_________________...I completely ignored my ex-husband as I marched over to my two male friends. "I thought we made it clear that it was a girls' trip. Why are you two gatecrashing it?"Kevin winced in Rowan's direction and that only made me scowl at him some more. "Answer her." Zoe was ignoring her man like she ignored her mother's endless calls and text messages. "We wanted to gatecrash!" Kevin threw his arms around his girl and pulled her to him. "I felt bad for fighting.""That's new." Zoe shrugged his hands off of her. "You, for one, never feels bad about fighting. In fact, half the fights between us are because you like to fight for no reason!" Her voice raised and broke at the same time when she said it. It was obvious that she was getting tired of the constant breaks and patch ups. The old me would have asked her to stay since she loved him so much but the new me had half a mind to tell her to just ditch him and get a more peaceful relationship. I was a bad friend to K
_________________..."What?" Zoe was standing on the bed. It was late at night and instead of our previous plan to dine out and sleep in, all the girls were in my bedroom, eating pizza and talking shit. "No way in hell did he have the audacity to say that!" She screeched. "But he did." I pointed out. I said, taking a bite of the breadstick that came with the pizza. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tried and I strongly believed my pregnancy had something to do with me liking it so much because I have had this breadstick from this joint plenty of times before. Just never was I pregnant when I tried it before. "Okay okay so let me get this straight!" Bianca joined Zoe as she stood up on the bed too. "So according to Rowan, you set him up. You are the one who leaked to the press those pictures which inevitably had you guys bound in that shipwreck of marriage. You." "Exactly." I nodded. "Who does he think he is? David Beckham? Tom Cruise?" Zoe was raging. "Let's not brin
__________________...~~ROWAN KELLER~~"You!" I looked over at Rory and then at the bitch who had decided to come to make things worse. "Ophelia, what are you doing here?" I asked her, crossing my arms over my chest. "Sweetheart, it's not like I am interested in seeing her." She nodded towards Rory and then gave Zoe a distasteful look. "Or her." She walked over to me and took my hands. "I am here to see you, stupid." I shrugged off her hands immediately and took a step away from her and towards Rory, who was looking straight ahead and not sparing me even a glance. "And what exactly do you want from me?" I asked. "Well, I want you." Zoe scoffed. Ophelia turned to give her a glare before turning back to me and continuing. "I want you but that's besides the point right now. I am here for something else." "And what exactly is that?" I asked her. "Whatever it is, can you both get out of my house?" Rory spoke up. Ophelia raised a brow at her. "Don't you think you should be her
_________________..."Gabby?" All three of us girls turned to him with our eyebrows raised and he looked at Zoe and me like a deer caught in headlights. "What are you doing here, friend?" Zoe stressed on the word friend as she crossed her arms across her chest, raising her brows. He let out a sigh. "I need to talk to Gabby, you guys." Gabby threw the blanket off of her and hopped out of bed. I glared at Eric when I saw his eyes visibly darken at the flimsy outfit that my sister had on. "I don't want to speak to you, Eric. I think it's better we leave things as we have ended it." "But you won't even listen to what I have to say." He stepped in front of her when she tried to leave the room. "Do you love me?" She asked. "Damn!" Zoe whispered as she stepped closer to me. "What?" He looked dumbfounded, as if it was not the problem between them in the first place."Do you love me?" She repeated the question. This time, the silence was deafening. "Now it's you who have stopped
_____________________...Maybe going out with your ex-husband you still have feelings for, who is still trying to get back with you, but also who has on multiple occasions trampled all over your heart, is not the best idea in the world.But when your twelve-week-old in-utero twins say they want hash brownies at one in the morning, we don't have many options.Of course, I could have gone myself or with one of the girls but the girls were tired and my plan to go out alone had failed the moment I got caught by him.So this would have to do."There there!" I pointed at the food trucks surrounding a park area."Honey, do you really want to eat from one of those?" Rowan had been skeptical ever since I told him I wanted to eat hash brownies from the food trucks that I had spotted earlier when we were hanging out."Yes, NOT my honey. I want to eat from one of those." I rolled my eyes. Does this man really think I am going to change my mind just because he looks at me as though I have come
___________________...I laughed at the third inappropriate moan that my wife let out ever since we sat down on one of the park benches and she started digging into her hash browns which she has been calling hash brownies. I suppressed a smile. I had googled what hash brownies and did not think my wife would be happy if she found out what those meant."Why do you call them hash 'brownies' though?" I asked her, using the side of my hand to wipe away some sauce from the side of her lips. I licked my hand clean. Rory paused for a moment, her gaze on my action. I cleared my throat when I realised it was not the most appropriate thing to do for an ex-husband. But then again, one, I was never able to be appropriate around her. And two, everyone knew I was not okay with this divorce and was trying to win her back. The fact that she did not actively refute my advances gave me some hope and motivation. She shrugged. "I know it's hash browns. But it's just a family thing. As a child, th
______________________...We were back from the weekend getaway and neither Eric nor I had any progress with our girls. Kevin, on the other hand, had somehow managed to get back with Zoe, which surprised me because Zoe Wilkins always seemed like the most guarded among all of the girls. "She can't resist my long magic." I was so cringed out by kevin's boasting. Zoe seemed like a pretty reasonable woman, as much as I hated her for what she did, how the hell did she end up with someone like him?Then I realized it was a pot-kettle situation because my pumpkin had fallen in love with someone as ridiculous as me. I don't know about love being blind or deaf but it definitely was stupid.That was the only explanation for women like Rory and Zoe falling in love with men like me and Kevin."She doesn't even want to speak to me, man." Eric paced the room while I drank my alcohol. "At least yours is civil with you.""Rory and I have two children linking us together. She knows that she has t
__________________________...I had not started to show yet. I knew that because I was only twelve weeks along. But I enjoyed holding my belly out and pretending to be six months pregnant. I let out a chuckle to myself as I poked at my belly. "Someone's in a good mood." My smile disappeared as soon as I heard Rowan's voice. I looked up at him as he walked over to my desk. "What are you doing here?" I asked as if I did not know. Any day I had shown up at the office after I moved out, he would also be over by lunch time to ask me out for lunch citing reasons of wanting to spend time with his children. "My girls having fun today?" He completely disregarded my earlier question and sat down on the chair opposite mine. I gave him a warning glare. "My boy is going to be so offended when he finds out his father was expecting both girls." I pointed out. "Dad. Not father. Dad. There's a huge difference." I paused for a moment but nodded. He was right. There was indeed a huge differen
_____________________...~~THREE YEARS LATER~~."Can you stay still?" I screamed at my hysterical sister as I fixed her veil. "All the daisies are going to fall off at this rate!""Who invented wedding gowns?" Gabby screeched as she tugged at the tulle of her wedding gown."Oh, the first documented wedding gown was worn in fourteen-o-six by-""No thanks, Miranda." I cut the overenthusiastic wedding planner off.Gabby rolled her eyes. "You know too much." She told the oblivious lady who just grinned as if it was a compliment. It probably is."You okay?" I whispered to her as I fixed the last daisy.Gabby took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I'm just... nervous.""You're going to marry the love of your life," I said, smiling at her through the mirror. "What's not to be happy about?"Gabby took a deep breath. "It's just... everything is happening so fast. And what if it's not enough?""What do you mean?" I asked, my hand on her shoulder. "You dated him three years before you are marr
____________________..."Oh well, I won't say I didn't see it coming," I murmured as I watched Gabby come out of Eric's room. She froze, trying to run back into the room and bumping into Eric's broad chest in the process. "but I also didn't think the day would come this fast.""What can I say?" Eric laughed as he wrapped his arms around my sister. "I know to woo my woman right.""Well, in my defense, it takes a lifetime of groveling to make up for the kind of mistakes I made." I shrugged, laughing even though I felt a pang in my chest. I had fucked up so bad.Gabby's eyes searched mine. "I know you're sorry.""But is that enough?" I asked, my voice low.Gabby looked at me, understanding in her eyes. "You know she loves you, right?"I nodded. "I know." But love was a fickle thing, and I had learned that the hard way. "But I hurt her, Gabby. Deeply.""And you're going to have to prove it to her," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "Every day. With every action, every word. You need
____________________...I was fixing myself a sandwich after putting Ki to bed when the doorbell rang.Rowan's mom was in the living room, watching TV. "I've got it," I called out as I made my way to the door.Opening it, I was surprised to find Eric standing outside. "What's going on?" I asked, my heart racing.He looked serious, his eyes darting around the hallway before he stepped inside. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low and urgent.Beth looked up from the TV, curiosity piqued. "Everything okay?""I'll handle it," I told her, guiding Eric into the kitchen. "What's going on?"He leaned against the counter, his eyes searching mine. "I found something out about Derek," he began, his tone serious. "It's... it's not good."My heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"Eric took a deep breath. "Derek isn't just obsessed with Rory. He's got a history of stalking and harassment. I found some old police reports."My stomach dropped. "What kind of history?""It goes back years," Eric sa
___________________________..."I still can't believe you didn't tell me about Eric being there in the UK all those weeks!" Gabby was ranting as she did my hair. She repeated the same tale of my betrayal at least once a day. Especially when she wanted something from me."Spit it out." I rolled my eyes. "What do you want from me?"Gabby took a deep breath, her hands stilling in my hair. "I want you to promise me that you'll always tell me the truth, no matter what."I looked at her weirdly in the mirror. "Okay.""And that you will get me an electric blue Porsche." She grinned in the mirror.I snorted. "That sounded like my sister.""You are taking over Dad's position soon. You will have money of your own then. Get with that." I told her as she twisted my hair into an elegant knot."But what about you, Rory?" Gabby's voice turned serious. "What do you want?"I took a deep breath. "I want peace," I said finally. "For all of us."Gabby nodded, her expression thoughtful. "That's all I w
_______________________..."This sucks!" I exclaimed as I watched the expressionless face of Eric Rogers.He looked at me with a glare. "Seriously, dude?""What? It's the truth!" I shot back, pacing the tiny cell. "I've never been in jail before! And now, because of Stacy and Charles, I'm going to have a record!""Charles has said that he will drop the charges." Eric said but I knew there was more to that story."Why?" I asked. "I am sure he would not have done it for free."Charles was never a good person. He was just amazing for me. And as someone who didn't really deserve a good person, I had decided to settle with him. But the dude had cheated even before the relationship had even started. That's what got on my nerves."Does it matter?" Eric sighed. "The procedures will be completed in a few moments and then we can leave."The door to the cell opened, and a female police officer stepped in. She was tall, with stern eyes that scanned me up and down. "Gabriella Lewis, you are fre
_____________________...I fell asleep in Rowan's arms. That much I remember.But when I opened my eyes, I was back in the van.Derek's crazed face loomed over me, the gun pointed directly at my forehead. "You shouldn't have done that, Rory," he whispered, his voice a chilling echo in the confined space.I jolted awake, my heart racing and my breath coming in shallow gasps. The room was dark, the only light coming from the night lamp, casting eerie shadows across the floor. I was in my own bed, in my own apartment, with Rowan sleeping peacefully beside me. But the fear lingered, clinging to me like a second skin.It was just a nightmare, I told myself, over and over again. But the cold sweat on my forehead and the pounding in my chest said otherwise. The image of Derek's furious face, the gun pointed at me, the sound of the shot ringing in my ears—it all felt too real.Rowan stirred beside me, his hand moving to rest on my back. "Rory, you okay?""It was just a bad dream," I whispe
________________________...I scrambled to my feet as soon as I heard the shot.Was it Ophelia? Was she shot trying to save me?I had to save Ophelia if she was still alive.Ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I rushed to open the van.I peeked inside. Derek was on the floor, his hand slack around the gun. Ophelia was kneeling beside him, her hands shaking as she tried to stem the flow of blood from his leg."Oh my God, Derek! Is he okay?" I rushed to Ophelia's side."He fainted on impact." Ophelia was crying. "Quick. My phone is in my car outside. Call 9-1-1."I nodded, the shock slowly wearing off. I rushed to the car and got in, using the phone I found in her purse to call the police and ambulance. I gave them Rowan's name and address for them to contact him as well because the phone was locked. When I got back to the van, Derek was regaining consciousness. "Aurora, I think it's better for you to leave now. Give me my phone and get in my car and leave before he wakes up." I sh
_____________________..."Derek?" I was still stumped by the revelation. "Derek, why are you doing this? Is this because of Ophelia?"Derek stepped into the light, his expression cold and unrecognizable. "This isn't about Ophelia, Rory. This is about what you took from me."I stared at him, confusion and fear mingling. "What are you talking about?""You. You took away yourself from me. I had the perfect life planned out for the both of us but you kept going back to that bastard who had the least respect for you.""What are you talking about, Derek? I never even knew you felt like that." I was more stumped by the latest revelation."How would you know?" He let out a humorless chuckle. "You were too wrapped up around Rowan Keller to actually notice other people's feelings.""I'm sorry," I whispered, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. "But this isn't the way to deal with it. Let me go, and we can talk about this."Derek's eyes narrowed. "You don't get to tell me what to do an
__________________________..."I have a bad feeling about this!" Jake murmured as I tried Rory's number for the nth time."I'm going to the park. Something's off." I told him, my heart racing."Let's go together," Jake offered, his eyes sharp.I nodded, and we sprinted down the escalator of the mall. We had been looking for Ki and Mary here."What if they are not there?" I panted, my legs burning from the run."Then we widen the search," Jake said grimly.We dashed out of the mall into the blinding sunlight, our eyes scanning the bustling street. The park was only a few minutes away, and the tension grew with every second that ticked by."What could have happened?" I whispered to myself, fear for Ki gnawing at my insides. Now Rory was also not picking up the phone.I had a bad feeling about all of this.The park was eerily quiet, not a soul in sight.We reached the parking lot. Something glinting on the ground caught my sight.A phone.Rory's phone.My heart sank. "Jake, look." I p