EMMA POV—-I wiped my face, trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape. “Natalie, listen, we were just kids back then. I never meant to hurt you like that, and I’m sorry for what happened. But this?” I gestured to my mother, who sat silently with her hands covering her mouth in shock. “This is too much. You’ve crossed a line.”Her eyes flashed with satisfaction as she looked between me and my mother. “It’s a win-win for me, Emma. Now your mother knows everything—how you paid her hospital bills by sleeping with a married man and how you became a stripper.”My breath caught in my throat, the humiliation of those words hanging in the air. “Only one night,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “It was just one night.”“One night doesn’t change what you’ve become,” she shot back, her smile growing wider as she saw the hurt spreading across my face. “You made that choice, and now you’re paying for it.”I stood there, frozen in place, unable to form a response. Natalie was supp
EMMA POVRobert stood on my porch, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his tailored slacks. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but it wasn't out of excitement. It was out of anger—pure, burning rage."Why are you even here again?" I demanded, my voice sharp and uninviting.He looked surprised, almost as if he didn’t expect my reaction. His blue eyes softened. “I missed you, Emma, I have searched for you almost everywhere and finally I met you on the street," he said, his tone tender and full of meaning.I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest. “Please, spare me the theatrics. That was just one night. You don't need to be here. And how did you even find out where I live?” I could hear the venom in my words, but I didn’t care. His presence here was suffocating, and I wasn’t about to let him see me break.Robert’s face tightened slightly, but he quickly covered it with a smile. “That’s not the issue, Emma. Can we just get into the car and have a proper conversation?
EMMA POVFew days later, everywhere was quiet, Robert stopped looking for me and I decided to stay with my mom happily, she was finally okay, all of a sudden I threw up."What?" She asked "Probably fever, I have been stressing myself alot lately" I said trying to cover up for myself, I hadn't seen my period, I have used alot of things, come to think of it I am a kid and I havent experienced this kind of thing before."Fever right?" She asked I nodded "Probably" "Probably?" She asked "Ofcourse mom, what were you expecting?" I asked She nodded, her eyebrow raised and she continued eating.After we finished eating I cleared the table and rushed back into my room. I knew I could either be pregnant or have a fever. I walked out of the house and rushed to a nearby hospital for a check up.Few hours later the doctor called me in and handed me the result only to find out that I am pregnant.I stared down at the crisp white paper in my trembling hands. The word pregnant leaped out at me,
EMMA POVThe thoughts circled back to that dark cloud, the one that had been lurking in the back of my mind ever since the doctor handed me that piece of paper. The thought that maybe I didn’t have to go through with this. Maybe I could make it all go away. But how?I sat up, glancing at my phone on the nightstand. I needed to talk to someone, to figure out what my options really were. But who could I turn to? My mom would freak out. My friends—none of them would understand.Think, Emma. Think.The next morning, I made my decision. I couldn’t keep this baby. Not now, not like this. It was the only thing that made sense, even though it hurt to admit it. But I had no idea how to make it happen.I called the doctor’s office again, this time with a different question.“Hey Doctor, it’s me… Emma,” I said hesitantly. “I was hoping to get some more information on, um, what kinds of things could cause complications during pregnancy. I’ve been feeling really stressed and worried, and I just wa
EMMA POV—-Tears blurred my vision as I curled up into a ball, hugging my knees to my chest. The enormity of the situation felt like it was swallowing me whole. I was so lost, so overwhelmed, and there didn’t seem to be any way out. No easy solution, no simple answer.And then there was the other part of me, the part that still felt some strange, unwanted connection to the life growing inside me. It was so tiny, so fragile, and yet… it was a part of me. That thought made it all the more terrifying, and all the more complicated.I couldn’t keep the baby. I wasn’t ready. But could I live with the consequences of doing something to end it? Could I carry that weight for the rest of my life? Days turned into weeks, and I felt like I was walking through a fog. My emotions were all over the place, and I was exhausted—physically, mentally, emotionally. My mom continued to ask questions, and I continued to deflect, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before she pressed harder.One afternoon, she
Robert groggily opened his eyes to find Carolyn standing beside his bed, a radiant smile on her face."Good morning, dearie," Carolyn said, her voice husky.Robert rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. "Only a good morning is okay, Carolyn."Carolyn's smile faltered for a moment before she regained her composure. "Fine….You have a visitor. She says her name is Natalie."Robert's mind struggled to place the name. "Natalie..." he murmured, and then it clicked – Emma's friend.He nodded, throwing off the covers. "Alright, I'll see her."But Carolyn's grip on his arm halted him."Who on earth is Natalie?" Carolyn asked, her voice tinged with possessiveness.Robert raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"Carolyn's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you're flirting with some teenage girl."Robert's patience began to fray. "For goodness' sake, Carolyn, you're my ex-wife, not my wife. Do not overstep your boundaries, maintain peace please just for the kids."Carolyn's smile twi
“Who the fuck is Emma?” she whispered to herself, her voice trembling. “And they had a one-night stand? How could Robert do such a thing?”She let the letter fall to the floor as if it had burned her. Carolyn’s mind raced, the words swirling in her head like a storm she couldn’t control. Emma. The name felt foreign and dangerous, like a curse she didn’t understand. And one-night stand? With Robert? Her ex husband? Probably that's too much for her to understand.Carolyn’s legs buckled, and she sat on the edge of the bed, hands trembling. She felt like the ground had been ripped out from under her, leaving her suspended in a void. Robert had never mentioned anyone named Emma. But the letter—the words—there was no mistaking the truth.Her initial reaction was one of hurt. Not because she still loved him—Not that, it had died long before the ink dried on their divorce papers—but because he had moved on. He was supposed to be the one suffering after the divorce, the one regretting every de
ROBERT POVIvy nodded and left the room, leaving me alone with Kian."What’s going on, man?" I asked, sensing something was off with him. Kian usually radiated confidence, but today there was something different—something heavier in his demeanor.He sat down, hesitating for a moment. "I met someone last night and…."I raised an eyebrow, not in the mood for one of his club stories. "Don’t start please."“Cant you just listen to what I have to say first?” Kia asked“It's about a girl, you met at the club, I am not in for that Kian” I said my voice low and firmHe smirked but there was a sadness behind his eyes. "Yeah you are right and No, it’s not like that. I actually talked to her, you know? But she didn’t even look me in the eye."I leaned forward, intrigued despite myself. "Now that’s rare for a rich guy like you to be snubbed, she must be a strange and different girl.""Tell me about it, why did that happen? I was in the club buying drinks and spraying lots of cash but she wasn't ev
The air in the car was thick with an unspoken tension, one that had grown since Alexander and Mia had received the call earlier that day. They had been in the midst of their normal routines when Robert, with a steady voice, had informed them that it was time. Time to visit their mother. Time to hear the truth.The truth.Both of them had lived with the quiet discomfort of knowing something wasn’t quite right for years, but they had never dared to look closer. Now, the call had come, and there was no turning back. They were going to face their mother, and they knew—on some level—that this visit would shatter whatever image they had left of her.Alexander, the eldest daughter, sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window. His eyes were tired, his face drawn, and though he was only in his early twenties, the weight of the last few months had aged him. Mia, the middle daughter, sat in the back, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She was fifteen, but there was a maturity to her
The sound of Emma's breath was ragged, shallow, as she struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists. Her mind was racing, frantic with the knowledge that she had been trapped once again. The tightness in her chest had nothing to do with the rope, but everything to do with the realization that she had been caught in a web so tangled, so insidious, she had no idea how to escape.It had started as a day like any other. After hearing the news of Natalie’s death, Emma had tried to move on. Tried to believe that the worst was behind her, that the nightmare of manipulation, lies, and fear was finally over. But in a twisted turn of fate, the very thing she had hoped for had become her worst fear.She had thought they were free. But they were far from it.The sound of footsteps echoed through the empty warehouse, and Emma's heart skipped a beat. She barely had time to react before the door to the room opened. Standing there was James, his eyes cold, calculating."So, we meet again," he sa
The morning light filtered softly through the curtains of Ava's apartment, casting a golden hue on the empty space. It should have been peaceful—a quiet, calm morning. But for Ava, it felt anything but. The air was thick with the weight of the news that had reached her just before dawn.She sat in front of the TV, her eyes glued to the screen as the anchor’s voice filled the room, the words she never thought she would hear reverberating in her mind.“...police have confirmed the death of Natalie Carmichael, 32, found in her apartment under suspicious circumstances. Sources say her death appears to be the result of foul play, and the investigation is ongoing.”The words barely reached her as Ava's gaze flickered to the coffee table where her phone lay, still buzzing with missed calls. The message was clear, but Ava couldn't quite absorb it. Natalie—dead. Ava felt a numbness settle over her, like someone had placed a heavy blanket over her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to make sens
The low hum of the city beyond Natalie’s window did nothing to calm her nerves. The pale glow of her desk lamp cast long shadows across the room, but they did little to chase away the tension that had been building in her chest all day. She had been expecting this. She had known it would come to this. But still, as she stared at the laptop in front of her, a sinking feeling twisted in her stomach.The truth was, she had always known the day would come when her little game would be exposed. She had built it carefully, piece by piece, all the while knowing the stakes were high. The laptop, with all of Carolyn’s secrets in her hands, was her lifeline. Every file, every detail, was carefully documented. Carolyn’s darkest fears, her hidden truths—they were all there. And Natalie had been holding onto them, knowing they would give her leverage when the time came.But now, she wasn’t so sure. Now, she felt more like a prisoner than a player in this twisted game. And that fear was growing wit
The dim light of the café flickered slightly as Carolyn sat at a corner booth, her fingers nervously tapping on the edge of her coffee cup. She had arrived early, more out of habit than necessity. She needed time to think, time to prepare. Her mind was still reeling from the conversation she’d overheard between Emma and Ava. There was something off about Ava—something dark beneath the surface. Carolyn couldn't shake the feeling that Ava had known more than she was letting on. And that unsettling thought had led her here, to this meeting with Natalie.It had taken Carolyn days to arrange it. The plan was simple: give Natalie the money she had promised, ask her what she knew, and—if the time came—take the steps necessary to protect herself. But even as she sat there, waiting, she wasn’t sure which version of herself would show up in the end. The woman who was still clinging to the hope of a happy, intact family, or the one who had begun to realize how deep the betrayal ran.Carolyn glan
The soft light of dusk filtered through the curtains, casting a pale glow over the room. Emma sat on the edge of her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them as though trying to hold herself together. The silence of the house felt suffocating, like a heavy blanket that pressed against her chest, making it hard to breathe. The words the doctor had said kept echoing in her mind, each syllable a sharp reminder of the pain that had settled deep inside her, the loss that she couldn’t yet process, let alone accept.The doctor’s voice had been gentle, kind even, but the truth was still there, unspoken, hanging in the air between them. She would never be able to carry another child. The miscarriage had left scars deeper than she could explain, but it was the doctor’s words that had truly shattered her—words that spoke of a future that now seemed barren and empty. She would never experience the joy of a new life growing inside her, the miracle of childbirth. The thought h
The silence that followed Robert’s departure seemed to hang in the air, thick and suffocating. Alexander could hear the sound of her own breath, shallow and uneven, as though the weight of the moment was slowly crushing her from the inside out. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Robert, her father, had turned away from her. He hadn’t even tried to understand. Instead, he had dismissed her, as if her words meant nothing, as if all the suspicion and doubt she felt were just the ramblings of an overreacting child.Carolyn stood beside her, a steady presence in the storm of emotions swirling in the room. Her mother’s touch on her shoulder was comforting, but it couldn’t quell the gnawing feeling of betrayal that had settled deep within her.“He’s not listening, Mom,” Alexander whispered, her voice barely audible. She felt the tears prickling at the edges of her eyes but refused to let them fall. She had no room for weakness right now. “He doesn’t believe me.”Carolyn said nothin
The house was quiet, too quiet. The air in the living room felt heavy, thick with the tension that had followed Ava’s abrupt exit. The muffled sound of footsteps moving from one room to another only served to amplify the silence, until Alexander was sure she could hear the sound of her own heartbeat. Carolyn sat across from her, still looking as though she were processing the events of the last few minutes. The room felt like it was closing in on her, the weight of suspicion and the terrifying unknown pressing in from all sides.She couldn’t shake the image of Ava’s face when she had asked her the question. The way Ava had looked at her, that brief flicker of panic, that brief hesitation, followed by the hard, impenetrable defense. It had all felt wrong, as if Ava were hiding something—no, concealing something. The more Alexander thought about it, the more it made sense. Ava’s insistence that she hadn’t done anything, the way she had tried to brush off Alexander’s accusations as if th
___The walls of the room felt impossibly close, pressing in around Alexander like a vise. Her heart raced, her mind spiraling, as the weight of what she had witnessed in the kitchen gnawed at her relentlessly. She wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t imagining things. She knew what she saw. Ava had done something—something that had caused Emma’s miscarriage. She could feel it in her bones, a deep, unsettling certainty that wouldn’t let go.But now, sitting across from Ava, she wasn’t so sure anymore. Ava had denied everything when she asked, had brushed off her questions with a calmness that only made Alexander more suspicious. Ava’s voice was smooth, too smooth, as if she were trying to convince herself as much as Alexander. The words that tumbled from her mouth were rehearsed, practiced—nothing but smoke and mirrors."I didn’t do anything, Alex," Ava said again, her voice soft but firm. "I’m not sure what you think you saw, but there was nothing in that chicken. I just added a little rosemary,