Mag-log inThe Photograph in the GardenNicole's POV"What?"Joy didn't answer.Her fingers tightened around my wrist.Not enough to hurt.... but,Enough to stop me from moving.I looked at her face.She wasn't watching Raphael anymore.She was watching the garden.More specifically...The old tree at the far end.My stomach tightened."What is it?"Joy swallowed."I know that tree."I frowned."What?""The tree."Her voice had changed.It wasn't fear anymore.It was recognition.She released my wrist and walked toward the window.I followed.Raphael stood several feet outside, scanning the garden.His right hand remained beneath his jacket.Every movement was controlled.Careful.He looked toward the fence.Then the flowerpot.Then the trees.Nothing.No one.Joy pressed her palm against the glass."I've seen that tree before."I stared at her."Where?"She didn't answer immediately.Her eyes remained fixed on the branches.Then she whispered,"When you were little."Something inside my chest shi
The Things He Never Told MeNicole's POVThe car disappeared around the corner.I kept staring at the empty stretch of road long after the sound of its engine faded.Nobody spoke.The curtain slipped from Joy's fingers.She let it fall.Raphael remained beside the window, his eyes fixed on the place where the car had vanished.His jaw was tight.His shoulders were rigid.He looked like someone waiting for a second attack.I hated that.I hated how easily fear seemed to find everyone except me.Or maybe it found me too.Maybe I'd simply become too used to it."Who was that?"My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.Raphael turned."I don't know."I almost laughed."That's becoming your favorite answer."His expression tightened."Nicole.""No."I stepped away from the window."You don't get to do that.""Do what?""Say my name like it makes everything okay."He went quiet.I looked at Joy."Who are they?"Joy's fingers twisted together."I don't know."I stared at her."You do."She sho
Promises Were MadeNicole's POVJoy reached the front door with slow, measured steps.Each footfall echoed through the hallway.Nicole followed a few paces behind, ignoring the warning Joy had given her.She'd spent too many years standing on the outside of conversations.Not anymore.Joy rested one trembling hand on the doorknob.For a brief moment, she closed her eyes.Almost as if she were gathering the strength to face whoever stood on the other side.Then she unlocked the door.The hinges creaked softly.The door opened only a few inches.Raphael stood on the porch.The morning breeze stirred the dark strands of his hair.He looked nothing like the composed man Nicole worked for every day.His white shirt was wrinkled, the sleeves rolled carelessly to his forearms.The top button at his collar was undone.His jaw was shadowed with the beginning of a beard, as though sleep had never found him either.His eyes lifted immediately.Not to Joy.To Nicole.The relief that crossed his f
The man at the Door Joy's phone vibrated against the kitchen table.The sharp buzz cut through the silence like a blade.Both women looked down.The screen glowed.Raphael.Nicole's breath caught.She lifted her eyes to Joy.Only seconds ago, her aunt had looked tired.Now...Every trace of color drained from her face.Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table until her knuckles turned white.The phone continued to vibrate.Once.Twice.Three times.Joy didn't move.She simply stared at the name flashing across the screen as though it belonged to a ghost she had spent years praying she would never see again.Nicole frowned."Aunt Joy..."No answer.The ringing stopped.Silence settled over the kitchen.Heavy.Uncomfortable.Nicole opened her mouth to speak... but nothing came out..The phone buzzed again.This time the sound seemed louder.More urgent.Joy closed her eyes briefly, inhaling through her nose before finally reaching for the phone.Her hand wasn't steady.Nicole
The House That Remembered Nicole's POV Morning arrived without feeling like morning. The pale light that slipped through my curtains didn't bring rest. It only made the sleepless night easier to see. I was still sitting at the dining table. The photographs lay where I'd left them. My father's handwriting stared back at me from the smaller photograph. Keep her safe. Three words. Three words that had somehow become heavier than every conversation I'd had in the last twenty-four hours. My phone showed 7:12 a.m.anuty Joy had told me to come today. Not next week. Not when I'd calmed down. Today. That urgency settled uneasily in my stomach. I slid the photographs back into the envelope, tucked the note inside, and slipped everything into my handbag. After one last look around the apartment, I picked up my keys and left. ... The drive to Joy's house felt longer than I remembered. The city slowly gave way to quieter streets lined with old trees whose branches stretched a
The Things We Were Never ToldNicole's POVI didn't sleep.Not really.I lay in bed with the lights off, staring at the ceiling while the city whispered beyond my window.A car horn sounded somewhere below.Then another.Footsteps passed in the hallway outside my apartment.Someone laughed.A door opened.Closed.Life continued.Mine didn't.My mother's handwriting kept appearing in my mind.One day you'll ask about this.I rolled onto my side.The note was on the bedside table.I had taken it out of the envelope three times.Read it.Folded it.Put it away.Then taken it out again.As if the words might change if I stared at them long enough.They hadn't.I reached for it.The paper was soft from age.The edges had begun to yellow.I turned it over.Nothing.I held it closer to the lamp.Still nothing.No date.No name.No explanation.Just one sentence.One sentence that had somehow managed to make every memory I trusted feel suspicious.I sat up.My feet touched the cold floor.For
Nicole pov At 8 pm, I arrived at De paradise .As I got down from the cab ,I took a deep breath seeing people walking in and out of the hall, elegantly.I walked in too with my gift in hand.I most say the party planner did a very good job…every where was beautifully decorated.I smiled when I saw
Nicole pov I stared at the floor unable to look at him.I should really learn to control y tongue if I don't wanna lose my job.I waited for him to speak,but he didn't..the silence was making me more uneasy.I slowly glanced up and our eyes met.He was staring at me ,but I couldn't read his facial
Nicole pov I'm still in a state of panic and intense anxiety.Why!Why am I so out of luck?!I still can't believe he's going to be my new boss.I thought about what transpired between us earlier today.I thought about what I said to him.Ahhh…. I'm finished!Why did I say the things I said to him
Nicole pov I didn't look back nor did I stop running…If he was behind me…I know I'm definitely no match for him …but ..still,I kept running.When I dared to look back,I realized that he wasn't running after me.That makes me look stupid to myself.I slowed down and started to walk briskly out of







