Racheal heard a rap on the door as she applied her lipstick.“Jade.” She heard, as the lock turned.“Here.” Racheal called from the bedroom. She turned as she heard the wall to wall wooden bedroom door slide open. Jade inhaled and froze.“Caliente!” She exclaimed, looking at Racheal from head to toe. Racheal smiled.“Thank you.” When a woman calls you hot, you could bank on it that you actually are. They had no reason to lie.She turned back to the mirror to look at the soft peach-colored dress she had on. “It’s appropriate for dinner, right?”“Of course it is.” Jade drew close to admire her hair she had styled away from her face. “I was wondering how you would manage without your maids. You are managing just fine.Racheal laughed.“Ready?” She asked, looking at the beautiful black dress Jade had on.“Yes.” Jade responded, taking her hand. “You are stunning.”“Oh. Not as much as you.” Jade brushed the compliment aside in a good-humored way.Racheal shook her head. “You know that i
Racheal woke up early the next morning to a knock at the door. She opened the door, still in her night dress, and found a maid outside the front door with a bag, and yet another bouquet.She thought it was high time she removed that post from her old social media account about how much she loved receiving flowers. If not, she would find herself drowning in flowers from future admirers.“The prince sent these.” She bowed to Racheal. Racheal smiled politely at her as she took the bouquet, and then the bag. She closed the door and returned to her room. In the bag, she found riding boots, denim pants, and a shirt.I will be waiting at 7:00am, fiery woman.AlvaroShe read the note pinned to the pair of boots. She did not understand what all this meant, but she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and changed into the outfit.When she walked out of the suite, she saw a domestic staff member waiting on the landing.“Mrs Sherrod?” He asked. Racheal nodded, and the man started walking aw
Racheal had breakfast alone in her suite, and went down with Jade and Axel to the horse racing later that afternoon in a golf cart.“Alvaro gave you the best suite in his mansion.” Jade said, looking at Racheal.Racheal smiled, and said nothing. “Do you think you both will work?” Jade asked, watching her face intently. Her smile soured and became sad. She shook her head, as her eyes began to mist over again.“Hey.” Jade took her hand. “I didn't mean to ruin your mood.” Racheal nodded. “Have you told him? I don’t want him to get his hopes up, and have his heart broken.” Jade asked.“No. He has not even mentioned anything about us being together.” She responded. She looked up to see Jade frowning at her.Racheal flinched, surprised to see such emotion on her friend’s face. “We are not children. Everyone knows he wants to be with you, especially now that you and Steffan are technically separated.”Rachela sat stunned. “Tell him now that you do not have space in your heart for him
“I have been watching you. You seemed bored to death.” Chloe said, leaning beside the cane chair Racheal was sitting, under the shade of a tree.“Well. I could just be tired,” Racheal said. “I didn't know you were here.”Jade, who was seated not very far from Racheal, glanced at them, and looked away.“I arrived this morning. Your friend does not like me,” Chloe said.“I wouldn’t too if you touched her inappropriately with a knife to her throat,” Racheal responded. She regretted not having just gone to that private pool beneath her suite. What was the use of networking with people who she did not necessarily like?People who have since lost interest in her when they noticed how quiet she was. They probably thought she was snobbish.“Walk with me.” Chloe said. Racheal frowned up at her.“We will be in public view,” Chloe said reassuringly. Racheal sighed and stood up, and they began to take a walk.“You saw Roman Gilbert?” She asked.Racheal nodded, thinking about the man and the wa
Racheal sat beside Jade in her room as the glam team Jade hired did their makeup and hair, They chatted and talked about random things.Jade was back to her normal self, and Racheal felt more relaxed with her plan for the future. She was tempted to tell Jade about it at several points, but she hesitated because of the strangers in the room. Besides, it would be a better surprise if she told her after she got the ambassadorial seat.Racheal stepped into a short black dress. Although the dress was short, it had big sleeves and a decent neckline. No one would be able to complain that she was slutty. This was appropriate enough for a music concert.“Do you know what I love most about your party?” Racheal asked.Jade giggled. “What?”“Zero journalists.” She said.Jade laughed. “Yea. They can be a bother. But I think in your case, they always anticipate your moves because of your convoy.”“I suspected that too,” Racheal replied.Although she remembered when she went to visit Aston a fe
Ten, nine, eight,Racheal turned around to see everyone was staring at the large screen on the stage that was now counting down to 00:00, Alvaro and Jade’s birthday.Alvaro finally let her go, and Racheal turned to Jade smiling. Jade pulled her in a side hug as they screamed,four, three, two, oneThe sounds of fireworks outside were loud. Racheal heard people gasp. She turned to the side to see the blinds to one side had been drawn to reveal a glass wall. The guests hurried to it like children, to watch the beautiful fireworks. “Happy Birthday.” She said, hugging Jade tight.“Thank you.” Jade was grinning, and they turned to watch the fireworks again, side by side. The sky was bursting with colors, and the sounds came blasting again and again.Finally, Racheal heard a singing group approaching them.Cumpleanos FelizCumpleanos FelizTe deseamos todosCumpleanos FelizRachel giggled as she joined the guests to sing the popular happy birthday song in spanish. Jade hurried away to
“I will leave you to your breakfast,” Racheal said, turning away. But she felt Alvaro's gentle hand on her wrist.“No.” He said as she turned around. “You will join me.” She paused, hesitated.“Please,” he added. She nodded, and watched him pull out a seat for her. “Thank you.”From where she sat, she could see the main lawn area where she had walked with Chloe yesterday. Alvaro placed a mug in front of her, and poured her coffee. He then gestured to the hand woven basket in the middle of the small table that had toast in it.“Thank you.” She picked up a plate, and placed two slices of toast on them as Alavro took the box to a couch to open it.“Damn. You give fine gifts.” He said, as he pulled up the shirt she had gotten him. “This is handmade, right?” He asked.Racheal smiled, and nodded. She ate her food quietly as he disappeared. He returned with the shirt on. Racheal looked at him in surprise.“Yes. I would wear it every day if my father did not pass away from the shame o
Racheal quickly wiped her eyes, and took Skylar’s hand. “Come.”People were already beginning to stare at them. Both women walked back to the couch she had left. Racheal picked up her book, and moved it closer to herself.“I have never liked the idea of what Steffan had to do. Even our mother does not like it. But it’s father’s business and Steffan has always been eager to please him and prove himself.” Skylar said, after a few minutes of quietly sitting with her.Racheal watched her sister-in-law quietly.She could understand why Steffan did that in the past. He told her himself that he felt indebted to his father after he helped him with Malorie's case. But that should be different now, now that he knows the truth.“So you knew too?" Racheal found herself staring at Skylar angrily for the first time since they met.Skylar turned to her “I tried to tell you many times.” Racheal looked away. She had no cause to be mad at Skylar. She was not the one at fault. It was all Steffan,
“Mind Skylar’s head.” Steffan said, watching her get out of the car. Racheal cradled six month-old Skylar’s head in her arms and got out of the car. Steffan turned and walked ahead towards the courthouse. She knew he did not like this, neither did her mother, but she wanted to lead a new life from now on.She would only allow any dispute to be settled by the court no matter how long it took, instead of the torture, killing and all they had done up to the point that she had Sterling.“Maman," Sterling said, peeking his head around his father’s shoulders.“Yes, baby.”“Maman.” He said again, and she smiled at him. Steffan adjusted him in his arms as they walked into the building.It was an informal courtroom, and the biggest case in Xen. This case was what had disgraced Roslyn and made her lose the elections. Journalists waited outside for the final hearing.She and Steffan sat side by side after the judge took her seat, and the accused began to be escorted in by the cops. Roslyl
Racheal followed Steffan into his house quietly. His housekeeper greeted her warmly. She nodded at the woman. She was surprised to see Chef Bennett come out.“Dinner in five minutes, sir.” Then he paused. “Mrs Sherrod.” He bowed.“Make a place for two,” Steffan said. Those were the first words he had said, since she told him she missed him.“Sure, Sir.” Chef Bennett responded.“You kept him?” Racheal asked, as Steffan led the way upstairs. “You liked him.” He said simply.She said nothing more. He surprisingly led the way to his bedroom on the second floor. It was a dark masculine room, wide, dark and intimidating.She stood in the middle, unsure of how to act, or what to do next.He dropped his bag on the bed, and glanced at her.“I am sorry I hurt you.” She said. He paused, midway into sitting on the bed, then started to take his tie off.“That’s rare. Women never apologize.”She made a face at him. But continued anyway. “I was conflicted. I wanted to be with you, but I was
Racheal sat on the toilet bowl, staring at the pregnancy test kit. It clearly read positive. In denial, she took others. They read the same thing.She hurried back to her room and pulled on a dress. It would be stupid to make the same mistake twice. She sat nervously in the backseat as her chauffeur took her to the hospital.She waited nervously as her blood got drawn, and patiently waited for the doctor.She could not smile back as the doctor said.“Congratulations Mrs Sherrod. Would you like to see your baby?”She climbed the table, and stared at the ceiling as the doctor smeared a cold gel on her flat belly.“You are about seven weeks pregnant.” The doctor said excitedly. “Look at your baby.” She held her breath and turned.She could hear the heartbeat of the fetus as the doctor pointed out where the baby was in the sac. It was so tiny, she burst into tears.The doctor helped her up and soothed her, telling her it was OK to cry, that days like these were an emotional day for
The president is dead did not cover the horror of how Spencer Sherrod had died. He stared at his father’s coffin the next morning as the priest talked on and on. He had wanted to kill this man. He had wanted to kill him with his own hand, so why was he reacting this way to the man’s death?His mind kept going back to how Spencer had looked in the video he had seen. He was headed for a meeting, surrounded by his guards, edgy and nervous, and alone.The old woman had come from the crowd, begging an audience. He had hesitated, but asked them to let her through. The woman had hugged him, even as his guards had yelled that it was against protocol.One had even reached out to pull her away. Then flames. He shook his head as he remembered the explosion sound. They had quickly found out the woman was the journalist’s aged mother. The journalist Spencer had killed at Racheal’s office.He felt someone squeeze his arm. He looked down at the little woman. She was the only good thing in
“We should start moving. I don’t want Limuel’s men to find us here," he said as he stocked the fire. She dropped a plate of Ramen in front of him. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back.He did not mind if he lost all his wealth, and became doomed to this kind of life, as long as he had her. She was all he wanted now, all he had ever wanted really from the day he met her.“It will be a few hours still before we can start moving.” She responded. He nodded and picked up his meal. She walked closer and sat beside him. He turned to her, caressed her cheek, and kissed her lightly. She returned his kiss, enthusiastically, the way he remembered, the way he liked.He loved how much she loved his touch. They were soon grappling at each other, their meal forgotten. He squeezed her warm soft body as she moaned his name and dug into his back. He savored the warmness of her, the fullness of her curve, the lusty way she matched his thrusts, squeezing tight around him.He did not want to
Racheal sat shocked, staring at Steffan’s face, just barely able to see it in the near darkness. But she could see clearly enough the honesty in there. His blue eyes were clear and honest, open and pleading.“You should have said that when I wanted to hear it.” She said, shaking her head, starting to move away. But he held her.“I should have. I was a fool not to have.”“I even told you once that I loved you. You said nothing.”“I am sorry.”“Stop apologising. It won’t fix anything," she said, trying to pull away. She did not have to hear this, she did not want to hear this. It would make leaving him that much more difficult. It was easier walking away from a man who hurt her, and had never admitted to loving her even once. But now…“Racheal.” He said, taking her face between his hands. “I love you. I have always loved you. My heart stops at the thought of losing you. The day Isaac told me you were dying, the day you sent that divorce document, my heart completely stopped beatin
“I thought you changed. Apparently, you did not," Steffan said finally, looking away. “You are still as stubborn and careless as ever.”His words stung her.“Careless? You sound like I got some warning that a certain Limuel was after me and ignored it.”“I tried to warn you. I sent a dozen messages, tried to make an appointment,” he blew up.She shrank back. Well. There was no way she would have known. She had his number blocked, so there was no way she could have seen his messages. She still did not know how he had gotten her new contact number by the way. She could not think of any of her staff who could have given him her personal number.She knew he was in contact with Isaac, but could Isaac have given him the number?“After all that has happened to you, I don’t know how you can still put yourself in danger like this.”“One could say I was in danger, hiding with you in a storm like this. At least Maman would think so.” She said quietly, lowering herself to the floor. That got
“What are you doing?” Racheal asked as she watched Steffan walk towards one of the many couches in the room. He said nothing.He placed a bright flashlight she suspected he must have found wherever he found the axe on the floor, lighting the whole room up. He raised the axe, and began to hack at the couch.She stared at him in shock, at first not understanding what he was doing. Then she turned back, and shut the heavy bolt on the door. He had to make fire somehow, or they would freeze to death before the storm was over. Between the both of them, they could probably buy a million couches for this family.She walked further into the living room, past him, checking the whole place out. The only place that was open to them was the hallway, the open kitchen in the living room, and a tiny bathroom at the end of the hallway. All the other rooms were firmly locked. She was not very eager to ruin their locks like she did the front door.She walked towards the kitchen, and turned on th
“What? Why?” Racheal screamed in confusion as she watched Limuel’s guards pull a limp Steffan up.Then they began to pull him to pull him away, his tall frame causing his foot to drag behind him.“I had a suspicion he might come here.” Limuel said, pulling out a big cigar.“What did we do to you?” She asked, looking from Limuel to Steffan, who was being dragged away.“I have no problems with the Sherrods. Just you.”“What?” She asked just as she saw Limuel’s toddler run out of the house. The guards tried to stop the child who was not warmly dressed for the weather. The toddler screamed. He just wanted his father.Lukas Limuel turned at the commotion. “Let him through," he said, standing up. The child broke through the barrier of guards, and ran into his father’s arms.“I don’t have the time to explain anything. I hear your mother has suddenly returned from the dead. I believe she will pay a decent price in exchange for you as compensation for what your family did to us.” Lukas sa