Charlotte is looking worried. The monthly bills are lying in front of her and she’s calculating them which is stressing her out. Halsey enters the kitchen to find her in that state.“Charlotte, what’s going on?” She asks as she pours herself some cereal. “Nothing honey,” Charlotte lies and quickly hides the bills but Halsey catches a glimpse of her record book.“The business faced a loss?” Halsey asks in shock. “How?”“The music festival wasn’t that great apparently,” Charlotte sighs. “The bills are through the roof! It’s gonna take a while to recover these costs.”Halsey bites her lip. “You don’t have to worry!” Charlotte tells her. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t let this get to you, okay?”“Okay…”Halsey feels sorry for her godmother. Charlotte is working so hard for them and Halsey feels as if she’s adding to her worries. That morning, she had decided to tell Charlotte about her stalker but seeing how stressed her godmother is, Halsey backs off. She can’t add more to the woman’s tro
Halsey’s heart is thumping hard. She keeps on peeking at Nathan who’s sitting three seats away from her. Her mind is barely on the lecture as she tries to catch his eye but he ignores her completely.“Halsey!” She’s startled when the teacher calls her name. Nathan pointedly doesn’t look at her but keeps his gaze on the teacher.“Y-Yes sir!” Halsey squeaks and stands up.“Tell me what do the moors in Wuthering Heights represent?” the teacher asks.“Er…”The teacher tuts in disappointment. “You’re not paying attention to the class at all!” He scolds her. “Pay attention. Now let’s see…”He glances around and points at Nathan.“Jacobs, tell us what the moors represent,” the teacher demands. The rest of the class snicker. Nathan isn’t the brightest student and it’s obvious that he won’t be able to answer.Halsey quietly sits down while Nathan stands up to answer. “The moors represent the wildness of Heathcliff and Catherine’s love,” he states. “Their relationship was passionate and destru
“Do you…do you…” Halsey takes a deep breath again. “Do you like me?” she blurts out.Nathan freezes on the spot, unable to speak. Halsey watches him anxiously, each passing second making her heart sink. He’s silent for a while as several thoughts run around in his head. Nathan isn’t sure how to reply. A voice in his head is urging him to talk to her but it’s as if his body has gone stiff.“I-I guess I was mistaken,” Halsey says. She tries to keep her tone casual but her voice is breaking at his silence. He doesn’t like her back. That’s what his silence means.You will lose everything you love…Another voice in his mind is haunting Nathan. It’s Daniel’s voice. A distant memory is returning to him and he’s completely numb. Daniel is sneering at him, repeating that phrase.“You will lose everything you love!” Daniel tells a twelve year old Nathan. The boy cries in pain because his father is pulling his hair hard.“Just like I lost everything because of you, you will also lose everythin
Halsey enters the empty house, feeling dejected. She slowly walks upstairs, not paying attention to her surroundings. Once in her room, she slumps on the bed.So this is what rejection feels like, she thinks sadly. Tears are rolling down her face, wetting the pillow. Her heart is completely shattered by Nathan’s rejection and the pain is a lot to bear.“I shouldn’t cry,” she sobs to herself. “He was honest with me and I shouldn’t have raised my hopes…”Yes. I shouldn’t have raised my hopes. Then why is it so goddamn hard?CLINK!The sound startles her and Halsey sits up. Is Charlotte back?“C-Charlotte?” She nervously calls out. Silence. That’s odd. Charlotte would’ve answered her.Halsey is suddenly scared. She stays still, trying to recall all the survival tactics she learnt in her life. Unfortunately, there aren’t many but she knows that following the noise without a weapon would be a stupid thing to do.She looks around and zeroes in on a small ceramic vase. It wasn’t much but it’
Halsey winces in pain. The doctors have stitched up her injuries and thankfully, the wounds aren’t serious. She has been unconscious for hours and when she woke up, her head was covered with bandages. Charlotte is sleeping on a couch while Lincoln is at the cafe.She slowly sits up and carefully slides down the bed.“Halsey?” Charlotte mumbles. She has woken up and is surprised to see that Halsey is trying to sneak away.“Get back to bed!” Charlotte coaxes her but Halsey shakes her head.“I wanna walk around,” Halsey mumbles. “To…to get some fresh air.”When Halsey regained consciousness, Charlotte told her what happened while she was knocked out. The stalker has been arrested. It was discovered that the man’s name is Thomas Kepp and he’s a patient at a nearby rehabilitation center. The man had run away from there and was hiding in a friend’s place. He was admitted to the rehab for treatment after he lost his mind when he discovered his wife’s adulterous nature. When he spotted Halse
His soft lips caresses hers in a slow motion. Her heart is fluttering and she closes her eyes to feel the gentle kiss. Nathan’s arms hold her waist and pull her close. Halsey is unsure, her kiss a little sloppy but Nathan takes the lead and slowly probes his tongue into her mouth. He doesn’t increase the intensity of the moment, handling her with utmost care as if she’s a porcelain doll.Halsey’s lips puckers against his and they let go of their apprehensions, only enjoying the chaste kiss. In that one moment, they’re shut off from the world and lost in their bubble.Nathan slowly pulls away and takes a good look at her. Halsey’s cheeks are completely red and she’s unable to meet his eyes.“Hic!” She hiccups which makes Nathan chuckle. “I take that as a yes,” he winks. Halsey only blushes harder and looks at her feet. Nathan touches her forehead where the bandage is still wrapped.“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I couldn’t make it on time.”“You saved me,” Halsey mumbles. “I’m fine, so don
The next morning, Charlotte drops Halsey and Lincoln to school. Lincoln is sullen about his loss at the finals. He spots a few of his teammates at a distance but doesn’t acknowledge them. Instead, he avoids their gaze.“Linc, you can’t be sad forever!” Halsey consoles him. “You need to cheer up and try again.”“Hales, you don’t know how it feels to lose!” Lincoln exclaims. “It…I could’ve easily won the game!”“Yeah well…I know how it feels to be beaten up by a stalker,” she jokes, pointing at her injured head. Lincoln sighs.“I’m sorry Hales,” he mutters. “I’m just really sensitive right now…”Unbeknownst to Halsey, Lincoln is also upset that Nathan managed to wriggle his way back into the team. Nathan’s father made a ruckus last week with the Principal which forced Nelson to take Nathan back into the team from today. Lincoln is sour that he’ll have to play with his rival again but he has no choice.“Cheer up!” Halsey tells him. “You’ll be fine. You’ve got me. You’ve got Charlotte. We
“What if someone finds us here?” Halsey asks, feeling nervous.“Relax!” Nathan grins. “No one can catch us here. The CCTV has been broken for years and the guards don’t come here much.”They’re on the roof, sitting on the ledge. Nathan always felt peaceful on the roof away from people but with Halsey by his side, the feeling is more refreshing. He can’t help admiring her but tries to remain aloof to not scare her.“So, where do you wanna go on our first date?” he asks her.“I…I never really thought about it,” she admits. “I can’t decide!”“There must be something you want to do on your first date?”Nathan frowns at her. She genuinely doesn’t seem to know what she wants from her first date. “I’ve never thought of what to do on my first date,” she says sheepishly. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m fine with anything. We can just watch a movie or…er…”She’s fumbling to find an activity. What do people do on dates?“What did you do on your first date?” Halsey asks him. “You have plenty of e
*Eight months later in New York*Halsey is crying hard while Nathan looks guilty while Jo is quiet. “How could you do this to me?” Halsey wails. “This…this is…this is such a betrayal!”“Hales, I didn’t mean it!” Nathan exclaims. “It was an accident!”“Dad, this really isn’t right,” Jo adds, shaking her head. “I’m disappointed in you! How could you do this to mom?”Nathan gapes at his daughter. “It was an accident!” He claims. “I swear it was! I didn’t do it on purpose, babe! I-I was seduced!”“SEDUCED?” Halsey shouts at him. “SEDUCED?”She’s now angry and she throws a pillow at him. “SEDUCED? HERE I AM CARRYING A LITTER AND YOU…YOU…”Stopping in between her tirade, she takes several deep breaths. Nathan is ashamed and sad by what he did.“YOU…YOU ATE THE LAST PIECE OF CHOCOLATE?” Halsey shrieks and throws another pillow at him. “YOU KNOW I NEED CHOCOLATES IN THIS STATE!”Nathan is truly ashamed but the chocolate was too delicious to ignore. He thought no one would find out but Jo cau
Lincoln was being carried away by Damien’s men. He’s completely catatonic, his mind in severe shock. They took him to the psychiatric hospital where the doctors checked up on him. For many days, they’ve tried to figure out what’s wrong with him but to no avail.His encephalitis has reached the advanced stage in a short period of time. The doctors have no hope now.“He’s in a sort of a self-induced coma,” the psychiatrist tells Halsey one day. “He can’t comprehend anything. His eyes are open but his mind is shut. It’s as if he had a severe shock which he couldn’t overcome.”“Can he stand trial?” Halsey asks. “There must be something you can do to make him sane again. We can’t just let him off the hook like this!”“We’re trying but in a way, his punishment is this,” the doctor concludes. “He won’t be able to stand trial but he’ll not recover from this.”Halsey glances inside the ward where Lincoln had been kept. He’s staring at the wall, unmoving for hours. His once luscious hair has fa
*Present*“They must’ve found us!” Hastings exclaims. “How? You just said it’s a safe place?“I don’t know!” Lincoln yells. “They’ll kill us. Let’s just kill the kid and-”“ARE YOU INSANE?” Hastings screams. “She’s our only bet! If we take her, we can negotiate with them and leave this place alive!”As soon as he says that, several of Damien’s guards barge out of the elevator. Without any word, Hastings enters the room and grabs Jo before escaping through the fire escape. Lincoln runs off to hide.Downstairs, Nathan, Halsey, Damien and Daniel, are scavenging the floors. Hastings’ guards are being captured by their men, leaving their way clear. “Jo!” Halsey cries. “Jo, where are you?” “Jo?” Nathan shouts. The rooms are empty and they start to ascend the stairs. Daniel breaks off from the group, heading east to find Jo. In the chaos, no one notices him leaving.Halsey is beside herself with fear. Nathan keeps a firm grip on her while Damien instructs his men to spread out. “We’ll loo
Jo is glaring at Lincoln. She’s not crying nor looking scared but rather apprehensive of the man. The guards who were supposed to watch over her that day, had knocked out Jason and kidnapped her while she was on the way to school. They lied to Nathan that she was safe so that he wouldn’t come after them.Now, hours later, she’s tied up in an empty building. They’re on the fifth floor where Lincoln and Hastings are hiding. Lincoln is glaring at the little girl and he wants to push her off the window but she’s his only leverage to get Halsey.“In a few hours, your mother will come to me and we’ll leave this place,” he grins. “And you’ll be dead.”He steps forward, a manic glee in his eyes. “Once Halsey is here, I’ll kill you and take her with me.”“My dad will beat you!” Jo sneers. “Remember what he did to the other guy when he kidnapped me? I’m not scared of you!”WHACK!Lincoln slaps the insolent child. Jo feels immense pain on her cheek and even though her eyes are stinging with tear
Halsey is feeling a little squirmish. Things have been hectic for the past few days and it has taken a toll on her health. Just that morning, she threw up everything she ate. Nathan was alarmed by her condition and insisted that she went to the hospital for a checkup. He’s sitting with her, holding her palm. They’re outside the doctor’s office. Halsey was asked to undergo some tests and now, the doctor is reading the results.“Nate, I’m fine,” she assures him. “There’s nothing to worry about. Go to work.”“No, I won’t stop worrying until I see the reports!” Nathan insists. “I want to stay here.”Halsey smiles and shakes her head. He’s so persistent in every little thing related to her health. Nathan can’t help it. He lost her once and he can’t lose her again. The moment she started to show signs of being ill, he was overcome with paranoia. He’s thinking about the worst case scenarios and his heart is filled with fear. “Is Jo at school?” Halsey asks.“The guard texted me that she’s s
Over the next few days, Daniel is kept under close observation. Hastings and Lincoln are still missing, something which is looming over everyone’s heads. Nathan is trying to find them but to no avail. He and Halsey are trying to maintain normalcy at home so that Jo doesn’t suspect anything.One night, Nathan arrives home late to find Halsey is still awake. She’s curled up on the couch, reading. When she hears the door open, she looks up and smiles.“Any luck finding them?” she asks when he plops on the seat next to her. “None,” Nathan admits. “I can’t find them. It’s like they’ve vanished.”Halsey is now troubled. Where could they be? Nathan puts his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll find them,” he assures her. “They can’t hide for long.”“I hope so,” she murmurs and hugs him.Meanwhile, miles away from Bayers’ Coast, Lincoln is feeling frustrated. He’s angry and annoyed at being locked up in the house all day. Hastings told him that they’ll be implementing their plan soon but he’s lo
CRASH!The vase breaks into thousands of tiny pieces. Standing above the broken ceramic is Lincoln, with wild red eyes. He’s in a murderous rage and he breaks everything in his vicinity. Hastings is on a couch, bored of the man-child’s drama but Lincoln is on a warpath.“I’LL KILL THEM ALL!” Lincoln shouts. “THEY’VE BETRAYED ME-”“You were stupid enough to trust a stranger,” Hastings yawns. “You should’ve come to me instead. Just like your dad did. Your stupidity cost us the hospital. If you had your shares, we’d have been unbeatable today.”Lincoln shoots him a glare but Hastings doesn’t care. They’re at Lincoln’s farmhouse, a property he had purchased a few months back in secret. Lincoln can’t fathom his loss. Jamie and Damien double crossed him but he’s more shocked by Salvez.“My father is a fool! He only wants his business to be safe but I don’t care about all that!” Lincoln yells. “I just want Halsey!”“And I want revenge against Nathan Michell,” Hastings says. “The best way to
Daniel and Lincoln stand up, shocked. They gape at Nathan who’s grinning. “What’s the meaning of this?” Daniel snarls at Salvez. “Why are you withdrawing your support? And isn’t he the head of the Michell family? He’s your enemy!”“My father is merely supporting me,” Damien calmly says. Daniel rounds on him.“Did you forget that I saved you all those years ago? I gave you a new heart!”“By killing the woman I love,” Damien quietly says. This makes Daniel even more furious. Lincoln is glaring at Jamie but she’s smug. Nathan takes charge.“Fifty five percent of the shares have been transferred to me,” he tells his father. “You’re not the chairperson of this hospital anymore. I am. It’s over for you, dad.”Daniel glares at Nathan while Lincoln is silent. He’s too shocked, too numb to say anything. Once again, he has lost. This can’t be happening, he tells himself. It’s all a bad dream!But it’s not. It’s real and it’s happening. Nathan has taken over the hospital and effectively, Linco
Nathan is sitting on the couch, thinking hard. It’s past three o’clock in the morning and he’s not sleepy. On the contrary, he’s feeling agitated about what’s going to happen in a few hours. Even if everything seems to go according to his plan, he’s still nervous. What if something goes wrong? Even one misstep can ruin years of hard work.Halsey stirs in her sleep and rolls over to the side to hug Nathan only to find the spot to be empty. She slowly opens her eyes to find him on the couch, drinking alone. He looks worried and this in turn, worries her.“What’s wrong?” she asks as she approaches him. “Why are you awake at this hour?”“Can’t sleep,” Nathan mutters as he takes a sip from his drink. Halsey sighs and sits next to him. She pours a glass of whiskey for herself. Nathan is slightly surprised.“When did you start drinking whiskey?” He asks.“I don’t drink it,” she admits. “I just wanna give you company right now, that’s all. Why? You don’t like it when I drink?”“It’s up to yo