______________..."I don't think she will be happy to see me back." Eric stood there, running his hand through his hair as I was about to put in the code for my front door."Just say 'I love you' and see her change her decision like this!" I snapped my fingers together."I don't think I am ready for that step just yet." He said.I sighed. Men are dumb. I was dumb once and now he was being dumb. It was a Canon event that could not be changed. Men and their dumbness. "Alright. But Ki turned two months today. You need to come to eat the cake. It's too huge for the refrigerator."He nodded with a small smile on his face and I opened the door.Rory and Gabby sat on the living room couch, Rory's hand on Gabby's."It seems like Gabby has gotten to know the story behind your personality as well," I whispered to him and he looked at me, panic in his eyes."I am sorry. It was only right that she knew." Rory shrugged at Eric. "I know you will be mad but it was unfair for my sister to feel th
_______________...Everything was a mess.It had been over a month since I lost my memory and woke up from a coma. But I had no flashes or echoes of my past. All the movies do is lie.If this was a movie, then I would have had one recollection of something... anything... whatsoever. But no, I was stuck in Nadaland."Lost in thought again, I see." Rowan sat down opposite me, sipping a cup of coffee and placing a glass of watermelon juice in front of me.I had such an amazing husband and all I did was suspect his intentions when I was not busy swooning over his actions and affection.It really was messed up.I needed more information."Cupcake-"Rowan splurted out his coffee back into the cup while I snorted, laughing at his shocked face."I thought you liked me calling you cupcake," I said."I do." He nodded eagerly as he placed his cup down and pointed at the glass for me to take, which I did, for his sake. "But as I said, it never caught on and you never called me that so I was sh
_______________..."This seems like a very bad idea!" Ashton murmured as we got out of the car."Are you kidding me?" Kevin grinned. "I always wanted to beat up Trent Martin!"I gave both of them a look and then turned to Eric, who had been silent the entire ride."What crawled up your ass?" I asked as I walked over to his side and slapped his shoulder.He looked over at me with a look that I could not completely comprehend. But his words were crystal clear."Rory never liked to talk about Trent, Rowan. You could very well be opening up really old wounds. Deep ones.""She will never know we were here. But she doesn't know can't hurt her." I said with conviction.I had thought this through, of course. After I had that conversation with Rory, I felt like an idiot.Everything that went wrong in our relationship was because of that one misunderstanding. I was not going to dust it off and pretend to be innocent. No, I had fucked up really badly as well. But I supposed that things would h
________________________...My eyes twitched as I waited for my husband to get home. The rest of the boys had come home and Zoe had gone home with Kevin. Eric and Ashton had lingered for a while before I finally got tired of them and kicked them out of the apartment. But I knew that Ashton was at Eric's apartment, the two of them ready to intervene if something happened. They really seemed like they expected me actually to backhand my own husband. Men were so dramatic. "Rowan not back yet?" Gabby walked out of her room with her phone and an empty jug. "He said he is with Frank and Frank confirmed." I shrugged. "But I wonder what they are so busy discussing." "Huh."Something about that tone did not settle well with me."What?""Nothing." Her reply was sing-song. "Talk to him."For some reason, I felt as if my sister was scurrying back to her room to safety.I sighed.It sucked to not have any memories of the past years. If only there was a way to save it.Huh... Of course there
______________________...Ki woke up in the dead of the night. I stumbled out of bed and onto the nursery, but Gabby had beat me to it. She was cooing to her niece, saying sweet nothings. "I want you to be at your best behavior now, Ki." She murmured. "Your Mommy is going through a terrible time." I remembered how Gabby said that she would always be on my side no matter what happened. I wonder why she would then hide the truth from me like the rest of them. The same I needed to ask of my mother, my father, and all my other friends. I hoped they all had some reason that I could learn to forgive because right now, I couldn't help but despise all of them the same way I despised Rowan. But I did not want to do that to them. I did not want to push away everyone I ever loved even though that's what my brain was telling me to do. I sighed and left, not wanting to disturb the niece and aunt's time. Also, because I was exhausted from everything I had learned today....A week had pass
________________________...There was no better place to meet, so we decided on the apartment itself. Ki was pretty cranky due to the pain and fever post-vaccination. The doorbell rang, and I felt nothing but dread as I walked over to open the door. Gabby was not home, so there was no buffer whatsoever if there was going to be an argument. But I hoped that, for the sake of my daughter, I would be able to keep a calm temperament. The door opened to reveal Rowan. He didn't look like his usual self. He had bags under his eyes, and it seemed like he had lost weight and hair. "You look like shit." The words came out of my lips before I had a chance to put a hold on them. Rowan smiled tiredly. "You don't look that great yourself." I rolled my eyes as I held the door open for him to come in. "I brought this." He held up a bag from a famous toy store. "You can give it to your daughter when she wakes up," I told him. He nodded. Both of us settled down on opposite sides of the couc
__________________..."You lied?" Eric was off his stool at the revelation."I had no choice." I tried to defend myself but it was not of any use."Of course you had a choice. You had a choice to be honest about everything from the beginning!" Eric anything but screamed. Frank gave him a warning look and Eric nodded, sitting back down on his stool and turning to me. "I agree that at the time, we all sided with you. But we are not the ones responsible for the spectacle that your marriage has become. You have no one but yourself to blame for all of this."I sighed, playing with the drink in my hand."I know that. And I won't try to blame this on anyone else like I used to do. If there's one thing this marriage has taught me is that I need to be accountable for my actions and the repercussions of bullshit actions won't be pretty."Frank sauntered over with a nod. "At least you got something out of this marriage. I don't think Rory is going to let you have anything else.""You must be
_____________________...It had been months since all the revelations but Rory still refused to talk to Rowan. I couldn't exactly blame her, could I? Given everything that the two of them had gone through, and all the betrayal that Rowan did, if I was in her place then I would not have even let any of us close to me or my child for taking his side. But Rory had forgiven the rest of us and she had made me the buffer when it came to meetups between Ki and Rowan. Rory did not want to meet Rowan but she was not selfish to take away the father-daughter time. But today, their meeting was inevitable. It was Kiara Lewis-Keller's half birthday and my beautiful darling niece was asleep in my arms. "I can't blow any more balloons!" Kevin whined. Zoe walked out of the kitchen and smacked him on his head. "You talk as if you are manually blowing them up with your mouth. The pump is doing all the job." "Then you do it!""Will you do the cooking then?" "It's not as if you can cook to save y
_____________________...~~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