Williams received a notification on his phone. He frowned and called Marco."Why are the garage doors open?"Marco was also perplexed."I have sent men to check it out. No one is in the garage at the moment, I'm looking through the CCTV but it shows nothing out of sorts."Williams tapped his chin."Give me a call when you find something," he ordered."Yes, boss."Ten minutes later, Marco called."I'm afraid it's your son. I spotted him entering the garage."Williams shot up."Where is he? Is he in his room?""No, his room is empty.""Find him!" Williams barked and cut the call.Marco stared at the drops of blood on the white rugs and he followed the trail to the small study desk and found the trap door."Oh hell," he cursed, opening it and going down at once.It led directly to the inner garage entrance. A car was missing and the garage doors were open.
Marco kicked the front door of the Grazias open."Patrick Grazia," he growled, glaring at the group of four who stood waiting behind the door."You must be one of Williams' henchmen," Patrick said, stepping forward, "I haven't seen him in a long time.""Where's Sebastian?" Marco demanded, "how dare you abduct him?""We saved his life actually. If my daughter didn't find him and act so kind to bring him home for treatment, who knows what would have happened to him out there on a lonely road?""And be nice," Cecilia spat, "you are on the Grazias turf now, show some respect."Marco glared at them and made to match inside with his men but Patrick stopped him."You stay right there," he ordered, "I'll fetch your boy for you."He signalled to Cecilia and Natalie and the two went up the stairs.*Aurora went back into the room."Now!" She whisper-shouted, "they are coming up the stairs!"Sebastian settled into bed and pretended to be asleep. Aurora sat on a chair by his bedside and watched h
Daniel got a lot more closer with them as the weeks passed by. Classes got more boring and Mrs Dorothy continued with her stories."So now we know empress Aurora's daughter has some impressive powers, can anyone tell me how's that possible?"Several hands went up."Dearest Aurora," Mrs Dorothy called upon her.She blinked, several visions flashing in her head."Dearest Aurora… dearest Aurora… my dearest Aurora… dearest jewel…"She shook her head. They were all different scenes that were unfamiliar but the voices were of one person, Sebastian."Aurora?"She rose, her brows creased in confusion."The moon goddess," she mumbled."We can't hear you!" someone shouted from the back.She cleared her throat and spoke again."The moon goddess. She mentioned she was going to send a savior. Perhaps, Laelia is that savior and she secretly blessed her with powers.""Good reason, Aurora. Yes, Susie?"Aurora sat down. She ran a hand across her forehead to realize she was sweating.*"How was history
Ezekiel pushed her off the path and jumped away himself. The car hit a stationary pole and spurted to a halt.Aurora was stunned and she could only gape at the car from her position on the floor."Come on, let's go," Ezekiel prompted in haste, pulling her up. They ran back to school. They only stopped once they were safely inside the school.She crouched down at the gate, trying to catch her breath. She had a feeling it wasn't a coincidence. She had a strong feeling Sebastian's father had something to do with it."I don't think it's anything to worry about," Ezekiel spoke, sounding a bit unsure, "the car just lost control.""Yeah," she nodded, not wanting him to suspect a thing, "just lost control. We're late, let's head to class."*"Where were you?" Cynthia questioned during lunch break, "you are never late.""Met a new friend, nothing much," she said, sliding into a seat.Cynthia stared at her, seeming confused. She still found it hard to talk freely with her long time friend and s
Cynthia and Daniel marched into the garden. "Don't you dare move away," Cynthia growled, glaring at Aurora. They came to a stop right in front of the duo. "Aurora, do you have feelings for Daniel?" Cynthia asked plainly. Aurora sighed, she had been expecting it. "No." Cynthia's nose flared, "No? No? Then why have you been sulking?" "I have not been sulking," she glared at Cynthia, "I just…" Cynthia folded her arms. "Just what?" "Look, I just felt a bit jealous. I was used to Daniel fawning over me and I felt possessive of him and so when I saw you two kissing at the arcade, I felt really… bad but I figured it out. I have no right to be possessive of Daniel and you have the right to like whomever you wish. I'm sorry if I acted strangely, I was just going through some things," she explained it all. "I told you she saw us kiss," Cynthia said to Daniel then faced Aurora. "I forgive you," she said, "but please, in the future, try to let us know when we offend you. It's not cool
Aurora looked around her new room, a room she shared with three other girls. It was spacious and gave each the privacy they needed. She had the bed at the corner, nearest the wall.Zik had helped get her things to her new room before going to find his. He was good help.Her roommates were out. Joselyn and Phoebe were in their second year while Anastasia was a fresher like her.She settled down to unpack."Clothes…"She put up her clothes in the large wardrobe she shared with her other three roommates. It was segmented so there was no danger of mixing. Then she arranged her shoes next. Her cosmetics came up on the little vanity next to her bed.Opening the box where her books and stationeries where kept, she noticed an odd looking little suitcase inside."Okay, I didn't put this inside my box," she muttered, taking it out. It was quite heavy. She grew curious. She unlocked it.Her eyes popped out.Money. Arranged neatly in rows filled the little box."Did mum leave me extra?" She wonde
Aurora stiffened."I didn't… I have been having lectures all day and I only just got back after having lunch at the restaurant," she ratted out at once, "I'm so sorry. I can get you to a hospital.""We only just met, Aurora. Why do such a thing to me?"Jocelyn shook her head, staggered and fell. Aurora was quick to catch her and gently laid her on the floor. The knife clattered to the ground next to her feet. She jumped away, her breathing heavy. She pulled out her phone and dialled the emergency line."Hello? Please, I need help. Someone has been stabbed…"Afterwards, she called Zik, countless times but he never picked.*Ezekiel was trapped in his own mess. After his lectures, he had avoided going home for as long as could but somehow Cole and Adam had found him and forced him to return home with them. Now he sat next to Aris, forcing himself not to choke from the excessive smoke they breathed out."You wanna do some?" Cole asked, offering him a cigarette."No," he said with a shake
Aurora Maria Grazia brought out the keys to her apartment and unlocked the door. She picked up the bag of groceries on the floor and staggered in, burdened with the weight of the bags in her hand."Oh good God," she muttered, dropping them all at once on the floor. She shut the door and carried the bags one after the other to the kitchen."Enough foodstuffs for the rest of the month, thank you Jesus," she sighed with content, washing her hands.She loved the house. The neighborhood gave her the peace and tranquility she needed and it was quite close to her workplace.She ventured into her study to get some work done. At least, two hours of work before she prepared something to eat. Zik was going to come by later in the evening and she wanted to treat him to a feast.She unpacked her hair as she sat at her desk. She was happy, things were working out well but there was still an emptiness in her heart that refused to be filled up. It had been years now, over six years and she could bare
The next two days, they spent letting the fire burn. No one was satiated yet, no one could stop them, no worries could bother them. On the third day, they finally stepped out to get some cool evening air and some groceries. "Everything feels different, better," she spoke as they walked into a store together, their rented car parked outside. They were in Tanzania. They rented a lone beach house which required a twenty minutes drive to get into town. It was perfect, just what they wanted. "And why is that?" He teased as they perused through shelves, hands locked. "Because we are finally finally together and my expectations of you in bed was superseded..." "Isabella!" He whisper shouted, wide eyes fixed on her. She laughed, pressing a quick kiss to his agape mouth. "What?" She asked with a smile, "do I not get to compliment my husband's bedroom skills?" He shook his head, looking around to make sure no one heard. He looked back at her, "Isabel, seriously?" "We should expect a baby
"I think you have done really well for your first week. You should be able to do things without supervision now... I guess that's the person that's been picking you up since you first arrived. Your boyfriend?"Isabel's lips twitched. "My fiancee," she answered with a smile. "Oh, wow, that's great. When's the wedding?" Isabel opened her mouth to reply just as Ezekiel rounded the car with a big smile in her direction. "What?" She heard Irene gasp but her mind was clouded with too much love for it to register. Her legs carried her across the road to him. "I love you," she mumbled as he enclosed her in a hug. "I think our engagement is making both of us jelly," he laughed, kissing her cheek, "I didn't even realize I was smiling so wide." She kissed him lightly and stepped back a little. Oh heavens, she laughed internally, remembering she abandoned her supervisor. "Irene?" She heard Ezekiel mumble. She turned around, seeing the dazed look on Irene's face. "Don't tell me..." she mu
Ezekiel whirled laughing Isabel around. She was clad in a purple graduation gown, her cap hanging loosely in her right hand."I'm dizzy," she forced out between laughs, holding unto him tightly. He set her down on her feet and kissed her loudly."How does it feel?" He asked, beaming."I don't know," she laughed, "you are rubbing your excitement all over me and I don't even know how I feel.""Exactly," Lily intervened, "you are acting like you have never experienced a convocation before. Get off her."His entire family came to celebrate her, his cousin and his beauty wife included, with their baby."She's not your girlfriend, Lily, mind your business," Ezekiel eyed her playfully.They moved off to a little spot they set out for a picnic and they spent the rest of the day being happy for her. The group stayed an extra day before leaving. It was just two of them left now.When their relationship was a year old, they sat down for a serious conversation. They rented a beach house for the w
Sebastian was just bringing the car around when Isabel and Aurora walked out of the airport."You must be Isabel," the man she recognized as Ezekiel's cousin spoke when he got to them."Yes," she replied with a warm smile, watching how he casually put an arm around Aurora's waist and kissed her hair, "it's nice to meet you."They shook hands. They definitely had good genes in their family. Ezekiel was her boyfriend, the man she loved but she couldn't confidently say he was more handsome than his cousin."Ezekiel is bringing the luggage, we can wait in the car. You don't mind, Isabel?""Of course not, he left me with the luggage in the first place," she answered with a roll of her eyes. Their little group chuckled and they moved to the car. Sebastian hovered over his fiancee as they chatted heartily about school, life, and anything else. Ezekiel arrived soon and Sebastian assisted him in getting the luggage into the trunk.Aurora and Sebastian's wedding was a week away so the atmospher
Ezekiel knew that there was a Supreme Being helping him to restrain himself because it was a miracle he didn't lose control after what she just said. Was she so oblivious that men were easily triggered sexually or was she doing it on purpose? She worked at a bar, she had to know."Your body belongs to you," he said slowly, blowing out a breath, "and to the God who made you. If we are married, you can say that but your body will belong to me and mine will belong to you only because we chose to let it be so. Do you understand?"She clicked her tongue, laying her head on his chest. "Let's get married then, you won't have any excuse to deny me what I want.""Oh heavens," he laughed in disbelief but somewhere deep within him, he began to consider it.*Weeks flew by and Isabel didn't think she had ever lived life so happily before. She woke up happy and blushing, she was much more interested in her boring classes because he always praised her when she performed well in the tutoring session
When she awoke bright early the next morning, he was still asleep and she was late for class. She stood at the entrance to his hospital room at a loss for what to do. She could rush to class and return after school to take care of him or she could stay and be with him throughout the day. She wanted to do the latter as she was the cause of his accident but on further reflection, she decided to choose the former, he'd prefer that.Ezekiel trudged into his apartment, burdened with a load of emotions. Drugs, really?"Stan found me, he sent me threat notes and has been stalking us."Was that true? He sighed, lowering himself unto a fur-covered couch. He didn't even know what to believe. What was her deal? Was it just the aftermath of the rape incident? It scared him that she would go as far as drugging him, how much damage did the incident cause her?If Stan was secretly stalking them then she wasn't safe. The police needed to be alerted and they needed to move away from town for some time
"Are you mad at me?"Isabel said nothing instead she focused on stabbing the potatoes on her plate."Have I ever refused you anything?"She blinked, thinking of an answer to his question though she didn't plan to reply, she discovered he always did what she asked and did more except for a few nos here and there but... He was always there."No," she answered curtly, guilt nagging at her. "Then you must know I have a very good reason for refusing you this one thing. Trust me, Isabel, please."She stared at her meal, fighting with her emotions. She thought of the drugged wine."Ezekiel," she began, looking up. Her eyes widened in horror seeing him bring down his glass from his lips."What?" He questioned, cleaning his mouth with a serviette.She opened her mouth and shut it. "I drugged your wine," she croaked out."What?" His eyes bulged out and he looked into his glass, "what are you talking about?"She kept silent, staring at him with wide eyes. He stared at her, his eye size matching
She was awfully alert the next day, constantly looking back and sideways, being suspicious of every male she came across, staying in open places where there were a lot of people. She didn't realize she was so on edge and tensed up until Ezekiel came to her at the cafe and she almost stabbed him with a fork.He dodged, his eyes wide. "Watsup!? Do you want to kill me!?"She sighed, her tense shoulders falling. The fork landed with a clattering sound on the table."I am sorry. I was... I thought it was someone else," she said apologetically.He raised a brow, sitting next to her, "is someone stalking you?""Don't worry about it," she sighed again and relaxed back in her seat. His presence was immensely comforting. She didn't know whether to be pleased or irritated, he was her boyfriend now."You could really have stabbed me if I didn't have quick reflexes. You wanted to harm the person. Why? What's going on?" He inquired.She kept silent. Why was she keeping it a secret?"Isabel..."She
"You're my girlfriend now," he murmured into her hair, "so you can't cheat on me ever again, you hear? You can't go kissing another man or letting another man touch you because you feel like getting down with someone. You are mine now and I'll tell you, I am very possessive and I get easily jealous."She blinked. What did she just do?"You forgot the second part," she mumbled, not sure of what she was feeling."No, it isn't enough to make me sleep with you."She groaned, surprisingly not feeling annoyed. "Why?" She whined."It only makes me want to protect you more, keep you clean and pure. I'll be your god and I'll keep you away from any filth," he replied.She fought the smile that crawled its way up her cheek. He pulled away a little and looked at her with so much tenderness, she felt she could melt from it."Do you still feel like getting down with me?" He asked, smiling.She shook her head."Good," he grinned, "I'll call your father now and tell him you're safe with me. I'll call