Imela's POV. A kiss was the last thing I expected, but it was what I needed. I didn't realise it until our lips touched, and I didn't want him to pull away. The cars passing by flashed their lights, and a few blew their horns, but my mind did not move from Oliver. He'd kissed me before, but this was different; this felt special, and even after he pulled away, I touched my lips, feeling giddy. He stared at me as if making sure I was okay with all that. I was, and he must have seen it because he didn't offer any apology and instead smiled. We returned to the car, and Jimmy silently drove us off. Oliver intertwined our fingers, and I flushed at the response my hand sent to the rest of my body. I tried to take my mind away from what was happening and focus on the road. "Where are we going?" His silence made me glance at him, "Do you trust me?" He asked with his brow arched. "A little," I replied. A hurt look flashed over his face, and he held a hand to his chest. "Ouch, that hurts."
Oliver's POV. Ela had turned the game around with one swift but smart answer. She always brought her A game, as usual. I felt hot. I didn't plan for it to happen, but it did. The thought of her undoing a few buttons played in my mind, and I wanted to enact it. It didn't surprise me when I felt a strain on my trousers. Ela did this to me. I already wanted her, and if she had perhaps gone with the pace I set, I would have made it out of the night still able to control myself. Now, the only thing on my mind was pinning her against the wall and kissing her all over. Why did she have to call me hot, and why did she use that tone? If she wanted to ruin me, she already had. I wiped my mouth off with the serviette and poured the red wine into mine and her cups on the table. I picked mine up and gulped it, then placed it down and remained silent. "You have been quiet." She said, wrapping her hand around her glass and taking the wine to her lip for a sip. She wasn't affected by the chaos
Imela’s POV The only thoughts on my mind as I wrapped up the work on my desk were Ocean, Marcel, and rest. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Ocean’s face when he saw his latest Transformers gift. His daycare sent his monthly report via email, and Ocean was the most well-behaved child there, always curious and asking questions. He was a good boy, and good boys get rewarded. Well, it was a competition at this point. Oliver has visited Ocean a few times in the past month, and the first time he visited after the attack, Marcel thanked him. He brushed it off lightly and then told him there was nothing to thank him for; it was an honour to have been able to do something. After he left, Marcel told me Oliver was a decent man, which I agreed with. The court denied Zion's bail while he awaited his trial after a professional evaluation found him unstable. A week ago, his trial began, and if he were found guilty, he would serve up to fifteen years in prison. Oliver thought he should be locke
Warning! Triggering chapter: violence. I didn't have to go into much detail for him to know something terrible had happened to his baby sister. "Oliver is coming," I informed her, but she didn't appear relieved by the news. She picked up the veil on her bed and threw it over her head. "We can't wait for him to get here and risk Eddie arriving home before him; we must leave. I need to leave." She rambled off. I understand where her fear was coming from and her need not to have to see her abuser or be forced to stay any longer in a place that reminded her of her abuse. That fear was unlike any other; I knew it too well, and she was not being dramatic. "Eddie has cameras all over the house. I know he already saw your arrival and will be coming over to stop us by any means necessary." I wanted to tell her he wouldn't dare lay a finger on me, but Nina knew her husband better than I did. He was probably a monster that would hurt anyone who got in his way. "Where are your bags?" I ask
The choice of where to take Nina was an obvious one. She had called me, and even though Oliver had stepped in to save the day, I had to keep them with me. Oliver follows behind us in his car to make sure Nina is okay. We arrived home, and I took them all in. "Mommy!" Ocean called happily as he raced down the stairs to meet me. I bent and took him into my arms. "Oh, baby, how are you?" "Fine!" He smiled, and just then, I realised I hadn't pick up the transformer toy I got him from the office before I left. I took nothing from the office except my phone because I was in a hurry. His eyes moved to Nina and Talia, and then Oliver and Jesse." "People are plenty, mommy." I laughed and nodded. "We have guests; we will have them for a while." "Okay," Ocean said. Monique came and took Ocean away so she could have him bathed for the night, and he followed her. "We'll be out of your hair as soon as I get back on my feet," Nina promised as we climbed the stairs that led to the bedroom tog
He broke the kiss and placed his forehead against mine. "Ela," his breath fanned over my face, causing weakening shivers through me."Olly," I called, and my hand stroked his face.His hand came to touch mine, and he pulled back. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that." He began rubbing his thumb over my hand.I scoffed, "You're sorry for kissing me?" I demanded in frustration. "What is this?" "I do not understand."My teeth gritted, and in anger, I beheld the hot man who just awakened desires deep within me—desires he wasn't ready to satisfy. "A month ago, you asked me out on a date; I shouldn't have agreed to it, but I did because I thought, why not? I don't know what I did that made you distance yourself from me, and now you're apologising for kissing me. It's like you want me but don't at the same time.""I want you.""That's not what I've felt in the past few weeks." I stepped away from him.He shut the door and followed behind, "What you have felt has been me trying to be a gen
After dinner, I had to take my leave. I first hugged my adorable son, Ocean and told him to take care of his mother. He nodded and made me a genuine promise. Then I hugged Nina and told her I would be in touch. Ela walked me towards my car in silence. "Do you think she will leave him?" She broke the silence. "She left with her bags; I believe that already answered the question. I hope she leaves him and takes everything he ever owned with her." I answered. He didn't deserve to have a penny in his name after everything he had done to Nina. She deserves it all for what he put her through. Yes, even after everything, she harboured a soft spot for Eddie, but Nina rarely changed her mind once she made a decision. After a brief pause, Ela spoke. "The news about Eddie will be on every channel." "Good, I look forward to seeing his new 'fistically' rearrange face," I replied, genuinely looking forward to the bastard's new look. All cowards deserved to have the scar of shame. She laughed w
Cecil sat on the bed in a red sundress and white hat with her head bowed and unmoved as if she didn't hear a word I said.A lot happened tonight; I didn't want to add her unwelcome presence to the list. I hadn't seen her since I learnt the truth about her wickedness and schemes, and I didn't care. I didn't want anything to do with her, and that was the truth. After what she had done, I didn't want to be in the same breathing space as her. I feared I might lose it.I had sent her out of our house after the truth came out, but I couldn't return. The thought of stepping back there was revolting, and I knew it would only spike my rage, so I put it on sale the following week. I stayed at my family's penthouse across the city. I could begin carrying on from here. After two weeks of being on the market, I sold the house and, with it, every memory of Cecil and me.I took a step forward. "I asked you a question, and how did you get in?""That was Imela, wasn't it?" She inquired, raising her he
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