ROMANI couldn’t understand why my moon soured the longer I watched them speak to each other. They’d completely forgotten about my existence, engrossed in a conversation I couldn’t keep up with. Amelia kept smiling at every he said and Pierce, the bastard kept talking. “We should definitely exchange numbers,” She said in a light hearted voice, a tone she’s never used with me. “I would love for us to meet up and talk more about your gallery” Amelia added with a grin. Her entire face lit up and I couldn’t look away. Her green orbs looked brighter and I wasn’t aware of the little dimple under her eye when she smiled this wide. All because of him. Vincent Pierce has been my neighbor since I’ve been a resident here, he also owns a gallery and restaurant in the heart of the city. The man and I have only spoken once to each other but to think he knew Amelia. “Thank you for coming,” I said coldly, cutting short their unending conversation. His eyes narrowed, his lips parted l
ROMANAfter the call I felt better, Amelia was easily out of my thoughts and I could fully focus on my work. Until I got a rather cryptic call from Colson, telling me to come home. The lawyer was home. His tone unsettled me and I was in my car in no time, racing home with a feeling of dread spreading through my chest. It wasn’t until I was seated next to a nervous looking Amelia that I realized why Colson sounded the way he did. My lawyer, Mr. Benson, was seated opposite me with a grim expression. He has known me since my military days, I do not blame him for constantly being afraid of me despite all the changes I’ve undergone in the past five years. A complete opposite of the man I used to be. “Unfortunately, I could not process the divorce…Mr. Wellington,” Breathe, Roman. “And why is that?” my voice was strangely calm, a far cry from the emotions brewing beneath. “The marriage contract you both signed is a bit more complex than normal you see, there is a hidden
AMELIASix months. I sank deeper into the mattress as I watched Roman's departing figure. My heart pouring so fast that I could hear it in my ears, my limbs trembled, it felt like I’d just escaped death or something similar. When I saw that heated look in his eyes, the determination to get in bed with me, my panic overshadowed everything else I could’ve felt in that moment. I couldn’t— So I chose the easiest way out. I let out a heavy sigh, running my fingers down my face. That was close. Too close. But what is this disappointment I feel? “You’re so stupid Amelia!” I cursed at myself, “He's a stranger! A stranger!” I reminded myself repeatedly. Burying my face in my pillow and proceeded to scream all of my pent up emotions into the poor cotton. Late that night, I still tossed and turned. Painfully aware that Roman was in the next room, sleeping. Is this what it’s going to be like for the next six months? He and I being under the same roof her feeling like we're
AMELIAGrayson Holdings is a construction company my father and mother built from the ground up when they’d been in the early years of their relationship, at least that what my mother told me whenever I asked. I always wondered why she didn’t add her name to it, probably because she believed my father loved her just as much as she loved him. She trusted him enough to put everything under his name. Once I was eighteen years old, my father labelled me as too wild and unpredictable, so he forced me to sign away all of the shares my mother had left behind for me, all of it to Bertha. Which left me to wonder, how on earth I became the company’s director. As I begrudgingly picked out a pant suit from the closet, I made a mental note to go shopping soon. I also needs to know how much money I had in my account. After Roman had agreed to help, he then shocked me by asking me to prepare for work. I trusted he would keep things under control, but that didn’t stop me from panicking
AMELIAI returned her smile, not wanting to cause a scene. Just get through today, Roman will handle the rest. “You are the new head of operations?” I asked with surprise in my voice, my sweet smile similar to Bertha's never faltering. “Yes, dad felt it was only proper now that I've returned from Europe for good,” Bertha replies with a smug looking grin, tucking a stray lock of blond hair behind her ears and then meeting Roman's eyes. She immediately looked innocent, nothing like the actual rude bitch she was. Roman was silent, stiff and avoiding her gaze. How does she manage to have such an effect on the man? I mentally shrugged away the faint pang in my chest. It was non of my business. They can fuck themselves with their eyes for all I care. All I need right now is to figure out the next step to take, moving forward. Grayson Holdings is my mother’s legacy, one I had lost before…now I have it in my palms, now I have the opportunity to make it all that she wanted it
Roman didn’t say a word to me till we got back to his house. I was surprised that I’d actually expected such an attitude from him but then again, I needed him to help me adjust, I didn’t want to offend him. Then you shouldn’t have called him sloppy seconds… Ugh. I turned to look at his face a few times, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was the cold man was thinking but nothing. When we walked through the large double doors, his strides became slower and Trenton was right at the entrance, like he was waiting for us. “Mrs—Amelia,” He greeted, catching himself before he called me by Roman's surname. I offered him a smile. Roman walked past us and headed upstairs. My nerves were all over the place as I looked around, wondering where his mother was. He said she was here, how come I don’t see anyone? “Is Roman’s mother really here?” Trenton nodded and proceeded to gesture a maid forward. “She will help you change,” I raised a brow, “I need to ch
My father never really cared about what went on in my life, after my mother died, it became even worse because not only did he not care, he only gave a fuck when I had something Bertha wanted. Now there’s Roman, handsome, enigmatic, asshole. Who I supposedly fell in love with, with no support from my family or his parents, just his grandfather and an unknown agreement made with my mother before she passed. I let out a heavy sigh, staring at the ceiling like a lost child. Probably because I was utterly lost, I felt like I was float on space, hands trying to grab on to a solid handle. After changing into different clothes, relieving myself of the juice stained suit, I spent about thirty minutes staring into space and trying to convince myself not to have a mini-mental breakdown from just how overwhelming the last few days have been. But sometimes I feel the tears just at the brim, threatening to fall. Then I through my contacts again and realized just how sad my life was.
ROMANThe sun had fallen into the horizon and the moon had risen, yet clouds shielded it’s light and left the night dark and gloomy. Much like my mood. I sat in the garden, a glass of whiskey in hand as I stared off into the distance. I sat there wondering when I’d become a man with misplaced priorities. There was so much at the company I needed to set straight, so much with Bertha I needed to fix yet, here I was, staring up at the sky like a fool, her voice ringing in my ears, her words repeating like an omen. ‘Why don’t you let go?’ She had asked. ‘I’m a person too,’ she had said. Those words resonated in my and now they plagued me. And it made me wonder if I’ve ever given her a reason to think otherwise. Of course she’s a person! Or, maybe it’s just me, who hasn’t seen her that way since we married. When we had only just met, I had no impression of Amelia because she practically blended into the background like she belonged there, and when she was finally out in
The argument replayed in my mind like a broken record, each harsh word cutting deeper with each repetition.‘All you see is your own pain.’The accusation stung particularly sharp because it was untrue. I'd spent weeks trying to understand Roman's pain, making excuses for his absence, convincing myself that his distance was just his way of coping. And now he had the audacity to throw that in my face?That son of a–My phone felt heavy in my pocket. I could call Jessica, or Alexander—they'd be here in minutes. But what would I say? That my husband, the man who'd been my rock through everything, had just revealed a side of himself I'd never seen before? That he was keeping secrets about who had poisoned me?Instead, I did something I hadn't dared since being discharged; I walked upstairs to the nursery door.My hand trembled as it touched the doorknob. We'd painted it white just two weeks ago, discussing whether we should add some kind of decorative element. Roman had wanted to paint l
AMELIAHome was supposed to feel like a sanctuary. Instead, the walls seemed to close in around me, each room holding memories that felt more like wounds. The nursery door remained firmly shut—neither of us had the courage to face what lay behind it.I for one knew that I would break down into tiny pieces if I saw what was behind that door. I had already given instructions for the room to be emptied, without my knowledge, of course. I didn't want to see them. The crib. The stuffed animals, the onesies. Fiona had left or rather…fired. I had a feeling she had something to do with the poisoning seeing as Roman was being kind of secretive about why she left or why he fired her. He never really gave me a straight answer, not even when he hired an older woman to fill in as both housekeeper and maid for the meantime. Roman had been adamant about me staying home. "You need to rest," he'd say, his tone leaving no room for argument. But rest felt impossible when my mind wouldn't stop spinnin
The night air was cool against my skin as I stepped out of the hospital, fishing my phone out of my purse to order another Uber. The parking lot was mostly empty, illuminated by scattered streetlights that created pools of yellow light in the darkness. The sound of rapid footsteps behind me made my heart jump, but before I could turn around, I heard his voice."Greece!"Just one word. My name. But the way Colson said it made something inside me twist. I turned to find him slightly out of breath, as if he'd run to catch up with me. The sight of him – powerful, composed Colson – actually running after someone was so unexpected that for a moment, I could only stare."What are you doing here?" I asked, hating how my voice betrayed my awareness of him. Even in the dim light, he was devastating – the shadows playing across his features only emphasized the sharp angles of his face, the intensity of his gaze."It's too dark for you to be out alone," he said, his tone still carrying that profe
GREECE“Why…” I inhaled deeply, “...are you here?” I asked softly. I didn't know he was back from Mexico. But then again, we haven't kept any contact since I left. He couldn't be here for me, right? "Wellington Corp has a meeting with the university board today," Colson said, his voice carrying that familiar professional tone that I'd almost forgotten existed. "With Roman at the hospital with Amelia, I'm handling the meeting with the dean."The words hit me like a splash of cold water, washing away whatever foolish notions I'd been entertaining. Of course. He wasn't here for me. He was here for business, just like always. The realization stung more than it should have, but I refused to let it show on my face."It's nice to see you again," I managed to say, proud of how steady my voice sounded despite the chaos in my chest. But even as I spoke, my traitorous eyes kept drifting to his lips, remembering how they'd felt against mine that night in Mexico. The warmth, the intensity, the
GREECEThe lecture hall felt suffocating despite its size. Professor Williams droned on about corporate law, but my mind was elsewhere, wandering back to memories of Mexico City – memories I couldn't seem to shake no matter how hard I tried. It had been a month since I'd returned, since Colson had practically forced me onto that plane, and yet everything still felt fresh. Raw.The scent of his cologne. The intensity of his gaze. The way his hands felt when they caught me from falling. The almost-kiss on the balcony that still haunted my dreams."Miss Stavros?" Professor Williams's voice cut through my reverie. "Care to share your thoughts on the Jensen case?"I straightened in my seat, forcing myself to focus on the present. "The Jensen case highlighted the importance of fiduciary duty in corporate governance," I began, drawing on whatever information I could remember from last night's reading. "The board's decision to..."As I continued my response, I couldn't help but notice how dif
The days that followed blurred together like watercolors in the rain. I felt disconnected from my body, as if I were floating somewhere above myself, tethered only by the thinnest of threads to the physical world below. The hospital room became my entire universe—a bubble where time moved differently, where every breath felt like an effort against the crushing weight of loss.I used to think I was a strong person, I used to think if I could have survived this far, after everything…then I could handle anything. But this? This pain? It was something I wouldn't wish even my worst enemy. Jessica was my constant companion, her presence both comforting and guilt-inducing. She'd pull up a chair beside my bed, her white coat wrinkled from long hours, dark circles under her eyes betraying her exhaustion."You need to get back to work," I told her one afternoon, my voice still carrying that hollow quality I couldn't seem to shake. "Your patients need you more than I do."She looked up from h
AMELIADarkness. Unrelenting. Suffocating.The memory crashed over me like a violent wave, fragmentary and disjointed. Marcus. The name itself was a razor blade against my consciousness, cutting through the soft, sedated edges of my hospital room's tranquility.I could see him—not his face, never his complete face—but his presence. Overwhelming. Menacing. A shadow that had stalked me longer than I could comprehend. His voice was a low, calculated whisper that seemed to echo through the chambers of my most terrifying memories. "Finally," he had said. "Finally, I have you."I remember being so afraid that I couldn't speak, every time he walked into a room, every time he told me about his love for me…how many times he's watched me, how many times he's just been in the shadows…looking, seeing everything and anything that has happened to me, even times I had forgotten. Flashes of my previous attempts to escape flickered like a damaged film reel. The sharp object I'd used against him—som
AMELIAThe silence was almost like a living, breathing entity. It wrapped around me like a suffocating blanket, pressing against my chest, making each breath feel like a monumental effort. My body felt alien—a vessel that had somehow failed its most fundamental purpose. The white hospital walls seemed to close in, choking me yet at the same time those white walls managed to keep me calm despite the screams and wails I could hear in my head.Or perhaps it was just me, still recovering from the shock. Roman's voice broke through my fog, soft and tentative. "Do you need anything, Amy? Water? Another blanket?" His words were gentle, carefully constructed, as if speaking too loudly might shatter whatever fragile composure I was desperately trying to maintain.I turned my head slowly, mechanically, meeting his gaze. His eyes were rimmed with exhaustion and though I never saw it was obvious that he had cried. A concept that I'd never really associated with Roman up until that very moment.
T.W(Miscarriage) I had fallen back asleep. My body was probably unable to handle the exhaustion that came with my fear. Roman hadn't said a word to me which only served to make me feel worse. He just told me to wait till the doctor got there. My nerves were all over the fucking place and all that remained was fear. The world came into focus slowly, like a camera lens adjusting. White walls, the sterile smell of disinfectant, the soft beeping of medical equipment - everything screamed hospital. My body felt heavy, disconnected, as if I were floating just slightly above myself.Roman hadn't moved from my side. His hand was still clasped around mine, his thumb making small, repetitive circles on my skin - a gesture of comfort, of connection. I could see the strain in his face, the lines of worry etched deeply around his eyes and mouth. He looked so exhausted that my heart ached. But not just for his state, but because of mine. I could hear the blood rushing to my ears as my heart beg