Romances de Rejoice Ugwu

MARCUSMerlina’s sudden voice pulled me out of my thoughts.I turned towards her. “What video?”She hesitated, twisting the damp tissue between her fingers.“Emily crashing out. Threatening to kill your mother.”For a moment, I stared at her. Then I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.“R-really?” I leaned forward. “How bad?”“Very.”She looked away.That single word was enough.I sank back into the chair as the implications settled in.This would be a disaster.Grey had spent years building his reputation and establishing the family as respectable. Whatever people thought of us behind closed doors, there was still an image to maintain, a name to protect.And now his children were fighting in a hospital while their mother lay helpless in a bed. One of them had even threatened to kill her, and there was a video of it circulating.I could already imagine the headlines, the whispers, the speculation. Strangers would dissect our lives as though they knew us, turning our worst moments into

MARCUSThe room had grown quieter, apart from the occasional sob that escaped Merlina.“And now her only surviving kidney is failing because of…”I paused.“Cancer.”A heavy sigh escaped me. For a moment, I could only stare ahead, my jaw clenched so tightly it began to ache.All the anger I had tried so hard to bury came rushing back, dragging every wound from the past open with it.Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, life had found another way to prove me wrong.Then she shook her head.“But I don’t understand.” Her voice was low, almost pleading. “Why can’t they opt to give her another kidney?”I lowered my gaze to my hands.“They have considered it. Every option has been considered.”“Then what is stopping them?” Merlina demanded. “Marcus, your family has all the money in the world. If you can take her to one of the best hospitals for years, why—”“You don’t understand,” I cut her off. “Money can’t solve everything, Merlina.”She fell silent.“Grey asked the same que

AMBER I stepped into the hallway first, but what I saw left me in shock. Rob was standing there. A bottle hung loosely from one hand and in the other hand. A gun. For a second, the world seemed to stop moving. My eyes travelled from the bottle to the gun, and a cold wave of dread washed over me. He must have heard me scramble around try to pack. And suddenly, I understood that he wasn’t going to let us leave quietly. “Where do you think you are going?” he slurred, clearly knocked out. “And why are you taking my children with you?” Marcus clung to my leg. I tightened my hold on Fiona, instinctively drawing her closer to me My gaze remained fixed on the gun. I couldn’t afford to panic. Not now. “I am leaving.” I took a slow step forward, keeping my movements measured as I edged towards the flower vase near the wall. Rob followed my movement with his eyes. “Over my dead body! You can leave, but not with my children.” He was drunk. I could see it in the way he struggle

AMBER The smell of alcohol was one of the things I remembered most. It clung to everything, the walls, the furniture, even the air I breathed. Sometimes, I wondered if there would ever come a day when I could walk into my own home without being reminded of the man he had become. “You need to stop drinking.” I remembered saying those words to Rob and i remembered the way he looked at me like I was that annoying fly that hovered around the house “And who are you to tell me what to do and what not to do?” Every word he spoke carried the foul stench of alcohol. It clung to his breath, making it difficult to stand near him without wanting to turn away. “But that wasn’t what you promised, Rob.” A sob escaped me. I was genuinely tired of the endless back and forth. Tired of begging him to change. Tired of reminding him of promises he had made so easily and broken without a second thought.“Don’t you remember your promise? You promised to stop.” “Hey, look, woman. That was like

MARCUS“I’ll call you later.”“Okay.”He gave me one last look before opening the door.Then he walked out.The moment the door clicked shut, Emily’s eyes snapped toward me.“What the hell, Marcus?”“What?” I teased, lifting an eyebrow.I could tell from the way she was looking at me that she was angry. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, and she looked like she was trying very hard not to yell.“Why are you having a ramen date lunch thingy with…” She paused, clearly struggling to say his name. “You know who.”Her eyebrows drew together.I let out a deep sigh and walked toward the cozier couch at the other end of the hospital room.Emily followed me with her eyes.I sank into the chair, stretching my legs out in front of me.She continued staring.It almost looked like she was studying my face.Then her expression suddenly changed.“Wait.”She stepped closer.“Why are you bruised?”I instinctively touched the side of my face.“You look…”She hesitated.“Like shit?”“I was g

MARCUS“I got you ramen.”I stared at him.For a few seconds, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Jake stood there with a couple of small paper bags in his hands, looking at me as though showing up with food in the middle of a hospital crisis was the most normal thing in the world, but somehow I was excited the whole rush hour made me forget how hungry I was.“Oh… you came back,” I whispered to myself.The relief came before I could stop it happy that I wasn’t left alone to die with my thoughts.But it was immediately followed by disappointment.Because the truth was, Jake wasn’t the person I’d been hoping would walk through that door.My heart knew exactly who I wanted to see.“What was that?” Jake asked inquisitively.I blinked and quickly looked away.“Uhmm… nothing.”I pushed myself to my feet, brushing the dust from my knees even though there was barely anything there.“Doesn’t sound like nothing to me.”Jake turned around and walked toward the small table in the corner, pla