Riella's POV.I woke up in the morning feeling a little sore down there. We had gone on to have sex twice before dawn. I didn't even bother putting on my clothes after that. As I rolled out of bed, I felt my body protest about having to get up like that. I think I was becoming lazy these days. Every little task and I became drained. As I climbed down from the bed, I felt the pain in my hip shoot up my spine and I let out a cry, holding quickly to the spot. Maybe sleeping in wasn't a bad idea but I had a job to do.My stomach rumbled as I walked stark naked to the bathroom. It was probably protesting like the rest of my body was but I couldn't comply with it. As I filled up my bath, I remembered the half empty wine bottle I had seen at my bedside table earlier. Harold must have had it when he woke up earlier. I woke up in the middle of the night and found him beside me, working on his laptop. That was before the second round.After filling up the bathtub and having my nostrils sniff th
Riella's POV.“So, what do you think?” Carolyn asked as she stepped into my room, donning the dress she had picked out for the event.I blinked, my brain mentally dead as I took in the whole of her. As usual, she was dressed to kill and impress in that cream-colored mid-thigh dress she was donning so prettily.“Riella,” she groaned as strolled further into the room, hands massaging her forehead in frustration. I hoped she would not ruin her makeup. “We talked about this.” One of her hands rested on her hip as she glared at me.“I'm not going anywhere, Lyn.” I grabbed one of my pillows and muffled my scream into it. It was the day of Harold's engagement party. Things had gone pretty awkward and formal between us ever since that day. It was even a lot worse than it was before. I had not stopped thinking, not stopped thinking about a lot of things.And amid everything came the hurt. The deep hurt and regret. Maybe I shouldn't have crossed the emotional line.I should never have. I knew w
Riella's POV.I laughed quietly as Carolyn smacked Tyler's hands after he teased her. We had just arrived and walked into the party without a bother about who was watching us. We had Tyler with us anyway. No one would bother us.Tyler made a joke about Carolyn's dress, something about her wanting to catch the eyes of every male in the room and she feigned being offended. Tyler started teasing her which resulted in the tiny smacks she was giving him. They were both so naturally cute, they didn't even have to try. I particularly admired how easily they flowed with each other without care. They didn't have to tell me anything to know that their relationship was now official since Carokyn was excited to introduce him to our parents. They were going to love him.“Stop being such a baby, Lyn.” I joined in the teasing as I stuck my tongue at her. It didn't matter that we were at someone else's engagement party. As far as I knew, none of us was concerned or bothered.The engagement party just
HAROLD'S POV.I couldn't sleep.I couldn't bring myself to shut my eyes as I laid down in bed next to a peaceful Brittany. It was the closest I had seen her at peace. She was regularly always running her mouth and yarning about things I was genuinely not interested in. But now, I was officially engaged with her and would have to deal with all of that for the rest of my life. I could almost feel the thousand and one headaches that would come in.I threw the covers off me and climbed out of bed. I grabbed my black robe and slipped it on as well as my slippers. I walked toward the balcony and grabbed the wine I had placed on the center table. The glass table was positioned in the middle of the set of couches I had set up at one end. I grabbed the wine and poured myself a glass before I continued my journey to the balcony.As I walked in, the natural air blew at me and I could immediately feel myself relax. The rooms in the house had air cons positioned around it that it was almost imposs
Riella's POV.I woke up to the sound of laughter and chatter in the living room. I checked the time on my phone and realized it was almost noon. I groaned and rolled out of bed. I didn't understand my sleeping habit anymore. I would have to see a doctor to confirm if I was alright. This could not keep going on.And Carolyn, I wondered why she couldn't wake me up. We had so much to do today. The least she could have done was to wake me up on time. I could hear their loud chatter and picked up on the voices. Of course, Tyler was here since he slept over. Ethan was also here, I could tell. I tried not to exhale as I headed off to the bathroom.Quickly without wasting any more time, I peeled off my clothes and dumped them in the hamper. I would get them for laundry later. I got in the cold shower and when the cold water hit my skin, I couldn't help feeling relieved.I washed up quickly and when I was done, I brushed my teeth. I combed my tangled hair with a brush and packed them into a po
Riella's POV.The car pulled up in front of the house, in the driveway. I looked up from my phone to glance at Carolyn. She was already watching me. There was a small smile on her face. It was the same one she always wore whenever we pulled up here every year.Home.We were home.I knew all that talk about how the home was where the heart is but I wasn't going to lie that being home with my family always hit differently in some kind of way. I looked through the window of the Bugatti Tyler had ordered for us and sighted my sister. She was sitting on the porch, along with some of her friends that I recognized. They were chatting as they glanced at the car regularly.I hadn't called any of them that I was coming home. Not even Duncan knew if I was going to come home since I aired all his messages. But now, I was here. I felt the rush of excitement spring up my spine and before I could stop myself, I was chuckling out loud.Carolyn joined in and we stared at each other as we laughed. I co
Riella's POV.When I walked back into the living room, the team was scattered around the large room, grinning from ear to ear. Dad and Ethan were seated in front of the chess game and I was smiling because I knew this was going to be a tough game. Tyler was excitedly chatting with Jemma, Duncan was stroking his guitar to emit soft beautiful tunes and Carolyn was gossiping with mum. Only Anna was slouched on the couch, head straight and eyes looking dead. Again, I wondered what was wrong with her.Ethan looked up and saw me. He grinned at me with a wave. “I'm about to school him, ” he boasted, referring to my dad.“What are you going on about? I'm unbeatable, ” Dad boasted and I let out a chuckle. “Until I whoop your ass, man.” Ethan grinned before turning toward me. He was so cheerful, I couldn't help wishing he could be what I want. I wondered if the situation would have been different if Harold was here.Ethan made a move on the board and turned to send me a wink. “I"mma stay out o
Riella's POV“I'm really worried, Lyn. What should I do? Why isn't she awake by now?” I heard a voice that very much sounded like Jemma's crying. Except they didn't really sound like Jemma did.“She will be fine, Jemma. The doctor said she will be okay.” I knew that worry-filled voice without trying. It was Carolyn. Realizing that I couldn't see her or anybody else, I struggled with the darkness and soon had my eyes fluttering open. The room was dimly darkened as the curtains were drawn. But I could still make out the sight of two of the most important people in my life talking in a corner.“Lyn, Jemma,“ I called out weakly, feeling my body and voice weak. I had passed out, I could remember. Only that I didn't know why.At the mention of their names, the girls' heads whisked around and once they met mine, they rushed toward me, mouth agape and eyes filled with relief.“Oh my God, Riella. You are okay,” Jemma was practically crushing her body with mine as she helped me sit up once I b