Lily's POV
"Make sure to scrub those dishes sparkling clean! We have customers waiting, so hurry with it!""Yes cook," I replied, watching the tall, boisterous woman storm back into the kitchen. My hands were sore from scrubbing dishes. I felt hot and sweaty all over. My hair was matted to my head due to the sweat and I was sure I stank like hell.I picked up a stainless steel tray I had washed and stared at my reflection. I looked terrible. Three weeks living on the streets, scrounging for scraps of food and hanging onto my life, barely. Three weeks of madness. It felt like I was stuck in a never-ending nightmare.For the first week, I had roamed about. The shelters were terrifying.They mostly housed men and those men had a certain leer in their eyes whenever I walked in. I'd managed to find benches and stalls to sleep but it was brutal getting chased daily.A few days later when it felt like I was going to be completely dead if I didn't do something to save myself, I went back to my boss at the diner. While I had my fear about him, he had gladly accepted me in. Not just to work, but to his house as well. According to him, he had heard from my parents who apparently told him to kick me out. But instead of listening to them, he had decided to help me. At least, until I could find my feet back into the world.“Lily, what are you doing?”I paused the cleaning I was doing and turned. I saw Scott looking at me intensely.“Cleaning up,” I answered. This was the second day I was spending in his home. And even though he told me I was free to not do anything, I made sure to clean up the entire house after we got back from the diner each day.“Come on, you know you don't have to do that.” He said, moving closer to me. His hand wrapped around my waist suddenly, and he gave a little squeeze before he removed his hand and went for the clothes I was using to wipe the table.The alarm bell in my head went off, but I decided to ignore it. The fact was he was the only person who had managed to show me with some compassion and I wasn't ready to mess that up. At least not until my fear is justified.“I am fine,” I said in a small but defiant way.He shifted closer again. Dangerously close this time.“If you desperately want to pay, then pay with sex.” He said. Before I could determine if he was being serious or joking, he grabbed me roughly, making sure our chests collided.I was about to push him away and smack hard across the face when the scene on the television shifted to a flash advert.There, I saw my very own sister whom my parents had claimed didn't get the job splashed across the TV, modeling some kind of wear that seemed so damn expensive even from the look. And it definitely had the company's name of that old geezer they had all forced me to sleep with.The fact that it was apparent that my family had lied to me about that old geezer not giving my sister her dream job moved me close to tears.Suddenly, I felt hotter. I wiped the sweat that drenched my face off and tried to dislodge the man still holding me captive. The more I tried to move away, the more he dragged me closer to him.“You think I don't know you sleep around for a living?” He said, eyeing me with disdain. He pulled me closer again.His armpits were filled with some fishy smell that made me feel nauseous. An acidic taste filled my mouth and I tried to stop myself from vomiting.But it was too late.The vomit sprayed out sooner than I could catch it and fell everywhere around me. And by everywhere, I meant all over Scott."Get the hell out of here!" He yelled, closing his nose and looking at himself with disgust.He hurled me out of the house through the back door, and I crashed to the floor, brushing my elbow. Tears clouded my eyes as I arched him to slam the door closed. I had worked for days. I was supposed to be paid the next day.But now it seemed I could kiss that pay goodbye as well. I let the tears fall freely as I picked myself off the floor and walked to the road. The stench of vomit was strong, it had stained my clothes and hands. And that made me even more nauseous. The fever I had spiked even higher as I walked and my eyes grew dizzy.Wrapping my arm around myself, I tried to walk faster but I grew faint with each step and dizzier. Darkness filled my vision and I felt the world turn upside down before going unconscious.When I opened my eyes, a glamorous chandelier stared down at me. It was quite huge and for a minute, panic filled me at the thought of it falling and squashing me to bits. I tried to move my muscles, but they felt sore and tired.Where the hell was I? The last time I woke up in a foreign room, my life changed forever. I had slept with a stranger, my parents kicked me out, and I had spent the past weeks living a hellish life."Easy, dear.” A firm feminine voice reached my ears. I turned my head to see a very gorgeous woman, sitting by the bed. She had the most startling green eyes I had ever seen and a kind smile on her face. Her hair, golden, was tied up in a bun behind her head. She looked beautiful.If there wasn't a chandelier right above me, I would think I was in heaven and she was an angel."Who..." I croaked. "Where?"She smiled and reached out to help me sit up before handing me a glass of water. My hands trembled as I tried to drink from it and I heard her sigh."You poor thing. It had taken two whole days to get your fever down."My eyes roved around the room properly, and I gasped. It was huge. I was in the middle of the biggest room I had seen in my entire life.And the most luxurious too. The bed I slept in was huge. The drapes and curtains look as expensive as hell. I looked back at the woman beside me in horror and she chuckled as if the look on my face told her everything."I'm Emma Donovan.” She introduced, retrieving the glass of water from my hands. "I saw you collapse on the sidewalk two days ago and well I didn't think it would be humane to leave you there, you seemed like a sweet girl.""Oh," I mumbled, clearing my throat awkwardly. She had saved me. "T-Thank you."But what difference did it make? I would be going back to the streets anyway. Nothing would change."Oh, it's nothing. You can stay for as long as you want, okay?" She said, rising to her feet. "I'll ring the maids, we need to get some food for you. I doubt you've had anything good to eat in a while and that can't be good for the baby.""Thank...." I trailed off processing her words. "What baby?!"A baby? Just how?!My eyes rounded, almost as if they wanted to pop out of their sockets. I looked at Emma and shook my head repeatedly as if to deny the pregnancy. And of course, to will the news away.“No,” I whispered, still shaking my head in denial.Emma looked back at me, a sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry darling, you're pregnant."Noah's POV"Here comes the groom, here comes the groom!" Ethan yelled as I stepped out of my company's building. He stood beside my car, eyes glinting in mischief. I punched him in the arm as soon as I reached him, annoyed at his antics. The jackass laughed his head off as if he enjoyed teasing the hell out of me. Oh, who was I kidding? It was Ethan. Of course, he enjoyed teasing me. At this rate, I was certain he had been sent to earth to torment the daylights out of me. "You're crazy," I grumbled, pulling open the car door. "I'm crazy?" He snorted. "Says the guy who got himself engaged. To a bitch no less!" "Natalie is not a bitch!" I snapped, irritated at his words. He was talking about my fiance, dammit! "Her name sounds like a bitch's name too!" He chuckled, slipping into the front seat of the car. I settled into the driver's seat and kick-started the engine. It had been a month since I had met Natalie in person. When my private investigator had sent the address of the g
LilyAs I walked away, thinking about what just happened, alarm bells began ringing in my ears. I had no idea what just happened or who that crazy man was but still, I had a feeling that I knew him from somewhere but I had no idea where or how I had known him. As soon as he entered the house, his eyes never left me. They bored into me, searching me out and followed me with every corner I took.It was unnerving to say the least but even in his stares, I found comfort. There was this assurance I had when he was staring at me that I just couldn’t place. I also noticed the way he looked deep into my eyes, like he was searching for something I didn't even know existed. It was charming when you thought about it but at the same time, it was unnerving too and the last thing I wanted was for a damn attractive stranger to stare at me like I had stolen something from him.“Oh, Lily, why don’t you join us?” Mrs. Donovan smiled.Ever since I came to her house, she had been nothing but nice to me,
NoahAs soon as I laid eyes on Lily, something shifted within me. It was like the world around us dimmed, and all I could see was her. Her presence was magnetic, drawing my attention like a moth to a flame. We were at the dinner table, my mother, my brother Ethan, and me. But as hard as I tried to focus on the conversation, my gaze kept drifting back to Lily."Pass the salt, Noah," Ethan said, breaking through my trance.I nodded absentmindedly, handing him the salt without tearing my eyes away from Lily. She was chatting animatedly with my mother, her smile illuminating the room. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to hear her laugh, to see her eyes light up with joy."Is everything alright, Noah?" My mother's voice brought me back to reality.I blinked, realizing I had been staring for too long. "Uh, yeah, everything's fine," I replied quickly, hoping they hadn't noticed my distraction.But deep down, I knew that everything was far from fine. Lily had captivated me in a
LilyI closed the door to my room behind me, my mind still reeling from the encounter with Noah. The words he had spoken echoed in my head, refusing to fade into the background like I wished they would. "You are here," he had said, his voice tinged with a mixture of excitement and disbelief. But why? Why would he tell me that? I barely knew him.Sinking onto the edge of my bed, I tried to make sense of it all. Noah was practically a stranger to me, yet his words had stirred something deep within me. There was a familiarity in his eyes, a sense of connection that I couldn't quite explain. It was as if he had been a part of my life for far longer than I realized.As I sat there lost in thought, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Noah than met the eye. His mysterious aura, coupled with his cryptic words, left me with more questions than answers. What did he mean by I was here? And why did it feel like there was some unspoken bond between us?Lost in my thoughts, I didn'
Lily.The morning sun streamed through the bathroom window, casting a warm glow across the tiled floor as I eased myself into the soothing embrace of the bathwater. The gentle scent of lavender filled the air, and for a moment, I allowed myself to forget about the world outside and simply enjoy this moment of peace but as I settled deeper into the water, my thoughts inevitably turned to the undeniable truth that lay beneath the surface of my skin.My hand instinctively drifted to my abdomen, where the subtle curve of a baby bump was beginning to make itself known. It was still small, barely noticeable to anyone but myself, but with each passing day, it seemed to grow more pronounced, a silent testament to the life that was growing within me and with that realization came the sudden rush of emotions that I had been struggling to contain.Tears welled up in my eyes as I traced the outline of my bump, feeling the weight of the unborn child resting there. I knew that soon, everyone would
Noah. I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother’s new maid. Everytime I glanced at her, it just seemed like she had the answers to all of my problems, like she had this peace I had been looking for for a very long time. Heck, I couldn't even get her out of my mind and with every minute that passed, stuck in this same house with her, I was slowly losing my mind.I wanted to feel her, wanted her very close to me so that i could hold her in my arms as she assured me that everything was going to be fine. I didn’t know what had gotten over me but I knew it was a sudden attraction towards her. There was just something about her that told me that she was a woman who needed to be cared for and when it came to do, I would do that without any hesitation.“What has gotten into you?” Ethan asked, barging into my room.I glanced up from mindlessly scrolling through my phone as I watched him take the seat opposite my king-sized bed. I knew what he meant and I wasn't sure I even had the answers to t
LilyHumming to myself, I had no idea I was being watched. My duty that day was to make sure that the kitchen was spotless even as I tried to make sure that everything was in place. Mrs Donovan would be having some guests over later on and I wouldn't want Chris to have a hard time locating where each item should be.“I told you Lily, you need to take more rest. I really don’t want you doing this.”I turned towards the direction of the voice to see Mrs Donovan walking towards me with a small smile on her face. She had told me times without numbers that I should learn to take some rest but how could I do that when things seemed to be in place.“Okay, I promise. As soon as I'm done with this, I'll take that rest.She hugged me gently before walking away, leaving me to continue my work. I knew she meant well for me but at times, her over protective nature had me worried because i didn’t want to let her down. She held me in high esteem and letting her down will no doubt break the trust she
LilyThe night seemed endless, stretching on with each passing minute as I lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to find solace in sleep. My mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, all stemming from one source: Noah. His touch lingered, haunting me with memories of how he held me earlier in the kitchen. It was a fleeting moment, yet it left an indelible mark on my consciousness.I knew I needed to distance myself from him, for my own sake and for the sake of my unborn child. The realization of my pregnancy had already brought a myriad of uncertainties into my life, and the last thing I needed was to complicate matters further by indulging in feelings that could only lead to trouble.But as much as I tried to convince myself of the necessity of staying away from Noah, the pull of his presence was undeniable. There was something about him that drew me in, something magnetic that defied reason and logic. Perhaps it was the kindness in his eyes, or the gentleness of his touch, or