Chapter 29: In which she is framed.
"You're late." Samuel's voice was strained when I met him after office hours the next day and I immediately knew something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" I touched his face with my hands, making sure he didn't have a fever because he looked terrible.
"No one found out, did they?" He asked to make certain.
"No, but I had to slip out telling Nate that I had a few things to buy. I'll have to get back soon. Samuel, what's wrong?" I asked again, worried about him.
It’s been a month and a half since Thanksgiving and winter was in full swing. I hadn’t been able to contact Sam in the meantime and we both had busy schedules so it got impossible to meet up, especially now that I had moved in with Nate. But I hadn’t realized that my brother must be suffering too. His eyes had bags under them and his skin looked pale. Although he was wearing a tailored grey suit, his hair was messy from having
Chapter 30: In which she has her hands tied."What...."I stared at the pictures, my heart breaking at the thought that I was too late. I could've done something earlier but I can't now. It's too late. My hands are tied. I promised Sam, my twin, my blood that I wouldn’t let Nate in on our secret and now I can't tell him anything.Why? Why did this situation have to arise when I was finally happy? Just when things in my life were going right for once?"Sav, you trust him but I can't. And this is bigger than just you and me. This is about bringing justice to our mother. You were with her Sav! You were there for her to ease her sufferings. You were there for her when she died. I wasn't. I couldn't be there!"My heart broke for Sam too, for he had been denied even a final goodbye to our mother. The only times he'd been able to call was when ourfatherhad been out of the house and his caretaker was sle
Chapter 31: In which shehas to face him.Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.Crash!"Owwwww!"I woke up clutching my head in my hands. The pounding indicated the humongous hangover I was about to have. I searched around the room with half closed eyes and spotted the broken clock against the far wall and groaned."What's all this noise...?"My head snapped up to Nikki's frame leaning against the door frame of my bedroom. Memories of last night came flooding back.When I'd walked out of Nate's house yesterday, I'd called Nikki straightaway and poured my heart out, even though I had omitted all about my plans and Samuel’s identity, even though I had gotten dead drunk and mashed brained. Because even my suicidal brain cells knew that it wasn't just my secret to give, it also belonged to my brother."I think I just broke my clock..." I threw the covers off and placed my feet on the floor."You think?" Nikki l
Chapter 32: In which shegets tricked into..."Is this it?" Nikki asked as I got into her cab. "It's the sixth one we've visited this month that suits your budget.""I think this is a pretty good location, but I'll go over the contract and review our previous visits before I finalize anything." I told her, tucking away all the necessary paperwork into my bag.Nikki turned on the ignition and reversed out of the parking lot, switching gears as soon as she hit the main road."You sure about this site? It's a bit far from the city…" Nikki looked at me concerned."A bit." I smiled at her reassuringly from the passenger's side. "But it's the perfect spot with the crossroads nearby. It's also close to my hometown. It's about a 10 minutes drive from here.""I know. I brought you here remember?" She smiled, her attention back on the road."How can I forget?" My mom's birthday. I'd been late to reach her but Nikki
Chapter 33: In which she has two days left to Christmas.Nikki's P.O.V :"Hey!" I gave her a big hug. "I'm glad that you guys made it.""Well, we deserve a good time too!" Tina laughed, looking completely different from her usual secretary self. Gone were the prim and proper shirts and pencil skirts. In her place stood a wavy blonde haired woman of 32, dressed in a figure hugging red dress with gold heels and hoop earrings, a tiny gold clutch in hand.I was dressed up too, in a green shift dress that reached just above my knees and a white pearl necklace. But I looked nowhere near as hot as this dang girl!"This is my husband, Raymond Moore." She pointed to a man in his mid 30’s, short black hair and brown eyed. He wore a black shirt with red cuffs and black denims. They looked good together."Hello, Raymond," I smiled as I felt arms wrap around my waist. "This is Lyric, my fiancé. We saw each o
Chapter 34: In which she gets a bad end to a good day."Any comments on dinner, Chef Tresscot?" Nathan raised an eyebrow, smirking."Hmm..." I took a sip of my champagne, cherished the fizz as it went down my throat. Hey, it's not often that you get offered champagne on a surprise date, albeit it's one that had been a mean little trick by adearfriend.....you're so dead Tina! "I think I'll let it pass. The champagne made me forgiving."Nathan mock gasped. "Even after I went through so much hardship to order your food!"I laughed, almost snorting the Champagne out of my nose in the most unladylike way possible in the process. But it did manage to get Nate snorting with laughter. I glared. Such a gentleman, isn't he?"That's what you get for using that sassy voice on me, missy." Nate commented.An announcement on the mike interrupted us. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your kind attention please!" Spoke a
Chapter 35: In which he realizes…Nathan's P.O.V :Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.I shut the alarm off.Why had I set it in the first place? I had hardly slept a wink last night, playing the scene where I acted like a dick and slammed the door shut on Savannah's face, over and over again.Why on Earth did I have to be so dramatic and over-reactive! She said she'd explain everything on Christmas. Couldn't I have patiently waited another month to clarify things? And besides, the photos were taken from a certain angle. That guy could be kissing her forehead for all I know!Last night, we had an amazing moment. Not just dancing with her, but seeing that old couple together, happy and so in love even after 50 years of being together. I wanted that to be us.Maybe....it can still be us.I jumped out of bed and dived into the shower. I needed to see Savannah and for that, I had to get to office,
Chapter 36: In whichhe knows."Savannah, where are you, you said you'd be here today. If you've gone back to your hometown then call me when you get time. I'm worried about you and....We need to talk....I have a lot to tell you, so please, call me back?""Shit!" I ran my hands through my hair and paced around the room. "What now? He's going to ask a hell lot of questions! Questions I can't answer."I got a call from Sam this morning telling me that he wanted me to skip office today because he had plans. Just when I thought I would be able to face Nate confidently again…this happens. What was Sam doing and why I had to skip office? I didn’t ask because I trusted his judgment. But how can I not call Nate? But what if I spoiled whatever Sam was planning?Damnit! I wanted things to be simple. Living in our country house with my mom, a simple job, maybe get married and have a simple life. That had been my d
Chapter 37: In which she faces her worst nightmares."We're late.""Fashionably late.""And whose fault is that?"I gaped at him in astonishment and watched his face break into a devilish grin. "Oh no! No, no, absolutely not! It was your fault and you know it!""Maybe...." he shrugged, reversing the car into a suitable parking spot in front of the Town Hall, which took an hour to find! Was everyone on the planet here today? I was nervous enough that I had to face my worst nightmare tonight and this just made it worse."Is it me or did the entire town just decide to show up?" I squinted my eyes at the rush of people entering the Hall. All dressed in beautiful gowns and tuxedos; designer masks turning them incognito."It's definitely the entire town." Finally able to park, he switched off the ignition and looked at me. " It's Christmas Eve, what did you expect?""I thought this was a private party." I shrugged. I