To say I was stunned would be an understatement. Folding my arms, I gazed into the eyes of a mother-in-law who had made my life miserable. Who would have thought a day like this would come? Fast at that? It was surreal. I had to pinch myself numerous times to be certain my mind wasn't making anything up.Dashiell placed his left palm on my shoulder as he stood next to me. He didn't make a sound, but I knew what he had in mind. The hand on my shoulder told me everything. He just wanted me to know he would stand by me, no matter what I decide on. "You are doing this because of the kids, right?” I made it sound like a question when it wasn't. There was no uncertainty about it. She wanted to extend the olive branch because of her grandkids. Had it not been for them, I doubt she would have been here. Amaya would never stoop low for something that wouldn't be beneficial to her.“Mama Kaka would have been thrilled to know you have babies. She cared for you, you know?” She questioned, ignor
LILITH I had done worse. Sending assassins to get rid of Nova was worse than the accident, right? What I wasn't supporting, was hurting the kids. I knew I tried to harm them when they were in their mother's womb, but that's not the same. While in their mother's womb, the kids wouldn't have felt anything had they gotten flushed out. However, since the kids were almost six years old, harming them was the worst crime in the entire world. I just didn't feel that good watching the trailer run into their car at the intersection, but Zoey seemed pleased. “Now, that we have gotten that out of the way, we need to proceed with the other plans,” she said as she dropped a file on the table, startling to me. “We need to get Nova out of the path. After that, the mission will be complete. You will have your Dashiell, while I meet Brion.” Her eyes darkened as she called his name. She didn't look like one pinning over a man she couldn't have, just like me. She looked like the Grim Reaper, plannin
DASHIELLAfter bidding farewell to my mum. I turned to go, only to be stopped by a call. I brought my phone out of my pocket and answered it after seeing the caller's ID. I wasn't expecting Ben to call me this morning after we spoke last night. “Hello?”“I've checked their backgrounds,” he said, not sparing time for pleasantries. “Brion isn't who you Lilith claimed he is. Someone worked on those pictures. I have sent the originals to your phone. You will see just how good whoever worked on it is.”“What?!” I froze in my steps. “Are you certain about this?”Oddly enough, I wanted Brion to be the bad person. Call me selfish or whatever you have in mind, but you can't fault me for that. Should he turn out to be the villain, it wouldn't be difficult to get Nova to my side. However, if all I knew were lies, then… “Lilith lied.” “Exactly my thoughts. She provided fake evidence to you and lied about him. Which made me investigate her.” “And?” “I found nothing unusual about her.” “What?
Brion was eating when I walked in. Nova, who was feeding him, turned towards the door, smiling when she saw me. "I thought you followed your mum home?” She teased, putting the spoon in the food flask. “Nah. I escorted her to the door. We didn't have that much to talk about.” “Oh.” She returned her focus to Brion, who was glaring at me. He didn't seem that thrilled to see me in his room, not like I was happy to be there, mind you. I just wanted to see Nova. It wasn't as if I had any reason to visit him. I walked over to the chair next to his bed, opposite the one Nova was sitting on. “How are you doing? Heard you hit your head pretty bad? Did you perhaps lose your memories?” I tried to joke, to brighten the atmosphere, but he didn't seem that pleased. Glaring, he focused on Nova, ignoring me. Shrugging, I sat on the chair, smirking. “Don't tell me you lost your memories? It's a pity you don't recognize me. But it's good. Don't you think?”Brion turned to me, his gaze still as hos
His eyes narrowed at that. “Why will she try to involve me in this? What's in it for her?” He looked up from the phone, focusing his attention on me. “Why's she doing this?”“It's something I'm trying to work out.” I crossed my legs. “I know we are enemies since we love the same woman, and you want nothing to do with me, just like I don't, but I think we need to work together. We have a common enemy. Whoever attempted to harm Nova back then was undoubtedly the one who caused the accident. I had seen the footage. It wasn't as accidental as they wanted to make it look.”“I see.” He dropped my phone on the bed next to him. “What do you have in mind? Do you have a plan already?”“Not at the moment.” Shaking my head, I sat up in the chair. “I employed a secret detective weeks ago, but he hadn't given me any positive feedback. I had to chat one up today. He's the best hacker, and I hope to get a response before evening, or tomorrow.”"I see.” Brion's expression turned thoughtful. "A hacker,
NOVADashiell had to move the beds closer so we could see the kids without dividing our attention between them. My cheeks hurt from smiling and my eyes puffy from crying — tears of joy, mind you. Seeing my kids awake after being unconscious for a day was the best thing ever. I never thought I would feel so happy, it would seem like I was floating in the air.Brion came to visit them. A nurse helped bring him down with the help of a wheelchair. The children were excited to see him. None of them mentioned the accident, which I was grateful for. I wouldn't want them to reopen a wound that should be closed. “The doctors agreed to discharge them tomorrow,” Dashiell said, sitting next to me. After feeding the kids and putting them back to sleep, I asked him to inform the doctor of my plans to take the kids home. "It took a lot of convincing, but they finally agreed to it." “Really?”"They said as long as a nurse will follow you home, you can take them back. Brion is the one who will be di
DASHIELL“Hello? Any news?” I asked the moment I was out of earshot of Nova. I didn't want her to hear my conversations. Brion said it would be better to keep this from her until we have gotten an answer, which I agreed was the best. Nova would want to know everything and that might endanger her. Keeping her in the dark while seeking her assailants out was the best thing. “I have gotten information on the woman you sent her name to me. Like you suspected, she's involved in a shady business with the men of the underworld.”“What?!” “I sent the file to you. You can review it. When you are done, call me. I'm still tracking her.”“What of the pictures uploaded to my office servers? Was she the one that did it?”“Not at all. She's not a computer-literate. Though the IP leads to a place close to her house, she's not that capable of pulling it off. I believe she has someone, an accomplice who's good enough to keep their tracks hidden. I wouldn't have gotten anything on Lilith if I wasn't
LILITHDashiell called to confirm if I was coming over as we planned, which I agreed to. This was all Zoey's plan. She had everything written. If things worked out well, like she claimed they would, this would be the last time I would meet Dashiell before Nova's death.“Brion will be discharged tomorrow,” she said, casually sitting on the couch. Having forced me to give her a spare key to my house, she came and went whenever she wanted. I didn't even know where she stayed and when I asked about it, I only got an ear full of her barking, which was why I stopped asking. I'd seen no one as secretive as Zoey. She knew just about everything about me, but I couldn't say the same about her. Aside from her name, I couldn't boast of anything else. That was if the name she gave was her real one.“Didn't you hear me?” She interrupted my thoughts, scrunching her nose up. “Why do you seem absentminded these days? Don't tell me you are still thinking of backing out, are you?”I glared but said no
It seemed like the Nova who was acting like a saint downstairs, the one who cared about his health and wanted to take things slow, had been transformed. In her place was one who didn't care at all about anything else but getting her pleasure. My panties were soaking wet already, my pussy throbbing, eager to get down and dirty with him. I doubt I would be down to anything else that didn't include getting on my back with him between my legs, pleasuring me as if his life depended on it. The palm that was on my breasts drifted down. My breath stopped as he slid his hand into my panties. I was wet and ready for him. My responsiveness should have scared me, but it didn't. I didn't even think of how odd it was that I stayed for five years without being touched by another man, only for me to start feeling this damned aroused after just a month without his touch. Had he somehow made me a slave to his passion? I'd heard stories like this, but never thought someone would make a woman love them
“Fuck, Nova,” he growled, his voice getting deeper and sexier. I loved it. Everything about him was so tempting. I didn't think I would ever feel that way for him, but here we were, years after we got married, finally in love with each other. Back when I left the country, I never imagined such a day would come, but it seemed I was wrong all along. I rubbed my fist from the tip to the bottom, still looking at him. Even though his eyes were shut, I loved staring at his face, to know his expression. It was my way of knowing if he was getting into this like I was. I repeated the action once more, running my tongue around the tip of his dick, sucking it in. He groaned, cursing under his breath. Smiling around his dick, I wrapped my fists around him, stroking from the tip to the bottom. His scent, so musky and delicious, aroused me. I was wet and ready to have him make love to me as he promised, but at that moment, I needed to feel him in my mouth, take him deeper until he came. I wanted
I bit my lower lip, peering up at him through my lashes. I felt the flush go from my neck to my cheeks the more intense his gaze became, like he was staring into my soul, seeking answers I couldn't give with my mouth. He reached over to me and rubbed his thumb on my lower lips, his gaze fixed on mine. “What should we do, Nova?” His whispered voice washed through my body like a balm, reaching deep into my spirit. “You are sick,” was all I could manage to say. “You can't —”“It doesn't mean I can't satisfy you, Nova. My legs are yet to heal, but that didn't mean I can't pleasure you, can't make you moan my name as your pussy clamp down on my dick.”My breath hitched in my throat at his words. Gulping, I peered into his eyes. I didn't know how to respond to those words, to the desires swirling deep in his gaze as he placed his hand under my jaw and lifted my gaze towards him. “Dashiell —”“Do you want this just as I do?” He whispered, his breath fanning my face as he came closer. The w
Brion was discharged three days later. Unlike the past few days, he could stand now without being tired or helped. The doctors believe he will recover well at home. After getting discharged, I took him and the kids back home. Dashiell was still getting treatments. They would have discharged him with Brion had it not been for his legs. The doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital for a week more, to check on his recovery. I just prayed everything would work out perfectly. Two weeks later, I drove him back home. Amaya came over to stay in the hospital with him so I could return to work. We had been gone for days, and the shareholders were making snide remarks about it, so I had to return to take care of the office while he recovered. The past few weeks have been a busy one for me. There were piles of work waiting on my desk for me when I returned, and I had to also combine it with Dashiell's. Had it not been for Benita's help, I would have drowned in work. She was such a darling, h
The doctor removed the IV drip before I could visit Dashiell. Ben led me by the hand, keeping me steady as he took me over to the room. Brion and the kids hadn't been alerted yet, so they didn't know we were back. My phone was off, so I hadn't gotten a call from him — yet. However, I knew it was only a matter of time before he called the police to report about me.The moment I opened the door, my eyes locked with that of a shocked man. Emerald eyes bore into mine the second I stepped into the room. "Nova?” He whispered, his voice shaky. He looked like he was imagining me because he lifted his right index and rubbed furiously on his eyes before it landed on me. “You are real?”I nodded, as tears rolled down my eyes. Dashiell was a shell of himself. Just a few days in captivity, and he had gotten so lean, I hardly recognized him. His skin was pale, almost translucent, and his cheekbones jutted out sharply. I was frozen, staring at my lover, and imagining how much he had suffered to l
When I came to, I was lying on a bed. The scent of disinfectant in the room made me realize where I was. I slowly sat up, grimacing at the pain in my arm. I had a bandage wrapped around my biceps, one that was stained with blood.The monitor next to me beeped as if it could sense my discomfort. Wincing, I leaned on the bed as I looked around the empty room. From the looks of it, Ben took me to the clinic I left Brion in. Heaving out a breath, I closed my eyes as images of the last time I was awake assaulted me. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Snapping my eyes open, I looked towards it as it opened and Ben stepped in. “Thank God you are awake,” he said as he walked over to my bed and sat beside me, relief etched on his face. “Welcome back. You've been out for hours.”"Hours?" rubbed my temples, trying to clear the fog. “What of Gabriella?”“Dead. You did a pretty good number on her. The police have agreed to rule it out as self-defence. As she was an offender, it's not
“Where is Dashiell?” I asked after a few seconds, still wondering why she hadn't attacked me. I figured all it would take was a little talk before we get down to business. “Dashiell?” She made a face at that before a knowing smirk took over. Getting up, she glanced towards the stairs, which seemed like it had seen better days. The stairs didn't look like they would last for another year before caving in. Just like the rest of the house, it was dying — most times, I always believed houses were entities. She snapped her fingers and three men appeared from a door behind where she stood, their chest bare, showing off muscles that must have taken years to build. My heart skipped as I gripped the pistol in my hoodie tighter. I knew it was about time for the fight. But I doubt I could take the men on. Gabriella alone? I could. “Do you assume the gun you hid in your hoodie will help you, darling?” She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the sides. "How?" I was dumbstruck by the question. “How
It looked just like the place someone as shady as Zoey would be. As I approached, I noticed the overgrown yard and weeds sprouting through cracks in the pavement. Nature had reclaimed the property, wrapping vines around the porch pillars. I slowed my pace, my senses on high alert. Something felt off. Though Ben's hidden presence reassured me, my heart continued to thud like a bass drum in my chest. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the porch, the wooden boards groaning beneath my feet. The door creaked as I pushed it open, and I called out, “I'm here.” My voice echoed through the empty corridor. At first, nothing happened, until I heard a rather familiar voice asking me to come forward. I looked back at the place Ben was likely hiding in before I fully stepped in and closed the falling door. I shivered as I walked forward, guided by the dim lighting in the hallway before I arrived in the sitting room. A figure sat perched on one of the sofas, the minute I walked in. “Hell
I got dressed for the operation. We didn't return to the hospital because I didn't think it was necessary. Brion would undoubtedly try to talk me out of my plans, which was why I didn't attempt a return there, not until we had gotten everything sorted. Today, I vowed, would be the day I bring Dashiell back home. He had stayed too long with Zoey. It was time for him to return, to his home, to me and the kids.“Ready?” Ben turned to me, lifting a brow, when I stepped out of the motel I checked into to change out of my clothes. I had a bulletproof vest under a hoodie.To cover my guns, I stuffed them into the pockets of my hoodie, waiting until I got an excellent location to conceal them. “Ready,” I confirmed, adjusting my hoodie to ensure the bulletproof vest wasn't visible. “Well, as ready as I can, for a dangerous mission,” I added with a smile. Though I was feeling as nervous as hell, and it felt like my heart was about to leap from my chest, I acted like I was okay. Yeah, perfectly