Elijah’s POV As I entered the dimly lit bar, the slap mark burning on my cheek, I spotted my friend Trevis at the far end of the counter, starting the drinking without me. When he caught sight of me, he waved with a grin, looking cheerful and apparently not noticing the mark on my face. “Hey,” I greeted, sliding into the seat next to him. Trevis glanced up, and that’s when I saw the shock registering on his face. “What happened to you?” I shrugged, trying to play it off. “Just a little misunderstanding.” “Who did it?” Trevis asked, concern lacing his voice as he leaned in closer. I hesitated, remaining quiet. The bartender approached me, asking for my order. “I’ll have a whiskey neat.” “Coming right up,” the bartender replied, quickly preparing my drink. Trevis continued to look at me curiously. He could tell at once that something was up, and he seemed to stifle his amusement at the way I was reacting. I sighed, feeling a mix of embarrassment and frustration. “Long story
Elijah’s POV I shook my head, not wanting to delve into any more details about Sabrina or Julia. The rest of the night, my conversation with Trevis was distracted. "Hey, man, you seem really off tonight. Everything okay?" Trevis asked with concern. I sighed, swirling the drink in my glass. “I don't know, Trevis. Just a lot of stuff on my mind.” “Emotional stuff?” he probed, raising an eyebrow. “Something to do with that slap mark on your cheek, perhaps?” He was making it light, but I knew that he was becoming greatly concerned because I’d never been like this around him. “Because I don’t think it’s work-related,” Trevis added. He was really quite perceptive. “You’re never like this when it’s about business. You would have tackled it head-on already.” I shrugged, finishing my drink again and signaling to the bartender for a refill. I denied any issues but found myself drinking glass after glass, trying to numb everything that was bothering me. As Trevis pulled out his cell p
Sophia’s POVI woke up with a start, my body tense. I had just drifted into a light sleep when the knock on the door jolted me awake. I glanced at the clock — past midnight.For a moment, I lay still, listening intently, trying to make sense of the late-night disturbance. Burglar? Visitor? Or just a mistake?I grabbed my phone, its soft glow illuminating the dark room, and dialed the police’s number. But I didn’t tap on the call button yet. Slowly I tiptoed to the door, my heart pounding. The knock came again, louder this time, echoing through the silent apartment. I hesitated, unsure whether to answer. But a burglar wouldn't knock, right? I looked through the peephole and saw the man standing there outside my door. “Elijah!” I gasped in surprise. What the hell is he doing here again, and at this time of the night?!Taking a few deep breaths, I was about to walk away and go back to sleep when I heard him call my name. For a while, I’d wanted to pretend it was just some bad dream. But
Serena’s POVRrriiiinnngggg!I woke up with a start. For a while, I thought it was morning already. But it was still dark outside. It’s almost 3 am. Who the hell could be calling me? The number was unfamiliar. I answered it, anyway. “Hello?” I said in a sleepy voice, sitting up on my hotel bed. “Hi,” a low male voice greeted. “I’m so sorry to call you at this hour. My name is Trevis, and I’m a friend of Elijah’s. I got your number from his assistant Connor.”“Oh, okay…” “Listen, Serena, I was just wondering if you know whether Elijah got back to your hotel already?” He sounded worried. “It’s just that we were together earlier and I noticed that his mood was a little off. He wasn’t his usual self, and I’m just a bit worried about him.”I had already climbed off the bed and put on my slippers. “Let me check,” I told Trevis. “Hold on.” I quickly went to the room beside mine and knocked several times on the door. There was no answer. “He just suddenly took off while we were at the bar
Elijah’s POVMy eyes widened in alarm. I felt my heart plummeting to the ground just as I heard my breaths coming in short and raspy. “Don’t you remember what you said last night, Elijah?” Serena asked, looking anxious. “I, uh…” My mind was a complete blank. I was so drunk last night that I couldn’t remember what had happened when I went to Sophia’s apartment. But I was pretty sure that we hadn’t talked about anything of that sort. “I don’t remember, but I know that Sophia would never do something like that. If she really said it, then she was probably just making it up or exaggerating to drive me away!”“Well, it didn’t seem like it,” Serena responded casually. “I don’t think a woman can joke about something like that. And you know that Sophia’s not the type to drop empty threats. Besides, she already lost her baby once so perhaps it doesn’t really matter to her anymore, especially if it’s your child.”Her words made my heart ache. It made me remember how Sophia and I met at the uni
Elijah’s POV It was Chris Baker who had sent me the message. Surprisingly, I found myself hanging out with him and Trevis at the bar on the ground floor of my Paris hotel. “You don’t waste any time, do you?” Trevis said to Chris, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief at the same time. “Wait, why did you suddenly come here, anyway?” I wondered with great curiosity and confusion. “I told him about that girl Julia who resembled his sister Sabrina so much,” Trevis answered for Chris. “Remember I also mentioned her to you? She has started her internship at my studio.” “Oh, that girl,” I said dismissively. I had no intention of even meeting her because I just felt like it was far-fetched to consider she could really be Sabrina after all these years. Meanwhile, Chris was visibly excited, his eyes shining with anticipation. “I can't believe it, Trevis. If this is true, we might finally find Sabrina after all these years,” he exclaimed, taking a sip of his drink. Trevis looked
Elijah, I always thought we’d see the Eiffel Tower together… Without any warning, the thought just popped into my head — an idea that he and I had mentioned during our very first casual date. As I sat in front of my apartment window, I gazed up at the Eiffel Tower looming majestically in the distance, my mind wandering once again to memories of my ex-husband. “Is that your painting?” he’d asked me upon approaching me after class way back during our college days. His eyes were glimmering as he glanced at the Eiffel Tower artwork that peeked out from the folder I was holding. “Uh, yes.”“Have you been to Paris?” I shook my head. “Not yet, but I would love to visit someday. Or perhaps even study and work there.”“I know a coffee shop nearby that has a beautiful mural of Paris…” he’d said. And that afternoon, the two of us got to know each other for the first time. And that was when I first told him that I was allergic to coffee, so he bought a chocolate drink for me instead. I forc
Elijah’s POV“H-How did you know about Sabrina?” I asked, astonished. “It doesn’t matter, Elijah,” Sophia quickly answered. “But who told you about Sabrina?” “Let me tell you the truth,” she said with a sigh. “I never went missing as a child.”“Are you absolutely sure? Maybe you just forgot…”“I’m not Sabrina, okay?” she cut me off, anger flashing in her eyes. “And whoever she is, I don’t care. She’s not a part of my life and neither are you!” Her last words were so painful that I felt as if someone was literally squashing and twisting my heart. Sophia furiously pressed the elevator buttons, eager to move away from me. After a short while, she let out a cry of frustration and headed toward the stairs. I went to follow her.“Sophia, please let’s talk about this,” I cried. She didn’t bother to turn around. Instead, she went faster, almost running away from me. “I need to know the truth…”“I already told you!” she shouted when she finally reached her floor. She turned around to face