Lana picked up the call and placed the phone on her car’s docking panel, switching to her wireless earphones. It was Sally again. “Do you think I should tell mom about this?” “No, don’t tell her. It could cause damage to her and make her unsettled.” “Oh okay. When are you coming to see me, though?” “I am already on my way. I should be there in forty minutes; just hang on a little more.” "Okay, I will be expecting you.” “Have you called the detective this morning?” “He had a very late night because of me; I wouldn’t want to disturb him this early in the morning. “No problem. What would you like me to pick up for you at the supermarket?” “Hygiene products; I left in a rush, and I’m too scared to even go out of the hotel room.” “Noted, hang in there,” and she ended the call, focusing on the traffic-laden road ahead of her. Lana stopped at the next convenience store she noticed and picked up the hygiene products just as her friend had ordered them alongside some other products.
Lana’s POV We had lunch by ourselves at a simple yet elegant restaurant across the hotel where Sally had taken up temporary residence. She was still agitated by the whole thing that happened—that much was evident—but thankfully, we were beginning to get it in the back of our minds. Sally had hinted that she suspected someone, and I wanted to ask who it was. If she was thinking about the same person as I was, it could not be a coincidence, right? But then, I also did not want to reopen wounds when they were still just newly bandaged. We said nothing as we ate. While I tried to think of the best way to brush through the topic with Sally without agitating her further, I knew Sally had a lot on her plate, and I wondered if I should disturb her. Thankfully, a call came in, ripping me out of my dilemma. I said a silent prayer to whoever the caller was before glancing at the caller ID on the screen to see that it was none other than Cameron himself. Unconsciously, my face gave way t
The drive back home was short. As expected, I met Cameron with the children. He gleamed at me from the counter, where he was, and waved his soapy hand at me. “You just missed lunch.” He announced. “What’s up?” I threw my bag on one of the bar stools and went over, embracing him from behind and drinking in his scent. “A lot.” I answered. “But I already had lunch; thank you. I had to; Sally was too distraught.” He turned around, carefully plucking me away from him. “What happened? Is she alright?” I shrugged and moved to the fridge, scowling at its contents before finally settling for a bottle of water, which I downed in three gulps. “I hope so. She is trying to hold up well, but I can tell she’s breaking apart.” I shuddered as the image of the bird flashed through my mind again. “Okay, skip the suspense. Tell me what happened.” “She called during the wee hours of the morning, and I went to see her today. She sounded so disordered, frantic, and scared, so unlike herself, and it
The sun peered through the windows, causing me to close my eyes as soon as I opened them. I blinked, then tried again, turning to the side of the bed where the light was not so bright. I touched the bed, wondering if Cameron had spent the night over yesterday or if he had gone home without even bothering to wake me up. Oh, shit! I jumped from the bed, panicking. I grabbed my phone from the bedside table, checked the time, and cursed out loud again. I was supposed to be with Sally yesterday; why had Cameron not even bothered to wake me? And I had obviously missed the children’s school time. I catapulted to their room, cursing all the way. They were not there. Not a good sign. I checked the kitchen, then the garden, then the small arthouse we had gifted them, then all the other rooms. There was no sign of them anywhere. Shit! I cursed again, wondering why Cameron had not bothered to wake me. I rushed back to my room, grabbing my phone from the nightstand where I had left it. I wa
Cameron’s POV The restaurant I had asked for us to meet at was quite secluded—more to her own advantage than mine—and she had yet to say a word to me, although I have caught her glances several times. I paused on the lobster rolls, which I had ordered, and set down the cutlery. “Let us get down to business now, shall we?” She smiled. For a woman her age, I had to say that she had quite a beautiful smile and looked younger. It was too bad that her heart was not as sweet as her smile. “I thought you would never ask.” She replied, following my lead and setting down her utensils as well. She dabbed at her mouth, then smiled again. “I never knew such a place existed in this city. Thank you for bringing me here.” “Pleasure.” When I had invited her here, I had a half-mind that she was going to actually take on my request and see me. But seeing as she was here, I guess she needed this meeting just as much as I did. I cleared my throat. “This is not a business meeting, ma’am. And
Andre’s POV It was easy to be the man everyone hated. It took me two years of changing skins and two years of being confused about what I wanted and who I wanted to be with to realise that. I had been a fool, been stupid, and let everything get taken away from me yet. I had done nothing about it but continued in my stupidity. Why did I just realise it now? Why had I not known earlier that it was just me and Lana that mattered in this story and no one else? Yet, I had let other people come into the picture; I had let them blind me from seeing and accepting my true feelings from the beginning. No, I don’t think I had anyone to blame but myself. I was the originator of all my problems. These were the thoughts that disturbed me as early as two in the morning, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was because Kathy was gone—maybe even she had been confused about what she wanted—and I was now slowly realising the emptiness that existed inside of me. There was this void in me that demande
Cameron’s POV Eight hours earlier I should not have been stunned by Freda’s flippancy, yet all I could think about was the coldness in her eyes as she indirectly told me what she had done. She was a cold-blooded, heartless woman who cared for no one and nothing, and I realised that now. She would push you out of the way if you were of no use to her, and she would not hesitate to trample upon you if you were an obstacle standing in the way of her goal. I watched her leave, her shoulders hanging in the air as though she owned the world. She had indirectly admitted to threatening Sally, but that was not enough to lay anything solid on her. She could easily deny all our allegations and sue us for defamation, but still I stopped as my phone vibrated in my pocket. This was like the tenth time I got a call from whoever it was. I hate being disrupted when I am in a meeting by calls, but I had chosen to keep the phone on just in case Lana called. I saw now that that was a mistake. Fu
Lana’s POV I wrung my hands together. A lot of things went through my mind at once, and it was hard to settle on one thing. Half of me was grateful Cameron was here to handle the situation. The other half wanted to sink my teeth into the imposter like a vampire and suck him dry. That would be too good a punishment for him. I wanted to know what they were thinking and what they thought planting a spy in our country could possibly achieve. I glanced at Sally, who looked to be taking everything well—better than I expected considering the fact that she had begun developing a slight crush on our impostor. How had she even figured it all out? I had to remind myself that she was a lawyer, and years of hounding and representing criminals would teach her something as small as spotting when someone was not entirely telling the truth. I hugged myself as a chill ran down my spine. “Someone better explain to me what is going on here.” Cameron barked, his gaze shifting through all our fa