Zeke entered the room gently, his hands in his pockets, and then looked around the room.The housekeeper had already told him that Camila was in the bathroom as she had seen her enter when she went to deliver her fruit.He walked in fully, stopped in front of the table beside her bed, and then glared at the tabletop picture frame that had his and Camila’s picture.That was literally the only picture of them and it was taken when their relationship was barely two months which was before he divorced Elena.The lady had hoarded the picture since then and had even framed it.He flipped it over, and then turned away from it as the door of the bathroom finally creaked open.Startled by the man’s presence, Camila gasped as she stepped out of the bathroom.“Zeke!”Zeke raised his head to look at the naked woman and then smacked his tongue. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she drawled as she covered the space between them.Reaching her wet hand to his cheek, he pushed it away gently and then
“She is in a meeting at the moment, sir.”Zeke nodded his head as her secretary stopped in front of him and said. “Then, I will wait for her in her office… or is the meeting going on there?”“No.”“I’ll wait for her there.”He walked to the door of her office, opened the door, and then trailed in gently.Remembering the words of Ryan who warned him strongly to not ask Elena about the kids yet, he hissed and then settled on the couch.According to Ryan, he needed to make her forgive her first else it would be as if he was only seeking her forgiveness because of the children.Of course, he wanted his children. But he wanted her more.He hadn’t known that she had children till three days ago and he had broken up with Camila the previous day.Camila’s housekeeper had bombarded him with calls to tell him that Camila had run a high fever through the night and was rushed to the hospital.Still, he ignored both her messages and her calls. He knew for sure that Camila was behind the phone and
“Elena, calm down.”“You do not tell me how to react!” She bellowed, her eyes sparkling in anger.“Elena…”“How dare you run a background check on me?!”“I did not.”“Don’t you dare lie to me!”“I followed you.”Elena went mute for a few seconds before she smacked her lips and hissed. “What?”“I am sorry. I followed you to their school that day and then… I saw them. Yes, I did run a check on you, but I found nothing… just a little.”She raised her hand to slap him again but he was quick to stop it, he grabbed her gently and then bore his eyes on her.“I am sorry.”“You are sorry?” She scoffed and tried to yank her hand away.“Elena, please listen to—”“They are not yours,” she snapped and snatched her hand from him.“Elena.”“My children are not yours, so get the fuck away!”“I know you are mad at me and…”“You wanna fight their custody? You want to take them away or what?”“What? No! They are your children and I would never do that to you!”“Good. Now leave. You have no kids with me.
“He knows,” Elena said as she took one last look at herself in the mirror in her sister’s room.Ariana was also preparing to leave home. It was a Saturday and the kids were home, with her parents.She was wearing a maroon color button-up and cream pencil skirt, matched with cream blazers.Her hair was in a half bun with locks framing her face. She applied some lip gloss and wore her maroon peep-toe heels. She looked nice, and she knew.“Who knows what?” Ariana asked as she adjusted her collar and turned around to look at her sister.They had not had the chance to talk well since the past week and that was because Ariana had been cramped with work and had been returning home very late unlike Elena who always made sure she returned home by six or before six pm.“Zeke,” Elena signed and pressed her lips together.“Talk well, Elena. I can’t understand you if you’re speaking like this.”“He knows about the kids!” She snapped and then smacked her tongue.“What?!” Ariana hollered and then co
“Who did you say is asking for me?” Elena raised her brows as she clutched the telecom tightly to her ear.“She said she is Camila, ma’am. She…”“Camila Rush!”She heard the woman’s voice from the background and then pressed her lips together.“We told her she can’t meet you without an appointment but…”“Why do I need an appointment to meet her?!” The woman yelled again.Elena scratched her chin, nodded her head, and then sighed, “Send her in.”On a normal day, she would have sent her back or refused to meet her at all.But… she knew it was right that they talked too.Plus, she was bored. A little craziness could lift her mood, right?!She leaned in her chair comfortably and then raised her head to look at her assistant, Marvella who stood in front of her.The lady was reading to her the feedback from the meeting she had attended on her behalf.“Can we do this later?”“Sure, ma’am,” Marvella bowed gently and then turned to leave.Rather impatient, Elena turned her swivel chair around
As Camila struggled to get on her feet, Elena stood up and then watched her with her hands akimbo. “What I stole? Girl, he was mine to begin with!” “Good for you.”Camila adjusted her clothes, raised her shoulder, and then covered the space between her and Elena.Their faces so close to each other, Elena stared down at the lady she was a bit taller than, and then smacked her tongue.“You don’t know what I am capable of,” Camila groaned, her voice so low that she could almost not hear what she said.“Oh?”“You don’t know the length that I can go to just to keep what is mine.”“Oh?” Elena raised her brows again sarcastically.“If I needed to kill a person…” she panted, and Elena took a step back as the lady’s saliva fell on her face.“If I needed to kill a person just to be with him, then… I will!”“If you would ask me, I would say that the person that you would kill first is only yourself.”“You know nothing, Elena! You do not know anything!”“I know a lot, Camila and because I do, I
“Let’s go to an amusement park first!” Nathan screamed.“What is that?! Let’s go to the zoo and then lick some ice cream afterward!”“Zoo? Do you have any friends there?” Nathan grunted.“Friends at a zoo?” Natalie drew her brows together.“Maybe your friends are in the cage there,” Nathan said and then burst into laughter at his own joke.“Hey, Nathan!” Elena snapped as she turned to look back after she ignited the engine of the car.“You should not say something so sensitive, it is not nice,” she smacked her tongue.“It is just a joke, mama!” Nathan grinned and Ariana turned her head to look at him.“It is not a joke when the other party does not laugh at it,” Ariana rolled her eyes.Elena shook her head and then drove the car gently out of the compound.It was a Sunday, and as Ariana had suggested, they had came out for fun.“You should say sorry to your sister,” she said, her eyes on the road.As she drove the car out of the compound, she glanced at the car that was nearly packed
“Mama, I wanna use the restroom,” Natalie moaned as she walked closer to her mother and then tapped her gently.“Me too!” Nathan hurried to her and then grabbed his shorts.“The both of you?” Elena raised her brows.“Yes, hurry, mama!”“Okay, sorry babies,” she smiled and then prepared to stand when Ariana raised her hand and then stood up instead.“I will follow them. I’ve been here before so I know the way to the restroom,” she said.“Okay, thank you.”“Let’s go guys,” Ariana caressed Natalie’s hair and then took their hands in hers.After they were out of sight, Elena raised her head to look at the car that was parked there earlier but soon squinted her brows when she realized that it was no longer there.‘Someone got tired, I guess.’She thought and then picked up her phone.____Since they were both kids, Ariana entered the female restroom with the two of them and then escorted them to a different toilet.It was quite a large restroom, so it had different rooms enough for a few p
Staring down at her kids who giggled happily since Zeke had announced to them that it was time to return home.The kids were so happy and it was so evident. They jumped excitedly, held each other's hand, and then rushed out of the house.“I hope they are not stressing you?” She asked Zeke.Zeke chuckled, shook his head, and then answered, “Stressing me? I’m enjoying every moment, Elena, trust me. It would have been perfect if you had been here too,” he said and she rolled her eyes.“I mean it.”“Whatever. And Natalie. I hope she is still taking her medication.”“Of, course, Elena.”“Thank you.”He shook his head and then clasped his hands together, “Let me know if you hear from Ramon, okay? He might call you or whatever, just let me know. We will start working on things from my end too.”“Are you not really going to wait for dinner?” Karina joined the two in the living room.“Left to me, Mother, I would have, but the twins… they think I am planning to leave them here and then return h
“What happened?”“Elena…” he sighed and clasped his hands together.“If you do like this… you are making me scared. Did he do something that I am not aware of? You gotta tell me.”He nodded his head in agreement. He didn’t plan on hiding it from her.Ryan was right to have told him to let her know. She needs to be aware and wary of that man.“Do you remember Ethan? I’ve told you about him before.”“I remember! Did you find him?!” She exclaimed.Zeke nodded his head in agreement and she clasped her hands together.“Finally! Oh my God. Did you meet him? What did he say? Did he…”“He is in Italy currently. We have not met. However, he is living by a different identity now… and even a new face.”“He underwent surgery?” Elena raised a brow and Zeke nodded his head.“That is… messed up.”“It really is.”“So, what do you plan on doing now?”“He has two sons… and Ramon…” he hesitated and breathed out again.“Talk.”“Ramon is his son.”The room suddenly became more deafening to Elena as the ma
“Wait, Daddy, wait!” Nathan shouted and stood up from his seat.“Boy, sit down back. It is dangerous standing in a moving car,” Zeke said to him.“Why are you taking us back home?!” He ignored him and asked.Zeke pulled the car gently and then turned to look at him.“Didn’t you agree that we would be spending a few days with you? This is just the second day. Why are you taking us back to our mummy?!” He cried out.Natalie jumped out of her seat too and then looked around.Apparently, Nathan had noticed that he had taken a different route from his own house and then they were on their way to theirs.They had a very fun day today. They went to the park. They went to an arcade bar. They went to see a movie. They did many things that the twins believed so deeply that the memories will forever be imprinted in their heads.Natalie shook her head vigorously and then started, “Are you tired of us already? Did we do much today? We will be more cautious next time, Daddy. Please don’t…”“Oh, sil
“At this point, I think the Internet cannot function without you if you do not get aired in the news at least once a week.”While he drove, Ryan had bombarded him with calls like crazy and he had finally pulled to a corner just to receive the call only for the man to say that first.“What is going on?”“You are everywhere on the news… again.”Zeke exhaled and closed his eyes for a second. “What happened?”“You and Elena… it is finally out.”“What?”“The reason behind your separation.”“What?!” Zeke exclaimed.“And your recent charade… I mean… apology. The one outside of the building, it is all over the news too. You should see for yourself.”Zeke swallowed hard, nodded his head as if the man was there to see the gesture, and then ended the call.He rushed to the internet, and without much stress to type out his names as he was leading the charts just like every time, he clicked on it and then twitched his lips upward.The internet said that they separated because he cheated on Elena.
“No, no, no. You must be mistaken, he is Ramon. Elena’s friend,” he said, pointing his index finger aimlessly. Ryan sighed, nodded his head, and then swallowed. “I stayed up all night trying to wrap my head around it too. I found out last night,” he said. Still, Zeke shook his head. That was impossible, was it not? Although he hated Ramon, very much in fact and he believed that something was off about the man right from the beginning but still, he still chose to believe that was because of his own personal feelings. He knew the man liked Elena and mainly because of that, he had hated the man. But… he was his cousin too? “Investigate further,” Zeke dropped the pictures on the table, refusing to believe. “You know that my information is correct. All the time,” Ryan shook his head. Heck, he was right! He had never had a reason to cross-check whatever information that his friend gave him. “You are saying Ramon is family! That is even the least of my concerns… the fa
“What were you saying?” He asked as his eyes finally dropped on the photo book and the huge frame in Nathan’s hand.“Where did you get those?” He asked again.He had just finished cooking when the door had pushed open and Ryan had rushed in.“Hey, dude! What is going on?!” He exclaimed in pure surprise as the man had not informed him before coming.And not like he actually minded, he just knew that Ryan would not have shown up at his place unannounced very early in the morning.“Hey,” Ryan shook his hands before his eyes trailed down to the apron that was tied around his waist.“Ah… I just finished cooking,” he explained and untied it gently.“You… were cooking?” He raised a brow.“Yes. I made a very nice delicacy,” he smiled.“Since when did you start cooking?” Ryan laughed.“Well… I want to make their food by myself today.”“Who?”“My…”“Daddy!”And the screams of the children cut him short.“We found a room opened and it was there,” he answered as he handed the frame over to his fa
Zeke opened his eyes finally, closed them back, and then tugged his lips gently into a smile.The kids were still sleeping soundly beside him and the sound of their soft snores sounded like music to his ears.He did not know he could sleep well because just like they were medicines, he had slept off too while he patted their back and told stories to them.Yeah, stories.The previous night, Nathan and Natalie rushed to his bed and then told him to come to their middle, which he did without much query.After he lay in the middle, he covered their body with a duvet before they asked that he tell them a story.“You are joking,” he shook his head, chuckling.“No, we are not,” Natalie shook her head too.He exhaled and smiled, thinking of excuses to bring up but they were adamant.Finally, he settled for one. One that was only imaginary that he wondered if the children would find it fun.“So… once upon a time,” he started.They scooted closer to him and he grinned harder.Even if he truly h
“What?” Mateo laughed from the other end of the phone which made Ramon cussed inwardly.“I am coming back.”“When?”“Now. I’m at the airport.”A short silence ensued for a while before Mateo chuckled again.“Did something happen?”“Of course, and I can’t stay here any longer. At least for now.”“She rejected you again.”“It is not funny.”“Actually, I find it amusing that you are joining this fight because of a woman.”“My mistake was joining later. I will do anything as long as it would ruin Zeke.”“Ooooh, how much you have grown, brother!” He laughed.“I will be in Italy soon.”After he dropped the call, he glanced at the last-minute flight ticket in his hand and then exhaled.After Elena had gone to pick up the kids which he was certain were with Zeke, Ray had bluntly said to his face that he was disappointed in him and would not want to see him again.How could all of them turn on him in that manner?Karina who was most nicest amongst them all turned her back to him too and then h
“W… were you two watching us?!” She shouted, glancing around.Turning to look at Zeke who burst into a loud laughter, she glared at him, moved closer to him, and then hit the side of his stomach with the back of her hand.“It is not funny!”Zeke nodded his head, struggling to stop laughing. Out of everything, her facial expressions were more funny.She looked like she was caught doing something bad.“We did not exactly watch you,” Nathan defended.“We just raised the curtain for a while to check up on you and we saw you doing that,” the girl raised her brows playfully.“And it looked quite intense so we didn’t want to disrupt anything,” Nathan added.“Shut up, shut up!” She snapped and Zeke laughed out again.“I’m sorry,” he waved his hands at her when she threw him a deadly stare.“So, why did you two kiss if you have not… like reconciled?” Natalie asked.Elena scratched her forehead and shook her head, “We didn’t kiss exactly.”“Oh…” the kids’ mouths formed an O in a quite sarcastic