LOGINTHIRD PERSON’S POV Derek held her gaze but still gave no answer.A lump welled up in Sara's throat and she swallowed hard but it still didn't ease the tightness.“Why are you keeping tabs on a woman you don’t even love?”Wouldn't it make more sense for him to keep tabs on Alyssa? For a couple of minutes, she waited for an answer but none came.A while after, she let out a shaky breath then pushed herself up from the couch and stood on her seat.She didn't move towards him, didn't walk away, and just remained standing where she was, staring piercingly at him.“What was the plan?” she demanded. “What were you going to do with all of this?”She gestured toward the folder.“Collect data? Monitor me forever?”Her voice rose.“Or was there an end goal?”Derek’s silence only made it worse.Sara laughed again. This time, her laugh was filled with bitterness. "Was this whole marriage a part of it?"She had always wondered why Derek had given into his grandparents pressure and married her eve
THIRD PERSON’S POVThe question hung between them, unanswered.Derek didn't look like he was going to answer either while Sara watched him with an unwavering gaze, even as her fingers trembled slightly."I need a response, Derek. Answer me," Her voice rose a notch higher.Derek looked away for a while then returned his gaze to her and inhaled slowly, looking like he was debating the response to give to her.Finally, he muttered, "Years."Sara sprang to her feet, stunned. "Years?"What was that supposed to mean? A year, or two? Her brain refused to process how long he meant."How long is that supposed to mean?" She spoke slowly, as though she couldn't quite get her words out.Derek kept his gaze on her, and then his lips parted again, "Before we got married."Sara sank back into her seat, stunned speechlessly.Before they got married. That meant that she had been under observation for a total of five years. How in the world had he managed to do that and how couldn't she have noticed a
THIRD PERSON'S POVThe road blurred in flashes of white and gold streaks of light but Derek didn't slow down.It wasn't just his car that raced, his heart did too.His knuckles that gripped the steering were pale, as though they had been stripped of color because of how tightly he was holding onto the wheel.All he could think of was getting home, to his house, his study, to his desk and the file he had carelessly left lying on it.For him, mistakes like this were rare. He had never ever made this kind of mistake but tonight, and the days before, he had been too focused on the Ford's family gala that he had eventually forgotten something so significant.He replayed what happened earlier today in his head, trying to think back to how he could have forgotten something so important.The memory returned to him, of how he had been in his study after getting dressed for the gala. That was in the afternoon, before he left for Alyssa's home to pick her up.He had brought the file out then and
SARA'S POV My brows furrowed the instant I opened the folder."What's this?" I muttered to no one in particular when my eyes landed on the first page.It was filled with numbers, columns and dates that I couldn't understand.Convincing myself that it was probably one of those corporate reports, I moved to set it down.My hands stilled mid-air again. For some reason, I found that I couldn't just drop the folder like that and this time, it had nothing to do with just curiosity.It was because I realised or rather recollected that I had also worked in the corporate space. For five years, I had managed affairs in Derek's company without any major or irreparable hitches and not once had I ever come across a file quite like this.I knew then that it had nothing to do with business and was probably more personal.That thought pushed me to want to know more and instead of setting it down like I had planned on doing, I flipped the next page open.The first line etched boldly on the page caugh
SARA’S POV“Yes, Mommy!”I immediately dropped to my knees, bending low so our eyes were on the same level. I pulled her in for a hug then pulled away and smiled at her, "Baby, that's incredible."She beamed with pride, showing me a gummy smile. "Mommy, I read really well and I studied really hard. I answered all the questions too."“I can see that.”I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear then smiled again, “I’m very proud of you.”Her smile softened slightly at my words.“Really?”“Of course, I'm very proud of you."She hugged me again then began to recount how she had aced all of her subjects, how someone had failed a subject and how she felt really bad that Clara had gotten a B in one subject."Mommy, Clara was sad but I gave her my chocolate and she cheered up again. Uncle Alaric won't be mad right?"I imagined the scene Danielle had painted then smiled. She really was maturing."Uncle Alaric will be very proud of her too."Danielle exhaled with relief when she heard that, as th
SARA’S POV By the time Alaric’s car pulled up in front of the house, the exhaustion had settled deep into my bones.It felt like I had walked the entire miles here instead of being seated comfortably in a luxury car.Alaric glanced at me when the car pulled to a stop in the driveway, “You’re home.”I nodded slowly and stared at the familiar doors of the house before reaching for the door.It felt strange coming back here and even odder, it felt like tonight had changed something about me.I couldn't point out exactly what yet but my mind knew it.I turned to Alaric with my hold still on the door handle and smiled softly at him, "Thank you for giving me a ride home and...thank you for tonight."There was much more that I wanted to say but I opted to save the rest of my words for later. It was late already and since I was so tired, I thought that he was too.“Thank you for the ride.”He nodded once then his expression softened. “Of course.”“Get some rest.”“I will.”I stepped out of t
THIRD PERSON'S POVThe ballroom was huge but the walls felt as though they were closing in on Derek.Laughter danced like wind chimes around him, glasses clinked loudly, footsteps shuffled and dresses swayed, causing fabric to swish and people leaned closer, gossiping and chattering but Derek was l
SARA'S POV The sun poured through the open windows. I stood next to the window, buttoning up my blouse while listening to Rina talk about the upcoming celebration party.I couldn't say I regretted telling her all about it but I somehow wished I hadn't because now, she was badgering me about my int
TONIA’S POVAlaric was the first to cross the distance between us. He reached me and stretched out a glass of champagne to me, smiling softly, "You look amazing.""Thank you," I smiled in response, trying to match his boyish grin and sparkling eyes."You look really good too," I added a second late
THIRD PERSON'S POV"Ma'am, excuse me," The waiter said.I thought he was headed towards the restroom and had even shifted to make way for him but he stopped right in front of me instead.My eyes lit up as a suspecting thought popped into my mind.I could almost imagine that Rina had sent him to hel







