TRIGGER WARNING: SOME WORDS RELATING TO DEATH HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS CHAPTER, KINDLY PROGRESS WITH CAUTION.LILY’S POVWhile Derek went out to see his friends because of what happened to Q early that morning, I also went to see my shrink together with Mrs. Miller. I still don’t know how Derek was able to tell her even though he left home so early. When Mrs. Miller told me we would be leaving by ten in the morning, I asked her if I could go alone but she said no. Derek had begged her to go with me and it wouldn’t be nice if I actually go there alone. She believes it’s best to hug or hold someone after talking to a Therapist.“I told you the last time we met that I’ll marry you if I see you again,” I smiled as I walked into her office.My therapist, Mrs. Crown is a renowned therapist who has refused to work for any organizations other than Mrs. Miller’s organization. She said it was her dream to help another woman who has gone through abuse find their way to light once more. She really
DEREK’s POV Adorned in black attires, sadness settled on our hearts, darkness was a companion and the weight of his death was unbearable. I thought I was the only one who felt this way or felt his absence but after his church service, I realized a lot of people felt the same way as me. Q wasn’t just my boy, he was everyone’s boy.They all loved and cherished him. Even his church wasn’t left out. I only found out during the service that he gave out to charity, helped single mothers, gave money to orphans, and lived his life for others. I always saw him with the rosary but I never gave it a thought, I guess that’s how much of a shitty boss I was. I attended the funeral with Sebastian and Lily. Henry, Luke, and Damien couldn’t make it for some unbelievable reasons.Henry said he couldn’t step a foot into the church because he backslide by going against his promise to God to stay celibate.Luke on the other hand said he had to attend his mom’s cousin’s brother’s funeral in Texas. Obvious
“You weren’t supposed to be here, Roman. You should know your place, at least, give the boy some respect after you’ve killed him,” I spat.After I was done with the speech and reading out Q’s will as he wanted, I marched toward Roman before he could find a way to leave the church. After everything he had done to the boy, he should’ve at least given him the chance to rest in peace. He should be the last person to be here. Only God knows how he knew he would be buried today not to even think of how he knew the church’s location.“Killed? Is that what he told you?” he snickered.I smirked, shaking my head in the same way as he did. “It seems you always have a different story from what everybody has to say,”“First, your girl lied about me touching her, and now, Q accused me of his death,” I folded my hands against my chest, taking a firm stance.“I’m not here to listen to your side of the story, Roman because it’s as fucked up as always but I want to take a proper look at you so I’ll kno
LILY’S POV I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.Not even when Roman’s brother started his abuse, not when I hit that iron rod on his head, not even when I ran through the street in the dead of the night, for my life, not when two strange women offered to help me, not when I first had to explain what had happened to me to a therapist, not when I was told I would be married to a man for my safety, not when I was kidnapped, not when Derek was shot in front of my eyes, not when I thought I was going to lose him to another woman. I was scared at all these points/stages in my life but never have I been as scared as I am right now.Derek grabbed my hand as we drove to the hospital, my hand was shaking as tears rolled down my eyes, and my mind had roamed a thousand places. Nothing that Arianna said on the phone made sense to me because I didn’t want to believe something terrible had happened to Mrs. Miller or should I call her mom because it might be the last time.‘NO!’ I muttered t
Derek’s POV When we got back to the house, we knew something was absolutely wrong. It was as if someone had stepped on the floor or probably slipped on it. I turned to Arianna before pointing to the scene. “Was that you?” I asked. She shook her head. “I didn’t do that, I promise. Maybe it was in the process of lifting her that it happened,” One thing I was so sure about was that the doctors in that ambulance are smarter than to mess up with a scene like that. “That’s footprint right there,” Alex pointed to it as he stood there. I was about to join him when I realized my baby was rigid. She was right beside me, holding my shirt but she wasn’t moving. Her gaze was fixated on the blood and her lips suddenly quivered. That was when I stood in front of her, blocking her vision so she could stop looking at it. Lily looked up at me and tears rolled down her eyes, she tucked her lips in as she placed her head on my chest. I ran my hand through her hair, consoling her. “It’s okay, baby,”
Lily’s POVAn eerie silence enveloped the room as the words dropped from her mouth. No one was saying a word, not even a single movement. If someone dropped a pin on the floor at that moment, we all would’ve heard it.Arianna dropped Alex’s collar and moved back. “Is that what it takes for you to see Caster for who he truly is? He helped a stranger kidnap Lily and got Derek shot. I’m sure if Derek had died, you wouldn’t have blinked or batted an eyelash as long as your loving brother, Caster is still alive. I hope you both rot in hell,” She spat before angrily walking out of the room, hitting me squarely on the shoulder.She muttered some words as she walked away but I couldn’t catch it. I stay rooted on the spot, I wasn’t even blinking, my eyes were wide open and Derek had his hand folded on his chest as he glared at Alex.“I understand that you like Caster but can you tune it down a bit sometimes? He’s not perfect, Alex,” Derek’s jaw’s tightened. “That’s a lie, right. Lil, no, Arian
DEREK’S POV After cutting ties with my family, my dad, mom, and Alex had tried reaching out to me but I refused to talk to them and I’m actually surprised that Lily was with me on this despite how much she loves my mom. I could see her struggle to ignore my mom’s calls.Sometimes, she would ignore the call and when it was getting too much, she would switch off her phone for a rest of the day. Her exams had already started, which means she was busier and I also had to plan for the concert that was happening at my club on Friday. We’ve both been so busy and hardly have time for each other but still, I crawl into her bed at night to profess my love to her. I was giving her a hard time, my family wasn’t making it easy either but still, I always reminded her of how much I love her. I send flowers to her and Henry has actually taught me how to plan an amazing dinner for her on Saturday night and I can’t wait. I also can’t wait for the surprise I have for her.“I still find it hard to belie
LILY’S POV On Friday afternoon, after my final paper, I came out to find Brandon and Scarlet waiting for me. I was surprised that Brandon would actually be here. I know I told Scarlet that I would be giving them free passes to the concert at Derek’s club but I still doubted Brandon’s presence because of what happened with Derek. That was the last time I saw him though. He’s been MIA since then around me and even though Scarlet and I met a few times after that, he never showed up.“I wasn’t expecting you to show up, Brandon. I thought you still hate me and Derek,” He snorted. I couldn’t help smiling.“I might hate Derek but I don’t hate you and who am I to say no to a free pass to that concert. So many people are trying to buy the ticker but can’t. It’s not even available anymore,” He said excitedly.The concert has been the talk of the town and for like a week now, everywhere I turn to in school, people were talking about buying the concert. I’m so proud of my man.“So, am I off your
LILY’S POV ONE YEAR LATER “Love, can you please check up on the baby? I need to pee,” I called out to Derek before rushing into the bathroom. I heard him saying something that sounded like yes but I didn’t bother to listen. I was so pressed that if I didn’t rush into the toilet like that, I would’ve messed myself up. Once I was done, I took my time before coming out. I knew Derek got her, he’s been by her side the moment she was born and never left mine either. He has proved to me that he was a good dad and I’m so proud of him. Three months into my pregnancy, I told him I got a job but he was not comfortable with it and I had to convince him that it wasn’t anything strenuous. I’d learned how to program as a starter and I got an internship program that helped developed me into a junior developer. I know it's stressful when combined with college and the baby but I took a gap year to focus on my career and my child. Once I’m ready, I’ll get back it college and maybe change my degre
DEREK'S POV “Would that have made you feel so much better about yourself? Would you have felt accepted by the family? Would that have been enough to erase the fact that you’re nothing but a bastard?” I gritted my teeth.He started growling like a wild dog, repeatedly.“You shouldn’t have messed with Lily. She wasn’t a part of the family from the start, she shouldn’t have had to pay for the sins of our parents, she had enough already on her plate. Q wouldn’t have died and the family wouldn’t be in so much pain,” I told him.“She chose you and that was her offense. I had my eyes on her since she was at mom’s agency. I’ve always wanted to have a taste of her but mom took her to you and even when I moved into your house, all she wanted was you and not me, why? I would rather kill her than listen to that answer,” Inodded, realizing he was an unapologetic, unrepentant and crazy bastard.“I’m not disappointed in you, Caster because I knew just who you are, I could see through you when othe
DEREK’S POVI banged my hand on the table, controlling the anger that was already boiling inside of me. I was at the police station with my parents, Alex and Arianna. Lily had refused to come to see Caster on the excuse that she had a class but I knew it was because she didn’t want to see him or she wasn’t ready.I don’t know how Arianna summoned the courage to come with us but if I was her, I wouldn’t have been able to. Alex, on the other hand, had tried talking to Arianna but she wasn’t bulging. I was the only person she was talking to, the rest were being ignored and I mean my parents.“You’re telling me that someone knew Caster messed up with Lily’s car but you had to wait till the accident before you did something, right?” I asked my dad again for the third time because I didn’t want to believe the answer he was giving me every damn time.“I’m sorry, Derek, the guy I hired said the only way they could lure him out was to wait for the accident to happen. There’s no way Caster woul
DEREK’S POV We decided to keep the pregnancy news from the family. It was a mutual agreement between Lily and I. we thought it was for the best for the safety of both mother and child. The family was still dealing with Caster’s case and we didn’t want to put ourselves in danger by revealing the news.“Why did all these pregnancy symptoms decide to wait for two months before hitting me?” Lily groaned as she walked down the stairs.“Did you throw up again?” She nodded.“For the second time this morning alone,” Damn! That was bad. I was beginning to get worried about her. Even though the doctor said it was normal, I still wasn’t okay with it.“You should’ve called me, baby,” She laughed as she walked into the kitchen.“Meanwhile, what bomb have you been cooking up in here? Everywhere is a mess,” She started laughing again. I could only smile as I watch her laughing her ass off at the current state of the kitchen.“Well, I’ve been preparing pancake,”She stopped laughing, her mouth fell
LILY’S POV “You can leave now, my family will soon be here for me,” I dismissed the woman standing in front of me.“You don’t have to be so mean, Ataraxia,”I gritted my teeth as I glared at her. It took everything in me not to face her and yell like a lunatic right now.“My name is Lily, not Ataraxia, and thank you for your help, I’ll compensate you if you want,” I told her again for the tenth time and still counting.A few hours ago, I was on my way to get some groceries from the store when my car’s brake stopped working all of a sudden. I couldn’t even hold my emotions together as I saw my life flash in front of my eyes. I could only beg God to take the wheels because, at that point, death was calling. My car maneuvered out of the road and hit a street pole.Even though that stopped the car, both the car and street pole were damaged. Smoke was everywhere in the car and as I tried to open the door, I realized that I was stuck. I couldn’t find my phone to make a call and help wasn’t
DEREK’S POV “I found out that Roman returned to Italy a few weeks ago, precisely two days after Q was buried,” Sebastian informed us.Well, we were currently meeting at my office together with Luke. Someone has been messing up with things a lot around my house and the mansion. My parents don’t feel safe and my dad had to suggest for my mom leave town for a few months till we can get things back to normal.Caster is still MIA but we could all tell some of those things were his handwork. Threat notes were being sent to our homes, strange calls as well as someone messing up with the car tires while we were out. It’s like he’s stalking us all every minute.“Your Intel is fast, I’ll give him that,” Sebastian rolled his eyes at Luke’s comment.“Are you serious right now? I’m trying to help here, what have you done?” Luke scoffed.“It took you and your Intel a few weeks to realize that Roman wasn’t in town and probably not helping Caster. Stop giving yourself more credit than you should, Se
DEREK’S POV “Uh, I still want to sleep,” Lily groaned as I drove to my parents’ house that Saturday morning. I had to wake her up by eight and she grumbled for more than thirty minutes as we got dressed and left the house. “You should have some sleep before we get there,” I advised. She mumbled something incoherent before she closed her eyes and slept off. I smiled as I took in her features; her plump pink lips, those butterfly eyelashes, and her beautiful nose, I want to keep kissing them for the rest of my life. A few minutes later, we arrived at the house. She was already awake, complaining about how she still needed more sleep. “We can officially call you sleeping beauty now,” I joked. She glared at me and I smiled. “You don’t have the right to throw a joke at me right now,” I frowned. “Why?” “Why didn’t you tell me earlier that we’ll be visiting your parents this morning? We were at the club till 1 am and you still didn’t let me sleep when I got back,” I grinned. “Don’t
DEREK’S POV It took everything in me to not stand up and punch Damien when he walked into my club a few hours after the show started.The artist that was invited had already concluded his performance and left after signing and taking pictures with some of his fans. I thought Lily would love a picture with him but my girl stood back, shook her head when I mentioned it, and told me she wasn’t a fan. She was just here to support me and accompany Brandon and Scarlet.After the concert ended, about a hundred thousand fans of the guy wanted to party at the club but I had to turn down about 90,000 of them. Ten thousand people were enough, I couldn’t risk having such a large number of people in such a place. It’ll be bad for business.“Don’t do anything crazy, Derek,” Lily pulled my hand, already noticing how I was glaring at Damien. He had told me he won’t be here, so what’s with the surprise?“I promise, I’ll only hit him once,” I smirked, letting her know he was getting his ass beaten up
LILY’S POV On Friday afternoon, after my final paper, I came out to find Brandon and Scarlet waiting for me. I was surprised that Brandon would actually be here. I know I told Scarlet that I would be giving them free passes to the concert at Derek’s club but I still doubted Brandon’s presence because of what happened with Derek. That was the last time I saw him though. He’s been MIA since then around me and even though Scarlet and I met a few times after that, he never showed up.“I wasn’t expecting you to show up, Brandon. I thought you still hate me and Derek,” He snorted. I couldn’t help smiling.“I might hate Derek but I don’t hate you and who am I to say no to a free pass to that concert. So many people are trying to buy the ticker but can’t. It’s not even available anymore,” He said excitedly.The concert has been the talk of the town and for like a week now, everywhere I turn to in school, people were talking about buying the concert. I’m so proud of my man.“So, am I off your