“Are you sure we should be there?” I asked as Ela helped me knot my tie.She glanced up at me with a furrowed gaze. “Is that even a question? Tonight is my father’s sixty-first birthday, and I am his daughter. Would you miss your father’s birthday just because there is bad blood between you and his fiancée?” she demanded.Honestly, I would.Robb and I shared a very close bond, and I couldn’t have wished for a different father, but I would decline an invitation to his birthday if it would help me preserve peace. Ela and I were two people who did things differently. Marcel was not only her father; he was her only parent, and she couldn’t sit it out. Besides that, it would also mean denying Ocean the chance of going and wishing him a happy birthday.I pressed my lips together and said, “I am just being worried.”She told me over two weeks ago that her talk with Marcel didn’t go as planned. He told her he had proposed to Kimberly, and Ela couldn't tell him what she wanted.When Ela raised
Imela’s POVA few faces here tonight were familiar, and I tried to get acquainted with them. Marcel and Ocean were gone for longer than I expected, but I figured this was their way of catching up with each other. Soon, Carol led Ocean back to us. I thanked her, and the older woman smiled and took her leave."What do you and Marcel do?”“He showed me the collection of his Legos. He built a city with them. It was big and beautiful.” He replied.“That’s nice to know.”“Can I go with Carol?" They are in the kitchen.I displayed a little reluctance. I wanted him to be close so I could keep an eye on him, but he probably missed Carol and wanted to be around them. The party was kid-friendly, but the boy wanted what he wanted.“Fine, but remember to stay with her until she brings you again.”Ocean beamed back and nodded before leaving with Carol.Oliver saw a senior partner of his from the Plane enterprise and told us to say hello to them, and seeing nothing wrong with the suggestions, I agre
Warning!! Graphic chapterOliver POV“What the hell did you just do, Imela?” Marcel's voice demanded after a gasp went through the room.I placed my glass of wine on the counter, where I stood and followed the voice.“She’s been so horrible to me, Marcel; she doesn’t like me. She believes I am out to ruin you and dispose of you. I tried to defend myself, but she struck me in the face.” Kimberly said in a pathetic tone, and I knew who the ‘she’ was: Ela. What did Ela do to her? And most importantly, what did she say to trigger Ela? Marcel may not see it, but his fiancée wasn't as innocent as she appeared.“That is a lie!” Ela's voice came up, but Marcel didn't want to hear it.“Enough!” Marcel cut in anger present in his voice.“Why don’t you tell him what you said about your plans for him?” Ela demanded, ignoring her father's command.“I said that's enough, Imela!” Marcel ordered. His hardened eyes remained on Ela even as he continued to speak. “You have never liked Kim, but I didn’t
I watched Imela pace around in the waiting room while we waited for the doctor to come. We arrived at the hospital three hours ago, and the doctor immediately rushed Ocean into the emergency room. They have been with him ever since. This gave us a little room for hope despite how slim it was. We had to hold on to hope. Imela had yet to say a word since we came into the waiting room. I saw a part of her die at the sight of Ocean’s unconscious body in my arms, and I felt as miserable as one who just lost everything. The party officially ended after Ela’s scream, though, because minutes later, the outside side of the hall was crowded with guests who had come for Marcel’s birthday party. Ela got on her knees beside me, sobbing as I came out of the water. I resumed CPR, and though I was able to get a lot of water from his system, there was a long way to go to save his life. I carried Ocean in my arms and ran through the crowd, gathering around and into the car. Ela and I entered the back
Imela’s POVI knew what I saw; it was Cecil. I hadn’t seen her in months, but she was at the party.Oliver didn’t say it; he didn’t have to say it, but it was on his face, in his eyes, and in how he stared at me. He didn’t believe me, not really, and he looked more guilty. I sounded crazy to him, and he blamed himself for it, but I wasn’t crazy, and this wasn’t his fault. There was a grand scheme at work, and we were all a part of it. Kimberly told me that at the party, and though she might have referred those words to her relationship with Marcel, they could have meant more.He cupped my face, and his thumb caressed my cheeks tenderly. “Cecil is in prison, my love,” he replied.I shook my head and took hold of his hands. “No, I saw her at the party while you performed CPR on Ocean. I thought I was seeing things because of the stress I was under, but I saw her again as we got into the car and drove here. She isn’t in prison; she’s out, and she is responsible for what happened. You bel
Oliver's POV Ela accusing Cecil of being the mastermind behind what happened to Ocean was the last thing I expected to hear, but she accused her and believed the words she said. I thought Ela had moved on from seeing Cecil, but she hadn't. I believed she had seen someone who she believed was Cecil; there was a high probability that the trauma of seeing Ocean in such a state had affected her mental comprehension and made her see things that weren’t real. How to deal with this was still something I had to think about. “Oliver!” I heard Max’s voice call from not so far away, and I turned around to find him approaching me. I was surprised to find him because I didn’t call him, and he was also the last person I would reach out to because of his lack of social personality. Yet I appreciated his presence. “Nina told me what happened,” he said as he got close and pulled me into a tight hug. “I am sorry, buddy.” He patted my back. When we pulled away, I called Sir and told him I needed his
Third POVOne week laterImela’s head turned, and she found Oliver standing at the door and staring at her. She turned away and went to the mirror, where she sat and adjusted her makeup. She had thought she was strong enough after leaving the hospital, but she wasn’t.She had spent the last week in the hospital because she didn’t want to leave, but just because she was at this point in her life didn’t stop the world from moving. Her role at the Garcia group called to her, and having abandoned it for over a week, she had to respond to it. Marcel had stepped in to help lessen the load in her absence, but there were executive decisions he could not make as he was no longer CEO, and that was what she came to do today. She hoped to put everything in place that would help her concentrate on the important thing right now: Ocean. She had broken down in the bathroom and cried her eyes out because she didn’t want to leave but needed to.“You don’t need to remain at the door; you can come in,” s
"Ela,” Oliver called as he turned to the door and found Imela standing there, staring at him and Ocean without stepping in.She jerked back a little, and her gaze lifted to lock in his, and she looked to have been in a profound dilemma. It was strange to see, and he wondered what could have caused her to be this disoriented. She had been beside Ocean since this incident, taking no more than a twenty-minute break, until today, when she had to attend work. Now he was awake, and she wouldn’t even come close. It was unlike her, making Oliver wonder what happened at the office.She forced a smile, stepped into the ward, and moved to stand beside Ocean, who was in bed, unable to move. She reached out and stroked his face tenderly.“Hey! How are you?” Ocean just stared at her, and though his eyes flickered, recognising her, he said nothing back.“He has difficulty speaking and doing simple movements, but the doctor said he will get better soon. It is nothing to worry about. They will take h
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