"Lola, it's not what it looks like," she said, pushing Jake away. It was a lost cause, she knew, but she still explained herself."I wasn't thinking straight and with everything that's happened, I'm so sorry I shouldn't have…" The slap was quick and sudden, yet so painful. She fell back on the sofa, a tiny hum the only thing she could hear. She'd never seen her friend this angry before and it scared her. "You're going to use your sob story as an excuse to kiss my boyfriend? Seriously? He's been right there at your reach but you never accepted him and now he's finally with me he's now attractive to you? And you call yourself my friend?" Lola raised her hand to hit Anne again, but Jake stood up and held her hand. "That's enough," he said in an authoritative voice. "That's enough?" She sobbed. "What did I not do for you? I love you, Jake, I've changed whenever you asked me to change. I did things I wouldn't have done for anyone else, and this is how you repay me? By cheating on me w
Sitting a few paces from him in his mansion while they stared at each other, she was transported back to their first meeting. He'd offered her a ridiculous amount of money, twenty million. But after everything they'd been through, it didn't sound like that much money anymore. He'd already spent even more on her.Back then, she'd been the one furious, accusing when she sat across from him, but now even as he sipped calmly from his champagne glass, she could tell he was judging her. She fidgeted with her hands, looking away because his gaze was too strong on her. She wished he'd just say something, accuse or insult her even, anything other than just letting her thoughts prick her. Anne was not given a choice to come here. She knew she was not ready to meet him, to defend herself yet, especially when she'd just put herself into a pickle. In fact, in a way she'd been kidnapped. After she picked his call, he'd probably tracked her because a line of cars suddenly drove to her front. Ther
Gabby was pregnant.Kayla was pregnant. Gabby's man didn't want anything to do with the baby. Asher didn't want anything to do with Kayla's baby. Anne was drunk but she wasn't that drunk. She didn't need anyone to spell it out to her. Gabby had betrayed her. Yvonne and Yvette came into view, a mix of fear and curiosity written on both their faces. They both sat down some paces away at the dining, pretending to do chores, but it was so obvious they'd only come to see the action. Maybe it was the wine, but she started laughing. "So this is why you were so adamant on me leaving him," she muttered between bouts of dry laughter. "So when did you come up with this grand idea? Or have you always wanted to stab in the back from the start?" "You both know each other?" Asher asked, surprised but no one responded. Gabby shook her head. "You see kids, I told you your mother was crazy. She's not even making any sense."Anne felt her kids struggle against her, trying to escape like she was
Her grandmother was dead. No. She hadn't heard right. It was too soon. It didn't make any sense. Not now.But the more she kept shaking her head the more she realized it was the entire truth. Her grandmother, the once only stable family she had was gone. Forever. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. "What's wrong?" Asher asked from the driver's seat but she didn't respond. With the receiver still wedged in her ear, she sat unmoving even long after the nurse had ended the call. "What's the problem?" Asher asked again, risking a look at her. She had to tell him, she thought. He would still found out anyway, plus he was her only ride to the hospital. Finally putting the phone back into her bag, she hugged her boys to her. Fortunately, she wasn't crying, couldn't even as the shock of everything that had happened throughout the day had drained her of all emotions. They were scared and quiet. It was obvious they'd seen something, heard something in that house and all she wan
She was resting her shoulders on his, bawling her eyes out. Although they weren't perfectly fine, he couldn't bear to watch her be in so much pain. He patted her back, over and over again, calming her down with words of a better near future, just as he'd seen her do countless times with the boys. Her last words before she finally relaxed in his arms haunted him. 'why does nothing good last for me?' Had that included him? He wanted to reach out and tell her he was right there for her, lasting, but he didn't. Instead, he kept patting her back and when she was fully incapacitated, he took her to the waiting area where they sat in total silence for what seemed like ages. He had every right to be mad at her, to leave her in her worst moment, to take the only thing she now had; the kids, but he didn't or rather, he didn't think he was going to. She'd kept him out of his children's lives, but now he knew she'd had fears and her reasons, though selfish, made sense to him. "When I was you
It was cold and about to rain but his palms were sweaty as he gripped the steering wheel. His heart was pounding, a mix of bitterness and anger. It had taken him such a long time to realize he was in love with Anne, but he was willing to let all that go down the drain if she would keep acting like this. He'd made a mistake in his past; denying her when she had no one but if after trying everything he had to get her to forgive him and move on with him to no avail, it was evident she probably never would and it was best to stop trying since he was getting nowhere. He supposed she was right to some extent. He was bad for her, but so was she. Just because he didn't like to talk about his problems didn't mean he didn't have them. She had this image of him being in constant perfection which couldn't be any father from the truth. His life had gone on perfectly well without her all those years ago with just the constant fights from his dad, but ever since after his affair with her, his fat
Her skin felt lush against his body, heating him up in the most pleasant places. He felt clean, a total contrast to how he'd been a few minutes earlier, all thanks to her. She rubbed his head, luring him into a much desired sleep, drawing him closer to her bosom. Her hand slid lower and and lower until it somehow slipped into his shorts. The sleep immediately cleared from his eyes. This was a million times better than sleep. She helped him slip his own hand into her nightdress and he cupped her breast. Her breasts used to be bigger…How drunk was he? She lay atop him, slightly lifting up her gown and taking down his shorts. He obliged her, inasmuch as he thought everything strange. They never went this straight into it. There was always a lot of foreplay. This didn't even feel that good. He felt himself relaxing, wanting to stop her for a moment, suddenly not feeling in the mood anymore. "What's wrong?" She asked, but the voice was not Anne's. His eyes popped open, but he still c
When he woke up, everything looked pretty much the same. The curtains were drawn, the room was tidied and it was still dark. Surprisingly, his head wasn't pounding and he didn't have any sign of a hangover. That was the first surprise he was happy to receive. He remained on his bed for a few minutes more, preferring to linger for a little while. He was in high spirits but he couldn't tell why. Looking around at the room which was suspiciously spotless, he began to wonder if it had always been like that or if someone else had somehow gained access to his room and tidied it. The cleaner never gained access to his room. That was something he was very particular about. Rolling over, he checked his phone and yawned. It was four o'clock, quite early with no hangover, that was new. Ten missed calls. What was that about? He'd only slept for about four hours and someone had called him ten times? It was a good thing he always had his phone set to do not disturb. Anyone who was calling him
Six months later "Stop shuffling Danny. Don't you want to look good in the Christmas photo?" Anne warns, trying to keep smiling and also tell her kids what to do at the same time. It's Christmas eve and they're taking a family photo but the kids for some reason can't stay at a spot for more than a minute. "You heard your mother," Asher says in a deeper, sharper voice and the boys stay still as the cameraman once again takes the shot. "Aha. This is perfect!" he exclaims, urging them to remain in the same spot. After a few minutes, the photoshoot is finally over and they collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The pictures look so clean and beautiful on camera, even the boys look delighted. "I'll send the photos immediately after I'm done editing them," he says. "You have a beautiful family," he adds before leaving and Anne mouths 'thank you', with a blush. As they all sit down to have dinner, all in their pajamas, the word 'family' keeps ringing in Anne's ears. Even after six mon
"Trevor?" Anne repeated, not sure she'd heard right. But when she saw Trevor walk up to them with a determined look on his face, she knew he really had something to say. At the far end of the room, Lola and Asher's sisters kept gaping with open mouths. They were obviously just as unaware as she was. No wonder he'd shown up randomly and seemed to know about the wedding even when no one else did. When he reached up to them, he smiled and shook Asher's hand like they were old time friends. "A lot of you don't know, but Mr Ingram is now a very good friend of mine," Trevor began, addressing the crowd. "I have just started a small company in Chicago and it's very successful, all thanks to him." He gave Anne a slight nod of acknowledgement before he brought out a small flashdrive. "Some months ago, I met up with an old friend, Jason in Chicago. Unknown to me, he'd traced me there because he needed a favor from me. The favor was to burn down Anne's home with all of them in it." The cro
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jason asked, taking a step backwards. Asher smirked, turning to Gabby who looked like she was about to explode in tears. "You tell me," he shrugged. "You're the one who's desperate for this wedding to hold and I wonder why. You're in love with Gabby, she's carrying your child, yet you want us to be married. Why is that?" The congregation watched with keen interest as the drama unfolded before them. This was not what they'd expected but it was much better. Anne couldn't say anything. So this marriage was a sham from the start. It was comforting but strange. There were more questions than answers and she hated being in the center of attention but not knowing what would come next. "Asher," Gabby whispered in a weak voice. "Why are you doing this at our wedding? The baby in my belly belongs to you and you know this." "Will you just shut it already?" Asher said, rolling his eyes and turning to face her. It was evident he was sick of pretending
Halfway through the makeover, Anne already felt her spirits returning. The old man was in another room and Lola had joined in to help select the perfect dress that would turn heads, according to her. Within an hour she looked even more breathtaking than she'd looked at the ball a few weeks ago. Her jewelry matched her skin tone perfectly, her gown hugged her curves and flattered her glossy skin which glowed from the expensive ointment Yvette rubbed on her. Heads would definitely turn. "We should open a beauty salon," Lola gasped, shaking her head like she couldn't believe what they'd just created. "And Anne will be our model." "I second that," Yvonne said, honestly. "You really think so?" Yvette said, trying to mask her pride. "You look absolutely gorgeous.""Asher's definitely going to rethink everything when he sees you." Danny and Damien came in with Trevor who was wheeling in the old man when he heard a lot of noise. "You make me regret losing you." They laughed.The kid
Lola and Trevor agreed to wait in the car for her while she went in, simply because Yvette's voice had sounded very frantic on the phone and they didn't want her mincing words because of them. When she entered the house, she suddenly felt on edge. Breathing in again and again, she went up the staircase to the room Yvette assured her she'd be, and tried to remove the memory of her fighting and humiliating herself on that very staircase. She heard their voices before she reached the room so they were easy to spot. They? She'd only hoped to see Yvette. When she heard the throaty male voice come out from the room, accompanied by Yvonne's voice, her expression turned sour. This had not been part of the plan. She wanted no business with the horrible man who was Asher's father. Sometimes she wondered why God had taken her grandmother and not him. "Anne!" Yvonne called, just when she decided to go back down the stairs. "oh thank God you're here. Please come in. Asher's about to make th
"You need to go there," Lola said, trailing after her."And wreck their wedding?" Anne asked, trying to mask the anger and betrayal in her voice. "Of course. You're always letting things go. You want him and if he gets married to her, that's gonna be the end. Even if you don't do this for your own happiness, do it for your sons. She's a slimy bitch and that's how their relationship is gonna be forever. If he continues to take custody of them, they'll have to grow up with her. Forever." "Where else do you think I'm going?" She asked getting into her car. "I knew you had it in you, girl." Lola said, getting into the passenger side of the car beside her. As they zoomed off, Trevor gave them the directions to the wedding arena while Lola hyped her up. She didn't know what she would do when she got there, but it would all be worth it. As long as the anger in her remained, there wasn't going to be a wedding. "Wait!" Lola suddenly screamed, making Anne screech the car to an abrupt halt.
Her newfound admiration for Asher died down the moment he bade her goodbye, revved his car and started to leave with the kids. Perhaps she'd been wrong to assume that after the culprit responsible for her grandmother's demise had been found and him taking her out, the least he could do was let her have her children back, at least for some time. "I don't really think you're in the right frame of mind to have the children hovering all over you. I don't want you to lose it," he'd said before giving her an apologetic look and driving off. Now she was in her new house, telling everything to Lola after finally finding her voice. "Did you just say Jake was arrested?" Lola asked in disbelief. "For arson?" "I'm just as surprised as you are.""Hmm. I knew he was wicked but not a murderer. Are you sure the detective was right?" "They've been trailing him for a while now and even got his confession on tape." "Hmm. I suppose I'm lucky for everything that happened. Imagine we were still datin
Fear engulfed her body, making her mind run places as she searched for her sons. They were nowhere to be found. Oh God. Why did she have to turn her face away to listen to what Asher had to say. "Damien, Danny!" Asher screamed their names and she followed suit, suddenly remembering it was a possibility.Where had they gone? She had to be positive, she told herself, and realistic. No one could have possibly kidnapped them right under her nose without them screaming or yelling for help. They'd either left to find some other more interesting place not so far from there or worse, like the last time, they'd seen someone they knew and followed them."Danny, Damien!" She called, desperation entering her voice. "Mommy!" She heard from not so far away. She turned immediately to the sound of her sons' voice. "Oh, God," she breathed in relief as she ran to where the boys were. Asher was still on the other side of the field looking for the boys but she called him over, signaling to him th
Having the kids all to himself had not been anything like he'd expected. There were several things he never thought he would experience. He was only used to seeing them once in a while, usually when they happened to be on their best behavior because they were just excited to see him and tried to please him, but when the excitement wore off within a few days of them spending day and night with him, everything changed. Just at breakfast the other day, they'd asked for their mom and when Gabby told them she wouldn't be joining them soon, they began to complain about how the crusts of the bread hadn't been cut off like their mom always did. Danny made a fuss and threw the contents of his side of the table away and Damien soon followed suit. When he tried to get them to stop, they only spat at him and threw tantrums.. He wished that was the end but it wasn't. They complained about the most random things and threw a tantrum anytime anyone corrected them. The most unbearable part of it was