My stomach drops."What... what did he say?" I stutter."Nothing." He says. "I hang up before he had the chance to waste my time. Why would he call my office?"Relief washes through me. My pulse starts to slow down. "I don't know..." I sigh. "He's probably still angry that you put him in prison.""He deserves to rot there after what he did to you." He glances at his watch. "Gotta go. I have a meeting in a couple of minutes with some investors."Damien puts the cup of coffee away and stands from the bed. He packs the macbook in his black briefcase and bends to kiss me."It's date night." He whispers. "Wear something nice."That brings a little smile on my face. Since we started doing date nights, he's never once forgotten about it. Infact, he's always the one who reminds me. I wonder if we'll still do date nights once he finds out that I'm responsible for the accident..."Are you okay?" He looks down at me in concern."Yeah." I force a smile. "You should get going. Can't wait to see y
DAMIENI thought I should be used to this by now.My sister has overdosed a million times. And somehow, she always makes it through every time. Every time it happens, I rush to hospital with a pounding heart. And then I sit in the hospital bench, swearing I'll do something about her addiction this time. Maybe force her to go to rehab. But then the doctors say she'll be fine and then I relax. And like the bad brother I am, I don't do anything about her addiction. And I don't force her to go to rehab. Until she overdoses again and the cycle continues...But I swear on my life that I won't let this happen to her again. I'll be the best brother ever. I don't care if she hates me but I'll drag her by the hair to rehab. This will never happen again. Not when I'm alive."This is not your fault." Vanessa whispers softly in my ear. "It's not your fault."It's like she just heard my thoughts. I turn to look at her, fighting the tears in my eyes. She's only saying that to make me feel better. Sh
DANIThe doorbell rings.I toss my sketching book aside and walk to the door.Camille stands at the door, her bodyguard behind her. Sometimes I wonder if she would cheat on Caleb with this bodyguard too. I push away the stupid thought and force a smile."Camille!" I say. "You didn't tell me you were coming.""It's my son's house." She chuckles. "This is like my second house. And you are like my daughter. Not the one who died. That one was an addict and she drugged her way to death."She rolls into the house and we have some coffee and cookies. She looks like she hasn't slept for days. Her eyes are red and tired.Camille says nothing for the next twenty minutes. She finishes the cookies in her bowl and proceeds to finish her coffee."How's my son?" She asks."He's..." I pause. "Grieving.""Men are so weak, right?" She laughs. "Look at Caleb. He hasn't left his bed since the funeral. And now after a week, my son is still grieving. I'm the mother of the woman who just died and I'm fine.
Everything is back to normal.I don't know if that should make me happy or sad. I stay up in bed, smelling the fresh aroma of pancakes. Damien is downstairs making me pancakes. And I'm still in bed, wondering if that should make me scared or excited.A few minutes later, I hear footsteps approaching the door. Damien walks in with a tray of pancakes and coffee. He's already dressed for work. Black suit and a blue tie."Good morning, Sunshine."Damien sets the tray on the bed and plants a peck on my cheek. He runs his fingers through my hair and looks at me like I'm the most lovely thing that ever existed."I missed having breakfast with you." He plants a little soft kiss on my lips. "I also miss having you for breakfast."He pulls away and takes a pancake from the plate. I take a bite when he raises it to my lips."Yummy!" I gush."Not as yummy as you." He says huskily.My husband is horny. I can tell from the deep tone of his voice. And the dark desire clouding his eyes. His eyes slo
The car stops at a huge cabin in the woods.Vanessa and Leo are on the front. Vanessa was the driver and Leo just kept holding her hand and kissing her the entire way. He's kind of an àsshole but he's an angel to her. It's like those bad boys in books who are only nice to their girlfriend.Damien and I are at the back. I'm sleeping on Damien's shoulder. We've spent the last eight hours on the road. And now we are here."I thought it was a camping trip." I mutter in the back."Nope." Vanessa turns to look at me. "I changed my mind. A little vacation in the cabin is more fun and we'll get a lot of rest and do a lot of fun things together.""Who owns the cabin?""Me." Vanessa smiles. "My husband bought it for me. I just saw it online and I knew I wanted to have it. So he bought it.""And you deserve it, babe." He plants a kiss on her lips.I didn't grow up poor but the kind of extravagance that filthy rich people display is shocking to me. Seeing a cabin online and then buying it on impu
Vanessa is busy making muffins.After mixing all the ingredients, she leans on the counter and crosses her arms against her chest.I'm seated on the small kitchen table, staring at her in disbelief. She's saying something about how to make marvellous muffins for your man. But I'm not listening to any of that. There's only one thought screaming in my head."Why did you kill Sophia?""Don't you want me to teach you how to make perfect muffins for your man?""My man makes them for me." I smirk. "You can keep the training to yourself.""He won't be your man for long." She scoffs. "He's going to divorce you soon."A cold chill runs down my spine. Maybe she's planning something that will separate me and my husband. The Diamond dress drama flopped hard. I wonder what she's planning next and if it's connected to Sophia's death."Why did you kill her?" I repeat sharply. "How did you even kill her? The doctor said that she died from an overdose.""Overdosing an addict is the easiest task I've e
I stare at Vanessa in shock."Why would Sophia want to kill her own twin brother?" "She had plenty of reasons to hate Damien." Vanessa replies. "First, Damien was the favourite child of both their parents. Second, she knew that her parents would leave everything in Damien's name. Third, she wanted to be with me but I wanted to be with her brother. She always cried and complained about how Damien took everything away from her. It was so annoying. Thank God she's dead."I can't believe I missed it. It was so evident that there was something going on between Vanessa and Sophia but I never noticed. I just thought they were best friends and that was it. I had no clue that Sophia was obsessed with Vanessa."Why are you telling me all this?" I ask coolly. "Aren't you scared that I'm going to make the world see the kind of monster you are.""First." She chuckles. "I'm not a monster. And second. You're not going to tell anyone what I just told you because no one will believe you.""You sound
VANESSALet's be honest.We all want love. We all love someone and we want that someone to love us back. I believe in love. True love. When I met Damien, I knew he was my true love. And we would spend the rest of our lives together.I grew up with parents who hated each other. Parents who couldn't stand being in the same room together. Parents who screamed at each other. Parents who weren't even supposed to be together in the first place. And I knew I didn't want that. Especially not for my kids.I wanted the kind of love that I read in books. I wanted the kind of love that I saw in movies. I wanted the kind of love that sweeps you away. I would do anything to have that kind of love. And then I went to college and met Damien. And I knew he was the one. He was the man that I had read about in books and watched in movies. That is when I knew I would never let him go. We would grow old together.Until Dani ruined that plan...I've tried getting rid of her a couple of times. Making out wi
DAMIENtwenty years laterIt's our twentieth anniversary.For every anniversary, we celebrate it in Bali. In the same hotel we went for our first, second and third honeymoon. There's been a lot of changes and renovations in the hotel over the years but it still gives me a feeling of nostalgia every time I come here.I step out of the shower and start drying myself with the towel.Dani is busy typing on her laptop. I apply some lotion and slide into a pair of white shorts. My wife doesn't bother to look up."George filed for divorce." I huff. "Gina cheated on him again. This time, with a younger man.""Not surprised." I sigh. "Why can't he just leave her?""He's addicted to the toxicity."Dani doesn't respond. She's still busy on her laptop. Plus, she's so over George and Gina. And honestly, so am I. For years, I wanted to save George from that abusive marriage but he clearly doesn't want to be saved. He made the bed. I'll just let him lie in it. Even if it's a bed of thorns that makes
DANII stare at Nate in shock.But he's not staring at me. He's staring at Damien."When Dani's dad shot me, I was paralysed." Nate says. "I could see everything. I could hear everything. But I couldn't move. I couldn't even feel blood oozing from my body."Okay, where's this going?"Dani was in shock after her father shot himself infront of her." He continues. "She just sat there, staring at his lifeless body. She was in shock and despair. She had lost all hope for life. That's until you came out of nowhere and wrapped your arms around her, crying. She was relieved. She was hopeful again. I was relieved too. And I was hopeful. That's when I allowed myself to pass out. All that time, I'd been forcing myself to hold on a little longer for Dani. I didn't want to leave her all alone and scared. But when you showed up, I knew she was in safe hands. So l let myself pass out."Nate finally turns to look at me, a small smile forming on his face."Remember that double date with Richard and yo
DAMIENI ring the doorbell.Dani swings the door open, dressed in her pajamas. She stares at me in complete shock and confusion."What are you doing here?" She asks in concern. "Are you okay?"I don't reply to that. I just pull her in my arms and cling to her body. I know she's pregnant and I'm probably hurting her baby but the baby will have to forgive me. I need his mother now. He can wait.Dani escorts me to the livingroom. She sneaks to the kitchen and brings me coffee. Yes, I definitely need coffee this time. I'm shaking due to the cold. Or maybe I'm shaking due to the shock. It's been a night of horror and I can't wait for it to end."What's going on, Damien?" Dani asks softly. "Where's Vanessa?"Just hearing her name sends chills all over my body. I look up at the ticking clock.The images of the last three hours play vividly in my head.Vanessa screaming in terror. Vanessa's head being chopped off. Vanessa's head being tossed in a black plastic bag like garbage. The "bad guys
VANESSABe calm.Whatever happens in life, be calm. That's one of the greatest tricks to tackle every situation in life. Be calm. Take a deep breath. Don't lose it. You might be losing it inside, but don't show them. Act calm. Act confident.I turn to look at Damien.Ofcourse I'm shocked. And confused. He just jumped out of the kitchen. He was listening to the conversation this entire time. I should have listened to my gut when I entered the house.I got a whiff of his cologne when I entered the living room. Then I got a glance of his shoes at the door. But somehow, I convinced myself that they didn't belong to Damien. A bunch of shoes look the same. And there's no way they belonged to Damien. I mean, I left him home looking hungry and exhausted. There's no way he could drive back to the city for two hours instead of taking a rest. God, I was in for a shock!But I'm still calm. "Babe." I smile. "You know I hate surprises.""Don't babe me!" He snaps. "I heard everything you just said,
DAMIENI dash into the kitchen and pour all the coffee in the sink.I don't want coffee. I want something stronger. Something like scotch. Something that will make me forget about my dad. And Vanessa. And the pregnancy scam. And the whole drug dealing thing. And the way I just talked to Dani. And the way she looked at me. All I do is hurt her with my words and actions. And all she does is be kind and nice to me. After everything I did, she's letting me spend the night at her house. God, I don't deserve her...It's pouring heavily outside.I look outside, the rain beating down on the roof and sliding down the window. For a moment there, I wish that the rain could wash away all the pain. I wish that the rain could slide down my soul and wash away all the sadness and sorrow. The doorbell rings, pulling me away from the sea of sad thoughts."Good evening, Dani." I grit my teeth when I hear that familiar voice. Vanessa. What the fùck is she doing here? How the fùck did she know that I wa
DANIDamien is standing at my door when I get home from the hospital.The second he sees me, he runs to me and our bodies clash in a tight embrace. He starts crying in my arms. And I start crying in his arms. And now we're crying in each other's arms. I don't even know why I'm crying. But I definitely know why he's crying.He lost his father. A father that he deeply loved. And today he lay his father to rest. That's hard on anyone.The sky rumbles. We break apart and silently walk into the house before it starts raining. Damien takes off his shoes and sits on the couch. I take off my black coat and sneak to the kitchen. There, I make coffee and grab some cookies from the pantry. Damien looks like he needs something stronger than coffee but it's the best choice for now. "Thankyou." He smiles when I set the tray of coffee and cookies on the table.I sit across from him, creating some distance between us. I'm just from seeing Nate in the hospital and we even kissed when I left. I wou
DAMIENThe ride home was silent.Two hours on the road with Vanessa sulking and seething and staring at me, her eyes filled with fury.The second I stop the engine, she flies out of the car and storms into the house. I follow her quickly but I can't keep up with her pace. When I walk into the house, she's already flying up the stairs.Maria steps out of the kitchen with a bunch of sandwiches on the tray."Spill the tea." She giggles. "Why is she so mad this time? What happened at the funeral?""Nothing interesting." I shrug.That's my way of brushing Maria off. Although I like her, she can be a little nosy in a way that's annoying and steps on boundaries. Vanessa is still the mother of my child. She's just a surrogate. Sometimes I think that Maria forgets that. Vanessa can be a pain in the àss but she still deserves respect as the biological mother of my child."Want a sandwich?" She offers."Sure." I grab it. "I'm starving!"I run up the stairs, chewing on the sandwich as I head to o
DANICamille's mansion was the perfect pick for the reception after the funeral.The guests are waltzing around the large livingroom, cups of coffee clutched in their hands. A bunch of bowls are sitting at the dining table with cookies and biscuits and even chocolates.I'm sitting on the couch next to Camille, munching on the crunchy cookies. Her face is blank and void of emotion but I know that deep down, she's having an emotional crisis. A few hours ago, she broke down as her husband was put to the ground. I can't imagine what that felt like for her. Spending half of your life with someone and then having to watch their lifeless bodies being lowered to the ground. Tragic."Look at them!" Camille points to Damien and Vanessa. "She's always complaining about something. They should break up already."They seem like they are fighting. Vanessa is nagging about something. And Damien is glaring at her. They are obviously the unhappiest couple in the room. I get a little thrill watching the
DAMIENVanessa slides into her black heels and walks towards me.She stands so close, looking up at me. There's a blank look on her face and it's kinda creepy. She straightens my collar and starts fixing my black tie."I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me."The cold tone in her voice sends shivers down my spine. She's not been speaking to me the entire morning. I thought it was odd but chose not to overthink it. I thought it's because we were both busy getting ready for the funeral. I thought maybe she's giving me some space and silence because this is the day that I lay my dad to the ground. From the tone of her voice, that's clearly not the case. She's mad at me. And from the way she's playing with this tie, I might end up getting strangled if I don't provide the answer that she wants. And that makes my heart start racing."Have you been fùcking Dani?"I can't help but laugh. I thought it was something serious. Something that was going to be