Now I regret this, Nathan scowls inwardly. He is with Halsey at the same trench where he threw her guitar in. Halsey keeps on glancing behind her to make sure that no one sees them together but it seems the people rarely ventured that way. The trees are too thick there and the spot is not easily visible from the road unless someone ventures that way. Also, the lake doesn’t have a protective barrier so most people avoid it.Nathan is feeling sleepy just by glancing at the first page of Pride & Prejudice.“Let’s read the first chapter,” Halsey suggests. “I’ll focus on Elizabeth and her sister’ dialogues while you focus on the other characters. And-”Nathan throws the books aside and yawns. “Boring!” he sneers. “Are there any other books?”“This is a classic,” Halsey explains. “We can get a lot of marks if we can-”“Let’s just pick a comic and re-write that!” Nathan jokes. “That’s gonna be more interesting than some chick lit which makes no sense!”Maybe it just doesn’t make any sense to
“So class!” The teacher was saying. “Today we will learn about the proses of…”Halsey is hardly paying attention. She is lost in her own thoughts, the images of last night swirling in her head. Her stomach is sickened by the memory of the dead moths and her fingers are slightly shaking. Even the vandalized locker did not scare her this much. How can someone play such a disgusting prank on her?She glances at Nathan. He is sitting next to her, idly doodling on a page. It must be him, Halsey concludes. It is the only logical explanation. He was the only one other than Lincoln who hung out with her the previous day and had access to her bag. Maybe he put the box in her bag when she wasn’t looking. Halsey is even more sickened by this. She knows that Nathan dislikes her but why would he go this far? What did she ever do to him?Strangely, she’s feeling very angry at him. To think he’d go this far to bully her!Nathan feels Halsey’s gaze on him and he turns towards her. He raises an eyeb
The week passed by in relative peace. Lincoln finished his detention and Charlotte finally ungrounded him. He avoids Nathan during basketball practice and the latter seems to be doing the same. Halsey is also avoiding Nathan, staying mostly in the library. Nathan bunks literature classes and even when he attends, he sits far away from her. Halsey is a little relieved that he stays away from her but something in her mind bugs her. Even though Nathan admitted that he sent her the moths, she still feels unsettled. Sometimes, she even questions herself whether her conclusion is right but there’s no one else who’d do something like that. But something else is also bothering her. Lately, Halsey’s things have been going missing. At first, she lost small things like her pen or pencils but since that morning, she can’t find her science book. She’s sure that she had it in her bag but now it’s gone. “Where is it?” She mutters as she scavenges through her bag. She’s walking along the school c
Nathan is shocked. Halsey is in there? Why? “D-Daisy stole my uniform,” she explains. “She took pictures of me in…in…this state…” Halsey trails off and busts into fresh sobs but she doesn’t have to explain anything more. The mention of Daisy’s name made it all too clear to him. Daisy is one of Lydia’s cronies. Nathan is aware of the manipulative nature the girl hides behind her smile. Normally, he could care less about what Lydia and her minions are up to but even he’s shocked by this. “Where’s your phone?” he asks. “She took it.” Great, Nathan shakes his head. “You’re really stupid,” he mutters. “Who the hell gives away their phone?” “I thought she was being nice.” What the hell is in her brain? Nathan wonders sarcastically. Naive idiot! “Wait here!” He snaps at her. Halsey hears him shuffling around. Her head is hung low in shame. He’s right, she thinks in dismay. I’m an idiot. But she can’t help it. Halsey can’t decipher people’s motives nor their true characters. She’s
Am I going to regret this? Halsey questions herself. After her encounter with Daisy, she should have been more cautious but she couldn’t help it. For some reason, her body moved on its own when Nathan pulled her away from everything. It felt…liberating.But now she’s scared again.Nathan is driving his car towards the outskirts of the town, heading for the bigger city. Halsey nervously bites her lip. Where are they going?“Just relax!” Nathan groans. “No one’s gonna kill you!”“Where are we going?” She asks nervously.“To the Mags,” Nathan shrugs.“The what?”“Huh? You’ve seriously never been to the Mags?”Nathan is surprised. He and his friends are regular customers of the Mags which is a casual bar. It operates in secret because they supply liquor to minors. Almost everyone at their school have visited the Mags so it’s shocking to him that Halsey doesn’t know about the place.“It’s an illegal bar,” Nathan replies.“What?” She exclaims. “A-An illegal bar? I can’t go in there! W-What
“Ugh!” Halsey sputters at the taste of the bitter beer. She winces and puts it away much to Nathan’s amusement.“It’s so bitter!” She mumbles.“Get used to it!” Nathan laughs and downs his drink in one go. Halsey only frowns at him. How can someone be so uncaring about consequences? What if they got caught?She glances at the beer again. “Go on,” Nathan nudges. “You’ll get used to it.”“Here goes nothing!” she mumbles and takes another sip. This time, she was prepared for the taste so it didn’t taste that bad. In fact, she can feel a burning sensation in her throat but it isn’t so bad. She holds her breath and takes more sips.“Easy!” Nathan cautions her when she hiccups. “Don’t drink it all in one go!”“Hic! What’s next?”Halsey is slurring a little. She’s already feeling the effects of the beer kicking in which makes Nathan check the bottle.“This one’s just forty percent alcohol!” He frowns. “You’re not supposed to get this drunk…”“Hic! I never had alcohol before…”Nathan sighs.
Lincoln is staring at his phone, arguing with himself if he had done the right thing. When he saw Halsey walking out of the school with Nathan, he felt an anger which is indescribable in words. Seeing them together infuriated him and he became agitated. So after basketball practice was over, he cornered his teammate Chad and demanded where Nathan could have gone. Chad mentioned that Nathan frequently goes to a bar named Mags uptown. He also revealed the location of the place to Lincoln. Lincoln was quiet all this time, biding his time until he reached home. Upon reaching home, he informed Charlotte about Halsey. Charlotte was shocked but drove uptown to pick her up. But this wasn’t enough for Lincoln. Nathan is getting too close to Halsey and Lincoln won’t let them grow any closer. His rival must be punished.So he called the cops and told them about the bar.Is Halsey gonna be alright? He wonders. For some reason, he’s also feeling guilty. What if Charlotte doesn’t find her on tim
Halsey is waiting at the trench side, alone. She’s feeling a little giddy for some reason. There’s a book plopped open on her lap but she barely pays any attention to it. Instead, she keeps on glancing behind her to see if Nathan has arrived.It’s really early in the morning. The whole town's sleeping and Halsey seems to be the only one who’s awake. Lincoln and Charlotte were also sleeping soundly in their rooms. Halsey left a note next on Charlotte’s bedside table about meeting Nathan for a project. She can only hope that Charlotte doesn’t misunderstand her like Lincoln does.“Will he even come?” She wonders out loud. Nathan doesn’t seem like someone who wakes up early.Halsey debates whether to call him or not when she hears the bushes behind her shuffling.“Nathan?”She peers at the bushes and for a second, she thought she saw a shadow there. Halsey slowly stands up, feeling cautious.“Hello?” She says a little loudly. “Is anyone there? Is that you, Nathan?”Silence.Halsey doesn’t
*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