123Alora's POV I paced around the living room,. The sound of my footsteps slapping against the wooden floors bounced around the walls, and while I would have usually found that annoying, I couldn't exactly bring myself to care. I had bigger things to worry about. My heart dropped to my feet, and I fought the urge to curse out loud. It had been happening more frequently than I'd liked and I couldn't shake off the feeling that it was a sign that something bad was happening. Not me though.Fredrick. A shiver raced down my spine, and I crossed my hands around myself. I was nervous, anxious, and whatever word that could be used to describe how I was feeling, and I didn't like it. I wanted to calm down, to stop feeling like this, but how the hell was I going to do that when Fredrick was still unconscious? He'd been unresponsive since last night, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. When I'd followed him yesterday, I'd kept an open mind, but never in a million years d
124Alora's POV You know those moments when you know what you're about to do is a bad idea and could potentially come back to bite you, but you still go ahead to do it anyway? That was the situation I was in right now . Was I going to regret it? Maybe. Did that reduce my zeal in any way? Not a chance. I found a parking lot as quickly as I could, before getting down from the said vehicle. For a moment there, I'd almost forgotten to lock my doors. On the one hand, I wasn't sure anything bad was going to happen. What if I didn't lock my doors, what were they going to do? Hot-wire my car? Probably. I let out a small sigh. I was fidgeting and rambling on about all the thoughts in my head, and if that wasn't a tell take sign that I was nervous, then I had no idea what would suffice. My heart slammed in my chest, and I really thought it would break through at any moment from now. If that was going to happen though, I really would have preferred if it happened when I had gotten to m
125Fredrick’s POV A groan slid past my lips as I finally stirred awake. My limbs hurt, and I could already feel a burning coming up at both sides, and I wanted nothing more than to curse mother nature. My head was on fire, and if I didn't know myself better, I would have said a group of monkeys had snuck into my brain, and started a band in there. It was banging so hard my ears were ringing. In fact, when I'd first opened my eyes, my vision was hazy, and I was left with just one minute to figure out if I was blind or not. Even after sleeping for hours, it did nothing to make me feel better and I hated it. But did you really sleep though? A voice whispered in my mind. I wouldn't say he was wrong. I hadn't been able to sleep a wink since the doctor did whatever he did to bring me around again. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but a small part of me really wished he didn't do all that he had done. He could have delayed a little longer, or given me an extremely high dosage. A
126Alora's POV Growing up, I'd heard what they referred to as the walk of shame, but I couldn't exactly say I had experienced it before. The ones who said they had in fact experienced it, I told myself they were simply exaggerating and there was no way it could be as bad as they made it out to be. I was wrong. Freakishly wrong. I gulped, but it did nothing to push down the shame and guilt I'd been harboring since I left Deutchmond enterprises. It was a lot if I was being honest, and I really didn't see it going away any time soon. It was here to stay, unless I did something about and Eliaz and his wife would stop rubbing it in my faces. Right now, none of them seemed the least bit possible. A small sigh slid past my lips as I ran a hand through my hair. The drive home was eerily quiet, save for the occasional car honks once in every ten minutes. The roads were deserted, and I couldn't help but laugh at the large contrast of held, opposed to the state of my mind right now.
127Alora's POV Fredrick going in and coming out again wasn't the plot twist I saw coming, at all. When he'd turned his back to me, I really thought it was over, and I'd decided that if he didn't come back, I would let him be, before finding a way to salvage the situation. I had no idea how I would have done it, but best believe I was more than grateful that he'd decided to come around. We sat in silence for what seemed like the longest time. If I was in any way correct, it had been approximately thirty minutes since he sat down, since he last spoke. Now, thirty minutes later, he still hadn't said a thing. I was anxious. It was eating me up and it made me wonder how he would be feeling inside. I wasn't the one about to explain something that was probably traumatic, and here I was panicking like I'd shot someone. I sucked in a deep breath, before letting it out again. From the corner of my eyes, I watched Fredrick sitting to the side, and my heart broke into a million pieces.
128Fredrick’s POV Talk it out, they said. It'll make you feel light and a hundred times better, they also said, but I never believed. I really just thought it was another load of bullshit people had come up with. Until I got to experience it myself, that is. When Alora strolled back into the house last night, best believe that had to be the biggest shock of my life. Honestly, I thought I was going to have a heart attack just by staring at her. Yes, she'd been gone for a while, but I didn't expect her to be back so early. Perhaps if Henry hadn't shown up, I would have gone back to bed the moment I realized she was nowhere to be found. But no, he just had to rear his ugly head and ruin things for me. Literally. If I hadn't said it before, or if it wasn't so obvious, I hated him. With every fiber of my being too. I always knew Alora was an angel, but last night, she'd proven it to me. Heaven knows I half expected her to lash out at me yesterday. She had every right to though,
129Fredrick's POV I needed a drink, and it wasn't even noon yet. My head was a mess, and it didn't help that my phone had been blaring up since I peeled my eyes open this morning. I honestly thought it was good news. All thanks to the stunt Cynthia and I had pulled the other day, it was only normal that we anticipated a little bit of good newsNo, scratch that, a whole lot of good news. They'd started rolling in around six am, with a lot of potential investors rooting for us s d trying to get on our side once the contract was handed over to us. It was a certainty at this point because only Alora and I were the strongest contesters, but now that she was out of the picture, it automatically meant I was getting it. All I needed to do was be patient, while the council decided. Like that wasn't going to help me in any way. It paid to have one of the council members on your side, and to make his decision making a bit easier, I'd launched a new team to go online and create awarenes
130Alora's POV When I'd explained our proposed plan to Fredrick, even I had no idea what I was doing. It was just something I had come up with, and luckily for me, he went ahead with it. Whether or not it was going to work out, we were just going to have to find out whenever he got back today. As for me, since I couldn't exactly do anything else, I decided to do some snooping. What I would be snooping for or even where the hell I was going to start, I had no idea. All I knew was that I needed to find something as leverage over Eliaz and my stepsister, or else, I was going to have to kiss that contract goodbye. While it sounded relatively simple, there was still one question that hung loosely in the air. Where the hell was I going to start from? There was no way I could go back to the council, I doubt they would even give me another chance. I'd messed up all of the chances I'd been given in just a couple of days, and I wasn't sure they had any left. I also didn't want to go
141Alora's POV I adjusted my hat, just so I could stop any ray of sun from slipping through. I wasn't a big fan of the outdoors, so best believe that if I had a chance, I wouldn't even be here. I knew I didn't, so what did I do? I pressed my lips into a thin line, while forcing myself to enjoy the view. If I was being honest, it wasn't too bad. My only annoyance was the fact that it was way too sunny, despite the weather forecaster saying we were going to have a cool and almost rainy day. I'd been in the park for the past hour and some minutes, and I wasn't exaggerating when I said I hadn't seen a single cloud in the sky. It was all sun and sun, and if I hadn't brought out my sunscreen, I probably would be melting by now. A small giggle was all it took to pull me out of my mini rant. I was miserable, yrs, but apparently, all I needed to pull me out of that foul mood was a glance at the little bundle of joy just standing a couple of feet away from me. A little girl not olde
140Alora's POV I couldn't believe my ears. The words echoed in my head and all around me, but no matter how many times I heard it, I just didn't want to believe it. It sounded too bad to be true, didn't it? “Henry..” he stuttered, clearly breathless. “Henry's the father of Cynthia's child.” When I'd rushed home to tell Henry, I wasn't exactly sure what I was expecting. The little boy and his refence to Henry was surprising, but right now, I was flabbergasted, or whatever word that could debote the highest level of surprise. I knew Cynthia was a shrewd woman, but cheating, that was where I kind of expected her to draw the line. I pressed my eyes shut, and memories I didn't want to remember came rushing at me. The main reason she and Eliaz had actually gotten together in the first place, was because she had snatched him away from me. It was pretty obvious the reason she did that was to spite me, but with how long they'd lasted, I actually thought there had to be a tiny bit of
139Cynthia's POV I pressed my lips together, careful not to make sound. It wasn't that important, but any slip up right now could mess things up and that was the last thing I needed right now. I'd stressed so much, thought about it so much that I was certain I was going to run psycho at some point, but since that didn't happen, there was no way I was going to let my plans fall through at the last moment. Never. I wrung my hands together, before casting a small glare at the staircase. It led to our bedroom, but that wasn't what stood out to me. It was the fact that it was empty that made my heart boil. Where the hell was he? .I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. I was tensed up, and Eliaz wasting my time was only worsening matters for me. What the hell was he still doing up there? I had timed his movement perfectly, and by now he should be well on his way downstairs. So what the hell was keeping him for so long? Cynthia?” Someone called from behind me,
138Alora's POV I honestly thought the pastries were going to help, why? While I stood rooted in my spot, I'd seen a couple walk in here. They were young and the lady looked really down, same as her boyfriend, but the moment they walked past me with a steaming plate of whatever it was they ordered, all it took for his girlfriend to sport a bright smile was just seven minutes. Yes, I counted. As for her Boyfriend, his reaction was when faster. He was all better in less than four minutes. Four minutes! That was a record I never knew could be broken until now. If the pastries really did help, then why was I still confused as ever, even after downing my order a good twenty minutes ago? I stared down at my plate. It was empty, and while I would admit that it tasted really nice, why didn't it make me all happy instantly? It has worked for them, so why was I the exception? Was mine going to take longer because I was alone? Or perhaps it had to do with what they had ordered. What if I
136Cynthia's POV I drummed my fingers against the tabletop, not minding the uneven rhythm that reached my ears. At intervals, I would scratch my nails against the said tabletop, just so I could pull out an obnoxious creaking sound. Whenever I did that, I made sure to drag it on for as long as possible. I might be exaggerating, but I was sure whoever was in the rooms next to mine would be regretting why they'd decided to check into this particular hotel today. I was frustrated, and I'll be damned if I was the only one to experience it. “Can you stop?” Henry spoke up, his voice riding against the annoying background. He was loud, and I watched irritation flash in his eyes. If anything it only fueled my motivation and I smirked. “Cynthia, stop.” I did the exact opposite. I dug my nails deeper, making it sound more horrifying than the last. He winced in response, and just when he thought he was going to pass out, I stopped. “What is wrong with you, Cynthia?” He shot at me insta
136Alora's POV I was stunned, and no matter how many times I blinked back, it did nothing to erase the scene in front of me. In fact, I rubbed at my eyes, hoping that at least something was going to change, but it didn't. Instead, Henry inched closer, a huge grin on his face. The moment his gaze landed on me though, his smile faltered. What was he doing here?” “Mummy, mummy, mummy.” The little boy bounced happily on his feet. “Look what we got. They're so yummy and smell soo….”“Shush!” Cynthia's interruption was so harsh it had me flinching too. “not another word from you. Understand?” “But….” The little boy's face fell immediately. “I was just trying to…” “I said quiet!” Cynthia snarled. A small gasp slid past the boys lips, and he took a step back in fear. It was obvious he was scared to the bones and had obviously gotten Cynthia's message, but apparently it wasn't enough for her. “I'm going to smack the living daylights out of you and….”“Hey!” I caught hold of her han
135Alora's POV Personally, I hated airports, and it made no sense because I wasn't sure my hatred was being spun by something specific. Yes, I loved the fact that it gave an avenue of some kind of escape, you could literally hop on a plane and find yourself on the other side of the world, and while it was beautiful to think about, I also couldn't ignore how noisy it was. All around me, people chattered as they moved about, pulling millions and millions of baggage with them. A lot of people were with their families, and I didn't miss how the younger children wailed, or couldn't help from wandering around the darn place. Like that wasn't enough, the annoying voice on the Public announcement system just wouldn't shut up. Where was she when I missed my flight? Thanks to her, I was going to have to reschedule my meeting, something that took me an entire month to book. Thanks to the hullabaloo with Elias and his wife, Fredrick and I had decided to move our focus onto something el
134Cynthia's POV I took a sip of the orange juice in my grip, before setting it down on the little stool by my side. Once that was done, I picked up the book I'd discarded earlier. It was a mystery thriller book that revolved round the murder of a wealthy business man and the many people involved in his death. I wasn't even done with it yet, but I could already tell who the antagonist was; his wife. While I was an avid reader of romance, I'd decided to switch it up today, why? I was simply feeling like it, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that maybe somehow, I was going to find myself in her shoes. If I didn't want to get caught, I was just going to have to be careful, and what other way to be careful than to gather hands on knowledge? A low smile grazed my lips, but it was far from warm. My eyes fluttered shut and apparently, that was the sign my mind needed to replay yesterday's events. I should have known something was wrong the moment I stepped into the conference
133Alora's POV I could feel the eyes of everyone in the office on me, and for the first time in forever, I actually liked it. Their eyes bored in my skin, and I could see so many emotions dancing in their eyes. What their mouths couldn't say, I made a quick guess of the many questions they had in their minds. What was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be back home with her bad husband? Was he really mad? Did she know about his condition as well, or was she shocked like everyone else? I could go on and on, but I decided not to. You didn't need to be a mind reader to be able to get a glimpse of people's mind. From their body reactions, you could already tell how they were feeling For example, Laura. She was sitting faraway from me, but with the way her fingers clasped around the papers on the desk, you could tell she was furious. A lot of the others whispered in hushed tones, while pointing fingers at me, but if there was one person who was strangely smug, it happened to