice cold and disapproving. Sabrina stood her ground, trying hard not to flinch or show any sign of fear. The man in front of her scared her. Which said something about their relationship seeing as they were less than a month away from their wedding. A part of her was afraid Lincoln would get angry and cancel it. He looked about ready to tear that place down and get Eva out "You two conspired and brought Eva... here" there was so much disgust in that word that she considered pushing all the blame on Mason. He could handle Linc's anger. She couldn't. She also couldn't afford to lose him. "Hear him out" "I will. After Eva is safe and sound" At least he didn't believe her ridiculous lie about her
{Day One} "Can I help you?" "Evangeline Becker" The woman behind the desk furrowed her eyebrows "What?" "I'm here to check-in. Evangeline Becker" she clicked on a few buttons on the keyboard and then looked up at her"There is no Evangeline Becker but there is Evangeline Becker Adler. Are you her?" That bastard! How dare he add his last name to hers as if he had the right? Wasn't it enough he'd betrayed her? "Yes. Recently got married so I tend to forget the additional last name. Where should I go?" "We have your room ready. I'll have a nurse escort you" "Why?" She fired back wanting to take her anger out, on anyone "Do you think I'll steal pills from your pharmacy or something?" "It's so you don't wander and find yourself in wing C. That's where we keep all the nutcases who won't hesitate to slit your throat or burn this building down. But if you still want to go alone, I can give you directions" she hated how cool the woman's voice was. As if she too w
{Day Three} "Mrs. Adler, why are you here?" "Don't call me that" she snapped "Eva is fine" "I sense some anger towards your husband judging by the way you don't like hearing his name despite being newly married" "Anger is an understatement" "Would you like to talk about it?" "No. I'm still angry and I don't want to lose my temper" Dr. Brown narrowed his eyes. She seemed shaken up. Of course, he knew the reason but he wanted to see if she was brave enough to tell him. "Why don't you want to lose your temper? Around here, it's normal for people to lash out. In fact, we encourage it. If you don't like something, feel free to shout at the top of your lungs. Expressing yourself is not necessarily a bad thing" "Today is my last day here. I get to go home tomorrow. Right?" "Yes. Are you excited to leave?" Before she could answer, he added "I'm sure your fans will be glad to see you" that got him the reaction he wanted. "What do you mean? Who told
She was going to kill them all. Eva, that idiot Lincoln and everyone in that fucking family. Okay, maybe not Rossy and Lily-May but the other two were dead. One was the bane of her existence while the other was the fool she'd chosen to love. How could she have been so stupid? Just as she'd predicted, Lincoln hadn't said anything about the video she'd shown him. In fact, he acted as if he didn't see it. The moron had chosen to sleep on the couch and she didn't bother trying to convince him otherwise because she needed the space. Their relationship was slowly falling apart but for the first time, Sabrina couldn't care less. She was done coddling him. If he wanted to end their relationship, she wasn't going to beg him to stay. For a long time, she'd known the reason for most of their fights was lack of communication. But how did you talk to someone who wasn't willing to listen? Lincoln refused to admit that Eva was fucked up and needed help. As if doing that would magically make her bet
Was it possible that he was wrong? He went through his memories, trying to see if there were signs he'd missed. As far as he could remember, Eva was a little grumpy but so were all teenagers. He remembered clear as day when Vivienne had given birth. And the weekends he'd spent with the twins when they were young. His sister had told him they were bound to be different. Just because they shared the same physical features didn't mean they would have similar personalities. How the fuck was he supposed to know something was wrong with Eva? Every time he asked her, she said she was fine. Whenever she had problems, she went to him and he helped her solve them. He'd done everything he could to make sure they had a roof over their heads and didn't go to bed hungry. Even with the insurance Viv and Nolan had taken, it still wasn't easy to raise two girls on his own. Not when he himself hadn't finished growing up. But he'd tried his damn best. Telling him that after everything, he'd failed... F
"You have a visitor. A Lincoln Morris?" "I'll be right out" she said combing her hands through her hair. Eva looked at herself in the bathroom mirror before exiting her room. She'd started getting comfortable and had even found three people she could base her characters on. But at the end of the day, no one liked being in a mental hospital. She was glad Linc had come around. She'd stayed there knowing he would eventually go for her. He was sitting in one of the chairs in the leisure room. Except for a janitor, there was no one else "Linc" she said going over to him. He got up and hugged her but she noticed his usual smile was nowhere to be seen. It was to be expected. With everything going on with Sabrina, how could he be happy? "Eva, how are you?" "I'm fine. I get fed everyday so I have no complaints" "Adler told me you decided to stay" She shrugged "Maybe I do have a problem that needs fixing. He's my husband now and I want to please him. I talk to the doctor for two ho
"Get out of my way" He let his eyes roam all over her face. Her eyes were clear but there were bugs she'd tried to cover up with makeup. Her cheeks were hollow and the veins on her neck were too pronounced. He hadn't seen her for over a week and he didn't like the way she looked. Why wasn't she taking care of herself? She was supposed to get better. Not worse. "What do you want Eva?" "That is none of your business" Mason leaned on the wall beside her, angling his body to block her view of Sabrina's room "Aren't you tired of all this? Can't you stop what you're doing and concentrate on getting better?" Her eyes flashed. "What's it to you what goes on in my family? You might have tricked me into this marriage but that doesn't mean you're a part of our family. So stop meddling and leave" "She almost had a miscarriage. Would you be okay knowing part of it was your fault?" "Almost being the keyword here. It didn't happen so why is everyone painting me the devil?" "I know dee
She cracked her eyes open, two things registering in her foggy mind. One, she needed water or she might die from thirst, and two, she was lying on top of someone. The answer came seconds after. Mason. His cologne and faint aftershave surrounded her, cocooning her, filling her senses as if to prove to her that he hadn't been lying about what he said yesterday. (I won't leave you. I promise I will never leave you) Wasn't that what everyone told her? They promised not to leave but in the end, they broke their promise. First her parents, Rossy and now Linc. No matter what she did she couldn't make them stay. Mason would also leave. It was only a matter of time before he got tired of her shit -as Sabrina had so nicely put it- and walked away. She wondered if it would be easier to leave first. Not pack her bags and move to another country but erase herself from the world. It was already full as it was and she would only be making space for new lives. Worthy lives. Like the baby, Sabrina w
"If that call has lasted more than five seconds, consider yourself..." "What? Fired?" Eva retorted, reminding him of the first time he'd met her. She'd changed but at the same time, she was still the same person who had changed her clothes in his office while he watched. Back then, he'd known he would never forget her. "In trouble. Who are you talking to?" She took the phone off her ear and pressed a button. A woman's voice came through "... decide which cover you want. I've emailed you the samples" "Yes, Miranda. Thank you for calling. Please email her the rest of the conversation, she'll get back to you when she isn't busy" Mason cut the call. "I still had a few questions to ask" "You were supposed to join me in the shower ten minutes ago" he said his hands busy unbuttoning the summer dress then pushing it off her shoulders. She only wore panties underneath which he also slid down her legs. On his way up, he palmed the little bump. Soon she was going to start showing. He
"Hey" she whispered through the crack in the door. "Let's go" "Where?" "Hurry up before..." Mason trailed off when he spotted someone else standing behind her. "Before what? Also, this is her sister. Eva is busy. She's not going anywhere with you" "I can't sleep without her, mom," he said ignoring a grinning Rosslyn. Sometimes he forgot Eva had a carbon copy of herself. Aside from the hair, he couldn't tell them apart. But he was confident that with time, he would be able to find that one difference between them without relying on their physical looks. "He sounds like when he was five insisting he couldn't sleep without his stuffed animal. Would you like me to put you to bed Mace?" "No, I want my wife. Stop hiding her from me" two days. He hadn't seen her for two days and he was getting antsy. It wasn't as if it was their first time getting married or sleeping in the same bed. Why were they preventing him from seeing her? "You'll get to see her tomorrow after the wedding
"A spanking?" Why did her voice sound so small? It was supposed to be sexy and seductive. It had taken her a long time to settle on that particular piece of lingerie. The lace garter covered half of her stomach which was supposed to hide her belly and make her feel confident but instead, she felt ready to bolt. Mason's eyes were on her, his gaze dark and burning. In the past, it used to make her feel empowered. Beautiful. Strong. But now, she wanted nothing more than to pull the blinds of the tall windows, so she could hide behind the dark. The sky outside was grey, lights already shining in the city below them. Eva moved towards him. Telling herself that if he loved her, he would have to accept her imperfections. She was done trying to be perfect. When she stopped beside him, he hooked a finger on the strap behind her thigh and gruffly commanded "Turn around" she obeyed, turning her back to him "Fuck Eva, your ass looks even better than I remember" she startled when his teeth sunk i
"Now what?" He'd held her as she cried, assured her there was no one else then her stomach decided it wanted food so they were sitting in her small dining room while she moved the salad she'd ordered for herself around the plate. "You should eat, Eva, and don't tell me you're not hungry" she was glad to see he was back to his bossy self. He hadn't changed one bit. He was still handsome and fit and so breathtakingly gorgeous while she'd let herself go. She didn't care what she wore, indulged too much in unhealthy food and it showed. She grabbed a salad once in a while and went worked out when she felt like it. But she was happy. After living under so much pressure, she liked not caring about her public image or what people would say. Until she saw Mason. Now all the doubts were creeping in. What if he didn't like this version of her? She'd worked on getting it back. Had been forced to peel away the so many layers she'd stacked on top of each other in order to get to that one. If he did
"Why don't they deliver?" "Their delivery guy was run over yesterday and they're looking for a new one. The guy isn't dead. He's at the hospital. Imagine how sorry they were that they felt the need to explain themselves. Poor guys" "Get to the point, Pippa" "So, yeah, that's what happened. I would pick up the food but I have an appointment with my OB/GYN. Cravings are a bitch, Eva. Please just pick up the order for me. I'll owe you big time" it sounded like bullshit. "I haven't been back for long but you're already a pain in my ass" "I love you too. I'll text you the order details. Thank you" she hung up. Eva removed the phone from her ear and stared at it. Wondering how she'd gone from Pippa's boss to her assistant. She'd ordered from the restaurant they'd gone to four days ago and she wanted her to pick it up for her because their delivery guy was unavailable. If she wasn't pregnant, Eva would have rolled her eyes and gone back to working. Shaking her head, she grabbed her
Tick. Tack. Tick. Tack. "Sir?" "Something's not right with this contract but I can't put my finger on what it is" "Shall I send it back to the legal department?" "Yeah, you do that. Tell them to find out what the problem is" he said pushing the papers away and leaning back on his chair. If he wasn't so distracted, he would have figured out what the problem was. But he couldn't concentrate on anything. Hadn't been able to do it since he bumped into Eva yesterday. It took him a moment to realize his secretary was still standing there "What is it, Marsha?" "You're still holding the pen. Is there something else I should do?" "No. Leave" "Are you sure sir?" "As sure as I am that if you don't close that door behind you in the next five seconds you'll be out of a job" "I'm right outside. Tell me if need something else" she said closing the door. Alden threw the pen on his desk and ran his hands over his face. Why had she come back? Two years had already passed and Mace was ju
"I couldn't go through with it""Why not? I'm sure they would have been happy to see you" Eva snorted "Yeah right. I'm sure anyone in their right mind would be happy to see someone who framed them and almost caused their miscarriage. Let's be real, Rossy" "I asked Linc and he said you were more than welcome to go see them. And before you lose your shit, it was a hypothetical question. He doesn't know I'm in contact with you. But he's an agent, Eva. If he wanted to find you, nothing could stop him" But he hadn't. Because he was still mad at her. "Anyway, I'll go visit them some other time" she'd gone to see them but the moment she arrived, she'd chickened out and drove away from there as if the devil was on her tail. Part of her recovery was being able to handle rejection without ape shit and she believed that she could. Just not at the moment. "Like some time this year or next year?" "Get off my case. I have stuff to unpack" she said eyeing the boxes
TWO YEARS LATER "Morning Ava" she grumbled a response, her mind miles away. But Lilly wouldn't be Lilly if she didn't jump in front of her and command her attention "I said good morning""Good morning to you too. Now can you get out of my way?" She snapped at the young woman who only smiled. Undeterred by her tone."What are you cooking up in that head of yours today? Could it be more adventures of our beloved couple?""Out of my way. I'm in a hurry""If you give me a sneak peek, I'll do your coffee run for the rest of the month""I never should have spoken to you that first day" she had been the first person to speak to her. Showing up at her door with an apple pie as a welcome to the town, then her eyes had gone round. She introduced herself and Eva made the mistake of telling her that she had a niece whose name was Lily. Since then, Lilly had taken it upon herself to introduce her to the rest of the town "Don't let her glare scare you off, she's real
"Why Mr. Adler, are you nervous?" "A little" he admitted sheepishly, feeling like a teenager who was about to do it for the first time. Only Eva could make him feel like that. They'd had sex on every surface of the apartment but it still excited him to know he would be inside her soon. Feel the way her body squeezed him and shook when she came around him. Reacquaint himself with every dip and curve. She took off her sweater laughing, making him smile. He loved it when she laughed. "I'm pretty sure it's not your first time" "Doesn't stop me from being nervous" "Lose the clothes, Adler" she ordered, heading upstairs. He followed her, undressing as he went. At the landing, she stepped out of her skirt, throwing a sultry look over her shoulder before veering off to the bedroom. His cock came alive, reminding him how long it had been since they were together. He'd jerked off to his hand more times than he could remember. Not wanting to pressure her into anything. At some point, he e