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
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 morning and my eyes fluttered open as I smiled warmly; memories of the night replaying in my mind. I and my boyfriend spent almost all night making love, only leaving me with a few hours to sleep, yet I felt well-rested. A smile lingered on my lips and a warm feeling filled my chest. I was so happy that I had proved to my wealthy parents that they were wrong; that love could truly be found anywhere, even in the heart of a commoner. I could not deny that Samuel was the love of my life. He was one of a kind, the type of person that you met once in a lifetime. He was my rock, my lifeline, and my everything. I never thought I would even think of settling down until now. I had never been in a relationship for this long. Everything was falling into place. I was living my fairy tale life; the one that I read about in my favorite novels. Who could have thought that the day I bumped into him on the subway would be the start of a beautiful love story? He was so nervous and I was
Had I just heard my mother right? An arranged marriage? It all was just getting worse and worse. “You must be joking,” I scoffed the words out. I stared at her blank expression and chuckled dryly. Yes, my parents were controlling but not this controlling. They would never push me into a loveless, stale marriage, no matter what that reason was. At least that was what I thought. “Heather, you have been alone for the past two years, it’s not healthy for you or for the family’s image,” She said to me. I used all my inner strength to stop myself from rolling my eyes out of respect for her. Even if it was about my life, my parents always had a way to make it about them. I bit her tongue back, withholding from telling my mother that I had been in a beautiful relationship with a perfect man for the past two years. If Samuel was the type of man that my parents wanted me to be in a relationship with, then I would have told them about him in a heartbeat, and this whole arranged marriage
With widened eyes and a shaky breath, I stared at Samuel. He had a small smile on his face as he studied my shocked expression. What the hell was going on? With shock, sadness, anger, and so many emotions filling me, I slapped Samuel hard across his face, causing him to double back and let out a string of cusses. I did not wait for him to regain his composure but rather let out my anger by hitting his strong muscular body in an attempt to cause him to feel at least a small portion of how hurt I felt. “How could you?!” I cried as I hit him with my hands. I was pissed but mostly hurt. After breaking up with me with no explanation, and ghosting me, he had the guts to stand in front of me with a smile. Was he a sociopath? “Ouch, stop hitting me!” The man protected himself by using his arms as a shield before he finally grabbed me by my waist, closed the door with his leg, and held me tightly, not giving me the chance to assault him. “Stop fighting!” He tried to get me to calm down b
I could not believe my eyes. My heart was thumping in my chest and my palms became sweaty as I stared into the face of the love of my life that had dumped me via a stupid rashly-written note. Deep inside, I felt joy and wanted to run to him so I could give him a bear hug but I had to keep my composure. I needed to know whether that note was just a prank or if it was actually a real thing; if he had written it for the sole purpose of kicking me out of his life. “Sammy?” I walked closer to him. His eyes confirmed that it was him. It was my Samuel. I could never forget those eyes. He was out of words. A look of incredible shock sat on his face. He blinked rapidly for a few seconds as if he wanted to make sure that he was not hallucinating. “Heather, what are you doing here? Ho-how are you even here?” I scoffed and shook her head slowly. Before speaking, I quickly took out the note that he had written me and shoved it into his chest. “You don’t get to ask the questions here. I do.
I watched as Samuel was led out of the mansion, and I could not do anything. This was not America, my last name did not have as much power here in London as it did there. So the only thing that I decided to do was find Sterling and get more information as to what the hell was going on. I released a sigh and then walked in the direction that he took off in. I could smell his cologne as I headed for the living room. When I reached there, I saw him sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer in his hand. “Excuse me? We need to talk.” I was polite. “Please…” He barely looked at me. He kept his eyes trained on the show that was playing on the huge TV as he took sips of his beer. “Sterling, we need to talk,” I said a bit louder as I folded my arms on my chest. Again, he ignored me. I knew that he was hearing me clearly and was aware of my presence, so the fact that he was pretending that I was not there started to annoy me. I unfolded my arms, huffed, and reached for the remote control
Prison? Did I hear Sterling right? But that made no sense. My parents may have not been perfect people but there was no way that they were criminals. “I don’t understand…” I said under my breath. “What do you mean by that, Sterling?” I asked him as he walked away. “I’m talking to you!” I stopped him by holding his arm. He stopped and then looked at me. A small smile played on his rosy pink lips. “Heather,” He began, his voice breathy. “I really don’t want to look like the bad guy here. So please, I’m begging you. Sign those papers.”“What did my parents do?” He gently removed my hand from his arms before responding. “I really want to tell you, but I can’t. At least not now.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. “I’d suggest you ask your parents and if they don’t tell you, then trust that they love you and that signing those papers would be the best for your family.” He flashed me a small smile and then walked off. I stood in the living room as I tried to process it all. If this was no
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