Sipping her champagne, Daisy slid into an autopilot mode of self-preservation. One she had not used in many years. Brett introduced her to more people, and being a social Queen-Bee courtesy of her mother, she performed extremely well. She spoke at the appropriate moments, cracked jokes when needed, smiled when necessary, even as she was boiling with jealousy inside. Fake or genuine, she did smile and smile is a smile, doesn't matter how genuine it was. Even with the internal riot she was battling, she struggled to pay attention to the discussions so as to know the right words to say and when she's expected to say them. Yet she was still conscious of Sheila Robbin's figure gliding across the room, giving her subtle sharp spear-piercing stares once in a while. Brett on the other hand was extremely grateful for her presence and the way she was handling the people they had discussions with. He was more than pleased to discover that within five years, Daisy has grown not just bigger, but
"Are you with someone Dee?" Ray asked. Daisy shook her head just before she could register the question and just how broad it was. "So you’re available." She took a deep breath, feeling uncomfortable despite how fluidly they moved together. "Well, I’m not taken." Ray flashed his charismatic boyish grin. "My night just took a good turn." He filled the rest of their time on the dancefloor with amusing anecdotes about his new band and the progress they were making and how much fun he was having doing his favorite thing and making tons of cash from it. His stories made Daisy laugh and took her mind off Brett for the time being. When the song ended, Ugo was there to take the next one. After playing a brief catch-up with Ugo who wasn't in the least interested, Ray left the dancefloor making Daisy promise to let him know before she leaves. Ugo gave Daisy a stern look once they started dancing. They danced very well as a couple because they'd taken lessons together. Daisy finally felt
Ugo snorted, pressing her ignore button. Daisy swallowed past the lump in her throat. "You gave a wonderful speech tonight, Brett. I enjoyed every bit of it." He sucked in a sharp breath and shoved a hand through his hair. Abruptly, he cursed under his breath pulling his vibrating phone out of his pocket, he glanced at the screen. "I have to go, Daiz." His gaze caught hers and held it for a while. His fingertips drifted over her cheek. "I’ll call you, please." His eyes held a plea but his face didn't and then he was gone. "Do you want to stay?" Ugo asked quietly. "No." "I’ll take you home, then." Ugo said calmly. "No, don’t." Daisy insisted. She wanted to be alone for a bit. Soak herself in a hot bath, take a few glasses of wine and pull herself out of her self-induced misery. "You should stay here. It might be good for your career. We will talk when you get home. If not today, tomorrow. I’m seriously going to need solitude." Ugo nodded. Her gaze darted over her friend's fa
"Daisy." Ugo called out when her friend shuffled into the living room the next morning. Dressed in nothing but a loose robe, Ugo lay stretched out on the sofa with her feet crossed and propped on the table. "How was your night?" Daisy gave her the thumbs-up and headed into the kitchen for coffee. She paused when her eyes caught the beautiful arrangement of Daisies and lilies on the side stool beside Ugo. "Chef did it again?" Daisy asked, smiling. "I should meet that man, he's a born-romantic. I want to tell him thank you." Smiling, Ugo shook her head. "Those are not from Chef. They came in for you about an hour ago." "Know who sent them?" "I didn't check." Ugo replied. "But I guess it's between band-boy Ray or Lexington." "You always have a name waiting. What's band-boy Ray for crying out loud." She shrugged. "Makes it easy to know who I'm talking about." "A Sunday delivery." Daisy said, picking up the bouquet. "So Intentional and super pricey. I wonder who sent these." She pl
"Did Lexington say that to you?" Again, fury laced Ugo's quiet question. No. But he once told me he doesn't sleep with his female friends and he’s got issues with women wanting more than a good time, so he keeps the women he bangs and the women he hangs out with in two separate camps." She took another sip of her coffee. "I told him back then the setup wasn’t going to work for me and he said he’d make some adjustments, but in the end, he turned out to be one of those guys who’ll say whatever he has to in order to get what they want." "What the hell! Lexington fucking did you dirty. Why did you let him an inch near you again." "Maybe growth, I'm not sure. But I thought I've grown past all that. I thought he wouldn't have that strong effect on me again." "Does he?" Daisy nodded. "Not as strong as before. I can say no now. But if I don't step away, I might lose the will to say no." "Does he stop when you say no?" Daisy nodded. "Maybe he just wants another chance. Let's see it from
Daisy knew she needed to cut Brett off , but she felt stringed out from the desire to be with him, which in turn, held her in. She was supposed to let him know that Saturday night was the last time she'd wanted to see him, but she couldn't. Memories of how good his lips felt on hers and the electrifying feeling of his hand on the small of her back laced her thoughts. She found herself wanting to experience it all, again and even more. But her pan of senses pushed a bit forward. "Brett, we don’t have any reason to have lunch together. I believe we've sorted these things out on Saturday night. I'd like to just leave it at that." Brett's voice turned gruff. He hissed with frustration. "I know I fucked up. Don't you want to hear me out at least. Let me explain." "You don’t have to. There's really no need for the explanation. We had an agreement and there was no way it was going to change." "Daiz, I need to see you." "I don’t want to." She insisted. "We can do this the easy way
Brett felt a heavy painful pang in his chest. He rubbed it briefly and shoved a hand through his hair, exhaling harshly. "You don’t mean that." Daisy suddenly felt exhausted, from the continuous fight within herself over Brett. "I really mean it, Brett. Remember our agreement at the hotel. After Saturday night, I get to decide if I want to see you again or not. And you owe me the right to stay away if I ask you to..." She paused. "You and me......we can't do more than acquaintances, and even at that, I don't want to keep running into you. Brett, I don't want to go down that road again, not after the mess I went through from the last one. This thing right here, is a mistake." Brett's jaw tightened, his heart heaved with the possible fear of losing Daisy. "This is not a mistake, the way I handled Saturday night, was a mistake and I'm sorry." Daisy stared at him, startled by the fierceness of his honesty. "I wasn’t really talking about just Saturday night, Brett. I’m talking about le
Daisy took a bite of her meal and moaned sweetly when she got a full hit of its flavor. It was a traditional meal. She had first had a taste of the meal when she paid a visit to Ugo's parents and ever since, she got hooked. The taste was divine. "Good, right?" He asked. "Very good. In fact, if you keep this up, I might consider keeping you to myself forever." She joked and wiped her mouth and hands. "That would please me, Daisy." He paused and looked at her. "Do you find exclusivity far fetched, for you?" He asked, setting his cutlery down. There was a loud stillness to his words and Daisy tried guessing what he was thinking, but came up empty. "To clear any doubts, I'm trying to say that there won’t be any other men for you as long as we're together, Daisy." A shiver moved through her at his blunt finality, The tone and steadiness in his gaze touched a part of her. Just as Daisy had grown and evolved over the years, so has he. There was now an even darker side to him that
We were now in an open corridor. Rocco stood like a statue at the end of the room, staring into space. Two other guards stood at a reasonable distance, taking the same stance. I snatched my hand back from him, crossing it over my chest. "Good. Then that's settled. But make no mistake, he turned "I'm going to take my pleasure from you, how and when I deem it fit." He threatened. "You dare not!" I challenged, creating a distance between us. "Really," he mused. "Let's see how that goes." "Every single thing about this situation is disappointing," I corrected him, feeling my jaw quiver. I had a temper. So I try so hard to always remain happy and positive. And that was why I surrounded myself with people that really love and care about me. They all knew and understood how bad my temper used to be. As a form of control, I would always remain cold and calm in situations I have no power over. Until I grab a full picture of the situation. But then, in some conditions, I almost alw
I was awakened by the distant sound of the television. Immediately I opened my eyes, I saw Maxine cropped up on a chair at the end of the room. "Welcome back to the land of the living," he muttered. "Where are we?" I croaked, sitting up on the bed and surveying the empty room that had only a bed and a television. Maxine stretched his arms, and sighed. "Home, The Garden." "Thank God." I sighed, before realizing what he meant. "You mean your home is referred to as The Garden?" "Mhmm." He hummed. "Gross." I spat out. "It's a good name." He stood up. "Hollis totally owe me for this." He murmured and left the room, not even saying a goodbye or any other word. My throat felt raw, and my body, emotionally exhausted. I could feel dark isolation seeping through the room like deep depression. I just wanted to go home, to go shopping, boat cruises, clubhouses and the courtroom. I wanted my life back. But even I know I couldn't. Not with the continuous attempt on my life and wi
Maxine gripped the steering wheel and side-glanced me. "Put your seatbelt on, this is going to be fun." I did as I was told, and he hit the red button on the rearview mirror, which caused the garage door to slide open. We drove out onto the gloomy street. Maxine didn't let go of the gas pedal until we were driving well above the speed limit. Darkened street signs flashed by. He sped through a red light, swerving around a car that was patiently waiting for its turn. 'What was the point of making me wear my seatbelt if he was planning on killing the both of us by crashing the car.' With an extended grin, he weaved us in and out of traffic. Eventually we moved away from the city streets and onto a country road. We picked up more speed, but at least there were no other cars to play chicken with. I was able to unclench my teeth and my stranglehold on the security bar against the door, using my free hand to wipe my newly dampened forehead. The car air-conditioner couldn't do anyt
The next time I woke up, the sun was already setting. I was feeling better, rested, though my joints and muscles ached from the lack of movement. As for the bump on my head, it was only sensitive to touch. there was no more throbbing. My hair on the other hand was a tangled mess. My head felt naked when my hair was down. I searched my pockets and then the barren room for anything that I could use to tie it back. The only thing I found was the glass of water that had been refilled, and that I greedily gulped down. The bedroom door had been left open, and hollowed sounds from a Television could still be heard. As soon as the smell of food tickled my nose, my stomach grumbled. The last meal I had eaten was the vegetable sauce my mother made specially for me. How long ago was that? My brain was still too foggy to count back the hours or the days. The thought of my mother sent chills down my spine. I haven't heard from my parents and I knew they would be worried sick. Letting my sto
With a stiff neck, I scanned my surroundings. there wasn't much to decipher. I was in a small room, lit only by the bedside lamp that was on the table next to the bed. There was an armchair with a rose velvet cushion in one corner. The walls were bland and frameless. After waiting for another bout of nausea to pass, I went to the window, holding on to the small table as support for my shaky frame. Outside, the sunsetting sky was of resilient palettes of shady hues, and I was peering over the shadows of endless rooftops. Wherever I was, it was high above a city, at least twenty stories high. Down below, a yellow cab was waiting at a red light on an otherwise empty street. I couldn't decide if I was still in Lilycity. I thought I had a fair recognition of the clock tower that stood at the center of the city square, but it was too distant and I was too tired to be sure. My hand pressed against the glass. I closed my eyes until the dizziness passed, then slowly and painfully moved to
There was a flash of light and distant noises. My head felt like someone was taking an ice pick and pouring heavy chipping on my skull. I decided that death couldn't be this painful, so I was probably not dead or this was what hell was supposed to feel like. My eyes were pried open, and a light came flashing again. This was followed by a groan, like a bear cub. 'was that me?' I managed to flutter my eyes open without anyone's help. Inches away from my face, someone was holding a pen-sized flashlight. I couldn't focus enough to see him, but I could definitely smell him. Light scent of woodberry and some chemicals I remember enduring the mixing process once I snuck into the chemistry laboratory during practicals that were meant for students offering science courses. The ceiling was swimming. I thought I was going to vomit, and I had to let my eyelids drop to stop the spinning. Slowly, the muffled sounds became words. "What's your name, sweetheart." Asked the man with the flashli
I climbed down carefully from the grey van that picked me up from the house. I was going to see a cartel Boss. So there are quite a lot of things that could happen today. It's either I end up dead or I succeed in striking a good deal that will keep my father alive and give my family enough time to pay up the crazy-absurd debt they leveled against my Father. If the stars are in my favor, the money might even be forgiven. But in all, one of these things was going to happen today and I pray my dead body won't be drawn out of the industrial looking premises. As I stood looking around, I got a nudge behind from one of the men. "Move!" He barked at me and like a crippled roach revealed by a light from a handheld torch. I had to put both of my feet to good use. One of the men walked in front, leading the way, while two others walked behind me. "Stop." A baritone voice from a guard stationed at the gate yelled at us. "She's going to go in blindfolded." He read out a rehearsed instruct
The silence at the dinning table felt excruciating and painful. I forced most of the mashed potatoes down my throat and swallowed hurriedly each time, unable to feel the taste of the meal. When the silence became too unbearable, I shifted my meal and turned to my parents. "Let's hear it, what's the problem?" "Eat Ugo." My father said, tapping me gently on the arm. "I'm full, and even if I'm not, I can't take more. I've lost my appetite. What's going on, what's with the silence and brooding, did someone die?" My mother was the first to shake her head. "We didn't lose anyone. But we might as well loose someone if we don't find a solution." She said, "Ada..." My father called in his usual peace-loving manner. "Ugo is not a child, honey. The earlier we start taking....the better." "Please talk to me... anyone. Dad, Mom." "Honey, it's nothing serious....." "Your father was accused of stealing from his company." My mom interrupted. "What?" I looked at my father, hoping he would as
UGO I took in the orderliness of the little room that had always served as my safe space for the longest time. All my childhood memories were still intact, almost as I had left them. My mother had taken it upon herself to preserve all the good memories, making sure not to alter the shape of the room and the position of things as I left them. I tried recalling the last time I visited Lilycity. It's been well over two years. Fairview had found a way to draw me into its tight grasp and sapped me off all my free time. I sighed, recalling my mother's tears at the airport when she came to pick me up. I was initially skeptical that she would be the one to pick me up, but then she somehow managed to convince me with my father's support that she has recovered perfectly since her intestinal surgery. "Poor woman." I murmured regrettably. Pulling my hair into a tight bun, I sat down on the only chair in my room, took in the beauty of the modest-looking room and smiled. What my room lacked in