ELOISE' POV My velvet red dress made me stand out from amongst the crowd giving me chills at first, but the magnificent sight in front of me made my lips part on their own accord. The after party was nothing like I expected — like a ball, bringing the pictures of my romance novels to life with me as the main character. That's right. I was the main character tonight because I would soon be the one on the stage in less than thirty minutes time. But in the main time, I let my gaze wander from the multiple chandeliers hanging from the roof to the classic white paintings on the wall with splashes of blue paint on them. “You look beautiful Eloise”, a voice said from beside me, drawing my attention away from my pictures of admiration only to see Mary standing beside me with a sweet smile on her face. “Mary”, I briefly replied, my tone defensive as I imagined her starting one of her various lectures once again. A flash of hurt shone in her eyes sensing all my shields up which wasn't unusu
LUCAS' POV The face of the night was no different from my reoccurring dreams since I mysteriously found myself in an hospital two years ago. Although every face I saw seemed strange to me, but the man and lady who called themselves my uncle and aunt both had a safe aura that made me trust them – only a little. According to them, I'd been out for six months with less than thirty percent chance of ever coming back to life. They both shared with me tiny bits of memories which were mostly centered around them and also introduced me to a few old friends like Nathan and James who still rang no bells in my head. But somehow, they knew the exact things I liked and every time spent with them always left a feeling of nostalgia. However, there was still one face that caused my sleepless night and made me jerk from my sleep, gasping for air. I didn't know her or even seen her since I woke up, and that's what confused me the most. The hopelessness and disappointment in her eyes always sent a
ELOISE' POVThe hall was filled with everyone in the same attire as me - graduation gowns and caps waiting to be thrown into the air once we were done listening to the boring speech. A delighted smile filled my face as I zoned out, reflecting on all the years that passed, the hurdles and fears I survived throughout the two years I'd spent here pursing a degree in music. My brief experience with David and the words of the manager that still stung everytime I thought about it, had only fueled my drive to apply for scholarship programmes with a sense of desperation until I was finally accepted here. Just two years back, I'd left New York and all of its dreadful memories behind, determined to start a new life here in Germany but more times than often, I'd wished I didn't leave so early…or ever at all. Elena's death came like a bomb to me just few days after I'd arrived at school, and it took all of my will to not run back and spend the remainder of my life mourning her undeserved death
LUCAS' POV How many times could you loose a person before loosing them forever? More times than any normal friends or couple, Elena and I had ended it trying to say goodbye before it was too late but each time after that, we knew where to always find each other if we wanted. And most times, fate even did the job for us. But this time, fate seemed to have his hands raised in surrender letting all my bad decisions catch up with me as I froze motionlessly, watching the only person I would ever love, disappear right before my eyes and falling to her death. Thud! My knees crashed to the rocky ground, numb to the crack from the hard rocks underneath them. Tears and blood flowed freely from me as my heart dropped to my stomach. The only reason for my existence was gone. She was never to come back. My lips quivered wanting to scream, beg or do anything that would rewind the hands of time to the night I should have given up everything and run away with her instead. My heart shattered int
ELENA'S POVPain shot through my arms the moment I opened my eyes, adjusting to the strange surroundings I was in. Wait, how did I get here? The only thing I remembered was Dave dropping me off at my apartment after we'd escorted Eloise to the airport. But just when I stepped into my apartment, ready to retire for the night, I blacked out.I frowned, wincing a little when I felt a sharp sting of pain at the side of my head. Those bastards! My eyes took in the room even though it was pitch black and I could barely see a thing but I could definitely feel the pole my hands were tied to behind me. There was no need guessing or asking why I was in this position as it had always been one reason – Lucas. It was in times like this I wished he'd never returned, ruining my perfectly peaceful life before his arrival. Why couldn't they go after Sofia since she was his fiancee? Lucas and I hadn't exchanged a single word since his engagement party so how could they be so sure he would care as m
LUCAS POV I gazed emptily at the last page, soaked with tear drops from my red, swollen eyes aa I'd not slept a wink throughout the night. How in God's name could I ever have accepted the name Everhart? My breaths continued to slow down the more I tried to comprehend how Luci and I were only a product of my father's constant abuse towards my mother who was only fucking nineteen when she had us. Yet, her love for us spilled through the letters even with most of them covered in dried blood. Her only wish was for her children to never know the Everhart family, and now I realized just how much I'd broken it heeding to my fears of never being the man enough for Elena. Anyways, it was all done now and they would come anytime soon – when I least expected it. I picked up my phone to call uncle Dave and after three rings, he finally answered groggily. “Hey Lucas, are you on your way to the airport now? Call me once you land okay”, he said, yawning loudly and wincing shortly after. I smile
LUCAS' POV It was time for drinks as Alfred had said and I clicked the tip of my glass impatiently waiting for almost an hour. The club he'd chosen was the same one we met in for the first time a couple of months back. While I spent the abundant time on my hands contemplating if I'd made the right choice by agreeing to meet for dinner, a gust of cold, heavy air blew through the thick suit clinging to my back, resting harshly on my bare skin.Well, it was too late already to decide that, wasn't it? The carefree, teasing smile on my face instantly washed off when I sensed the murderous aura coming from him. Squinting my eyes softly in confusion, I opted to go straight to the point, “Looks like you're here for blood instead of drinks like you promised”, I said, carefully scrutinizing his expression but I'd easily forgotten, he wasn't easy to read through unless he let you in himself. His jaws clenched tightly, like they were barely restricting themselves from doing worse. “You have n
ELENA'S POVMy days had truly become brighter after only a few of these networking events with Dave. Although I felt like a terrible person who took his generous personality for granted but each time those thoughts attempted to creep in, I'd always blocked them out, refusing to dwell on them. “Are you sure you aren't already head over heels for him already?”, Eloise asked that morning as I paced up and about in my bedroom freaking out about what clothes to put on and how I was going to wear my hair, which was pretty unusual even for me. “Look at you, glowing like a young bride”, she remarked, her eyes shining with excitement as she stared at my distressed self moving around everywhere. I sighed in exhaustion, not in the mood to accommodate her silliness ever since I told her of my impromptu decision to agree to people's speculations of our relationship. “It was the safest option”, I'd tried to defend, knowing very well it wasn't. Neither Dave nor I could actually care less about t
LUCAS' POVMy step mother had begun to look much better in only a couple of days she joined me in my apartment. Despite the sense of emptiness in her eyes, her previously sunken cheeks were starting to show some signs of revival unlike before. “I'm sorry for ever causing you this much pain Lucas, but there was no other way I could think of”, a day didn't go by without giving me an earful of her apologies and regrets for letting me know my true identity as an Everhart. ‘It’s a curse’, she always said and I chortled in response everytime. “If I had known, I'd have flown you out of the country to somewhere Steven would never be able to find you, but I was just too scared”, she sniffled, her tone sounding distressed and causing weary lines to form on my forehead again. “It's okay stepmother, I'll rebuild the Everhart family for all of us, I promise”, my hands rubbed hers gently, a flame of determination reflecting in my eyes. After taking my rightful position as heir to everything lef