Wondering if he should go to them and disentangle them from the hug that was getting too long already, Zeke slammed his palm on the table and forced a loud cough.Shortly after, Elena broke the hug and stared at the man who gently moved his hand from her waist and dropped them on her shoulders.“Oh, my God, what is this glow coming from you?” He teased and pinched her cheek.“Oh, please, Ramon.”“I am serious!” He laughed.On the other hand, Zeke rolled his eyes and hissed. What was funny?How much he wished he could go over there and slap the stupid laughter off that man’s face.“Well… if you say so,” Elena shrugged.“You didn’t tell me you were coming!”Ramon laughed again. “I guess my surprise worked.”“When I heard that you were outside, I chose not to believe it because you could be pulling a prank on me. You are good at that anyway.”“I came with mum and dad,” he smiled.“My parents are back?”“Yeah. I went to Qatar to meet them.”When Elena had moved from the US six years ago,
“Let’s talk,” Ramon took Elena’s hand in his and turned towards the door.As he took about three steps with her, Zeke charged at them, grabbed her other hand, and then pulled her to himself.“What are you doing?!” Elena yelled and snatched her hands from both of them.“I should be asking you that, Ms. Baskerville,” his voice was soft, and nothing like he looked.“What?”“We were in the midst of a meeting before this…” he swallowed, refraining from using a cuss word.“Before this man barged in.”Elena exhaled, glanced at her wristwatch, and then said, “Meeting was initially by two. Let’s have it by then. It’s not two yet,” she smacked her tongue.“What? You literally just agreed to have the meeting before he entered!” He protested as he dropped his eyes on Ramon who sneered at him softly.What?What was that man doing?Who was his friend?Does he look friendly to him?Zeke’s brows snapped together in nothing but disgust for Ramon.“And now, I am saying that we would be having it by two
“What is he doing there?” Elena drew her brows together as she tore her eyes away from his direction.“I told you that man is a psycho. Forfeit whatever you’re planning and let go, please Elena,” Ramon exhaled.Elena shook her head, patted his hand that was on the table, and then stood up.“I will proceed with it.”She glanced at her wrist watch and it was two pm already. “I have to return to the office. Do you need my help to get around?”“No, I can find my way to the house,” he said and stood up too.“I will see you later, right?”Ramon nodded his head and then patted her shoulder again. “Take care.”“You too.”Elena turned to exit the premises and as she got down, she ignored Zeke who had already moved away from the window where he was ‘stalking’ and was already standing by the entrance.“What are you doing?”“What do you mean?” He asked as he walked behind her.Elena shook her head and then increased her walking pace while the man trailed behind her.As they entered the elevator a
“SOMEONE TELL ME THAT I AM DREAMING, PLEASE!”The scream that circled around the house from Brenda, Zeke’s mother, got Chloe rushed over to her and then Jeremy who had just returned home.“What is wrong?” Jeremy frowned and settled on the couch.“She is back!”“Who?”“Elena! Our daughter-in-law!” She screamed.Chloe swallowed and hissed before she turned around to leave. “Our? Don’t be ridiculous.”“Did you say something?” Brenda asked as she kept her eyes glued on her screen.Chloe rolled her eyes. “You could have said something like 'ex-daughter-in-law', you know?” “But she is… hold on, did you know she was back?” Brenda drew her brows together“Did literally everyone in the country not know that she’s back?” Chloe smacked her tongue.“You would not blame a woman who only knows about the latest TV series, would you?” Jeremy drawled in a sleepy voice.“Are you talking about me?” Brenda frowned.When Jeremy did not answer and only looked away, Brenda moved over to Chloe and resumed.
“Arrrrgg!”She screamed as she smashed another glass cup against the television of her room again.“How dare she do that to me?!”It’s been a week since the incident between her and Elena had happened but Camila had still not moved past it yet.She drank every day, screamed, and cried till she slept.She was not sure if it was the slap that anguished her. It definitely was not.She hated that her ego was ruined in front of her only one enemy.Maybe what she was still expecting was Elena from six years ago.The dense lady that she could trample on.The lady that, even before she found out about her and Zeke, could give her her eyes if she so much wished.Elena was a naive person, at least to her.Before she found out about the incident between her and Zeke, the lady had a different aura from what she had experienced the previous week.She was calm… awfully!Should she talk about the different gifts that the lady always got her… which she had never gotten her anything as small as a pen
“Dad!”Elena rushed into her parents’ embrace as soon as she entered their room and closed her eyes.“Oh my, Darling,” Karina, her mother patted her back.They stood still in their position for a while before she disentangled from the hug and then took glances at them.“Did you two plan on not coming over here again?” She asked with a fake frown and her parents laughed.“You can’t blame us. It might be long, but we later realized that it is better to have fun than to work,” Raymond, her father, said and they both laughed.Her parents always acted as if they were newlyweds. Their travel out of the USA literally proved that the two of them only had fun, traveled, and did nothing related to work.Maybe it was their relationship that got into her head that she thought she could have the same thing with Zeke six years ago.She grew up in a loving home, unlike the few conglomerates that she knew where it was all war and fights.She had the best relationship with her mother, sister, and fath
“Then, fucking break up with her!”Ryan yelled with the life in him and dropped his hands on the armrests rather dramatically.He closed his eyes as he imagined Zeke’s eyes on him and then sat upright again.“You kept nagging about her. It shows nothing but how tired and irritated you feel for her already. Do you love to be miserable? Fucking end this stupidity and move away from her!”Zeke swallowed and leaned back comfortably. He pressed his lips together and scratched his forehead while he lowkey regretted that he told Ryan anything.It was a Sunday, and a day he should be resting and not even thinking about anything since all he did the last few days was think! But no, Ryan chose to come over to his house and he could not help but tell the man everything that was going on just like every time.“You don’t love this woman anymore. It is very evident in your eyes, and that is for the better if you would ask me. So, just break up with her. It’s enough.”“Camila is crazy,” he finally s
Chloe had loved Ryan since she was a teen. It was safe to say that she had had a crush on him for almost ten years, in fact.At first, she thought it was just a teenager’s crush that would fade away in no time, but it grew stronger.It was when she was seventeen years old that she first met Ryan, and she was twenty-five now. She needed not to be told that this infatuation of hers would never work out because not only was he not interested in her, he was older than her by almost ten years.Ryan was thirty- four.Not only would the age gap between them make things impossible, but her brother might never ever agree to their relationship.She knew it was better that she kept her feelings bottled up than to tell the man only to get rejected and then make things more awkward between them.Ryan did not share the same feelings for her, she knew that so much.The man never stared at her for the past ten seconds. He always made sure to take nothing less than ten seconds of glance at her and wha
“M… Marry? I…”“Why? You don’t want to marry me?” He raised his brows.“Fuck, yes! I mean… no! I want to… I just…”“Hold on…” he dropped her hand, looked around, and then rushed off to his closet.Chloe waited patiently as he was in the closet too and after a while, he rushed out, a box in his hand which made her crease her brows together.“Ryan…?”He went on a kneel instantly and opened the box.Chloe gasped as she stared at the ring in the box. It was an almond shaped diamond ring which was in fact, her dream ring.“I have had this… for a while now. I just… I wanted the right time.”“Babe…” she sobbed gently.“I guess I didn’t want to burden you and wanted to go at a slow pace. Trust me, I’ve wanted to wife you up since the moment we got together. But… I could not bear to scare you.”“I love you so much, Chloe, and I will forever do. With this ring, I ask you to go on the journey of life with me. With this ring, I ask that you take my hands forever. With this ring… I ask that you be
Chloe stared at the backside of the man who cooked for her in the kitchen while he hummed gently.One of the things Ryan loved to do so much for her was to cook.He always made sure she ate properly at least while they were together.It’s been a week since she had last seen him and a week since she had found out about the little human growing in her womb.“Babe,” she called out.“Yes?”“Have you ever… No, what are plans for the future?”He took a quick glance at her and chuckled and then returned to look at what he was cooking. “Plans for the future?”“Yes. What are your plans?”“Hmm. I really don’t wish for much, honestly. I just want to be by your side forever…” She sniffed, and nodded her head, “Fair enough.”“Is something bothering you?” He asked while he dished the food.“N… no. I guess I just wanted to know,” she clasped her hands together and he nodded his head.“How about you too then?”“Hmm. Be with you and… raise our children together in happiness,” she muttered the last pa
Shortly after the doctor finally announced to the family that he was out of danger already and had left the room for them, they surrounded Zeke’s bed, watching him. “Okay… can someone say something already?” He breathed out. Still, no one answered him and only watched. After a while, Brenda cleared her throat and then shook her head. “A gunshot in America? Is this some movie show?” She raised a brow. “Let’s go home, Mother,” Chloe moved over to her mother and then grabbed her arm. “No! I should…” “Just… listen to me,” she gritted her teeth. “I will drive you home,” Ryan sighed and looked away from his friend. “Could you… drop me at home too. I think my phone would blow up anytime soon as my wife would not stop calling,” Ray chuckled. Ryan nodded his head with a smile. Ray moved over to Elena, handed the car key to her, patted her back, and then moved away from her. “Will you call me when you get home?” She asked him. “Of course.” “And the twins. Don’t…” “I w
By the time Ryan and Chloe returned to the room, Brenda had already collected herself and only watched her son who lay in the bed.“Chloe,” she turned to look at her daughter and then the man who stood beside her, his hand on her back.“Are you good, mother?” She sniffed.Instead, Brenda moved over to the couple, grabbed Chloe’s wrist, and then pulled her away from Ryan.“Come with me,” she stated and then turned away.“What is going on, mum?” She asked as she followed her mother out of the room and then took a last glance at the confused Ryan.They didn’t stop outside the ward where others were. Her mother kept pulling her along till they got to a corridor and then let go of her.“What are you doing?”“Chloe,” Brenda breathed out, glanced at her daughter’s lower body, and then pinned her eyes on her.“Mother.”“I want to ask you a question, and I want to hear nothing but the truth from you.”“Go ahead, Mother.”Brenda sniffed and then swallowed. “You… are you…” she looked at her bell
Two hours after Zeke had been wheeled into the recovery room, Elena was finally granted the chance to meet him.Her father and Ryan urged her to go in and she did after adjusting her clothes and hair. Zeke could wake up anytime, she thought. It would not be nice if he saw her rumpled and rough.She entered fully, stood beside his bed, and then palmed her mouth.The man who was usually strong and agile was strapped to some machines and this sight broke her heart.She settled gently on the chair beside him and then watched him slowly.She didn’t know how long she had spent watching him before she finally leaned forward and then dropped her hand on his arm.“You better wake up soon…” she sniffed.“You’ve got a lot of things to say and do… so, wake up.”“Well… I could at least try to forgive you if you wake up now. But… if you take any longer, I would not.”She bore her eyes on his face and got no movement still and then sighed.“Nathan and Natalie… they will be so sad if they find out s
Before Gerald could move an inch or fire another bullet, a group of police ran in, and then he looked down at his body to see the red points that were all over his body.He turned to look outside, and sighting the uniformed men on the roof away from the building, he sighed in defeat.“Shit.”“Drop your gun, and take a step back!” He was ordered.He knew there was no escaping this. Aside from just killing off a person with proof, he has had prior charges of murder, rape, assault… oh, how much the list goes on.He raised his head to look at Zeke, tightened his grip around the gun, and then sniffed. At least, this mother fucker should not stay alive either.As he pointed the gun at Zeke, he was shot in his hand instantly and he dropped the gun and screamed.“We need an ambulance!” One of the police shouted and rushed to Zeke, scanned him, and then leaned down to check Camila.While the other men rushed to arrest Gerald, Zeke gestured at the man who was checking on Camila’s condition and
“Z…Zeke!” Camila gasped and scurried away from the man to grab a cloth to cover her nakedness.“You didn’t want me to come because of… this?” Zeke chuckled as he dropped his eyes on the man.Even while he was naked, he looked less bothered to have seen him and all he did was drop his hands on his waist and then stare at him like there was a competition going on.“What is going on?” He asked.Zeke scanned the man from the head. He was a thug, he needed not to be told.Everything about the man screamed that.Aside from the bold, ugly tattoos that he had all over his body, the multiple piercings on his nose and ears were proof too.Zeke entered fully and then turned to look at Camila who rushed to wear her pants and then a top before she turned to look at him, breathing heavily.“H… how did you find me? You brought the police?” She asked perilously and then looked around their environment.“Chill, it is just me,” he answered, “Yet,” he added under his breath.“Uhm… he is… she sniffed an
“Has she contacted you since then?” Ryan asked Zeke the moment he entered the office. “No. Something up? You asked that I come over,” he yawned and then settled on the couch. “Are you good?” “Sure. Just dropped off the twins at home.” “Oh, they are back to Elena?” Zeke pressed his lips together dejectedly and then nodded his head. “Yes. What’s up by the way?” “I found a method to end this shit with her faster. We still have Ethan to deal with. We don’t need her drama.” “How?” “Call her again.” “Her number is not going through. I tried calling her that day, remember?” “Well, use another line. You need to talk to her so that we’ll be able to get her location.” Zeke nodded his head and then removed his phone from his pocket. He dialed the number Camila had used to call him a few days back and then it directed him to voicemail as usual. “Here,” Ryan picked up a phone lying on his table and then pushed it over to Zeke. “Whose phone is this?” “Use that to call
“Are you sure you are good?” Elena asked as she dropped a glass of juice on the table and then settled on the couch opposite Chloe.The lady had come to visit her quite early in the morning and she needed not to be told that something was wrong as the lady did not look exactly nice either,“Y… yeah, sure. Where are the twins though? They are not back?”“Yes. They are returning tomorrow though,” she answered.The twins had spent over a week at Zeke’s place and it was time they returned home. Although, they were against it. They wanted to keep staying with him. Their words, not hers.And Zeke had not gone to work for over a week because he wanted to be with them and give them all the attention that they needed.“I bet they are enjoying their stay,” Chloe wrapped her hands around the glass cup and then chuckled.“Of course, they would. Unlike me, Zeke let them eat whatever they want… every time. I keep telling him to stop that too. Too much sweets is not good for them, but what did he s