Before the confrontation with Sean….Chloe hiked her bag up her chest, peeling off the wet strands of hair that were glued to her cheeks.She resumed her workout sessions as a way to escape her current reality, and for a short amount of time, it worked.But then as soon as she's done, the world comes crashing down around her.It kinda sucks.“Hey, good one today Chloe!” Her trainer, Jackson boomed from the other end of the room, raising his water bottle to her in salute.Chloe returned one of her own before she focused on removing the straps from her knuckles.Hissing as she peeled it off, Chloe took a minute to examine her slightly bruised knuckles. There was a pinkish color, with faint purple marks around the center.The punching bag in front of her didn't dare any better.Punching off her anger wasn't healthy but for now, it was all she got.Bunching her hair up in a ponytail, Chloe reached for her water jug on the bench next to her but before she could take it, someone else swiped
Chloe rolled her left shoulder to get friction and blood flowing. That fucking bastard, Jackson gripped her arm too tight, stopping the blood circulation.Once she was sure that everything was well and good, she drew it back and slammed it into Clement's face.“Ow!” Chloe jumped up, clutching her hand which nearly dislocated from its sockets upon connecting with Clement's jaw.Clement's head snapped to the side, and he heard rather than felt something snap into two. He gingerly touched his jaw, flexing it a bit to be sure nothing was broken before he looked at Chloe.There was murder in her eyes...“Itching to get that one off your system huh?” He smirked, checking for blood. Luckily, there was none.“You're lucky I didn't do more than smack that annoying smirk off your face.” She growled, plopping her ass on the bench. “Don't you want to know why I'm here?” Clement thrust his hands into his pocket.“What I want is for you to get as far away from me as possible, so if that can happen
A slow knock sounded on his door, the sound grating on his nerves. Sean grunted at the door, turning his chair around to stare at the sunsetting.Trying to ignore the world around him for a week, Sean kept getting sucked back into the ever-revolving horror that was his life.Amber took great pride in reminding him just how much he had wrecked his relationship with his girlfriend and then she left.A hollow feeling had settled in his chest since that day.On his desk back home, were several unfinished letters which he addressed to Chloe, hoping that writing his thoughts out loud would be better.Maybe not.Because in the end, Sean couldn't come up with anything that seemed fitting enough.After all, what could he say?Hey, I'm sorry I drove out drunk and accidentally hit your mom's car.Abandoning the letters, Sean tried to reach out to her on her new line but he chickened out before she could pick up the phone.Every day, as Sean urged himself to come to work he was hit with bitternes
Magnus turned around slowly, almost like he was scared of what he would encounter. “Yes?” “Why did you bring this to me?” Sean grabbed the file that was now in disarray. “You could have kept it to yourself, why bother?”“Because you deserve to know the truth.” He shrugged. “Listen, even as an outsider, I'm not going to lie and say that your family dynamic doesn't look a little bit strange because it does, and if the least I could do is provide some answers, then it's fine by me.”Sean stared at the man before him, judging his sincerity. “Okay, fine. You can go.”Before the words were out of his mouth, Magnus had already fled through the door, closing it gently after him.Sean faced his desk once again, his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him.Why?That was the only thing going around in his brain. He tried to make sense of it, but nothing seemed to connect.Sean remembered how supportive Moriah had been from the start.When he worked on Magnolia he solved the court case against
Staring into space, Chloe shut off her raging thoughts focusing on the only important thing.Nature.Being surrounded by trees and the distant sounds of children playing, she cupped her thermos between her hands trying to siphon the heat.The past few weeks of her life have been the craziest thing it has ever been.After getting the costs of the surgery Ethan had enough money to sustain them for a couple of months before he could get another job.After that, she deleted Moriah's number from her phone and any other device that she stored, effectively closing the last chapter of her life.The warm, summer breeze blew in her direction, sending her hair flying in different directions.Chloe blinked and jolted back to the present.Pushing back her hair from her face, Chloe took a sip of her latte only to discover that it had turned warm.Spitting the disgusting liquid on the grass, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, casting furtive glances to be sure nobody saw her.A glance at
“How about this?” Chloe asked, raising a white long gown to her chest so Maeve could vet.Her sister snickered, covering her mouth behind her palm. “Are you serious?!” She snatched it from Chloe's grip. “You're going for a date, not a wedding ceremony.”Maeve ransacked her closet, looking for a semi-decent dress to wear out.Chloe never cared much about fashion, and the clothes she always went for, were simple and comfortable… not the type meant to “Whatever, it's not a date.” She mumbled, sitting on her bed with a sigh.Maeve poked her head out of the cupboard, throwing her a sarcastic look. “You did see the place he made a reservation, right?”“It doesn't mean anything.” She denied, smoothing down the plain black skirt she wore. “Luke and I have been friends forever, and friends do hang out.”“I'm sure they do but they don't do it in expensive restaurants.” Maeve pointed out, resuming her search while she let Chloe stew on that fact.And Chloe did…maybe a little too much.“I could
Chloe swallowed hard, not sure what type of reply she was expected to give in the face of that kind of question.Thankfully, she was saved by the arrival of their waiter, who presented two gold-etched menus to tie them with a smile. “Are you ready to order now, sir?”Luke in response, turned to face her beaming wide. “Yes, please. Chloe, do you have any idea what you want?”A quick scan down the menu revealed various complicated and complex dishes that Chloe hadn't heard of, much less eaten.Spotting some names that were familiar to her, she opted for something she could identify. “I'll have the steak, medium rare please, and the fillet mignon too.”Luke showed off, rattling several dishes along with dessert, and handing the menu back to the waiter.Chloe followed suit, hiding her clammy palms beneath the table.Now that she was here, it was almost anticlimactic.“How are you?” Luke was brave enough to break through the strained silence. “I mean…after everything, you know.” He waved h
The expression on Chloe's face, coupled with the way her eyes were narrowed were starting to scare the shit out of Luke, and too late…he just realized that maybe he should have kept quiet.Do the right thing and help her heal.No, jackass.That was the same move Luke pulled that placed him squarely in the friend zone area.Granted, his timing was shitty but he was tired of bottling the truth up.Careful to keep his voice down, he tried to reach out for her but Chloe kept giving him killer looks. “Chloe listen, of course I know that you might still be healing from everything but I'm tired of just being your ‘friend’. I want more.”Chloe was conflicted. “That's what we are though.” “No. That's what you want me to be.” Luke insisted. “Why do you think I've been by your side now and then, sticking on you like a bee on honey?”Chloe couldn't think of anything to say to that that didn't make her seem dumb or just plain foolish. “But, Luke …” she tried and failed to put her thoughts into wo
“So you’re going to do the wedding before you start to show? Why not do it after?” Maeve asked as they lay upside down on the couch. She had a permanent smile on her face these days and Amber liked to joke that she was receiving great sex from Ivan. They had been under the covers for way too long and finally announced their relationship over Sean’s takeover dinner last week, of course none of them were surprised even Mrs Lambert had teased them about it. Sean had passed all the requirements and Clement was serving Jail term for the next two years. Sean knew if he came out he would seek revenge again but he was going to gloat in the beauty of having a wife with him, at the end of the takeover night when he was crowned CEO, he went down on one knee and proposed to Chloe.“Sean wants it soon,” Chloe answered, fidgeting with her sheets.“Sean wants it or you want it? You don’t listen to what he says and he does all you ask!” Amber retorted and they laughed.“I don’t think there’s any ne
The beep from the EKG monitor was the only sound present in the room. Sean had sat just as he was seated throughout the night, holding Chloe’s hands as she received the treatment, the doctors had done a mini surgery and removed the bullet. He also cleaned up the injury and she was still unconscious, Chloe’s eyes had only fluttered open once in the night and the only thing she had said was “Sean” and she went back to sleep.“Are you sure I shouldn’t switch with you? You’ve been keeping watch throughout the night.” Maeve asked him her concern was clear in her eyes. Sean scoffed and shook his head.“No. This is my fault, all of it is my fault and now she is probably fighting for her life.” Maeve sighed. “She's not fighting for her life. The doctor said she’s safe, all that’s left is for her to receive proper treatment. Allow the nurse to stitch up your wounds and let me spend time with my sister.”Her final words did the trick, Sean nodded and stood up, pushing back the chair. “If she
“Your stupid boyfriend is here! How did he locate us?” Drake panicked as the police officer’s voice sounded from the speaker again. He didn’t know how to act or what to say.“Don’t ask me” Chloe muttered under her breath, feeling her chest bustling with emotions, she was finally going to be away from the shackles of captors and ropes!“You have bad taste in men.” He concluded and she raised an amused brow as he continued. “Listen to me, just agree that you wanted to stay away, that way nobody gets hurt. Not you, not me.” Chloe pretended to be lost in thought. A few seconds before her head snapped up and she looked at him.“No, I won’t be doing that, I'd rather die than let you go scot free and I mean that in every possible way.” She snapped at him and immediately he pulled out a knife again and wrapped his left hand around her neck, he placed the knife on her neck and led them downstairs, Chloe groaned in his hands, acting up to hide this year that she felt when he pressed the knife a
Sean would remember to give Amber a hug when next he saw her because apparently, she had the foresight to dial 911 and halfway through their pummeling, the cops showed up. The whole place was surrounded, escaping was out of the plan, Clement wanted nothing but to pluck out his brother's eyes but the cops had their own plan which involved he conflict ending peacefully.Everyone of them including Maeve and Amber were placed in the vehicle and driven off to the station. Only Drake and Chloe were not there which made pissed Sean off especially when he had his eyes on her less done twenty minutes ago.His first instinct had been to drag her out of his arms but holding on to Camille had made that impossible. Camille now sat at the corner of the van looking out the window wondering how she had managed to end up in this exact place again. Maeve was all cuddled up on Ivan in a cozy position, and he made a mental note to ask Ivan what was going on between them later.“Amber,” he muttered an
Waiting for Clement didn’t take long, he came forty minutes later, the sound of his car was the first thing they heard and it was Drake who brought their attention to it. Amber, Maeve and Ivan immediately left, then Sean followed with Camille and stood behind the large banister at the living room exit, hiding his view.Sean's heart was racing at a mile per minute and he prayed that nothing went wrong so they were able to get Chloe. Camille wanted to say something but he pressed his hand over her lips firmly. “If this goes wrong because of you, trust me I will invent ten thousand ways to slowly kill you, so shut up!” He hissed.“If you don’t have something reasonable to say then I swear I will shoot you right here right now” Clement growled as he walked over to where Drake stood with Chloe, he bent toward her and held her chin. “Hello Chloe, I trust they’ve been treating you poorly.” “You don't need to worry about me, it seems you have bigger problems,” she said to him, and he chuckle
The gun remained on Drake's head and the knife remained on Chloe’s neck as the three of them walked into the building again. If Ivan knew better he would have taken the risk and fought her out of Drake's hands, but who was going to believe a man hardened by life’s many struggles would hesitate to cut his prisoner's neck wide open. The knife to her neck was causing Drake to feel sick in the stomach but his fate would be much worse if he let her go without Clement’s consent. “We’re in here!” Maeve called shakily from what looked like it used to be the living room of the mansion, when the three of them came into full view and Ivan saw that Sean had Camille he dropped his weapon. “What in the hell happened here?” He gasped, subconsciously shielding Maeve from any stray bullets that may be fired.“Sean, Maeve!” Chloe cried out loud, all her emotions concentrated into that one word. She wanted to say more and even run into all their arms but Drake placed his palm over her mouth. Ivan watc
Their plan was in motion and the girls had proved to be more useful than not. Sean had suggested Trevor stay back while the rest of them spread out in Aviline, a slim in downtown New York.It was a spot where the low or the lower class lived, just like Trevor had described.The young man was more useful than not and Sean was going to make sure he fulfilled his promise, but first…“Have you texted Clement?” Sean asked Ivan and he nodded, in response, bringing out the phone to show him the text.Amber and Maeve were standing a few feet away from them, lost in their own discussion. It was going to surprise Chloe to come out and see that her sister had made a friend in Amber who she originally hated a lot.Ivan flashed the phone in front of him reading the chat out loud.“Yes, you said ‘Chloe is missing, have you heard anything from anywhere that suggests foul play?’” “Well I guess that’s convincing enough. Andrea is back in the house as back up. She will call the cops if we don’t show up
“If you honestly say a word, I’ll stuff my hands in your mouth.” Dufus threatened and she was quiet, she had lost strength and zeal, her despair was crawling over her and she wondered how long this torture would have to go on for.After Drake left, he didn't come back and instead they sent this Dufus guy to take over because she hadn't seen him since then almost like Drake couldn't stand the sight of her.From the beats and pieces of conversations that she heard she realized that she was being moved, as they handled her roughly, pushing against her as she got in the car, shoving her roughly into the new space before pulling off a blindfold.This new place that they took her to was even worse than the last, dank corners with rusted irons scattered about. The smell was horrible and she could see that a section of the ceiling was leaking, leaving a puddle on the floor. The conditions were worse than jail and her heart bubbled with hatred for Clement.If she ever saw him, she would proba
They settled in a corner of the pub, Ivan and Sean on one side and Camille sat pretty opposite, she had the air of someone who felt in charge and her cockiness was enraging Sean.Ivan noticed and patted him on his arms, urging him to remain calm. Ivan leaned forward and pushed one of the beer bottles Fatima had brought, towards her. It was her third bottle.“So, you are here to see your former captor, get a closer look?” Camille asked as she took a large gulp of the lukewarm drink, Sean had taken a bottle and decided he had enough but she was still going at three. It definitely pointed to some kind of celebratory mood.“No actually, we need your help on something,” Ivan told her and Sean watched as his friend delved into an Oscar award-winning act, his face twisting into a concerned one.“Recently, one of our friends went missing, we didn’t know if it was a voluntary ghosting or an actual case so we are being more on the low profile side. She was last seen in this area, I was hoping s