“You want me to increase your working hours?” The woman questioned Melissa, as she cocked her eyebrow at her, strangely.Melissa nodded slowly, her eyes pleading as she judged the woman’s expression. The woman that stood in front of her was Regina Martinez, her boss at the day care. A short plump woman in her fifties, but her face looked quite young. Her short, blonde hair was tied up in bun and she cradled a baby in her arms.Regina hushed the baby, while her face showed that she was deep in thought, pondering over Melissa’s proposal. She looked up at Melissa and let out a regretful sigh.“I’m sorry Melissa, but I can’t increase the amount of hours you work. More hours mean more pay and I can’t pay you more than I already am.”Melissa felt disappointed, but a part of her expected this type of reply. She knew that asking for more working hours was a huge risk and her request wouldn’t be accepted, but she did either way, having a small ray of hope that it’ll be granted.Regina looked d
Gabriel ran his hand through his wet hair as he stood under the cold shower. On every other day he would’ve taken a hot shower, but he needed a cold one to cool him down and it helped him clear his thoughts. He had a lot on his mind and Gabriel hated overthinking. He detested it with a great passion.He turned off the shower and got out of it, wrapping a towel around his face and another, he used it to dry his wet hair. Gabriel walked into his room and looked around. His long sized bed draped with a plain white bedsheet was positioned in the middle of the big room, beside a large glass window. The decor was quite simple, since Gabriel liked to keep things simple and minimalist.There was an L shaped black coloured sofa at the bottom of the king sized bed, with a glass table at the centre of it. The walls were painted white and a few abstract paintings were hung on wall. Sighing, Gabriel threw off his towel and wore a grey colour tone. He walked out of his room and went down to the spa
Gabriel adjusted his bath robe and walked over to the door reluctantly. He was irritated that someone would come knocking at him door as such a time in the night. He looked out the peer hole and let out a disgusted sigh.With a great hesitancy, Gabriel unlocked the door and swung it open. He stared at the woman standing out side he door and clicked his tongue.“What do you want mother?” He quizzed.Diana scoffed and brushed past him, into the house without answering his question.“I have something important to tell you.”“And that important thing couldn’t wait until tomorrow? Or you couldn’t send me a text?” Gabriel complain.Diana ignored her son’s nagging and walked past the long corridor and into the living room. Gabriel follow after her, cursing under his breath and hoping that Leslie was dressed, at least.To his surprise, Leslie was dressed and sitting on the couch, pressing away at her phone. Diana gave Leslie a short glance and brushed past the sofa, ignoring her completely. S
Melissa scrolled through her phone, staring at the small screen intently. She was scrolling through an app, an app Tory had recommended for her.“It’s an app I found some days ago. You can apply for small jobs. Just look through the job listings and see if there’s anything you can do there. I hope it’ll help.” Tory had said.Melissa was checking it out, like Tory had said. Surprisingly, there were a lot of job posting on the app. Request to dog sit a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler three times a week, another request to clean a small paralegal’s office five times a week, and a request to babysit for children once a week.There was a lot more jobs, an Melissa kept scrolling through each of them, looking for the appropriate job to apply for, something she could do with ease. Melissa shook her head. This was no time to be thinking about comfort. As long as the job paid well, she would take it even though it would be taxing for her.Melissa placed her phone down on the couch and sighed t
“Look this way Mr Marshall! Yes, yes, that’s perfect! Tilt your head to the side a little! Mmmmm, okay nice!” Dolce, photographer and fashion designer said as she kept clicking away on her camera.Lights. Flashes. Clicking. Gabriel stood behind the white background they had laid out and smiled for the camera. Selina was beside him, posing like a professionally trained model. He recalled that she had modelled for her father’s brands in the past. It was no wonder she felt and looked so natural in front of the camera.“We need intimacy! Come a little closer, we need to convince the public that you’re an actual couple, so give me some lovey Dovey stuff!”Gabriel sighed. He was tired already, tired and exhausted of looking at the camera and the occasional flashing lights were starting to make him nauseous. He began to curse his mother inwardly, but remembered that this shoot is something they would’ve done sooner or later.Selina on the other hand didn’t like as tired as he was, well, as f
“Hm, well isn’t this amusing.” Gabriel said, cocking his head at her.Selina jerked back, almost dropping her phone as she did. She turned and saw Gabriel smirking at her.“How much did you hear?” She asked quite firmly.Gabriel shrugged.“Just enough to know you have a lover.”The word lover seemed to hit her as she flinched and began rubbing her arm nervously. She looked at Gabriel, her eyes pleading to him.“Please, can you ignore whatever you heard? I don’t want this to go public, no one has to know.”“Sure, I don’t care about your love life. As long as it doesn’t affect our company and public image, then I can’t be bothered."Selina shook her head vigorously.“I promise, I won’t let it get in the way of this marriage or affect the companies.”Gabriel studied her for a bit. Something about her face irked him in a way. It was strangely familiar.“Just out of curiosity, do your parents know about this?”Selina looked grim for a second and shook her head.“They don’t. If they did, th
“Ah, Mr Marshall, it’s good to see you again. Congratulations on your engagement.” A short robust man said as he shook Gabriel’s hand.Gabriel flashed a professional smile at the man.“Thank you, Mr Brown. I’m delighted you could make it.” He replied politely.The robust man let out a heavy chuckle as he turned to his wife that stood beside him.“We couldn’t miss this for the world. After all your father and I have been good friends for a long time.”“Of course, this is something we couldn’t miss.” His wife reaffirmed.Gabriel could see her eyes were on him, checking him out, sizing him up in a rather indecent manner. She flicked her blonde hair away from her shoulders and finally looked up at Gabriel.“Your fiancee is rather lucky if I may add.” She cooed.Gabriel chuckled lightly and smiled, the characteristic and professional smile.“Why, thank you.”“Speaking of fiancee,” Mr Brown piped in. “Where’s the wife to be?”“She’s occupied entertaining visitors at the moment.”Mr Brown ga
Gabriel flinched, he was disoriented. He tried to grasp the situation around him. He looked over at Selina, her hand that contained the wine glass was now empty and it was trembling, trembling so much Gabriel started to worry. He looked down to the ground and finally found the wine glass, but it was beyond recognition as it was shattered to a thousand pieces on the tiled floor.Gabriel looked around. The guests in their vicinity that had obviously heard the noise were staring in their direction, some whispering with their hands over their mouth. He needed to contain the situation.“Selina, what happened, you seem sc-““Ah, forgive me, it seems I startled the bride to be.” The man, standing in front of them, said, loud enough for the other guests to hear.Selina stood frozen like a rock, her eyes glued to the man in front of them. Gabriel was bewildered, curious. He was about to speak to Selina again, but the man in front of them walked closer.“I’m so sorry, Mrs Reed, or should I say
Melissa wasn’t mistaken. Gabriel was with someone else, and a woman at that. From the way Gabriel was, Melissa would never have imagined him to be the promiscuous type. She stepped away door and began to pace around the room. Melissa was curious, very curious to see who is was. She didn’t know why, maybe it was because she spent all day in this room doing almost nothing and was looking for a source of entertainment. There was no reason for Melissa to be interested in Gabriel or any of his affairs, but her interest was quipped and she needed to satiate it. Melissa walked back to the door and twisted the door knob slowly. Her room door swung open and she tiptoed out carefully. Melissa walked quietly down the corridor, her long night gown bundled in her hands. She got to the large opening and followed the voices to the top of the stairs. Melissa peered down at the living room and caught a glimpse of Gabriel. He was sitting on the sofa with a girl straddled on top of him. She couldn’t s
Kyle gazed at Dolce’s spellbound, rather dumbstruck face. She was frozen, and could only look at him in shock. Dolce recovered a few seconds later and adjusted on her seats. Kyle watched all her awkward and uncomfortable movements with a small smile on his lips. His question was really doing a number on her.“I don’t understand the question detective, and is that really necessary for this interrogation?” Dolce asked as she tapped her feet on the floor nervously.“Why yes, it is infact an important question.” Kyle replied.Dolce bit her lip and averted her eyes to her drink. She took another sip and sighed.“I don’t know how to answer that question.” She said flatly.Kyle could feel Cora tugging at his shirt, but decided to completely ignore her. He knew he was going to get am earful later, but he didn’t care. Kyle kept his gaze on Dolce he mulled over ways to break her.“I apologize if that question made you feel quite uncomfortable, but it’s a reasonable question yes? Nowadays, women
Melissa, who was shocked by the familiar voice that had called out her name, made a sharp turn towards the voice. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she gazed at the man in front of her.“Mark?” She quizzed with wide eyes.Someone she never imagined she’d see again was standing in front of her, and now of all times.“Mel, I knew it was you. I wasn’t sure at first because of the kind of dress you had on. You look completely different.” He hinted at her as his eyes skimmed her clothing.Melissa rubbed her arm as an uncomfortable air settle in the atmosphere.“What are you doing here?” Melissa asked as she was still surprised to see him.“I work here now. After you got fired, I resigned and left the mart.”Melissa looked at his apparel and indeed he wasn’t lying. He was wearing the same attire that every staff wore.“I saw you, sitting with...a man.” Mark said, his voice mixed with sadness.Melissa looked up at him and saw he was looking at her with sad eyes.“Is that your boyfrien
Melissa sat in the luxurious limousine beside Gabriel Marshall.The chairs were soft and comfortable, smooth jazz music placed from invisible speakers Melissa couldn’t see. The atmosphere was prepared to make you relax, but Melissa couldn’t shake off the anxiety she was feeling.The anxiety was making it hard for her to enjoy the ride. Gabriel had unexpectedly come up to her, ordering her to get dressed for some dinner. He explained that they were having dinner in La huite, a famous French restaurant with the son of Mr Slater, the CEO of the TRAM, a fashion company and a partner to their company.Gabriel had mentioned the CEO’s son would be coming with his wife, so he had to show up with his. According to him it’ll be good publicity to feed the paparazzi with shots of them having dinner together, lovingly.Melissa didn’t feel comfortable being in front of the cameras, but she had no right to refuse. She had signed a contract and going back on her word would incite the wrath of Mrs Mars
Diana cringed at the sound of her husband’s name. It also made her boil with rage. She didn’t want to see him right now, but they definitely needed to talk. He had the audacity to bail out on the wedding when she specifically told him not to. It was infuriating. After that day, the internet was streaming with questions asking why Mr Marshall didn’t show up or why she was all alone during the wedding. Diana sighed and picked up her cup of coffee, throwing it in the bin beside her.“Let him in, and bring me another coffee Nelly, sugar free.” She said and placed down the receiver.She went back to the documents on her table, but it wasn’t long before John Marshall stepped into her office. He had a smile on his face as he plopped down on the sofa.“This office is still as elegant as ever I see.” He chirped.Diana looked up from the documents and frowned at the sight of him. He wore a loose fitted t-shirt with a jacket, blue jeans and a pair of sneakers. It was astonishing how he could dr
Kyle watched Lana break down completely. Tears streamed down her face as her whole body quivered. She placed her hands over her face as her sobs got louder.Kyle felt a hard squeeze on his arm and turned to Cora. Her eyes were giving him the “what are you doing look.” He just smiled and mouthed the words “I know what I’m doing” to her. She exhaled and decided to trust him on this one.Kyle didn’t push Lana any further. He just watched as she cried. Lana cried a bit more and started to regain her composure. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sniffled as she began to fix her Demeanor. She looked up at Kyle, her eyes red from crying and sighed.“Yes, you’re right. If Selina did indeed run away, then I may know why she would think of doing something like that.”Lana swiped out a tissue from the box of tissues settled on the glass table beside her and dabbed her runny nose before she continued.“You see, my husband and I, well from the way I see it, were very controlling ove
"This is Selina’s room?” Detective Kyle asked as he walked into the spacious room.Lana, Selina’s mother nodded and walked into the room with him. Cora Miles, Kyle’s partner was with him today. She was looking professional as usual in her grey suit. Her brown hair was put up in a tight pony tail. She was looking around the room, ready to investigate.They had gotten permission to search Selina’s room as much as they wanted and confiscate anything that may help with the search.Kyle looked around the room. It was clean, everything was in the place and the bed was neatly arranged. Cora had disappeared into the dressing room and had already began searching. Kyle decided to start. He walked over to the bed and removed the covers. He paused and turned to Lana.“Its fine if I do this right? We may have to turn over a lot of things in the room.”Lana nodded and folded her arms.“Its okay, go ahead. I can always have the maid clean up the room again.”Kyle turned back to the bed and began to
Melissa took out a framed photograph from her duffle bag and placed it on the beside table, beside the small night lamp. It was a photo of her, a much younger version of herself, with little Brandon by her side. It was the only photo they had together, and it was taken back in the orphanage.Melissa could recall how much Brandon always liked the photo. Even while they escaped the burning building, he still had the photograph in his hand, clutching it so hard like it was a precious to it. But as he grew older, he lost interest in it, so Melissa framed the photo and kept it beside her bed.She gazed at their faces. They were both happy in the photograph, smiling and holding each other tightly. It was a heart-warming photo and Melissa liked to look at it. The photo made her wish that she could go back to the past, when they were both close.Melissa sighed and plopped down on the king sized bed. She couldn’t tell Brandon about her impersonation someone, so she lied that she was moving els
Melissa looked at her friend In disarray, wondering why the atmosphere and her tone bad changed drastically. And why was she giving her that look? Melissa grimaced.“Yes Tory, I did it for money. I didn’t have a choice.”Tory scoffed again.“Don’t tell me you didn’t have a choice, you have a goddam choice and you chose to accept that money.”Melissa frowned at tory.“With the current state I’m in, do you think I’d be able to refuse that much money being offered to me? No tory, I didn’t have a choice.“Stop using your life as an excuse Melissa!” Tory bellowed.Melissa was taken aback by the sudden increase in her tone. She placed the framed photograph she had in her hand back on the bedside table and titled her head at tory.“Whats the problem Tory? Why are you getting all worked up about this? It’s not a big deal.”“Its not a big deal Melissa? Impersonating someone else is not a big deal??”Tory shook her head and sighed.“Im just really disappointed in you Melissa. I didn’t think yo