Hello everyone, thank you for the support so far. I've decided to make the book into a series. The next story is about their first son: Calvin Kyle McKenna, and it's titled HIS RUNAWAY ANGEL. I'm in the process of signing a contract for the book. But here's an excerpt of chapter one and two.
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Someone was watching Hana. No, not one. Three men were watching her. She quickly finished her tea, shoved her notebooks into her purse, and stood. The men didn’t move, and her shoulders sagged in relief. It must have been her overactive imagination. Her mother would tease her about having a mind too active for her age, but it was the price she had to pay for being a writer.
An upcoming writer. She wasn’t at the point she wanted to be just yet.
The coffee shop was almost empty except for the four of them and the staff on duty. Leah, an old friend, was behind the counter when Hana went to pay. Taking out money from her wallet, she pouted when her friend refused to accept it. This was one reason she hated eating here when Leah was on a shift. She never let Hana pay.
“Come on, you have to let me pay,” Hana said.
“You can pay when you become a bestseller.”
Hana’s smile faded. Her strict father considered her writing a useless hobby and was waiting for the right time to… She shook off those thoughts before they ruined her evening. She would run once she found that one book that would make her an international bestseller. But she wouldn’t go alone, she must get her mother and baby sister out of the house of that psychopath. For now, she had to endure him. All of them.
“Yeah,” Hana replied as she tucked her wallet into her bag. Leah braced her arms on the counter holding glasses of pastries. Hana was tempted to throw the money at Leah and run off. “But until that happens, you need your money. This shop needs it.”
The interior of this shop could use some renovations. Starting from the chipping paints of the wall to the tables and chairs that had been repolished too many times.
“We are fine—”
Hana looked up to see what caught her friend’s interest, and her throat dried up. It was one of those men from earlier, staring at her like he wanted to bend her over the counter and spank her. The image left bile in her mouth, a bitter taste she was used to.
Her shape and beauty got her more attention than she needed. Once, she had joined a pageantry to hasten her chances of leaving the house but had to quit when the organiser demanded to sleep with her before she could be given first place. After that, modelling was a no-go area for her.
The modelling agency wasn’t the only one with that erroneous belief that she was a pretty face and an easy lay. Book agents she had contacted in the past had been more interested in what she had between her legs than the novel she wanted to publish. So, she was doing this on her own.
One firm hand squeezed Hana’s shoulder, and she snapped out of her trip down memory lane. The familiar smell of cake, coffee, and other pastries filled her nostrils. She jumped, and the man chuckled. He was much taller than her with broad shoulders hidden in his tattered brown leather jacket, so she had to strain her neck to view him properly.
How dare he touch her? If Baba saw this, he would assume the worst of her. She took an instinctive step away from the invader, and her head lowered when he caught her staring. She wasn’t staring because she found him handsome or appealing. But because she was trying to find the best means to escape him without creating a ruckus.
The man grinned, flashing her his yellow teeth. Hana almost threw up. His breath smelt of cheap beer and weed. They must have mixed their coffee with beer because Leah’s shop didn’t sell alcohol. On instinct, she took another step away from the man. He glanced at the little space she created and covered it. Chills raced down her back.
For once, Hana wished she had listened to her mother and stayed at home today. She glanced at her friend for help, only to see she wasn’t the only person affected by his unwanted presence. He reeked of trouble, and she wanted to leave, but his friends were watching.
The man slapped two hundred-dollar bills on the counter and drawled out in a voice heavily slurred from drinking, “How much for the lady?”
“Excuse you?” Hana barked.
She was not for sale, even if her father thought so.
“For your coffee, ma’am,” he said, flashing her his tobacco-stained teeth. Hana gritted her teeth. She didn’t like coffee, and her tea and snacks hadn’t cost up to half of that amount. She was also fine without his help. “What’s a fine lady like you doing here?”
“If that will be all,” Leah spoke up for the first time since the man waltzed over to them like he owned the place. Hana sent her friend a smile of relief. “Please leave.”
He pulled out an additional hundred-dollar bill and slammed it on the countertop. “For our drinks.” He turned to Hana with a grin that made her blood run cold. She didn’t like to judge people by appearances alone, but this man looked and acted like a creep. “And for your friend.” His hand reached for her jaw, but she dodged his touch. What the heck was wrong with him? Sure, she got the wrong attention, but no one was ever this touchy. “Sweet, I like ’em feisty.”
Leah banged her fists on the countertop. “Time to go.” She pointed to the door. “Out. All of you.”
After offering Leah a salute, he blew a kiss at Hana. The content of Hana’s late afternoon snack rushed up to her throat, and she breathed easier when he retraced his steps to his table. His friends were already on their feet, and they all turned to wave at Hana and Leah, who ignored them.
The ladies watched the drunken men exit the coffee shop, and only then did Hana relax a little. She needed to leave, but who was to say they weren’t out there lurking and watching her?
“I think you should wait a bit,” Leah offered like she had read Hana’s mind. Hana wasn’t willing to argue, so she nodded. “Let’s wait for Gerard.”
Gerard was Leah’s husband. They had been married for over two decades. Leah didn’t know, but some men in Hana’s books possessed Gerard’s manners and characteristics. She had watched the couple enough times to spin their romance into her books. Her phone vibrated in her purse before she could answer.
“It’s my mum,” she said, holding the phone up for Leah to see the caller. She picked up, and her mother’s voice came in immediately. The first thing she asked was for her daughter’s location, which she gave up. To avoid a lecture from her mother, she quickly added, “I’m already on my way home.”
Leah raised her brows, and Hana shrugged. Her mother allowed her to leave the house as long as it didn’t get her or her sister into trouble. But she needed to return home before her father arrived from work or whatever business meeting he was at now.
“I’m in an Uber. You will see me soon,” she said into her cell. As she said this, her forefinger jerked, and she hid her hand behind her. Hana cut the call before her mother could say more. Leah shook her head in disappointment, and she felt bad for lying. But lying was easier. “What?”
“Why did you have to lie?”
Because as much as Hana’s mum claimed to understand her, she shared the same archaic values as her father. They would marry her off to a stranger once the chance presented itself. She decided against speaking. Leah would not totally get it.
Leah believed in love, but love didn’t matter in Hana’s world. It was second to connection and wealth. Hana peeked at her wristwatch. Twenty minutes had passed. The men must be gone.
“I should go now,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Leah picked up her phone on the counter and nodded at the door. It reminded Hana of those men, but they would have gone. “Gerard should be here any second. He can drop you off at yours.”
Hana rejected the suggestion before it was completely out of the woman’s mouth. As far as Leah was concerned, Hana was the only surviving daughter of a poor single mother. She wanted to keep it that way.
“I don’t think it’s safe, Hana.”
But Hana had to refuse the offer. One, she didn’t want Leah to know her house. Two, her father wouldn’t welcome Leah. The owner of a coffee shop was beneath them.
“I’ll be late, Leah, and if I’m late, I won’t be allowed to come here anymore.”
“You’re twenty-three,” Leah cut in. Age didn’t matter to Baba except when it came to business deals. “They can’t ground you.”
“Twenty-five,” Hana corrected with a fake smile. Well, she would be twenty-five in six months, then her life would officially no longer be hers. Again, Leah wouldn’t get it. “It’s more complicated than my stories.”
The older woman stared at her for so long that she squirmed. “More complicated than your books? That’s something, since all your stories are twisty,” Leah said. A smile landed on Hana’s lips. Asides from her kid sister, Leah was the only one she allowed to read the words she bled into paper. She wasn’t ready to share her books with the world. Well, she was, but she couldn’t afford an editor or cover designer. “Give me a call when you get home, alright?”
“I will, I promise.” They hugged over the counter, and Hana slowly let go of the woman. On some days, she felt closer to Leah than she did with her mother. “Bye-bye, Leah. Send my greetings to Gerard.”
“He will hear,” Leah added.
Hana walked out of the coffee shop, and the chill January air swept her messy hair into her face. The air smelt of sweat and fumes from the cars speeding past her. She loved it. Rumbling from the distance made her look up. Lighting forked through the skies, and she grinned. Another thing she loved was the rain. So instead of ordering a cab, she started walking in the direction of her house.
A few feet down the alley she took to protect herself from the light rain, she noticed them.
The same men from the coffee shop.
Hana hurried her steps, but the men behind her seemed to do the same. From the corner of her eyes, she saw one of them slip a hand into his pocket, and her heart sank to her stomach. Her blue eyes scanned the alley for the nearest escape, but there was none. If she could get to the other end of the alley, she might get help or an Uber. Her arm shook as she tried to remove her phone from her purse. Their footsteps closed in on her. She turned to them briefly to yell, “Fuck off! Leave me alone.” They laughed but didn’t stop walking. Hana hadn’t expected them to stop, given how shaky her voice had sounded, but she had hoped that for once something would work in her favour. “We will leave you once we get a taste,” one of them said. The voice was louder above the rain. Fear tattooed a sharp line in her chest, and she almost missed a step. “What do you think about that, Arnold?” Arnold, or whoever it was, answered, “I concur.” The rain was pouring harder, making navigating in the
12: 45 pm.Where was Carlson?Leilani May Collins hated tardiness. They agreed to meet by 12:30 pm but she was here fifteen minutes earlier. Her phone vibrated and she snatched it off the table before it could ring out. It was Carlson.“Hey,” she said into the phone.“Hey, Leila.” His voice sounded the same as it did on their previous calls. Freya, her best friend, might have put the idea that he might be a catfish into her head. “Sorry, I’m running late.”Leila stopped tapping the silk covered table and refolded the napkin. If Carlson wasn’t so handsome and probably a potential man in her life, she might have left the diner. She sipped from her glass of water that had gone warm. He was one point down in her book.“Alright. How long until you get here?”“Ten minutes top,” he replied.“Fine. I’ll be waiting.”Setting the glass down, Leila played a game of candy crush on her phone until her phone pinged with a text from Freya. She groaned almost immediately at the content of the text. I
Leila was floored. She pinched her thighs to wake herself up from this nightmare but the man didn’t disappear.“Hi,” he murmured. “I’m Carlson.”“Hi,” she replied. Pulling out her phone, she tapped on Carlson’s Tinder profile and zoomed in. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m waiting for this person.”Leila slid the phone to him so he could see the man on her screen. A tall, handsome man with blue eyes that saw into her soul, not this short man over here with brown eyes and a scalp that was almost balding. He didn’t even have a beard.The fake Carlson laughed. Was his name even Carlson? It could be but he wasn’t her Carlson?“Yeah, that’s me, Leila.” Her heart rolled to her feet. The urge to slap off the smirk on his face grew and she clenched her hands under the table. No, this was a prank. “You work an eight to five job. Your friend owns the pet you used as your profile picture.”Right. “I don’t believe you.” He laughed again. Her misery must be funny because why the hell was he la
Tempted to reply immediately, Leila opened the candy crush app instead. She didn’t want to give off the impression of being desperate.Someone laughed in the crowd. The garden had filled up now and they were raising a toast to the couple. Leila reached for the glass of wine on her table and cheered to the air.Where was her best friend?Nearly everyone in this garden was paired except her. One more reason she hated attending weddings.Another message came in from this Kelvin guy and she didn’t take her time to reply to this one.Kelvin: Are you busy?Leila: Kind of. I’m at this wedding my best friend forced me to attend.Force was not the best word to describe the true story. But Leila could bet her left ankle that Freya would have dragged her out of her house if she went there instead of coming to this wedding.Kelvin: same. In my case, I lost a bet so I had to come. I’m bored out of my mind. Weddings are not my thing but a single man has no say in such matters. My sister is trying t
A normal person would have said no but Leila stopped considering herself normal the moment she signed the contract with Kelvin McKenna. They only went on two dates for God’s sake. Her best friend didn’t even know because he convinced her to do it before telling Freya. And she agreed.She said yes.Did she make a mistake?Leila was still thinking about this as she entered her work building, she pulled the door to her office open and paused.Everyone was here.She stole a peek at her wristwatch, she wasn’t late. It was only five minutes past eight. She walked briskly to her table and set her bag and files down.Her head raised when someone sat on her desk. Lily. They were not best of friends but she preferred her to that witch staring at her from across the room. Samantha’s mission in this office was to make her life miserable but Leila was bent on avoiding her as best as she could. Already, it was working. Last month, she received the best staff of the month award for the third time in
The department was louder than before as male and female staff discussed her husband. Leila was mortified as Susie broke down into a commentary about his looks.Bile rose to her throat and she forced herself to take a sip of water from her flask. One of the rules of their firm was this: No inter-staff relationship. It was forbidden and highly frowned upon, so most of what they were saying would only happen in their dreams.Still, their thoughts nauseated her. She wasn’t breaking the rules by being married to the boss but she felt like a criminal as she listened to them ogle and try to picture Kelvin without a shirt. He was her husband and she hadn’t even seen him shirtless yet.Susie was the loudest of the gossipers, her comment about Kelvin’s lips between her legs bothered Leila and she scowled at their backs when they laughed at her remark. Her cheeks warmed when she remembered their near kiss from this morning.Kelvin was perfect as he was.Lily dragged a seat close to Leila’s tabl
“Carlson,” Leila breathed out.“Leilani.” He smiled. Those familiar emotions of anger that she had buried since their failed date bubbled inside her. “I didn’t think I would be seeing you anytime soon.” Neither did she, she should have looked first before hopping into his car like a rabbit. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”“Oh.” What was the kindest way to tell someone she blocked him? Her fake smile became faker. “I changed numbers. Might be why you couldn’t reach me.”“Sweet. Can I have your new number?”“What?” she squeaked out.“Your new number. I’ll give you a call later.”Today he was wearing a beanie so she was spared the sight of his thinning hair. When his head tilted to get a fuller view of her, she froze.“Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I apologise.”“It’s okay. Can we just go?” she asked.“Where to?”“Straight ahead. I’ll let you know when to stop.”Carlson burst into a string of apologies as their ride began. Leila cursed her fate over and over again. She should have
Minutes later, the food was ready. Leila set the tray on the table, her smile, big and bright as she marched to the study to get her husband. She met him on a call. His voice was so low she barely heard a word he said. She leaned on the doorframe, a small smile on her face as she watched him massage his forehead. Even when disturbed, he looked cute. They might get along.The call ended and he turned to her. Leila smiled, ready to speak but he cut her off. “What do you want?”Wow. His words were like ice poured over her, she took a subconscious step out of the study. Her hand curved in the direction of the dining.“Dinner is ready.” She tried and failed to smile but his reaction hurt her. Here she was, trying to be a good wife and he was being rude. “I came to tell you that.”She was a few steps out of the study when he called her. “Leila.” She stopped but didn’t turn. If he would be rude to her, she didn’t want to be around him. “Sorry for raising my voice.”Hiding a smile, she nodded