The car ride was quiet for the first ten minutes, but after that, Sterling was the first to break the silence. “So are we reporting your mother to the detective?” He turned his attention away from the window and looked at me. “Or are we going to let her get away with killing Patty?” His eyes were filled with pain. I did not know how to reply to him or explain how I felt. I wanted more time; more time to be able to understand fully what was going on. Or maybe even though my mom had done something despicable, I just did not want her to go to prison. He scoffed. “Your silence says it all.” He turned away from me and stared out the window. Samuel glanced at me and I exhaled deeply. “Okay, fine. Let’s report her to the police.” “Wait, really?” Samuel asked. We were now in traffic and the car was not moving anymore. “I know your mom did something awful but she’s still your mom. Would you seriously consider sending her to prison?” I shrugged and relaxed my weight on the car seat. “She h
Laying on Samuel’s chest had me feeling a sense of normalcy and security. It reminded me of the good old days; of how things used to be so simple and almost perfect. “Okay, let’s talk about it. Letting fear paralyze you from making a decision does nothing good for you. You would still have to make that decision. And the longer you wait, the more complicated and uncomfortable things would get,” Samuel explained. “And if you wait even longer, life would make the decision for you. And we all know that life tends to do things that are unfair and messy. So, let’s go. We are going to talk this out like we used to do with everything that came out way. And you are going to make a decision,” He continued. The cloud of anxiety and fear hovering over my heart was still evident but I felt like I gained a little more control after Samuel’s speech. “Gosh, I love you so much.” I giggled, and he planted a kiss on my forehead. “And as you, my love for you only grows stronger by the day.” His voice
I swallowed and then glanced at Sterling and Samuel for some support. “What do I tell her?” I mouthed to Sterling, and he shrugged. Samuel had a worried look on his face but it was clear that he did not know what to say either. “Hello? Are you still there, Mrs. Williams?” I nodded as if she could see me but then corrected my mistake by speaking. “Yes. I’m here. And to answer your question, yes, I did meet with Summer. But it was not a story that she fed to me. It was the truth.” I heard the detective scoff on the phone. “You know that I can hold you for obstruction of justice, right?” “Wh-what? I’m only trying to help find the actual killer.” “And you so happened to get that information from our main suspect that has been on the run.” “She’s not on the run,” I tried to argue but Samuel mouthed to me, “She is.” “Mrs. Williams, I promise you that if this happens again, I would have you arrested.” Her voice was firm. “But as a detective, my job here is to find out the trut
“I’m the real loser here,” He breathed out the words and then sat on the bed. “Not only did I lose Patty, but with you breaking out of the contract marriage, that would take away the first heir right from me and give it back to Samuel. Everything that I had ever hoped for, imagined, and worked for, would be gone in a blink of an eye.” “Samuel does not want to be heir,” I tried to convince him. I closed the distance between us and sat next to him on the bed. The clothes and the small bag of toiletries that I had in my hands were placed on the bed also. “And he told you that?” He looked at me and sniffled. “Who wouldn’t want power, influence, and wealth?” He made eye contact with me, and my heart broke for him. Sadness was all I could see in his beautiful eyes. “Sammy wouldn’t.” I smiled weakly. “Remember, he had it all at first but threw it all away to come to New York and make a life for himself. Trust me, he does not want this life.” “Mm…then why did he break up with you with a n
When morning came, my eyes fluttered open and I could not resist yawning. For some reason, I felt well-rested. But a feeling of sadness lingered in my belly. When I adjusted myself on the bed by turning around, I saw the reason why that sadness was there. Sterling was still asleep and he was closer to me than I expected. He looked so innocent and at peace as he slept. I could not stop staring at him. And as I did, I could tell that he was not as identical to Samuel in appearance as I thought. His face was more structured and his lashes were longer. There was a very small black birthmark on his lower lip and his eyebrows were not as much as his brother’s.He was the reason that sadness sat in the belly. I felt bad that I was going to leave the contract marriage, therefore ruining his life. But it was something that I had to do. I really hoped that now that it was morning, he would be a bit open to the idea, instead of depressed and triggered. His closed eyelids began to move ever so
I think Sterling and I knew how they knew about me wanting to get out of the contract marriage. “The lawyers,” He and I said at the same time. Samuel made a small sound and then asked, “What? Lawyers?” “Yeah, lawyers. I finally had the talk with Sterling and he’s somehow okay with me getting out of the marriage. So I had him call the lawyers this morning to get the process started,” I explained.“And?”“They told us that it would all go smoothly because I was not against her leaving. But they would have to notify both of our parents.” Sterling added. He kept his eyes on the road as he did so. “Well…they were indeed notified. Because I was pulled out of bed and into a meeting this morning.” “What did they say in the meeting?” I inquired. “And where are you? We have already left the house. We’re headed to the police station. Where should we pick you up?” Samuel chuckled. “Heather, you’re bombarding me with questions. Take it easy on me.” Humor laced his voice, and I could not help
“Mom?” I stood to my feet. “What are you doing here?” She looked slightly surprised to see me but then her surprise faded very quickly. “Heather…” Her tone was hard. “We need to talk. I got a call from the lawyers and the Williams this morning. What are you doing?” “I’m not going to discuss this with you. It’s simple. I don’t want to be married anymore.” My voice was firm and confident. “And you. You’re okay with it?” She glanced at Sterling. “Um…yeah, I guess.” He shrugged in response. “It's her decision and I respect that.” Her phone suddenly stopped her from saying what she was about to say. She pulled it out and stared at the screen for a few seconds before looking back at us. “I have to leave. But this conversation isn’t over.” As soon as she turned around to walk away, I asked her, “Hey, what were you talking about with the detective?” She chuckled lightly. “She called me in for some information regarding Summer.” She smiled and then walked away. “Hey, I think we should
I took in a deep breath to calm myself. “You don’t have to drive to me. If you want us to talk about everything, and I mean everything, then I would come over to your hotel. But under one condition, you come clean about everything. Not just to me but also the detection,” I told my mom. By her silence and breathing for the next few seconds, I could tell that she did not like that idea. She finally decided to break the silence. “Just come over, Heather. I will send you the address.” “Will dad be there?” “No. He’s not in the country. He went back to America.” I breathed out a sigh. I did not blame him. He was fooled; played by my mom just like I had been. The only thing that broke my heart a bit was the fact that he did not call me or anything. “Of course, he went back,” I replied. “Just…just come and see me before the day ends.” She dropped the call. I took the phone from my ear and placed it on my lap. “You’re going to see her? Is that even safe?” Samuel asked. “Let me come alon
My heart was pounding and I stood up from the chair and breathed out a labored sigh. I stared at the screen on the computer and it was still loading. There was literally one minute remaining and waiting for the one minute felt like torture. I knew that the guys that the IT guys had sent were already on their way, and that made me even more anxious. “Come on, come on,” I repeated to myself like a mantra as I stared at the screen of the computer. “Come on!” I yelled and then the countdown started. There were only forty seconds left. “Excuse me, ma’am, would you kindly step away from the computer?” One of the guys said as he entered the office with two more guys with him. My heart dropped and it was like everything was in slow motion for a few seconds as my brain tried to process everything that was happening. Then my mind resumed back into real-time. I turned in the direction of the computer and quickly pulled out the small device expertly. The screen of the computer went back t
It was the next day and the morning was beautiful. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and the birds were chirping away. The air was warm and the smell of pancakes lingered. Sterling was dressed in a really nice black business suit and a red tie. His hair was styled to perfection and he looked really good. He smelled really good too. I watched him as he admired himself in the full-length mirror until he turned and locked eyes with me. “How do I look?” He asked as he flashed me a gleeful smile. “Hmm, okay, I guess,” I replied to him as I shrugged. I walked past him and checked myself up in the mirror. I was wearing a beautiful red dress that was a bit short. It stopped me right above my knees. I allowed my hair to flow down my shoulders and I even did my make-up. I was a bit skinnier than I usually was because of everything that had been happening but I looked really good regardless. I turned back in his direction and asked, “How do I look?”“Smoking hot!” He did not miss a be
The car radio was playing a popular African song as Sterling and I were being driven to the hospital. It was a few minutes past midnight and the windows were rolled all the way up, as the AC blasted, producing cold air. Sterling and I were sitting in the backseat and the one who was driving was Zack. I could not stop my heart from racing and maybe would have had a panic attack if Zack was not there with me. “You look nervous,” Sterling pointed out and then chuckled. “You should not be if you’re telling the truth about your dad being at the hospital.” He smirked and then tried to touch my arm but I pulled away from him. “I’m not nervous, I’m just pissed that you think I’m lying and that you’re dragging me out at this hour because you’re insecure,” I said in response and he made a small throaty sound before looking out the window. I caught Zack glancing at me from the rearview mirror, there was worry in his eyes and I was praying that he would come up with some kind of plan to get m
My heart dropped and I swallowed as I tried to compose myself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I stood to my feet and still held the device behind me. “I’d suggest you leave, I would like to be alone.” The guard stared at me as humor danced in his eyes. “Let’s talk outside, hmm?” He smiled lopsidedly. I furrowed my eyebrows and scoffed. “There is no way I’m walking even two steps with you.” I kept my eyes on him and kept scanning his body for any kind of weapon. My mind kept asking the same question over and over and I could not get it to stop. It kept asking, “Is this guy going to kill me because he knows what I have?” “Will you calm down for a second?” He chuckled and ran his hand through his wavy brown hair. He took a few steps closer to me but I backed away in caution. “I’m Zack.” He extended his hand for a handshake but I only stared at it. “Okay? Look, Zack, I don’t know what you’re trying to do; maybe you just want to be my friend, but I am really not in the mood
The AC was on in the car and even outside was cold but after Sterling asked me, I felt hot. I looked everywhere but at him, refusing to make eye contact with him. I fidgeted with the tips of my hair and my mind reminded me of what to say. “Was I not clear on the phone?” I asked him boldly, despite how wildly my nerves were. “The accident happened out of nowhere. A billionaire helped my dad and me by taking us to the hospital.” “I know, I called the hospital.” He breathed out a short sigh. “There is a record of you being there.” “Then why are you pressing me for information that I have already given you?” He stared at me for a few seconds and then chuckled to himself. “You know what? My bad, I’m sorry. I’m just a little paranoid. And you can’t blame me, can you? Considering the family that I come from.” He reached for the steering wheel. He pressed on the gas and we were on the move in no time. “It’s okay,” I brushed him off as I release a breath of relief before looking out the
We all watched my dad with pleasantly shocked expressions on our faces. “Dad, are you for real?” I asked him, and he chuckled as he nodded slowly. “The truth is I actually forgot about that until now. I too, thought that we had lost it all. But I remembered that I BC’d my work email when I send those copies,” He explained. “Wow, that is great. Oh my gosh,” Patty could not contain her happiness. She took her laptop and typed on the keyboard a couple of times before handing it over to my dad. “Is that for him to log in?” Daniel asked as he stood to his feet and walked from behind his desk. Patty nodded as she sat on the other side of the couch. I was sitting on the left side of him so I had a great view. Daniel and his colleague soon joined us and had to stand but it was worth it, of course. My dad used the laptop to log in to his email account and in a full minute, the display showed a bunch of emails; it was now logged in. There were a lot of new emails but the main one that we w
When the car finally came to a stop, I could not help but look out the window at the huge building that we had stopped right in front of. It was an impressive glass building. “Come on, you two, let’s get going,” The driver said when he turned off the engine and proceeded to get down. “Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled under my breath as I opened the door at my side so I could get down. When I got down, my dad followed shortly after and we were led into the building. We got a lot of stares when we reached the lobby. Almost everyone was staring at us. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable and I was trying to weigh if being here was better than going back to America. We finally had the chance to get back to our old lives, but we were pulled right back into the drama of the Williams. I wanted it to be over but I could not deny the fact that this was an opportunity to do what my dad and I could not do on our own: take down Sterling for what he did.The doors of the elevator opened and we got in. Th
It was the next day; all our bags had been packed and were being placed in the back of one of the many cars parked in the compound. My dad and I were standing on the porch as it drizzled. The air smelled of wet soil and the clouds were dark and gloomy. We had an hour to get to the airport so we could check in. I could not believe that we were finally leaving London. But it was indeed happening. What made my spirit heavy and my heart bleed was that I was going back to America without Samuel. It pained me that I was going to go back to our apartment and get to sleep on the bed that we had been sleeping on for years. I was pretty sure that that apartment had a lot of reminders of Samuel. His scent on the bedsheets, his clothes in the closet, his favorite cereal in the cabinet. There would be so much that would remind me of him. I wished that I had the guts to take Sterling down. I wished that I could continue to try to vindicate Samuel and give him the justice that he deserved. But I
My dad and I waited for Sterling to say something. We had our eyes trained on him and I could not stop my heart from racing. “I love how you two are looking at me,” He walked away from me and towards the door. He gestured for the guards to exit the room. But they were tentative about that. “Are you sure, sir? He’s not tied up.” One of the guards pointed out. “I would be okay,” Sterling replied and waited until the guards walked out of the room. Even though they left the room, I could still hear them mumbling right outside of the closed door. “Sterling, you promised to let us go. Please do as you have promised.” I locked eyes with him. “He won’t,” My dad scoffed the words out. “He scammed us. He tricked us into doing his bidding. Now, he is going to do whatever the hell he wants.” He stood to his feet and paced and walked towards me. “Glad to see that you have no faith in me.” Sterling chuckled. “You two have nothing to worry about. I would have a flight booked for you two by tom