Avery watched as the hospital staff wheeled his sister and her driver into the hospital. She had been hurt but not as much as her driver. Wherever the car that collided with them had come from, he had no idea, but the car zoomed off in the blink of an eye and left them to deal with their mess. The car had hit the driver’s side and he wasn’t sure David, Mia’s driver was going to make it.Avery walked inside, grateful that the hospital administration had taken them in through the VIP entrance. At least it would stop them from being seen by onlookers in the hospital even though much couldn’t be done at the accident scene.Avery picked up his phone and dialed Jacob’s number and the latter picked up on the fourth ring, a hint of frustration in his voice.“Where are you?” was the first sentence out of Jacob’s mouth. Avery took three breaths to steady himself as he paced the lobby while waiting for his family to come.“Mia was in an accident Jacob.” He answered. There was silence on the othe
“Calm down, Mia.” Avery said to her but she stared daggers at him. So, he thought twice about going near her in order not to meet something worse than a flying vase.“You think I have not been aware of the whispering that has been going on between all of you?” She asked, this time around allowing Aaron share in her deadly stares. “You are doing dangerous things and putting our lives in danger?”“What the hell are you talking about, Mia. That was an accident.” Aaron argued.“Was it?” She snapped at him before turning back to look at Avery who stared at her, worried that she might not be as naïve and thoughtless as he might have made her to be. “Was that an accident, Avery?”He cleared his throat before speaking, knowing fully well that he needed to thread with care. She just lost her driver. Her driver who has been driving her around since she was a child, someone she shared a lot with. Right now, she was very sensitive.“It was an accident, Mia. You saw what happened. The car came out
“I can handle it, Avery.” Zoe replied immediately. The tone in his voice as he asked the question had scared her, but she wanted to know everything there was to know.“You are just saying that because you are curious.” He replied, closing his tablet.“Avery, you have to tell me.”“Well, it’s nothing.” He said. “I have to get to the company. Stay with Mia until I come get you.”Zoe rolled her eyes at him while he stood up and left. He had been serious when he asked if she could handle the truth, meaning that there was indeed something he was hiding and she needed to find out about it.Quickly, she finished her coffee and headed over to Mia’s room. Thankfully the teenager was alone, surfing through television channels. Zoe walked straight to her and took the couch provided beside her.Mia kept groaning and moving from one channel to the other with the television remote. When she couldn’t find anything suitable to watch, she turned the television off.“Nothing in the whole freaking telev
“You knew that I was married before?” Zoe asked him again.“Zoe?” Avery called to pacify her.“You knew about Francis and you pretended all this while?”“It wasn’t any of my business.” Avery tried to explain to her but she was not interested in any of it. He knew about Francis and she had been keeping it to herself all this while.“Did my mother tell you? Was it also included in your little discussion with her before you met me?” She asked, staring daggers at him and he shook his head immediately.“Then how the hell did you find out?” she asked coldly.Avery sighed and turned away from her. She watched him unbutton his shirt, pulling it out of his trousers. “Let’s just say I have my ways, Zoe.”“You have your ways? What else do you know about me?” She asked furious all over again. “What else have you secretly leant about me that I do not know?”“It is not a big deal, Zoe. You kept it probably because you didn’t want anybody else to learn about it. It is fine.”“It is not fine, damn it
Zoe woke up to see Avery’s face directly close to hers. He was watching her sleep with a very huge smile on his face. Last night had been very weird for the both of them. They had barely said more than ten words to each other and now, to have him smiling at her that way was confusing.She stirred on the bed and turned to her side in order to be able to get her face in good shape. Avery never woke her up in such manner before. In fact, with the way things were between them, she wasn’t expecting him to still be in bed at this time.It dawned on her immediately so she turned back to take a good look at him again. He was still dressed in his night trouser only that this time, his upper body was bare, but he still had that big smile on his face. That very big Simon smile that was now imprinted in her brain even after meeting him only once.“Simon?” She called just to be sure and his smile widened.Of course, it was Simon. Avery wouldn’t wake up that cheerful especially now that they were n
“I did not take the gun, Simon. I swear.”Simon continued to pace the garden, furious at her for losing the gun. Zoe watched him, wondering how someone so sweet a minute ago could turn into the angry fellow she was looking at now. He was angry with her and she could not understand why.“I told you it was important.” He said.“And I am telling you that I did not take it.”“That gun has been there for a while already now and no one has taken it. But the moment I showed it to you, it has gone missing.” He snapped at her with clenched teeth.“Then maybe someone probably saw it and took it.” Zoe answered, trying to defend herself but he wasn’t having any of it. She placed her hand on her temple and continued to look at the hole he built.It was strange enough that they were getting death threats but if guns were now going missing, what the hell was she supposed to do?Someone began to bang on the door of the garden. Zoe walked over to open it only to see Aaron and Jacob waiting. One was bo
Zoe shuddered at his words. She didn’t realize when she moved closer to him so that they were just few breaths away from each other. He continued to watch her with dreamy eyes as if he needed an approval before acting on his desires. When he saw that she was inviting him to make the move, he raised his head from the bed and slid a hand around her neck to bring her as close as he wanted.Zoe closed her eyes, expecting the kiss but when it wasn’t forthcoming, she opened them again to see him looking at her. She could see the raw desire in his eyes and she wanted to scream at him to just kiss her. His calm breath laced over her face and his thumb moved to the hollow of her neck, massaging, rubbing, feeling. She could feel her own pulse racing as if she would die if he didn’t take her.His hands moved to her face and his thumb caressed her lips. His touch sent a sweet sensation down her legs, making her writhe on the hard floor that she realized wasn’t as hard as before. Then his lips mov
“I could cut through your smile with a scissors.”Zoe smiled at Mia’s arrogant statement, completely forgetting that she was in the room. Avery had sent her flowers. Not just any type of flower, but roses and she just couldn’t stop looking at them. Resuming her position beside Mia, she placed the flowers in front of her before accepting the cup of coffee Kara dropped on the table.“Aren’t they lovely?” Zoe asked Mia, her eyes still on the flowers and the teenager scoffed.“Yeah, sure. Very lovely. Is this the best he could do?”Zoe gasped jokingly, turning to look at the shrewd child who just insulted her husband’s gift of love. “Now you are not romantic.” She said. “You should take a few pointers from your brother.”“Or he should take a few pointers from me.” Mia replied immediately. “Even as a woman, I believe I can do better than he did.”Zoe chuckled not just because she was making fun of her brother, but because of the look on her face while she did it. Avery would never believe
Zoe went round the little church Avery had picked for them in her simple floral white dress. She had pleaded with him that she didn’t want anything extravagant so he had done his best to get something small in the province close to their vacation home in Maples.Everything was finally going on well with her life. She and Avery were now in a place that she could never have imagined and they were going through life together. Sometimes he sends Aaron messages, to assure him that they were still brothers, but as usual, Aaron ignores them. As a couple, the both of them had visited Francis’s grave together in Maples, bringing him flowers and she had assured Francis that she forgave him for the lies and deceit while they were together.Zoe continued to look at the statue and altar in the catholic church where Avery had agreed they got married because he wanted everything to her taste. She was grateful for him and knew for sure that the both of them were going to have a good life together.“Z
‘I need you home right now’ kept resonating in Avery’s mind even as he dropped the call. He looked at Jacob who was busy surfing through the media, looking for ways to savage the remaining reputation that they had left.“Zoe said she needs me home.” Avery said to Jacob and the latter lifted up his head to attend to him. Avery stood up from his work chair and began to roam around the space between his work table and the window.“She needs you home can mean so many things, Avery.” Jacob said, watching him keenly. “What are you getting worried about?”“She needs me home could also mean that she is tired of the life I am leading with her and wants an out.” Avery responded, watching Jacob who sighed.“If she wants an out, then you have to let her go.”Avery shook his head immediately, knotting his tie that he had loosened when he had been working. When he put on his suit, he turned back to face Jacob.“I cannot live without her, Jacob.” He said. “I have to let her know that I cannot live w
Zoe woke up in the morning to an empty bed. She yawned weakly and rolled off her side of the bed, wondering where the hell Avery had gone to so early. The wall clock in her room read twenty minutes past eight which meant he was supposed to still be in the house.She searched the bathroom and the closet but he was nowhere to be found so she made her way down the stairs. The maids she met on her way greeted her differently and with pity as if they knew exactly what she had been through for the past two days. In the dining room, Kara brought a cup of coffee to her which she accepted with gladness in her heart. Finally, she was in the comfort of her home and could eat anything she liked. That wasn’t possible when she was at the mercy of Aaron.Zoe sipped her coffee, watching Kara who was looking at her with keen eyes. She smiled when she lifted the coffee from her lips at the young girl.“Did you miss me?” She asked, making her blush. “Where is Avery by the way? Have you seen him this mo
Avery held Zoe outside the warehouse as Aaron and his crew were being taken into the police van. His fear had known no bounds while driving to save his wife and that was when he realized that he couldn’t live without Zoe. Jacob was right all along. Aaron, his brother had gotten out of hand and the best thing to do to make sure that he doesn’t do more damage is to put him behind bars.He continued to rub Zoe’s shoulders, kissing her temple when Aaron was brought to stand before the both of them in handcuffs. There was a sorry look on his face but Avery was determined not to be swayed by it.“Avery.” Aaron called, trying to meet his gaze. “You are not going to allow them take me to prison, right?” He asked with a shaky voice.Avery scoffed, finally looking him straight into the eye. “Why wouldn’t I allow them take you to prison?” He asked. “You are a criminal and a murderer. People like you deserve to be in jail.”“Come on, Avery.” Aaron called. “Remember our family name is going to be
Zoe laid still on the cold ground completely ignoring the bed Aaron had asked his people to provide for her the previous day. The room was dark but she was staring at the ceiling, wondering how long it would actually take for Avery to forget her just like Aaron had threatened. That was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment because he had promised to kill her when Avery forgets she existed.She remained still in the dark even when the door opened but squinted when the light on the ceiling was turned on directly above her. Aaron walked up to where she was and looked at her but she ignored him.“Just a little while now, Zoe.” He said, drawing the chair close to him and taking a seat on it. “I was at the house yesterday and Avery is still looking frantically for you. Just a little while now before he forgets about you completely.”Zoe scoffed arrogantly at him, her eyes still focused on the ceiling which she could see clearly now all thanks to the light in the room. His words ind
Avery’s head of security was the only one watching the security cameras and he sat up when he saw Avery walk in.“You had just one job.” Avery said, trying not to scream at the top of his lungs. “You had just one job and that was to make sure you kept her safe.”“Mr. Trent, what…” Daniel stammered.“You were supposed to keep her safe and watch her at every time, what the hell were you doing when she left the house?” Avery continued without giving him time to talk.“Your wife went out in a hurry and we tried to follow her, but she was able to escape the cars.” Daniel spoke“What the hell does that even mean?” Avery screamed this time around. “What the hell is your job if she could disappear out from your sight?”“Mr. Trent, she said you knew where she was heading to.” Daniel said, trying to defend himself. “She told us she had your permission to leave the house and we couldn’t argue with that. She is your wife.”“Don’t you dare remind me what she is because I think I am very well aware
Avery shut his work laptop closed and headed out of the office. He had had quite a tedious day and wished nothing but to go home and be in the presence of his wife whether she hated him or not. At least anytime he was with Zoe, a lot of thoughts is being blocked from his head. The only thing she worries him about is Aaron but with that at least, there was a way to maneuver it. He just had to seduce her and she would forget totally about Aaron.Thinking about it now, it had been very long since he seduced Zoe and suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get home. Charlotte knocked on his office door and when he gave her leave to enter, she stuck her head and part of her shoulder in. He saw the strap of her handbag on her shoulders and could tell she too was about to leave.“Do you need anything else sir?” Charlotte asked and he shook his head immediately.“Nothing.” He replied. “You can go home Charlotte. Drive carefully.”She bowed at him and closed the door quietly behind her. Avery on the othe
Zoe tilted her head to watch Aaron and the look on his face carefully. Of course, it was him. She thought, sighing with distress. But why had she not thought about it and why the hell would he kidnap her when Avery had warned him not to come anywhere near her? She clenched her fists in anger, hating that he was two steps ahead of her just when she had thought she had the perfect opportunity to get him the punishment he finally deserved.“You keep on surprising me, Aaron.” She said, trying her best to keep herself calm. “You surprise me every single time.”“Of course, Zoe.” He replied, taking off his suit. “I am full of surprises, am I not?”The man who had brought her the glass of water, came in with a wooden chair for Aaron to sit on and he took the seat from him.“Do you not need me, boss?” The weird looking man asked and Aaron shook his head after giving his suit to him.“I don’t.” Aaron replied, smiling. “I will just have a little fun with my sister-in-law here and be on my way.”
Zoe relaxed on her seat and crossed her legs again. There was a certain thing she was feeling that she could barely understand. Yes, Aaron had confessed to killing Francis and she had it on her recorder. Then, why wasn’t she on her way to delivering it to the police together with the pictures Amelia had given her? Why was the satisfaction that he was going to surely be behind bars suddenly feeling bittersweet? Was it because she wasn’t sure how Avery would react to it? Or because she was scared Avery would no longer want her in his life if she puts his brother behind bars.The fact that Avery had become such an important part of her life up to the point that she thought about him before making her decision surprised her so much. She just wanted everything to be settled so that the both of them could savage the remaining aspects of their lives and live safely together. Was that the reason why she was stalling?“Did you just confess to murder?” She asked Aaron, who arrogantly shrugged h