Mag-log in“Who do you think you are? Captain America?” One of the men asked mockingly, making the other laugh. Noah hit the first man before the man finished smiling.The punch sent him stumbling backward.Maybe learning to fight right from a very young age was something he did for fun; his skills had always come in handy. Another rushed him from the side.Noah ducked, grabbed his arm, and drove his knee into the man’s stomach. Pain shot through Noah’s own ribs at the movement, but he swallowed it and shoved him away.“Noah!” Melissa screamed.Colin lifted his head weakly.His eyes widened when he saw him.“Noah… don’t…”Noah didn’t listen.A third man came at him with a rod.Noah dodged the first swing, but the second caught his shoulder. Pain exploded down his arm. He staggered but turned with it and slammed his fist into the man’s jaw.The man fell.For a few seconds, Noah fought like anger had taken over his body.Messy.Reckless.Dangerous.He was already wounded before he arrived, but h
Colin’s fingers tightened around the phone.“What do you mean she’s gone?”His voice came out sharper than he expected.The driver’s breathing was uneven on the other end, like he was running or driving too fast.“Sir, we were already at her house. Just outside the gate, the moment I opened the car, a van blocked us.”Colin’s heart dropped.“What van?”“I don’t know, sir. Three men came down. Then two more from another car. They said something about a loan. That she thought she could hide forever.”Colin’s blood turned cold.“A loan?”“Yes, sir. Miss Melissa was shouting that she didn’t know what they were talking about. I tried to stop them, but they had weapons.”Colin was already moving.His feet carried him toward his car before his mind fully caught up.“Where are you now?”“I’m following them, sir.”“You’re what?”“They took her into the van. I got back into the car and followed. I’m keeping distance so they don’t notice me.”Colin yanked his car door open.“Send me your live lo
For the first time that night, Colin hesitated.It was brief.But she saw it.The coldness cracked for just a moment, and underneath it, there was pain.Real pain.Then he looked at her fully.“That depends on your relationship with Miranda from now on.”Melissa froze.Colin’s voice remained calm.“If you settle things with her and continue being friends, then I’ll consider you my sister too.”Melissa’s chest tightened.“But if not,” he continued, “then I have no business making friends with my sister’s enemy.”The words were gentle.The meaning was not.Melissa understood him perfectly.He was putting her exactly where he believed she belonged now.Not as a woman he once wanted.Not as someone who had a chance to be loved by him.Just Miranda’s friend.And if Miranda rejected her, then even that small title would be gone.Melissa’s lips trembled, but she forced herself not to cry.“I understand.”Colin held her gaze for another second.Then he nodded.“Goodnight, Melissa.”She wanted
Melissa sat on the hospital bed with her left leg stretched out, her ankle raised on a small pillow while the nurse wrapped a bandage around it.She had cried earlier.Not because the pain was unbearable, although it was sharp enough to make her hiss whenever the nurse touched the swollen area.She cried because of everything else.Richard.Miranda.Colin.The way the night had collapsed so quickly that she still could not tell where the first crack had started.“Try not to put pressure on it for a few days,” the doctor said, scribbling something on a chart. “It’s a sprain, not a fracture, but you’ll worsen it if you walk carelessly. Use the support when you need to move. Ice it. Rest it.”Melissa nodded quietly.“Thank you.”Colin stood by the wall with both hands in his pockets.He had been there from the beginning.He was there when she was brought in. He was there when the nurse examined her ankle. He was there when the doctor asked what happened. He even stepped forward once when
Noah’s smile softened.“You tell me.”Miranda looked at him like he had just signed up for a storm without checking the weather.“No, Noah. I’m serious.”“So am I.”She inhaled slowly, her fingers tightening around the edge of his jacket.“You’re looking at this like it’s simple. You’re looking at me like I’m just some woman you like, and all you have to do is prove it.”“Is there something else I need to do?” Noah asked innocently. Miranda’s voice grew quieter."I'm saying I’m not simple.”“That’s fair.” “I’m serious, Noah." She shook her head. “Look at me; I’m divorced and pregnant.”“I noticed.”She glared at him.He gave a small, guilty smile.“Sorry. Continue.”Miranda looked away, frustrated that he could still make her want to laugh when she was trying very hard to be serious.“You’ll be raising another man’s child if this becomes serious.”“I know that.”“You think you know, but you don’t. It’s easy to say it now because everything feels emotional. But later, when people s
Miranda stood frozen.Not shocked anymore.Not confused either.Just… recalibrating her entire understanding of the last ten minutes of her life.Her eyes moved slowly from Noah to Melissa.Then back again.Like she was checking if the world had suddenly changed language without informing her.Finally, her voice came out carefully.“…So Melissa… the person you like is Richard?”Melissa blinked.Then sighed.Then nodded slowly.“Yes.”The word dropped like a weight.Miranda’s face tightened immediately.“Wait.” Melissa quickly lifted her hands. “Before you say anything, just listen…”"No," Miranda cut in, voice sharp now. “Let me speak.”The room went quiet again.Even Colin stopped adjusting Melissa’s ankle. The two men exchanged a worried look.Miranda took a step forward.“You couldn’t tell me because it’s Richard?”Melissa’s lips parted.“I tried.”“No,” Miranda repeated. “You didn’t try. You hid it. You were tiptoeing around, making me believe it was Noah. You two weren’t that clo
Miranda didn’t look back when she stepped out of Vivian’s house.The gates closed behind her with a quiet finality, sealing off the chaos she had just walked out of.For a moment, she stood still.Without her phone. Without her wallet. Without anything.Stripped.Exactly how Adrian wanted her.Mira
One would have thought Adrian’s remark would make her stop eating to save herself some dignity. Wrong! Still nothing.Miranda kept eating, her movements steady.If anything, she took another bite.Adrian’s smirk faded slightly.Because the reaction he expected… wasn’t coming.If this continued, h
Miranda didn’t bid again.After that first item, her paddle remained still.Item after item was brought on stage… rare paintings, vintage jewellery, collector pieces that had people whispering and competing, but Miranda simply watched.Uninterested.It didn’t go unnoticed.At first, a few people th
The event venue was already alive.Lights stretched across the entrance like a canopy of stars. Luxury cars rolled in one after another, engines humming softly as doors opened to release carefully dressed guests. Cameras flashed endlessly. Voices overlapped. Laughter, greetings, names being called.







