“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 ne
“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 enoug
Ryan glanced out through the window to check if his friend was coming but there was no sight of him and he let out a long sigh again. A while ago, when Zeke had sighted the kids standing from their seats with their aunt, he had told him to drive the car to the back of the ice cream shop which he did after he asked why. Zeke didn’t answer him till he got there and then said that he assumed that they were going to get more orders or to the restroom and he hoped it was the latter. Ryan sighed again and rested his head on the headrest before he sank into his seat comfortably. He knew that his friend wanted nothing more than to reunite with Elena and just like he knew, he also knew that it would take him literally everything in the world to make the woman take him back. It’s been three months since she returned, and all through the three months, he had been pleading with her but there was no sign that she was going to forgive him yet. She still stared at him with hatred in her eyes.
Zeke got down from the car and then walked towards the butler who waited outside like he was anticipating his arrival. “Mr. Russo,” James greeted him formally as he covered the space between them. “Is everything alright? Mum is acting hysterical,” he said as they turned to the door. Early this morning, his mother’s calls had bombarded him. If he was asleep, he could have said that her call woke him up as it was barely four in the morning. She told him he needed to come around today and even though he told her he was going to be busy, she yelled at him frantically and said to him again that he must be present. James shrugged his shoulders off as they both entered the room, and there, he met his brother and then sister who sat on the chair while their mother paced to and fro the room. “Mother,” he called out and the woman stopped walking. “Oh, finally!” She snapped and rested her hands on her waist. “I told you to come in very early!” “Ma, it’s barely eight in the morning. It’
Jeremy and Zeke stood at the edge of the bed while they watched Chloe tuck their mother back in the bed. They waited until she was asleep and they were sure of that before they all turned to leave the room. As soon as they reached the living room, Jeremy said to Chloe instantly. “Stay home today.” “What, why?!” “An insane man is roaming around and we don’t know what he looks like. It’s safer if you are at home.” “Are you staying home too?” She frowned. “We’re men and we know how to protect ourselves from people like him, so you don’t have to worry.” “Bullshit! Why should I stay home and you can’t? Is it because I am a woman?” “Come on, Chloe. Just stay home.” “I won’t! Why should I do that because of that person? Why don’t you both just stop me from going out at all? Besides, he is a man, so I don’t have any business with him. It’s you who should be worried given how you work with literally only men! I only sew ladies’ clothes,” she said, breathing heavily. Zeke pressed his
“Guess what I made for youuuu,” Elena sang as she entered her room with a tray in her hand. “Pasta!” Chloe clasped her hands together. “How did you know?!” Elena laughed and dropped the tray on the table and then turned to look at Chloe who sat in her bed. “You know that is my best food, so I assume that is what you would be making since you chose to cook for me,” Chloe laughed back. “Nice try,” Elena chuckled and then moved the try to her. “Do you love surprises so much? You didn’t tell me you were coming.” “Today is Sunday, so I guessed you would be at home. And see, I guessed right.” “I could have gone on a date with whoever,” Elena rolled her eyes and Chloe went mute. “Please, don’t.” “What?!” Elena burst into laughter. “Don’t go on a date with anybody,” she said, her eyes fluttering like she meant what she just said. Oh, she actually meant it. “Whatever. How about you? Are you not seeing someone, Chloe?” Chloe exhaled at the change of topic, picked up the fork, and t
“Dad, it’s Nathan and Natalie!” Nathan said. Zeke cleared his throat and then nodded his head. “I know, bab—” he was still saying when a FaceTime request came in from them and he picked it up after adjusting his hair. Seeing their wide grin plastered across the screen, Zeke smiled unconsciously and waved his hands at them. “Hiii!” They drawled. It seemed as if they dropped the phone on the table so it could capture both of them equally and then sat in front of the phone. “Whose phone are you using to call?” Zeke asked. Nathan looked around as if he was being watched and then whispered, “It is for Mama.” “She would be so pissed when she finds out.” “We just have to make sure she does not,” Nathan shrugged and Natalie nodded her head in agreement to him. Zeke smacked his tongue at their naughtiness and then nodded his head. “How are you both doing?” “You are our daddy, right?” Natalie asked instead. “Of course, he is!” Nathan exclaimed. “How did you know? He had not even s
“Will you guys open the door right now?” Nathan, who stood by the door with the phone in his hand, exhaled one last time at his mother's words and then turned the knob gently. He pulled the door open and Elena entered the room gently, and then dropped her hands on her waist. “What is going on?” “With?” Nathan grinned. Her brows drew together and she collected the phone from him. “What were you doing with my phone and why did you lie that it was not here?” She asked as she browsed through her phone with the hope of finding out what they were up to. “Uhm…” Nathan scratched his forehead. “The thing is…!” Natalie jumped up and rushed to her. “I remember you saying that you downloaded a game on your phone so I wanted to show Nathan.” Elena pressed her lips together and stared at her kids unsurely. “I don’t trust you two,” she shook her head and then turned to leave the room. As soon as she walked out of the room, she turned to look at the door that her kids slammed shut instan
The call ended, and Elena shook her head vigorously.There was no way this was going on.She swallowed hard and dialed the number again but it was not going through.Skeptically, she looked around the car while she made sure she sat tightly.What if it was not a lie?What if there was truly a bomb in her car?How could anyone have had access to the car anyway?Finally, her eyes settled on the dash camera in her car and she squinted her brows when her eyes caught the faint red light that was flashing beside it.She leaned closer and when she realized that a camera had been planted in her car.No wonder he knew to call the moment she wanted to leave the car.If truly she was sitting on a bomb as he had said, then she could have died if he had called her a second late.Oh, what a psychopath!Her kids were missing and she has been made to sit forcefully in her car.She browsed through her phone and then clicked the camera application. She began to record the car and then gently down the s
“K… kids? Whose kids?” Elena stuttered.Zeke dropped the call instantly and palmed his face.“You are not talking about the kids, are you?” The gateman stuttered.“Why…?!”He sniffed and shook his head.“Why did you let them go with him?”“I have seen him before, so I didn’t think to refuse him. Besides, they called him uncle.”Zeke looked around and his phone rang again.He gritted his teeth and then picked up the call gently.“Where are my children?!” She thundered, breathing heavily.“I am going to look…”“You said Ramon has them?!”“The gatekeeper said someone came to pick them up. I believe it was Ramon.”“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Elena screamed from the other side.“Stay back, Elena, I am going to find them,” he said when he heard the sounds of footsteps.“You can’t tell me to sit back while my children are missing!” She yelled and then dropped the call.Zeke looked around and when he saw the CCTV camera, he moved closer to the security man.“Can I see the CCTV footage right away?”As
“B… but… why have you come to pick us?” Nathan stuttered as he reluctantly got out of the gate.“Your daddy sent me to pick you up. He is running late at work.”Zeke had initially thought that they were going to close by 3PM as usual but they had closed by two.“Daddy?” Natalie raised her brows.“Have you forgotten? I am his friend. His only best friend in the world.”The twins exchanged glances again.“I know you two are mad at me about what I said the last time and I am so sorry, okay? Can you forgive me already? I’m taking you to your daddy. Can we leave now?”Nathan moved over to Natalie and then held her hand. “We will wait for Daddy to come.”Ramon gritted his teeth and then forced a smile hurriedly. “Come on, guys.”“Daddy promised to come pick us up.”“But he is not here yet.”“He probably thought we would be closing by three and not two!” Nathan snapped.Oh, this boy was smarter than his age.Ramon hissed,“Actually… I should not be telling you this…” he sighed and bowed his
“Can we not go to school today, Daddy?”Natalie forced a solemn look as she stared at her father who addressed her dress.“What?” “We are not going to tell mummy.”“What?!” He widened his eyes when Nathan added.“We’re going to act as if we went to school and then when it is time, you will take us back home,” Natalie said.“Jesus, when did you two become like this?!” He exclaimed and the twins burst into laughter.“You are being dramatic, papa.”“You want me to join you to lie to your mother!”“You are exaggerating. It’s not gonna be a lie. We’re just gonna tell her that we went to school…”“Whereas you didn’t?” He cut her short and she clasped her hands together.“Exactly.”“How did you two come up with that idea? It is so…”“Perfect? We know,” Nathan smiled.“Not perfect, guys!”Natalie covered the space between her and her father who knelt in front of her and then wrapped her arms around his neck.“That is because we have missed you, daddy. We want to spend the rest of today with
“But Daddy, do you pull your friends' clothes?” Natalie asked after they had watched Ramon out of the compound.“We were only talking. It is nothing serious. Trust me.”“I thought you were fighting. About what he told us.”Zeke sighed and then glanced at Ariana who chuckled. “We have settled everything. He had apologized for saying something like that so we are good now.”“Hmm,” Nathan rolled his eyes.“I am being serious.”He held the door for them and they both entered the car.“Have you told mummy?”He parted his lips and then scratched his forehead. “I forgot.”“Daddy!” They both exclaimed and he rushed back inside.Ariana laughed as they watched him run to the big door and she turned to look at the twins.“Your mummy will agree. Don’t worry.”===“Daddy, do you know our birthday is on Saturday?”He nodded his head as he took a turn out of the street before he glanced at them through the rearview mirror.“I do.”“We will be six years old!” Natalie shrieked and he giggled.“The ‘Ye
By the time Zeke and Elena got to the living room, Ramon was ready to leave. “Oh, I was just going to come to you to say bye!” He exclaimed, smiling. Zeke needed not to be told that the man was wearing the fakest and forced smile ever. “Oh… is that so?” Elena smiled and then moved away from Zeke. “I… sorry about your face,” she pointed her finger at his face and he chuckled. “I probably deserve it.” She nodded her head and he leaned closer to her gently and then hugged her. “I have missed you.” Zeke watched, with his hands curled into a tight ball. “When will I see you again?” She asked him. “When you feel like seeing me… but soon,” he pulled away and then stared at her. “Soon,” he repeated and then glanced at Zeke. He turned to leave the room after bowing at the old couple and then Zeke hurried after him. “Are you going to pick a fight again?!” Ray hollered. Instead, Zeke curled his arm around the man’s neck, turned back, and then smiled. “Not at all, fat
After they disentangled from the hug, Ariana waved her hands at her sister and then exited the room, leaving just the two of them in the room.When she got up to the living room, she rolled her eyes backward when she found her mother cleaning Ramon’s wound.Oh, Zeke should have hit him harder!At least, disfigure his face for the rest of his life.She grunted and then walked to the big door that led outside the room.“Where are you going?”“The twins are in the car. So, I’ll check up on them.”“Why won’t they come in, in fact?” Ray rolled his eyes.“I bet they think Zeke has come to return them so they chose to stay in the car till he returns,” she laughed.She dropped her eyes on Ramon, twitched her lips upward, and then said, “They love their father so much, you know. At this point, I can’t wait for them to become a proper family.”She said on purpose to rile Ramon up.Instead, the man only watched her while he faked a laugh.“Just leave them to do their thing,” Karina rolled her ey
“Zeke, no please!” Elena screamed and rushed to the man who threw a punch in Ramon’s face. She grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him backward but he would not budge. He kept hitting the man while Ramon raised his hands defenselessly. Zeke pulled him up, and then shoved him against the wall, “What are you doing here?” “C… Chill… you’re gonna kill me,” he coughed, trying to move Zeke’s hand from his neck. “What the hell are you doing here? How dare you show your face here?” “What are you saying, what have I done?” “You’re going to feign ignorance?” “I don’t know what…” Zeke raised his fist and tried to punch him again but Elena was quick to wrap her hands around his wrist. “Jesus, Zeke, you’re going to kill him!” “Let go, Elena.” “No, not on my watch.” “Why would you even let him in?!” He snapped and yanked his hands from her grip. “Just let him go.” Zeke turned back to look at Ramon, tightened his grip around his neck, and then breathed heavily. At that
“Where are the twins though? I have not seen them anywhere around?”Ramon asked as he stared at Elena who settled on the couch opposite him.“Oh… they are at their fa— They are at Zeke’s house,”“Oh…” his mouth formed an O and he nodded his head.“So… Can we talk now?” She asked.He nodded his head, bowed his head, and then palmed his face.Elena watched while he did that for a while before he started.“It was during the time Natalie was sick that I heard about my origin.”“My father had always claimed that he was an orphan. He said it was just him and that his family had died during a plane crash and he was the only survivor. We believed him of course, till recently when my brother called to tell me the truth.”“My father is Russo. He is Zeke’s uncle. Surprising, right?”Elena swallowed and then nodded her head.“After he told us, my brother thinks that it was right that he pursued his rights. He said he had shares at their house and since then, he has been out of reach.”“Your broth