Novels by Fiery pen

Her hands trembled slightly. She was staring out the window of her office at the academy but her mind was somewhere else entirely. She had been transported back in time to the fateful day two weeks ago when the doctor had made the announcement with a wide grin on her face. "Congratulations, Miss Vivian. You're ten weeks pregnant." She had said, flashing Vivian a genuine smile that reached her crinkling eyes. At that moment, a cold sweat had broken out on Vivian’s forehead as the doctor’s words hit her like a bomb. The words had been so unprecedented, so out of left field that it took her a long time to understand the gravity of the doctor’s pronouncement. When she had finally digested her words, fear caused a knot to form in her stomach."The baby is in perfect condition." The doctor had said and Vivian had smiled at her, happy but at the same time, uncertain. "Your husband must be so proud." She had said. But would he? Nate had been so vehemently against a child and even though

VIVIANI opened my eyes. But I was in an unfamiliar place. The darkness that surrounded me was not only palpable, it was suffocating. I tried to breathe but my lungs seemed to be constricted with something. I stretched forth my hands to guide my path but something seemed to be on my way. I tore at the barrier but it only grew thicker. It was the darkness. Was there any way out of here? How could I fight something I could not even see? I opened my mouth to scream but no sound would come out. I was stuck in this deep, dark pit with nowhere to go but down. Below me, it seemed like there was quicksand and if I did not find a way to get out of here quickly, I would be swallowed whole. I clawed at the space in front of me, beside me and above me but the darkness was too dense, too restricting. Where was help when I needed it the most? My determination had started to wane. My resolve which I thought was stronger than steel bars had become considerably weakened the more it dawned on me t

NATEI felt overwhelmed. I had not felt this way in the longest of times, not even when dealing with Richard's stupidity. Why were things going haywire all of a sudden just when I thought the dust had settled down? I could not pretend not to know why. Gran's announcement yesterday had triggered a lot of suppressed resentment and I just had to deal tactfully with it or everything I held dear would be taken away right before my eyes. I had been called to the company the day before because Aston was making trouble. Word had spread that he had gone around contacting all the members of the board and having a secret meeting with them. I was not sure what the meeting had been about but I could guess. "Let's hurry." I said to my driver as I looked through Vivian's mail for the umpteenth time. I was about to send a message thanking her for her hard work when my phone started to vibrate. It was a call from my personal assistant. "They are holding an emergency extraordinary meeting of the

VIVIANI typed away feverishly. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, fueling my fingers and propelling me to think. What had this not occurred to me before? Why had I glossed over Emily's statement back then like it was nothing at all. Had I been too overwhelmed at the time that I had been unable to put two and two together? Unable to see what was right in front of me? Emily had said three companies. Three companies, but only two were behind bars. So what happened to the last one? It was a question I should have been asking for sometime now. Would I be able to find a connection that would reveal which company was the third? Would I find enough proof? I started by digging into the two companies. Their CEOs had been well known in the business world for taking over small companies after leading them into debt. There were many comments online laying complaints against them and a third name kept popping up. Could it be?... I changed the direction of my research. It w

VIVIAN It all felt awkward. Gran had made the announcement of the century and the room was thrown into chaos. Aston looked like he could combust in anger at any time and stormed off. Gran was unwilling to listen to Nate's protests and Nate's mother just looked surprised. I, on the other hand was unsure how I was supposed to react. I was not very surprised, considering how much affinity Gran held for Nate, I was only a bit skeptical about the timing. But what did I care? I was no longer a part of the family. I was practically a stranger who happened to witness the Stuart family going at each other and it didn't matter what my thoughts were. I just wanted to escape before anyone looked in my direction and thought to rope me into it. Gran shuffled out of the room, leaning slightly on his cane and I saw my chance. Nate was still looking around, confused as ever and there was just a general tension in the air that I was sure no one would notice my silent disappearance. It felt good n

NATEI swore internally. How had Ashton found out? But then again, the same idiot that had the temerity to give out company information had probably babbled again. Vivian looked stricken standing there, staring numbly from Ashton to my mother to Gran. She tried to say something but it seemed like the words would not come out. I wanted to hold her and calm her down like I did yesterday in the hospital but this was not the place or time and I was pretty sure she would push me away. Guilt weighed down on me heavily. This was all my fault. I had brought this situation on her and I wanted to fix it badly but I felt control slipping out of my hands. Ashton was pushing, tearing down the walls of support around me, trying to strip me of my confidence and painting Vivian as the black sheep. I could not understand for the life of me why he had suddenly turned bad. Or perhaps he had always been this way, lurking silently in the shadows, waiting for this chance to ruin me. "Vivian did nothin

NATALIEI sat in the doctor's office, waiting.It was the only thing I did these days. Waited endlessly and even I was unsure what I was waiting for. Anxiety grabbed me by the neck and refused to let go.The doctor looked up from his tablet. "Malcolm is stable enough for the surgery now. We'll monitor him a bit more but we've booked a date and an OR," he said.I leaned forward, perching at the edge of my seat. Since the day I discovered I was a match, I had known this day would come and yet, it still felt life-changing. It really was happening.I felt my heart pounding harder as I inhaled deeply. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant subdued by the air freshener the doctor had used in his office."The kidney transfer surgery is confirmed for next week." He said in his ever calm tone and glanced down at his tablet again. "On Friday."I nodded briefly before the words actually settled in my brain.Next Friday. The day of the competition.For a moment, I just blinked at him, staring bl

NATALIEWhen I walked out into the hallway, I saw Valen first.His hair was damp, falling over his face and a Tee shirt he had obviously thrown on in a hurry. He was standing with Grandmother, talking quietly with a huge frown on his face. I exhaled a slight breath of relief when I saw that the others had gone. I was already too exhausted to deal with any more of their constant bickering.Valen lifted his head and his eyes locked on me. I expected a smile, the way he usually did but he looked annoyed. Grandmother looked at me with tired eyes and smiled. Before I could reach her, Valen was already approaching me in quick strides. He looked just as tired and I held back from asking where he had been from the beginning."Natalie," he said in a gruff tone. "Is it true?" He asked. In his tone, I heard the pointed need for whatever he was asking about to not be true.I blinked. "What?""That you're donating your kidney to Malcolm. It's not true, is it?" He asked.I didn't expect him to fall

NATALIEI followed behind the doctor, keeping the pace and wrapping my arms around myself.The hospital suddenly felt too cold, the corridors stretched for way too long, the fluorescent lights above were too harsh, slicing the world in front of me. I felt like an animal being led to the slaughter, and the impeccable white walls did little to soothe my roaring nerves.The doctor took off his coat as we stopped in front of a door and I realized the hospital wasn't cold after all. It was just me, my pulse jumping over itself, my breath small and uneven.I was about to find out if I could save Malcolm and the thought made my insides clench painfully. Inside my chest, there was a violent rioting, a thudding so forceful, it startled me. What if my heart exploded?"This is the waiting area for donors," the doctor said as he pushed open the door to reveal a small room of startlingly white walls.I stepped in, feeling like a psych ward patient. "We'll speed things up so you won't have to wait

NATALIEI felt my heart breaking into a million coarse pieces as the doctor started to speak.They had just examined Malcolm and some tests had been done and the results were not looking good.I stumbled backwards until I was backed up against a wall, my eyes spinning and my head light enough to float away from my neck. Fresh tears filled my eyes and flowed freely down my face. I felt my entire body trembling violently as he continued to speak.What had I done wrongly? Maybe if I had called the ambulance quicker, he would have been fine. I shouldn't have frozen up for those seconds. I shouldn't have wasted time calling his name and cradling his body in my arms and crying. I should have known to swing into action immediately and get him to the hospital on time."We were going to continue monitoring him for a few days but he actually needs surgery now. The bullet passed through one of his kidneys and completely damaged it," he said.His words echoed all around me like he had spoken it f

NATALIEI slowly lifted a trembling hand to cover my face as my ears began to ring.I expected all sort of behavior from my parents and yet, I was stunned. Too stunned to speak or even move. My tears stopped for a brief moment as my brain struggled to process the assault before it came pouring down again in larger torrents.I was standing there like a fool, a hand on my face and crying, my heart pounding hard. Too hard, like the rhythm of a drum, hard enough to explode out of my chest.I slowly lifted my eyes to look at my mother and her gaze held such venom, it was difficult to believe I once called this woman mother. That I used to eat from the same table, live in th same house and hold her in an embrace. Now, more than ever, she felt like a total stranger. A stranger who totally despised me.She was talking, her lips moving rapidly, a scowl on her face. And I was spiraling quickly, feeling my entire world crumbling down at my feet. I was hurt but it also felt like I didn't have th

NATALIEMy throat hurt from all the crying, but I couldn't stop.The metal floor vibrated beneath me, rattling through my bones, my entire body like I was an inanimate object. Fear dulled my senses but the panic I felt was greater. What if they were going to kill me?"Where are you taking me?" I whispered between sobs.The two men on either side of me said nothing, their eyes fixed ahead of them."Hey! Answer me. Where are you taking me?" I asked again, louder this time, fighting through the crack in my voice.The driver's eyes flicked to me in the rearview mirror. His face was almost entirely covered, save his eyes just like the others."Tell me! Where the hell are you taking me to? Did someone put you up to this?" I asked as I fixed my gaze on him.He glanced away quickly while one of the men beside me clicked his tongue in irritation. I feared he was going to hit me if I kept up with this but I couldn't sit still either and watch them take me to a place I had no idea.The van swerv