050Eliaz's POV I was all for cliffhangers and dramatic endings, but not when it involved me. Absolutely not. I hated that with every fiber of my being and I usually tried my level best to avoid it, but tell me how the hell I was going to avoid this. Time seemed to slow to a halt, but I e thing was constant, Cynthia's last words ringing loudly at the back of my ears. “Is that why you have those raunchy pictures of her then?” Her voice echoed with each second that passed . “tell me why you have those kind of pictures at the back of your drawer?”I didn't want to believe it, I didn't want come to the conclusion that she had really said those words, but just because I didn't believe it didn't make it any less true. She'd said it, she'd found out about my dirty secret and it was now in the open. Shit. “What's wrong Eliaz?” Her voice brought me back to the present. I winced at the sassy undertone that had made its way to her but I masked it almost instantly. “Cat got your ton
051Alora's POV It'd been a couple of days since I last laid my eyes on Laura. And by a couple of days, I really didn't mean two days. I was talking about a full blown week and it had been radio silence from her. When the first day had passed, I felt a little bit of relief. She obviously needed time to get her act together and plan her next move, and since I had her assurance of getting me out of here in a matter of two days, I didn't have anything to worry about, right? Wrong. I was totally wrong. I had everything to worry about, and the panic started creeping in after the fourth day. I hadn't heard anything from her and all my attempts to get to her had proved futile. The officers in the station weren't helping matters either. Noatter who I reached out to, none of them seemed to be willing to help me. I'd said it before and I was going to say it again, the police here was far from my friend. On one of the occasions, one of the janitors had offered me food and asked if I ne
052Fredrick’s POV The phone rang continuously in my ear, but there was no response. Even when the call disconnected, I picked it up and called again, but to no avail. As annoying as that was, it wasn't even the worst part. Right now, I was torn in between being annoyed by the fact that she wasn't answering, or the annoying ringtone that accompanied each call. I didn't regret a lot of things often, but when I did, it was usually intense, and right now, it was taking everything in me to not place her on the list of people I regretted working with. Yes, I was talking about none other than Laura Davies. When she'd walked up to me in my living room, I wasn't buying it, but surprisingly, she knew all there was to make me fold; my wife Alora. She was well aware that I was going to do anything for her, and she'd used that to her advantage. It was a wise plot on her part and I just prayed it wasn't a part of a bigger scheme I couldn't see. After our little deal, she'd told me the
053Alora's POV A small groan slid past my lips as I slowly peeled my eyes open. The moment I did that though, I regretted it instantly. An intense jolt of pain spread through my head,forcing me to press my eyes shut again. Even after closing my eyes, it did nothing to reduce the pain I was feeling. Vall me crazy or whatever, but I couldn't help but feel like the pain had intensified. My fingers flew to my head and I pressed down on it. It was a stupid idea, but right now, I wasn't thinking straight and all I wanted was for the pain to stop. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, it was, because no matter what I did, it didn't alleviate the pain. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes and it took everything in me not to start weeping uncontrollably. Since I had run out of ideas, I did the most random thing ever. I prayed. It wasn't anything elaborate. All I did was mutter underneath my breath that I wanted the pain to disappear, and in a matter of seconds, the most unimagin
054Fredrick’s POV The universe hated me. That was the only way to put it and the only reasonable conclusion I could come to at the moment. Even an overly superstitious person would agree with me at this point, because what the hell did I do to keep on deserving this? Just when I thought things were going to go well or when I was getting closer to the light at the end of the tunnel, something unexpected and totally unforeseen would ruin it all. I stared at the woman in front of me, hoping she would have something to say. We'd been quiet for the last couple of minutes, and as it stretched it only proved the rogue thought that was swirling around in my mind. What did she even mean? What did she mean by Alora was gone? Did she just disappear into thin air? She'd been at the police station for this long so why did she have to be not here, just moments when we were coming for her? It just didn't make sense. It didn't at all. “You're yet to give me an explanation, Laura.” I broke
055Fredrick’s POV I poured myself a glass of wine, before settling into the sofa. Just like the last time, the TV was switched on but with the volume to the lowest dial, and for a quick moment, I wondered exactly how that had happened. I had already taken a full glass and some more before I remembered I wasn't alone. “Shit.” I mumbled before getting up on my feet. A sheepish smile made its way to my lips as my fingers found the back of my neck, before itching at it slightly. “I'm sorry, Laura. It completely slipped my mind. What would you like to drink?”“It's fine.” She gave me a polite smile. “I'll have anything you give me.” “One minute.” I nodded, before dashing back to the counter. My eyes scoured the many variety of wine at my bar, and eventually I settled on something fruity and mild. After grabbing the bottle and a glass, I headed back into the living room before setting it down. “Shall we start?” She asked and I nodded, before proceeding to open the bottle. S
056Alora's POV Of all the things that could have happened to me in the world, I never zeroed my mind that this could be a possibility. According to recent statistics I'd heard, it was more common that I thought and even though it made sense, I just didn't want to believe that it applied to me. Why would it apply to me ? I was only a young woman who wanted to get her revenge for the wrong doing I had gone through five years ago. Was that too much to ask for? If cases were reversed or someone was being asked to judge this entire scenario from the outside, then they would easily come to the conclusion that I was the one who had done the betrayal and I was simply dealing with the fruits of my labour. Shit. “What's wrong, Blondie?” Someone's sharp tone was all it took to pull me out of my thoughts. “You don't look too good.”It was one of the prisoners, I was sharing a room with. Or more specifically, my prison roommates. I knew she was teasing me, but I didn't have the mental st
057Alora's POV I was familiar with the terms guardian angels saviours. I'd even heard of the phrase a knight in shining armor and they all depicted the same thing. Someone or an unforseen incident, coming in or happening at the right time. It was usually unexpected and could be said to be magical sometimes, but up until this moment, I'd never experienced it, until now. I stared at my guardian angel with wide eyes. I couldn't see my reflection, but I knew myself well enough to know that I had tears shining through. My lips quivered and I wanted to yell. But whether it was going to come out as a happy scream or a cry of anguish, i wasn't exactly sure. “Laura?” Somehow, calling out her name didn't make it any more believable. A tiny part of me whispered in my ears that if I blinked, she just might disappear into thin air where she came from. “Is that really you?” She nodded once, but I couldn't bring myself to believe her. Perhaps it had something to do with the unshed tears tha
089Alora's POV The living room was crowded, but it didn't exactly seem so. Why? Four people was already a crowd for me and I didn't need any more people. If Laura or anyone in here decided to bring in another guest, then best believe I would either crash out,or lose it in front of the newest addition. Yes, I was that anti social.A small sigh slid past my lips as I pushed that lone thought out of my head. My hands were wrapped around a warm cup of hot cocoa, and while the others discussed, I gently sipped on my beverage. It tasted heavenly if I was being honest, and with the slightly loud and chartering noise in the background, it created the perfect ambience for a business woman enjoying her wealth and affluence, after climbing so many obstacles to get to them. I would be lying if I said I didn't relate to that. Well, only a part of it. I was yet to overcome all the obstacles in front of me. They were a lot, and sometimes, something inside me always whispered that I just w
088Alora's POV I'd lost count of exactly how long I'd been standing here for, but there was one thing I was sure of, it was a lot. My ankle ached and my knees buckled underneath my. My feet was this close to giving way, and while crouching sounded like a good idea, it was a risk I wasn't exactly willing to take. Stay strong, Alora. I muttered more to myself than anybody else. You can do this. I'd been muttering that for a while now, but frankly, I wasn't sure i really believed it. I was exhausted. I wanted to run back to the comfort of my car, but I knew I couldn't do that. If I did, how was I going to see just what that sneaky Eliaz was up to? He'd been in the bar for the past hour now, I knew because I took record of when he'd first walked in, and he was yet to come out. I had no idea what he was even doing in there. Did he come with someone? Was he waiting for someone?.A million and one questions ran through my head,but the more I asked myself, the more confused I got
087Alora's POV I'd messed up, and Ethan's smirk grin wasn't the only indication I was getting. I felt it all around me. Up until now, it felt like I was under some kind of spell. Well, maybe that depiction wasn't exactly correct, but I'd allowed my anger and desperation to get to me, and now, I'd just shot myself in the foot. Ethan wasn't supposed to know what I'd just told him. My business was strictly meant for the court and the court only, but now, I'd just gone to spill to him, that the potential evidence I had was nowhere to be found. Way to go Alora, fucking way to go. “Can't got your tongue miss?” He called out to me. “I've never taken you to be the quiet type, but I guess it's true what the saying says; situation changes people, a lot. It's so sad to see that this is what you've been reduced to.”“I haven't been reduced to anything and you know it.” I shot back. “I'm simply just in a bad spot and…”“You've been in a bad spot since I knew you, Alora.” He cut me off.
086Alora's POV The door swung open, after what finally seemed like forever. In fact, it was forever because I had waited a long time, and by the time Ethan waltzed into the empty seat behind his desk that waa supposed to be his, it waa safe to say that he had wasted approximately two hours, if I wasn't mistaken. My eyes trailed the physique of his back as he took his sweet time getting to his chair. Like that wasn't enough, he even made a show of finally settling down. “Are you going to romanticize picking up the pens littered on your desk now?” The question had caught him off guard, but he was quick to gather the hens of his composure again. “Or are you finally going to realize that you're wasting both your time and mine?!”“Me?” He gasped slightly, but I didn't miss the skeleton of a smile making its way across his lips. “Is that what you really think? Well, I understand why you would think that though; you've been waiting for quite some time now. Unlike me, I've just clea
085Alora's POV Was I crazy? Well, we were about to find out. This wasn't going to be the first time I would think I was a little mental upstairs. I mean, if so many people had told me that, I liked to think it was true, even if it was only by a fraction. I used to get mad when I heard the word crazy being used to describe me. It ticked me off in most ways, but not anymore. Instead of always getting upset over it and all the time, I trained myself to see it as a compliment somehow and use it to better myself. If you thought about it, it was better to be referred to as the crazy lady, or crazy Laura rather than being pitied whenever your name came up. If they all thought I'd been crazy all this while, then they were about to get the biggest shock of their lives. For the second time, and more than I would actually like, I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel, anxiously waiting for the lights to turn green. It was almost the same scenario as this morning, the only diffe
084Alora's POV No. There was no way this was happening. I'd lost count of the number of times I'd said that since my move back to Los Angeles and while I could swear that the previous time I'd said that would be the last, my life has a funny way of rubbing it in my face. Over and over again. It was one thing to be hopeless, and another thing to have no sight of things turning around for you, but you still decide to hold on to that tiny piece of faith, that somehow, something good would come out of it. In case, you were doubting the latter was worse, because if life decided to pull out the rug from under your feet, then you were going to fall, hard. My ears buzzed, and even though Laura's voice echoed in my head, I refused to believe that what she'd said was true. “They're gone.” Her words swarm all around me. “The messages are gone.” While I was in prison and especially after my conversation with Laura, that was the only thing I could think about. Those messages. I knew
083Alora's POV One would think that at this point, and with everything I've been through, I would have gotten used to it by now. But no matter how much shit I've been through, I like to think that's the last. That doesn't necessarily work, and the phone call I received last night, was all the proof I needed in the world to finally understand that. I drummed my fingernails against the surface of my steering wheel. An unruly rhythm reached my ears, but I tuned them out the moment they got closer to my earlobe. On the outside, horns blared and honked at the traffic light that had been stuck at the red light for the past thirty minutes. At this point, I was beginning to think it might be a malfunction, because I had no idea what was causing the holdup. The zebra crossing in front of me was as empty as could be, so why wasn't the light changing? I sighed. If anything, it gave me some time to think. I'd sworn I wasn't going to do that too often, but life obviously had other plans
082Alora's POV I had no idea which was weird, the entire moments that led up to me fainting and waking up in the hospital, or Fredrick's weird energy. If I was being honest though, I would say it was Fredrick. I watched him from the windows in the living room as his car pulled out of the compound. I wasn't sure why, but his departure just didn't sit right with me. It sounded weird, and funny in a way. My mind went in a million directions, and so many thoughts crowded my head, but no matter how frazzled my brain was, my uncertainty didn't hint at the fact that he was probably cheating on me. It didn't. At all. For most women, that would be their first thought, but not for me. Fredrick wasn't that type of man, and he never would be. But at the same time, he had never been the kind to keep something from me. It was pretty obvious at this point. Usually, whenever he saw I was in a bad mood, he would do everything in his power to cheer me up. But throughout the drive home, he'
081Fredrick's POV The drive back home was silent. I hated it, but there was really nothing I could do about it. I wanted to speak, to try and ease out the tension that brewed in the car, but no matter how hard I tried or wanted to, I just couldn't bring myself to do anything. It just didn't feel right. I let out a sigh. I'd been doing that for the past couple of minutes now, but Alora didn't seem to complain. In fact, she hadn't reacted to anything I'd done and I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me. I snuck a glance at the woman in question. She had her head tilted towards the window, with her eyes trained on the scenery whizzing past. I knew Alora well enough to know that she wasn't staring at anything. She was looking at it, but she couldn't see anything. Even after Eliaz had left the ward, the tension that once brewed between the three of us didnt just go away. I'd stared at her for a couple of seconds, and it was obvious something was wrong . Very wrong. I was