CHAPTER 2
It's all coming back to me
The night she got word that he left wrenched her heart. The memory of that stormy night is still etched in the resides of her head. It was as though the menacingly looking clouds signalled his departure.
She remembered how broken he left her without a word...not even a"Goodbye"she wandered in the heavy rain with hopes that she can at least spot him leave, even take one last glimpse at his broad shoulders! Even!!! She had never cried like that for a long time at least not after her mother died when she was barely twelve-that convulsive crying with hyperventilating breaths.
For months she was not herself. Her bestie, Hannah tried her possible best to bring back the chirpy Janice but to no avail. She had never in all of her life missed someone so terribly-the feelings he aroused in her were inconceivable. Yep, that was about the right word to describe it only that it cannot be fully described!
This man called Drake Heughan is sent to turn the tables on her and he's enjoying the show he's put up. Damn it! She can't get her eyes off him not even for a second!
He still maintained the power to make her insides quiver with anticipation. Here he was, lounging majestically beside her. Her breaths quickened. She lowered her eyes to her coffee drink at the table, to avert her eyes from catching his. But Damn she could bloody well feel his curious gaze on her, scanning every inch of her body from the corner of her eyes.
The floral-print flared dress she wore hugged her body perfectly and her cleavage managed to peek out just a little bit but he could still see the swell of her breasts as they heaved in rhythm with her breathing.
"Ahem!" Hannah said attempting to break the deafening silence and jolt the two love birds back to reality.
"Oh forgive my manners beautiful ladies!" Drake beamed with a smile as he reached out to take Hannah's hands in his. "Hannah it's very good to see you again. You look radiant by the way"
"And so do you, Drake," Hannah said with a smile as she returned the pleasantries.
" Jane...I-I mean Janice. What a wonderful surprise to see you again," he stammered. His soothing voice rung like a sweet melody in her ears like she was cuddled up against his broad hairy chest... " You look...absolutely stunning as always," he said peering at her with his eyes darkened with an emotion she could not fathom.
Regret? For the love of God why would he call her "Jane" at this instance? Or it would have been appropriate when they made love right? Because that was what he was fond of. Oh, when he thrust into her with a steady rhythm, whispering "Jane" and sweet nothings into her ears, made her shuddered with a steamy desire that she could not get over.
He reached out for her hands. His large palms covered hers as he looked at her. Her cheeks turned crimson and her heart began thudding intensely. At that moment, it was as if time halted for a minute or more. Janice stylishly released her hands from his grasp.
"Why Mr Hughen don't flatter me! You look well. How has it been going for you?" She said, smiling nervously Trying to keep it as simple as possible.
He chuckled softly then said," well it's been....a year hasn't it? It feels so good to be back in the hub-hub London life".
"And the first thing you thought was to stop by St. Lauren's tea shop? Unlike you. You Scottish lads love to drink a bloody lot." Janice smirked at Drake.
He laughed throatily and sipped his coffee.
"you got me there miss," he grinned at her. " I didn't expect today would grace me with your presence. I must confess that the memories this place holds are quite... dear to me." His blue eyes, dimmed with an inscrutable emotion, pierced through hers as he emphasized the word "Dear".
The memories were priceless: Drake had never fancied the somewhat royalty treatment thingy-tea, cakes and whatever. He had always thought it was useless and a waste of time. He would rather go to the bar and guzzle down some brand whisky. But Janice had always convinced him to go with her and so one day he gave in. The aura around her was magical as if she was a princess and him, perhaps the prince.
They had been so immersed in each other that they had a quickie in the bathroom like some high school lovers. He had never seen her act the way she did that day-she was desperate and he could conjure the child fullness in her. It piqued his interest. He wants to know more about this mysterious tempting lady.
For what seemed like an eternity, the both of them were lost in each other's eyes. As though they were trapped in a bubble of long lost emotion that has now resurfaced, excluding the poor Hannah who sat across the table gawking at them.
She doesn't want to ruin this precious reconciliation moment for Janice so she got up and adjusted her skirts with an awkward smile plastered on her face.
Her sudden movement snapped the both of them back to the land of the living.
"Umm... I gotta head to the bathroom real quick. Take your time. Excuse me"
"Alright!" They both answered in unison
Making sure that Hannah is out of earshot, Drake turned to Janice. His blue eyes stared intently at hers. Then he said calmly:
"It was no coincidence. I deliberately came here with the hopes of seeing you again since you refused to answer my calls or return them. Why?"
"Why?! I wasn't the one that left without a word asshole!" She shrieked at him. This drew unwanted attention to them as some people sitting across the tables began to stare at them curiously.
"that's why I wanted to apologize to you. I'm truly sorry Jane... I had to leave. I had no other choice," he calmly said, searching her eyes, ignoring the onlookers.
"you had no other choice? You're speaking in riddles! I deserve an explanation and so does my father!" she teed off.
"It was an emergency-my mother was terribly unwell. I had to go. I'm sorry that I left without a word. It was....abrupt," he said somewhat mawkishly.
"Oh my God! I hope she's doing alright? I-I didn't know" she said as her eyebrows softened with concern.
"It was a major surgery, I had to be by her side. But she's recovering speedily."
After a pause he said:
"I miss you badly Jane forgive my impetuous behaviour I..."
His voice tapered off as he spotted Hannah emerging from the receding corner.
Janice cleared her throat ineptly.
Hannah gave her the knowing look with her eyebrows raised.
"Well, it's about time." she huffed as she stood up and clutched her roulette shoulder bag in her arm.
"You're leaving already?" Drake asked looking confused.
"I'm afraid so. Actually, we've got some shopping to do. Don't we Hannah?" Janice lied, giving Hannah the "Play along" look.
"Y-Yes! I totally forgot about that." Hannah nodded frantically at Drake.
"Oh...okay. When can I see you again? I will drop by the house tomorrow. I need to see your father after all," Drake said with an entreating look on his face.
"O-Okay I guess..." Her voice faltered.
He walked the ladies to the parked sleek-looking Grey Range Rover.
"Mr Briggs didn't drop you off?" Drake inquired pointing to the empty driver's seat.
"It's a little girl's out. I wanted the space for once so I had him laid off from work for a while." Janice spoke as she rummaged through her bag in search of her car keys. Phew! Found them.
Drake held out the driver's door for her as she unlocked the car. She gracefully slid in as Hannah entered beside her. The doors of the cars automatically locked. She wound down and then gave her final regards to Drake as she zoomed off raising specks of dust.
She has always been the rough driver. He shook his head as he thought.
One year huh... He needed it desperately to reconstruct his plans. Yes, he had one mission but ruin it when he didn't plan to fall in love with her. He's just not sure yet whether it's love or lust. Either way, he had to leave.
And this time if he screws things up, then it's all gone. For good!
Everything his family ever worked for-down the drain.Either he fulfils this mission successfully or...his family will have his head for breakfast. And the latter is just going to make things worse."I'm sorry Jane." He muttered as he strolled to where his parked bike was.
CHAPTER THREE Daddy's girl! The morning birds chirped softly at the window as the first rays of sunlight seeped into the room, lightening up the bedroom. Janice yawned and stretched as she lazily got up from the bed. She rubbed her bleary eyes and walked to the window. Clean morning fresh air hits differently! The fresh flowers in the vast dampened with humidity and she sniffed. She washed her face and brushed her teeth languidly as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror: Her hair was dishevelled, sleep bags underneath her eyes, and sleep marks decorated her cheeks. She heaved a long deep sigh as she continued to stare at her reflection. How does it feel to be the only child? This question constantly wounds her whenever she ponders on it. After losing her mother and supposedly younger brother that didn't even have the chance to catch a glimpse of this world, she was left with only her father. He'd give her everything she could ever ask for-the world becomes boring to her. No
CHAPTER FOURThe past isn't far off from the presentThe Vroom of a motorbike suddenly jarred her from her daydream as she slouched on the rocking armchair beside the fireplace in the living room.She gently rubbed her eyes and peered through the window. Drake parked his bike in the garage, raking his fingers through his wind-blown sandy hair as he walked up to the front door.At once, the doorbell rang. Abigail appeared from the bedroom, she squinted through the peephole and announced that she had a visitor. Only that he is no visitor. She needs to change into something more befitting than her nightgown. She signalled for her to let him in and that she would join him in a bit as she scurried across the living room to the stairs.Abigail nodded. The doorbell rang again. The door clicked open. He heaved a sigh and then stepped in.The living room was massive with a touch of Victorian decor which gave off an austere elegance. The tall ceilings were decorated with traditional crystal ch
CHAPTER FIVEThe horse keeperThe fiery ball in the sky shone relentlessly as they trudged to where the stables were stationed. their boots sank into the soft mound of dirt as they went. Drake paused and cocked his head toward her, his wary eyes softened with worry. It was about five miles from the main compound. The wasteland was very massive about forty-six centimetres acres. A steady rhythm pounded his temples."You okay?" He inquired in between pants.She simply nodded, gasping for breath. Phew! It's been ages since she was at the stables.She placed her hand on her chest. She could feel the rapid thudding. She has to continue. She doesn't want to leave the impression that she's some spoilt twerp who can't even go for a walk."If you need some time to rest just say so. But we will be there in no time. Say about five minutes more" He glanced at his wristwatch and then back at her through squinted eyes."N-No! I'm good. Let's continue" She shook her head frantically.What's she tr
CHAPTER SIX*Where is my daughter?!*"What?! How did that happen?" Mr Jordan's desperate voice boomed across the show glass of his well-polished office. His PA stood concerned by his side. His temples crinkled with alarm."Okay. I will be coming over immediately!"In a minute, He slammed the phone on the desk and ran out of the office without glancing back. The sleek black luxurious Benz was already waiting for him in the parking lot. The bodyguard dressed in a black suit held the door open for him as Mr Jordan rushed in. The pA was already on his tail and all he did was signal for him to wait for his commands as the tinted window of the car wound back up and the car zoomed out of the compound with urgency. *************Drake was pacing to and fro the waiting room in the hospital corridor, his hands raking through his dishevelled wind-blown hair, beads of sweat greased his temples. How did this happen?When he found her she was lying motionless behind the rock, downhill.She must
CHAPTER SEVEN*I'm so sorry*The funeral was very private-it was held in a small town in Glasgow, away from the prying eyes of the media. The last glimpse of her mother's stiff whitish body was at the hospital, just before the doctor zipped the leather corpse bag over her lifeless face. "Time of death 8:45 pm, 10th of August, 2009". The doctor had announced.Her eyes had brimmed with unshed tears, blurring her vision and before she realized what was happening, she was rushed to the emergency ward right there in the hospital. It was a tragic moment for the Jordans. Her father was barely getting by and her condition made things even worse as he had to nurse the death of his significant other and his daughter collapsing in the hospital at the same time. She had felt really bad for him, adding to his headache like that. But it can't be helped-she couldn't control the mixed emotions welling up inside of her, threatening to explode any second so her body did the natural thing by shutting do
CHAPTER EIGHT*Let's go Home*"All vitals are good. You're set to go Miss Janice." The Doctor declared gaily as he gently patted her back after running a few checks on her vitals with his thermometer. Mr Jordan heaved a long deep sigh of relief, brushing his fatigued eyes ridden with deep lines underneath them. Drake leaned against the wall at the corner of the hospital room to give them space for a little family time.He was also relieved.Today had been one hell of a day! He glanced at his wristwatch, the time reads 9:09 pm. The day is almost over. He had brought her to the hospital around quarter past five, with his heart thumping in his chest forcefully and his hair wet from sweat clung to his face, he carried her in his arms as he scurried to the emergency ward. He was sacred to shit!Her shaggy blonde hair was pulled up lazily. Father embraced daughter. While locked in their embrace, Drake caught Janice peering her hazel eyes at him. And she mouthed a "Thank you". He smiled c
CHAPTER NINE*Always and forever*"I can't believe you didn't tell me what happened. I kept calling but you weren't answering your phone, I was scared to shit!" Hannah cried out as she perched at the edge of the Queen size bed. Janice was sitting upright on the silky royal golden bed, propped up by pillows. "I was unconscious for a while. My father was greatly distressed. I'm sorry to have made you worry. But I'm doing fine now." She yawned and stretched. Mr Briggs, the chauffeur had picked them up at the hospital and took them home. By the time they arrived, it was already a quarter past 11 pm. When they got home, her father helped her to the bedroom. Sleep had evaded her last night. she glanced at the clock, It was 4 am! She kept tossing on the bed pleading for sleep to come but it didn't. With tired eyes, she stared at the ceiling lost in the whirlpool of emotions, replaying the events of that day. Before she realized it, sleep crept up on her. She yawned and stretched again
CHAPTER TEN* Blind desire*The twin bed creaked beneath his weight as his body sprawled out on the bed. The alarm blared. He grunted as he tossed over the bed to stop the alarm. Time: 11:45 amHe groaned. Yesterday was draining no doubt. They got home pretty late and he slept fitfully throughout the night. Drake sometimes stays at the Jordan's quarters around the wasteland where the stables were located. When he needed some privacy or during his time off, he goes back to his crappy flat downside-the remote area of London.When he's not working for the Jordans, then he's busy with his mechanic work. Occasionally, he does home service for the big guys in London whom he either met at the club or through the recommendation of Janice.He got out of bed, yawning and flexing his muscles. His room was reasonably small for a person or two. The labyrinth of cobwebs clouded his room. He sneezed, almost misty-eyed. The cabin flooring kept squeaking in response as he did a few push-ups wi