Gail White, Jayden's mother, had abandoned both him and his younger siblings with their father twenty years ago. Sarah Lane, their aunt, who was a young widow, became their guardian twelve years ago after the death of their father. She took them in as her own, caring for them and never relenting in showing support the best way she could for all three.They had all grown to regard her as the mother they never had. Sarah had a weak heart all her life, and it had gotten worse during Jayden's trial two years ago. However, because of the pressure on the ground, Sarah kept the illness to herself, only speaking about it when Jayden was in prison after passing out at work.Jayden wanted to be there for her just as she had been there for him and his siblings, but he failed. He would go on to spend over a year in prison while his aunt rutted in the hospital ward, her condition deteriorating with every day that went by. When he came out of prison, and he visited her in the hospital, she couldn't
The truck came to a stop after over an hour of driving, and Lydia saw the name of the bank that looked so familiar. "Is this the one?" the middle-aged truck driver who had introduced himself to Lydia as Benard Woods asked.Lydia told him she needed his help when she stopped him on the road after walking for under thirty minutes. When he asked where she was coming from and going, she told him she was running away from her abusive husband and was going to the bank to get the money she needed to run away. At first, she wanted to lie, but she decided against it. Benard then told her to enter the car, promising to drop her where she needed to go before continuing his journey.On the drive, he told her about his family, having grown up in an abusive household where his father would constantly beat his mother before she finally stood up to him. Lydia's case wasn't the same. She wasn't running away because her abuse was as severe as the one Benard's mom experienced; it wasn't close, but she
It had been an hour and fifteen minutes since Lydia came to the boarding transit, waiting for the train that had been said to leave in one hour and thirty minutes when she arrived. That left her with less than fifteen minutes before she would leave. Lydia chose to wait after she was told the departure time because the option of going back home wasn't one she had. She had lived in Boston with Kevin after they ran away from their parents; this became their home, and for the next couple of years that would pass, that saying would be true. Even after getting her degree, she returned to be close to what she considered home, but she had no home in Boston anymore. Jayden White was right; she had no one, friend, or brother. There was no reason to stay.Her mind returned to the penthouse where she had run away from, thinking about what would be going through the minds of the maids and workers at the house. She wondered if Jayden already knew and couldn't help wanting to see the look that would
Lydia's eyes snapped open, and her eyes fixed on the familiar ceiling. It took a moment, but she finally figured out that she was back in her room at the penthouse. She sat up immediately and placed her hand on her head, trying to remember how she landed here. She remembered getting away from here; her great escape was successful, so how was she back here in this hell? Was it all a dream? Did she dream of everything? It felt too real to be a dream. She glanced down at herself and saw she was still in the clothes she ran away with, but her shoes were off, so it wasn't a dream. She plunged deep into her mind, and the memories returned like a flood.Adam.He brought her back. His boss told him to, and that was what he did.Jayden White.He would be mad at her for sure and would want to exact punishment on her for running away. That caused her significant ache and discomfort."I'm going to die here." She whimpered out and pressed her hand against her raging heart.Still, she didn't under
Following Jayden's words, Lydia returned to her room to get dressed in a black dress she found in her wardrobe. Thirty minutes later, she was dressed and down to meet Jayden, who seemed to have never left his spot in the living room, and together they drove off. Jayden handed her a card with words written on it while they rode to the cemetery."What do I do with it?""Memorise those words; you will need to say a few of them," he replied.She glanced at the card with more than a few sentences written and then back at Jayden. "I won't be able to memorise them with how little time I have.""That is not my business. If you hadn't run away yesterday, you would have gotten them then." He replied nonchalantly.She glared at him and wished she could set him on fire with her gaze.The car pulled up in front of the cemetery, and Lydia stepped down but avoided Adam's gaze; neither did she say anything to him. Jayden walked over to her and offered her his hand, which she reluctantly took, and tog
Lydia gulped the glass of wine in her hand and stepped away from the corner and towards Jayden, who spoke with Aunt Sarah's long-time best friend of thirty years, Betty Pierce while holding a glass of whisky in his hand. The older woman with beautiful grey hair falling over her shoulder turned her attention to Lydia as she noticed her approach, and her eyes warmed up.Jayden noticed the change in the older woman's expression, and his head turned to find Lydia. Unlike Betty, Jayden's expression didn't soften at her sight; if anything, it hardened with suspicion."I'm certain Sarah would have loved her had she gotten to meet her," Betty gushed helplessly. "She is so beautiful."Lydia's head dropped at Betty's flattery. She hadn't been called beautiful in years, and hearing those words warmed her up from the inside out. She didn't even know if she was beautiful anymore."Thank you, Mrs. Pierce," Lydia replied, her cheeks still warm."Call me Betty." The older woman encouraged, reaching o
Lydia couldn't tell how she found sleep, but she did. It was a few minutes before midnight when she finally found sleep. She didn't leave her room, though; she didn't dare to after the stunt she pulled, and no one came by. The guests at home had all taken their leave from the house, leaving her alone with Jayden White and his siblings. Her heart never beat steady from 8 p.m. when the last guests, Max and Nina, left until she finally fell asleep hours later because she feared Jayden would come into her room and choke the life out of her.None of that happened, and she was away to witness another day. She had had time to think of all her poor choices yesterday; she should never have aggravated him. She should have played her part like she consented to do. That would have given her a bit of protection, and now she was exposed. Not only did she try to run away, but she also acted contrary to her stipulated duties. She messed up big time.The door clicked from outside, and Lydia ran up fro
Jayden had a bittersweet feeling as he drove his twin sibling to the airport, where they would board the flight. Sweet because they were so close to accomplishing their dreams individually and bitter because that meant months apart unless he decided to visit. They had come to visit him a year ago while he was still in prison, serving time. They informed him about their studies and visited the hospital to see Sarah before they left.Jayden didn't think he would be out within the next year, and so he charged Jireh with the responsibility of taking care of Jade, even though she explicitly told him she could take care of herself. He hadn't gone to visit them since he came out and had only spoken to them via Skype call until Aunt Sarah's death. He wished he had more time with them, but the two had their whole life ahead of them, and they needed to achieve everything they wanted to first, and then they would get all the time in the world with them. They had grown so much, so he doubted they