All Chapters of Rendezvous: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

His mother stared at them with skepticism, petting the dog's head. "Tell me your brother was only joking, Miguel. You can't be thinking of getting married again. It's so soon. You just divorced that Nadine girl...""My ex-wife's name was Nadia, mother, and Jade and I are getting married," Miguel replied, "Before you say anything else, we didn't come here to ask for your permission."Her jaw slacked, "For heaven's sake, I just now got the reporters to stop circling me like a bunch of buzzards. Couldn't you wait a good five or ten years before you make the headlines again? Give us all a break. My surgeon can't keep up with these stress lines you're giving me." She clearly was going to give her opinion, whether Miguel wanted it or not.Vivan snorted, "Sure, and by that age, your child could be the ring bearer or the flower girl.""Dear, the adults are talking here. Why don't you be a good girl and go play with your paint set?" His mo

Jade didn't look back as the car pulled away from the house. She leaned against the headrest and closed her eyes, ignoring the ache in her temples. They felt sore and heavy, just as they had when she'd mourned her father all those years ago. She only hoped that Miguel's family understood that she wasn't leaving because she was upset with them. Jade just needed time to digest this new information and heal all over again. There was no way they could've known that her mother hadn't been honest about the circumstances behind her father's death. Nineteen years of living with this tale had all come unraveled in a matter of seconds. Why did her mother fabricate the story? Jade could only assume it's because she didn't have the heart to tell her child the awful truth. Her father chose, like a coward, to end his own life. The lawyer explained that he was undergoing an investigation. The bank had become suspicious that he'd taken undocumented loans out for himself, and he kne

Jade's eyes fluttered open an hour before the alarm went off. Birds were chirping outside the window, not the sound she wanted to be woken up to. She let out a groan and tucked her head under the blanket.The smell of coffee was seeping from the lobby next door, enticing her to get out of bed and request a cup. After all, there wasn't a coffee maker in the room, and she wondered if it was intentional. Jade slid her feet into the houseshoes before making her way to the office. A wall of morning dew hovered above the sidewalk, dampening her skin."Oh good, you're awake," the receptionist greeted Jade as if she'd been expecting her sooner."I could smell the coffee from my room," she chuckled, wrapping her arms around herself."Help your

I'll be the one to cut the umbilical cord," Nadia ran a finger across the blade of the scissors, "Just think of yourself as my surrogate. There's no need for me to blow up like a blimp when I have you to do all the work for me." Devious bursts of giggles fractured her words. She sounded like a modern-day Ursula. Only it wasn't Jade's voice she wanted to steal, but her baby. The blood drained from her face. This was the type of thing that people watched on crime shows or the evening news—headlines about women disappearing without a trace or fetuses being cut out of wombs. The thought of it was so repulsive that you felt for the women and their families, even said a small prayer for them, but you didn't ever envision it happening to yourself. At that moment, Jade felt completely helpless, wondering if she would be one of those women you heard about on the evening news, a young mother murdered

The day Jade met Eduardo, she knew one thing for certain: He was the only way to freedom. He had a conscience, and somehow she was determined to persuade him to do the right thing.She learned very quickly that this would be easier said than done. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get another chance to speak with him again, not like that first day. Eduardo avoided her like she had the plague, even moving the water bottles where she could reach them, so he didn't have to come down to the basement as often. He treated her like a chore. Jade saw him three times a day when he dropped off my meals and emptied her bucket, and each time they had minimum communication. Then one morning, a few weeks after she'd arrived, he came barreling down the basement stairs like a lunatic. His eyes were wide with panic as he announced that he had company over. He gritted through his teeth for her to