LOGINI walked toward Ella’s bed and sat down beside her. She pulled herself up with much difficulty and looked down at our daughter. “She’s so small,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. The wait, the pain and everything were worth this—this joy and the deep love I felt in my heart. I met Ella’s gaze a
[FOUR YEARS LATER] EROS I was panicking more than Ella was. But I couldn’t take her screams, let alone look at her. She was covered in sweat from head to toe and her entire body was shuddering. This was partially my fault, I could say. She buried her head back on the pillow and let out another lo
Even in my absence, I had been sure that Mariella was okay. She was upset, which was understandable, but she was safe. Adonis had ensured it. I hurried into my wing and up to my room, unable to control the burdening feeling in my chest. I needed to let out all that I had been holding inside, to tel
Both Mom and Adonis scanned the room. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t have a good feeling about this. Ella was running away. Or perhaps hiding something from me. I sincerely wished it was the prior. Adonis took a deep breath and spoke. “Ma, I need to speak to Eros.” I was dumbfounded. I widened my
EROS With all the men guarding me, I felt like a child being carried to the principal’s office. Every fucking one of them had a brooding look on their face. And I had been seeing them every day for the past two months. No more. I was finally returning home. To my family. To my wife. I wondered ho
As I pushed the door, I noticed the girl sitting on the ground, holding a grey shirt to her chest. Eros’s shirt. Had she been holding onto him in this manner? Crying herself to sleep holding that one shirt? Consoling herself that he was alright? “Mariella?” Her eyes widened and snapped toward me.
He had fully settled himself in the water. His chest up was above the water, which meant it would be till my neck or chin. I put my bag over the same boulder Eros had used and took off my crop jacket. With my back to Eros, I held the rim of my sports bra and pulled it over my body. My hands halted
MARIELLA I wanted to ram Eros’s head into the wall. It was a feeling too open to be unexpected. I bet Eros could see it written all over my face. There had been no use of taking our clothes off for the swim, since we were soaking wet under the rain. I wanted to yell at the top of the splattering s
MARIELLA We were ready to head to our hiking spot when Eros appeared in the foyer with an all-serious face. No one seemed to notice the way he searched the faces, except Malcolm and me as we stood near the main entrance. Mal hovered toward him. That expression wouldn’t have bode well on anyone. Er
*** I couldn’t remember half of their names, yet I knew their faces from the party last weekend. They all laughed and gossiped around the large round table, telling stories about their previous trips. These were just normal people doing the normal things, leading normal lives, lives that differed







