Novels by Benny

"She could've died.""I know.""You're telling me that someone was actually trying to hurt my daughter and her baby that night." It wasn't a question that slipped out from between Celia's lips but rather an accusation. Her intense gaze eventually rested on Aria’s face, and it didn't take rocket science for Aria to have guessed what thoughts were racing through her mind at that moment."That's what she said. But sometimes..." Aria began before halting abruptly, glancing down at her hands, only to find her fidgeting fingers scraping unforgivingly at the skin surrounding her well-manicured cuticles; a recent habit that she had begun to seek refuge in. She inhaled deeply before averting her gaze back up towards Celia and Adrian."What I'm trying to say is that sometimes...people want answers for why...for why it happened, even when there is no reason, so maybe this is Isolde’s way of finding an answer?""You're actu

The weeks passed by excruciatingly slowly after Isolde’s miscarriage.The nights and days gradually converged into one, both of which were filled with oceans of tears.Celeste decided to move in with the three after she deemed both Adrian and Aria irresponsible and unable to care for her daughter properly.Celia’s presence was huge; she seemed to lurk in each and every corner and shadow of the house, controlling everything. Constantly wanting to know where everyone was at specific times and making sure that little to no tension ever met her teary-eyed daughter.Celeste's verbal abuse towards Aria grew tenfold, and it wasn't long before Aria quickly became the main cook and cleaner of the house, which, surprisingly, Aria didn't mind. It gave her something else to think about, something else to worry about. And soon, when the tiny little burn marks began to coat her wrists as they had done when she was a child, she wel

"What exactly did he say? Did he mention how she is, if she's okay?" Adrian continued bombarding Aria with numerous questions as the two were now seated in the car, making their way down to the hospital as Marcus had instructed.Aria remained silent and utterly unresponsive. It wasn't that she was ignoring Adrian's continuous enquiries, but rather it seemed as though something inside her had completely switched itself off; as though she was no longer able to fully comprehend his words."Aria, are you even listening to me?" Adrian yelled, distracted by Aria's silence. He only realised he needed to press the clutch when the red traffic light appeared, causing him to stop abruptly. The sudden halt triggered a cascade of honking from the cars behind them.Rolling down the window in a fury, he bellowed, "Oh, shut the fuck up, will you?" to the cars behind him, only warranting himself a further ten more honks as a result of his foul language."Aria!" he repeated, reaching over to give her s

All it takes is one smirk and one glance for all the clothing in the world to fall away. Dropping down onto the awaiting pristine hotel carpet like snowflakes finding their way onto the stony ground on a cold Winter night.One simple inhalation of strong but distinct cologne that could only belong to one certain individual. One hand falling to a thigh, slowly creeping higher and higher into priceless but secret territory. Fingers migrating against bare skin, and that's all it takes.Her brain short-circuited, sending her into something of a paralysis. Unable to contain the wild thoughts or process the pleasure fast enough before it sends ripples through her body all over again.Two bodies tumbled rhythmically onto a large king-sized hotel bed that could have only been built for this very occasion. Eyes stealing glances at each other, slowly followed by stolen kisses, leaving imprints on every inch of bare skin; kisses that would unknowingly become mo

“You just can't stand to be away from me, can you?""I'm dying to have you here with me...but that's not why I actually called," Adrian responded, his voice gravelly, completely laced with lust at the thought of being wrapped up in Arias' warmth again. But as he completed the second half of his sentence, his voice undertook a rather serious tone."And here I was thinking you were calling to tell me how you couldn't wait to have me in that bed with you, again. What's up, though?" Aria sighed in response."You know, when I was booking the hotel, they were supposed to send out a confirmation booking email with the date and time we're supposed to be checking into the hotel, right?""Right." Aria yawned, carelessly slipping into her skin-tight floral playsuit after snapping yet another semi-nude picture for Adrian, as had become ritualistic since he'd left. She'd loved how each picture sent had slowly begun to unleash Adrian's raunchy side, letting the composed pretence melt away; slowly s

"Come on, we've barely spent any time together recently. This will be good for us!""I don't know. When you said 'girls' night', I was thinking more, you know, yeah, let's get fucked up and have a fun'," Aria responded matter-of-factly."We're not sixteen anymore, so no 'sesh', and in case you've forgotten, I have a bun in the oven," Isolde answered seriously, pointing to her slightly bloated-looking tummy."Come on, Aria! It'll be a fun pamper night just like old times. I feel like I'm always working or busy planning the wedding with mum, we need a serious catch-up!" Isolde whined, clasping her hands together in a mockingly begging fashion."Fine. You and your fucking pamper nights." Aria muttered under her breath."This is going to be so much fun." Isolde squealed, reverting to her sixteen-year-old self."So much fucking fun." Aria mimicked quietly.v"Are we still on for next week?" Aria whispered to Adrian, who was grabbing the beer bottles for Marcus and Dylan, who were already s

I should have known that something was up. In some twisted way, I was not as surprised as I ought to be because this had his name written all over him. I was sort of angry because I had not figured it out sooner myself.I looked at him through furious eyes. "This is some kind of joke, right? Why did you do this?"He smirked. "Is that how you respond to my Charitable gesture?""Charitable, my ass, Adrian. I cannot believe you would do this! I'm so out of here." I turned on my heel to leave, but his voice interrupted me."Please wait,” he said, and I halted in my steps. “At least hear what I have to say.”I whipped my head around so fast that I could have sworn I heard it crack. "And why would I do that?"He rose from his chair and walked over to sit in front of his desk. "Because I said so. I hired you as my P.A., and now you're just going to turn the job down? So ungrateful." He said, matter-of-factly.I just scoffed and turned back around to leave, but what he said this time made me

Something was off. I didn't know who the CEO was, yet he had mysteriously chosen me as the new P.A.This is your chance to finally make a living, and the company probably pays well.My inner voice was right, but all of this just seemed too odd. Maybe God had finally heard my prayers."Ugh! I don’t even have what to wear? I have nothing formal!" I groaned, smashing my face into a cushion.An idea popped into my mind. My neighbor, Stacy, may have worked as a waitress at some fancy restaurant. She ought to have one or two items she can lend me...Without hesitation, I dashed out of my apartment to the one opposite mine. After a few knocks, a bewildered Stacy opened the door."Sheesh, do you have to knock like that ?" she asked, her voice laced with slight annoyance."Sorry, Stacy, I didn't mean to knock frantically. I need your help with something."She rolled her eyes. "Listen, =Lillian-""My name is actually Lena." I cut her. "And this is really important. I just got a job that require

The rain came down steadily, unwelcome and ill-timed. I’d always disliked it, but today, it felt almost personal.I hurriedly walked into the nearest building to a shelter for myself from the unforeseen downpour. It was a Little bistro, thankfully it wasn't as packed.Lately, my life has been a steady deterioration. I was jobless, had a couple of dollars to live on, and to top it all off, I was recently single. At the age of twenty-five, my life was screamingly boring.Today I went job hunting. I searched high and low but found absolutely nothing. It was either that I was over-qualified or the income was far too low. Sure, I was desperate, but I still had my pride.My hair was wet, and my clothes were not any better. All I wanted to do was get back to my apartment, take a hot shower, and watch a movie while snuggling into a warm blanket.But I couldn't do that, you see. The rain came down in sheets, and I was completely unprepared, no umbrella and not enough money to hail a cab.Befor