Novel-novel oleh Fiery pen

NATALIEThe happiness that overwhelmed me was so sudden, so powerful that it made me afraid.I had not felt happiness, pure unbridled, joy like this in a very long time. One moment I had been on my couch, the weight of unanswered questions pressing against my chest, contemplating what to do next, and the next moment, I was standing in the middle of my living room, phone pressed to my racing chest, palms damp and mind buzzing with a single, almost unbelievable thought.That Mrs. Davis might wake up soon. How long had I prayed for this? How desperately? Now that there was hope, a small fear was lodging itself somewhere in my chest. I couldn't sit still.My mentor. The one woman who had always been there to anchor me, who believed me when nobody else did.I paced from the couch to the window, and then back again . My chest felt too light, as if the happiness I felt had lifted something burdensome out of me and left me feeling a slight vertigo in its wake. I laughed softly to myself and t

NATALIEMalcolm pulled the car into the driveway and stopped.The engine idled softly for a moment before he turned it off and in that small silence, I became acutely aware of who exhausted I was. It wasn't just physical, it was a deep, emotional and soul heavy tiredness that came from carrying so many unanswered questions."We're here," he said quietly as if there was any way I didn't know that.I nodded, my fingers tightening around the strap of my bag. "Thanks for driving me."He glanced at me and nodded. Some of his coldness seemed to have worn off but I couldn't tell how he felt now either. His expression was unreadabke, like an open book with no words on it. "Let's go. I'll walk you in, help you settle. That's the least I can do."I hesitated. A part of me wanted to be alone, sink in my couch and swim in my thoughts, but there was a part of me that didn't want the house to feel empty. At least not yet. "Okay," I said.We got our of the car, he took my bag from me before I could

NATALIEI was still staring at the ceiling, my thoughts spiraling endlessly when Becks returned.I sensed the shift immediately. The monitor beside me was still beeping steadily, providing a strange comfort, a sort of small reminder that I was still here, and that I was still breathing after a night that could have gone catastrophically wrong.Hospitals had a gloomy air around them, a way of swallowing time that made seconds blur into minutes and minutes into hours, until days had passed and everything just felt unreal.But inspite of this, I felt the shift in the room, in Becks as she walked in quietly, shoulders stuff. The air felt heavier, thicker as if something invisible had followed Becks in.She stood inside the doorway, her hand still wrapped around the handle, her face pale. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were wide and unfocused, as though she had just seen something she shouldn't have.My stomach tightened at once. "Becks?" I called softly. "Is something wrong?"She said no

NATALIEThe weekend brought with it a much needed relief from the office and it's pressures. I was getting tired of hearing about the competition at every turn.I was at home, with sketches and notes scattered everywhere, my laptop balanced on the arm of the couch, barefoot and my hair pulled in a loose knot. Sunlight filtered in through the curtains, catching dust motes in the air as if the world itself had slowed to watch me work.The company's charity gala, a fundraiser for less privileged children, was coming up and I found myself caught in the middle of it. Now that I worked closely with Mrs. Gravestone, I was overseeing a lot of tasks I wouldn't normally be opportuned to work on. It wasn't very difficult and I didn't even have to work on it right now but I hated to be idle and I wanted to get my mind off the events of the past few days.I scribbled notes, adjusting themes and layouts. Mrs. Gravestone had been insistent on something that genuinely meant something. I took it to me

VALENI felt disturbed. Mother had been acting too strangely of late and I feared she would do something so drastic, it would unravel everything in the worst way possible.The unease I felt dulled the ecstasy of triumph. The company had won. Publicly, undeniably and by a landslide too. It was the type of victory that would be written about, studied, referenced in future competitions as a benchmark. Our name was all over the papers, Natalie's praise were being sung in such a manner that even mother couldn't ignore.And yet, I felt a heavy and unmoving stone sitting in the middle of my chest, only growing denser with every passing hour. I could see it in my mother's words and movements. It wasn't just pride, this was strategy. Calculation. She kept watching Natalie with an intensity that unnerved me."Mother," I said moving closer to her desk immediately Natalie was out the door.She had turned to the files on her desk, reviewing documents that seemed to never end. She didn't look up at

NATALIEMy phone buzzed on the space beside me.I had just finished adjusting the pillow behind my back and I grumbled as I slowly and carefully reached for the phone. My body still protested certain movements, although the doctors had assured me that healing would be steady now. I took care of myself the best way I could, rested adequately and took my supplements hoping to force my body into a quick, total recovery.When I glanced at the screen, I felt my stomach tighten just a little. Mrs Gravestone's name crawled lazily across.I would be working directly under her now which meant I should probably get used to calls like these but I doubted that I could. Her air of intimidation could be passed across through the phone as I had come to realize. I hesitated for a little while before I answered."Hello, Mrs. Gravestone," I said carefully. I wished, stupidly that she would say it was a mistake and she had been meaning to call someone else."You're okay now, aren't you?"I started to an

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