Ace We lost him. Matt was gone. I was tired of losing. I was tired of pretty much everything. I needed time to think alone. There was so much to process that I never took time to evaluate. I was still refusing to allow my thoughts to accept that Matt and I were related. I shook my head. There was no way. I knew I shouldn’t be doing this to myself, but I needed something to take off all the anger I was feeling. It’s been a long time since I boxed. I needed to feel in control of my body, mind, and bones. Every punch felt like I was taking off the load and tight knot of all that was going on. Every attack I had felt like it was crushing as I hit the bag. I ignored the pain in my rib as I let everything wash over me. My bandaged hands and knuckles were pulsing from the force as I was giving one punch after the other to the bag. I could tell the bag was almost giving up on me. My head spun, but I ignored it. I had lost my wife. It was all my fault. I had lost my son, and it was also my
Diya I wanted Elisa to be wrong. I prayed she would be wrong, but she wasn’t. The one time I wanted her to be the crazy one, she proved me wrong. Matt was everything she had described and more. She had told me in detail everything Matt was to her and I wanted to stab my ears deaf now. Something was seriously wrong with me for this to happen twice. There was an enormous lump in my chest. I felt pain, regret, anger. I could not function anymore. I had no strength or will. Only bad things seemed to happen to me. Everything that I thought brought joy once was giving me tremendous pain. I do not know how I was supposed to live. What cruel act was in store for me again? What had my life turn into? Was this really my life? I tried to think of anything else. Something encouraging. Praying. Being hopeful. All seemed like a joke. There was nothing I could do that would make me feel better anymore. I had given up. Whatever was going to happen was whatever I was going to accept. I stopped
Matt “What?” I asked. “You heard me.” she never missed a beat. “No,” I shook my head, “You would never do such a thing,” I said. “You don’t know me. You don’t know how - “ “You are just hurt. Tell me you are not being serious. This is not you. This is not the Diya I -” I breathed hard, shaking. “WHAT?!” she snapped, “The Diya, you know?” I shook my head. That was not what I was going to say. I wanted to say the Diya I have grown to feel for. “Maybe you and your cousin don’t know me.” I set aside the feeling as I looked at her. “Ace is not my cousin,” I said venomously. She laughed, looking at me in the eyes, “Really? Because it seems you have a nick at the deceit thing. I am done with you, Toranes.” she huffed, "I'm sick of you ruining my life. You are horrible people." “I am not a Torane,” I whisper-shout, but she raised a brow at me. “Deny it all you want, but you and Ace are exactly the same.” She spilled the words as if they were bitter coffee. "Look me in the eye at tel
Ruby Everything was still tense around the ranch, and I was a little jumpy. I had one more day left to decide if I needed to stay here or go back home. After I had stalled for two more days, my uncle and Dave were very adamant that I should leave. I needed to go back to apologize, according to my uncle, who was refusing to speak to me, so everything was coming from my aunt. Dave was pretty much the same. He only called once after our talk and gave me the same ultimatum. He said he was putting his foot down, whatever that means. His attitude was giving me more reasons to stay, but I was worried that if he comes here, then things will turn for the worst. If he sees this place, he would lose it completely. Filip is always sweet to me but he has told me he doesn’t like to share and he gave me an ultimatum too. He canceled the date we were supposed to have because he thought I needed to be sure before wasting his time. Part of me thought he was being stressed out because of everything, b
Elisa I laughed as I walked in, ignoring the stupid question. I know she knows who I am. Theo was soundly sleeping on my shoulders. The sound canceling headphones worked perfectly when the gunshots were sounding. He never woke up. My men were able to take over the Torane Ranch in mere minutes. It was easier than I expected. “You,” I pointed at the older lady, “You seem like the help. Help Patty set up a room. Theo is exhausted.” “Of - Of course -“ she exclaimed too quickly. “And one more thing. Try anything funny and I will kill you,” I smiled as she nodded. “What’s your name?” “Linda,” her name came out in a whisper. I heard her as I handed her my baby. My sweet boy shifted as his eyes opened slightly, but he closed them back again as he took a thump to his mouth. I kissed him and caressed his cheeks as they went on their way. “Right.” I clamped my hands together with a smile. Dario and a few men who had gone to do a sweep upstairs came, and I smiled at the look he gave me. I
Filip It’s been twenty hours since I have been in the air going to Spain. We were about to land and I was glad to have taken some time to rest. Ruby was right. I hadn’t gotten enough sleep. If Ace and I had slept, it would feel like we were not doing much to find them. I was glad we were getting closer after this long search. The jet landed, and I checked my phone, but there was no message from Ruby. I bet she was trying to make sure I get to rest. The thought made me smile. That girl really did a number on me. She was the first girl to make me go nuts the way I do. When I received the call from my grandfather, I was about to call her. “Nino,” his voice was loud. “Grandpa, I am in the middle of something. Can I call you back later?“ “Where are you? Are you with Ace? Is everything alright?” “I just landed in Spain,” I said, getting into the car that was waiting for me and my men. “I’m following a lead and Ace should be on his way back from Tanzania,” “I guess that’s why he is not
Diya “We are not slaves,” Ruby shouted as he halved the potato without touching it. "Are you seriously going to keep quiet and let her treat us like that?" She stabbed the potato. "I mean, who does she think she is?” “Ruby, quiet down. They can hear.” I signaled my eyes at the men, who were keeping a close eye on us. “I don’t care,” she shrugged. Ruby grabbed another peeled potato and did the same process. She was exercising all her frustration on the potatoes. She was also very vocal, which was going to get her in trouble if she does not keep quiet soon. “Do it for me, please,” I pleaded. I was more of a coward. I was afraid of what Elisa would do. I was afraid for her. For everyone. Even Matt, who I hadn’t seen since she ordered him to be taught a lesson, whatever that was. I shook the nudging thought that she might have killed him. This could have been an act. They could be laughing at us somewhere in this house. My house. It was a joke to even think it was my house. Maybe i
Matt I had been stubborn. Making Elisa mad. I couldn’t feel most parts of my body. My left eye was shut. My right eye still gave me minimal vision. I was refusing to speak, and this had gone for hours. She had made me kneel with my hand-tied in front. I could feel my knees giving in, but I had to stay in my position. I refused her methods to make me confess. She had left frustrated, and I thought she had given up, but she walked in with Diya. My heart rate spiked. I must have looked worse than I thought by the way he looked at me. I swallowed and tasted the blood in my mouth and took slow breaths as I kept in position. Steady Matt! Keep steady! She will not break you! You are strong! You can do this! Just keep calm! I kept boosting myself with encouraging words. I needed all the comfort and calm for whatever she was about to do. The deep breath that I took was very painful. I had endured the beating this long. I needed to keep it a little longer. “Shall we do this again?” sh
AceI had just parked the car in the driveway when I got a call from the hospital. Diya was being monitored more extensively than before. I don't understand what went wrong because when we left; she had been fine. The monitors were functioning normally. She didn't cause any distraught to nurse Brenda, and she was doing better than she normally is when we leave.The drive back was harder than I thought because I didn't want to go over the speed limit. Celeste had refused to stay, and we were all going back to the hospital. I did my best to get us back as fast as I could.I didn't wait for them when we were at the hospital because I needed to know exactly how things had changed when all was fine. We spent over two hours with no beeping. I was so proud of her. They both have been doing great. "Mr Torane, you can't go in there.""Why not?" the old nurse rushed and blocked my path"Calm down." "I am calm." I looked at her."Take a deep breath and have a seat. The doctor is with her.""I
Diya"What are you doing out of bed?" Ace sighed, handing the Ezra to my mom."I was beginning to think all of you abandoned me?""And you decided to get out of bed?" he asked.Ace carefully led me to the bed. I huffed and sat back on the same bed I have been couped up in for the past four months."I wanted to walk for a while.""How did you get out of bed?" Ace asked, shaking his head."I can show you how I did it,""No," he sighed, "Stop getting out of bed. Jesus," he whispered under his breath."No swearing in front of the kids," I glare at him before looking at Theo, "Wanna sit next to mommy Theo?" I asked."Daddy said I could hurt you," he looked down at his shoes."Hmm?" I glared at Ace."How are you, dear?" my mother walked closer."Fine," I grit out and looked at Theo, "It's okay, Theo. You can come give mommy a hug. I missed you."Theo looked up, beaming, and ran beside me. He looked up and his father for approval first before he climbed on the bed."Careful with you legs," A
AceI was sitting on a chair watching Diya hooked too many machines. I had left for a while to cool off and came to this development. Something bad kept happening, and I blamed myself. Doctor Bowman had advised me to make my choice soon because they needed to know what to do. I didn't want to make a choice. I wanted both so badly that it hurt. This shouldn't be happening to us. We were fine a few hours ago. "Ace," I looked up and saw my grandfather, "Let's go for a walk.""I want to be with my wife," "I understand, but staring at her like this won't help. Let's take a walk.""The last time I went for a walk, I came back to this," I pointed at my wife."You can't blame yourself for any of this and -""I don't want us talking about this in here." I rubbed my brow."Come then. We can sit outside and talk."I begrudgedly stood. I walked to give my wife a kiss and walked, following my grandfather out. He walked past the chairs. I didn't have the strength to argue, so I walked behind him
AceWhat was I thinking?That’s right, I was not thinking but reacting. Doctor Bowman had suggested that Diya could be pregnant, but we both know she could not be pregnant. She can't because of Elisa. That psycho bitch was still bringing hell to my family.Even now, as I stood and watched the doctor, I knew I should have agreed to forget about this with Diya. Things were great between us. We just welcomed our son. It hasn’t been a day yet, and we were doing an ultrasound for Diya.I ran my hand on my chin, and I watched my wife. I was afraid to look anywhere else. This was going to wreck my wife. I don’t know how I will pick up the pieces. All the words I told her were encouraging, but if I cannot keep my word, then my family would never recover.“Ace,” I heard Diya’s strained voice.I looked at her and grabbed her hand. Nothing was happening, no matter how much he moved. I was not this type of man anymore, but I would have killed this man for making us briefly believe in something we
DiyaAce’s suggestion to have a baby through surrogacy had been so random, and I had been against it because it was soon and Theo was not even five yet. We had struggled with Theo before and the vacation had helped the three of us. We had only got our bearings and bringing another baby seemed like a stretch. It looked impossible, but I was glad he convinced me I agreed.Watching Ace turn into this big teddy was worth this. His happiness made me see how much he wanted a huge family. I don’t mind or feel hurt that I can’t carry children because we have options. Options I would gladly be open to doing again soon. This house was still small for us four alone.I fished my phone from my pocket and took a photo. It was adorable seeing him and Theo together, watching the baby sleep. I couldn't get over such cuteness. We had been worried Theo would be jealous, but he was happier and always asking to hold his little brother Ezra.I was surprised too because we hadn’t discussed baby names. My gr
AceI was watching Theo ride his bicycle. He has been growing up so fast. Every day, he seemed to grow an inch. I had missed two years with him and I don't think I was ready to see him grow older yet. I wish I could freeze time and get as much of him like this as I can.“Are you looking, daddy?” he shouted, looking back. "Look! See!"“Watch where you are going. You will crash.” “Are you looking?” he asked again.“Theo, watch out,” I sighed when he almost hit a guard, but he stopped his bike. “Move! Move! Move!” he shouted.“Theo?” I called, “What do you say?”“Please,” he pouted.“That’s my boy.”I smiled and watched him move his bike around again. My phone rang in my pocket before I could answer. Theo shouted again. “Daddy, you are not watching.” "We are on our way,” I responded on the phone quickly and hung up.I smiled and looked back at Theo, but he was not on his bike and he was walking to me with a frown on his face. I smirked and raised my brow. This boy was me in every sen
Diya One year later, I paused and stared at the long table set before me that was filled with laughter. I smiled and looked around, my heart relieved. The past couple of months, if not years, since the night I saw Ace kill were rough. Ace slid his hand under the table to lace mine before he leaned in closer to my ear. “You okay?” he asked as he kissed my cheek. “I’m okay,” I smiled at him as I looked around the table before looking at him, my eyes shining, “How can I not be happy?” “Mommy,” Theo screamed and my head snapped to him, but I wasn’t frightened because we were safe. We had been safe for a while now. “Faster, run faster Theo. Make the old man sweat.” Ace shouted beside me and I shook my head. Theo was running as Arnold chased him around the table, making everyone around the table laugh harder. My grandparents who I had finally met were sitting at the table laughing at something my mother had said. “Sorry guys we are late,” Ruby walked in with Filip in tow. “Slow down
Ace I opened my eyes and looked at the blinding light. I closed my eyes trying to speak, my throat dry, like someone had forcefully shoved a sandpaper through. As the sound pierced my ears, I tried to speak, but my heart rate spiked and I couldn't. The next thing I saw were people towering over me. It took me a few seconds to remember everything that had happened. Elisa. The shoot out. Matt, the fight. Diya. I tried to shove the people off me and get up. I needed to see her. Someone held my shoulders, and I felt a push back. Two people came on both sides to hold me down, as I was still fighting them. I have no idea how long I was like this, but I need all the tubes and wires off me. I was fighting a losing battle. I could feel whatever drug they had injected in my veins, and I relaxed. The pain I had felt earlier was fading slowly. The machines quieted down as I unintentionally closed my eyes. ***** The next time I opened my eyes, I was reclined, not laying flat on my back anymor
Ruby The metal benches at the hospital are colder than the howling wind outside. I got up and paced as I bit my nails. I was trying to think of everything and how it all went wrong. The doctors had said nothing. Things were looking bad. I tried to think of something else. Filip seemed aloof toward me. He looked at me as if it was my fault. I wiped the tears away. It was my fault. I was the only one who was still walking. Most people I knew were dead, hurt, or fighting for their lives. The emergency room swarmed with people in a short period. My breath hitched as I clung to the wall, trembling like a leaf. My legs felt weak before I saw Celeste walk in with the armed men. “Ruby,” she ran to me. “What is happening?” I whispered in my weak voice. "Are we still in danger?" “Where are my grandsons?” I was blinking and looking around as Celeste held me and helped me to have a seat. I looked at the men as the flashes of my first encounter with Elisa rushed through my head. All the p