My eyes opened, and I found Oliver playing with my coils. A few of the braids had loosened last night during our artwork called Love, and he was currently twirling them between his fingers.“You look too handsome for an early morning,” I muttered, fluttering my lashes. When they opened back up, I found him grinning."Well, thank you, queen gorgeous,” he said, pressing his soft lips against my temple. I rolled my eyes and scoffed, “Queen and gorgeous? Make up your mind, sir.”“I can't; that's the problem. You are my queen because you rule my world, and you are gorgeous because look at you,” he said, his eyes flickering over what he could see of my body.My cheeks grew warm, and I forgot my following line of words and pressed my lips together. Oliver always could do that to me, making me speechless. His compliment hit hard, and knowing he hardly ever had any planned out made it even more incredible.I covered my face, and he pried my hands away. “I mean every word.”“Any plans for the
"Everything looks tiny from up here," I spoke after staring out for a while. Oliver was now seated behind me with his arms around my waist as we stared down from the height."Everything is really smaller than we make it out to be, except faith and love." He responded.I glanced at him, my eyes full of amusement. "Faith, that's new. Is that a newly found focus?"He smiled and tightened his arms around me. "Not new; I always knew this. Life is fleeting and unpredictable, and it is smaller than most people would like to believe. Love and faith, however, aren't. They persist even after our departure. The greatest is love.""When did you get so smart?" I asked, leaning in to place my head on his chest.He kissed my hair and said, "I don't know.""I want to stay here," I blurted out before I could stop it. "It feels quiet, peaceful, and whole. It doesn't make sense, but it does to me. That feels selfish, though.""There is nothing selfish about wanting peace for as long as you can," he repl
The next week, we followed the activities on Oliver's to-do list because they kept getting better with each day that passed. Oliver's call to the correctional centre where Cecil was being held was what I needed to snap back to reality, and I haven't seen her since then. We had moved on to enjoy our honeymoon days.Every morning, except for the days marked out, we would make love; it was the duty of whoever woke up first to initiate it. Oliver always wakes up first, so as soon as I woke, he'd kiss me, and his hands would begin their work. I didn't complain. It was nice when he did all the heavy lifting. After the first thing on the list, we would bathe and order breakfast. With that out of the way, he would proceed to reveal the order of the day. Some days, we went sightseeing; others, we went swimming, and yesterday, we joined the locals' festival and learned a few things about the state. I didn't think I would enjoy myself so much, but I did. Oliver always gave his best. Did I forget
Oliver's POV Vivian didn't give me the news of Julie's death; Sir did, and he only heard it because of his connections. According to him, a drunk driver had run the red light and collided with Julie's car. She had been in the ICU since last night, and Vivian had been at the hospital, where she had fought for her life until a few hours ago. There was still so much information that came in that I wasn't mentally prepared for, but I had to listen. He told me we had to be there for Vivian. We had a few more days left on our honeymoon when the call came in, but we knew we couldn't stay, and even if we did, we wouldn't enjoy it. Ela began packing immediately after I told her the devastating news. I didn't have to tell her to; she did it anyway. When I asked her why she asked no questions, she said she had witnessed our tight bond and knew what that meant. I had to be with my best friend, and it didn't matter that the honeymoon was over. What mattered was Vivian, who needed all the support
Imela’s POVMy phone rang, and as I picked it up, I saw Ingrid as the caller. I smiled and answered, “Hello, Ingrid.”“Hello, Imela.”“How are you?” I asked, picking up my diary from the nightstand drawer and sliding it into my bag.“I’m great. I figured you would return from your honeymoon today and wanted to call and say congratulations to you once again.” She said.My smile remained, and I didn’t try to tell her that we had been back for a while, as our plans had been cut short because of the tragedy that befell Vivian. If she didn't see it on the news, there was no reason to bring it up.“Thank you, Ingrid, and how is Fermín?” I asked, carrying on the conversation.She stayed silent, and that didn't seem good. “That’s why I called.”My heart slowed, thinking of the worst that could have happened. “Okay, what's wrong?”“He asked me to marry him,” she said quietly.My eyes widened, and I covered my mouth. This was better than I expected. “What did you say?”“I said yes this morning,
Oliver’s POV “Tell me you will not do anything stupid.” I said this to Vivian, who was at the end of the line. It has been a month since Julie’s passing, and Vivian isn’t the same man he used to be. He got into trouble last week when a paparazzi followed him to take pictures of him when he went out for a walk. The video showed him grabbing the man by the collar, then reaching for the camera, which he smashed to the ground. Some criticised his actions as toxic; others called for respect for people grieving. Being the least busy of all of us, Sir stayed with him almost always, but Vivian didn’t like that very much. He had fallen out with Sir a few times, but because he was the stronger one, Sir always tackled him or beat him up if that was necessary. I saw him yesterday, and he had a bruised lip, courtesy of Sir. Vivian announced his return to his company this morning, and it had been all over the news. Was he mentally capable of returning? Yes. Was he emotionally ready to return? No.
Imela's POV “Are you excited?” I asked Ocean, who looked less stressed about starting preschool today. I had read up on how the first day would go for a child, and I saw pictures of crying babies and articles saying many children had difficulty coping with their first day of preschool. Ocean looked the least afraid or sad, which gave me a little assurance that it wouldn’t be so bad. He had Captain America’s bag on his back and his lunch box in his hand as Oliver carried him towards the entrance. “Si, mama.” He replied with a smile. My baby was becoming independent. I turned to Oliver, and he was speechless as well. He had an early morning assignment at the office, but we both wanted to witness this before beginning the day. We took a few pictures of Ocean's first day, and we'll each have a copy to take with us. When we finished with the class teacher, we waved Ocean goodbye before leaving. “Do you think he will be okay?” I inquired, staring up at Oliver. Ocean had been going to d
Third POV "You are thinking," Oliver said, pulling Ela out of her thoughts as they stepped back into the room. She shrugged it off as casual, but she knew better than to lie to him. She had been different since returning from work and was still shaken by Greg and Ian's visit to the office earlier today. It stayed on her mind and replayed repeatedly, even though she didn't want it to. She couldn't think about it. They had taken a walk in the park with Ocean, Nina, and Jesse earlier as a way for the two children to bond. Taking these kinds of walks helps to take her mind away from the stress most days, but they didn't help today. Throughout the walk, she drifted away with her thoughts and zoned out of conversations. "Something is on my mind," she agreed. "Tell me about it." She told him about the strange visit she received this afternoon from the McCann brothers at the Garcia firm, asking—more like threatening her to convince him to join forces with their illegal business. Minut
Three months later "You can stop here, Caeser; I will walk on from here," Imela said as the gate came to the cemetery gate. Caeser turned off the car and got down to open the door for her. She told him she would not be long, and he waited for her. She stared ahead at the gravestone not so far from her and walked towards it. "It's been a while, Grandma," she said, placing the red rose on the grave and sitting beside it. Today was the perfect day to visit because Imela had less work on her plate, which made her close early. Having already had it in mind to visit sometime this week, she headed here after leaving the hospital to do the needful before going back home. The last time she came to see was a few days after Christmas, and that was six months ago. She had so much to say then because a part of her felt she was going crazy and needed direction and focus. Since then, she hasn't found the time to return to the series of events taking place around her. "I want you to know that Oli
Third POV Max was almost done with his tie when Nina stepped back into the room. “I just got off the phone with Imela,” she said, slipping her phone into her purse. They were getting ready for Jayden’s release party. It was a get-together and celebration with family and close friends only, and since there wouldn’t be many people, Sir offered Lockwood Corner for the night. It was a secluded VIP corner in his club in the heartthrob of the city. There will be music, drinks, and fun. This would be Jayden’s official welcome. His final hearing was this morning, and with the new evidence that came to light, the judge had no choice but to exonerate Jayden of the charges of drug trafficking. With the news of his release came the need to celebrate the victory. The troublemakers will not pass up this opportunity. Nina was already dressed in a red maxi dress, which stopped over her knee. Her blonde hair was in a neat bun, and her makeup highlighted her already attractive features. Max's eyes g
Joe's body hit the ground with a loud thud. I gasped and took to my heels, running into the bushes around the building as fast as my legs could take me. I didn’t have direction; I just didn’t want to die. I heard another gunshot, and pain shot through my shoulder the next second, taking me down. The gun had grazed my shoulder, and the protection I got was from my dress. I hid behind a tree in the woods, keeping my presence there as minimal as possible. I heard careful footsteps heading to where I was, and I knew it was Cecil's. I had to calm down and calculate my next move if I hoped to stay alive. I counted down the last step, and the first thing I saw was the gun held out. With calculated risk, I reached for it, and we both struggled. Finally, I took it from her hand, but before I could point it at her, she slammed her palm against my hand, and the gun fell out into the bush. I threw a quick fist, which met her in the face, and before she could recover, I kicked her onto the gro
Imela's POV Cecil's phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket to look at it. "It's Dad," she said, stepping back from Joe. "I have to take this; keep an eye on her." She instructed before stepping away from the room. Joe stood at the door with his hands folded over his chest. He had kept his gaze anywhere but near me. It didn’t take a genius to know he was only in this to make Cecil happy. Sad, he didn’t know there was no way to make a crazy person like Cecil happy. He was as much a victim of Cecil and Marlo as all of us were. “I understand.” I told him, and this brought his attention to me. “What?” "Why you threw your life away for her? You love her, and we will do anything for the one we love.” I replied. “You hurt her; she believes she has to do this because of what you did to her.” His defensive response came, sounding like someone brainwashed by love. “Cecil is not a bad person; she has been judged, misunderstood, and abandoned by those she once called family. You did
"I was never crazy. It was you all along." Imela said as Cecil got down from the Jeep and walked towards the uncompleted building on the left side of the road, and Joe pulled her along. Cecil and Joe had taken Imela out of the Garcia Group firm and into the parking lot, where she saw Benjamin unconscious beside the car. She tried going to him, but Joe held onto her and pulled her into the black Jeep parked opposite her car. "You killed Kimberly and framed me; you killed Elena; you tried to kill Ocean, just like you tried to kill me many times. Did you kill Chan, too?" Imela demanded. If Chan were alive, he would have uncovered the truth that Cecil was out and behind everything a long time ago. He had died suddenly at the beginning of it all, and she had believed the McCann brothers had done it. That wasn't true; Cecil was behind the murder of Detective Chan. The satisfied look that appeared on Cecil's face further proved it. "He helped you put me in prison; he had it coming. Beside
Oliver's POV Flashback I made my way over to where Nina stood, waiting for me outside the restaurant. I didn’t know why she had decided to meet outside today when we had always met at my place. We hugged and walked into the restaurant for lunch like every Saturday. After I got my place, she began coming there, and we would cook and eat and catch up on everything we had missed out on during the week, from study to work and everything. “You know, when you said you wanted to see me, I thought you would come to the house like you used to,” I said as we took our seats at the table on the left side of the restaurant, close to the window. She gave me a half smile and said, “I cannot come; Cecil is there.” She didn’t try to hide it, and most of the time, we have just moved on from the discussion altogether. She disapproved of Cecil, and I saw it in her body language and how quiet she tended to be whenever she was around Cecil. I brought Cecil along for her last birthday party, and Nina
Trigger Warning! Violence in this chapter Third POV It all started a year ago. “The first time I saw you, I knew a day would come when I would need you,” Cecil said as she stepped towards Gloria, a splitting image of her. She had met her when she travelled to Puerto Rico on vacation two years ago. They didn’t look so alike at first because Cecil had red hair, a thin eyebrow, and pink lips, while Gloria had blonde hair, a full eyebrow, and red lips. Cecil could also tell Gloria was financially struggling, and it showed in the way she was dressed. Cecil didn’t know why, but she wanted Gloria close, so she helped her into the States, waiting for her to get her papers. After the sentence was carried out, Cecil reached out to Gloria, telling her to play out her part, and in return, she would get her the papers she needed. She already had connections with not only the correction centre but also the warder, so leaving the prison was easier, and all Gloria had to do was pretend to be her u
Imela's POV Jean’s words echoed in my head. The result of the many tests showed I couldn’t have killed Kim; there were more than the two of us at the apartment; someone else had killed her and framed me for it. They had hoped I wouldn’t wake, having injected me with a high dose of lead and solvent. Waking up had thwarted their plans, and the test results vindicated me and showed my innocence.I wanted to think of who could have been responsible for this. I didn’t want to say Cecil; after all, she was in my head. I couldn’t give her credit. Cecil was in prison, and even if she wasn’t, she alone couldn’t have pulled off all of this. There was someone else—someone close to me, someone who knew me and could influence my mind.My phone rang in my bag as I stepped out of the car, snapping me out of my thoughts. I thanked Benjamin, who held the door open for me to step out and pulled the phone out of my purse to see Nina as the caller ID. I answered and pushed open the door. “Nina, hey,” I
My lashes fluttered, and I released a loud yawn. I covered my mouth to reduce the noise so I wouldn’t wake Ela up, but when my hand dropped from my face, I found her already awake and sitting in bed. “You are awake,” I said, noticing her intense gaze on the ceiling. “I remember,” she said. I pulled myself up to sit down, and my brows furrowed, wondering if it was what I was thinking, but I waited for her to keep speaking. “Not everything, but I remembered how I got to Kimberly’s apartment. She called me and sent me her address. She was going to call off the engagement with Marcel and wanted me to hear her reasons first.” She said. “The police checked your phone after you were arrested; they didn’t find a call or any such message,” I told her. Her gaze moved to me. “I am telling the truth.” “I believe you,” I replied, meaning every word. Getting this memory back was a miracle, and this meant there were more than two people in Kim’s apartment, as at the time of her death, the thir