LOGINSARA'S POV The day broke normally, the complete opposite of what my life now represented.It was as though nothing had happened before and essentially, that was how life was made to be.No matter how broken I felt inside, life would still go on. The sun would still rise as always, the harmonious symphony of birds would still fill the air and people would still breathe.I knew this feeling of heaviness and sadness would pass, eventually, but at the moment, I carried it with me.I woke up quite early today. That wasn't even the appropriate thing to say, it would make much sense if I'd slept the night before.Falling asleep had proven torturous and I had given up on sleep around dawn. Instead of wallowing in bed, I headed downstairs to prepare breakfast after freshening up, simply wanting to do something to distract myself from the thoughts that had plagued my mind all night.Now, I was done making breakfast but all I could do was stare blankly at the dining table and the dishes laid ou
THIRD 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
THIRD PERSON'S POVAt his office, Derek sat at his desk with a document in front of him. He was supposed to be reviewing it but he was so distracted that he wasn't even reading.So many thoughts had taken root in his mind and he also couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling he'd gotten from Danielle ear
THIRD PERSON'S POVDanielle scanned Sara's face for a couple of minutes, then came to the conclusion that Mommy wouldn't get mad at her but she was still curious to know how Mommy got to find out about her event since she had not told her.Her gaze drifted over to Alaric who stood next to Sara and
SARA'S POVThe crayons were scattered across the little wooden table, a mix of color that made Danielle’s eyes shine with joy.I sat beside her with the sleeves of my blouse rolled up to my elbow, quietly getting overwhelmed by everything happening around me.At first, I thought it was nostalgic bu
THIRD PERSON'S POVIt was Mrs Williams who broke the odd atmospheres that Clara's innocent question had created.The child looked disappointed that she hadn't gotten an answer to her question but perked up a moment later, when Mrs Williams made an announcement she had been waiting for.The latter s







