Amelia A familiar ringtone interrupted my nap, and I turned to my phone to check who had called. At the sight of the caller ID, my lips widened in smile. Bailey was never late. She was always accurate with timing when she called. I didn’t feel good to call her and let her find out about what happened; seeing her nephew was the reason this happened in the first place. I knew the problems this could create for them, and I didn’t want that.But I didn’t think I could manage this anymore. This was my marriage, and I needed to throw sentiments aside and get help. So I was determined to tell her everything. I didn’t care anymore who it affected. Because obviously, no one cared how this affected me. “Hi Bailey,” I said as I answered the call, sitting up. “So if I never call, we can never talk?” She said, scolding me. I sighed. I was very guilty of this.“I’m sorry, Bailey. I promise to also reach out.” I apologised, not knowing how to defend myself. She heaved a sigh. “It’s okay. How ar
AMELIAMy mind was whirling with so many thoughts as I ended the call with Bailey. I bit my lip as I began to strategise a plan on how I could apologise to Lachlan. Last night was so awkward and tense between us, and I don't think I want to live so uncomfortably with him when we just recently started to heal from our past. He was trying his best, and I just decided to be a fool and open my stupid mouth and compare him to Eric. I'm still wondering why he sent those gifts. I needed to talk to him, but first I must fix my marriage. I had decided to look at it from his own point of view. I knew his relationship with that woman was more intimate than the relationship I had with Eric. Maybe that was why I suddenly got defensive. Because she got to enjoy his touch, meanwhile I had never been with any man apart from him, and from the beginning it was a horrible experience for me. Until recently. I had imagined Cassandra sending him a box of gifts, and suddenly I felt livid and territorial
LACHLANDrowning my sorrows in alcohol was the worst decision I have ever made. My head felt like it was about to split open and my chest felt cramped and suffocated. I was suffocating in dread. When I left the house early in the morning I headed straight to work but did nothing except sign papers. I made sure Clara cleared my whole schedule and if anyone asked she should just say I was indisposed. I waited till it was late in the evening before I drove over to one of my bars. It has been a while since I came here. It was one of the few properties I have in my name and I realized I needed to pay much more attention to it. When I walked in the manager recognized me immediately and led me to my office. I asked him to send someone to get me a bottle of whiskey and he replied with a “Right away sir.” Before leaving me alone. Not too long after he left, a waiter came back later with the bottle, a glass and a bucket of ice. I had been drinking ever since the bottle arrived and I was alm
AMELIA Lachlan stared at me with weary eyes, his grip on the fork tightening. It was a good thing he had gone halfway through his plate before I spoke. I knew his appetite was long gone now. He reclined back on his seat and sighed. “What is it you want to talk about?” No term of endearment, just straight to business. I unconsciously chewed my lip in anxiety. I didn't know how this conversation was going to go. But first I needed to apologise for what I did. “I’m sorry.” Silence followed my words. We stared at each other for a while, and I couldn't decipher what he was thinking. His face was blank of any emotions, and it was already making me uncomfortable. Normally I could tell what he was feeling just by his facial expression and body language, but now I couldn't see a thing. It was new and daunting. “You don't need to apologise for anything, Amelia. I'm the one who needs to apologise,” he finally said after minutes of stretched silence. I shook my head in disagreement. "N
LACHLANI held Amelia’s wrists as she fought against me, struggling to be free of my embrace. “I'm so sorry, my love. I'm so sorry for everything I have done. For everything I've put you through.” I kept whispering in her ears over and over again. My fingers tangled in her hair as her body racked with sobs. I could feel her pain like it was my own. As she cried, I could hear the sorrow in her voice. The sound made my knees almost buckle against the weight of it. It was like a vice pulling me down underwater in an attempt to drown me. I wanted to take all her pain away. I picked her crying body bridal style and walked us upstairs to my room. Thankfully, she let me carry her. I had to find a way to manoeuvre and pull the door open with her in my arms. I was grateful when it worked after several failed attempts. I carefully placed her on the bed and walked back to close my room door, then turned off the room lights. I pulled my shoes off and left my socks on, then I got into bed wi
ERIC“What do you mean she returned them?” “Exactly what I just said, Cassandra, or have you suddenly gone deaf? She returned everything I sent.” “But why?!"I completely zoned out the moment she began her endless rant about how I said this plan would work in ruining their relationship. It was supposed to work. I just have no idea what went wrong. All the cards were falling into place. After the gifts were delivered, I got a call from Amelia saying we needed to talk. What I didn't expect was to hear Lachlan's voice at the other end of the phone call. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face when he started to yell through the phone. I knew there was no way they didn't get into a fight after that phone call. It was just impossible. I decided to wait for Amelia to call me again after Lachlan showed her his true colors. Instead, I got the shock of my life when the delivery man knocked on my door and returned the gifts I had sent to her. I was so angry I trashed everythi
AMELIAI woke up to the feeling of someone caressing the side of my face. A low hum spilt from my throat when those powerful hands kneaded the flesh of my neck in a massage. The knot that has been forming there for days loosened a bit, leaving me a little satisfied. Emphasis on a little. “Good morning, Amelia.” God, even his morning voice was sexy. “Don’t stop….” I caught his hand, which had stopped its ministrations, and put it on my lower back, which had been aching too. Lachlan chuckled and applied pressure to the spot I placed his hand on. Unconsciously, I let out a soft moan in response to his touch. My cheeks burnt in embarrassment, but Lachlan either didn't hear me or he just chose to ignore it to save me from embarrassment. Lachlan's strong fingers kneaded my tense muscles, his touch gentle yet firm. He made me lay on my side, a pillow supporting my growing belly, my eyes closed in bliss."Right there?" he whispered, applying pressure to a particularly knotted spot.I humm
CASSANDRAI stared at the crisp white ceiling with a giant chandelier hanging in the middle. Sultry music blasted from the speakers in the room, giving me a massive headache. I've been getting more of those for the past week. No, not last week. Ever since that bitch came back, I've not had a second to rest my brain. Overthinking has become a norm to the point that I wasn't even into whatever Chris was doing to me underneath the sheets. He has had his face buried in between my legs for the past five minutes. He seemed to be enjoying whatever it was he was doing. The truth was, I had zoned out the moment his mouth touched me. I went to see Eric the other day, and he told me our plan flopped. We had to come up with another one, but that prick was acting like I was the only one who was going to benefit from separating those two. I was desperate, yes, but I wouldn't let any man talk to me like I was some retard. He made me feel that way, and to say it pissed me off was an understatement.
Christopher.I immediately turned and was meant with nothing but barrels of oil on the floor. There was no sign of Lachlan. I sighed, slapping my forehead again before stepping into my car and driving off.Nina’s POVThe headline popped up on my phone while I was sipping my morning latte, and I nearly choked. Normally I ignore stuff like this and focus more on the fashion news, but this story was too hot not to catch my attention. “BREAKING NEWS: Attempted Home Invasion at Mallory Mansion!" My eyes widened as I scrolled through the article. Apparently, some idiots tried to break into Lachlan’s house last night. They were dead now, of course, because nothing ever happens to Golden Boy Lachlan without some cosmic justice raining down in his favor. Still, it was juicy. Men storming his house, Amelia being in the house, and now they’re six feet under? This was practically ripped from a soap opera. I could already hear my mother’s voice in my head: “Nina, stop meddling in your brothers’
LACHLANThe fluorescent lights of the police station buzzed faintly as I walked through the doors, my mind heavily held down by a mixture of dread and determination. Matthew trailed just behind me, his expression stoic but his eyes alert. The station gave a stench of stale coffee mixed with frustration, a combination I’d grown accustomed to during these past few chaotic days. The detective in charge of the case called in earlier today that there have been some findings about the whereabouts of the assailants. It was good news, yes, but there was more, and they couldn’t tell me over the phone, so I had to come down here myself. Detective Harper greeted me with a curt nod. “Mr. Mallory, thank you for coming in. Let’s talk in my office.”I followed her into a small, cluttered room. Matthew remained close. If anyone could recognise Amelia’s attackers, it was him. Which was why I had brought him along with me again. Harper motioned for us to sit, her lips pressed into a grim line.“We fou
Christopher I staggered into my apartment, half drunk, exhausted, and honestly just wanting to sleep off the buzz from the club. It was nearly 3 a.m., and I’d lost track of how many drinks I’d downed with all those hot women. All I could think about was removing these clothes, getting in a hot shower, and letting the water wash off the stench of alcohol on me. As I turned on the shower, droplets of water began to gently slide down my chest, and I closed my eyes, letting the water pour over my hair, but as soon as I stepped out and grabbed a towel, my phone vibrated on the counter, slightly lighting up the dim room. It was Cassie. “Why's she calling?” I groaned, but something in the back of my mind told me to pick up. She wouldn’t call at this hour without a reasonable excuse. With that, I quickly dried off my wet body, yanked on some pants, and slid the green icon. "Cassandra, I was wondering when I’d hear from you again.” I heard her take a deep breath. “Chris, I need your hel
AMELIA I woke up slowly, my mind drifting through a thick haze, like I was trying to wade through fog. For a moment, everything was blurry, and a tightness settled in my chest. Where was I? Was I still at the hospital?Then I felt the warmth of a hand over mine, firm but gentle, and everything came rushing back. Blinking, I looked up to see Lachlan sitting beside me, his face tense but softening as he noticed I was awake. The sight of him washed away the last traces of fear, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding.“Lachlan…” My voice was barely a whisper, but his expression shifted, relief flooding his eyes.“I’m right here, love,” he said, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.I wanted to tell him everything I was feeling—how scared I’d been, how grateful I was that he was here now—but the words felt tangled in my throat. Before I could even try, the door opened, and a middle-aged man in a white coat stepped in. He had a kind face, with just a hint of greying at the
CASSANDRAHow could they fail? I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms as I paced the length of my bedroom, the sour taste of anger mixing with fear. They were supposed to be professionals, discreet. They were supposed to handle everything without it coming back to me. But those idiots let Amelia slip through their fingers. I should have known his chauffeur wasn't normal. Lachlan was onto us now. He was too smart; I’d known this. It was part of why I’d fallen for him in the first place.Well too late for regrets; thanks to their incompetence, I was backed into a corner, and the thought made my skin crawl. The image of him still being by that bitch’s side burnt in my mind, fuelling my jealousy. Why her? Why did he look at her the way he used to look at me? I could have given him so much more if he’d just let me back in.My phone buzzed, and I saw Eric’s name light up the screen. My pulse quickened, a mix of hope and apprehension, but before I could even speak, his voice thund
LACHLANI should have been there. The thought ran circles in my mind, looping through every possible scenario in which I had somehow kept her safe. I was supposed to protect Amelia. But I had left her alone, vulnerable, and now she was in the hospital, recovering from an attack that could’ve cost her life. Worse, our child’s life. I clenched my fists so tight that my knuckles cracked, trying to keep my anger in check. It was mostly anger at myself—a gnawing, bitter frustration that I hadn’t been there when she’d needed me.Matthew sat beside me at the police station, scrolling through images on the detective’s tablet, helping to sort through potential suspects. He was silent but tense, his face a mirror of my own worry. I could see in his eyes that he was as furious as I was about what had happened. If he’d been there earlier, maybe he would have stopped those men. But he wasn’t to blame, and deep down, I knew that. The responsibility fell on me alone.“You don’t have to stay, Matthew
The house felt unusually still as I put away the last of the dishes. Lachlan had left just after dinner, saying he’d be home soon. He was working late again and had just come home during lunch break to spend time with me before he took off again. Lately, “soon” had been stretching longer and longer, but tonight, with the baby restless, I missed his presence more than usual. I sighed, patting my belly gently. “He’ll be home any minute now, my miracle, don't you worry,” I whispered, hoping it would somehow make the time pass faster. Lillian wasn't in the house today. She had gone to her home for her usual medical checkup, so she was sending her daughter to her place. Her name is Rebecca, and she and I have spoken a few times on the phone. She is a really lovely person. So yes, I was all alone in this empty house with nothing else to do but sleep. Which was exactly what I did. Cooking dinner did a number on me. My whole back was aching. Maybe I could ask Lachlan to give me one of thos
LACHLANThis whole week has been nothing but great. I had just closed a million-dollar deal with a company I've been chasing throughout the year. I had my beautiful wife waiting for me at home, and our son or daughter was going to be born soon. Amelia didn't want to find out the gender before the baby was born. She said it would ruin the thrill of having our first child. She wanted it to be a surprise for both of us. I, on the other hand, so badly wanted a daughter. Someone I could pamper, learn how to braid for, buy dresses for because she was my pretty princess, and chase away boys who wanted to come close to her. I didn't realise I was smiling widely until my cheeks started to hurt. I quickly stopped my daydreaming and continued to sign the projects we were supposed to commence with. I was planning on building a few gas stations in Dubai. My friend Abdul Rashad, who lives there, told me it would be a very good investment. Expanding my business was my goal. The whole world would kn
AMELIA I woke up that morning and Lachlan was already out of bed. My hands touched the side of his bed and was met with cold and empty space. Except for a single white rose. A smile spread across my face as I picked up the stalk. I brought the flower to my nose and took a deep inhale into my lungs. It's been 3 weeks since Lachlan and I made up, and ever since that day, he always left a single white rose on the bed next to me every morning. I asked him why he chose a white rose, and he replied with the statement, “It represents your purity. You're the light to my darkness. That's why I chose this particular flower.” I had gotten so emotional I was already a crying mess before he finished his statement. He had called me a crybaby, and I cursed him out, and then we made love over and over again. The new Lachlan was my favourite Lachlan. We had so much fun together and every waking day was so full of love and happiness. Life was getting better. An additional reason why I said so was