Allen's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the steaming plate of lasagna before him. It wasn't just about the food anymore; it was about trust, about vulnerability. His hand trembled slightly as he wrestled with the conflicting emotions swirling inside him. Memories of how Valerie had treated him in the past flickered through his mind like a slideshow, each one a sharp pang of pain reminding him of the wounds Valerie had inflicted. How could he possibly be entangled with someone who made him lose his job and due to that, he was unable to raise any money to pay for his mother's hospital bills and free his sister from the clutches of those despicable loan sharks? Could he dare to believe that this time might be different? That perhaps, just perhaps, Valerie had changed? Or was he setting himself up for yet another fall, another crushing disappointment?As he hesitated, Allen couldn't help but wonder if he was overthinking things. Maybe it was just lasagna, after all. But deep
One afternoon, Stephanie set off towards Serenity Crest Estate, her thoughts racing with questions and doubt. She couldn't believe that her brother, Allen, had moved into such an affluent neighborhood. She had thought that he was lying about the whole issue of buying a house at Serenity Crest estate but when she passed by his house, she saw that the building had already been taken down as it was not fit for a human to live in. She made up her mind to immediately confirm it herself as she was already hearing things from people close to herself that he had moved out. The estate, after all, was home to the wealthiest individuals in the country. Yet, if the rumors circulating about her brother were true, he was indeed living there.As she approached the gated entrance of the estate, her heart raced with a mix of curiosity and unease. The imposing iron gates seemed to symbolize the divide between the rich and the rest of the world.Stephanie took a deep breath and stepped forward, she to
Allen ushered her into the house himself while his assistant trailed behind them ogling at the way the siblings were all over each other. Allen quickly ordered a maid to whip something for Stephanie to eat since she was coming from a pretty far distance. "You have a maid now?" Stephanie asked, expressing her surprise. "Well yes," Allen answered. "I've got quite a lot of hands to help around here," he said, gesturing to the house. "How can you afford to pay them?" She asked again. "Well I can," he answered again as if he had already gotten used to the life of luxury but the fact was that he couldn't be everywhere at once and the work in the house was overwhelming. "The food is ready sir," the maid, Allen had instructed to prepare food for Stephanie. Stephanie spun her toward Allen. "They even refer to you as sir, Allen!" Stephanie said in a playful tone and Allen roared out with laughter. "it's not my fault. I wanted to get them to stop calling me that but they won't, so I just
"You haven't told me who that is?" Stephanie asked when they were back in the living room. "Who?" "The man who walked in before me," Stephanie said to him. "Oh him, that's my business partner, we have some kind of meeting," Allen informed her. "Just the two of you?" Stephanie's curiosity was piqued as she shot her eyes open at Allen wondering how he had gotten to the stage where he was now business partners they even breezed in and out of the house like they were housemates but she knew that was not the fact. As she waited for Allen to respond to her question, she tried to remember what the man had looked like. She couldn't exactly place a finger on his facial features but she remembered that the man had worn a very stern look the moment he got out of the car. The look on his face had scared her to the marrow. "No, me and a few other people," Allen said in a way that made Stephanie look at him suspiciously. She moved closer to him, hoping that the others around wouldn't hear wh
It was a typical afternoon at the estate, the sun shining brightly over the well-manicured lawns and gardens. But for Stephanie, something felt off. She couldn't place her finger on it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.Her stomach was growling so she decided to go to the kitchen to fix something up for herself to eat. She stepped into the large kitchen and looked around instead of whipping something up like she had intended. "Woah, this place is so huge!" She said to herself as she continued to look around. She walked up to where the plates were racked and ran her hands over the plates. The only place she had seen these kinds of cutlery was in movies. "I'm not sure I can ever get used to this." She said, smiling to herself. "Do you need something, madam?" The maid's voice startled Stephanie and she spun around to look the maid in the eye. "Uhm." Stephanie searched her head for what to say but no words were forthcoming. Even though the place wh
The man was shrouded in darkness, his face obscured by a mask of shadows. Stephanie was utterly shocked as she turned around to find a man standing in the hallway. How had she not heard him when he walked up behind her?Stephanie wanted to mistake him for one of Allen's business partners but the look in her eyes told her otherwise. She stood frozen, her breath quickening in fear as he approached, his footsteps quiet but determined."Don't move," he whispered, his voice low and threatening. "If you scream, I'll kill you."Stephanie felt a hand cover her mouth, stifling her gasp of surprise.The man's grip was strong, his fingers digging into her skin. He dragged her into the hallway where no one would hear them as muffled screams escaped her lips. The man's grip tightened, his fingers digging painfully into Stephanie's flesh. She struggled against his grasp, but he was too strong, his hold unyielding.She could feel his breath hot on her neck, his body pressed against hers. His prese
"Now where is it?" The man said as he began to ransack Allen's room Stephanie sat there, her eyes watching his every move, wondering what the hell he was looking for that made him look so disoriented. "Where the hell that son of a bitch keep that safe, I know it's here somewhere." The man continued to rant to himself. "That better not be Allen you're referring to as a son of a bitch you bastard!" Stephanie said against her breath making sure that he hadn't heard her. The man turned to face Stephanie. She held her breath in her throat thinking that the man had heard her and she was in for it. "You little piece of shit. Why are you making a whole lot of noise, can't you see I'm trying to concentrate here?" He yelled the words out at her. "you better don't make me make you regret your actions." He said, wagging a finger at her. Stephanie swallowed the bile in her throat. With all the chaos and noise they had caused why hadn't Allen or someone else heard them? The man moved through
Allen started pacing the room as he clutched his head, tugging at his hair. "How did the hell did he get in here?" He screamed at Stephanie who was already frightened now than ever before. "I have no idea." She stuttered. "No, no, no. This isn't happening, this isn't happening to me." Allen said, almost on the verge of tears. He rushed to the window again and gripped the window bar, pressing his hand on broken glass as blood dripped from his palm and onto the window bar. His heart was already racing in his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his insides so he wouldn't do anything drastic at that critical point, but it wasn't working for him. He surveyed the area, calculating how high he was from the floor. He put his leg out and was about to jump when a hand grabbed him. Allen turned around to see none other than David. Allen suddenly froze and allowed himself to be dragged back by David. "David... What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren't going to show up