MasukSARA'S POV My phone buzzed the instant I stepped into my hotel room.All the way back, I hadn't really reflected on my conversation with Alaric and the implication of it and how much of my mental state it would affect. I'd pushed the thought aside, waiting for the serenity my room would offer to ponder and mull it over but Danielle's call interrupted that.I picked up the instant I saw that it was her. Rina's name was the one flashing across my screen but I knew that the only reason Rina could be calling me now, was Danielle. "Hi baby," I muttered into the phone, trying to keep exhaustion from seeping into my tone."Mommy!" Danielle's voice burst through the speaker, bright and unfiltered and with a lightness that was foreign to me at the moment.My chest was heavy and even the sound of my daughters voice did nothing to lighten the weight I carried.The weight of guilt, self blame and chastizement. Maybe if I had been just a little bit smarter and if I wasn't so trusting or if I had
SARA'S POV"Things like what?" I asked again, holding back from calling Alaric's name.My body itched to know what would end that statement, even as I dearly hoped it wasn't what I thought.I hoped I wasn't the reason for it, I hoped it wasn't because of what Laurent had almost tried to do to me or what Leah had done to sabotage me.It couldn't always be me, I couldn't always be the reason people would take drastic decisions and I hoped that wasn't the case for Alaric this time too.“A lot of things about the company.” Alaric replied vaguely.I kept looking at him and didn't lift my gaze. A vague response such as this didn't cut it for me. "About the company?"“What about Reinhart?” I pressed.“That’s for them to decide.” Alaric replied quickly, too quickly as though he had been waiting for me to switch the topic from him all along. It further compounded my suspicions.I stared at him. “You’re aware of how much this will cost both sides, right?"“Yes.”“Substantial penalties, huge de
THIRD PERSON’S POVThe office was as warm as summer.It didn't escape Derek's notice. He felt the warmth swarm him the moment he stepped his foot into the office that had supposedly been designed for him.The faint scent of leather and polished wood tingled his nostrils, alongside a citrus flavor that had to have been sprayed to freshen the air.. Freeman stood by the window with a tablet in hand and a tight expression and the moment Derek entered, his eyes lifted. "Mr Marshall.""Please have a seat." The man ran forward, gesturing towards the swivel chair behind a desk. Derek glanced at it for a heartbeat then returned his gaze to Freeman.He had no intention of sitting and had only come here to listen to what the older man had called him for.He'd gotten a call from him, about a couple of hours ago, asking if he was free to drop by the office."Why?" That was Derek's response to him when he asked and over the phone, Freeman had nervously told him it was about an assignment Derek ha
SARA’S POV The elevator door slid shut and I heaved a sigh, watching the numbers move.Just then, my phone began to ring, its loud beep disturbing the serenity within the elevator.I glanced down at the screen.Alaric.Without hesitating any further, I picked his call and brought my phone up to my ears, “Hello.”“Sara.” Alaric’s voice reached me. His tone was calm as always but somehow, it reminded me of the frantic texts I had gotten from him a few days back. Each time I recollected that, I envisioned him in the same state, panicking.I wasn’t there with him so I couldn’t tell how he’d acted but something told me it was exactly like I imagined and each moment I thought about it, it warmed my heart.“Are you busy?” He asked.“Not exactly, I just left the office.” I responded, holding my phone tighter to my ear so it wouldn’t fall while I tried to adjust the strap of my purse.“Good.” Alaric muttered.I was about to ask him why that was good when he added. “Then we can meet.”“Meet?”
THIRD PERSON'S POV Neither of them was expecting to see the other.They stood a couple of feets apart, staring at each other. Neither talked nor moved, they just stared at each other.Derek didn't think he would meet Alaric here, he had no intention of meeting up with him either. When Sara had confronted him last night, with the things she'd heard from Freeman, he knew it could only have been one person that opened her eyes to see the possibility and that person now stood before him."I didn't expect to see you here."It was Alaric who broke the silence first.Derek's brows raised. His gaze flicked over Alaric, scanning him from head to toe before he responded. "I didn't expect to see you either."Neither spoke of the reason they were there, but they both already seemed to be aware of each other's intention..The look in both of their gazes was meaningful too.After another long stretch of silence, Alaric spoke again. "How's Sara?"Derek's brows raised. He gave him a long lasting, pen
THIRD PERSON'S POVDanielle woke up because the house sounded different.At home, mornings were always silent. There usually was always no hum of the coffee machine unless mommy was home and the only time she heard soft footsteps was when mommy or Mrs Rodriguez came to wake her up.Daddy would have left for work already, and it was only sometimes that she heard the faint hum of his car as it pulled away from the driveway but Uncle Alaric's house was very different.Yesterday, Aunt Rina had packed both her and Clara's thing and brought them here, saying something about a leaking pipe.Danielle didn't understand what had gone wrong but she did understand that it meant that she would have to stay at Uncle Alaric's house if she wanted to keep on accompanying Clara.So, when Aunt Rina told her, she had immediately agreed.Afterwards, she had tried calling both Daddy and Mommy to inform them of the change in their location but neither of her parents were picking up.Their lack of a response







