(Author’s POV).At the café near the Hospital, Eric sat at the table of four waiting to meet the angry sounding Vincent on the phone. Their call was short and cryptic as if he wanted to keep things a secret.Eric then ordered a cup of coffee. The day was getting dark and he needed to get back home soon to deal with a pressing business matter. For days, he had accompanied Sarah by her side, leaving his business behind being managed by his trusted men.It was delightful to see Sarah slowly accepting his love for her. It was a long wait to convince her of his love for her. For months, he tried to impress her to make her like him, choose him as her lover.The first time they met was about a year ago. It was when he had visited a friend at a university and met Sarah who was seated by a pond reading a book.A book that he too was interested in. They chatted and found out they had quite similar interest in literature. Her smile and laughter was captivating. She was kind and gentle. A compos
(Author’s POV).A day later, at Blanc Inc’s office, Calvin was seen marching towards his mother’s office. He had just received a call from Vincent accusing him of things he did not do. He knew by then that Vincent would probably sent men to watch over every move of his.Calvin could already seen unknown people following him every where he was going. He knew Vincent and he would not stop his threats until he finds Laura.“Mom, we need to talk” Calvin said as he reached her room with three hot looking women standing in front of his mother. He shouted at those women he assumed to be the new models under the company, “Leave us!”“Calvin, you do not have to be so rude to these women” Deborah said and gently ushered the women out from her room. She apologised to them and closed the door after they left. “So, what is it that you want now, Calvin? Have you not done enough to ruin my reputation? Where are you keeping her? She would be the end of you, Calvin. Let her go. She does not deserve y
(Author’s POV).After half an hour chatting with his mother on business matters, Calvin excused himself to attend to a meeting he was scheduled to meet someone in Emerald City. He had to give his answers on the buy over proposal of the resort by Ashton Knight, a royalty from Averna.It seemed like it was not a choice to consider otherwise. After doing some research on Ashton Knight’s background, Calvin was sure Ashton Knight was someone he needed to stay far away from. But, it was also the only way for him to be near Laura, through that project.“Are you going to meet him?” Deborah, his mother asked as she stood behind him near the door.“Him? Who are you referring to, mom?” Calvin turned around and frowned. His mother seemed to surprise him much these few days. It was kind of eerie at times with her cryptic words and advises.“The man who offered you a lot of money to stay away from Laura. Ashton Knight” Deborah said casually while folding her arms on her chest, “I told you I have s
(Vincent’s POV).Another three days has passed. Not a second I stopped looking for my Laura. I slept less and hardly ate unless being reminded to.Seated next to me in my private jet was Laura’s half brother, Henry Moore. He too was focused in finding his sister who I could see that he cared for very much. Laura was lucky to have such man in her life. I came to like him slowly. I hoped he would accept my love for Laura one day.“Are you sure that’s the place the kidnappers kept her?” Henry asked while looking at a file with scripts of conversation and spy bugs placed at Deborah and Calvin’s office. One my of men even managed to tap into Cherry’s handphone.They were good. I had underestimated Deborah for being able to plan for such scheme to keep Laura away from me. But, I was better than them.I nodded at Henry and sipped my drink while watching out of the window. My mind was wondering how Laura was. I fear for her safety. I knew she was strong but I also knew how crazy Cherry Duboi
(Laura’s POV).The door opened slightly where I could finally see a ray of light entering the pitch black room I was locked into for several days. It had hurt my eyes which made me shield them away with my bruised arm.“Move back, Laura. The door is stuck. I need to kick it” Calvin whispered his words. I wondered if he was alone or he had help. I wondered if Vincent was nearby. I really missed him so much.“Alright” I responded to Calvin and crawled backwards a little before he gave two hard kicks to open the door wide.The amount of light that came in was too bright making me closed my eyes with both hands, “Too bright, too bright”“Oh my God! What did she do to you?” I heard Calvin then cursed in French. Did he say it was a she?Who was he referring to? Cherry? Deborah? Clara? Sophie?It seemed that all my enemies were indeed females.Calvin walked in and removed his jacket to cover my shaking body from the coldness of the room. He bent down and carried my fragile body in a bridal
(Laura’s POV).Dark. Cold. Lost.I did not know where I was going. Everything looked pretty the same in the dark woods of Rivera. I might have even gone in circles without realising it.Perhaps, I should have stayed back at the cabin being protected by Calvin. But, I wondered if he had to choose between me and his sister, Cherry, would Calvin choose me? He seemed to care so much about his sister.I did not want to take that chance. Cherry was a lunatic.I walked slowly as my feet were getting sore. I was only able to grab a pair of boots which were too big for me. But, beggars can’t be choosers. The boots were a better option than me walking barefooted with only my worn out dress and Calvin’s jacket that was warming me up.I kept walking as I knew if I had stopped, they would take me back and kept me hidden for long. I needed to get free. I needed to find help.Wrapping my arms around my body, I realised my steps were getting slower. My feet were getting heavier. My mind, well, I was
(Vincent’s POV).I got up from a short nap that I took without even realising it. Pieces of papers were scattered on the chair I was seated on. A large map of Rivera was spread on the table where I had marked on the potential places that Laura could be at.Something was not right. I felt a pain inside my chest. Was it Laura? Was she in trouble?I got up from my chair and walked to the drinking cabinet in my room to get a drink. A strong one I hoped to find.I hoped I could find Laura soon. Calvin and Cherry had already arrived in Rivera and I knew it would not be long until they move Laura again. I needed to be fast.My men were following Cherry and two hours ago I was informed that they had lost track of Cherry who went into the dark woods of Rivera. One thing for sure, both Cherry and Calvin were still in town. I would make sure they will never leave Rivera until I found my Laura.I rubbed my temple and walked to the bathroom to do my business. Taking a glance at the mirror in the
(Laura’s POV).I took steps slowly back as I saw Cherry coming closer to me. There was blood on her clothes which I thought most likely may not be hers. She looked fine, or was she pretending to look fine?I did not know her well. A deceiving woman who seemed to fight for what she believed in. And I knew all that she believed in was her being the daughter of Lucas Knight and my half-sister.“Do you realised we kind of look alike?” she said with a smile showing her perfectly shaped teeth. It was kind of scary with her eyes looking at me as if I was an object of her admiration.“We have the same eyes. Different colour though. And your hair, look” she touched her hair with one hand, “It is the same colour as mine. Do you think people would believe we are actually related?”Was she kidding me? I knew Cherry made herself look like me. She was obsessed to be me.I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off with her words, “Laura. You want to know the truth?” Cherry smiled and sang
(Laura’s POV).Several years had gone by. I was happily married with Vincent keeping his wedding vow to love me and stay loyal to me as long as his heart was still beating.His wedding vow for me was what the press stated as something they never expected coming from a well known feared man would ever say to a woman. He poured his heart out to me in his vow. I recalled myself in tears, and of course with abundance of joy.The wedding was held at Tuscany with a garden theme filled with fresh flowers and nature. He kept to his words making it my dream wedding. I had to thank both my mother in laws who had helped me to prepare it. I loved them both and I was happy to have both of them to fill the void in my heart that was empty since my own mother passed away.Life was perfect and having three children with him made it more exciting.Three boys, who would have thought I could go through that at such a young age! This was not what I had planned in my life after the death of my parents.I
(Vincent’s POV).I was looking around. Mostly to find a way to exit the crowded little ice cream parlour filled with mostly people from Laura’s side. The look of her angry eyes at me after knowing I had read her diary was piercing my soul. Her beautiful blue eyes were on fire.I raised both of my hands in a surrender mode and said, “I can explain. You need to calm down. Not good for our babies that you are carrying. Your stress level needs to be managed”What the hell was I rambling about? It was not going to help me save myself from her wrath that was coming to me.“You did read my diary! How could you do such thing” She said before her face was turning red. She was blushing and for a moment I thought I was wrong. She was not angry, she was embarrassed.Then, I recalled on what I read in her diary. I was pretty embarrassing. She wroter things about me and how she adored me all those years. There was even a picture of my younger self kept in her pink shimmering diary.“I hate you!” L
(Laura’s POV).A month has passed. Time had moved so swiftly and my pregnant belly was starting to show.Vincent was true to his words, being by my side taking care of me and my constant need of attention. I blamed it on my pregnancy hormones. I was never like this, wanting him by my side most of the time.It had been a challenging process with me having nausea and sensitivity of things around me. I had even lost some weight as my body was rejecting some food, even those that I used to like to eat.“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Vincent said and lifted my chin to give me a brief kiss on my lips. We were walking towards the place where we first met. A little ice cream shop in Tuscany where I had first saved him from being hit by a motorcycle.The place where I fell in a nearby ditch, stuck for almost an hour until my brother, Henry came to the rescue. I smiled to that thought as he moved to caress my cheeks, smiling at me. “What’s so funny?”I laughed softly and pointed to the exa
(Author’s POV).At the same time, seated in a rented car, Marie was looking out of the window not wanting to start any conversation with the man who was seated next to her. He was driving with his focus on the road.At times she knew, he was taking few glances at her, hoping that she would start the conversation.After a few minutes, the silence was getting weird.“Are you happy with him?” Henry wished he could take that questions back. His words slipped his tongue as they waited in the car being stuck in traffic.“It is none of your concern. Please focus on your driving” Marie said while pretending to look outside the window. There was nothing else to see except for the cars on the road stuck with them in the traffic.“Do you love him? Why.. him?” Henry exhaled his breath and gripped the sterring wheel hard while controlling his anger, “I don’t get it, Marie. At one point, you did not believe in marriage. Now, you are engaged with a man I know you are definitely not in love with”Hi
(Laura’s POV).I came out from the cold waters while pulling Vincent’s unconscious body with me. He was heavy and I struggled to pull him further.I needed to check on his breathing so I placed my ear next to Vincent’s mouth and nose. I smiled after feeling some air from his mouth warming my cheeks. “Vincent? Wake up” I said while caressing his cheeks.He did not respond to me calling him several times. I then placed my finger to check on his pulse. It was getting weaker. That made me panic for a moment.I felt his body getting cold and that frightened me further, “Vincent, please. Wake up”There was no response.I then whispered to his ears while placing my hand on his cheeks, “I know you can hear me. Please don’t leave me alone in this cold place. Please don’t leave us alone. I want our baby to grow up with a father. The father that I love very much”I then cried and rested my head on his shoulders as I let out my sadness and tiredness on his body. I was tired. I did not sleep well
(Author’s POV).Out from the busy current of Rivera river, Cherry managed to hold on to a large tree trunk and held on it with her trembling hands. She was panting out of air and was choking out water stuck in her throat.After a few minutes, she took one deep breath before climbing on the tree to get out from the cold waters. She knew if Vincent had arrived, it would mean he would have by then blocked her way out from Rivera. There would be no way out using the normal route.It was time for her to execute her contingency plan.But first, Cherry needed to locate an acquaintance who she knew could get her new identification card and passport to escape from the country. She knew Vincent was not going to make it easy for her. She knew she needed him to think that she was dead.Smiling to that thought, she was ready to fight him.As Cherry reached the shore, she walked slowly towards what looked like houses built near the river. They were local folks living in Rivera. A signage was seen
(Vincent’s POV).I was running fast leaving the rest behind. The woods were thick with many trees blocking my way.I heard her. And I knew that voice was her pleading for help. She was in trouble.Jumping over branches of trees and pushing aside any obstacle that was blocking my way, I felt no pain. All I had in mind was to save my Laura. I hope I was not going to be too late for that.I wanted to call her name and assured her everything was going to be fine. I was closeby and I knew all this drama would end soon. But, calling her name would alert the attacker. I needed to be careful.I knew who it was. The crazy woman who was obsessed with me, Cherry, was to be blamed for all that had happened to Laura. I was going to end it. Tonight, it would be over.Cherry would be placed behind bars.Standing behind a tree, I then saw her. My Laura.She was looking weak and shaken.Laura was standing too close to the edge of the cliff while Cherry was pointing a gun at her. They were arguing and
(Laura’s POV).I took steps slowly back as I saw Cherry coming closer to me. There was blood on her clothes which I thought most likely may not be hers. She looked fine, or was she pretending to look fine?I did not know her well. A deceiving woman who seemed to fight for what she believed in. And I knew all that she believed in was her being the daughter of Lucas Knight and my half-sister.“Do you realised we kind of look alike?” she said with a smile showing her perfectly shaped teeth. It was kind of scary with her eyes looking at me as if I was an object of her admiration.“We have the same eyes. Different colour though. And your hair, look” she touched her hair with one hand, “It is the same colour as mine. Do you think people would believe we are actually related?”Was she kidding me? I knew Cherry made herself look like me. She was obsessed to be me.I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off with her words, “Laura. You want to know the truth?” Cherry smiled and sang
(Vincent’s POV).I got up from a short nap that I took without even realising it. Pieces of papers were scattered on the chair I was seated on. A large map of Rivera was spread on the table where I had marked on the potential places that Laura could be at.Something was not right. I felt a pain inside my chest. Was it Laura? Was she in trouble?I got up from my chair and walked to the drinking cabinet in my room to get a drink. A strong one I hoped to find.I hoped I could find Laura soon. Calvin and Cherry had already arrived in Rivera and I knew it would not be long until they move Laura again. I needed to be fast.My men were following Cherry and two hours ago I was informed that they had lost track of Cherry who went into the dark woods of Rivera. One thing for sure, both Cherry and Calvin were still in town. I would make sure they will never leave Rivera until I found my Laura.I rubbed my temple and walked to the bathroom to do my business. Taking a glance at the mirror in the