2025-01-11 02:20:16Dee woke up in her bed with a throbbing ache in the right side of her head which made her wince inaudibly as she struggled to open her eyes. The curtains of her room had been left wide open and she could see the sun setting across the horizon. She had always loved watching the sunset especially when she sits by the pool of hers’ and Jason’s mansion which they lost to a deadly loan shark whose constant threat made them escape the city for her parents’. Jason had however never provided her with answers to the question of what he used the money for. She closed her eyes again as she felt the numbing ache returning with extra throbs.
Dee caught herself drifting into dreamland again until she felt something warm snuggling close to her body. She instantly opened her eyes and turned her head to check what it was. It was then that she realized that Ria was sleeping beside her on the bed. She wondered why Ria was sleeping beside her as she rarely sleeps in the room with her without her father being present. This time around, she felt the ache in her head subsiding as she struggled to understand what was happening and tried to remember what had happened. ‘The funeral… The angels with broken wings… ZacXavi… Aunt May.’, she thought as she struggled to remember what happened after and she did remember. ‘The guy in black!’. She exclaimed in her thoughts. Dee almost ruled it out as a figment of her imagination until she remembered that she saw him not once but twice. She remembered clearly those icy cold eyes with a body shrouded in black like a Grim Reaper shooting daggers at her, deep into her soul. ‘I passed out!’, she said and gasped as Fiona walked into her room. ‘Thank goodness you are finally awake, sis’, Fiona said as she sat at the edge of the bed. ‘What happened?’, She questioned as she made to sit up as her sister assisted her to sit upright against the headboard. ‘I was on my way to the garden when I saw you falling to the ground. You scared everybody.’ ‘How?’, Dee asked with her brows furrowing in confusion. ‘I don’t know what happened to you but do you remember Sidney?’ ‘Sidney?’ ‘Yes. Sid’ ‘What about him?’ ‘He was at the cemetery and he was the one who carried you from the garden to the cemetery parlor where he checked whatever he checked to make sure that you are fine. It was afterwards that he brought you home in his car.’ ‘And you let him into this house?!’ ‘Well, he offered to help.’ ‘After everything he did to you in high school?’ ‘Oh! You want me to put me in the spotlight, huh?’, Fiona questioned while eyeing Dee. ‘What did he say it was?’, Dee asked as she slid down to rest her head on the pillow as she was feeling sleepy again. ‘Stress. And something else’ ‘What is it?’, she asked while yawning ‘You might be pregnant but…’Fiona paused before continuing while studying Dee’s face intently ‘but he said he wasn’t sure that you have to use a pregnancy test kit or go to a hospital to confirm it’. Dee did not know how to react. She was not sure whether to be excited or not. She knew she was late but had thought that her hormones were at work again. ‘It can’t be Jason’s … it can’t be ZacXavi’s because he always used …’, she thought as she felt the ache returning. ‘No! It can’t be.’, she exclaimed as her voice started to break and she started to sob loudly. Fiona immediately took her in her arms and she also started to sob quietly as she felt her heart ache seeing her sister in pain. Ria, who had woken up saw her mother and her aunt hugging each other and decided to join in. The sudden wrap of tiny arms around her mom’s and aunts back startled them as they almost forgot that she was in the room with them. Fiona and Dee immediately detached as they both wiped their faces while Fiona carried Ria into her arms. The only thing that could be heard in the room was the ticking of a wall clock which was hung just opposite the bed as they all went silent for a while before Fiona broke the silence. ‘I still have the pregnancy test kit that I bought 3 months ago. Whatever decision you make regarding this is up to you. Regardless, I’ll always support you. I love you so much, Dee.’, she said as she planted a kiss on Dee’s forehead. ‘What about me?’, Ria asked with her tiny voice serving as a soothing balm for both Dee and Fiona as they felt themselves relax upon hearing her voice. ‘I love you so much, Ria and your mum also loves you so so so much’, Fiona replied while cuddling Ria. ‘Does daddy loves me?’, she asked innocently. ‘Yes, he does.’ Fiona replied while staring straight at Dee who appeared emotionless. ‘Why hasn’t he returned with my book?’ ‘What book, cupcake?’, Fiona asked. ‘Goaty and his friends.’ ‘He will return with it soon, Cupcake. He is just super busy at work.’ ‘But I miss him’, Ria said ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart. You Dad will be back soon’, Dee replied while standing up on her wobbly legs as she struggled to lift them from the ground. ‘Why don’t you go and play with Grandma, Sweetheart? Your aunt and I have something to discuss.’,Dee continued as she walked unsteadily towards the vanity. Ria immediately detached herself from Fiona and walked out of the room to look for her Grandma. As Dee opened the drawer to search for the test kit she had kept hidden from view, she could not help but think about the possibility of her being pregnant. She remembered that she had taken some pills after she ‘mistakenly’ slept with Danny on a hot afternoon when they were both home alone and he walked in on her showering in the bathroom. Things have been really awkward between them since then but everyone else was too stuck in their own world to have noticed. She shuddered as the thought crossed her mind again and it sent her straight into another round of aches in her head. Dee did not know what happened after as she can only hear her sister calling out her name from a far distance. She felt herself been forced into dreamland by an unknown force which dragged her farther into darkness until something jerked her awake again. It was the tinge of a needle piercing her skin which shut her down. When she felt the darkness lift from her surrounding, she realized that she was in a room which was occupied by a bed which she was on and medical equipment which were connected to her. But as she turned her head to look around, she saw someone in scrub walking towards the door. It was a nurse, a male nurse whose face she did not see as his back was turned towards her but his physique and aura felt too familiar. As he reached the door, he turned and smiled sweetly at her but she could not return it as she felt herself freeze with fright and she slipped into darkness again.
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Cain ArkWrath sat rigidly at the long, polished conference table, his fingers clenching into fists beneath the smooth surface. His sharp eyes darted between the family members sitting around him, though his mind was far from the polished business conversation taking place. The room felt suffocating, and the air was thick with applause, but Cain’s thoughts were anything but celebratory.Jason ArkWrath, the man who had just been introduced as the new president of the State and business empire of ArkWrath was an enigma to Cain. The moment Jason had walked into the room, Cain’s instincts had flared. There was something disturbingly familiar about the young man. For a fleeting moment, Cain’s mind had thrown up a memory, one that was not so buried in the past and had now resurfaced with sharp clarity. Jason looked almost identical to Fad Lucas, the cleaner who had disappeared off Cain’s radar after their confrontation. The very same man who Cain had tried to kill in a fit of anger and arro
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Mauve’s heart pounded in his chest. His palms were slick with sweat. He could feel the weight of the eyes upon him, even though he was doing his best to remain stoic. He knew, deep down, that this was not his moment. It would never be his moment. Winston turned to the side and gestured to a figure standing at the back of the room. It was a man Mauve had not expected. Jason. But what confused the room was his appearance. The mask he wore, one that had covered his face until now, was an unusual choice for someone in a position of power. As he reached behind his ear and pressed a button, the mask began to shrink, revealing the raw scars that lined his forehead. It was clear that these were not just battle scars; they were marks of someone who had been through something much darker, something that went far beyond the surface.The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, the reporters too stunned to ask the questions that burned on their tongues. Mauve’s chest tightened as he watched Ja
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The clock on Mauve’s desk ticked louder than usual, each passing second feeling heavier than the last. He leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing as he stared at the letter that still lay in front of him. The crisp parchment, sealed with Winston’s unmistakable crest, seemed to mock him in its simplicity. A year ago, he had made a critical mistake. A failure that still stung, one that he hadn’t fully forgiven himself for.Mauve’s fingers drummed lightly against the polished wood of his desk as he remembered the mission he’d assigned. It had seemed so straightforward then: eliminate the only heir left to Winston’s business empire.But, as with most of Mauve’s plans, things hadn’t gone as expected.The people Mauve had chosen to carry out the task, his trusted agents, handpicked for their loyalty and their experience, had failed him.The operation had fallen apart quickly. The moment Mauve’s agents lost contact, he knew that the plan had failed. He had no choice but to eliminate those
