Once Chan had left, Sam gave Lilly another kiss on the forehead and then went into his own bedroom. In the en suite, he took his time showering, and he was grinning like an idiot as he was doing so, his mind on Chan.He was glad she loved her room since he had worked hard on making sure the place was to her liking. Of course, the home decorator did most of the laborious work, but it had been fun during the shopping trip with Lilly, picking furniture and upholstery to ensure the room was as cozy and pleasing for Chan as possible.In due course, Chan would be sharing a bed with him. For now, however, Sam knew she needed her own space to feel at ease, and her own bedroom would be that place for her. He knew it’d take time for her to feel fully comfortable in her new environment, which was why Sam had taken things slow.The thought of simply having Chan next to him in bed and feeling her body against his as they slept was so delightful that a chuckle escaped his mouth.His mind was still
Sam peeled himself away from the doorframe and headed her way, his smile never far away from his lips. When he was close to her, he said, “Bread is in here, along with other dry ingredients.” He opened a door, directing her to the pantry.Chan went over and poked her head inside. “Yes, of course. I’ve been in here before.” She chuckled nervously. “Thanks. I’ll be fine now.”“Do you need help?” he asked.She waved his offering aside. “I’ll be fine.” She placed her palms on his chest and started to gently push him back. “Now, why don’t you go and do whatever it is that you usually do in the morning, like I don’t know, work, while I cook?”Sam wasn’t about to budge. He knew she wanted him gone, out of sight, while she prepared the meal. Was she nervous at the thought of him watching her cook? He knew for a fact she was a good one, so why? Unless of course, she didn’t want to disappoint him. Because this was her first time cooking for him and Lilly in his house.The very idea made Sam smi
“Which dress do you want to wear today, Lilly?” Chan asked as she opened the walk-in closet.“The purple one,” Lilly said excitedly, jumping up and down. “The purple one.”Chan’s eyes scanned across the many cute, frilly dresses on the hangers. They were neatly arranged according to color, which she had no doubt was Marian’s doing.There were five different purple dresses, and Chan turned to Lilly and asked, “Which of the purple?”Lilly shrugged. “I don’t know. You pick.”Chan unhooked all five purple dresses and then laid them on the bed. First she picked the top one. “Hmm...” She cocked her head to one side as she looked over the cute dress. A moment later, she rested that one back on the bed and picked up the second, inspected that one, too, and then laid it back down again.Lilly watched her as Chan went through all five. Finally, she picked up number three again and said, “I think this one.” She turned to Lilly. “What do you think?”Lilly nodded. “I like that one, too.”“Then thi
Her second night in her new home was pleasant, and Chan had a wonderful, restful sleep. When she woke up the next morning, it was due to the sound of birds chirping from outside her window, which was near the back garden adorned with bushes and a few trees.She stretched, a smile playing about her lips as she did so. Gosh, but it felt great, and deep inside, there was a sense of happiness and contentment.She was just about to get out of bed and head into the en suite to shower when she heard a knock at the door.“Chan?” Sam called out.Chan felt her heart skip a beat and heat creep up to her cheeks. Good Lord, but the mere sound of the man’s voice made her react this much? She couldn’t believe it.Working on calming herself down, she took a deep, steady breath and then said, “Come in.”The door opened, and Sam appeared.Already dressed in his powerful suit, the man looked strikingly hot. More so when he had his dark-brown hair combed back stylishly.Chan found she couldn’t stop stari
The moment she saw the vehicle winking light at her to tell her ‘I’m here,’ her eyes widened in shocked disbelief.A Bentley? And it looked brand new. As in out of the garage brand new.She shifted her gaze to look at Sam, who burst out laughing. He must be amused at the sight of her reaction.She said, “You’re...giving me a Bentley?”Sam pulled her into his arms and then kissed her on the forehead, his lips firm against her skin. “Only the best for my girl.”Chan swallowed hard, her throat tight with emotions. When she managed to steady herself, she raised her gaze to his and asked, “How much did it cost?”Sam raised a brow. “You really want to know?”Chan nodded.He shrugged his broad shoulders as if to say that the price was nothing. “Just over three hundred and fifty.”“Three hundred and fifty? As in three hundred and fifty thousand?” she asked.He nodded.Chan felt breathless suddenly as she turned to look at the Bentley. Good Lord, but that car alone was the same price as a hous
The moment Chan entered, nostalgia hit her, and she felt her heart aching. She missed this sort of environment. She missed the blackboard filled with written words. She missed the walls filled with children’s paintings. She missed the student’s desks and chairs, and of course, the humming noise of children laughing and giggling and chatting.“Lilly, good morning,” a woman said in greeting.Lilly said, “Good morning, Mrs. Brown.”Mrs. Brown said, “Did you have a good weekend?”Lilly nodded.Mrs. Brown then turned to Chan and said, “You must be Chan?”Chan wondered how the woman knew who she was, and indeed, even her name.She nodded as she said, “I am. Hi.” She reached out her hand, which Mrs. Brown took and shook.Mrs. Brown said, “Lilly talked so much about you. She told us you’re moving in with her and her father?”Chan blushed. Gosh, she didn’t know Lilly had been telling her teacher about her.She nodded. “Yes, I just did two days ago.”Mrs. Brown said, “And how do you like it?”“
Chan couldn’t wait much longer to get into her new office. The moment she was in her bedroom, she picked up the boxes containing her work materials and moved them up to the third floor. Of course, she had to make a couple of trips, but that was fine with her since she enjoyed the process.A few hours later, everything was ready. A sense of delight and satisfaction filled her as she surveyed her new workroom. Her laptop and art display tablet sat on the study desk while her other material such as notebooks and drawing materials were on another desk to the other side of the room. Now all she needed to complete this room was her books to fill that empty shelf. But, of course, that could come later when she was fully settled in.Sitting down on the leather chair, Chan chuckled. It was very comfortable, a far cry from hers back at the apartment which had been hard and not at all soft to the backside. She had never been able to sit on it for too long before she needed to get up to ease the
After helping the two darlings with their backpacks and exchanging a few words with Mrs. Brown, they stepped out the door and saw Timothy heading their way along the corridor.“Hi, Chan,” the boy greeted.“Hi, Timothy,” Chan replied. “Ready to go?”The boy nodded. Then he went up to Lilly and took her by the hand. “Let’s go.”Lilly nodded, and the two were about to head off when Jason said, “Hey, why are you holding Lilly’s hand?”Timothy said, “Because I’m looking after her.”Jason frowned. “But I’m looking after her. I already made a promise with Mommy and Chan.”Timothy pulled a face. “I’m the older brother, so it’s my job to look after Lilly.”Jason wasn’t having it. “But what about me?”Chan chuckled. Oh dear, it looked like the two brothers were competing for Lilly’s attention. This could be a problem.She said, “Why don’t you both look after Lilly? You can hold her hand, too, Jason. With two boys looking after her, I’m sure Lilly will be very well looked after.”Jason brightene
A GOLDEN COIN FOR A NECKLACEA Random Thursday“This brings back memories,” Chan said as they strolled down the street, exploring the Thursday Night Market along Surfer Paradise.Holding Darany in his arms, Sam chuckled then said, “Mm-hmm. The first time I met you.”Chan nodded. Sam leaned toward her and then planted a light, gentle kiss on her lips, which made Chan blush.Chanlina, in Chan’s arms, said, “Daddy kissing Mommy.”Suddenly, Darany chanted excitedly, “Monkey! Monkey show!” He was pointing toward a thick crowd of people on the other side where a monkey was performing.“Isn’t that...” Chan left her sentence unfinished.Sam chuckled. “Yeah. Let’s go watch.”“Yay!” Darany put his little arms up in the air in excitement.Once they were amongst others in the crowd, watching the monkey doing cool Kung Fu moves, Darany tapped at his father’s shoulder. “Daddy. Rany wants down.”“All right, but don’t go running off,” Sam warned.The boy simply gave his father an adorable, toothy gri
Old Mr. Jones was entering a new phase in his life: rock bottom. He had just lost his job, his entire savings swiped from his bank account due to identity theft, and he was in over his head in debts. Today, like yesterday and the day before that, he considered ending it all. Then again, he always hit pause. He had his wife and granddaughter to think about, after all.Sometimes life just seemed to come at you, bringing bad luck after bad luck and disaster after disaster. Not only had his only child and her husband just died from a car accident, leaving their only eight-year-old girl with him and his wife, but the company he had worked for had laid him off, along with fifty others. A week later, his wife had a mild heart attack, freaking him out so much that he himself nearly had a heart attack. Then that same week, he found his bank savings had been drained, and he hadn’t a clue how since he hadn’t been withdrawing any money. A phone call to the bank confirmed that it was a case of ide
One Year LaterWhen Chan fluttered her eyes open, she smiled, and a sense of contentment and happiness coursed through her being. The morning sun was bright, filtering into the bedroom through the window. She lay there in bed for a moment, just enjoying the moment, basking in the peace and quiet as she gazed out the window, enjoying the view of the beach and ocean in the distance. When she finally moved and got out of bed, she went into the en suite and took a good, long shower. Done twenty minutes later and now dressed in a lovely floral sundress, she headed down the stairs.As she approached the living area, happy chatter reached her, and she knew literally everyone was in there. It was a Sunday, after all, and it was well past ten in the morning now.She came to a stop at the entrance of the room, her heart constricting with emotions. Yes, everyone was in here, all right. Fran was holding one of her little darlings, Chanlina, in her arms. The baby girl was cooing as Fran tickled th
By the time they arrived home, it was dark. Once Detective Liam put the car into park, Sam got out and then drew Chan to him. He picked her up in his arms and then carried her toward the house. Of course, everyone was already at the door waiting since Jeremy had phoned Dara to tell her they had found Chan and that she was safe and sound.The moment they spotted Chan, the sisters came rushing forward.“Chan, are you okay?” Soriya asked. She had clearly been crying hard. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were raw.Chan gave her sisters a weak smile. “I’m fine now.”Once they were in the living room, Sam placed her on the couch, and Fran immediately brought over a mug of hot chocolate for her. Chan gladly accepted it, her hands shaking. She began sipping eagerly as everyone gathered around the living room, Keith included, who was now talking to Liam and Jeremy.Though the crowd was keen to ask Chan questions about her ordeal, they knew she needed time to gather herself. Once she finished
Chan swallowed hard, her body tense, her gaze fixed on Dave in front of her. He, too, had his gaze fixed on her face, a dark smile on his lips.He said, “When I discovered your father was quite a wealthy man, despite his and your living conditions back then, he had his will drawn up with me as one of his witnesses, believe it or not.” He laughed. “He was that trusting. He was so gullible. In that will, he was going to give his daughters everything, and I knew I just couldn’t have that. I knew Lisa and Amie would agree, so I pitched a plan to them. Oh, they got freaked out at first, but then the hunger for money was just too overpowering for mother and daughter. In the end, they decided to do what I told them. I taught them how to lace Michael’s food with antifreeze. He got sick and must have caught on as to what was happening, but of course, we persisted. Needless to say, we failed the first few times. That bastard was hard to kill, I must admit. That, or Amie was lousy at concocting
Chan hadn’t a clue how long it had been since she had escaped Dave and Lisa’s clutches, but she knew it had been a while. The sun had moved farther to the west, so she knew it was late in the afternoon. By now, Sam would have notified the police and be on his way to get her, since she had turned on the tracking device a while back.Suddenly, she stopped, feeling exhausted. She had been on the run this whole time, now and again scanning behind and around her to ensure that she was not being followed.God, she had no idea where she was going, whether she was heading deeper into the bush or out toward the road. She hoped it was the latter because if she was heading deeper into the bush, it’d be harder and longer for Sam to find her, and she didn’t want that, not when the sun was going to set soon.She was thirsty, and her body was sweating profusely, but she dared not stop because she knew the moment she did, she’d shorten the distance between her and Dave, and when he found her, it’d be
Sam hadn’t a clue why but ever since that morning, he had been having this sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if his instinct was telling him something bad was about to happen. Hence, he hadn’t been able to concentrate on his work, and he had kept phoning Chan every two hours or so to make sure she was fine. The last time he had contacted her, she had said she was going to pick Lilly up as Mrs. Campbell had to dash to the hospital to take care of her husband.Everything was going to be fine, he told himself. Then again, why the heck wasn’t this bad feeling going away?“You okay, Sam?” Jeremy, who was sitting across from him, asked.Sam nodded. “Yeah,” he said distractedly.Jeremy shook his head. “You’re not fine. You look like you have something on your mind. Chan? The court cases?”Sam was about to tell Jeremy to stop prodding when his cell phone rang. It was his mom.He quickly picked up.“Sam.” Fran’s panicky voice came from the other side of the line, and Sam was imme
Chan knew exactly what type of talking they intended to do. They’d threaten her, like they always do, and she suspected that it had something to do with her father and the will. They must have been informed about Chan and her sisters contesting the will for the second time, now with new evidence and another set of new wills, and of course, them being suspects of the attempted murder of her father.Chan shut her eyes for a moment, doing her best to stay calm. Her mind, however, continued to race, working on how best to deal with this situation.Within five minutes, Lilly would finish school. When no one came to pick her up, one of the teachers would notice and they’d phone home. Fran or Marian would then contact Sam, and he’d suspect something had happened to her. When either Marian or Fran came to get Lilly, they’d likely spot her car parked three blocks down from the school, and of course, Danny in it.Oh, God, she hoped the little pup was all right. It was hot, and she hoped he woul
It had been a week since Chan and her sisters had the meeting with Keith and Liam, and since that day, the two men had advised her and her sister to be vigilant, in case Amie, Lisa, and Dave tried to make contact. Chan knew just what sort of contact the two men were referring to. She had doubt Amie would be able to track her and her sisters down since they had moved, but it was a good idea to be cautious nonetheless. Hence, she had avoided going out alone unless it was necessary and spent most of her time in the house, working on her next book, like she was doing now.“Chan?” Mrs. Campbell’s voice drew her attention away from her work. “Chan?”Chan got up from her seat and then opened the door of her office. She was coming down the stairs when she spotted Mrs. Campbell along the corridor. She noted the woman looked a little flustered.“What is it, Charlotte?” she asked, concerned.“Do you mind picking Lilly up from school this afternoon?” the woman asked. “Ian just called. He’s at the