Matt Elisa has won. I give up. I was beaten. Down. Defeated. I was ready to accept my fate, but she has some crazy plans. She was killing off people, but she kept me alive. For what exactly? That question was driving me nuts. She hated me. She wanted to murder me. She made that very clear. She was keeping me alive for something far worse. i could feel it. I was the very core of the family she hated. I was a Torane. I had accepted it. Arnold proved it, so I couldn't deny it. I wanted them dead, but we now had a common enemy. Elisa. She had to be stopped. I saw the door open and watched Diya walk in with her shoulders hunched. My eye was still swollen but I could open it a little. She walked to the bed they had laid me. She was too quiet. “Oh, you are up,” she cleared her throat and quickly turned away from me. “Yeah,” my voice sounded weak. Raspy. “Elisa wants me to clean you up,” she said, and I craned my head. She still had her back on me. She was hiding her face from me. I
Ruby Dave was gone. He was killed by Elisa. This was all my fault. If only I hadn't delayed going back home, he wouldn't have come for me and now he was dead. I wish the ground would swallow me whole with him. I wish I had listened to my uncle when told me to come back home. This was my fault. This nightmare would never end. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I feel pain. I feel numb. I couldn't believe that people like Elisa existed. She was the Devil's spawn child. She was wicked. Whatever happened to her, I wish God wouldn't forgive her. I wish she burns in hell. Elisa had to die. The burning rage inside me made me want to end her with my bare hands. She needed to be rid of this world. Her existence was too much trouble for people around here. Even her men were not safe from her. She took joy in killing him. Dave never had a chance to speak a word. I watched the color in his face drain. His eyes dimmed. I would never see him again. I beat my head with my fist and poun
Ace It’s been rough. I made it back home. I wish it was at my house, but I had to be taken to my grandfather’s house. There was help waiting for us when we arrived and everyone was taken care of. They also needed rest. “Why are you not resting?” Celeste asked me. “I don’t need to be babied. I have to save my family.” “You won’t do them much good like that,” she added, looking at me. “I know you want to get them back, but can you at least rest? I don’t know,” she shrugged at me. “I will rest once I get my family back,” I said, walking past her. I went to my grandfather’s office. He was with Nico. They were also telling me to rest and get my strength back. There was no time for such nonsense. I was going to sleep and rest when I get my family back. “Ace, shouldn’t you be resting?” Nico asked, and my grandfather looked up at me. “I’m fine. Where is Filip?” I asked. I hadn’t seen him since we arrived. “Sit with us,” my grandfather spoke. I dragged my feet and sat on the empty
Diya “Are you sure I can’t help you?” Linda asked for the second time. “Yes,” I nodded, looking at her, “I’m almost done.” I gave her a weak smile. “Hang in there,” she came and hugged me. She has been doing this every chance she gets. I was glad my son was in her hands. She was doing something I couldn’t do for him. “Your boy will need you soon.” “Mm- hmm,” I managed, a lump in my throat. “You are stronger than you think,” she squeezed again. “Let me check on the young Torane. I will make sure to tell him you love her.” “Thanks, Linda,” i nod. I cleared my throat, hiding a lump that was almost at the surface. I promised myself not to cry, and that was what I was going to do from now on. Tears were not solving anything. I kept my head down. Working like I'm supposed to. I was trying to get everything done so I can rest. My feet were about to give up on me, but I kept working. I was almost finished. I had fed Matt and ate with Ruby. I cleared everything in the kitchen and pl
Ace “Do as I say and everything will be fine.” “But-” Celeste protested, but I looked at her. “I don’t have time for this,” I whisper, shouted with a groan. Celeste rushed beside me and I pushed her away. “I’m fine. I'm not sick.” “You are not fine. You are bleeding. It's important that you take it easy." “Don’t tell me what to do. You are not my mother,” I groaned again. “I - I’m sorry. I was trying to help.” “You can help me by driving us out of here. I need to go save my family,” I say, composing myself and standing straight. “Maybe we can wait for Filip to come back and -“ I glared at her as she took a step back, “I can’t, Ace. This is suicide.” “Then it will be worth it. Stop wasting my time and move.” I ordered, and she nodded but remained standing. We moved out of the house, and I dragged her. There was no time for me to waste waiting for Filip. I can do this myself. I was taking my ranch back. I'm the one who was going to get my family back. I was going to kill Eli
Filip “Are you kidding me?” I slammed on the side of the back door, getting a stare from Will in the rearview mirror. I heard a loud crack from the sky as the car moved. I scoffed at the bad timing in the rain pouring out of season. If it wasn’t for this rain, we would have flown back and maybe I would have been back in Kragga Kamma. Honestly, the road was the worst way to travel when it’s raining. Everyone turns crazy and drives recklessly. I checked my watch again, trying to gauge when we would arrive. We had passed Grahamstown hours ago and yet we were far from being home. Suddenly the car went to an abrupt halt, and I was about to shout, but the red and blue lights ahead of us held my tongue. “Jesus what now?” I groan with an exasperated sigh. "I don't have time for this crap." “What do we do?” Will asked. “What can we do other than wait?" I raked my hand n my hair. "Could be traffic or an accident.“ I closed my eyes. “I don’t think so,” Will said. I opened my eyes and loo
Ace I peeled my eyes open, looking at Diya, who was just as shocked as I was. I looked around and watched the two bodies on the ground. Elisa had shot her men, not me. I was alive for now. I looked at her, masking my gratitude in a scowl, and she had the audacity to smile at me. “Don’t worry, your time will come,” she lowered the rifle and craned her head to look at me, “Was that?” she laughed, “My God, Ace. Did I just see fear in your eyes?” she laughed louder. “You tell me?” I gave her a coy smile. “Were you afraid when I almost snapped your pretty little neck?” “You,” she huffed and calmed herself, “I have better things to do.” She smiled at me before she walked to Diya. “Don’t fucking touch her?” I got up quickly, and she was quick too because the gun pointed at me made me stop. “Move. I dare ya,” she grinned at me and I fisted my hands. “Ace,” Diya cracked, and my eyes looked at her. She was scared out of her mind. I had to inwardly try and calm myself. I took a step back
Filip I was sitting in the station again, but this time my hands were cuffed to the chair. Detective De Luca seemed to enjoy herself just as much as I was going to be in a few minutes. I just hope that Ace has done nothing stupid in the meantime. The man was not patient. “Like I said,” I smiled, looking at the female detective, “You are making a huge mistake.” “Says the man who was caught red-handed with illegal weapons.” She smirked. “Was I?” I asked frowning, “Listen to me.” “Save it,” she snapped, and I shook my head. “Okay,” I sighed, looking at her and I watched her. “Okay?” she thrummed her hand, waiting. “Now, tell me. Filip.” she palmed the table with both hands lowering to my level. "Tell you what?" I ask. “It’s a little convenient to have you like this. I mean, come on,” I shrugged, still silent as she continued. “Where is your boss, Ace?” she looked at me. “Is that why you have reinforcements? You are at war, aren’t you?” she laughed as I craned my head to look at
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