“And since when have you become so weak and meek, the Halle I know always takes what she wants, when she wants…go and romance the hell out of that sexy man and maybe slip my phone number into Tunde's pocket,” Greta asked humorously, Halle laughed and clicked her tongue. “There is no way I am doing that,”“Party pooper,”“Shithead,”“Toilet seat,”“Drainpipe,”“Goodbye, bitch!” Halle laughed and ended the call, shaking her head with amusement. Greta always managed to lift her spirits and despite being so hot-headed…the woman was really good at giving advice…at least in some cases because Halle could remember the one time Greta had convinced her to take a job at a strip club and she ended up being mistaken as a pole dancer. Long story short, Halle had to get stitches for being pressured to get on a pole she had no experience with. The memory made her laugh and shudder at the same time. Maybe she had overreacted when she left the party in such a hurry, she felt in control of her emoti
Back for good? The fuck does that mean?! “Xavier had called me last night, said he wanted me to come over…so which made me assume you were out already but then again,” She looked down at Halle’s stomach again, out of impulse, Halle used her hands to shield her lower belly from the woman’s gaze, not liking how unsettled it made her feel. “You're with him due to special circumstances, I understand he can’t just kick you our whole you’re carrying his child,”“He…called you last night?”Andrea's smile widened and Halle wished she didn’t give the woman the satisfaction but she did. Last night her and Xavier had fallen asleep, spent from their ‘activities’. At a certain time she had groggily opened her eyes and his phone was pressed against his ear and he was speaking in a really low voice so she wouldn’t wake up. Halle had wondered who he was talking to at that hour but she was to sleepy to form the words so she went back to sleep feeling that it was nothing to worry about, besid
The drive back was long and filled with thick silence. Xavier had covered her bared shoulders with his jacket and taken her back to the party only to inform Tunde that he was leaving and that he should take care Victoria because the woman was in no state to go back home with them. Then he leaned in and whispered something into Tunde’s ears and he looked pissed while doing so, Tunde had pulled back with surprise in his eyes then he nodded and then walked up to Halle. “Thank you for coming to my party,” he said with a warm smile, whilst he kissed her hand, Halle felt him slip a piece of paper between her fingers and then leaned down to whisper into her ears, “I'm always willing to help, with anything you need,”When he pulled away, it was now Halle’s turn to look surprised. “Take care of him for me,” He said earnestly, a hint of sadness in his tone. Halle nodded, although her feelings were quite jumbled up and conflicted, she made the promise because she intended to keep it. Once Xa
Halle shook him off and made her way to the bed, she didn’t sit down but rather pathetically reached for her the lace ropes behind the dress as she tried to get out of it. She heard Xavier’s sigh behind her and then his footsteps as she made his way towards her and tried to help her undo the lace ropes used to hold the dress. Halle slipped the paper Tunde had given her into her purse and set it down on the bedside table, making a mental note to check what was in it once she was alone. Something told her that he didn’t want Xavier to know what it was and just to be on the safe side, Halle decided that she would keep it from him as well. The last thing she wanted was to make an already rocky friendship get worse. As Halle stepped out of the dress and all that was left on her was the black lace underwear set Victoria had made her wear as a gift, she felt his hot gaze on her but she pretended not to notice. She folded up the dress and kept it on the bed. Then she set her heels on the ta
“Why didn’t it work out?” Halle probed, she’s learned in the past few months of knowing Xavier that whenever he was willing to give any information about his life, she had to milk it out of him right there and then and know everything she wanted to. He hesitated, his lips parted and then closed. He let out a ragged breath and ran his palms down his face. Water sprayed down on them like rain and cascaded down their skin with a gentle caress. All that could be heard was the sounds of their heavy breathing. Halle's due to her arousal and Xavier’s due to his hesitance to speak about his past marriage. He was hard and she wanted him just as she knew he wanted her in that moment but they had to get past this…or Halle wouldn’t be able to trust the man. “Andrea was selfish and so was I, we ruined our friendship with Tunde for a fleeting feeling. Andrea wanted more, she wanted to be the wife to the head of the stone family and have the power that came with it, I saw my mother in her so I
Halle had no plans of telling him. She had made up her mind in the bathroom that she wouldn’t say a word. Until he treated her like…no one else mattered, like nothing else mattered. Right now it was just the both of them, no one else not even her past was strong enough to stop what she was feeling. How safe he made her feel. She wasn’t afraid to say the words to him, what she feared was what he would think right after he hears everything. “Before I tell you…promise—”“Halle…tell me,” Xavier said, it wasn’t that he was not willing to make a promise to her, he just knew that there was no reason that could ever make him leave her. And while Halle saw it in his eyes she still hesitated, she wanted so badly to trust in that love and affection she saw in his eyes but… “My parents were better as friends than they were as a couple,” Halle began, her throat clogged up with emotion, “At first I didn’t see it and quite frankly it didn’t show that much until my brother died…then they chang
Morning came too quickly in Halle's opinion. She spent the entire night in Xavier’s arms and though she was tired and at some point had to pretend to be asleep, she couldn’t sleep. Something was off in the Stone family she could feel it. Something was off with Xavier and also his illness and something told her that he had the same thoughts as well. That though, he wouldn’t talk to her about and it was way too sensitive for Halle to try and bring home so she settled for resting in his arms. He never let go of her, even when he would shoot up abruptly having coughs that sounded like his lungs wanted out if his body, once they subsided, he would hold her in his arms against and then fall asleep. Halle had noticed that since she found out she was pregnant, she slept too much during the day and at night her eyes would be wide open like an owl no matter what she tried. Now she knew it was already morning and she was very much aware that she get to sleep. Her body aches and groan
Oh fuck it. She kissed him and then bit down on his lip hard, she didn’t hear a complaint despite that being her main goal. Instead he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer, forcing his tongue past her lips, tangling it with hers and deepening the kiss until they were both out of breath. They pulled away slowly, and when she opened her eyes to look into his, her heart slammed in her chest like the organ wanted out. Those intense emotions in his eyes were almost too much for her to handle, his thumb caressed her lips leisurely and a faint smile on his lips as he looked down at her swollen ones. “I love you, Halle,” He said, his whisper one that held fierce emotions. It made her whole body sway and her mind blank out for a few seconds. All she could see and feel and think about was him. What was she supposed to say in this situation? She wanted to say those words but—“You look like you’re holding in a fart,” Xavier mused and Halle responded by smacking him har
“Do I really need to be blindfolded for this?” Halle asked with a warm chuckle. Xavier just grinned mysteriously in response, guiding her by the shoulders through what sounded like a set of heavy doors given the echo. “Patience, Flower. I promise, it’s worth the surprise,” he assured her, amusement and excitement dancing in his tone. Halle smiled and cooperated as he led her slowly ahead a few more steps. Her heart swelled, trusting Xavier so completely even when she couldn’t see. After everything they had endured, Halle knew without doubt he would never lead her anywhere dangerous again. “Just a little further,” Xavier coached. “Watch your step.” His sturdy hands on her waist aided Halle in navigating what felt like a small staircase. A few more shuffling paces forward and they finally halted. Halle quivered in anticipation. “Can I look now?” “One moment…” She heard the smile in Xavier’s voice just before he moved behind her and untied the blindfold at last. “Now you can open your
When Halle awoke late one night from another vivid episode of panic, Xavier recognized a shift had finally occurred. He gathered her quaking frame close while she wept, exhausted and heart sore. “Shh I have you, just breathe,” he soothed until the tension slowly left her muscles. Halle clung to him like an anchor amidst stormy waters even once fully awake. “I’m scared, Xavier,” she admitted in a small voice once sufficiently calmed. “Scared she’ll find us again.” Xavier steeled himself before answering gently. “Then it’s time I put real end to this. For your peace of mind, and our son’s future.” Halle’s arms tightened around him briefly at the implication. But she simply nodded bravely when she pulled back. “Just promise me you’ll come back safely. I can’t lose you.” Her palm cupped his bearded cheek with profound tenderness. Turning his head, Xavier pressed a kiss into her open palm. “I will always come back to you Halle,” he avowed passionately. His piercing gaze bore into hers,
Xavier paused in the open doorway, gazing at the scene before him – Halle curled protectively around their three week old son as he nursed, her expression tired but content, Damien was at the edge of the bed, curiously watching and asking questions, his wide eyes innocent and childlike, just like it ought to be. Xavier’s heart swelled at the simple domestic sight, still scarcely able to believe he had nearly lost them forever.Halle had begged for Damien to be close, so the second they left Halle’s birth country in Africa, he had Monty bring the young boy out from hiding and back with them, where he belonged. After Halle had been safely recovered and gave birth, Xavier wasted no time whisking her away to a secluded estate where they could focus solely on healing without fear of Martha’s lingering reach. And healing was no small feat after the trauma Halle had endured. Though her physical wounds were minimal, the psychological toll left lasting scars.She was plagued regularly by v
Halle drifted slowly up towards consciousness, clinging to the last visages of a dream where she was enveloped in tender warmth and comforting strength. Even semi-conscious, she instinctively recognized the sensations cocooning her now were real, not imagined. But after endless days and nights of torment, believing rescue could only manifest as a fantasy, Halle desperately avoided opening her eyes fully. What if this beautiful illusion shattered the instant she woke up? The possibility made her heart seize with renewed panic.No - the arms cradling her were solid, the scent of juniper and fresh rain surrounding her unmistakably Xavier’s. This precious peace was real, it had to be. Halle focused on steadying her breaths, mentally grasping for fragments of memory through the haze still clouding her thoughts. Flashes filtered back now – the frantic escape attempt, searing contractions hitting, Xavier appearing through her delirium of pain like a saving vision…the sweet sound of her chi
A FEW HOURS EARLIER… The scorching sun beat down as Xavier surveyed the sprawling, dusty streets from the backseat of the nondescript sedan. It had taken tremendous resources and calling in more favors than he could count to get boots on the ground in this remote country so quickly. But nothing could deter him from his mission – finding Martha and making her pay for taking Halle.Taking the woman he loved and then sending him papers to sign while at it. Xavier gritted his testy as he thought about the phone call he had gotten from his aunt, she’d sent papers to his mail…asking him to sign over everything to her, that was her endgame. If she couldn’t get it from Damien as she’d originally intended, she’d get it directly from the man himself. Xavier had agreed to her deal but…he wasn’t really going to sign those paper. Stone was his legacy and he’ll be damned if he let’s and overly ambitious bitch take over and ruin everything he’s built. His mind wandered inevitably to images of h
Too spent to argue, Halle permitted him to gently help her ease down onto the padded nest now warming her chilled legs. Though hardly ideal accommodations, at least she was off the frigid concrete floor. Monty seemed satisfied with his efforts.“I must inform the Don that you have been found before he burns the brothel down,” he announced. Before Halle could wrap her mind around the significance of his deliberate phrasing, Monty had disappeared back down the cellar corridor with a final instruction tossed over his shoulder – “Try to focus your energies, I will be back as fast as I can.”Xavier…was here, for her. Halle couldn’t hold back her relieve tears but of course that feeling was short lived. Then Halle was alone again with her body’s urgent demands. She closed her eyes, trying futilely to center her wild thoughts through the intensifying contractions. But it was impossible to find any inner calm or fortitude. Not with her heart pounding anew wondering how much longer until
Halle’s heart hammered violently in her chest as the first contraction seized her swollen belly. There was no denying it now – the terror and physical exertion of her escape attempt had triggered full blown labor. Her child was coming, ready or not, even as Martha’s henchmen battered viciously to break in.“Shit!” Halle cursed under her breath as she held her belly, the pain hitting her unexpectedly and making her whole body sway and her legs shake. Leaning heavily on the dusty desk, Halle fought to stay upright and quiet through the painful tightening. But despite clenching her jaw, a low moan still escaped through her gritted teeth. The dampness soaking her dress kept spreading. “Why are you so impatient…” Halle cursed through gritted teeth, trying her best to stay up right so as to prevent any complications. From down the cellar corridor came another resounding crack – the stubborn old door’s hinges were splintering rapidly under the men’s force. In mere minutes they would be
Halle awoke with a gasp, her heart already racing. Today was the day – the day she would finally attempt her escape from this nightmare. She lay still for a moment, focusing on slowing her breathing and gathering her courage. The gloom shrouded the cramped room, but Halle’s eyes discerned the packed bag hidden beneath her cot containing the supplies she had managed to secretly squirrel away over the past week. The last week had been utter torment, forcing herself to endure her mother’s assaults and the groping hands of repulsive men trying to lay claim to her while pretending total resignation. More than once she had nearly faltered, the will to fight slowly being crushed out of her. But she would gently caress the swell of her belly. She could not – would not – let this place and its monsters claim another child if there was any hope of escape.Moving slowly to avoid any sounds of creaking, Halle eased herself up to sit on the edge of the mattress. Her heavy, cumbersome belly m
The days dragged by in agonizing torture as Halle remained trapped in her personal hell. Time ceased to hold meaning within the dingy confines of the small room that had been hers as a teenager under her mother’s cruel control. The peeling walls oozed with memories of past suffering, the very air thick with hopelessness.And now, heavy with her unborn child, Halle felt more trapped than ever. Her mother’s daily visits always ended with fresh bruises blossoming on her skin, dark reminders of her powerlessness. When not enduring her mother’s rage, Halle spent the empty hours curled miserably on the cot, arms wrapped around her belly as if to shield the precious life within from the darkness pressing in around them.On the fifth night, Halle lay tense and sleepless, every creak of the old brothel putting her nerves on edge. She stared dry-eyed into the gloom, too weary even for tears. The baby’s steady kicks were her only comfort.When the familiar scrape of the main door opening reached