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
Everything was so vivid. It was just like that day, a day she could never forget no matter how much she tried to bury it away in the deepest part of her mind. The hot rubble that stabbed her legs as she ran. The dense air that burned her lungs as she tried to gasp for air, and the boy whose small hands clung to hers as they made their way out of the fiery building that threatened to collapse any moment and bury them within. She felt herself getting weaker and weaker and her legs began to feel as heavy as bricks.She ignored the feeling and pressed on, not because she was desperate to live, but because of the young life that she dragged with her. She wanted him to survive no matter what, but that feeling was short lived as she felt her eyes getting heavier by the moment. She couldn’t keep her eyes open again and they fellshut involuntarily, clouding her vision in darkness. ° ° ° °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°Melissa’s eyes shut open as her breathing became laboured. S
Melissa slumped back on the couch and ran her hands through her messy hair. The weight she was carrying was weighing heavily not only on her mind, but she could feel it on her back, like a huge load resting on top of it and that load kept increasing as time went by.As much as Melissa tried to push it to the farthest corner in her mind, she was in debt, a huge debt as a matter of fact. Borrowing money was the only way she and Brandon could survive. Melissa had borrowed a huge sum of money to pay off Brandon’s tuition fees and find a decent place for the both of them to live.Melissa looked up at the white ceiling and her expression turned grim. She had no clue on how she was going to pay off her debt, but she had to because the loan sharks weren’t merciful. Melissa blinked, detaching herself from her thoughts. Overthinking wasn’t going to solve her problems.A soft knock came from the door and Melissa turned her eyes to it. She paused for a second as deep fear ran through her mind. Wh
U-mart was located at the north side of town, where Melissa lived. It was a five minute walk from her apartment, so working there was very convenient for her. The mart was relatively small, with just a few merchandise on sale. The mart was quite popular in the area, so it was buzzing with customers during the day and night. This night was quite different however. The store only had a few customers today, walking up the asile, viewing products, not entirely sure on what to buy.Melissa was Manning the counter as she always did during every night shift. Her curly hair was tied up in a tight pony tail today and she let a few stands fall just above her eyes. She was clad in a red t-shirt with a black collar and tight blue jeans. Her name was written in small letters on a badge and was stuck to the left side of her shirt. Even though it was a small mart, the owner tried to make things as professional as possible, hence the name tag.Melissa peered at her phone for the time and she sighed n
CHAPTER FOUR“Is everything okay over here?” A voice called out from behind the counter.Mark appeared from the door that was a few feet away from Melissa. He was a tall dark skinned man with a fade. He was a bit bulky and gave off a very intimidating atmosphere. Mark approached the counter and stood close to Melissa. The weird man let go of Melissa’s arm and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.“Is there a problem sir?” Mark asked as he flashed the most polite smile Melissa had ever seen him muster.The man opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately when his eyes trailed over Mark’s taut muscles. The fear in his eyes were prominent. The man, without hesitation retreated away and dashed out of the store. The tension had finally lifted and Melissa let out a sigh of relief.“You okay Mel?”Melissa turned to Mark and have him in reassuring nod.“I’m fine thanks to you.” Melissa said.Mark gave her a warm smile. Despite his intimidating
Melissa’s eyes were on the menu, but her mind was anywhere but there. She noticed that the menu she held was jittering and looked at her hands. They were trembling like she was suffering from a stroke attack. Just how nervous was she?Curious, Melissa peered over the menu and got a view of the man sitting in front of her. Gabriel Marshall. He was focused on the menu in his hand and didn’t pay much attention to her. She had been so focused on his face that she didn’t notice the Rolex latched onto his wrist. It had diamonds on it and sparkled under the light. Just from looking at the watch on his wrist, Melissa could tell how expensive it was.Her anxiety was slowly intensifying. The reality began to dawn on her slowly. She wasn’t just sitting with a normal person. The man in front of her was wealthy, and her Instincts were screaming it. Melissa began to curse internally. Tory had given her little to no background information on Gabriel Marshall. Her grip on the menu tightened as she th
A slap. An ear piercing, pain throbbing slap. Yes, that was the perfect way to describe the words that Gabriel Marshall had been throwing at Melissa. His words felt like arrows and he kept shooting them at her without stopping, without remorse, yes, Melissa was convinced that the man, sitting in front of her, looking down on her, didn’t have a shred of remorse in his conscience.She clenched her hand into a fist, it was the only way Melissa could control her burning rage. Just who was this man? Why was he acting so sniffy in front of her? Was he some kind of celebrity?Melissa exhaled harshly, trying to quell her rage as she spoke.“And who are you, to say all these things to me, right to my face?” she entreated, Her ire was heard in the way she spoke, despite trying to calm herself.Gabriel rested his back on the chair and crossed his legs, his hands folded on his thigh like he was sitting in a meeting room. A small smirk seemed to appear on his lips, it was the closest emotion Melis
"So, you wanted to talk to me? It sounded urgent, and you also sounded...angry?”Melissa just stared at Tory as she sipped from her cup of lemonade. She wasn’t particularly mad, well she was but it had subsided compared to how much she was seething with rage yesterday. All she wanted was answers from her. She didn’t want to bombard Tory with a lot of questions on the phone and thought it’ll be better to talk it out in person.“Mm, it’s not like I’m angry, well, not anymore.” Melissa finally said.Tory winced and groaned.“Let me guess, The date didn’t go well?”“The date not going well is an understatement, a really huge one.”Tory gaped at Melissa, her face full of curiosity and a slight hint of worry.“What happened? Please tell me it wasn’t that bad.”Melissa sighed and placed her cup of lemonade on the table as she tried not to relive the memories of last night’s date, but she had to, Tory needed to know what she had set her up with.“First off, Who is that man... Gabriel Marshall
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