The young girls and guys didn't look happy. They looked at Hailey as if they had a lot of questions to ask her.And while Hailey sat on the stool and watched Kara cook, the chatters of the customers, the clacking of utensils, the sound of something frying, and the nice aroma of the food did something to calm her nerves. It was refreshing. "Hailey, don't you want to join me?" Kara stood in front of a pot that was boiling on a stove and she called out to Hailey. "It's alright if you don't want to, though. I just thought that you might miss cooking."Cooking? Hailey wasn't sure she could do what Kara was doing in front of the stove. Her actions looked familiar but Hailey wasn't sure if she wouldn't mess things up. And she couldn't turn Kara down either. And maybe it wasn't only because of Rob's warning. She really felt comfortable being with Kara. "Of course, I'll help." She got down from the stool and walked to where Kara stood. "What do you want me to do?""Urgh, Hailey. Stop acti
***"Look at her, she is beautiful and her education is top-notch. At twenty-eight, she has already climbed her way up to be one of the most admired professors. She has been a prodigy since she was a kid, Mr. Reid. I am very sure she will make a great match.""Mr. Reid, you are a high-skilled businessman who values his time. My daughter doesn't have any desires in the world. She has been raised on proper manners and etiquette. For the rest of her life, she will serve you without giving you any trouble.""Kind women are hard to find nowadays. Mr. Reid, my sister owns a lot of non-governmental organizations. She is always reaching out to help those in need. Having such a wife will not only increase your great reputation, you will gain plenty of fans across the globe who will wish you nothing but prosperity."Ridiculous. Insolents. Kendrick kept his eyelids close as he relaxed back on the couch. Leaving the company wasn't enough, he also had to follow his friend's stupid plan. All to g
Kendrick would in fact thank him. He needed to drink in silence. Because tonight, he had somewhere special to go. He downed the glass and poured himself yet another wine. And when he glanced down, through the glass partition, at the crowd below, a frown formed on his forehead. Since when did this bar get so crowded?"Argh! Now you're making me feel like the bad person." Devon slumped down on the couch. "I brought you here and you're forcing me to leave you alone. Tonight, I'll show you that in this whole universe, you can never find a friend as loyal as me." He took a bottle from one of the many wine bottles on the table. "Let's drown our sorrows together, Buddy. We'll yell to the world that this is not game over." "By the way." Devon lowered his voice and sighed. "If I dance with those ladies and Rosslyn gets wind of it, she's going to skin me alive." "Good for you." Kendrick raised his wine glass and downed it. Then suddenly, Devon's eyes darted to the glass and his jaw dropped
They left the washroom and walked through the path they had come from. The hallway was long and at each side were some doors that lead to small rooms made of glass. "Damnit!" Kara halted and Hailey bumped into her back. "What are they doing here? Isn't that Rick?" She pointed at some tall men all dressed in black. Who was Rick? Did Kara know them?Hailey looked back and forth between Kara and the men, feeling confused. "Oh, my God!" Suddenly, Kara exclaimed. "H–Hailey, your husband is also here. W–Why didn't you tell me that your husband is here?"Kara pointed a shaky finger ahead. From the glass room which the men in black had just come out from, two men were walking outside. One was holding a cigarette and the other one was holding a wine glass. Her husband?Hailey's heart stopped beating immediately. Even from afar, she could see the man's side profile. He looked familiar. She had seen him before. Her heart came alive and it started racing. Th–That man. She gripped Kara's
~~~The next day...Hailey sat on the bed, staring down at the white pills in her hands. Last night, she had slept throughout the ride back home and when she woke up this morning, Rob told her that he had some emergency at work. He also told her that he couldn't take her to the diner.Hailey had shown her desire to go to the diner, but Rob looked to be in so much hurry that he didn't say any reply. He simply bid her goodbye and left.He didn't even notice one thing. He didn't notice that Hailey was able to recall all the events that happened yesterday. And although Hailey didn't want to remember seeing her Boss, she was happy. Maybe she was finally recovering. She stared down at the white pills on her palm. Was it because Rob had given her three instead of two? Rob told her that she wouldn't fall asleep and she didn't. Hailey smiled. She couldn't wait to share this good news with him. She swallowed the three pills on her palm and gulped them down with water.After that, she lay
***What was he thinking anyways? She was an actress, an Oscar-winning one at that. Fooling people was her hidden talent. Wasn't it rather useless for her to pursue a career as a chef?Damnit! He needed to stop thinking about her. Or more correctly, he should stop thinking about that night. Kendrick had convinced himself that she wasn't the girl dancing on the stage. How provocative. But his eyes didn't lie. He saw them in the hallway and they fled.Was her acting done?Wasn't she supposed to keep groveling, begging him to take her back?As if he would ever do that. Ridiculous. Kendrick swiveled his chair and focused on the window overlooking the city. He couldn't get any work done and he didn't give a damn about it. Hailey, that woman. Oh, he couldn't wait for her retribution. And it was coming soon.So much with begging him. So much with regretting about endangering the child. She was out partying, she even dared to have fun in such a short period. What if he'd saved his
"Ken," Sharon whispered in his ear. "How could you let her mess with you? If you let her go free, isn't it unfair to your baby? You shouldn't divorce her with compensations, you should have allowed her to have a taste of her own medicine."Her fingers were now tracing down his chest and Kendrick caught her wrists. "Is that what brought you here?" He gritted out. "Th– That's not all, Ken." Sharon bit her lips and wriggled her hand free. "I'm here to tell you that you don't have to marry any girl Uncle or the shareholders propose. You know what they will be after. On the opposite, I won't ask for anything, Ken. All I want is to be with you. We don't have to hold a grand wedding, we can just announce it to the public and I'll move in with you.""Get out." Kendrick pushed her away and closed his eyes. "Now," he added. But Sharon remained standing. She sniffed and sobbed silently. "Ken, I know you need someone to be with you right now. I can be whatever you want. Just— Just let me be y
Yesterday, she'd been apprehensive that she might wake up today and forget everything. But her memory was still intact. Not even a scene of what happened at the diner and the previous day was absent from her mind. Footsteps came from the stairs and she could hear the voices of her sister and Rob. "Well, you shouldn't have left me stranded there when you knew that you were not going to return.""That's because I was busy.""Busy with what? Are you seeing other women?""Why would I do that?""You're fond of speaking the opposites of what you mean nowadays, Rob.""You're saying that because you know nothing.""How about you enlighten me? Even if I know nothing, I can clearly see what's going on.""Chloe, you lack patience.""Oh, so you can say that now. For how long should I keep being patient?"As the two bantered, Hailey rubbed her forehead and sighed. Now that Chloe had returned, the house would turn into a small warfare again. What were they even arguing about? "Sister, you're u
Sharelene stood in a corner, watching everything unfold. The family was in a frenzy. She could only see fear in their eyes and hear the fright in their voices.As the staff wheeled Hailey out of the emergency room, a deafening silence fell upon the hallway. And Ken...He hadn't been himself since they came here. He hadn't been himself since a few days back when he learned Hailey was kidnapped. Neither would he speak to anyone, nor listen to those that tried to talk reason into him and advise him to take it rationally. Since a few days back, he was the complete opposite of the man she had met many years ago and had a second chance of getting close to again. The man that would always keep calm no matter the circumstances...He was nowhere to be found. Ken was completely different from that man she knew. In her mind, she'd almost gotten what she wanted... Or more specifically, what her family wanted. But now, staring down at the ring on her finger, it was as if the engagement neve
```````And every day, Kendrick lived in guilt. For the next several months, every minute of his life was consumed by guilt. It took him weeks to gain her mother's favor, and even months to regain her grandfather's. He would come back every day, hoping that her eyes would at least flutter. Her bump kept increasing at an alarming rate. His every day was filled with fear and trepidation. And one day, her eyes did flutter. He was supposed to feel joy, but not at a chance that more trouble loomed ahead. Her pregnancy was due and not a week after that, the babies arrived. His real fear resurfaced at that moment. The fear that they would never be able to hold their bundles of joy together. The fear that he would never get the chance to tell her that he loved her. However, she proved the doctors wrong, chasing away his fears. Now, staring down at the babies, her utmost gifts to him, Kendrick had never felt so much contented in his life. He'd never been able to wipe off his smile sin
***Kendrick paced in front of the Emergency Room. His heart was in his stomach and his hand never left his hair. It was as if she'd been inside there for hours now despite being wheeled in just now.No amount of self-reassurance could calm him. No one attempted to offer him reassuring words even. They've all been in the same dilemma.Her mother wouldn't stop crying and he couldn't find the heart to offer her those words he'd yearned so much to hear. Hadn't it all been his fault? Hailey was pregnant. How was that possible? When they arrived here, it was the first thing the nurses said after taking her vitals. But Kendrick still found it hard to digest.And the fact that the child would definitely turn out to be his only made him more confused. It made him angrier with himself. "Ken, what is going on here?" Rushed footsteps sounded in the hallway and he glanced sideways to find his parents as well as Sharelene. "What are you doing in this place? Is someone wounded?" Asked his f
~~~'Hailey.'Kendrick's hands trembled and his grip on the gun threatened to loosen. Staring up at the balcony where she was being held captive, he fought not to let the rage take over. The rage that became multifold the moment he sighted them dragging her here. Her body was limped. She looked worse than how she'd looked in the video. And an almost similar-looking lady, whose face was cascaded with tears, was being held at gunpoint beside her. Was that her mother? "Don't worry, Mr. Reid." Standing with them were the three shareholders. "She isn't dead yet. But she'll soon be, if you don't follow our commands."Mr. Weimar and the rest. Kendrick's assumption hadn't been wrong. They had a hand in this. "Already, you've broken one of our rules," scoffed one of them. "We thought we told you to come alone. Coming here with your friend is like seeking more trouble. Will Mr. Carter be competent enough to fend for himself?""Shit! Buddy, these stupid old fools are underestimating me," De
***"Hailey, listen to me!" Rob grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look up. "This is important, you have to take it."Nothing was more important to Hailey right now than getting away from him. Not only did she fear these drugs he had brought her, but she also feared the way his demeanor had changed ever since he returned with them.Of course, even if Rob was really trying to save her, there was no way she was going to cooperate with him.Yesterday, he'd secretly taken her blood, waking her up. And he returned this morning, looking agitated and somehow angry at her. "Hailey!" Rob's hold became tighter. "You must take these drugs immediately. I can't get you out here if you don't. Please, Hailey." He softened his voice. "Just take the damned drugs, you'll feel better. We both will feel better.""What exactly is wrong with you?" Her mother's voice faded in the background. "Leave her alone, she doesn't want to take them. Please I'm begging you, don't torment her any further."While he
Maniac.Hailey lifted her hand weakly to send a slap across his face, but her hand went limp and fell mid-way."M–Murderer." She pushed his chest. "Just go, leave me alone.""Hailey." Footsteps approached the room and Rob said frantically, "Please hold on." He touched her forehead. "You're sick. I'll get someone to treat you. I'll get you out, I promise."Then he sprang to his feet and left, closing the door behind him. Hailey was left wondering how such lunatics could be left wandering among normal people. She sniffed and waddled back into her mother's embrace. How blind had she been to associate with these kinds of people in the past?And how could she put a stop to these endless noises and intense headaches? She didn't want to remember? She didn't want to recall whatever they had shared in the past. ***'Ken, you have to save me. These strange men have captured me and they won't release me until you come. If you don't come alone, Ken, they're going to kill me and my Mum.'Kendric
...The hours dragged on, and from the tiny cracks in the wall, it seemed night had come. Still in her mother's embrace, Hailey shut her eyes to keep up with that pain.Both hands were wrapped around her stomach and she'd shiver now and then. As much as she'd like sleep to overtake her, it didn't. The exhaustion weighing her down didn't let her achieve that. The exhaustion caused by the aches all over her body. Her head pounded constantly, the voices also became louder each time she was left to her thoughts. Those hallucinations were neverending, and very soon she was afraid that they'd burst out, damaging more parts of her brain.The darkness slowly disappeared and the creaking sound of the door made her aware that morning had come. Another day of torture and pain."Hey, wake up!"Before cold water or anything worse could be splashed on her, Hailey leaned away from her mother's embrace who was also awake."Take your food!" The man burly man threw a food box and a water bottle at them
***"Ken, you have to save me. These strange men have captured me and they won't release me until you come. If you don't come alone, Ken, they're going to kill me and my Mum. They have laid traps for you, Ken—"Hailey was cut shut by a hard slap across her face. Bound to a chair with ropes, cold water was splashed on her face. She licked the side of her lips, tasting the metallic liquid; the only thing that kept her from fainting."Damnit! Woman. I told you to leave the trap part out! Are you deaf or what!?" The man holding a camera in front of her shouted. "Now, let's take another video. You will say everything you were asked to.""Stop wasting your time, Man," the portly man said and walked forward. "I don't think this lady is willing to cooperate.""I told you she's a stubborn one," Chloe scoffed from a corner."Now listen to me, Young lady." The portly man approached her and lifted her chin. "If you keep acting this way, we can't fulfill our promise to you. Give us your cooperation
***"Buddy, this is serious. How could she just disappear into thin air? Is there a chance that they're hidden somewhere in this city?"This city? Probably not. Kendrick had turned the whole city upside down. He'd deployed every force he could think of. They'd searched everywhere; every warehouse, every dilapidated building. There was no sign of them. It had been three days and there wasn't any traces of them. He'd driven to the cemetery that day, hoping more than anything that she hadn't spent the night there. And his prayers turned out to work. Only that, what actually happened was worse than spending a night in the cemetery. The sight of her phone by the cemetery gates was all he needed to know that something bad had happened. She was abducted. And there was still no traces of the suspects. Her sister and that guy. "Damnit! This is all screwed up." Devon paced for a while before sitting on the couch. "You didn't tell me you've taken her back. You never should have allowed her